Business Overview:

If you’re looking to start a business selling products that will always be in high demand, you should learn how to start a vacuum cleaner business. Anyone with carpeting must have a vacuum cleaner so starting a business that sells and services vacuums is one of the best business ideas available, especially if you’re able to purchase a franchise. A franchise will come with name recognition, marketing assistance and most importantly, an inventory of vacuum cleaners to sell or a deep discount so you can resell the vacuums at a high profit margin. There are a couple different options for selling vacuums, however, so you’ll need to closely examine your situation and determine what will work best with your business model. You can choose to open a storefront business and stock multiple models of vacuums as well as accessories. Offer extended warranties and repairs and you’ll add value to your business. Another option for your vacuum business is to sell door-to-door. In this case, you’d only need one vacuum (per salesperson) and you would order additional vacuums once they’ve been ordered by your customers. This is a more labor-intensive option but you can easily operate this type of business part-time. You can also hire salespersons to do the footwork for you so you can concentrate on marketing your business. Make your vacuums available through advertising as well. Create a website so potential customers can see all the models you carry as well as other important information such as pricing and warranty information. Contact professional cleaning and organizing businesses to see if you can supply their future vacuum needs. You’ll find that supplying high quality vacuum cleaners to satisfied customers is an extremely rewarding business.

A Day in the Life of a Vacuum Cleaner Business Owner:

If you operate a storefront, your day will begin by arriving at your store early and making sure your inventory is properly displayed. You will spend your day helping customers find a vacuum to meet their needs. You will also handle repairs (you could outsource repairs or send the items back to the manufacturer for repair). If you operate a door-to-door business, you or your staff of salespersons will canvas a particular area, showing homeowners the value and benefits your products offer. You will also spend some time marketing your business locally and online.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals or businesses who need high quality vacuum cleaners.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Marketing plan
• Franchise (optional)
• Inventory of vacuums or relationship with distributor
• Knowledge of vacuum products
• Website (optional)
• Staff (optional)
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• The demand for vacuum cleaners will always be high.
• You can operate this business from a storefront or door-to-door.
• This business can be part-time (if you don’t have a storefront).
• Franchises are available to help you get started.
• You can charge top dollar for excellent vacuum cleaners.

The Bad:

• The start-up investment can be high.
• It might take some time to make your first few sales.

Resources:

• Vacuum and Sewing Dealers Trade Association
• Association of Vacuum Equipment Manufacturers
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors and Related Workers
• Wikipedia on Vacuum Cleaners

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Business Overview:

If you’re looking for a great part-time business that you can start with very little start-up capital, consider learning how to start a furniture cleaning business. If you don’t have any experience with upholstery cleaning, it’s simple to learn by reading how-to websites and books. Start out by cleaning your own furniture and that of family and friends to get some practice. You’ll need materials like brushes, sponges, upholstery shampoo, buckets, vacuums, etc. If you already run a furniture business such as a retail store or a restoration business, adding upholstery cleaning to your list of services will add value to your business and attract a wider range of clientele. Be sure to market your new business by distributing flyers around town in places like grocery stores, dry cleaners and community centers. Everyone has furniture and from time to time it needs to be cleaned. Homeowners will gladly pay a professional to handle this task for them. Furniture cleaning is one of the best part-time business ideas available because it doesn’t require very much start-up capital. You only need to invest in some equipment, supplies and marketing materials. Once the word spreads of your quality services, you’ll get plenty of referral business. You may find demand grows to the point of expanding your business to full-time and hiring additional staff to help you with the cleaning.

A Day in the Life of a Furniture Cleaning Business Owner:

Your day will begin by checking your appointments. You (or your staff) will travel to your customers’ homes and perform upholstery cleaning services. You will spend some time marketing your business by placing flyers around town.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will typically be homeowners needing furniture cleaned, although you may also serve second-hand stores, apartment managers and business managers.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Marketing materials
• Insurance
• Cleaning crew (optional)
• Vehicle
• Cleaning supplies and equipment
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• Furniture cleaning services will always be in high demand.
• The start-up investment is low.
• You can easily run this business part-time.
• You can hire a crew to handle the cleaning for you.
• As demand grows, you can transition to a full-time business and add personnel.

The Bad:

• The work can be labor intensive.
• It can take some time to build your client base.

