FINE LIVING UGANDA CLEANING BUSINESS DEPARTMENT

 BUSINESS CONCEPT

The cleaning industry is almost always moving up the ramp of growth. The expansion of the industry has
been specifically rapid in the past several years and experts believe that this exponential increase in the
growth is not likely to be stunted anytime soon, at least not in the near future.

As a result, now is a better time than ever for start-up cleaning companies to embark on a journey
towards reaching the lands of success in the cleaning industry? In other words, it is an opportune time
for entrepreneurs to start thinking about how they can initiate a highly profitable and successful start-up
cleaning company that will cater to the demands of hundreds and thousands of customers in the city
and the country.

Our goal is to address the needs of the customers who are looking for top notch cleaning services at
reasonable prices for their homes or their workplaces. This need of the customers will be addressed by
providing them with the very best cleaning services that will be conducted by highly skilled cleaning
professionals working in Uganda.

The characteristics that will set our business apart from the rest will be the top quality of our services,
the efficiency of our workers and the first class hospitality treatment that our clients can expect from
our professionals every single time.

Cleaning Business Plan – Market Analysis

 The Overall Market

Entebbe is a major location in the industry mainly because of the highly industrialized and
commercialized area where cleaning services have become a necessity in nearly every neighborhood
that is flocked with commercial complexes and residential buildings.

The analysis of the cleaning industry be easily divided into two categories due to the distinct nature of
the two kinds of services that cleaning companies in this industry concentrate on. The first is the
commercial cleaning service and the second is the residential cleaning service. The market analysis for
both of them will be done separately because the nature and intensity of the demand in both of them
are highly different.

Commercial clients usually demands cleaning companies that can provide them with state of the art
janitorial services and garbage removal and disposal services. Residential clients on the other hand look
for cleaning companies that can provide comparatively less heavy duty services such as carpet cleaning,
upholstery, 6 hour maid services, vacuuming etc.

 Changes in the Cleaning Industry Marketplace

This forces the home owners and corporate heads to resort to cleaning services, since their personal
cleaning professionals unable to meet the standards that were set by the esteemed organizations in the
health care industry.

As a result, cleaning companies were suddenly exposed to far more contracts than before, and most of
the clients preferred to have long term arrangements with the cleaning companies instead of having a
one off affair with the cleaning services.

One lesser known factor that influenced the growth of the cleaning industry is the ever increasing
demand for aestheticism and visual appeal in homes and offices around Uganda. People want their
homes and offices to look good from both the inside and the outside. As a result, they cannot afford to
have dirt and filth lying around in their office or residential space. This prompted them to seek the
professional help of cleaning services.

Market Segments in the Cleaning Industry

Most cleaning companies do not provide an all-encompassing service. The cleaning service itself can be
divided into various segments, and the demand for these segmented services in the commercial or
residential market is quite different from one another.

Some of the most common segmented services include janitorial services, maid services, window
cleaning services, carpet cleaning services, dry cleaning, vacuuming, furniture polishing, washroom
cleaning, waste removal and disposal etc.

We understand the diversity in the demand for these services across various platforms. For example, it
would be erroneous for us to assume that the market demand for window cleaning in commercial
complexes is the same as the market demand for window cleaning in residential homes in the suburbs
of Entebbe.

 Target Market and Customers

One of the more impressive aspects of the cleaning industry is the endless possibilities it provides when
it comes to the target market and customers. Sure, each cleaning company that establishes itself in the
cleaning industry has its own niche and therefore its own target market and clients. However, for a
start-up company like ours, we had the luxury of choosing from a wide selection of target customers.

In the commercial sector, businesses ranging from small companies to large corporations are all in need
of cleaning services of one kind or the other. Schools, colleges, libraries and other variants of
educational institutions too require the assistance of cleaning companies to provide a cleaner, safer and
health hazard free studying environment for the bright minds of tomorrow.
In the residential sector, there are those living modern day busy urban lives that hardly have time to
make their bed and keep their shoes aligned. For them, maid services are perfect to restore some order
in their homes and their lives. Then again, there are clients within the residential sector who are looking
to provide their newborn children with a cleaner and safer abode.

