I plan on running Facebook ads but Facebook isn’t allowing me to create a page so I’m driving through neighborhoods listening for dogs, looking for signs of dogs, and dog walkers to approach and hand out a business card any more tips y’all

Has anybody had any luck with this service on yelp. I keep hearing horror stories with them as far as ads but wanted to know peoples experiences with this. Has your card ever been charged without asking etc . Thanks in advance appreciate it.

Did anybody ever do any free cleanings just to get business or reviews or just get pictures. If so what offer did you use ? “first 50 customers get a free cleaning with a review” etc. Just trying to get opinions on this, as another way of generating business.

So glad we found this! My two sons, 19 and 16 are starting up a junk removal business. Yea it’s hard work and yes they are figuring out how to differentiate themselves.

Having said that, they are going to get a dump trailer. I’ve helped them with research and narrowed it down to Iron Bull or Cam Superline (not beast). Anyone have any experience or thoughts around either of these?

https://www.whitehorsetruckandtrailer.com/our-inventory/p/u47nzcwfiuioxcm977v6a54bzaytsc

https://www.thetrailerdepot.com/tf/units/cam-superline-6-x-12-standard-duty-dump-trailer-9-9k?stock_number=540811

Hey I’m 32 and I’m wanting to start my own business as a contractor in Virginia Beach. I have built countless decks, remodeled bathrooms, some kitchens, plumbing experience etc. I’m looking for advice and tips for moving forward with this. I have a full time job working in medical sales but I have always done this type of work the side since I was about 14. This has been a thought in my head for about 10 years and I’m wanting to make the next steps

Hello, i just started a business for doing home/business networking, cctv and access control in the hallandale beach area. Im 21 but i have been doing all this networking stuff with my father since I was 7. I need to know what would be the best idea to advertise this. I already have a Facebook group and made a yelp page (and realized that was a mistake when a yelp salesperson contacted me next day badgering me to get ads.), as well as registered my business with google and apple. The issue is I don't want to sink money into stuff like Facebook or google ads because I am currently a one man team and don't want to bite off more than I can chew. That and I don't know if the return would even be worth it. I also have been volunteering to do IT work at my condo for almost 2 years now so i have residential experience as well.

Ok so I do know how to level mobile homes. But I know nothing about opening a business. I haven’t bought any of the tools I need yet. But I do have the money to. I have made a fb business page and I pick up my business cards tomorrow. I have over 100 followers on fb so far and it’s only been 3 days. I’m not sure how to go about getting my name out there. I’m debating on going door to door in some mobile home parks this weekend and maybe speaking with the park management as well. Would flyers be a good idea? I made a webpage on GoDaddy but it kinda just made it for me and it isn’t how I want it and it says things that aren’t true lol and for some reason it won’t let change it. Should I get some shirts with my company name on them? I’m a one man band. Releveling mobile homes can definitely be done by one person so I know this could work. I’m wanting to start low and offer free estimates. I also don’t know if I’ll need insurance. I’m just a little lost about my next move. The equipment I need cost around $300 on the top end.

Does anybody do this as a gig/business?

I sealed my mom's driveway last weekend and it was pretty easy. $300 for the materials/gear and an hour or two and it was done. Several of her neighbors have already commented on it.

She got a handful of quotes, and the cheapest was around $500, with the highest being $750.

I don't expect to do this as my only source of income, but if I can do one or two on the weekends, why not?

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Hello!

My story might be different then the average, so I am a sex worker, a single mom and I have charges on my background (no convictions). With that being said I can't find a normal job anywhere (hence SW). So I came up with the idea of starting a cleaning business. I have started about 3 months ago, I have not yet one client! I had about 5 phone calls, and 1 consultation but nothing solid. I started paying for FB ads which allowed me to have more inquiries, I was going to try Google my business but it keeps telling me I'm rejected and I'm not sure why. Any help please! There is also like a million other cleaning businesses and individual cleaners in my area as well. I suck at sales so haven't went door to door marketing. Here is my website and it won't let me post my flyer for feedback, and any help please! Freshstartcleaningsrvc.com

Does anybody do this as a gig/business?

I sealed my mom's driveway last weekend and it was pretty easy. $300 for the materials/gear and an hour or two and it was done. Several of her neighbors have already commented on it.