Resources:

• Professional Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners Association
• Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration
• Wikipedia on Upholstery

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Business Overview:

If you’re looking for a high-demand business that has the potential to make great profits, consider learning how to start a home inventory business. A home inventory is an account of every asset in a person’s home that has positive value. With a home inventory business you create and maintain an account of homeowners’ assets in exchange for a fee by listing the value and specific details about each item they own. Maintaining a home inventory is an important practice, as it allows homeowners to pinpoint every item they own in the case of loss due to theft or disaster. This helps to streamline the process of claiming insurance for destroyed, damaged or stolen items. Therefore, you’ll be providing a valuable service that will give your clients increased peace of mind and an added sense of reassurance that they’ll be able to recoup the true value of any losses incurred in the case of an accident or disaster in their home. Home inventory is a service that is always in high demand, and as such this is a business idea that can really lead to great profits. The reason for such high demand is that while the value of maintaining a home inventory is widely recognized, many people find that they do not have the time to continually maintain and update their records. Therefore, if you can provide a quality service and market your home inventory business effectively, you will be likely to attract many clients and generate great profits. While this business offers a high profit making potential it’s not an especially difficult business to get started. You can open a home inventory business relatively quickly and at a fairly low cost. The ability to appraise items and determine their true value is a skill that you will certainly need as it is essential when producing home inventories, but if you aren’t currently trained you can easily take local or online courses. Alternatively, if you have more start-up funds available, you could hire experienced staff to produce your inventories for you, freeing your time up to focus exclusively on the marketing of your business. Another attractive advantage to this business is that you can easily start and run this business from the comfort of your own home. While technically it is not essential, you should get a license when starting up. Not every state or country requires licensing for home inventory businesses, but insurance companies only accept appraisals from home inventory firms that are licensed. Therefore, in order to provide an attractive, quality service to your clients it is definitely recommended that you obtain licensing when setting up your home inventory company.

A Day in the Life of a Home Inventory Business Owner:

The bulk of a typical day as a home inventory business owner will be spent visiting clients’ homes and doing appraisals for them. Having reviewed your diary to check which clients you are booked in to see for the day, you will travel to your clients’ homes and create inventories. A standard home inventory form is separated by room categories, and you will follow this system for each client you see and note and appraise each specific item of positive value in each room in your client’s house—and put them into the appropriate categories on your form. Household items like couches, televisions and microwaves, as well as more unique and valuable items such as antiques and jewelry, will all be recorded as part of your full inventory. On completion of your work, you will provide your client with a copy of their home inventory (in digital format as well as a hardcopy) and keep a backup record of your own which you will update periodically for your client as they purchase new assets. If you decide to hire staff to complete your clients’ inventories for you, then a typical day will instead be focused on marketing your business to attract new clients and further increase your profits.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be homeowners who want an account of all the assets in their homes that have a positive value, for the purpose of ensuring that they are able to recoup the true value of any losses incurred in the case of an accident or disaster in their home.

What You Need to Start:

• Training in appraising items and creating home inventories (alternatively, you could hire trained staff to do the appraisals for you)
• Licensing for your home inventory businesses (though this is not always required in every state or country, it is highly recommended)
• Marketing (website, paper ads, radio, etc.)
• Financial tracking software
• Inventory sheets or software

The Good:

• Home inventory services will always be in high demand.
• Due to high demand, you can potentially make great profits with this business.
• You can start at a relatively low cost.
• If you aren’t currently trained in appraising items and creating home inventories, you can quickly get qualified by taking local or online courses (or you could hire staff to do your home inventories for you).
• You can start and run this business from the comfort of your own home office.

The Bad:

• Due to the high demand for home inventory services, this business can be competitive.
• It may be a while before you to start to see good profits, as establishing your home inventory business and building up a solid client base can take some time.

Resources:

• National Association of Home Inventory Professionals
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners and Investigators
• Wikipedia on Inventory

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Business Overview:

If you are a customer service pro who’s interested in providing a luxury service that customers will pay top dollar for, consider starting a laundry service. In the days before washing machines were in every home, laundry services were not only popular, they were essential for housewives who could not travel to the local laundromat to do the family’s wash. These days, even with washing machines in our homes or in the apartment building basement, plenty of people will pay a service to handle all their laundry needs. This includes picking up the dirty laundry, washing, drying, folding and delivering clean laundry to customers. A service that does this with efficiency and care can be one of the best service business ideas out there. Your business can operate as a single vehicle business similar to a personal concierge business in which you, the business owner, handle all aspects of the service from pickup to delivery, or you can hire a team of people to do the work for you. Depending on the number of clients you have, you may be able to handle the work at home with your standard washing machine and drier. However, if you want a large scale business, you’ll want your staff to take your clients’ items to a laundromat. If you offer services for dry clean only items, you can simply drop them off at your local dry cleaner. Consider forming a partnership with a dry cleaning business to get faster service and better rates in exchange for bringing all your dry cleaning business to them. Since this is a luxury service, your clients will likely be busy business people so you’ll want to advertise in trade magazines and online. Also put advertising on your vehicle as well as your staff’s vehicles since they will be driving around town daily. Chances are once you get a few clients, word will spread and you will have to increase the size of your laundry service fleet to handle the demand.

