Ever wondered how to start wholesaling real estate?

Todd Baldwin started Baldwin Capital by buying new homes and renting them out—then quickly realized he could make way more money with wholesale property. Today he brings in about $15K/month renting rooms and nearly $2 million annually.

Todd explained to us his wholesale real estate strategies that you can duplicate to make millions with just a few real estate transactions per year.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]
By the time you’re done reading this blog, you’ll be ready for your first wholesale real estate transaction. Click on any of the links below to jump ahead.

• What is Wholesale Real Estate?
• Real Estate Wholesaler vs. Agent
• Wholesaling Real Estate vs. House Flipping
  
• How to Wholesale Real Estate Step-by-Step Guide
  • Step 1. Build a Solid Buyers List
  • Step 2. Forming Wholesale Real Estate Companies
  • Step 3. Create a Real Estate Wholesaler Website and Related Social Media
  • Step 4. Create a Real Estate Wholesale Contract Template
  • Step 5. Identify Opportunities
  • Step 6. Reach Out to the Property Owner
  • Step 7. Sign a Wholesale Real Estate Contract
  • Step 8. Escrow
  • Step 9. Close the Deal
• Resources for Real Estate Investors
  • Find a mentor
  • Read RE Books
  • Real Estate Wholesaling Websites
• Conclusion[/su_note]

What is Wholesale Real Estate?

Want to learn all about wholesale real estate? Maybe you’ve asked some of these questions: What is real estate wholesaling?, What is wholesaling real estate (RE)?, Wholesale Definition?, Wholesale Meaning? What is Wholesale?, Wholesaler definition?

Real estate wholesaling is the process of finding sellable homes that aren't on the market, negotiating to find a seller, and making a profit by selling to a real estate investor before a certain date.

Real estate wholesaling may be focused on:

• A distressed property
• High profit margin homes
• Pre-foreclosure homes

Todd Baldwin told us:

[su_quote]The main thing you need to close a wholesale real estate deal is a long list of people looking for other real estate investments.[/su_quote]

A real estate wholesaling business is a real estate investing strategy that people will commonly use when they don't have the funds or credit for real estate investing but want to get into the real estate industry.

How is Real Estate Wholesaling Classified?

Real estate wholesaling requires a bit of creativity when it comes to NAICS. Depending on how you operate within the real estate market, you might fall into the following categories:

• 531390: Real Estate Management and Consulting
• 53121: Real Estate Sales and Brokerage
• 425120: Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers

If you are a licensed real estate agent, you might want to stick with the 53121 NAICS classification.

Otherwise, use classification 531390. Wholesale real estate would fall into the subcategory “other” in the IBIS database. From those figures, we know that this industry’s revenue was nearly $3.7 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow 1.8% per year until 2026.

Major Online Wholesale Real Estate Businesses

You'll find it difficult to find exact data on wholesalers, but these are the largest wholesalers online:

• New Western - by far the biggest real estate wholesaler in the US
• Net Worth Realty - in 21 major cities
• SkyStone Acquisitions - focused on Atlanta, GA
• Core Wholesale Properties - Florida homes to repair
• Arkansas Wholesale Homes - wholesaling real estate in Arkansas

Like Keller Offers, many major players in Real Estate Sales and Brokerage have divisions that are similar to wholesalers and house flippers.

Real Estate Wholesaler vs. Agent

The real estate industry has a variety of views on real estate wholesalers. They are effectively competing with real estate agents because real estate wholesalers pursue home buyers to help them sell homes.

Some agents love the wholesale real estate business because it provides another opportunity to increase their revenue. Todd falls into this category. He told us:

[su_quote]I make a lot more money through the wholesaling process! It’s nearly 100% profit. I’ve made up to $50K in 4 hours.[/su_quote]

Other real estate agents don't like wholesale real estate strategies because wholesalers primarily sell to real estate (RE) investors who are cash buyers looking to drive up local market prices by providing long-term or short-term rental properties.

Todd told us:

[su_quote]I made a commitment when I started renting homes that I would never raise rents on people. Today, I rent some spaces for less than half of the current market value. I still make $700 to $1,300 per room, though.[/su_quote]

Check out our interview with him below.

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeO1dIv5k5k"]

Wholesaling Real Estate vs. House Flipping

Unless they’re house flipping, which involves buying and fixing up a distressed property, real estate wholesalers don't actually buy properties. Both wholesalers and house flippers might do repairs before the property sells, but the wholesaler has a much shorter time to find potential buyers.

When the wholesaler sells the property, they will make their profit based on the difference between the contract price + repair value and the fair market value. Flipping houses works the same way but can be a more lucrative business because flippers can rent out the property as well.

Another wholesaler, Santino Fillipelli, does a little bit of both wholesaling and house flipping. He will occasionally be a wholesale buyer if the property looks like something he can repair with one of his construction companies. He told us:

[su_quote]Basically, we look at, first of all, [and ask] 'What are the margins here?' If this looks like it's a property where we're not gonna hit that $50,000 mark but we see that it's a really good area and there's a lot of people coming in, good tourist attraction, basically we say, ‘Let's turn this into an Airbnb.'

But if we say, ‘Hey, we can make $100,000 off this in five months,' that's not bad. We'll take that. So, it just depends. Interest rates play a role as well.[/su_quote]

Benefits of Wholesale Real Estate

A wholesaling business is highly beneficial for several reasons:

1. Can make nearly double what real estate agents do
2. Helps people get out of distressed homes and improves neighborhoods
3. Much lower startup costs than house flipping
4. Home-based business
5. Lower risk than other real estate investment opportunities
6. Can be run as a multiple listing service
7. Can work from anywhere if selling online
8. High profit margin

So, what kind of risks are there when working with distressed properties?

Risks in Real Estate Wholesaling

Some of the risks of becoming a real estate wholesaler include:

• You might not find an end buyer
• Often takes time to become profitable
• Lots of research and math
• Lots of networking (or SEO for virtual wholesalers)
• Difficulty finding motivated sellers
• Inability to gain access to the property
• Fewer revenue options than other real estate investors
• Short contract duration

You might want to consider whether you are a prolific networker. Todd told us:

[su_quote]I like to look for real estate transactions in up-and-coming neighborhoods. Distressed properties may have a low market value, but if the property’s fair market value isn’t likely to increase, it might not be a great deal.[/su_quote]

Like any real estate job, real estate wholesalers rely on their people skills to find and close wholesale deals. Having solid communication skills to win over potential sellers and buyers can be crucial in this business.

How Does Wholesaling Real Estate Work?

If you're wondering how to get into wholesale real estate, consider these basics:

1. Set up a business.
2. Find wholesale real estate opportunities.
3. Reach out to the property owner.
4. Sign a wholesale real estate contract.
5. Find a buyer.
6. Close the deal.

Get ready to learn how to wholesale real estate as we further break down this process.

How to Wholesale Real Estate Step-by-Step Guide

Santino described the process like this:

[su_quote]1. The first thing you wanna do is figure out how your risk tolerance is gonna be. Do you want to pay everything (in) cash? Do you wanna finance it? Where is your money [coming from]?

2. And then after you figured that out, I would begin to look for a deal. I would start out really small and start to leverage.

That would be my best advice to leverage early on. That way you're not risking a lot of your own money. That's the way I started. And for me, that was something that was really great.[/su_quote]

He explained that the leverage he uses to grow his business limits his losses to an original $6,000 investment and a bad credit score.