This is when they call upon the cleaning service companies to help make their homes a better place for
their children to live in. As far as our operations are concerned, we are looking to cater to the
commercial clients simply because we believe that the post-depression era in uganda will turn these
clients into profitable prospects and accounts for us.

Since we are equipped with the right size of cleaning staff and the appropriate cleaning equipment’s, we
believe that we can cover massive office spaces as long as the clients appoint us a reasonable deadline.
Window cleaning services, janitorial services and waste removal services in collaboration with the city
authorities will be the major concentration areas of our business going forward.

With that being said, we will be keeping a watchful eye on the residential sector and always be open to
the idea of expanding our business if lucrative opportunities present themselves.

 Customer Buying Decisions

Whether or not a client will express their interest to subscribe to a cleaning service company will depend
on two things. The first is the expertise and experience of the cleaning service company which is known
to people in the neighborhood, city or the state.

Secondly, the effectiveness and the efficacy of the marketing and advertising strategies that are created
by the cleaning company. There can also be a third factor in the mix, and that is the company’s ability to
impress their clients during trial periods of service, if there are any on offer.

Our company, being a start-up cleaning business, will lack the experience and renown that is required to
draw in new clients. However, what we lack in experience, we will make up with the high quality of
services during the trial cleaning sessions that we will offer to our clients and also through the dynamism
and strong appeal of our outbound and inbound marketing campaigns. We hope to build a brand that
can consistently influence the buying decision of the customers in the industry.

Cleaning Business Plan – Sales and Marketing Strategy

 Marketing Strategy

Socialization will be at the center of our marketing strategy. We believe that in order for our business to
thrive, we must reach out to people and give them genuine reasons to subscribe to our services. Our
brand of marketing will be an aggressive and effervescent one, where we will strive to convert every
potential prospect into a client within a period of 30 days.

This is the reason why we will be channeling our resources towards inbound marketing, as it allows us to
connect with potential clientele and stay in touch with them at all times. Not only will be having our own
website, blog and newsletter programs, but we will also be taking our business to the social media
platform, where the goal would be to change people’s general perception towards cleaning service
businesses and keep them informed about the advantages and benefits of hiring a cleaning service
company, using both a direct and indirect (more subtle) approach.

Our Cleaning Business Advertising Strategy

Our advertising strategy will be no less exuberant than our marketing strategy. We believe that it is all
about forming a brand and enticing people to associate them with the brand in ways that appeal to
them the most. Unlike other cleaning companies, we do not simply want to sell services that people can
make use of. Instead, our goal is to sell experiences that people can thoroughly enjoy.

For example, our janitorial service advertisements will be specifically addressing the needs of those
business owners who want to provide a wonderful working environment for their employees and thus
curb down the number of complaints about their company’s working conditions.

 Sales Tactics

Once a client shows interest in our cleaning service, our sales team will be implementing a number of
different tactics to retain the interest of the client and make sure that a contractual agreement is
reached. In order to do this, we will be offering our first time customers with various unknown
complimentary services and discounts that will turn out to be a surprise package for them and will thus
intensify their desire to contractually obligate us to clean their offices. The idea is to make the clients
feel that they are getting more than what they are paying for.

 Publicity

Our approach to generating publicity for our business will be divided into three steps. The first step is to
convince trade magazine to publish a feature on our start-up company and the potential of our services
to change offices across the neighborhood.

The second step is to send our representatives to the local radio stations to promote our business and
educate listeners on what we have in store for them.

The third and final step is to partner up with manufacturers of cleaning products and provide discounts
on our services to people who purchase their cleaning products.