A Day in the Life of a Laundry Service Business Owner:

Your day will begin with a check of your appointments for the day. You or your staff will pick up laundry from customers at the appropriate times and places then get busy washing, drying, folding and bundling them for delivery. You will take calls throughout the day from current and new customers, discuss your services and set up appointment times.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals looking for a high quality laundry services to take care of all their laundry needs.

What You Need to Start:

• Laundry service business plan
• Marketing plan and materials
• Excellent customer service and organization skills
• Vehicle(s)
• Staff (optional)
• Website (optional)
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• The start-up costs for this business are minimal.
• You can easily run this business part-time.
• You can start this business out of your home with your own washing machine.
• This business is easily scalable to include laundromat services and the addition of a staff.
• This is a luxury service that customers will pay top dollar for.

The Bad:

• You must be highly organized to keep everyone’s laundry separated.
• It may take time to build your client list.

Resources:

• National Cleaners Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Drycleaning and Laundry Services
• Wikipedia on Laundry

Technorati Tags: laundry service business plan, starting a laundry service

Business Overview:

If you want to start a business that offers a valuable service while earning you a nice secondary income, learn how to start a headstone cleaning business. You may have never thought that cleaning headstones could be a business but it can actually be quite profitable. People take great pride in their loved ones’ final resting places, often sweeping and placing flowers at the grave site. With time, however, the headstones become so tarnished and covered with years of dirt that they’re difficult to read. Not only is this frustrating for the immediate family but decades-old headstones are vital in people’s research into their genealogy. It only takes a small amount of startup capital to purchase the cleaning materials you need to help make sure these headstones are in good condition and will last for many years to come. If you happen to own or work for a cleaning business already, you likely have all the supplies you need to get started cleaning headstones. There are a few ways to properly identify the type of material used to make the headstone, and therefore how to properly clean it. Once you know how to correctly identify and clean various materials, you can start marketing your business. What you’ll want to do first is canvas your area and locate all the cemeteries. It may be helpful to have a large map with each cemetery marked. There is a bit of legwork involved with this business but it is worth it, especially if you only choose to work during certain times of the year. When you visit a cemetery, look for a headstone that needs cleaning and clean it. Then when you run into people in the cemetery on subsequent visits, you can kindly explain your business and direct them to an example of your work. Be sure to have business cards handy to give out. It would be helpful to have a website that shows more examples of your work (before and after photos) as well as a price list. You can choose to work year-round but you will find that this is one of the best business ideas to work on during the warm weather months. You will make plenty of profit just working a few months a year; it’s definitely a business you can operate part-time. Marketing can be tricky as you will need to be sensitive to the feelings of those mourning the death of loved ones. You will find that word of mouth advertising will get you the most clients and you may soon need to hire a staff to help you keep up with the demand for your cleaning services.

A Day in the Life of a Headstone Cleaning Business Owner:

Your day will begin by checking to see if you have any cleaning appointments that day. You will make your way to the cemetery and clean headstones for your clients. If anyone is visiting the cemetery, you will appropriately tell them about your business and give them a business card. You will ask them to let their friends know about your business. If you have a staff working for you, you will coordinate cleaning jobs with them. You will spend some time updating your website, adding new photos of recently cleaned headstones. At the end of your day you will record the day’s income and send invoices to any clients who requested them.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals interested in keeping headstones of loved ones clean and preserved.

What You Need to Start:

• Basic knowledge of how to clean headstones
• Cleaning supplies
• Business cards
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• There is a growing demand for this type of business.
• The startup investment is minimal.
• You can earn a sizeable secondary income only working a few weeks a year.
• You can easily run this business part-time.
• Advertising costs are minimal due to the importance of word of mouth advertising.

The Bad:

• The work can be labor intensive.
• It takes great tact to properly approach people to discuss their loved ones’ headstones.

