Looking for unbiased advice on business startup

[Castleman78]

Hi gang I have received advice from people in both trades of business I am involved in and each is biased because they are in one of the two businesses I am looking to grow. So I would like fresh opinions from young entrepreneurs. Here's my story...

I currently own a janitorial company wherein I do all the of the work myself with the occasional help of a niece or nephew. I currently service 2 6K sq. ft. medical facilities. I have been toying with idea of either growing my janitorial business or starting a window cleaning business. I have developed the skill set necessary to do commercial and residential window from janitorial business as well as have all of the tools. I want to grow one of them but am having a hard time determining which to focus my attention on.

Thanks for your input.

[guidemesingapore]

Well i feel you should first check the competition in your city for both services. If you feel one of the businesses has high potential but less competition go for that one. However, remember you do have clients for your janitorial business already. Usually new clients would ask for reference hence you have an advantage in the janitor business over there.

[riddings]

Why can't you do both??

It sounds as if the two companies represent some overlap in your customer base - meaning, how great it is that you could use one of the companies as a foot in the door to get the other company in too... Obviously, you're going to need a stable employee or two, but I don't see any reason why you can't have both businesses - OR, one business that does both service...

[Moe_]

I agree with riddings. I think that you've got a start in 2 companies that provide similar services to a similar customer base. If I were a large company looking to outsource my janitorial services, I'd be happy to deal with one vendor who comes in, does the janitorial work as well as the windows, and sends me one bill. I don't have to deal with several people, i don't have to write several checks, and as long as your work is done well and in a timely manner, you're the guy i want to do the whole thing. I think you could easily put together a janitorial company that provides window washing services! I work for a large company at the moment with a LOT of windows, and i can tell you (since i work in the finance department), we pay a LOT of money to have those windows cleaned. It only happens once per year too, and we still pay a lot of money for it.

[rogercbryan]

I know a couple of people who own companies in this niche. You need to grow it and you can do so fairly easily. The key here is contractors working for you. You need to start building a database of reliable workers. They are going to be the key to your success or failure. You are also going to need to train a manager for each crew you put out. This will mean less money for you in the short term but in the long term it will be a key element of your sustainability.

There is a lot of money to be made in this industry... good luck and PM me if you have any questions.