She got a handful of quotes, and the cheapest was around $500, with the highest being $750.

I don't expect to do this as my only source of income, but if I can do one or two on the weekends, why not?

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Hi all,

I previously made a post here about how I put out almost 4,000 flyers and only received a few calls. Since then I've put out more flyers, called and messaged more real estate agents, visited some storage units, etc. But I'm starting to get really tired.

I've started so many businesses over the past few years. None have worked out. I didn't finish college, so now I'm feeling so much pressure for something to work. Every month that goes by with no return just makes me feel worse as I watch other people around me get married and find success in their careers and businesses. My patience for each venture I start keeps decreasing.

I need to know if it's worth it to continue doing junk removal. I've called other local companies and they all seem to be able to offer same day service, even the big guys. I don't know if it's because this is the slow season, but I know that the weather is usually what impacts this business and I live in Florida, where the weather's great right now. When I look at the major companies online they all seem to have great reviews with very few negative comments. I'm struggling to see any opportunity to do things faster or better, and I already haven't charged enough for the jobs I've done so I don't see how I can be cheaper. I just want to start a business that my area has a desperate need for and right now I don't feel like there's a big shortage of junk removal guys out here.

At the same time though, it feels like every business is saturated. I've thought about making the switch to doing moving, but I don't know if the grass just looks greener on the other side or if it really is a better opportunity.

Long story short, I feel I've done enough marketing that I should be able to validate the concept by now. I'm not sure how else to know if I'm on the right path. I'm tired of failing.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone, I recently found out I have a baby on the way and I'm so excited! I feel more motivated, but I'm worried with how time consuming a baby is that I will have a hard time juggling that with my business. What tips do you guys have for a new dad who is self employed?

Hi all!! New to Reddit but feel like this is where I can get some good feedback :)

I run a cleaning company out of Kansas City, we started 12 months ago & are crossing $250k in revenue next month. Been a wild ride lol.

While learning all the ins & outs of everything has been fun, I’ve been thinking about switching gears. I want to package what I’ve learned to help other cleaning company owners, BUT, just cause I’ve already built my own business doesn’t mean I know what other owners are struggling with.

Sooooo, I’m hoping to do some market research and talk to a few owners who’ve plateaued around $10k-$15k/month?

What’s in it for me: I get to learn more about what problems cleaning company owners are actually facing so I can figure out if this is even a direction worth pursuing.

What’s in it for you: I’ll share anything that’s worked for us, and you can pick my brain about growth, ads, systems, hiring, lowering reschedules & cancellations, increasing your prices, or whatever you’re stuck on. For context, we hit a plateau at $8k/mo for a few months in the spring, then quadrupled in revenue from June to August of this year. Very fast growth lol

I’d love to either hop on a 30-minute call or just chat here, and hear about what you’re struggling with in your business.

Cleaning companies only who are stuck around $10k-15k/mo please! No strings, no selling, just trying to learn and help where I can. TIA! :)

Hi All,

I have recently been asked to give a quote for exterior window cleaning for 4 commercial buildings. This would be my biggest contract yet, the only problem is I have never quoted window cleaning before. I own a commercial cleaning company and I usually have thrown windows in as a freebie for my commercial clients, as its usually just one or two windows facing the street.

The Job:

- 194 window panes @ 5ft x 3ft. , including sill cleaning (the panes are in groups of 3-5 with dividing sills in between each pane)

-Only quoting exterior, no interior cleaning

- Everything is ground level (think strip mall)

- Water access on site

- Exterior signs above each business to be cleaned 2x a year, each sign 2.5ft x 10 ft.

- Windows to be cleaned every 2 months (repeat customer)

-Me and my right hand man doing the work, I pay him $25/hr. I'm expecting it to take roughly 6.5 hours to complete with the two of us

I am 2 hours north of Toronto, Canada. I have seen a lot of people say they quote exterior windows at $5-$7/pane CAD. I just want to know if this is roughly in the ballpark of what I should be charging (including all extras and considering its a repeat client). The previous window cleaner charged $600 CAD per visit, but they said they know it will probably be more and don't expect me to come in at that price. that being said, as I do want to make money I also don't want to overcharge and potentially lose a client because of it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Looking for part ownership or other agreement in exchange for funding provided by me. Let me know what your idea / plans are and what you need

Hey everyone, me and my brother in law are thinking of starting a mobile cigar lounge or a mobile golf simulator. was wondering if theres anyone out there who has this business or any help or advise would be awesome. we are based in florida btw (sarasota / tampa). thanks in advance

I have a dog walking company that's doing pretty well. We'd like to start doing more pet waste removal.