That's a bit oversimplified because most businesses rely on some extra steps. You'll want to:

1. Develop a list of cash buyers.
2. Form the business.
3. Create websites and social media.
4. Create a wholesale real estate contract template.
5. Identify opportunities.
6. Reach out to the property owner.
7. Sign a wholesale real estate contract.
8. Submit to escrow.
9. Close the deal.

Let’s look at each step of how to wholesale houses and other discounted property listings.

Step 1. Build a Solid Buyers List

A successful real estate wholesaler needs relationships with potential cash buyers. You’ll want a cash buyer who is looking to invest before you start entering wholesale real estate transactions. You'll want to network with:

1. Licensed real estate agents
2. Hard money lenders: Brokers and other people who work with investors
3. Airbnb Superhosts: Check out Ask a Superhost to learn how they operate

Todd explained:

[su_quote]I have a list of 15,000 RE investors that could be potential cash buyers for an investment property.[/su_quote]

Look for people buying properties at places like:

• Real estate professional meetups
• Groups on social media
• Trade conferences

Next, you’ll want to create a business entity to keep your personal finance and business finances separate.

Step 2. Forming Wholesale Real Estate Companies

Before you start trying to approach homeowners of off-market properties, you'll want to form a business as either a limited liability company or corporation with your Secretary of State Office (SOS). This isn't absolutely required, but it will make it easier to find deals if you are a registered professional.

Also, remember to check if you need any local real estate or business licenses. Wholesaling laws vary from state to state, so check with your local business offices.

Do You Need a Real Estate License to Wholesale?

Most states don't require a wholesaler to be a real estate broker, real estate attorney, or real estate agent to get involved in real estate wholesaling, but you will have to describe yourself as a marketing company that helps buyers find, not sell, properties.

The following locations (and possibly others) have written laws regarding real estate wholesaling licenses:

• Oklahoma
• Illinois
• City of Philadelphia

Make sure you check with your local county clerk or business office to make sure there are no other requirements.

Do You Need a Business License to Wholesale Real Estate?

All states have different laws. Some states may require a business license to negotiate a wholesale deal, others may require a RE Agent or Broker License, and others do not require any licensing. You may be required to pay income taxes or business taxes depending on your state. You'll need to check on your state SOS website.

If you are wondering about the real estate agent license, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Philadelphia definitely require one. Other states may create wholesaling laws in the future.

Now that you’re up to date on licensure, one wholesale real estate strategy you’ll want to use is creating a website and social media.

Step 3. Create a Real Estate Wholesaler Website and Related Social Media

Wholesale RE investors will need a website and social media presence to look professional when they're working on a wholesale deal. Without it, how will potential buyers or someone with a wholesale property find you?

When you wholesale houses online, having a website helps you find more cash buyers who can afford the upfront investment with less money going to direct marketing costs.

Todd told us one of the things that makes him different is that he is a social media fanatic. He shares key takeaways so property owners can benefit from each wholesale real estate deal he makes.

Check out our blog on how to build a website to learn how to create your own or hire a website builder on Fiverr.

Step 4. Create a Real Estate Wholesale Contract Template

Every wholesale real estate transaction is effectively two deals: one between you and the property owner and the other between you and the end buyer. Wholesale real estate contracts are necessary for every deal.

You'll want a purchase contract and a seller contract. There are three types of real estate wholesaling contracts:

• Wholesale Real Estate Assignment Contract
• Wholesale Real Estate Purchase Agreement
• Double Close Contract

Wholesale Real Estate Assignment Contract

A real estate wholesaling assignment contract is a contract where the wholesaler sells the right to purchase the house to an interested buyer. It includes a wholesale fee that is in addition to the price the homeowner agreed to sell the house.

You can download a free printable real estate wholesale contract template PDF online. Make sure to consult a licensed attorney in your state to verify that the template you develop is legally binding.

You will need this contract in conjunction with a wholesale real estate purchase agreement contract, which we'll discuss next.

Wholesale Real Estate Purchase Agreement

A purchase agreement is a contract that can be used for wholesale deals between the motivated seller and the wholesaler. The contract will include:

• Seller and buyer information
• Property location
• Purchase price
• Payment method
• Zoning restrictions
• Closing costs and terms
• Prorated and delinquent tax terms
• Occupancy terms
• Access to property terms
• Assignment clause
• Terms of default
• Any additional terms
• Buyer and seller signature blocks

You'll use the purchase contract in conjunction with the assignment contract if other investors will be buying the home. Download our free purchase contract template.

Double Close Contracts

Double closing in real estate investing involves two contracts and two closing costs: One deal is between the homeowner and the wholesaler, while the other is between the wholesaler and the real estate investor.

These are primarily used when wholesaling real estate if:

1. Your profit margin is really high and you want to keep it hidden from the other parties
2. Your state requires wholesaling real estate to use this closing method
3. You do not have a real estate license and the title company requests it

These contracts are basically identical to standard real estate contracts used when buying a home. Real estate agents are not allowed to share closing documents—otherwise, I'd provide a template.

Step 5. Identify Opportunities

Next, you'll want to identify investment property opportunities that you can get under fair market value and sell to cash buyers for a fair price. We asked Santino where to find opportunities and he told us:

[su_quote]…definitely not Redfin or Zillow.

You're probably looking for off-market deals. Some of the best platforms that you can find are Batch Leads, Batch Dialer, or Remine.com.

There are a lot of resources [for] being a real estate agent as well that you have to find off-market properties, so there are both ways.[/su_quote]

He went on to tell us what he looks for in the way of profit margins:

[su_quote]Anything over $50,000 and up. So, if we (do not have) at least a $50,000 profit margin, it's probably not the deal for us.

Or we'll take it, and if it has more of a long-term potential or it's in a really good downtown area, we'll take it and we'll turn it into an Airbnb. And we've kind of switched from long-term rentals to more short-term because they've been way more profitable.[/su_quote]

Establish Your Risk Tolerance

While real estate wholesaling is lower risk than other ways a real estate investor might invest, there are still risks in any real estate deal. You might struggle to attract sellers, or there may be low liquidity to buy houses depending on how the market is doing.

A house that needs a new roof and foundation presents a greater risk than a house that just needs a new air conditioner. Remember to price that into your offer. An air conditioner might justify a $20K to $30K discount, while a new roof and foundation could mean your offer should be for the land value minus demo costs.

Step 6. Reach Out to the Property Owner

Next, you'll want to reach out to the property owner. You can call them, run direct mail campaigns, or reach out in person. Santino told us you'll be a successful wholesaler:

[su_quote]…if you're willing to pick up a phone and knock on a door. The phone's a little bit faster, but knocking on a door, meeting someone face to face and say[ing]:

‘Hey, have you ever thought about selling?’

Or

‘You know, I'm in the neighborhood. Just saw your house, I really love it.’[/su_quote]

Some will be interested and some people won't.

Be prepared to offer them a real estate deal if they show interest. Most real estate investors expect to pay around 70% of the after repair value (ARV) when flipping homes, which means you'll need to calculate:

1. After repair value (use comparables in the area)
2. Cost of repairs
3. Maximum allowable offer (MAO)

The repair value is based on the cost of a contractor or the cost of parts and the time to complete various upgrades. The maximum allowable offer will be equal to:

(70% x After Repair Value) − (Cost of Repairs) = MAO

Let's use an example of a $300,000 market value that needs $20K in repairs.

