hello,

I bought my truckmount, taking a CC class thru the IICRC next month. Ive had my own carpet cleaned and i think i can do this.

What licenses do i need in CA. to get started. I know i need a business license. I need a tax ID number. do i need to register with anyone else?? I live in Sacramento. 

Any and all information is greatly appreciated!!  

Welcome to Our Board

Best advise I can give you is to follow these boards for educational knowledge and subscribe as quickly as your can to the two U.S. carpet cleaning magazines.   http://www.cleanfax.com - www.cleanfax.com   and  http://www.icsmag.com - www.icsmag.com

Also one of our members Dennis, also has a cleaning business in California.  I'm sure he could give you some good advise.

roundpadgirl,

thanks for the links. wow this is overwheling. so many people to register with and on top of that getting insurance.

erick

not saying its not easy.  I just want to know what i need to get started. Im trying to get information.  

I need a business license CHECK

I need a federal and state tax ID CHECK

I need insurance WORKING ON IT.

thanks for encouragement Ken!

Have you seen the Sacramento phone book? Everyone is doing it. Before you spend to much money you need to do some research and take some classes.

What rate of return are you expecting to make on your investment?

How are you going to set your pricing structure?

How are you going to find/advertise  business?

 Do you know how to tell the difference between a wool carpet and a nylon. What would you do different when cleaning?

Are you going to clean uph?

You might think about going to work for somone, get some experience and see if this is the type of work for you.

Scott Rogers wrote: Have you seen the Sacramento phone book? Everyone is doing it. Before you spend to much money you need to do some research and take some classes. What rate of return are you expecting to make on your investment? How are you going to set your pricing structure? How are you going to find/advertise  business?  Do you know how to tell the difference between a wool carpet and a nylon. What would you do different when cleaning? Are you going to clean uph? You might think about going to work for somone, get some experience and see if this is the type of work for you

Scott , very good questions. let me answer them,

Ive seen the sacramento phone books. they are a dime a dozen. ive had my own carpets cleaned because i have a small dog. everytime the CC comes over i pay atleast $125 for 4 rooms including my hallway. the tech has usually been a younger guy and since i own my own home i follow him to make sure everything is done good. Im  a pretty bright guy, i think i can do this. i have a degree in radiology science and biology. Im pretty young 29 and im in good shape, otherwords im not afraid of hard work. I work as a traveling Radiology tech and i make a decent living BUT im not happy working for other people. its that simple.

Im not sure what rate of return i can get on my investment. If im paying $125 and it takes them less than 45 min thats pretty damn good for me. i understand theres travel time. i like to work up to atleast 4-7 jobs a day.  

My pricing structure is going to be around what the going rate is here. I will do my research and call a couple of companies and get quotes.

im going to advertise in the yellow pages. got a cousin who works for frontier yellow pages. he'll hook me up with a double page spread and multiple listings like he did for my friend's windshield business. I will also advertise in the local penny saver although people advise me not to. I will go door to door with door fliers. Advertising is not what im scared of, i have resources. 

i dont know the difference between wool or nylon but im hoping to learn that in the IICRC class that my brother and i are registered for next month near santa rosa.

Im not sure what you mean by am i going to clean up? please elaborate, is that a CC term cause im not sure what you mean. but whatver it is im pretty sure i will clean up.

I dont think i want to work for someone else first because i think i can do this on my own. plus i will continue to work as a rad tech until my business works its way up.

Scott thanks for the questions. this is an exciting venture for me and i welcome the challenges. i have a billion ideas and i think i can be succesful. are you also located in sacramento? if you are, i think sacramento is a big enought market to where we can all profit. its sounds like you have been doing this for awhile so any input is greatly appreciated. 

erick 

I don't live in Sac. I used to live in Santa Rosa and worked  sonoma marin contra costa and solono counties for the dreded SS (stanley steemer) I have been in the buisness for 15 years and I installed carpets for 12 years before that

The Sac area is a fairly tough market. A lot of cleaners, some really good and lots who give their work away. You need to choose your market. The thing thats hard to do in that area is if you choose high quality jobs they are tougher to get with no experience and name reconition. And it is hard to make a living competing with the 9.95 a room guys.

This can be a good business but becarfull before you go dump 30-50 grand on a business you don't even know you like yet. It wouldn't hurt for you to do a ride along for a few weeks with a qualified cleaner maybe someone just out of the area you would work in so you don't compete with them. You will learn much more on the truck then any class could teach you.

Carpet is preatty straight forward for cleaing, but you will also want to learn repairs. Repairs can take a long time to master but the money is real god and the overhead is real low.

Will you clean uph.? (Upholstery) almost all carpet cleaners do. This is very lucrative and uses the same equipment you clean carpets with , with the addition of an Uph. tool. This is an area you could get into alot of trouble. Differnt fabrics need to be handled very differntly and you could be replacing pieces if not done correctly.

You say that you hire a guy for 125 to clean 4 rooms in 45 min, (kind of fast if done to standards), what do you think the profit on that job is?

You must factor in purchase cost of equipment divide by life expectancy. Maintanace

chemicals

advertising

office overhead (phones paperwork  etc.)

travel time

down time waiting for jobs to call

estimates that don't pan out.

frankly most cleaner don't know what it cost them to do business

You would like to do 4-7 jobs a day 5 days a week. So would most cleaners but very few owner operators actually do that many jobs a week. I know mny that only do 4-7 all week.

I know it sounds like I'm trying to discourage you, I'm really not. I just want you to know its not as easy as most people think. They see paying someone a couple hundred bucks for a couple hours work, but here is a lot more to it then what you see. Find a couple differnt companies that will allow you to do ride alongs for a few weeks. Many fail because they try to buy themselves a job instead of a business.

A couple of people I would try to contact for ride alongs are

Paul Brown Certified Cleaning and Restoration
5670 Dempsey Place
Santa Rosa, CA 95403  Phone: 707 322-7208

Loren Egland                                                            Delta Steam-Way
3828 Rockford Drive
Antioch, CA 94509
USA
Phone: 925-778-6114

Please don't take my post in a negative manner, I wish to help you start off in this business right if you really think its for you. I wont sugar coat it as I have nothing to sell you! Its not easy but it can be rewarding if you go at it the right way. Over 75% of carpet cleaning companies go out of business within 5 years, and many can never get their companies busy enough to do this full time and continue living in a manner they are acustom to.

Also check out these 2 boards. You will learn a lot from the people on them. 

http://www.i-boards.com/ics/ - http://www.i-boards.com/ics/

http://bbs.ccsop.com/index.php - http://bbs.ccsop.com/index.php

I sent you an e-mail with my contact info. If you wish to talk let me know,

Scott

I know this post is not directed at me......however it is very informative for whom ever is reading and starting new to the business.......I thank you for your helpful insight.

I'm still researching for my business here in Mechanicsville, Virginia. 8 miles outside of Richmond.

The County where I live doesn't require a business license to operate in this state. It's does not even matter what kind of business structure it runs on. The contractors' business that need a license are electricians, plummers, steamfitter, auto graveyards and get this Fortune Tellers. LOL.

I just have to register with the county and supply info on equipment value. So they hit me up for personal property. Roughly $3.64 for every $100 assesed value with a 10% depreciation every year there after.