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About Anne-Marie Moore
Expertise
I have started, managed and sold several businesses. This includes retail outlets in strip malls and starting a home-based business. My specialty is starting and running a residential cleaning business to compete with the franchises. I am an expert in cleaning procedures, cleaning products, hiring and managing employees, subcontracting and expanding a business. I can address questions related to: offline and online marketing, customer relations, how to estimate house cleaning costs, employee hiring and management, subcontracting, office procedures, equipment and supplies, data management, and scheduling.

Experience
I hired and used professional cleaning services for over 15 years. During this time I became aware of the issues they seemed to be unaware of to keep their clients happy. I successfully built a house cleaning business to compete with the franchise services. I eventually sold this business at a nice profit after managing all aspects of the business to run at top efficiency. I also have a background in Human Resources and software.

Education/Credentials
Masters in Business and Human Resources

You are here: Experts > Business > Small Business: Canada > Starting a Small Business > Start-up costs

Starting a Small Business - Start-up costs

Expert: Anne-Marie Moore - 11/3/2009

Question
What is the average start-up cost for a small business? I'm planning to do a sub-station and I'm not sure where to start.

Answer
Hi Celista!

The answer: there is no average start-up cost! Every industry is different just as every business in an industry is different. You could start a franchise or you could start a small business to compete with a franchise.

Here's an example: To start a McDonald's franchise, you will need a minimum of $250,000 of PERSONAL funds. That's just to open a discussion with them. Now consider how much it will cost you to:

- Rent or build a "hamburger stand"
- Rent or purchase all the required equipment
- Incorporate and trademark your business
- Advertise your new business
- Hire and maintain employees
- Lawyer to make it all legal
- Insurance costs
- Establish an employee manual and training manual

That's pretty much everything you get when you buy into a franchise. Could you do it yourself? Of course! You'll have much less start-up costs, and you'll have to do a lot of advertising to get the attention of your potential customers and give them a reason to use your hamburger stand instead of McDonald's. You could do this by providing a better product, charging less for your product and/or providing a space where people want to "hang out."

On the other hand, you could start a house cleaning business for $250 - the cost of printing up flyers and using your client's products and equipment; or you could start the business with $1000 and provide your own products and equipment - http://HouseCleaningPro.com.

I hope I have provided enough information for you to continue to research your small business idea using the Internet. Just do Google searches or review the information that is currently available on this site.

Much success to you!

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