Mobile Vacuum Repair

Starting a mobile repair business for vacuum cleaners can be a lucrative service business. Mobile vacuum repair companies provide full service which includes meeting clients for pickup and dropoff. Vacuum repair technicians can charge +$50 per job and often earn +$5,000 per month working from home.

Vacuum Repair Industry Insights

Did you know there are over 2,500 small businesses across the US that repair vacuum cleaners whether through a mobile repair service, local repair shop or vacuum cleaner store?
The repair industry is touted as one of the most accessible local businesses to start because there is existing demand, little to no overhead and all you need to get started is the experience to be proficient as an independent operator.

You will find a wide range of revenue across small mom and pop providers due to local population size in roughly a 25 mile radius, the number of competitors in your region and how you build your service pricing model. That said, revenue for vacuum repair businesses can range from as low as a few hundred dollars per month as a weekend side hustle to +$100,000 per month for established, sales driven organizations that operate with a storefront selling high end vacuum cleaners and central vacuum systems.

There is an estimated $250,000,000 per year in revenue generated nationwide by vacuum cleaner repair service providers. With close to a quarter of a billion dollars in vacuum repair and vacuum cleaner sales you might be concerned that the industry is already saturated...

However, you would be pleasantly surprised to learn that most cities from large metropolitan areas to smaller tier 2 cities actually have a deficit of vacuum repair businesses and technicians which leads to more homeowners, renters and small businesses replacing vacuums that could otherwise be cost-effectively repaired if there was someone closer that provided vac repair near them.

Furthermore, Google Trends indicates there is an increasingly upward trend in interest for vacuum repair services throughout the United States.

One of the most encouraging industry statistics is that profit margin for services are in excess of 50% with many high performing vacuum businesses achieving +75% profit margin if operated leanly with minimal expenses.

The most cautionary industry metric has been the store closure rate for brick and mortar shops, but this increase has largely been driven by an aging owner demographic and limited vacuum repair technicians to continue operating the business or acquire the business from them.

Most vacuum companies are owner-operator lead either as a solopreneur, with one or two part-time support staff or family ran business. While most stay focused on one service area or one location there are a number of multi-location or regional operators which employ managers, repair techs and even sales representatives to educates both consumers and businesses about the best vacuum for their specific needs.

One of the hardest aspects of this industry is hiring, training, motivating and retaining labor as most vacuum businesses experience a revolving door of employees for these positions which gravitates industry ownership towards the mechanically inclined that don't mind getting their hands dirty on a daily basis.

In summary, a rising demand for vacuum repair combined with a shrinking supply of vacuum repair technicians creates an excellent opportunity for the next wave of entrepreneurial repair technicians.

Vacuum Cleaner Service Business Overview

On a high-level the business itself is actually a simple process with 9 Core Business Phases to win, service and grow client relationships. The problem-solution framework for this venture is straight forward in that you receive broken or under-performing vacuums and charge for your services to remedy the issues with a greater than 50% profit to ensure adequate profitability.

1. Market your vacuum cleaner repair service.

2. Coordinate the check-in process of vacuums for repair.

3. Survey client to better understand the symptoms and changes in performance.

4. Diagnose these malfunctioning symptoms to identify and verify specific problem areas.

5. Troubleshoot these issues to alleviate and resolve the malfunctions.

6. Test the unit to confirm the problems are fixed or fine tune the repair process until solved.

7. Complete the service ticket for communication of billing and satisfactory return of the vacuum cleaner to the client.

8. Receive compensation, request a testimonial of a 5-star review and encourage any referrals.

9. Return service for satisfied client base and ascension of offerings to include products and related services.

While there are many sub-steps to running a successful vacuum repair business this is the macro-view of the business and fulfillment process needed to generate healthy revenue, profit and income from your business.

Is Starting A Mobile Vacuum Repair Business Worth It?

Building any type of repair service business is not for everyone. While vacuum cleaners are a simple appliance, repairing them does require a basic technical proficiency and comfortability with doing light manual labor around dust, dirt and debris. There are certainly many easier ways to make a living that pay less, higher paying professions that may in aggregate be less desirable and a myriad of business or employment models in-between that may better suit you. Is this business a 'must-have' that you can't talk yourself out of despite the pain and frustration that surely await on this entrepreneurial journey?
There's great prudence in being an employee. Less stress, less risk, more stability and yet greater flexibility. Becoming a vacuum repair technician for an established vacuum store is certainly not a bad idea and depending on your market hourly rates for techs may range from $15 per hour to $25 per hour with both part-time and full-time employment options. That earns many service technicians up to $48,000 per year all from their experise in repairing vacs. If you have no experience this will help you build your repair skills, but in addition it may prove to be a career which endows the vast majority of the upsides of owning a vacuum repair business without the looming negatives that can weigh heavily on you.

Does the thought of organizing your revenue and expenses for accounting purposes make you nauseous? Does having to come in on Sunday afternoon to catch up on late repairs make you uncomfortable? Does having to hire, train, manage and fire employees make you shiver? One of the biggest disadvantages of becoming a vacuum business owner is that profitably finding, ordering, receiving and selling parts in the repair can be extremely challenging for many brands and models of vacuum cleaners, such as a Shark vacuum cleaner.