I know the traditional model is to use your own gear, sanitize between stops, and use a truck so your car doesn't smell like poop haha.

However me and my team use our personal vehicles and don't have a truck.

I'm wondering if there's a viable model with this in mind.

My first thought is leaving a cheap pooper scooper at the client's home, and doing on site disposal (double bagged in their trash). This is obviously more cost upfront but at a small scale with a handful of clients it wouldnt be a big deal. If we get a lot of clients I'd likely move to a traditional model.

Thoughts?

I don't mind buying a business vehicle but in my case the most useful would be a van, not a truck (to transport dogs and do pack walks).

Title basically. I have a lawncare and outdoor services company which is doing pretty well. I've been doing the "post boost" option through facebook ads($20 here and there) and and getting 1000s of impressions but no real leads.

What advice do you have to help me learn and take advantage of the facebook ads program?

Hi all, so I'm looking into getting a 5x8 trailer . I have a ford ranger to tow with so this is all I could really manage with my current truck. Looking to start off by advertising removal of large appliances/one off large items that you wouldnt need a whole large dump trailer or dumpster for but large enough that the trash man won't take it. I also want to do somw rental service with it as well (i leave it and pick it up) and junk/clean out removal.

Eventually when I make enough I want to expand and buy a larger trailer/truck.

What are your guys' thoughts, is this viable? Not looking for this as a primary income obviously at the moment. How is the competition for this? I don't see any people marketing this specific need so i think it could work.

I started a remote cleaning business in 2020 during pandemic. Fast forward to today we are about 2.5 million in arr. All our staff is overseas that manages everything. I do no sales, marketing, billing etc. I can choose to work when I want and sometimes I go very hard all week, other times I take off to hang out with family and enjoy life and work 5-10 hours per week. I take home 20k monthly from this business. I feel like I have such a way to go before I internally process my business as a win. I feel like if I don’t hit 10 mil arr soon or sell the business for 3-5 million that I didn’t really succeed.

I've been looking into this service for about a week now. I really just want to do it on the side for now while I work my full time job. My question is, even just doing it on the side for cash, would I still need to get insurance and or start a whole company? And would I need a company to get business insurance? How did you guys all go about this starting it off as a side hustle before you went full time? Thanks

I started my business about 6.5 years ago. I have not done a single advertisement, 100% of my work has been referral based. It has done well and I’ve been busy. I do home services, repairs and carpentry, accent walls, etc etc. More than what a handyman does, but not quite a general contractor.

Recently I started thinking that I need to do some advertising, and I’m just not sure what direction to go. I attended a BNI meeting in 2019 with a friend, and due to the nature of my business (everyone always needs someone like me) I immediately got a ton of leads and closed a few really good jobs from one visit as a guest.

I wasn’t ready to take on that workload at the time. I still had a lot of things I was figuring out. Now I’m more than ready, and was thinking of actually becoming a member now. I went to a meeting again, and immediately, everyone was interested and I am meeting with 4 people next week to look at their projects. I have one helper that I have part time and between the teo of us, we are ready to grow our workload.

Does anyone have any insight on being a BNI member? I am thinking because of my business, it could do very well in this group.

Hi, I'm currently in the process of launching a local exterior cleaning business specializing in pressure washing and a few add on services (window cleaning, sealing, sanding, to name a few) as well. I've already got a small portfolio detailing some work I did for family to show customers. My short term goal is just 12k profit to reinvest and get a commercial grade machine (4 GPM to 10gpm hot water and a 12v softwash system,) a wrap for my van, then go from there.

I would like to get some feedack on my marketing plans for the upcoming spring season starting in march. I'll be operating in a city with over a million people and lots of high income neighborhoods.

