See How Easily You Can Turn Cleaning to a Lucrative Business

By Segun Ojo

Cleanliness they say is next to Godliness, that assertion takes me on a journey of a business mogul to barge mind on the term “cleanliness” and how to turn it into a lucrative business.

Cleaning is necessary and something that take place every now and then at every home whereby people tide up their houses and environments for cross ventilations to take place. But because of our daily busy schedules, it becomes a difficult tasks for some  people cleaning up their homes or environments themselves;they do employ the services of a professional or quack cleaners for payment according to service charge per job done.

As to the busy schedules of people,that is where cleaning business forays into the limelight for business oriented people to tap from it as a business opportunity but most of the people don’t pay close attention to it in way they can turn it to a business service in their vicinity. It is a very lucrative business because everybody needs a clean home, clean environments, and clean drainage walkways.

Hence, cleaning business without any iota of doubt, is a very lucrative business whether it operates as residential or commercial premises cleaning. What matter most is the marketing approach given to it from the start,that will go a long way determining the amount of money to be made from the business.

Follow me as i take you round the world of cleanliness and how to see it as a business idea you can start with little or no capital.

For every business to takeoff,the first step that needs to be taken is to have a good blue print that will be a guide on how the business will be run in terms of start up capital ,necessary equipment and  to know the areas of coverage, be it house cleaning, office cleaning, public premises, rug cleaning, drainage cleaning, before  the business gets off proper,it ought to be part of what should be in the contents of the blue print. Having a good business plan is a plus…

With a reference to the recent interview granted by “The Visionary Nigeria” with Ms Uloma Ibeawuchi, the managing partner of Clean Yard Services Limited. She exclusively spoke with KEMI LAWAL .Hear what she said:

How much did it cost to set up your business and how did you source for the capital?
Clean Yard Services Limited started as an enterprise in October 20, 2010. We upgraded to a limited liability company on February 24, 2012. We started our company with just N20,000.

This was spent on the CAC registration and our first operation. Basically, every other thing was obtained by goodwill especially loans, although we paid for them when we started getting businesses. In May 2012, I received a grant from the Federal Government when we participated in the Youth Win Innovation in Nigeria Programme

What is the focus of this business? Just as our name depicts, we provide professional cleaning and hygiene services.

Who are your target clients and how do you reach them?
Our target clientele cuts across all sectors of the economy, including individuals, companies, corporate organisations and associations. With the awareness of the importance of a healthy environment, they need our professional services to attain their desired environments. We employ various marketing strategies, but the most effective is our referral marketing strategy. By providing our clients with the most satisfying services, at moderate and affordable rates, we get a lot of calls as a result of referrals, and they end up becoming our clients.

Does an entrepreneur necessarily have to start big?
No, an entrepreneur does not necessarily have to start big. We started Clean Yard Services Limited with just N20,000.

When did you make your first profit?
We have started making profits and it is very encouraging; but I tell you, it was not easy. We made our first profit about 10 months after we commenced operations. Our first break even was about three months after we started, but the profits didn’t start coming until about six to seven months later. Our first profit was N13,000 and we were excited.

Why did you choose this particular line of business above others?
In the past, I had the opportunity of working in a cleaning company, where I was more or less responsible for generating business deals.

After I resigned from the company, my business partner, who was then a worker in the same company also resigned. While we were both at that company, I was responsible for getting the deals and he was responsible for executing those deals; so why don’t we team up? So I called him up, he bought the idea and that was how we started the company.

In summary,get a good business plan,working capital, needed equipment ,mode of operations, define the marketing approach, promote the business by ways of prospecting for clients and get work done on time with good customers relations.