With that in mind, the highest offer you would want to make the homeowner is:

(70% x $300,000) – $20K = $190K

Anything more than $190K and you're unlikely to make a profit. But if you can negotiate to get the seller to accept a price of $140K, you'll definitely make a nice profit.

Step 7. Sign a Wholesale Real Estate Contract

Once you have agreed upon the terms of the offer, you'll need to get it in writing with the homeowner so you can reach out to real estate investors to find a buyer.

Step 8. Escrow

This stage of wholesaling real estate will be handled by a title and escrow company. The title company will make sure that any liens and tax defaults are identified. They make sure that the deal is ready and that everything goes smoothly for the homeowner, the contract seller, and the end buyer.

Step 9. Close the Deal

After everything has been evaluated, there are closing costs when buying houses. They range from about $1,500 to $7,000 without taxes and can be as high as $30,000 with taxes. Rocket Mortgage has a great article on closing costs.

Once the deal has closed, the homeowner gets the money, you get your wholesale fee, and the buyer has a new property.

Now that you know the process, there are a variety of wholesale real estate resources you may wish to consider.

Resources for Real Estate Investors

Santino emphasized the importance of increasing your knowledge in the industry to maximize your results. Some of the ways you can increase your knowledge include:

1. Find a wholesale real estate mentor.
2. Read wholesale real estate books.
3. Follow wholesale real estate websites and their trends.

Let's look at each of these.

Find a Mentor

If you are new to exploring how a wholesaler makes money, you'll want to find someone with experience to help teach you the market. While wholesaling doesn't require significant capital, the more upfront capital you have, the easier it will be.

If you can interact with someone who has already developed a process, you will learn how to do wholesale real estate faster. Some places you can find RE wholesaling mentors include:

• Facebook groups: Find wholesaling groups.
• Real estate professional organizations: The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has a list of professional organizations, and many have local chapters with meetups.
• Check out our blog on how to find a mentor.

Books About Wholesale Real Estate

This section contains sponsored Amazon links that earn UpFlip revenue when you make a purchase.

Check out some of the popular books for wholesale real estate including best-sellers like:

• How to Wholesale Real Estate: Learn ways to get into real estate wholesaling without money. Find it on Amazon.
• Real Estate Finance & Investments: The 17th edition of this textbook by William Brueggeman and Jeffrey Fisher teaches strategies used in real estate investing.
• 21 Ways To Find Off Market Real Estate: Learn marketing strategies like YouTube, SEO, mailers, remarketing, and other strategies to find real estate that isn’t listed.

Check out other popular books about the real estate wholesaling process.

Real Estate Wholesaling Websites

Looking at what the industry is doing well and what it is doing poorly can also be highly beneficial. Make sure to check out websites for real estate wholesaling to get a better idea of what other wholesalers are doing. Here are a few to check out:

• Real Estate Investing Websites: Builds websites for RE investors
• AssetColumn: Wholesaler and flippers market
• REI Kit: List of sites and groups for RE wholesaling and house flipping

Conclusion

Once you start looking, you'll encounter a ton of resources for wholesale real estate investing. You just have to decide you want to get into it, build a network, and close some deals. Once you build a little capital, you can start doing more advanced deals like home flipping or fixing up and renting Airbnbs.

What aspects of the real estate market would you like us to write more about?

Did you know the average poultry farm provides over a million dollars of chicken for people to eat every year? John Mathia and Geoff Scott showed us how to start a poultry farm and turn it into a vertically integrated award-winning business. You can too! Geoff and John started Marion Acres in 2012 so they could eat healthier food than they could buy at the supermarket. Their first attempt at growing their own food went horribly wrong: tractors broke, rains made the land unusable, and the landowner sold the land out from under them––but they persevered. They went from 32 chickens in Geoff’s garage to a poultry farm with different animals, a grocery store, a slaughterhouse, and award-winning chickens. We’ll share how they developed one of the northwest’s most successful poultry farms! You’ll learn about government subsidies, partnerships, and building a vertically integrated business. They’ve got information any poultry business can use. Let's start by learning about the poultry industry. 

Step 1. Learn About Poultry Farming

Don’t try to just jump straight into the chicken business and expect to make a million dollars overnight. There’s a lot to learn about the chicken farming business. You will have federal, state, and local laws to follow. In addition, there are lots of capital expenditures. Plus, you’re raising animals, so without proper hygiene, your whole farm could die. Don’t be scared, though. You can start small. Geoff told us: [su_quote]I had read somewhere that you can turn around a chicken in eight weeks. So we're like, ‘Well, let's go get some chickens.’ So we went down to Wilco, bought every chicken they had, which was 32. Raised them in my garage, and processed them in early November. Then we left that farm, came across the street over here to the landowner.[/su_quote] Geoff recommended Reading Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin, plus we added some other best sellers on Amazon for avid readers. Here are some interesting reads I found while researching the topic:

• Why poultry is better than beef
• Different feeds for different chickens

We’ll help you understand the poultry business so you can decide the best strategy for your chicken farm. Let’s start by looking at the poultry industry.

How much to start a chicken farm?

Geoff and John started off with:

• 32 broiler chickens: $75
• One chicken tractor: $220
• 150 pounds feed: $100
• Gravity water dispenser: $60
• Total: Under $500

So, you don’t need a lot of money to start raising chickens. If you don’t have land, that’s another story. Let’s look at how much it costs if you need land.

How much does it cost to start a chicken farm if you don’t own land?

Poultry farming will be more expensive if you don’t already have land to use. Chickens need space and a healthy environment. Chickens require at least three square feet per chicken plus space for storage, vehicles, home, etc.  That means the first acre will hold a maximum of 4500 chickens and each additional acre can hold around 5,000 chickens. If you don’t have land, you can expect at least $100K startup costs for poultry farming. Some resources even say a poultry farmer should expect to spend $250K. The number of chickens you can hold will depend on the number of acres you buy. Check out the table below for an idea of how land will impact the costs and revenue. Of course you don’t have to start off with 5,000 chickens. You can start smaller and build your way up. But realistically expect to spend the cost of a down payment and the first two to six months of the mortgage right away. Then, with every 100 chickens expect to spend $1.500.

Is chicken farming profitable?

A poultry farm business can sell both chicken and eggs on the commodity markets or direct to consumers (DTC). Let’s look at each. 

Poultry companies selling DTC

Egg production and meat production can be highly profitable if you sell directly to consumers. Marion Acres sells most of its meat to people and local restaurants, which differs from many farms that sign contracts with major poultry corporations. Geoff told us: [su_quote]Chicken is about a 30% margin.[/su_quote] Check out the rest of our interview with Geoff and Josh. [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4qhDGG1C3k"] They sell their meat at $13.99 per pound (lb) because it is non-GMO, pasture-raised broiler farming. That means they make about $50 per chicken and $15 is margin. Unless a poultry farmer processes the meat onsite, they shouldn’t expect to get such high margins, though.

