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US Based Wazuans?
Rank: Member Joined: 3/19/2013 Posts: 344
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Do we have any Wazua entrepreneurs based and doing business in the US? If not, does anyone know of a good forum where they might be discussing US based issues?
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/26/2011 Posts: 759
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Sansa wrote:Do we have any Wazua entrepreneurs based and doing business in the US? If not, does anyone know of a good forum where they might be discussing US based issues? Hey what kind of entrepreneurship are you looking for?
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Rank: Member Joined: 3/19/2013 Posts: 344
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I have two things I'm researching but I think it would be a great for those on this end of the world who are looking for a second hustle or just tired of working for "the man".
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/26/2011 Posts: 759
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Sansa wrote:I have two things I'm researching but I think it would be a great for those on this end of the world who are looking for a second hustle or just tired of working for "the man".
If you can specify what kind of stuff you are into then it would be easier for someone to refer you to some group. "Tired of working 'for the man' is a gimmick you might want to drop because it is not an impressive pitch line, if you start your conversation with that pitchline no one will take you serious, entrepreneurs are mainly driven not by being tired of working for someone but mainly by a passion or a desire to solve a specific problem.
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/20/2010 Posts: 412 Location: nairobi
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w The only time you should be looking down on others is when you are helping them up.
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/20/2010 Posts: 412 Location: nairobi
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rollout wrote: If you can specify what kind of stuff you are into then it would be easier for someone to refer you to some group.
"Tired of working 'for the man' is a gimmick you might want to drop because it is not an impressive pitch line, if you start your conversation with that pitchline no one will take you serious, entrepreneurs are mainly driven not by being tired of working for someone but mainly by a passion or a desire to solve a specific problem.
The only time you should be looking down on others is when you are helping them up.
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Rank: Member Joined: 3/19/2013 Posts: 344
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I was not trying to impress anyone but anyway ...
On weekends, mainly Saturdays I clean for 4 old ladies who live in my apartment complex. I charge them a standard fee whether the place is a mess or not and I'm usually done in 2 hours/client. The complex has many units and the number of clients (the elderly and single people) are also many but I can only manage the 4 I have.
Is there anyone out there doing the same but on a larger scale with employees etc. and can offer pointers on how to proceed?
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/26/2011 Posts: 759
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Sansa wrote:I was not trying to impress anyone but anyway ...
On weekends, mainly Saturdays I clean for 4 old ladies who live in my apartment complex. I charge them a standard fee whether the place is a mess or not and I'm usually done in 2 hours/client. The complex has many units and the number of clients (the elderly and single people) are also many but I can only manage the 4 I have.
Is there anyone out there doing the same but on a larger scale with employees etc. and can offer pointers on how to proceed?
I would call this small business, check out molly maid business model otherwise I can't think of anyone who have done it bigger, most of the labor intensive businesses are hard to scale so they are not attractive to investors.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 4/30/2008 Posts: 6,029
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Sansa wrote:Do we have any Wazua entrepreneurs based and doing business in the US? If not, does anyone know of a good forum where they might be discussing US based issues? Look out for Jason Hill who I hear is the VP for JP Morgan.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/24/2013 Posts: 325
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Sansa wrote:I was not trying to impress anyone but anyway ...
On weekends, mainly Saturdays I clean for 4 old ladies who live in my apartment complex. I charge them a standard fee whether the place is a mess or not and I'm usually done in 2 hours/client. The complex has many units and the number of clients (the elderly and single people) are also many but I can only manage the 4 I have.
Is there anyone out there doing the same but on a larger scale with employees etc. and can offer pointers on how to proceed?
Hi Sansa, which state are you in? Once upon a time I thought about this I just never did anything about it. How much do you charge per apartment? How many bedrooms?
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Rank: Member Joined: 3/19/2013 Posts: 344
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I'm in Pittsburg, PA. I'm charging $50 for a 1 bedroom apt and use their cleaning supplies.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/26/2012 Posts: 15,980
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Sansa wrote:I'm in Pittsburg, PA. I'm charging $50 for a 1 bedroom apt and use their cleaning supplies. Are your charges flat or by the hr? "There are only two emotions in the market, hope & fear. The problem is you hope when you should fear & fear when you should hope: - Jesse Livermore .
