Archive for the ‘Janitorial Cleaning Business’ Category

Steve and Jean Hanson helps owners of small cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through his online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. Read inspirational cleaning success stories at http://www.cleaning-success.com, and sign up for weekly cleaning tips at http://www.thejanitorialstore.com.

Does your cleaning business have a website? Bet you've heard this question before. What's the big deal? Why does a local cleaning service need a website? Isn't that for companies who do business all over the country? Sure, it is, but if you haven't joined the millions of businesses who have a presence in the Internet, then you're missing a huge marketing opportunity. Here are a few reasons your cleaning company needs a website:

1. Websites Offer and Inexpensive Way to Promote Your Cleaning Business – Your website is continuously there promoting your business and possibly generating sales 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
2. More Potential Customers Will Find Your Cleaning Business – Increasing numbers of potential customers are using the Internet to find cleaning service providers.
3. Your Website is a Constant Showcase for Your Business – A website can showcase everything your cleaning business has to offer in one convenient location; from your customers' own home or office!
4. Customers Can Check Out Your Cleaning Company Anonymously – Visitors to your site can spend as much time as they like getting to know you and your company; and no hovering salesman means less pressure for your potential clients.
5. Enhance Your Marketing Efforts; A website can effectively supplement and enhance your company's marketing activities. Be sure to add your website URL to all marketing materials, including your Yellow Pages ad. Check to see how many of your competitors have a website URL listed in their ad; you might be surprised! Potential customers will notice this and will probably visit your site so they can find out more about your business without the added sales pressure (See #4).
6. Answer Customers' Frequently Asked Questions – A lot of your time can be spent answering the same questions over and over again. These are the questions customers want to have answered before they decide to do business with you. Posting these answers on your website is convenient for the customer, and frees up your time as well.
7. Establish Your Brand with Your Own Domain Name – (www.yourcompany.com) establishes strong online brand identity, and also allows you to set up email addresses specific to your own company, which creates a more professional appearance in the eyes of your customers.
8. Greater Consumer Impact – The Internet provides a level playing field for all companies. A well-designed website for a small company can have just the same impact and presence on the web as a multi-national corporation.
9. More Marketplace Exposure – The Internet opens your business up to a wider area of potential customers. Other websites, like Chambers of Commerce sites will link back to your site, thereby giving you more chances of being found by potential customers.
10. Gain an Edge Over the Competition – Your competitors could potentially have a substantial market share and be further along the cutting edge of marketing technology over your company due to their existing presence on the web. Your cleaning company simply cannot afford to be left behind!

So how do you create a website if you have no knowledge of how to build it and have a very limited budget with which to create it? Check out The Janitorial Store's Online Web Builder (coming soon!), which is exclusively for small janitorial and cleaning service companies. So easy to use, you'll have your website up in no time!

This article was created by Steve and Jean Hanson helps owners of small cleaning companies build a more
profitable and successful cleaning business through his online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. Read inspirational cleaning success stories at http://www.cleaning-success.com, and sign up for weeklycleaning tips at http://www.thejanitorialstore.com.

Did you know that the United States Government has contracts with small businesses worth over $1 trillion a year? They are the single largest “customer” for the janitorial industry. Add state and local government contracts to this and you have huge potential to add to your client base. Before you start the application process, you need to understand how getting a government contract works. As with most government decisions, winning a janitorial contract requires going through bureaucracy involving very specific procedures and requirements. Learn the steps in order to get a government contract. You may find that your business is not eligible for government contracts or that you don’t even want to try.

To obtain federal government contracts, you first need to register with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), which is basically a database the government creates that collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data necessary to award contracts to businesses. To do this, you need what is called a DUNS number, which is a unique number assigned to your business to identify you. If you do not have one, you can get one at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. You will also need your Tax Identification Number (TIN), Taxpayer Name, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information, and statistical information about your business. To resister, go to https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx where you can also get answers to specific questions. As you can see, this is already a tedious and meticulous process, but a necessary one.

The next thing to do depends on your specific company makeup. If your company has 51% or more ownership by someone who is “socially or economically disadvantaged” or woman-owned, you need to register as “disadvantaged” or Sec. 8(a) certified. Many government contracts are awarded specifically to those companies who meet these criteria. You can find more information at the Small Business Administration (www.sba.com) on how to register for this status.

Another thing you can do is apply for a government grant. This is not a very common occurrence in this industry, but is not unheard of. For example, if your company hires the mentally-challenged individuals or ex-convicts, there may be some help to be found. Here is a link to an article on our site about grants that you may find helpful.

You can also sign up for PRO-NET, which is basically a listing from which government contracting officers choose vendors to meet their needs. PRO-NET is a free service offered through the SBA website at http://pro-net.sba.gov/ .  It is integrated with the CCR, therefore has access to the information you have already submitted when you registered. Believe it or not, they actually made this easy for you!

Another SBA-sponsored program is called The HUBzone Empowerment Contracting Program. The intent of this program is to provide federal contracting opportunities for businesses located in distressed areas. As long as you meet the specified criteria, this program maintains a list of preferred vendors from which Federal agencies choose their contractors. Again, the SBA website tells you how to obtain this status for qualified applicants. As you can see, the SBA is a valuable resource in your efforts to obtain government contracts.

Now that you have a feel for what is involved in just becoming ELIGIBLE for government contracts, our next article will move on to the specifics on how you actually bid them.

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Steve and Jean Hanson helps owners of small cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through his online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. Read inspirational cleaning success stories at http://www.cleaning-success.com, and sign up for weekly cleaning tips at http://www.thejanitorialstore.com.