Selling as a commodity

A poultry farm business might sell on the open market as well. In this scenario, you’ll need to register with the USDA. You’ll be selling to companies that process the live chickens and turn them into breast, wings, thighs, and other meat for consumption. In this scenario, your profit would be: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] Broiler Companies Gross Profit = (market rate per pound x pounds of live chickens) - (costs of chicks + feed + labor caring for chickens + transportation costs). Egg Laying Companies Gross Profit = (market rate of eggs x number of eggs) - (feed + labor caring for chickens + transportation costs). [/su_note] You’ll want to compare current pricing for broilers versus eggs to decide which is more profitable. Alternatively, you could do a mix of broiler meat and egg laying. Geoff told us about how a lot of farmers operate: [su_quote]Bring on a bunch of debt, get all your equipment, and then farm for the rest of your life. You hope to pay off that debt. John and I took a little bit more measured approach.[/su_quote] During many years farmers will run at a loss and have to be subsidized by the government, so make sure you talk to a financial advisor before you jump into the poultry farm business.

Poultry Industry

According to IBISWorld, the average American eats approximately 112 pounds of chicken, eggs, turkey, and other farm fowl each year. They expect Americans to increase their consumption by about half a pound per year.  Chicken farms sell chicken and other birds based on the commodity market rates, which have ranged from 59 cents per pound at the beginning of the COVID-19 shutdowns to an all-time high of 99 cents per pound on June 17, 2022. Estimates expect that this inflation will level off and return to approximately 1% increases in the prices paid for full birds. From the poultry farm, the birds will go to: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

1. A processing plant (or slaughterhouse)
2. A wholesale processor
3. Supermarkets and retailers
4. The final consumer

[/su_note] As a result, a bird that sold for 99 cents per pound, increases to about $5.99 to $7.99 for a whole chicken in the supermarket. Breasts and tenders can go for over $4 per pound according to the USDA.  However, Geoff and John reap most of the profits from their poultry farming because they own the processing and supermarket. Let’s look at each of the players in the poultry farm business to see how it quadruples in price from the farm to the consumer.

Farming

A farmer’s main costs include:

• Land: It’s best to be near but not in big cities. Prices of land can vary dramatically. For example, you might find two to five acres ranging from $5,000 per acre to $2.5 million per acre.
• Chicken coop: Later on, we’ll explain how to build a chicken coop, but if you’re building with three square feet per chicken, you’ll probably end up spending a ton on your chicken house.
• Chickens: You might find day-old chickens for approximately $1 to $2.50 per chick based on the quantity, sex, and whether they are GMO-raised.
• Feed: You’ll need to feed the chickens, and you’ll probably want to buy in bulk. Per pound, smaller bags are much more expensive than when you buy a ton of feed.
• Transportation costs: IRS mileage deductions change each year, but have been over $.50 per mile since 2008. You can deduct actual costs instead.
• Employees: If you have over 500 chickens per owner, plan to spend $15 per hour according to the BLS.

Processing

Poultry and other meats require processing, which is an industry worth approximately $227.6 billion with a 4.8% profit margin according to IBISWorld. Poultry processing is included in US Industry (NAICS) Report 31161. I strongly suggest you pay for the report if you’ll be involved in processing, especially if you need a loan. Using current market rates, the spending breaks down to:

• Purchase price per pound: $.99
• Additional expenses per pound: $.75
• Profit per pound: $.09
• Sell to the wholesaler by the pound: $1.83

Processing is where most of the additional costs in the industry occur, but not where most of the profits are. At the time of writing, there are 5,486 processing companies, and the major players get 57% of the revenue and 98.25% of the profits. The major players are included in the chart below: That means the average company can expect to achieve a maximum of $18,000,000 revenue and up to $867,000 per year. There are a lot of industry participants operating at losses. Once the meat has been processed, it is sent to the wholesaler.

Poultry Wholesalers

These are the companies that sell to grocery stores and restaurant chains. There are between 700 and 800 businesses in this category, but the industry is dominated by Sysco and Cal-Maine foods, which get a combined 52% of the revenue.  Interestingly, smaller wholesalers seem to perform better with a higher profit margin of 3.19% on a little over $8 million revenue on average.

• Purchase price per pound: $1.83 
• Additional expenses per pound: $.40 per pound
• Profit per pound: $.57
• Sell to supermarkets by the pound: $2.80 

Supermarkets

The supermarket industry makes $757 billion in revenue with 21.3% of that attributed to meat, poultry, cheese, and eggs. The purchase of food items accounts for almost 70%. They also average 1.8% profit, but Publix manages to hit a 27.6% profit margin.

• Payment to wholesaler: $2.80
• Profit: $.07
• Other expenses: $1.13
• Consumer price per pound: $4

Why does this matter to a poultry farm?

It means that by the time the food gets to the customer, three other companies are adding $3.01 to the price of the chicken, of which 75 cents is profit. That’s why John and Geoff’s business model is so brilliant. Instead of being a commodity that gets the short end of the stick, they’ve built their poultry farm into a slaughterhouse, packager, retailer, and online store. While this comes with additional costs, they effectively make 2.5 times the revenue while increasing the costs by approximately $2.28 per pound with potential profit margins of 10%. 

Governing Laws

There are a lot of laws covering poultry farming and egg production. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with:

• EPA rules on animal feed operations
• USDA policies regarding livestock
• Farmers Service Agency (FSA, a division of the USDA specifically to help farmers succeed)
• State agencies may have policies about farming permits, licensing, or inspection. Check the FSA map to find experts on your state regulations.
• Many cities and counties may have regulations that apply to starting a chicken farm. I would suggest talking to your local SBA office and health district.

Don’t forget to register your farm. Marion Acres is a multi-member LLC, but it operates similarly to a partnership. Read our blog that walks you through how to register an LLC. 

Market Forces

Weather, unemployment, and disposable income all have an impact on farming poultry. Chickens don’t sweat, so temperatures above 90 degrees can jeopardize their health. Make sure to take that into consideration if you are considering how to start poultry farming.

Choose a Poultry Sector Next

Now that you know a little about the types of businesses involving poultry, what kind of poultry business are you going to start? [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Sell chickens for meat
• Sell eggs
• Create feed to sell for poultry farmers
• Hatchery and breeding chicks
• Egg and meat processing

[/su_note] Whichever one you choose, your focus should be on how to maximize the output for the lowest cost. Given the primary variable cost is feed, you want to focus on the following ratios:

• Broiler farm: meat per pound of feed 
• Laying eggs: Eggs per pound of feed 

Let’s look at the different breeds of chickens you can choose for your own poultry business.

Type of Bird

Were you raised on a chicken farm? If you weren’t, I bet you’ll be surprised by the number of chicken breeds available. Fortunately, Chicken Breeds List has an extensive knowledge-base about chickens. It’s basically a one-stop-shop about poultry farming for beginners, with over 31 different breeds ranked based on:

• Number of eggs per year
• Growth potential
• Aggressiveness
• Space requirements 
• And other considerations

They rate the Leghorn as the best egg-laying chicken and the Cornish Cross as the best for producing fast and plentiful chicken meat production. Look for their awards on sites that educate, breed, or cook chicken. If you see one of them, this means they are a poultry company focused on excellence. Oops! I spent half the blog educating us on the chicken industry. Let’s carry on with how to start a poultry farm in the USA.

