Start up cleaning business

[jade_young]

I live in a small rural community where there are no established cleaning companies. I have an empty building structure on my property so I could use that as a office and supply area. I need help with the operations though. Would I leave the supplies in the care of the client until the cleaner got there? Have them provide their own supplies? Because most of my workers would take public transport to get there, traveling with supplies would be cumbersome. I have my own personal car but I can't imagine that it would be economically feasible to chauffeur employees around to work with the supplies in tow. Help! Please!

[Owen]

I live in a small rural community where there are no established cleaning companies. I have an empty building structure on my property so I could use that as a office and supply area. I need help with the operations though. Would I leave the supplies in the care of the client until the cleaner got there? Have them provide their own supplies? Because most of my workers would take public transport to get there, traveling with supplies would be cumbersome. I have my own personal car but I can't imagine that it would be economically feasible to chauffeur employees around to work with the supplies in tow. Help! Please!

Having a company vehicle is a lot more expensive than you may think it is. You need multiple types of insurance on it and you'll need a commercial vehicle license. However, it's a great way to advertise your business. You can lease a van or even get one for a couple grand off of Craigslist. Go to your local Staples or go on Vistaprint and get vehicle decals printed. Once all the insurance, registration, etc. is good to go, have the employees driving get commercial licenses.

However, if that's too expensive, it would be safest to use your own personal car until you can afford a van. I can't imagine your employees will even want to use public transit for their job, let alone bring equipment on public transit. I would really look into getting a commercial vehicle. I'm not sure what state you live in, so I can't really help you find one. I personally looked and found a 2007 for $6k. Not sure if it's any good, though :)

[Harold Mansfield]

Most of the bars I've worked at had cleaning crews that came every night. Maybe 3 or 4 people. They all came in one van. Not sure it if was an "official" company van or they were just car pooling. One of the 3 or 4 was always the supervisor and the driver, who also cleaned.

Doesn't seem that complicated to have a van that your employees can drive. Yes, insurance, but I don't see where you need a commercial license to drive a passenger van. Out here the starting point for commercial licenses is over 14 passengers. I think that's actually federal . So don't buy a van that seats more than 14.

[Fulcrum]

Commercial licensing is a combination of number of passengers and the weight of vehicle and/or trailer combination.

Commercial insurance, on the other hand, is something else and if you're on the road a lot, with other people driving the vehicle, I would highly recommend getting it.