5 Tips to Find the Best Office Space for a Cleaning Service
Office space for a cleaning business doesn’t have too many requirements. You don’t need huge office space, at best, you need one person acting as a contact and a decent storage space. In front, you need a parking lot for your business vehicle and that’s about it. Still, you may plan to brand the area or expand in the future. This means that, when choosing, you need to be extra careful. With that in mind and without further ado, here are a few things to keep in mind when making your business formation decisions.
1. Look for Recommendations
The first thing you want is to look for the opinions of other business owners. This form of WOM is the best indicator of whether the space has all you need. You see, there’s more to cleaning services than just the result of cleaning.
The team needs to be professional, competent, and respectful. Their work should minimally interfere with the functioning of the workplace of their clients, which means that they may have to be active during odd hours. With a well-organized office of your own, preparing for these quick and unnoticeable interventions will be a lot simpler.
2. The Price
Keep in mind that the pricing is often competitive (for comparable rental spaces) but this is a commitment that you’ll have to meet every month. In other words, because it’s another expense on the list, it’s not to be taken lightly if you want to build a sustainable business strategy.
Also, keep in mind to ask about the size of the place, as well as storage capacities. After all, a cleaning business needs a place where to store all of its chemicals. While all of these cleaning supplies come in containers of their own, the room still needs to be securable. Overall, paying attention to these tiny details makes all the difference in the world.
3. Commercial Cleaning
There are a lot of cleaning agencies out there but what you want are specialists for commercial properties. Cleaning a factory floor is not the same thing as cleaning an office. According to experts providing end of lease cleaning in Melbourne, the key thing is that you inquire about the agency’s narrower field of expertise.
Keep in mind that some clients might come to visit you at your headquarters and if the place isn’t clean enough, they’ll walk away with a bad impression of your business. So, don’t shy away from outsourcing a part of the cleaning of your premises.
4. Think about Branding
When you rent out this office space, will you be allowed to brand it entirely? Will you be allowed to paint the place in your corporate colors? Is there a way for you to install corporate banners in front of the building?
Curb appeal is incredibly important but if you’re getting a shared office space (which is quite likely for a cleaning business), chances are that there will be other businesses around. Speaking of which, you might want to reach out to your neighbors (or roommates), as well. You need to make sure that your branding attempts don’t disrupt them.
5. Communication
Talking to your landlord is important, especially since you might come to depend on them in moments of crisis. So, if you don’t hit it off the first time around, make sure to look someplace else. The truth is that there are simply too many rental spaces for you to settle for anything less than ideal.
There are many options out there but it’s important that you understand that you have all the leverage. Ask about the price and negotiate about the utilities. If you have any questions or requirements ask them right away.
6. Location
The location makes all the difference when it comes to a cleaning service. Chances are that you’ll factor in the cost of transportation into your services, which means that businesses nearby might be more profitable as clients. So, if you’re specializing in commercial cleaning, the smartest thing you can do is either move downtown or to the industrial district (depending on the type of commercial cleaning that you provide).
Keep in mind that the location of your business may also be integral to your brand (even be a part of your business name or URL). In other words, choose wisely.
Wrap Up
As you can see, the requirements of running a cleaning business are nothing outside of the ordinary. There are not too many people in customer service and even this can be outsourced to remote workers.
The key thing is that the storage is great, that the rent is manageable, that you have the right to customize (brand) the space to your own liking, and that your relationship with your landlord is admirable. If you manage to find all of that and in a decent location, you can finally end your search.
Salman Zafar is an ecopreneur, consultant, advisor, speaker and journalist with expertise in waste management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection, conservation and sustainable development. His geographical areas of focus include Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Salman is the Founder of EcoMENA, a popular voluntary organization based in Qatar. He is also the Founder and CEO of BioEnergy Consult, a reputed consulting firm active in biomass, waste-to-energy and waste management segments.
Salman is a professional environmental writer with more than 350 popular articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass environmental awareness in different parts of the world.
Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org or salman@bioenergyconsult.com
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