Experts in the housing sector anticipate the market will be saturated with well over two million foreclosed properties by 2010 and beyond. After studying the industry and realizing the potential for a lucrative business, many ambitious entrepreneurs want to launch a foreclosure cleanup company immediately. However, many people need to hold onto their part-time work (due to layoffs and downsizing) to pay their bills and maintain a roof over their heads.
Do You Feel Stuck in Your Job?
Feeling stuck at work, but the restless entrepreneur is desperate to leave at all costs? An addiction, the entrepreneurial bug. Entrepreneurs are unable to resist. They stay up all night thinking of business ideas, crunching statistics, imagining different outcomes, and preparing for the ultimate plunge into one of life’s most satisfying endeavors: becoming self-sufficient, not dependent on anyone for a penny, taking charge, and realizing it’s all on them, swim or drown.
However, they feel imprisoned and are unsure of how to start their own foreclosure cleaning company because they depend on the cash from the work they are thankful to have to get by merely.
The first step is making a decision.
I understand because I run a company that cleans up after foreclosures. I’ve already done that. Nothing compares to believing there is no other option. Still, there is a solution.
You see, you’re already halfway there if you’ve honestly chosen to want to start a full-time foreclosure cleanup service. Deciding to do anything, even starting a business, is only half the struggle.
How many people talk about starting a business but never actually do something about it? By making a genuine decision, you are in the minority.
Recognize that if you’ve opted to launch this firm, you possess the courage that many individuals may only imagine. So take a moment to breathe, and give yourself a firm pat on the back. You now KNOW you will launch your company full-time, so embrace that knowledge and smile subtly. Reward yourself for deciding to one day start a business by taking solace in that definite emotion.
Reach down and fasten your boots right now because it’s about time to rock and roll!
Success in Beginning Part-Time
Plan to launch your business part-time if you currently hold a job. I started my foreclosure cleanup business in the same way. I gave estimates on personal days from work, met with realtors during a vacation to look for clients, and camped in a conference room at work every day at lunch to plan my business. I knew my foot had already left the door because, as a true entrepreneur, I had determined it was time to resume business ownership.
Recognize that even “full-time” work only takes up 9, 10, or 11 hours of the day. (when you add in commuting). A day has 24 hours in it! That gives you a ton of time to launch your firm.
Utilizing Your Lunch Break
Most people have at least a solid hour for lunch during the middle of the day, during which they can read, investigate contacts, learn about the sector, and make plans. Make use of that time to finish your company plan. Additionally, that company strategy need not be for anyone’s eyes other than yours. Your road map to entrepreneurship may be in there.
However, avoid becoming bogged down by the formality of a business plan. The most important thing is to plan; a rough draft for personal use is OK.
For further details on the elements of a practical, successful business plan, see the Small Business Administration website.
Weekends and Evenings
Make estimates on the weekends and evenings. Since this is your company, you are free to establish the hours at which you provide estimates. You don’t have to pass up clients because you have a job. We’ll go over how to react when you can’t see a potential client in person for an estimate due to work later on.
It’s late at night.
Is it late at night? Yes, it was late at night. Don’t disregard working in the wee hours of the morning! When everyone else is sleeping, you need to concentrate on your company’s future entirely. When everything is quiet, the television is off, your husband is dozing off, and your kids are sound asleep in their rooms, you’ll come up with some of your best ideas.
I learned from a prosperous businessman that he only slept for three hours each night. He remarked that sleep is the cousin of death, using an old African saying, and I’ll never forget it.
This does not imply that you should disregard your health or fail to look for yourself. It simply means that to get where you want to be, you must give up something initially. And one of the simplest things to cut hours from is sleep.
For instance, if you are aware that you will only get four hours of sleep each night the following week due to the need to work on business planning, create marketing materials, design a website, create a contacts list, read trade publications, etc., you will make the most of your “awake” time.
Ironically, you’ll probably get more “solid” sleep since you’ll know that when your head hits the pillow, you’ll need a good night’s sleep to wake up at 3:30 or 4:00 AM.
Avoid “Stucking” during the Planning Phase
Be careful not to deceive yourself into thinking that planning is working for your firm. Plan your foreclosure cleanup company over around two weeks. Once you have your phone ringing, start sending out postcards, emails, and leaflets all around your neighborhood.
Having scheduled estimates on your calendar should be your aim. The more estimates you give, the more experience you’ll gain in pricing and client interactions, the more foreclosure clean-up jobs you’ll land, and the faster you’ll be able to quit your employment.
Growing too quickly?
The calls are starting to pour in while you do a job because you are strategically marketing, setting fair prices, and expanding your foreclosure cleanup service.
How do you manage the time between needing your employment and handling the incoming work? Simple: You’ll need assistance. And that assistance can come from other businesses you can formally recommend for appointment.
When starting part-time, those nearby firms comparable to yours are not your rivals; they are your friends and allies. Introduce your foreclosure cleaning company to them when you first contact them. This has two effects:
1) It will promote your company name; and
2) You will have the chance to arrange a formal referral agreement whereby you will receive a cut of their earnings if you deliver them work. (Always use a formal, written referral agreement.)
As your business develops into a full-time operation, these businesses will eventually know they can also count on you, making this outreach to your presumed competition a mutually advantageous trade.
Set Up Your Exit
Don’t let someone else’s employment or your fear of starting your own business stop you. Recognize that you may need to start part-time, but you must begin to. Schedule your exit from your employment wisely if you want this.
Utilize your lunch breaks, that vital time after work when you want to go home and relax, and those priceless hours in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep to establish your business.
A Path to Success
Often, the path to success is paved when no one is looking. Your tears, sweat, and blood will be your audience. Your coworkers will be intrigued by your “arrival” and wonder what magic, good fortune, or hidden tool you used to get there.
Success, however, is not a big secret; it simply requires hard effort, the sort that our parents and grandparents used to put in; work that, after a while, transforms into something extraordinary in the shape of control, control of your destiny. Anyone with the guts to take it can do so; it is available.
The Benefits Outweigh the Work
The benefits of being an entrepreneur greatly exceed the challenges. So start working on your foreclosure cleanup business part-time, knowing you will soon be managing a profitable full-time business.
I wish you much luck with your new venture.
Author Cassandra Black is the creator of the blog How to Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business: FREE Articles & Advice and How to Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business.
Read also: Can I Get The Word Out Rapid About My Small Business?