Resources:

• International Association of Cemetery Preservationists
• Wikipedia on Headstones

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Business Overview:

If you’d like to own an evergreen, lucrative business, consider opening a janitorial supply business. Billions of dollars are spent every year by companies, government agencies, organizations, educational institutions, and associations on janitorial and sanitation supplies such as cleaners, paper products, disposal bags, and janitorial equipment. Starting your own janitorial supply business is a great way to secure a slice of this very large and financially lucrative pie, and the great thing about this business idea is that it’s relatively easy to do. You won’t be manufacturing or delivering the cleaning supplies and products yourself; you’ll be wholesaling or drop shipping them to your clients. With this business you essentially act as the middleman—companies and organizations need cleaning supplies, and you’ll help provide them with what they need by ordering and delivering the supplies, which your manufacturer(s) will deliver for you. Therefore, you don’t need to invest very much at all to start up this business as you don’t need any inventory or storage space, nor do you need to worry about shipping and delivery. As such, this is a business which you could quite easily start and run from home, and run on either a part-time or a full-time basis. You could even set up a web site and run and market this online business idea from your home office. No special qualifications or experience are required to make a success of this business. The main thing you’ll need is the motivation and desire to proactively build a large client base of repeat customers. When you do that, you’ll have a profitable and convenient business that will run very nicely without a great deal of effort.

A Day in the Life of a Janitorial Supply Business Owner:

As a janitorial supply business owner, you’ll have the freedom to choose your hours of work. With that said however, you’ll likely choose to operate within normal business trading hours (roughly between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) as the majority of your time will be spent calling potential clients with the goal of increasing your client base. You will also spend time throughout the day setting up deliveries of supplies to new clients, and ensuring that existing clients are receiving their deliveries. You can of course hire people to promote your janitorial business and manage the ordering and delivering of supplies for you. In that case, a typical day would consist of ensuring the smooth running of your business and tracking your finances.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be companies, government agencies, organizations, educational institutions, and associations that require janitorial and sanitation supplies such as cleaners, paper products, disposal bags, and janitorial equipment. Your clients may also be cleaning businesses who offer cleaning services to other companies and organizations.

What You Need to Start:

• A competitive wholesale drop-shipping company and/or wholesaler
• A business license
• A business name
• Marketing (flyers, advertising, etc.)
• Financial-tracking software

The Good:

• You can start this business with a very low investment up front.
• You don’t need an inventory as you can drop-ship your janitorial supplies to your clients.
• You can easily run this business from the comfort of your own home.
• No special qualifications or experience is required.
• It can be highly lucrative–billions of dollars are spent annually on cleaning supplies.

The Bad:

• This business can be competitive; in order to build a large base of repeat customers you will need to be motivated and proactive.
• It can take some time for you to see big profits, so you will need to be patient as you build up your client base.

Resources:

• International Sanitary Supply Association
• International Janitorial Cleaning Services Association
• U.S. Green Retail Association

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Business Overview:

How’s this for a lucrative business idea: Learn how to start a roof cleaning business and earn yourself a six-figure income in no time flat. The truth is that most people would rather pay for a company to clean their roofs instead of attempting to do it themselves, and if you’ve got a good business plan in place, yours will be the company they rely on for this service. To start a roof cleaning business, you will want to understand the basics of what the service entails: pressure washing or solution cleaning the roof, applying protective solutions, cleaning out the gutters, and observing and noting any damage or potential issues for the customer’s benefit. Since most people either can’t or won’t get up on their rooftops, you can provide your customers with notes or even pictures of the state of their roof, as it is a major aspect of the maintenance and safety of their home. You can even establish service contracts with your customers so that you’re the one they call when they need cleaning or basic maintenance. To get your business going, you will also need a reliable vehicle that can transport your roof cleaning equipment—ladders, power washer, cleaning agents, etc.—and one that has a GPS system so that you get to your appointments at the scheduled time. If you’re working by yourself you will probably only get to clean one or two roofs per day, but if you hire others to work for you, this number can be greatly increased. In addition, some people may just want their gutters cleaned, which is a job you can do quickly and charge premium dollar for. You might also provide your service on weekends only, and keep your business as a part-time scenario, at least until you have a waiting list of customers. Speaking of customers, the best way to get them is with a combination of local advertising (think newspapers, Pennysavers, and a decal on your work truck) and competitive pricing. Add stellar customer service to this package, and you’re sure to have people in line and ready to pay you to get up on their roofs.

