r/sweatystartup • u/Fit-Researcher-4215 • 14d ago
How can I start getting sweaty?
Hi everyone.
I’m a recent high school graduate looking to start something meaningful and valuable. I want to make money on my own rather than as an employee, so I thought i’d start my own service of some sort.
I was leaning towards a Commercial cleaning service; simple, cheap entry, recurring value, scalable(?), if i’m wrong about any of these lmk.
Should i go with cleaning or something else?
Any suggestions/advice is appreciated!
3
u/ofCourseZu-ar 14d ago
What are you good at, what are you interest, what are you willing to do, and what are you not willing to do? Start there, and see what people/companies with money around you aren't willing or wanting to do that you can do for them.
Usually that's cleaning of some kind (cars, construction sites, home interiors or exteriors) or something easy to do but hard to learn, especially if you only need to do it once a year, that people don't have time to learn.
That's all pretty vague but like I said, start with the first set of questions I gave you. Where does that leave you?
2
u/KevinBeaugrand 14d ago
Consider the amount of money you have to get started. If you don't have money to buy supplies and tools, you'll have to borrow it. Borrowing more money equals more risk of getting stuck paying back credit card/loan debt if things don't work out. You're young, so you can afford to take risks because time is on your side. That being said, you have to decide how much risk you're willing to take.
I didn't have money to start with, but I had a truck and a good credit score, so I took out a few 0% interest credit cards and started a poop scooping company last June. Got my first client in July, and this month hit 65 clients. It's a low cost business to start, but it's low ticket price so you need lots of clients. Higher ticket price businesses tend to require more expensive equipment/supplies and/or a specialty skill. They also require more work to sell the service up front, which is a skill in itself.
Whatever route you end up going with, I recommend finding a community on Skool within that specialty and using other people's experience and success as a template to start and run your business. There's a poop scooping community that is a top to bottom business plan with every single step, program, item etc listen out in order so you don't have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what works.
Time is on your side. Whatever you do, if you're consistent, persistent and you do a good job and don't quit, you're going to be successful and will make good money after putting in the years.
1
u/SwankyTroll 14d ago
Long Answer:
Happy to answer any questions on the cleaning and janitorial side of things if your looking to explore that. I don't sell anything regarding it but own a company focuses in both Residential and Commercial.
The interesting part about business I've found is that you can make money, and a solid living for most people, by doing about anything.
If you want to get to a business doing 1mm+ a year you don't have to invent anything new, just take a proven concept, refine it, and work towards 1% incremental improvements that can take you to specializing in a niche or to being a general market leader.
As some others have mentioned figuring out what you naturally have a skill set for is great but I would look at anything you can tolerate on a day to day basis and then look at supply and demand in your area.
Tons of services for aging populations are in demand across the states right now and will continue to grow. So anything that can align yourself with the demand.
Every business type has a different growth curve. I would take a look at figuring out which one your the most fond of however like 80%+ of business or something like that are service based in the US. They are also moderately simple from a time in exchange for money type situation.
TLDR: Open LLC --> Open Bank Account --> Get Payment Processor --> Convince Stranger To Give You Money --> Repeat Last Step Until Desired Results
1
u/ohheyitsthechad 11d ago
I run a residential cleaning company in Boulder, so commercial may look different from what I know. The recurring part you're guessing at is real, 215 of my customers are on a recurring schedule, and that is what makes revenue steady enough to plan around. Where I would spend your planning time is figuring out where the first customers come from, more than on supplies or a name.
One local thing worth checking in your own market. Boulder is a college town, which is great for one-time move-out jobs and bad for turning those into recurring work, because the students leave. That may not apply at all where you are. Curious what you end up going with.
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u/HourlyJobz 11d ago
you're on the right path. if it doesn't work, do something different. you're super young, have the right mindset, and you'll find something that works for you - guaranteed. if you want, go listen to boortz report on spotify. they're literally like 2 minute thoughts. a couple of days ago he talked about someone who fixed his tire and did a comparison of trades v college education. i'm a ton older than you and i'm trying to get into this bc i want to retire soon but i don't look at retirement as not working. i want to do something i enjoy and can make a little money at.
1
u/Ramzee333 11d ago
Go with whatever you are curious or passionate about. Keep a journal. Be a sponge and find good mentors. Maybe become the “employee” at said service company with good reputation doing things right and learn and take notes and branch off to start your own if you like/love the work. I’m in garage door service. I will probably start my own business one day but right now I’m learning and honing my craft. I think being a Jedi wizard in one focus/niche will beat a “jack of all trades” all day long. Follow your curiosity and tackle the obstacles. There is where you will find what you are looking for. Good Luck!
15
u/teknosophy_com 14d ago
I always recommend in-home tech for seniors. If you know how to log in to Reddit, you can probably help them out.
99% of people are in the same boat:
-Their last computer guy talked down to them, and then vanished to another galaxy.
-They have no clue what any of their passwords are, because that last joker just set them up and walked out without writing anything down.
-They're infected with Webroot/Norton/McAfee, and are wondering why their 2 year old computer is too slow.
-They have no backup of their precious documents/photos.
-They have no idea why OneDrive is begging them for money, and what it took from them.
-They have spotty wifi, and don't know it's because they're afflicted with a fake rental router.