Commercial Cleaning & Maintenance Services

May 16, 2022
by a searcher from The University of Iowa - Tippie College of Business in Chicago, IL, USA
Has anyone evaluated commercial cleaning & maintenance services? What did you like / what did you not like?
I like: contract based, amount of target accounts, amount of services to offer both cleaning and then outside janitorial as well (offering landscaping, security, handyman, electrical, engineering and other services, etc),
Plus I like the idea of being able to subcontract labor where need be.
If anyone has experience or interest in discussing further, let me know.
in Alpharetta, GA, USA
pros - high margins, extremely stable and recession resistant, low execution risk
cons - labor is a real problem right now and likely to be one for an extended period so be prepared to spend a lot of time interviewing new hires, convincing current employees not to leave, giving raises that you can’t pass along to new customers immediately. It can be managed but it’s stressful and ever present.
language barrier- I am fluent in Spanish, if you are not it will make it more difficult to manage your team. They will look at you and nod like they understand but they don’t and it won’t get done right
relatively small contract size - you are likely to have more smaller customers instead of fewer large customers so it’s more hassle factor
Still I like where your head is at. Go for it.
in Toronto, ON, Canada