Commercial Cleaning Company outsourcing operational functions
Jacques has outsourced a lot of his operation in such a way that he can work from home and only have to go to the office on the odd occasion.
We analyse how Jacques created this successful business with operations in London and Texas.
The journey as a business owner.
Jacques always wanted to do his own thing but started out following the traditional industrial mindset of studying and getting a job.
The life altering event happened when his dad died and he decided to resign to follow his dream of being an entrepreneur. He had an exit strategy in terms of a 12 month retainer consulting for the company he worked for.
Networking with like minded people allowed him to start his cleaning business even though he was on a mission to build something revolutionary like the new iPad…
The biggest challenge in starting the business and how was it handled?
He did not have a customer and customers are looking for reference. Trying to get the first customer to take a chance on you was the biggest challenge. A professional website and determination to succeed transpired with a client meeting and he got his first opportunity which he just kept building upon.
How does the company work?
Value Proposition
Cleaning without using any chemicals, saving you money and reducing your carbon footprint.
Customer Segmentation
Decided to go into 3 distinct segments schools, restaurants and office blocks. The key is that they created 3 different sales packs for each segment that promotes the services in a unique way for each segment.
Customer Relationship
How quickly you can respond to a problem and being proactive will keep the customer satisfied. Employing supervisors that do quality control and interface with customers.
Marketing Channels
Direct marketing with cold calling is the traditional way for all cleaning companies. Jacques changed the process a bit around by buying office moving leads which made the cold call a much more relevant conversation.
Internet research to find new restaurants opening and even using Twitter to tweet new restaurants while they do not have a telephone number yet.
Revenue Streams
Income streams includes the following:
- Residual income from monthly service to customers
- Once off cleaning jobs for restaurants
Cost Structure
Cleaning staff
Telemarketing
Internet research – outsourced to india
Key Resources
Site supervisors is a crucial role taking care of the cleaning team at the site and the Operations manager that does a site visit every month.
Key Activities
Jacques is focusing his energy on sales and marketing with an emphasis on social media marketing. He is constantly looking at improving processes in order for his staff to be effective at their job.
Reset Scenario: Starting all over with the current knowledge, what business would you start?
He already started another business within a specific niche that relates to his love of learning and his focus will be on growing this online business.
Last words
Read as much as you can because that is where ideas are generated and the way how you can combine existing ideas to create something new.
Before you quit your job you have to have an exit strategy in place.
Pay close attention to other suppliers in your supply chain that can become partners and help you grow your business.