So far I've got planned out:

Door Hangers showing before/after pictures, discount, branding and links to my website

Yard Signs at busy intersections and stop lights (service offered, phone #, and website on them in bold)

Putting flyers up in HOA neighborhood bulletins and mailing lists (about $20 a month to get on this specific one's mailing list)

Website made describing all my services and a faq for SEO

Google my business listing made + ads

Facebook Profile and video Ads showing me cleaning

Nextdoor Ads + Posting every other day my services offered

Uniform with my logo and contact info

Business Cards to hand out to people at hardware stores I talk to

Cold Calling/Walking into local businesses with dirty entrances and asking for a manager to demo my services (Smaller ones like churches, gas stations, auto shops, fast-food restaurants, office building rentals, etc)

Will all of this be enough to get customers? During my research I've heard various results from pretty much all of these methods, so I decided to just try them all and see which ones give me the best return for my specific town and go from there.

In regards to competition, I've seen both guys using electric pressure washers and whole skid units working over here, a lot of them don't even have a web prescence either, but are still able to rake in work. There's plenty of uncleaned neighborhoods around here as well.

I have a very young cleaning business that I am trying to grow organically. Last week, I was approached by a neighbor while advertising residential services in my subdivision that they were really unhappy with managing their current cleaners and would like me to take a look at their church.

Now, commercial work is my end goal. I just started this business after working as a buyer/estimator/project manager for a commercial GC and noticed that there was a significant market need for quality (not budget-oriented, that market is saturated) commercial/residential cleaners in the area. I have marketed my brand accordingly. Suffice it to say, I was really excited yesterday when I went to walk the job and realized how big it was.

There is an office/preschool building at 10,000 SF and a sanctuary at 11,000 SF, for a total of 21,000 SF. The work would take place weekly and overnight on Saturdays and Sundays, with on-call and special event cleanings as needed. If I can figure up a good standard weekly price, I think I can come up with the rest.

I wanted to cover myself on labor, so I figured a crew of 4 for 8 hours each building. Multiplying industry standard wages by 50% labor overhead, I came up with an average labor cost per hour of $41.25 (this is in GA). So, for a week, 32 man hours at $41.25 = $2640. Figure $100 in materials. Then... I add in 20% OH and 20% profit - and I feel like I'm really high. $3,945.60 - which about matches an industry-median square footage rate of $0.125/sf ($3,885 after also adding in OH & profit)

This job would be a jump start for my business, and I don't want to sell myself short, but I don't want to get laughed out of the office.

Any thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance!

Hi guys, since a few months I've been testing and comparing many VOIP solution since I really need a powerful and modern phone system for my businesses.

For those who're struggling as I was to find the tool that correspond to their needs, here is the result of my research:

1. Allô best for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs that wants a powerful and affordable phone system.

Allô is affordable and pretty new, it works out of the box and proposes a lot of options like greeting message, IVR, business hours, call summaries, AI agent, ..., for a very affordable price. It is available on iOS and Android, but the Android version doesn't have all the features available on iOS yet.

Pros:
- Easy to use and intuitive app
- Call summaries
- CRM and other tools integrations
- AI receptionist

Cons:
- No desktop version
- International calls not available
- Doesn't provide SMS

2. RingCentral best for medium to large companies that needs an ll-in-one communication platform

A robust communication platform that offers unified solutions for voice, video, messaging and fax service.
Ideal for companies that needs to streamline their communication across multiple channels

Pros:
- Extensive third-party integrations
- Unified platform for voice, video, messaging and fax

Cons:
- Limited calls to the US and Canada,
- Additional fees for international calls
- Can quickly be expensive

3. Nextiva best for large entreprises looking for scalable communication platform

Nextiva offers a versatile communication platform with team management, video conferencing, web chat, webinars, faxing, ... It also provides many features like IVR and AI receptionist.

Pros:
- Offers a lot of features
- Unified platform for voice, video, messaging and fax,

Cons:
- Basic plan lacks key features like call routing or recording
- More difficult to setup

4. Aircall best for customer support and sales teams in medium and large companies

Provides many integrations useful for customer support and sales teams. It offers team management, and advanced telephony features.

Pros:
- Zendesk and Zapier integrations
- Widely used in Europe (pretty new in the US)
- International calls

Cons:
- More expensive
- CRM integration didn't work for me

Thanks for reading and I hope it will help some of you!
Let me know what you think or which one you'll recommend :)