gardening – Business Plus Baby

People often want help with these tasks around their homes:

As older people now want to stay in their own homes for as long as they can, demand for this type of service could well be on the increase.

This type of business is usually simple, cheap and quick to get started (although getting a steady stream of clients will usually take some work).

You can do as many hours work as you want.
You can choose to offer as many of the different services (listed above) as you want.
If you get too much work for you alone, you could employ other people.

Word-of-mouth is a very effective way of finding clients for this type of business. Make sure your friends, family and neighbours all know about your service so they can refer people to you. Even better, get some business cards printed and leave a few with all your family and friends so they can pass them on.
Agree with your clients exactly what you are going to do and when. Will you be using your own materials and tools (e.g. cleaning products, lawn mower) or theirs? Which cleaning tasks will you do in the time you are working for your client? This helps you avoid disagreements later on.
You could try to think of a way to stand out from other businesses in your area. How about using only eco-friendly products?
Because these types of business are quick to set up, it could be easy to overlook the basics of starting a business. For example, get adequate insurance as you could accidentally break a client’s window, stain her carpet or burn and item of his clothing with an iron. If you’re offering an ironing service, will you need a heavy-duty iron and ironing board to avoid replacing your ordinary one frequently? Also, don’t forget you will need to register as self employed.

A website on starting a gardening business www.startagardeningbusiness.co.uk
An article on starting a cleaning business.
A down-to-earth guide to starting a window cleaning business from Dave the window cleaning coach! windowcleaningcoach.com
There are several franchises available for cleaning companies. You can check them out at at sites like www.franchisedirect.co.uk and www.whichfranchise.com

Not convinced that helping others around the house is for you? Take a look at other business ideas for mums.

Photo by Impicard

Tag: gardening