Cleaning Business Plan – SWOT Analysis

 Opportunities in the Cleaning Industry

The room for success in the cleaning industry is quite vast. As the number of commercial buildings and
residential homes increase, the demand for cleaning services is likely to enhance along with it.
Furthermore, the healthcare industry and organizations in charge of advocating eco-friendly business
practices makes it quite a necessity for businesses around the country to improve sanitation and hygiene
standards in their workplaces which compels them to seek the services of cleaning companies.
Therefore, this market offers us terrific growth potential, which we are planning to capitalize on with all
our expertise and ambition. This market may not be the largest in the country, but it is certainly one
where a newcomer like us will receive abundant opportunities to register progress in leaps and bounds
as long as we have the correct business philosophy and are implementing the right business strategies.

 Threats and Risks

As a small cleaning firm that will be taking baby steps towards growth and development for at least the
foreseeable future; we do not anticipate any major reactions from our future competitors upon the
entry of our business in the industry.

We are expecting that our introduction into the industry will remain a low profile one and is likely to go
unnoticed by some of the more major corporations which rule the cleaning service industry. We also do
not think that some of the lesser known cleaning service companies that have been in the industry far
longer than us will be have any distinct reactions to the initiation of our business.

However, in the case that they formulate plans to drive us further away from competition, we have
come up with contingency plans of our own that will help us survive the threat of expulsion from the
industry and assist us to overcome the risks that are associated with engaging in fierce competition with
the experienced business owners of established commercial sector cleaning companies.

Cleaning Business Competitive Strategies

 Key Competitive Capabilities

Most of the start-up cleaning companies have their sights set on the residential sector, mainly because
of their lack of confidence and belief to compete with the major players in the commercial sector. This
will not be the case with our company.

We will become one of the very few start-up companies in the state of Illinois which will focus all of its
finances, resources and marketing strategies in climbing up the ladder in the cleaning industry and
rapidly acquiring larger portions of the market share. We will not have to compete with a big number of
start-ups in the commercial sector, therefore our progress or advancement into the big leagues of the
industry will not be hindered by too many competitive obstacles or hurdles in the way.

Our major advantage however lies in the incredible amount of expertise and experience that our
principal owner Stephanie Ryder will be bringing into the equation. As an entrepreneur who has had her
fair share of successes and failures in the last decade, Stephanie will have a clear understand of the
strategies and tactics that are required to get us across the finishing line ahead of others and avoid
major disasters that our competitors may push us into.

The fact that we will be assembling a cleaning team of experienced professionals blended enthusiastic
and energetic college students will allow us to achieve a working dynamic that will push our efficiency
higher than that of other companies. Basically, our company will form a cleaning staff that will strive to
outwork and outsmart employees of other cleaning companies.
In an industry which is heavily reliant on service, the key is to employ workers who are willing to put in
the best performance within the shortest period of time available. Our extensive and rigorous training
programs will allow our workers to develop themselves, sharpen their skills at all times and stay updated
with the latest developments in the world of cleaning products and equipment. Our training facility for
the workers will turn out to be a game changer and a breeding ground for the best workers in the
cleaning industry in the country.

 Key Competitive Weakness

Our key competitive weaknesses stem from our lack of experience being a start-up company. We may
have the best cleaning staff in the country assembled, but that will not allow us to strike deals with
numerous clients at the same time. Therefore, our availability is something that may compromise our
revenue and income generation. We have a limited number of workers who will not be overworked
severely according to the company policy.

Therefore, it will not be possible for us to bring in a massive number of clients every month. We hope to
tackle this problem by finding ways to maximize our income and profit generation. That will allow us to
employee more workers, even individual contractors with a part time schedule, and we can plan on
increasing our portfolio of monthly or annual clients.

Since our current business plan (which is based on the current financing and funding that is available to
us) only allows us to operate within the boundaries of the state of Illinois, our company will have limited
reach unlike the other major corporations in the industry which are willing to provide their services all
across the country.

Therefore, we will be missing out on a major chunk of the industry market which is outside the state of
Illinois and that will result in a series of missed opportunities that could quite possibly hurt our finances
considerably in the long run.