How to open a cleaning business

Why open a cleaning company?

Starting a cleaning business can prove to be an excellent idea for two main reasons: first, because there is no need for particular requirements and, secondly, because there is no need for large amounts of money as an investment. In fact, it is estimated that no more than 5/6 thousand euros are needed to start it (the fixed costs are mainly represented by the purchase of adequate equipment and bureaucratic contributions). A decidedly affordable sum, even for those who are temporarily unemployed, since it is sufficient to request a small loan. Once started, the company can really turn into an extremely profitable business, especially if you have good management skills and do a good job with customers, which is essential for making a good name and thus acquiring new ones over the years. -word. In fact, it should be remembered that cleaning is a job that is always in demand, given that it is a necessity both for private clients, such as working mothers who cannot also take care of the house, and for corporate clients such as hotels, offices, hospitals, schools, restaurants, gyms and other commercial activities.

Have well-defined goals

First of all, when you decide to start a cleaning business, you need to set yourself some minimum objectives. It is precisely on the basis of these objectives, in fact, that we will understand what type of investment to make and above all what to buy, and what tools of the trade will be indispensable for doing a good job. If you want to keep management costs as low as possible, for example, it is advisable to open a sole proprietorship, whose owner is the same one who actually carries out the work. In this case it may be superfluous to purchase expensive machinery such as those for industrial cleaning, since the focus will be on cleaning for private individuals, which is more affordable for just one person. Conversely, if the cleaning company you have in mind is larger, with one or more employees, the management costs will rise in proportion to the quality and quantity of the services that will be offered to the customer.

What services do you offer the customer?

There are companies that only offer the basic hygiene service and use a few tools, always the same, and those that focus on specializing in more complex services aimed at customers such as hospitals and large companies. Among these services, for example, there are the sanitization of environments – which requires a specific protocol and obviously particular tools and products – but also disinfection and disinfestation, which imply further investments. In this case too, the revenues can be large, but the initial cost of opening the company is higher. Nonetheless, the demand for this type of service (especially sanitisation, which almost all cleaning companies now offer, and disinfection) is continually growing.

What are the necessary requirements?

From a legal point of view, cleaning companies are regulated by the Law of 25 January 1994 n. 82 and by the Ministerial Decree of 7 July 1997 n. 274. First of all, you must register in the "Business Register" or in the provincial register of artisan businesses declaring that you possess specific requirements, namely: – good repute; – economic-financial capacity; – technical-professional ability. The integrity requirements refer to the owner when opening a sole proprietorship, to each of the partners when opening an LLC, to the general partners if opening a SAS and as regards all other types of companies they refer to the directors. Honourability is also given by not having pending criminal proceedings or final criminal sentences for crimes requiring detention for more than two years. Those who have been guilty of crimes against public faith or property are also excluded. To open a cleaning company it is also necessary not to have any business failures under your belt or in progress (unless you have already been rehabilitated under current law), not be subject to safety or prevention measures and not have incurred any committed to work-related crimes for which you have not yet been rehabilitated.

Financial requirements

Obviously the necessary requirements are not only inherent to the criminal record and previous judicial history; the future entrepreneur must also prove that from an economic and financial point of view he is able to bear the expenses arising from the management of the business. He must therefore be registered with INPS and INAIL and must also immediately register his employees and any collaborators. Regarding the financial situation of the owners and members, you must be careful not to have unresolved bills of exchange protests under your belt and it is necessary to enjoy a good relationship with your reference banking institution, which must be available to certify the matter. Reputation in this sense is fundamental, just as the past of the new entrepreneur is fundamental: a non-transparent past entrepreneurial history, as well as the existence of consequences such as protested cheques, unpaid debts or bankruptcies jeopardizes the opening not only of a business cleaning, but also other types of businesses.

Professional requirements

Moving on to the purely professional aspect, inherent to the skills possessed by those who carry out this profession, the law requires that they have fulfilled the minimum scholastic obligations, that they possess a professional training diploma in the field of cleaning and that they have a period of field experience lasting at least two years. In other words, you must have already worked in a cleaning company, as an employee or even as a simple collaborator. Obviously you need to be able to demonstrate all this and self-certify it in the appropriate forms that must be filled out when you register your new company with the provincial Chamber of Commerce.