Step 2. Write a Poultry Farming Business Plan

Poultry farming business plans help you keep yourself focused on your goals. Whether you just want enough to feed family and friends, you want to sell eggs or chicken meat locally, or you have dreams of becoming a major chicken farming business, a business plan will help. Check out our blog about business plan writing and write your own. If that’s not your style, we understand. Marion Acres has never had an official business plan. They told us; [su_quote]I would say we're kind of unofficial. A lot of the growth that we have had is just kind of the market driving us that way. The goals we have are probably how to become more sustainable as a farm, and how to become more self-sufficient down the road. And that could be a one to two-year venture.[/su_quote] After you have a business plan for your poultry farm, you’ll know whether you need extra funding or not. If you do, you might want to consider business loans.

Step 3. Poultry Business Loans

If you don’t already have land to start a poultry farm, you’ll need to get some. That means you probably need to buy it. Most landlords won’t love a chicken coop in their garage. Plus, there's other poultry farming equipment you’ll need. In addition to the standard loans available for most businesses, the FSA has farming loans that help people buy land, invest in equipment, and make it until the next harvest.  There’s even youth funding to help 10 to 20-year-olds do farming projects. Put your kid to work raising chicks! Teaching them young is great for when they want their own business. Next, choose a location for your poultry farm.

Step 4. Find a Location of Chicken Farm

Where are you going to raise chickens?  Well, that depends on how many you have. Raising chickens can be a space-consuming venture. The poultry farm business can consume three to ten square feet per chicken meaning you can fit about 33 chickens in a 10 x 10 space.  That means an acre can hold between 4k and 14k chickens, but that doesn’t leave room for much else. That would also be a massive chicken house.  Chickens also do best in 70° to 75° weather, and they can have heat strokes when temperatures get above 90°. Geoff told us: [su_quote]They've gotta have water. They'll die pretty quick if they don't. Especially in the heat.[/su_quote] You also want to create a farm where the cost of land plus transporting poultry products is balanced to minimize costs. 

Step 5. How to Make a Chicken Farm 

Poultry farm design is focused on creating effective layouts and processes to help chicken farms become more profitable and efficient. Check out the Big Book Project.  You’ll need to do things like: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

1. Establish how to position everything on your land.
2. Decide how to make the most of your space.
3. Build a chicken coop.
4. Manage your supply chain.
5. Purchase and care for your chickens.
6. Process and sell your poultry products.

[/su_note] We’ll look at a few, but I strongly advise checking out the Big Book Project and talking to other poultry farming businesses to learn more about designing a small farm. Acclimating to the setting in person will give you a powerful perspective on chicken farming.

How to start a poultry farm: Build a Chicken Coop

  Marion Acres uses what they call a Chicken Tractor with a Gravity Water Delivery System for their broiler chickens. It’s an 8-foot by 8-foot enclosure made from:

• Nine 2” x 2” wood beams: $4 each = $36
• Seven 8’ x 2’ corrugated steel panels: $22 each = $154
• Chicken wire: $39 (should be approximately 1 roll)
• Nails and screws: $5
• Estimated Total: $234 + tax, shipping, and handling

When they built it, the total cost would have been about $220 for the coop and $60 for the gravity water delivery system.  This makes it where they can easily move the chicken coop to different spots on the poultry farm. Watch the video below to view how they built the chicken tractor. [su_youtube url="https://youtu.be/m4qhDGG1C3k?t=1115"] Almanac.com has a good read on how to make a chicken house. They suggest keeping the poultry house near where people are at all times of day so that someone can hear if a fox tries to enter the chicken house. Farm innovations have created intensive poultry housing systems. With automated feeders, watering systems, and other improvements, you can more easily care for your chickens. You’ll have to establish the proper settings for your poultry house because chicken breeds vary on their needs. Learn about some of the best feeding systems.

How to start a poultry farm: Buy Feed

Every chicken will need to eat. Without poultry feed, you’ll have a hard time keeping your chickens healthy. Chicken feed is made with specific purposes in mind. You can buy poultry feed for:

• Baby chickens: Starter food is best for ages that range from day old chicks to 20 weeks.
• Chicken broilers: If you’re just trying to raise chicks to sell the meat, get food specifically for broilers.
• Teenage chickens: If you want to keep your chicks properly cared for until they each become an adult chicken, you might want to change from starter food to grower food at six weeks. You’ll want to change this when they start laying eggs.
• Egg layers: Once chickens start laying eggs, they need layer feed to help produce healthier eggs. It’s like grower feed but with more calcium and minerals.

When you’re just getting started, you can buy feed from Amazon or Walmart, but you may want to buy in bulk. When comparing a 40 to 50 lb bag to a 2,000 lb order, you can save up to $1,000 by buying in bulk based on online pricing.  Check out this blog to learn more about feeding chickens. You’ll want other equipment, too. 

How to start a poultry farm: Other Equipment

You will need equipment based on the chicken products you sell, the space you have, and your budget. Some of the items you might need before you buy your chicks include: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Cages
• Feeders
• Waterers 
• Waste removal system(s)
• Lighting instruments
• Brooders (for breeding)
• Heaters (for cold weather)
• Crates (for collecting eggs)
• Egg trays (for handling and selling eggs)
• Perches (for laying hens)
• Nests (for laying hens and breeding)
• Incubator (for breeding)

[/su_note] Once you have all the equipment setup, it’s time to find dependable breeders.

Get Your Chickens

It’s time to buy some quality chicks from a reputable breeder. You can buy locally or online, but be careful when buying online. There are two ways to get new chickens and it sounds like a joke. You get to choose between the chicken or the egg. Geoff told us: [su_quote]You definitely wanna buy day-old chicks. Leave the hatching of the eggs to the hatchery.[/su_quote] Based on my research, it seems that eggs and chickens sell for about the same price, which means you are better off with the chicks. If you decide to expand your business to incubate your own eggs later, you can potentially increase your profit. You’ll need to learn poultry science first, though. Some breeders are more honest than others, so make sure they have a guarantee. You might also ask if they have an American Poultry Association flock certification. Some of the ones consistently mentioned include:

1. Jenks: Business success is often measured by profitability, but longevity is also important. As the longest operating poultry company supplier, they know they understand the poultry farm business.
2. Cackle Hatchery: If you are looking to buy from only one supplier, Cackle is probably the place. They sell pretty much everything you need for raising and selling chickens. Plus, they’ve been around for over 80 years.
3. Privett Hatchery: If you are on the west coast, you might consider getting your chickens from Privett. It’s in New Mexico making it more convenient for a farmer located in the southwest United States.

You can find more breeders and fertile egg suppliers on Chickens and More.

Step 6. How to Run a Chicken Farm

  Poultry farming is a delicate business. You have to:

• Feed your birds the proper nutrients: We discussed this in the section on feed. This will help promote chicken health.
• Treat against poultry diseases: If your flock catches a chicken disease, you need to separate the sick ones and care for them. You may also have to hire a vet. Learn more about diseases chickens catch.
• Protect against predators: We discussed this during the section on design.
• Dispose of their waste: You’ll need a waste disposal system to help keep the chicken coop clean. 
• The deep litter system is a method of composting inside the coop. 
• You can also use an automated system.

Geoff and John use manual processes. They told us: [su_quote]We move the chicken tractors around so their waste fertilizes the land. Every animal plays a role in the ecosystem.[/su_quote]

• Treat against poultry diseases: If your flock catches a chicken disease, you have to separate sick ones and care for them. You may also have to hire a vet.
• Maintain documentation of care: You'll need a great system to document your date of purchase, care, date of processing, and more. Check out USDA documentation requirements.