A Day in the Life of a Roof Cleaning Business Owner:

Since you’ll likely only get to a few roofs per day until you hire more people to work for you, you will want to set an appointment time and stick to it. Of course the weather will play a role in your appointment setting and in your ability to start or complete a job, so you will want to always have your ear to the ground when it comes to the forecast. You will start your day with a quick call to your customer to confirm your appointment, and then with a review of your supplies to make sure you’ll have everything you’ll need in your work van. Having the work bill or contract ready to sign will make your life easier and is one less thing you’ll have to worry about on site. If you work alone, you’ll want to ensure you have a cell phone or some means of communication on the roof with you to ensure your safety, and if you have employees you will want to make sure they are practicing safe work techniques. At the end of the day, you will want to review your profits, order any supplies you will need, and scan your finances.

About Your Customers:

Anyone who owns a home or business and who knows the value of cleaning and maintenance in the longevity of their roofs will consider using a service like yours. Your customers might not be physically able to climb on their own roofs, or might opt to “leave it to the professionals.”

What You Need to Start:

• Business license, permit, and insurance
• An understanding of how to clean roofs and gutters properly
• Work vehicle, possibly with GPS device
• Service receipts and contract paperwork
• Roof cleaning equipment
• Employees, if desired
• An advertising plan
• Financial-tracking software

The Good:

• This business can be run as a weekend-only, part-time venture or it can be operated as a full-time business, possibly with employees.
• You can earn a solid revenue, even in a part-time scenario.
• You can decide how involved you want to be in the actual work process, and you might even act solely as a contractor.
• To start a business like this doesn’t require much startup investment, just the equipment and any licensing fees.

The Bad:

• You might have to bid on potential jobs and hope your company is chosen for the work. In this case, it could take some time to establish your business and your work reputation.
• You need to have a basic knowledge of the business, and will likely have to clean a few roofs yourself before you can truly market your services.

Resources:

• American Roof Cleaners Association
• Roof Cleaning Contractors Association
• Roof Cleaning Institute of America

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Business Overview:

If you have experience with dry cleaning and are looking for an excellent business idea, you should consider starting your own dry cleaning business. Knowing the day to day inner workings of a dry cleaning business are key to having a successful store so it’s important to have worked in a dry cleaning environment for a number of years—or to hire someone to manage your business who has that kind of experience. You or the manager you hire should have experience at each level of the business from the pickup and delivery process to alterations and repairs. Having a good idea of how the finances work will also help you when you start looking into how to start a dry cleaning business. You can put your experience to work for you first in your dry cleaning business plan. Here you will outline whether you want to purchase a dry cleaning franchise or start from an empty space. You must also figure out where your financing will come from. Starting a business like this is not an inexpensive venture so you need to have an excellent business plan put together in order to secure the appropriate funding. Next you will need to hire an experienced staff. When you first open, your staff will be busy learning the way you run your business and perhaps working with different equipment than they are used to. You or your manager will need to spend time training your employees at first. Location is also a crucial decision that you will include in your business plan. You don’t want to open your business in an area that is packed with dry cleaners already. Do the legwork necessary to find that perfect spot where no other dry cleaning businesses are located. Doing as much preparation as you can before you open your doors will help to ensure your success. You may even be able to open a few franchise businesses of your own someday.

A Day in the Life of a Dry Cleaning Business Owner:

You will spend the majority of your day dealing with your customers and making sure the daily operations are running smoothly. You will meet regularly with your staff to ensure they are maintaining your high quality standards. You will spend some time marketing your business by placing ads in local magazines and newspapers and leaving business cards at area clothing stores. Finally you will record the day’s receipts and make sure your bottom line is where it should be.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals in need of high quality dry cleaning services.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Marketing plan
• Storefront
• Dry cleaning equipment
• License and permits
• Staff
• Pickup/delivery van (if you choose to offer this service)

The Good:

• If you have experience with the dry cleaning business, opening your own store should be a natural transition.
• Once everything is set up, this business should run very smoothly day to day.
• You get to spend your day working with people.
• You get to be your own boss.
• You can charge more for high quality dry cleaning and alterations services.

The Bad:

• Initially you will need to be in the store every day.
• It can take some time for your business to make a healthy profit.

