HOW TO OPEN A CLEANING SERVICES BUSINESS IN LAS VEGAS in only 11 Steps

Cleaning Services Business is a great way to start up a new company

and Las Vegas is a great city to think about doing so, with a lot of opportunities business-wise. How do I start a cleaning services business is a question asked by many who may be newcomers to the great city.

Economic reports taken recently show that Las Vegas is growing at an alarming rate, which many consider a much faster pace than the U.S. average.

This has been greatly facilitated by Industry sectors such as banking, tourism, health care, and real estate, which are booming. Las Vegas population is also continually growing due to over 15 four year colleges & universities, which keep the community going up.

With such a residential base or the high population and a very high average household income, house cleaning is a big opportunity in such an area to any business opportunists out there.

A cleaning business is an excellent way to earn money because it is not a complicated business to start especially in Las Vegas, and does not require a tremendous amount of money to keep it moving or finance it. While putting into consideration experience, it does not require high qualification since most people possess some skills when it comes to cleaning.

Nevertheless, just like any other business, hard work and determination are needed to be successful. Cleaning tasks generally include washing windows and dusting blinds, doors and walls (vertical surfaces) deep cleaning bathrooms: toilets, showers, etc., vacuuming throughout carpet flooring, wiping down and deep cleaning countertops and appliances, and a lot of dusting: furniture like couches, multimedia consoles and more.

Most importantly, put down regular and exceptional cleaning services in your brochure for promotional services and so that clients can easily choose the types of services they want for the variety which you offer. When it comes to cleaning homes, maintain a small group of employees or clean houses even yourself.

Start a Cleaning Services Business in Las Vegas

One of the factors that make Las Vegas attractive for business is basically being in the state of Nevada where tax climate, is unlike the other countries where the sales and property tax rates are very competitive but the best thing is that it does not impose the following taxes that is corporate income tax, personal income tax, franchise tax on income, inheritance or gift tax, unitary tax, and estate tax

Steps to start a Cleaning Services Business

To start a business, first things first, find a mentor who is not paramount as people choose to go on without one and be successful; it all depends on your experience or expertise. If you need one, I would suggest reaching out to SCORE or Nevada Small Business Development Center or both, which provide free mentoring and training opportunities, also assist in starting and growing a business, business education and training, market research, and more.

STEP 1: Draft Business Plan

When starting a business, it’s always essential to have a written business plan that includes market research, and do yourself a favor, in this step along with the business plan it’s a must to build the architecture of a highly optimized SEO Website. Your business plan is like a resume as it describes you and your business, so your website is the resume you present to google, bing and the rest of search engines.

Business plans you will need one when dealing with banks and other lending institutions. Both SCORE and Nevada SBDC can help you with this but we also would like to recommend you go commando and use freelancer services websites like FreeLancer.com, Fiverr.com, etc.

STEP 2: Select your business entity structure

Before starting to operate your cleaning business, you ought to have it registered. It is necessary for extending invoices to customers, paying employees, opening a business bank account, and applying for loans. Registering your business involves choosing a company or legal structure (type of entitiy: LLC, Corp., etc.), a name, and planning for taxes. Las Vegas is one of the best geographic locations to open an entity, especifically due to being a Tax advantageous State.

STEP 3: Fictitious Business Name

If you decide to operate the business under your brand name or any other name other than your personal name or entity name, you will want to complete a Fictitious Firm Name with the County Clerk, what we also call a DBA, Doing Business As.

STEP 4: Obtain a State Business License

Before starting a business, you need to obtain a business license through the State of Nevada, Secretary of State’s Office, all companies in Nevada are required to obtain a State Business License. Still, there are some exceptions; for instance, a cleaning services business could be exempted if it is operated from the business owner’s residence. Also, if the net income derived from the company does not exceed 2/3 percent of the average annual wage for the preceding calendar year.

STEP 5: Taxes

Talk to your CPA, but needless to say you ought to comply with all county, state and federal taxes. Check with the Department of Taxation to determine if you will need a resale permit, an exemption certificate, or are subject to use tax.