Author’s note: During my experience in the building automation industry, I found that automated systems make documentation of anything much easier. When you can easily check a log to see when feed was distributed, water consumed, temperatures, and other relevant data, it is much easier to comply with government regulations.

Step 7. Process the Birds

Once the birds have matured to an age you can sell them (typically six to 20 weeks), you need to turn them into meat. Most people will do this using an external processing company, which we discussed in the industry overview, but Geoff and John do it themselves. They told us: [su_quote]I wish we would've known more about how it was going to go with the county in developing the processing facility. I think we probably would've just hired a project manager and said, "Deal with the county, make sure everything is taken care of. Let us focus on the stuff we're good at.  And I don't wanna be distracted by explaining to the county about our storage tanks... In the end, I think it (hiring a land-use consultant) probably would've saved us a lot on (the) schedule.[/su_quote]

Step 8. Sell the Chickens or Eggs

There are several ways for a poultry farm business to sell their chickens and eggs. The business can sell its products to:

• Consumers: Reach this target market through websites, social media, your own retail location, and farmers' markets.
• Restaurants: Get in touch with restaurant owners through similar channels as consumers but also through trade organizations.
• Poultry processors and wholesalers: Join trade associations or keep reading to find out how to farm for Perdue or Tyson.

How to start a chicken farm for Perdue

If you want to learn the benefits of poultry farming with Perdue, check out the links on their poultry initiatives. As a Perdue farmer, you get access to: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Some of the most advanced systems in the industry
• A consistent supply of industry best practices
• A regional vet dedicated to helping provide care for your poultry
• Flock advisors to help you maximize gross income and profit
• Technical assistance to maintain your systems

[/su_note] They'll guide you through the process of how to start a poultry farm for Perdue.

How to start a chicken farm for Tyson

If you’re wanting to contract with Tyson, check out their prospective farming partners page. They use guidelines from the University of Georgia and contract with more than 6,000 contract farmers. Contact the nearest live operations manager if you’d like to discuss how to start a poultry farm with Tyson.

How to start a chicken farm to sell eggs

Egg-selling poultry farms have many of the same requirements as broiler farms, but they are focused on getting the most eggs per unit of feed. You’ll be trying to keep your chickens healthy for a longer period of time because layers often start egg production near 20 weeks and can produce eggs daily for three to four years.

Step 9. Other Business Functions

In addition to the basic equipment and chicken care, you’ll need to have your systems in place for standard business operations like: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Hiring
• Accounting
• Marketing
• Bartering (unique to farming)

[/su_note] Fortunately, John and Geoff gave us a ton of information on what they use to operate their business selling broiler chickens.

How to start a poultry farm: Hiring

Marion Acres, LLC emphasizes two aspects when hiring:

1. Skill: Do they at least somewhat understand the job?
2. Personality: Are they fun to be around? Similar values? Work Ethic?

For processing employees, they told us: [su_quote]It's called Poached. I think that attracts more of the food service industry, people that are used to handling knives and processing things, stuff like that. So we use that for the processing facility.[/su_quote] They also explained most other positions are easily filled with walk-ins and “now hiring” signs.

How to start a poultry farm: Accounting 

Marion Acres uses a variety of tools for accounting. John told us: [su_quote]Geoff does (accounting), but we do use QuickBooks Online, a lot of spreadsheets.[/su_quote] You can connect QuickBooks to most software, so you might be able to integrate it with other software you love. Geoff and John told us: [su_quote]We use Clover for here in the store. Shopventory, which handles our inventory. And we do use Square for some of our online.[/su_quote] Make sure you understand your accounting processes because you’ll need to have sufficient funds or be well documented for the farm programs. Learn about other accounting software for farmers and have a professional accountant help you set it up properly.

How to start a poultry farm: Marketing

John discussed their marketing strategy with us: [su_quote]We have mainly my wife who oversees that team, Rachelle. There (are) about two people right now, besides her. So three total.  We use Wix, which is very user-friendly, and a very simple platform. It just uploads some pictures and types in some things and they make it look good. So kudos to Wix.   The team that manages that also manages the inventory.[/su_quote] Marion Acres uses social media because it’s so powerful. Check out their Instagram and LinkTree. Like most business owners, they have found that their search engine optimization is what truly helps drive awareness. They also mentioned that customer service is a big part of their value. They treat people like family and have a beautiful view with picnic tables. Geoff and John have created such a pleasant experience that some customers come almost daily.

Go start your own business!

Chicken is a staple of most people’s diets. Now you have an idea of how to start a poultry farm, so take a training course with poultry farming for beginners, buy some baby chicks, and get farming today! Which type of farming would you rather do, broilers or egg-layers?

Starting a cleaning business is hard work. If you’ve never owned a prior business, finding clients, creating cleaning standards, marketing, and everything else you have to do can be a real challenge. That is why many people consider how to get a cleaning franchise. We reviewed Entrepreneur’s top 500 franchises to find the best cleaning franchises available and checked out the websites to see what makes each cleaning franchise different. Some provide flexible hours while others provide extra services, and some focus on the revenue you can make. [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] We’ll provide you the information you need to find the right cleaning franchise based on your estimated total initial investment. Click on any of the links below to jump to that section:

1. General Cleaning Industry Overview
2. How Much Does a Cleaning Franchise Make?
3. How Much Does It Cost to Start a Cleaning Franchise?
4. The UpFlip Cleaning Blueprint
5. Residential Cleaning Franchises
6. Commercial Cleaning Franchises
7. Specialty Cleaning Franchises

[/su_note] Get ready to find out more about how to get a cleaning franchise.

General Cleaning Industry Overview

According to IBIS World, the cleaning services industry is a growing industry. There are three main areas that cleaners operate under:

• Commercial Cleaning Services: Commonly referred to as janitorial cleaning, these services made over $90 billion in 2022 and are expected to grow to $96.1 Billion by 2028. This segment of the industry averages 6.9% profit.
• Residential Cleaning Services: The housekeeping, maids, and gardening industry made over $30 billion last year and is expected to grow to $33 billion by 2028. This industry has a nearly 52% profit margin.
• Specialty Cleaning Services: This is a catchall for other services like carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, power washing, and window washing. These add up to around $10 billion in revenue, and profits vary.

That means cleaning is a nearly $130 billion industry. You should also be aware that customers expect green cleaning services to be offered in all types of buildings. Office space, retail stores, medical facilities, and even homeowners are becoming more aware of hospital-grade disinfectants and Hepa vacuums.  Queen Bee Cleaning Services is part of the residential and Airbnb cleaning segment. Owner Christopher Mondragon told us: [su_quote]There’s no better time to get into the cleaning business![/su_quote] Check out our interview with him below. [su_youtube url="https://youtu.be/YcYIYdqegGA"]

How Much Does a Cleaning Franchise Make?

Cleaning franchises can make up to $3.25 million annually based on the information disclosed on the various websites. Merry Maids disclosed the highest revenue statistic. Every franchise for cleaning business operations is different, but some share their numbers on their website. All cleaning companies should disclose how much their franchises make in their Financial Disclosure Document. If they don’t, run! That means they don’t have a proven track record (and are breaking franchising laws). Next, we’ll answer how much a cleaning franchise costs.

How Much Does a Cleaning Franchise Cost?

