How to Set Up a Cleaning Supplies Business

Many businesses run on the basis of supplying goods to other firms. Wholesale companies make their money by offering other companies the products essential to the running of their enterprise. What they offer could range from stationery to food, and from the very essentials to luxury goods. One thing that almost all businesses need is cleaning supplies. Whether a company is just an office or somewhere where hygiene is of the utmost importance, such as a restaurant, they need to keep things clean and tidy. If you think that you could successfully run a janitorial supply business, read on to find out how to get started.

Target Audience

You need to work out who your target audience will be. Are you going to supply to cleaning companies who are hired to clean people’s homes and business premises? Or will you be selling directly to other firms, such as restaurants, hotels or even hospitals and schools? There’s a high demand for hygiene and sanitation products in many different sectors, so you need to decide if you’ll sell to everyone or choose a particular niche. If you elect to sell exclusively to hotels, for example, you can specialize in knowing what that particular sector needs.

Products

You might decide to start making your own cleaning products, but it’s more likely that you’ll be selling someone else’s. You should look for a company or companies whose products you want to sell on. Some enterprises will offer franchises that you can buy into, as an alternative option to launching an independent business. You also need to decide how large a range of products you want to sell. Do you wish to offer all manner of things like pattersons.co.uk does, or do you want to focus on something more concrete? You’ll need somewhere to store your stock too, think about hiring some storage space.

Keith Williamson

Legalities

Make sure that you’re following the law when you set up your business. You’ll probably have to register the company, and you might need a permit to run it. You need to follow all the procedures for tax registration too, including collecting sales tax and holding the correct status for your personal taxes. It’s imperative that you keep excellent records so you can pay the right amount of tax every year. You should check to see if there are any restrictions on selling certain supplies that you might need to get clearance for too.

Promotion

There are many ways that you can advertise and promote your products to start bringing in sales. You can find spots at trade fairs to demonstrate them and visit businesses to deliver samples. But you can do much more, such as making flyers and other printed ads. Make use of the internet to create a website and social media pages, and start forming relationships with different brands. Having a site also allows people to make online orders, instead of just placing them over the phone or through order forms.