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Rank: Member Joined: 3/19/2013 Posts: 344
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The charges are flat and that seems to be the going rate for a one bedroom in this area. They apartments are usually not messy and it's mostly "maintenance" so I'm done pretty quickly. I also do laundry for one of them but I don't charge extra for that.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/26/2012 Posts: 15,980
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Sansa wrote:The charges are flat and that seems to be the going rate for a one bedroom in this area. They apartments are usually not messy and it's mostly "maintenance" so I'm done pretty quickly. I also do laundry for one of them but I don't charge extra for that. Good,  Way to go "There are only two emotions in the market, hope & fear. The problem is you hope when you should fear & fear when you should hope: - Jesse Livermore .
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 7/22/2011 Posts: 1,325
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This is what you should do, advertise your business within your apartment, you already have a ready market, just make them aware that you are willing to provide services. Once you get the demand, go out and hire temporary workers, the market is flooded right now with cheap labor so you shouldnt have a problem. If you need workers on the same day due to high demand, go to Home Depot, you will find ready labor. Get the job done, then go out and buy your own supplies, this way you will be able to charge more coz no professional company uses the clients supplies. Then create a charging schedule, you can charge a flat rate for a small one bedroom but you have to adjust charges for bigger messier houses, also itemize and charge extra for the extra stuff like doing laundry, dishes etc. Once you get all the residents at your apartment, advertise in the penny saver or paper and get more clients, dont be afraid of large volumes, there is cheap labor available and you can pay them per hour. Have a standard rule that the cleaning is done within an hour or two to avoid shirking from the employees. Lastly register your company and pay taxes coz uncle Sam does not play, you may also want to make sure your employees are eligible to work coz cousin Barry is not playing either! Good luck.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/1/2010 Posts: 518 Location: kandara, Murang'a
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Sansa wrote:I was not trying to impress anyone but anyway ...
On weekends, mainly Saturdays I clean for 4 old ladies who live in my apartment complex. I charge them a standard fee whether the place is a mess or not and I'm usually done in 2 hours/client. The complex has many units and the number of clients (the elderly and single people) are also many but I can only manage the 4 I have.
Is there anyone out there doing the same but on a larger scale with employees etc. and can offer pointers on how to proceed?
where are you based? Minnesotta? Foresight..
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Rank: Elder Joined: 5/25/2012 Posts: 4,105 Location: 08c
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gatoho wrote:where are you based? Minnesotta? She says: Sansa wrote:I'm in Pittsburg, PA. I'm charging $50 for a 1 bedroom apt and use their cleaning supplies. (@Sansa you might want to call it Pittsburgh) Pesa Nane plans to be shilingi when he grows up.
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Rank: Member Joined: 3/19/2013 Posts: 344
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@Pesa Nane, Typo! I should be able to spell the name of my city. @Nabwire, Thanks for the info. I'm turning people down as it is so I think when I am ready for more clients it will not be too hard.
My main concern is the workers i.e. employees vs. daily labor (client trust issues), insurance and bond (in case the workers break things) and other costs of doing business. Right now I don't have any expenses other than my time and energy but when I start factoring in these things will it be worth it or will they eat into most of the money I make?
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 7/22/2011 Posts: 1,325
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Kwani how much is insurance? I don't think that should be the reason to not expand your business. Lets assume that insurance is $100 a month, if you hire 4 workers and they clean a total of 10 houses a day, if you charge $60 for a small house and $100 and over for a bigger house, we can average that at $80 a house, that's $800 a day. If you pay your workers an average of $12 an hour, 6 hour shifts, that's $72 by 4 that's $288, round it to $300 per day. So already you have a profit of $500 a day, so even if insurance is a couple hundred, you are still way above your break even. This should show you that you can clearly make more money by expanding your business than doing it by yourself!
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/24/2013 Posts: 325
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Pesa Nane wrote:gatoho wrote:where are you based? Minnesotta? She says: Sansa wrote:I'm in Pittsburg, PA. I'm charging $50 for a 1 bedroom apt and use their cleaning supplies. (@Sansa you might want to call it Pittsburgh) How about Mbuzi 7 part 2 for Wazuans in the states?
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