Cleaning companies franchise their business operations to small business owners for an initial franchise fee ranging from about $1,000 to $100K. The differences are impacted by:

1. Local market potential
2. Reputation of the brand
3. Size of the zone
4. Corporate greed
5. Master vs. Service franchise
6. Assistance that the corporate office provides

In addition, you’ll have initial costs to other suppliers that may bring the total cost to buy franchise cleaning businesses up to $250,000. I know that’s a huge range, but many cleaning franchises are less than $100K for a recognized brand.

Can I Buy a Cleaning Franchise Under $1,000?

For those considering franchising a cleaning business for under $1,000, you can’t start a cleaning franchise for under $1,000 in most locations. There are some companies that will allow as low as a $1,000 down payment to start your own business using their brand recognition. The options include: 

• UpFlip Cleaning Business Blueprint
• Jan-Pro
• Stratus Building Solutions
• Anago Cleaning Systems

We’ll cover all of these and more before you finish this article. Let’s start with the Upflip Cleaning Business Blueprint.

The UpFlip Cleaning Business Blueprint

The UpFlip Cleaning Business BluePrint is a course we created with Christopher Mondragon. Chris Started Queen Bee Cleaning Services in 2015, and today the company makes over a million per year. We worked with him to provide you with his formula for success, which includes: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

1. A 10-Module Course
2. Your Own Website and SEO
3. Marketing and Sales Scripts
4. Google Local Service Ads Templates
5. A Guide to Booking Airbnb Clients
6. Software to Provide Reviews
7. Mentoring While You Start and Run Your Cleaning Business

[/su_note] Effectively we’re giving you everything a cleaning business franchise would, but you’re getting all this without the royalties, so you benefit from significant savings. Become your own boss for only $967. We’ve broken the rest of this blog into groups based on the three major cleaning segments. We’ll start with residential cleaners.

Residential Cleaning Franchises

Want to know how to start a cleaning franchise? Start by considering a residential cleaning company like these:

1. The Maids
2. Two Maids (and a Mop)
3. You’ve Got Maids
4. Molly Maid
5. Merry Maids
6. Maid Right

#1. The Maids: Top Ranked Cleaning Company by Entrepreneur

Exclusive partner of the famous Mr. Clean brand, The Maids offers residential and small business cleaning services. You’ll need to pay: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial License Fee: $12.5K
• Additional Fees at Signing: $32K to $80K
• Other Startup Costs: $10K to $33K
• 3 Months Operating Expenses: $22K to $39K
• Total Expenses: $76K to $165K
• Royalty Fees: 3.9% to 6.9%
• Advertising: 2%

[/su_note] Learn more about The Maids franchise opportunities on the company website.

#2. Two Maids: Best Employee Pay Model

Two Maids is a residential cleaning company franchise system that differentiates itself from many franchises in a couple of ways:

1. Pay for Performance: Employees get paid based on performance instead of hourly pay, incentivizing the best performers.
2. Guidance with Systems: The company is highly focused on creating the right systems for you to succeed.

According to Entrepreneur, you’ll have the following financial considerations: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $19,950
• Initial Investment: $83,140 to $123,890
• Net Worth Requirement: $200,000
• Cash Requirement: $51,140
• Royalty Fees: 4-7%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

[/su_note] Learn more about Two Maids cleaning franchises on the Two Maids Franchise website.

#3. You've Got Maids: Best for High-Value Residential Clients

If you want to offer home cleaning services, a You’ve Got Maids franchise cleaning company might be right for you. They offer weekly and biweekly cleaning, spring cleaning, move-in/move-out cleaning, and help to find dedicated full-time residential cleaners for households. You’ll need: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $7,000
• Initial Investment: $36K to $108K
• Net Worth Requirement: $200,000
• Cash Requirement: $40K to $100K
• Royalty Fees: 2.99% to 5.99%
• Ad Royalty: $75/week

[/su_note] This is one of the less popular big cleaning companies as they have had a 29% decline in franchises over the last three years.

#4. Molly Maid: Most Cleaning Franchise Options

Molly Maid is another reputable residential cleaning franchise opportunity. The Molly Maid cleaning franchises require:  [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $14,900
• Initial Investment: $127K to $185K
• Net Worth Requirement: $250,000
• Cash Requirement: $65,000
• Royalty Fees: 3% to 6.5%
• Ad Royalty: $104/week

[/su_note] I don’t understand why they expect weekly payments for the ads. That just adds more for franchise owners to keep up with, especially at the beginning when they need to focus on getting cleaning clients.) Molly Maid offers franchises through Neighborly, their parent corporation, which also owns these franchise opportunities:

• Window Genie: Window washing is another type of cleaning franchise you could start. Learn more about how to start a window cleaning business.
• Dryer Vent Wizard: Gas dryer vents are the number one cause of house fires. Dryer Vent Wizard’s specialized services can save people's lives.
• Shelf Genie: Perfect if you want to offer home organization services.
• Grounds Guys: Landscaping is cleaning the outside, but if you want to do landscaping go talk to the guys at Augusta Lawn Care Services and tell them the UpFlip team says hi.

#5. Merry Maids

The Merry Maids cleaning franchise brand is one of the most well-known names in the cleaning industry. They specialize in residential cleaning services. The top 25% of Merry Maids franchises make over $3 million annually. [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $37,500  to $51,500
• Initial Investment: $50K to $100K
• Net Worth Requirement: $250,000
• Cash Requirement: $65,000
• Royalty Fees: 5% to 7%
• Ad Royalty: 1.3%

[/su_note] Data is according to Entrepreneur.

#6. Maid Right

Premium Service Brands is the parent company of Maid Right. They offer a variety of cleaning services franchises for residential and light commercial buildings including:

• The Grout Medic: Grout cleaning and repair franchise
• Renew Crew: Pressure washing franchise
• Kitchen Wise & Closet Wise: Home organization services

For those wondering how to start a franchise cleaning business with Maid Right, you’ll need: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $65,000
• Initial Investment: $103K to $148K
• Net Worth Requirement: $200,000
• Cash Requirement: $50K
• Royalty Fee: 6%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

[/su_note] Check out the Maid Right website to find out how to get a cleaning franchise with them. Now get ready to learn about how to start a commercial cleaning franchise.

Commercial Cleaning Services Franchises

If you want to clean commercial buildings, consider these franchises:

1. Jan-Pro
2. Jani-King
3. Coverall
4. Stratus Building Solutions
5. Vanguard Cleaning Systems
6. Anago Cleaning Systems

#1. Jan-Pro: Best Commercial Cleaning Franchise Under $50K

Jan-Pro has been recognized as the best commercial cleaner franchise in multiple ranking categories by Entrepreneur. You’ll want to consider a Jan-Pro franchise opportunity if you want to work with commercial clients. The Jan-Pro website says you can get into cleaning franchises for as little as $3,150, which includes the down payment, the Franchise Development Starter Kit, and $1,000 for emergency expenses.  Jan-Pro helps you book commercial facilities that need commercial cleaners and lets you set the number of clients or hours you want to work with per month.  According to Entrepreneur, the franchises incur the following costs: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $2K to $4.5K
• Initial Investment: $4.8K to $58K
• Royalty: 10%
• Ad Royalty: 1%

[/su_note]

