If you want a business with a ready customer base and you don’t mind getting your hands dirty on occasion, an oven cleaning business might be the one for you.
Every year, dozens of people in the UK start an oven cleaning business as a way to become their own boss.
Have you always wanted to set your own hours and achieve a better work-life balance? If so, an oven cleaning business is one of the best ways you can do it.
Is oven cleaning a good business?
Oven cleaning has several advantages which make it a good business type to start in:
- Start-up costs are relatively low
- No qualification requirements (though you will want to look into training)
- A short timeframe for getting up and running
- High demand for oven cleaning services – most people overlook their oven
- If you become efficient, you can complete as many as six or more appointments per day while charging a good rate
Is oven cleaning a profitable business type?
Yes, oven cleaning can definitely be a profitable business type. As a solo entrepreneur though, you do need to be 100% sure that you have taken all of the costs of starting up and running your business into account.
As a franchisee, you should be part of a system where this has been optimised for you. But if not, be sure to take into account the costs of your oven cleaning equipment, your vehicle, insurance cover and marketing when you create your business plan.
Setting up an oven cleaning business – what do you need?
1) Oven cleaning equipment
Modern oven cleaning requires a number of different tools and equipment, including:
A van – which will need to be well-maintained, branded and large enough to fit your equipment and dip tanks inside.
Special dip tanks – these are hygienic stainless steel and able to withstand high temperatures. Few professional oven cleaners today use old-fashioned caustic scrubbers.
Other equipment – manual cleaning materials and products for those parts of ovens which can’t be cleaned in your van’s dip tanks.
2) Marketing
It’s no good being all set to deliver your services with no one to deliver them to. If you don’t have a franchisor doing all of the marketing on your behalf, you will need to:
- Create your website – the vast majority of people look for oven cleaning services online these days. Even if they see you in the “real world”, they may check your website for reviews before hiring.
- Build your social media accounts – Facebook should be the minimum platform on which you have an active presence.
- Add branding to your vehicle – your vehicle is essentially a mobile advert for your company. Make sure it’s is always clean and properly branded.
- Start networking – reaching out to local property management agencies, building managers and others is a great way to access contained markets you can become the go-to provider for.
- Distribute local advertising – this involves things like going door-to-door with leaflet drops as well as placing adverts in local newspapers or radio stations.
Oven cleaning – training and qualifications you might need
Strictly speaking, you don’t need any qualifications or even experience to launch your own oven cleaning company.
That said, if you want to deliver a quality of service that will make your clients use you more than once, you need to know what you’re doing. As regular clients are your goal, you need to be able to do this.
If you are going into business on your own, look into the various professional courses you can find online. If you are getting ahead by buying an oven cleaning franchise, your franchisor should be providing you with all of the training you need.
How do you expand an oven cleaning business?
Once you are all set up and trading, it is time to think about the future. As a solo entrepreneur, expanding an oven cleaning business is often a lot of hard work.
It’s a case of growing your regular customer base through extensive marketing, collecting reviews and feedback and spreading knowledge of your business both through word of mouth and online. As a franchisee, your franchisor should talk you through how to expand your oven cleaning business right from day one. It is in both your interests for your business to succeed. Having a plan for the future is a mark of the kind of franchise system it is worth you joining.
This post was written by Fantastic Services and posted on their website here. They are an exhibitor on the FranchiseShow247 Cleaning & Domestic Services floor and you can visit their FranchiseShow247 exhibition stand here.