STEP 6: Local City/County Business License

In the State of Nevada, it is a requirement that all businesses obtain a business license usually $200 fee, and also within the county/city in which they will operate or perform work or both: considering location and type of business, you may be required to obtain both Clark County license and city license, for a cleaning business in Las Vegas, the clark county business license is enough.

STEP 7: Obtain Special Permits

Besides city and county licenses, some types of cleaning occupations are required to obtain individual state permits, for a regular residential and commercial you don’t need special permits unless you start handling hazardous materials and waste for example, you might even need OSHA certifications for construction cleaning.

STEP 8: Business Address/zoning

Whether you use a virtual office, an actual office, or your home office, you’ll need a business address. It will be used to cover almost all the paperwork you fill out to open your business. It’s much easier to have this address from the start than to change it down the road.

Go to the clark county website to read about zoning laws and guidelines if anything for general knowledge, before picking a business location. If you plan to operate your business out of your home, there are zoning laws in your neighborhood. This might even be needed for SEO optimization purposes, talk to your digital marketing specialist, even before you start building the website as teh address is a very important factor in SEO.

STEP 9: EIN: Employee Identification Number Application

Talk to your CPA: as a business, you are required to have an Employer Identification Number to use as a federal taxpayer identification number also to open a business banking account, pay employees, and for tax purposes.

After obtaining all the necessary licenses and permits, and the business is set up, it all falls to promoting your business.

highly suggested to use an accounting company CPA, for the entity creation, dealing with the Secretary of the State of Nevada, taxes, EIN, etc. this will free up time for more important tasks like digital marketing.

STEP 10: Banking For Small Business, get a Business Checking Account.

Our personal experience was better through Wells Fargo Bank, maybe because we bank with them at the personal level, if you have a relationship with a bank go with them; you will need to open a bank account for your cleaning services business with your new business name and keep them apart with your bank account.

Note that it needs to be separate from your account, you will need the basic paperwork like EIN, articles of incorporation, ID’s, etc.

STEP 11: Get Liability Insurance, bond and Workers’ Compensation

Depending on what type of cleaning services you plan to offer, you may want to consider liability insurance in case of anything that may jeopardize your business.

Bonds are important, usually bonds requested by construction companies, the bond shields your business and clients from losses due to employee theft for example and other types of liabilities. Investing in a bond provides peace of mind for you and your clients. Many clients go for cleaning businesses that are bonded, as they are guaranteed protection from any theft or other type of liabilities.

Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that protects your employees from illnesses and injuries sustained during the job. It provides wages as a form of payment to benefit replacement to your employees if they’re injured on the job and can’t continue to work. This way you avoid being sued by your employees for negligence, very important point.

Purchase or rent Cleaning Equipment

Purchasing professional cleaning tools and supplies to cater for any cleaning job is an essential step in starting your cleaning service business. Buying powerful and effective cleaning solutions is paramount, but consider alternative cleaning supplies to cater to a wide variety of customer needs.

For instance, scent-free products may be necessary for customers with allergies. Other customers can request natural or organic products even though not too popular as one may think.

Set Your Rates & Your Business Model

The rates can be hourly, flat rate, or square root rate. Factors such as your location, your competition, and the size and condition of the home will determine the exact fee you charge.

Market Your Cleaning Business

Now that your rates are all set, it’s time to get the word out about your new company. After obtaining a business license, insurance, bond, maybe hiring 2 maids, etc. you will be working with limited cash flow for sure, and you’d want to make the most of your budget. Therefore, your marketing efforts should be highly leveraged.

For the best marketing strategies include a blend of online and traditional marketing, leads from BBB are poor, do not get involved with their ads programs, at the most do the accreditation program, which is something like $40-$50 per month, you might need the BBB logo for marketing, same for yellow pages. Try advertising in social media.

Final thoughts

Starting a cleaning business is an excellent option for any entrepreneur because the startup costs, investment, and other costs of operation to entry the market place are meager compared to other types of businesses.

Before you set up or bring the business into taking the time to map out a budget, advertising strategy, business structure, and procure all of the necessary licenses and insurance plans.