Resources:

• Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute
• National Cleaners Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Laundry and Dry Cleaning Workers
• Wikipedia on Dry Cleaning

Technorati Tags: dry cleaning business plan, how to start a dry cleaning business, starting a dry cleaning business

Business Overview:

Starting a business can be a scary notion, but if you’re looking for a rock solid enterprise, learn how to start a window cleaning business. Getting a handle on how to start your own window cleaning business might seem daunting, but there’s a pretty straightforward approach to a window cleaning business plan. For one thing, you have to understand how to clean windows efficiently and effectively, and you’ll need a few tools to make this happen. Next, you will want to find customers who need your service (this includes most businesses) and who will accept your bid for the job if there are multiple companies seeking work. Finally, you will want to get a handle on the best pricing points for your work so that starting a window cleaning business turns out to be a successful venture for you. Once you’ve made a name for your business locally, you can take your initial business upward and take on jobs cleaning tall buildings and even skyscrapers. With this business idea, the sky is the limit.

A day in the life of a window cleaning business owner:

If you decide to start a window cleaning business, your day will begin with a scan of all the cleaning jobs you have to complete that day. You will want to ensure your cleaning supplies are stocked and ready to go and that you have accurate directions for each of the jobs you’re scheduled to complete. If you’ve hired employees for your company, you’ll want to make sure they have everything they need to get the job done. As with any business, keeping track of your finances will be part of your daily responsibilities.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be the owners and managers of local businesses that have storefronts and doors which require maintenance. Just like you, these owners have an interest in ensuring their business thrives, and this includes making certain the property looks its best.

What You Need to Start:

• Cleaning supplies and tools
• A pricing plan for your services
• Finance-tracking software
• Insurance

The Good:

• The business is not complicated and can be easily mastered.
• Initial investment cost can be very low—mostly the cost of supplies.
• The business is recession-proof.
• You can grow your business to include as many contracts as you can serve.
• You can charge competitive rates and still make a solid profit.

The Bad:

• It could take some time to get enough businesses to hire you for the job before you see real profits.
• You have to deal with competition to get your jobs.

Resources:

• International Window Cleaning Association
• Association of United Window Cleaners
• Master Window Cleaners of America

Technorati Tags: how to start a window cleaning business, start a window cleaning business, start your own window cleaning business, starting a window cleaning business, window cleaning business plan

Business Overview:

If you enjoy keeping your house or office well organized, you probably would make a great professional organizer and should consider starting an organizing business. Most people have trouble keeping a handle on all the clutter that accumulates in their homes and offices. Without proper systems in place, and the commitment to follow those systems every day, their living and working spaces get buried in paperwork, clothing, toys and a many other things. This is why there is such huge potential in the professional organizer business. It takes a pair of fresh eyes and fresh ideas to bring order out of chaos to those who cannot manage their belongings. Professional organizing is a booming business idea and it’s not just for the busy mom who needs a few more pairs of hands. While many homeowners use the services of a professional organizer, many businesses are waking up to how beneficial this kind of help can be. Small and large businesses are taking advantage of professional organizational services to maximize space restrictions and increase productivity. They know that a short-term investment in the services of a professional organizer can help save them thousands of dollars in the future. Too much time is lost over disorganized business spaces, and good managers are realizing this and looking to bring in professional organizers to help solve this problem.

A day in the life of a professional organizer business owner:

A typical day for a professional organizer business owner will begin with a check of your schedule. You may need to have initial meetings with clients to survey their space and consult with them about their needs. If you have an appointment to do actual organizational work, you will pack up any equipment and supplies you need and head over to the job site. If you have assistants or other organizers working for you, you’ll need to be sure they are aware of any appointments they have and check to be sure they get their work done and that the clients are pleased. You should spend some time marketing your services to attract new customers. Finally, you may take a look at your finances to ensure everything is in order.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will fall into one of two categories: Many homeowners and renters are in need of home organization. Other clients may come from businesses including home business workers, small businesses in offices, and even larger businesses.

What You Need to Start:

• Computer
• Cleaning supplies
• Other organizational supplies will vary, depending on clients’ needs
• Insurance

The Good:

• Demand for professional organizer services is huge.
• Pay can be very high, especially with larger businesses.
• Start up costs are low.
• You can easily do this job part-time and transition to full-time as you are ready.

The Bad:

• If you don’t manage your time wisely, you can easily overextend yourself.
• If you don’t price your services correctly, your profit margins will be low.

Resources:

• National Association of Professional Organizers
• The Board of Certification for Professional Organizers
• Professional Organizers Web Ring
• Wikipedia on Professional Organizers

Technorati Tags: organizing business, professional organizer, professional organizer business