Cleaning products are a high demand product. People clean all of the time, everywhere. From churches to schools to homes and offices, people always need cleaning products. Potential large clients for this business include cleaning companies, schools, churches, and businesses. In addition, you can sell directly to anyone who cleans. Products can be sold in person, at home parties or over the Internet.

Things You Will Need

  • Tester products

  • Order forms

  • Website

  • Brochures

  • Business cards

Find a company that makes the kind of cleaning products you want to sell. Many companies are offering ecologically friendly products now, so that can be a niche you can promote. You will need to decide how you will sell these products and who you will target with your marketing program.

Design your promotion materials. You will need a name for your business, a logo, brochures, a website and other promotional materials like a catalog or flyer. Enlist help from a local graphic designer if you are unsure of your creative ability to do this yourself.

Contact your state tax department and your city clerk's office for guidance. You may need a permit to operate a business out of your home as well as materials so that you can collect sales tax on orders you take.

Demonstrate your materials. Find a venue, like a flea market, fair, or home party, where you can demonstrate how great your cleaning products are. Keep marketing materials and order forms handy, so that customers can order from you. If you can, stock products to sell directly at the time of your demonstration.

Advertise and promote your products. You can do this by displaying business cards and flyers where permitted on public bulletin boards, such as in supermarkets, restaurants, and libraries. Make some calls to area schools and churches and find out where they get their cleaning products. You can offer a demonstration as well as ask if you can bid the job. Many schools are responding to parents by looking for and using new "greener" products in their classrooms. Ask cleaning companies where they get their products. You may be able to offer them a better deal or--if you are selling eco-friendly products--suggest to them a new niche for their business.

Sell your products online. Consider hooking up with a company that will drop ship your products for you, so that you don't have to worry about packing and shipping your orders to your customers.

Keep current with trends in cleaning products. Staying up-to-date with news in your business will help you offer the best customer service possible to your clients.

Tip

Doctors' and dentists' offices are also a great potential clientele.

Warning

Safeguard against misleading claims of some eco-friendly products by investigating the manufacturer or distributor of the products you sell. Know the ingredients and where the cleaner is produced.