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Garage Organizing: A Great Business

“Its time to clean out the garage!”

That’s a dreaded statement for many people facing the realities of a cluttered garage.  But you can turn that “dreaded statement” into a regular income if you seize the opportunity.  Anytime someone faces a problem or an undesirable activity (such as cleaning a messy garage) then there’s a business idea.

 In fact, the garage cleaning/organizing business is actually an excellent opportunity that requires very little know-how or experience.  Today, I want to analyze how one might launch a garage cleaning business and grow it to about $5,000 per month.   Is it possible?  Let’s go through some of the steps for analyzing a business (see: 7 Steps to Analyzing a New Business Idea). 

Is there a market?

First we need to determine if people are spending money on this type of service.  First, we know that other business are making money cleaning garages, so we know people are spending money.  How much they will spend is a different question, which really depends on how much work you do.  However, I think its safe to say that if you are just doing a basic clean and removal of old junk the cost is probably around $200 - $500 depending on the size of the job.  However, if you move into garage organizing, adding shelves and cabinets, you can make as much as $10,000 per job.  See this article for more information.

Competition:

The competition in this market may be tough, because you are offering a service that really anyone can do.  However, the companies in this business sector may not have a strong marketing plan.  Therefore, you should be able to find business if you have a proper strategy and customer acquisition strategy.

Investment required:

You will need a truck or some other vehicle to haul trash or other discarded items.  Other than that you really don’t need much, unless you decided to start installing shelves etc.  However, if you just start out with the basic idea of cleaning garages, you will only need $100 or so  to start advertising.

Strategy and Marketing:

By targeting individuals needing a garage cleaned you can differentiate yourself from much of your competition.  There are probably lots of cleaning services that would actually clean out garages, but how many of them focus JUST on garages?

Therefore, your marketing message should reflect this niche strategy.  You can also further differentiate yourself (which you should) on price (high or low), quality, customer service, etc.

Then you need to focus on customers that fit your strategy.  If you are going to project the image of high quality, then maybe target a wealthier clientele.  You may also want to charge a higher price, have uniforms, and do other business activities that will reflect a high quality product.

Here are some potential ways to get your first few customers:

• Family and friends
• Neighbors
• Put a sign on your truck
• Pass out fliers door to door
• Ad in the paper
• Craigslist

There are certainly other methods, but this will get you started.

Profit Potential: 

So, how much money can you make?  Let’s assume that your average job brings in revenue of $500.  What about expense?  You will have very little, unless you hire an employee.  Let’s say $400 is pure profit.  In order to make $5k per month, you would need to clean 12 to 13 garages.  This might be difficult to do, to be honest.  So, $5k a month just cleaning garages may not be feasible (not impossible though).

However, if you add organizing to your services, such as installing shelves, providing organizing containers and other features; your profit margins can go way up.  By simply adding a few shelves and some organizing bins, you could begin to charge as much as $7,000 (according to the previously referenced article).  Now you can see how doing just a few garages each month can make more than $5k in profit.

So, there you have it.  Its my opinion that just cleaning garages (hauling off junk) will not make enough to quit your day job.  However, if you add additional services such as shelving and organizing, you can certainly make a nice business out of it.

This is a perfect business for someone to start out of their home and grow it until it becomes a full-time venture. 

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