I started a carpet cleaning business in May of 2012. I spent over $3,000 on training and certification for carpet cleaning, fire and smoke damage restoration as well as water damage restoration. I spent about $3,000 on some entry level equipment. I spent about $1,500 in advertising only to get about $3,500 in sales, all ads in the local weekly newspapers, all 13 week contracts. Each paper used a different Google Voice number so I could tract the source of the calls. Three out of six papers led to exactly 0 inquiries. One led to a single inquiry and a $400 job that took too much time complete. I put in 3+ hours per day at the end of every day for 5 days. It was for a landlord. It was10/31 to 11/4 . He had 5 vacant apartments in his complex. After they were painted, I came in to clean the carpets. Originally I planned on them taking 2 hours each, but with 10 hour shifts subcontracting for someone else doing Sandy clean-up I was working slow and they were dirtier than I anticipated.
The person who I sub contracted about 100 worth of Sandy clean up has offered me a part-time job for $12.50 per hour, 2-3 days per week. It is over an hour commute to his company.
Quite frankly, 2012 was horrible. i have about $5,000 in my checking account right now that I can spend. I was just approved for a $12,500 business loan, that would require me to fund $2,500 of a $15,000 business plan. About $1,500 of that would go to marketing. I also had to promise to spend another $1,000 in marketing out of my own pocket. All I have to do is sign the papers.The loan is 84 months @ 4.5%. That’s just under $175 per month, not a big deal.
It will tremendously expand my ability to do work. It will give me a nice marketing budget. I don’t know if this will actually boost my business any however. The local economy sucks. A lot of money is going to make repairs to homes not covered by FEMA or insurance. It is hard to find clients. Our local unemployment rate is still going up. It is 9%. I have cleaned out more vacant apartments and foreclosures than anything else. Maybe that’s my niche. Problem is the foreclosure rate is slowing down too. To me, it looks like the economy is flat lining. That’s the worst for me. If it is going up, people spend money. If it is going down, foreclosures need cleaning. If the economy is doing nothing, neither am I. That’s where I am at now.
I could take this part time job as a sure thing. I could limp along with my business until it picks up or I find a better job. I don’t know if things will get better. Like I said, I’d actually do better if things got worse.
Categorized | Affiliate Marketing 101
Would You Continue This Business Or Give Up?
Posted on December 30, 2012.
It’s up to you. Honestly, I don’t see you making too much money doing this, because it’s a business that ANYONE with a few bucks can get into. There are so many people doing the cleaning business thing that it’s not even funny.
YOU have to get good at sales, not just putting ads in the newspaper. You have to actively pursue new contracts by calling office buildings, calling landlords, calling management companies, etc.
Anyway, it’s up to you. Do you think you can make more money this year with a job or doing this?
P.S. Next time you write a long question, you should use paragraphs and separate them with a space. I almost skipped your question because it was too hard to read.
Should you take the part time job? Up to you. But from reading this, you are in a very deep hole. Hopefully, you have not used any of the loan money you were approved for, because you don’t have the income (even at $12.50 an hour) to pay it back…you’re running a business, $175 a month would be great if you were meeting expenses in other areas of your business to cover it.
As another commenter stated – anyone with $200 can do what you’re doing without going into debt to do so. As for advertising..you’re in a “belly to belly” sales business, not online marketing. Drop the newspaper ads until you have built a base of customers that makes it worth the expense.
Have you spoken with commercial business owners, property management companies or anyone else listed in the Chamber of Commerce directory about their needs? You can’t control the local economy or unemployment rate, focus on what you can control, like your business.
My first step would be to drop the newspaper ads and start looking into where the best customers for what I’m selling are – the local chamber and business journal. With newspapers either going out of business or moving into the online noise, placing ads in them is a waste of money except for all but the largest multinationals.
As for the loan approval, leave it untouched. It’s there if you need it, and right now you do not. You stated “I’d actually do better if things got worse” – is that the foundation for building your business? If so, you’re already in more trouble than you think. The economy works in cycles, just like fashion changes – ups and downs, good times and bad.
What you’ve basically told us is this: If the economy picks up, I’m not going to have a business. I’d be interested in what kind of advice your accountant or bookkeeper gave you.
Anyway, your best bet may be to take the part-time job until a better job comes along.