#2. Jani-King: Largest Global Franchise Cleaning Company 

The largest of the janitorial services companies is Jani-King, with over 7,000 global franchises. They aren’t as disclosive as other janitorial companies about their franchise opportunities. This company didn’t make the Entrepreneur janitorial franchise opportunity list, but Franchise Times shows that they have rising revenue with declining numbers of franchises. This may be due to the age of the franchisees or other conditions, but be careful when investing in them. [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: Not Disclosed
• Initial Investment: $20K to $52K
• Net Worth Requirement: Not Disclosed
• Cash Requirement: Not Disclosed
• Royalty Fees: Not Disclosed
• Ad Royalty: Not Disclosed

[/su_note]

#3. Coverall: Most Focused on A Positive Work Environment

Coverall is a commercial cleaning company, but its marketing strategy for a coverall cleaning franchise is unique to the industry. Coveralls cleaning franchise markets itself as a janitorial cleaner that brings family and friends together to have fun and make a great living. This value proposition was so unique I called to verify that this is their mission.  They confirmed that indeed, this is their intent, and most new franchises are referrals from other franchisors. Their service reps were nice too. You should expect the following costs for these cleaning business franchises: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $16K to  $41K
• Initial Investment: $18K to $52K
• Royalty Fee: 5%

[/su_note]

#4. Stratus Building Solutions: Lowest Cost Cleaning Franchising

This franchise opportunity is a commercial cleaning franchise that has two ways of franchising:

1. Janitorial Services Franchises
2. Stratus Master Franchises

The janitorial franchises are some of the lowest-cost franchises in the cleaning industry. They start at just $1,000 for an owner-operator without employees. Meanwhile, the Stratus Master franchises are regional offices with a 9-5 schedule supporting janitorial services by providing admin, invoicing, and business consulting services. [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $3,600 to $69,000
• Initial Investment: $4,600 to $79,000
• Net Worth Requirement: $5K to $40K
• Cash Requirement: $2K to $20K
• Royalty Fees: 5%
• Ad Royalty: 1%

[/su_note] This franchise opportunity makes it where you can focus on the part of the business that interests you most. 

#5. Vanguard Cleaning Systems

Vanguard Cleaning Systems is a commercial cleaning business that works similarly to Stratus Building Solutions, where there are two franchise business models to choose from. The first business model is where you perform daily janitorial services, while the second model supports the cleaning franchises with administrative tasks. [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $5K
• Initial Investment: $6K to $37K
• Net Worth Requirement: $50K and $250K
• Cash Requirement: $7K and $45K
• Royalty Fees: 11.5%
• Ad Royalty: N/A

[/su_note] Learn more about Vanguard Cleaning Systems franchise opportunities on their website. 

#6. Anago Cleaning Systems: Easiest to Get Approved Cleaning Franchise

These cleaning franchises are focused on commercial cleaning services. Anago Cleaning Systems uses the same franchise business model as the other commercial cleaning franchise opportunities on the list, where you have master franchise and “unit franchise” options. The master franchise gets an exclusive territory where they book clients and sell “unit franchises”. [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $5K to $31K for Units; $98K for Master franchises
• Initial Investment: $11K to 61K Units; $219K to $339K Master
• Net Worth Requirement: $31K
• Cash Requirement: $1K
• Royalty Fees: 10%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

[/su_note] The best part of Anago Cleaning Systems franchises is their low net worth and cash requirements.  Learn more about the Anago Cleaning Systems franchising.

Specialty Cleaning Franchises

Haven’t found a cleaning service you like yet? Check out some of the unique cleaning franchises like:

1. Aire-Master of America
2. Oxi Fresh
3. College Hunks Hauling Junk
4. ServiceMaster Clean
5. PuroClean
6. TruBlue Total House Care

#1. Aire-Master of America: Most Unique Cleaning Services Franchise

If you want to offer air cleaning services, this company franchise is a good one to consider. Aire-Master of America provides fragrances, equipment, and servicing to commercial buildings, enhancing their workspace and creating emotions that help employees and customers feel better.  According to Entrepreneur, you should expect: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $30K to $100K
• Initial Investment: $45K to $170K
• Net Worth Requirement: $20K
• Cash Requirement: $50K
• Royalty Fees: 5%
• Ad Royalty: N/A

[/su_note] Find out more about Aire-Master of America franchises.

#2. Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning: Best Carpet Cleaning Franchise

If you want to start a carpet cleaning franchise, consider Oxi Fresh.  [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $42,000
• Initial Investment: $48K to $78K
• Net Worth Requirement: $20K
• Cash Requirement: $50K
• Royalty Fees: $395 monthly
• Ad Royalty: 3% [/su_note]

Oxi Fresh has franchises across the U.S. and Canada, plus offers the opportunity to become a master franchise in other countries. 

#3. College Hunks Hauling Junk: Best Name (The Uniforms Don’t Match It, Though)

The winner of the best-named cleaning franchise goes to… College Hunks Hauling Junk! In addition to junk removal, they help homeowners and businesses move. The average junk removal franchise makes $1.63 million, plus they help their local communities by donating meals, recycling, and donating junk to charity. You’ll need: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $45K to $75K
• Initial Investment: Not Disclosed
• Net Worth Requirement: $200K
• Cash Requirement: $75K
• Royalty Fees: 7%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

[/su_note] I just wish the uniforms were superhero costumes!

#4. ServiceMaster Clean

ServiceMaster Clean is a commercial cleaning business and residential floor cleaner that offers cleaning franchises with: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Initial Franchise Fee: $32,500
• Initial Investment: $90K
• Net Worth Requirement: $100K
• Cash Requirement: $50K
• Royalty Fees: 7%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

[/su_note] Their top 25% of single-zone franchises average $1.85 million in revenue, while the top 25% overall (including multi-zone franchises) are making over $3.2 million. Find out more about ServiceMaster Clean franchises.

#5. PuroClean: Most Disclosive Cleaning Franchises

These cleaning franchise opportunities focus on building remediation after property damage from water, fire, mold, and other hazardous materials. They are one of the most disclosive cleaning business franchise companies. They list exactly what you need to start a cleaning franchise business directly on their site: PuroClean understands this is a sizable investment to get your business started, and your dedicated franchise developer can connect you with various financing options for up to 50% of the total restoration franchise costs.

#6. TruBlue Total House Care: Most Diverse Skill Set Needed

TruBlue is a combination of a cleaning franchise, a handyman franchise, a landscaping franchise, and accessibility remodeling. This might be the franchise cleaning business for those who want to build an empire because of all the additional services. You’ll need: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Total Investment: $65,050 to $91,400
• Franchise Fee: $44,900
• Minimum Liquid Capital: $50,000

[/su_note] Find out more about TruBlue Total House Care cleaning franchises.

You Might Also Want to Check Out

Here are 3 more reputable franchise cleaning companies include:

• Home Cleaning Centers of America 
• Sears Maid Services
• Home Clean Heroes

Contact the Franchise That Works for You

Once you’ve decided which cleaning franchise is the best fit for your location, skill set, and budget, it’s time to contact them and get your franchise started. Honestly, I would recommend taking our cleaning course taught by Chris. I’ve taken it myself and found it to be incredibly thorough and full of practical information.  Using Chris’s strategies will save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in royalties every year while giving you the tools you need to start a $1 million dollar cleaning business. If you choose to go with one of the other providers, I am confident that you’ll be happy with your results because the majority of them have been in business for more than a decade. Which way would you like to start a cleaning business?

• Start my own cleaning business from scratch.
• Start my cleaning business with a course.
• Contact a franchise. Tell us in the comments which one!