Running an air duct cleaning business is as simple as buying some equipment and running a coupon special, right? Wrong. Training, insurance and licenses plus a desire to provide superior customer service are what make running a successful air duct cleaning business possible.
Roger Hill of DuctPro, a Utica, Michigan-based company that performs ductwork cleaning and helps entrepreneurs get their feet wet in the business through a franchise program, helped sort out the keys to a successful duct-cleaning business.
Instructions
1. Before start-up, check with your state to see what regulations govern air duct cleaning. Hill said that each state is different; plus, there is no national standard. His home state of Michigan requires (at a minimum) that air duct cleaners have a mechanical contractor's license to access a home owner's system and a pesticide license to use sanitizers.
2. Make sure you have the proper business structure, insurance and equipment. For each, contact the appropriate professional. A lawyer and accountant should be contacted for the business structure. An insurance agent will suggest the right proportions of liability insurance, and a qualified supplier will help make decisions on the kinds of equipment, such as vacuums mounted in a truck or portables, to be brought into a job site.
3. Ongoing marketing and sales are paramount to keep the business running. Hill recommended print and Web-based advertising for residential customers. He added, Commercial clients are a different kind of buyer. To reach this kind of air duct cleaning customer, plan on taking a direct sales approach. Cold calls with face-to-face meetings are necessary to break into this niche.
4. When it comes to the cleaning, Hill said there is little difference to cleaning old ductwork or new ductwork. That is, except when old ductwork has not been clean in many years.
If ductwork hasn't been cleaned in 40 years, said Hill, it can be astonishingly dirty. Forty years of accumulation can be pretty woolly.
The average residential job will take between two and three hours for a one or two-man crew. Larger homes may require more time and extra workers.
5. Commercial cleaning is a different ballgame, advised Hill. The size and scope is different, he said.
Although extra equipment and workers may be necessary, the good news is that it is the same equipment as cleaning in a home. Therefore, switching between the two kinds of cleaning becomes a function of sales and marketing.
Tips Warnings
Beware of asbestos when working in an older home. For the safety of the technician and the homeowner, Hill said ductwork wrapped in asbestos should not be serviced until a qualified asbestos abatement company has removed all of the dangerous material.
