The Market’s Needs

Look at the specific needs of the customers in your target market based on the location, climate, demographics and types of homes in the area. If the area is prone to flooding, cleaning services for flood-damaged basements may be popular. If the community has a high number of families, services associated with cleaning up after children may be needed. If the town experiences a lot of turnover of homeowners or renters, deep cleaning services preparing for sales or new tenants may be in high demand.

The Cost of Services

Some services will be more costly to offer, based on the skills needed (if you have to hire or train more qualified workers), the time involved, or special equipment required. If your strategy is to provide general cleaning services to as many customers as possible, you may forgo specialty services like smoke and fire damage, post-construction cleaning, or organization services. However, if you focus on special services that competitors don’t do or aren’t skilled at, you may be able to build additional revenue streams in those areas.

The Expected

As you survey the competition, note if there are certain services they all provide. If they are listed everywhere, these may be necessary for you to offer to be able to compete successfully, even if they are less profitable services. In those cases you just have to bite the bullet and seek to make up for this with higher profit offerings you can up-sell customers to.

There are many options available for accommodating all of the functional needs that a person has in a small space. It just takes creative planning and some thinking out of the box. Follows are some suggestions for making the small space you are trying to live in more comfortable.

All great discoveries are made after a need is recognized and a plan put into action. So, the first step is to make a plan. Starting with knowing exactly how much space is in the area that you are going to be using and what activities need to take place in this area. Studio apartments are a great example of needing to have furniture that will accommodate all of the activities of a lifestyle in one small space. Aside from a kitchen and bathroom these rooms are usually just a big square box that is not quite large enough to use.

One trick for making a small space workable is to make a commitment not to purchase any piece of furniture that does not do double or triple duty. A table lamp is nice, however that will require an individual to get a table and a chair which will cause a cramped space. Manufacturers today design furniture especially for small spaces. One type of space saver is a table that has is shaped like a cube with a lamp build into it. The bottom part of the cube is a pull-out storage area and is large enough to contain clothing or sweaters.

While pull out sofas are a great idea in reality most people are just too tired at the end of the day to pull them out. Or, they are in a hurry in the morning and don’t fold them back up. Daybeds are made that look and feel like sofas and beds. By purchasing one of these beds in a captains style a person also gets two pull out drawers under the ‘bed’ that hold folded clothing. This is a great convenience and the bed, sofa, dresser is saving the space that would be used if each one of those pieces of furniture were purchased separately.

Even a minimalist, small space requires a comfortable chair where a person can relax and reflect. By investing in a comfortable and fashionable chair the focal points of the room change and there appears to be more space.

Accessories in the room, including pictures on the wall, throw rugs, etc., should be smaller than one would find in a larger room. This simple change will give the illusion of space and make the room seem larger.

If purchasing furniture includes a television stand it should be one that contains drawers or shelves for clothing or books. By making sure that every piece of furniture is providing more than one functional service within the space it is possible to feel like an individual is in a roomy and spacious space.