There are certainly many responsibilities that come with being a mobile vacuum repair business owner, but the reward of +$50,000 annual business owner salary may be worth it for you. While not common, elite vacuum business owners have reported making more than $200,000 income per year.

That said, many vacuum store managers earn more than $70,000 per year to manage an established vacuum business so don't count out the merits of starting as a vacuum repair technician, learning how to sell vacuum cleaners and eventually working your way up to manage or acquire that business.

One of the greatest merits to starting this business is that vacuum repair services are relatively recession resistant as people look to save money repairing in economic downturns before immediately just replacing their unit. Another advantage of building a vacuum repair startup is that there are alternative means of leveraging your skills to make money such as refurbishing vacuum cleaners from thrift stores to sell online, the ability to tear down machines and sell parts online and even to sell other products and services related to maintaining a clean home or business. One of the biggest advantages of becoming a vacuum business owner is that many people own high end vacuum cleaners such as Sebo, Electrolux, Miele, Riccar and Landaus which having paid top dollar for superior equipment can justify higher repair expenses to extend the lifespan of their appliance that with your help may last +10 years, +15 years or even +20 years versus.

The greatest strength of this business is that people care about having a clean, healthy home. There are many big box vacuum cleaner brands which clean at an average level of quality, lasting less than 3 years of use and needing frequent service. There are many high end vacuum cleaner brands which clean better, last longer, are easier to use, have better filtration and warrant regular service to protect their investment. Your business provides a cost-efficient, problem solving, profitable service that supports recurring revenue over the years of a client relationship.

A great aspect of this business is that you can become proficient at +80% of vacuum cleaner repair in less than a week of servicing vacuum cleaners. Another good thing is that you will likely have little to no competition in your immediate area for your services which will make building customer loyalty pretty easy. Though some training and experience is required, you can learn on the job and many claim to earn over $1,000 income in their first month of service just off of a simple web presence and word of mouth. If you earn commercial accounts for hotels, janitorial companies, house cleaners and government contracts you could potentially have thousands of dollars per month in fairly recurring revenue right out of the gates. It's not unusual for vacuum businesses to earn +$50,000 in their first year of business with some marketing and sales investment or do-it-yourself business development skills.

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What You Need To Know Before You Start A Vacuum Repair Company

All you need to get started is a table in your garage or shed, a reasonable assortment of household tools and a website to direct word of mouth and predominantly Google search engine traffic to at first.
There are many marketplaces like Yelp, Thumbtack and even HomeAdvisor that you can try to market your services on with varying degrees of success, but the truth is that you can start without all of that complexity. NextDoor, Facebook groups, Craigslist, Instagram and local directories all have their place but out of the gate our first priority is capturing low hanging fruit which means we need to put ourselves in our customers' shoes.

What would you do if your vacuum wasn't working quite right and you wanted to see if it could be fixed before replacing it without yet another?

Odds are you would either ask a friend or do what most do which is just search on google for 'vacuum repair near me'. The aggregate of Google searches related to this winds up being tens of thousands of searches every single month from coast to coast.

When somebody searches in your area for vacuum repair you want to have earned the top placement with hopefully little to no other providers listed. If your online reputation demonstrates professionalism and a dedication to customer satisfaction you will achieve a strong conversion rate from google to clicks to your website to then calls to your business phone number and ultimately sales.

This in tandem with some grassroots efforts to get the word out in your community is often enough to get a business from zero to profitable.

Hope for the best and plan for the worst by ensuring you have a buffer of a few months of money to keep your business afloat as you gain traction or you may be wise to maintain a source of income as you get the business up to speed.

The vast majority of businesses fail and it generally comes from not being able to acquire customers. Do you know how you are going to repeatable and consistently acquire customers? Who specifically are your ideal customers anyways? How will you sell those prospective customers your services? Clarity on these pillars of a profitability will be the keys to your success.

How To Know If Vacuum Repair Could Be A Viable Service In Your Area

Google 'vacuum repair service in {YOUR CITY}'. How many service providers show up that are within a 25 mile radius of your home or shop? Now google {YOUR CITY, STATE} population. How many people are there which could need your services? If you have less than 3 vacuum stores within a 25 mile radius and greater than 15,000 population within roughly a 25 mile radius then you may have a business on your hands, especially if you are willing to serve commercial accounts or work discounted deals to repair vacuums for other shops in the wider area.
If there are zero other vacuum repair service technicians in your area then you may have a blue ocean on your hands where by being the only provider you become the default winner of search engine traffic. If you have less than 15,000 population in your service area of roughly 25 miles then you may want to ask yourself if you are willing to work a wider service area while you build the business up? This may reduce profitability some and certainly increase some complexity, but it could buy you the time to build a client base and gain more traction locally to be sustainable in a smaller service area a year or two later.

Another thing you can do is try to find out if in the last 10 years or so there was a high end, direct sales representative in your area for brands like Electrolux, Rainbow, Kirby and the likes. If so, there are high end vacuum customers in your area which made a meaningful investment in a quality appliance and can represent a higher end clientele for your business.

The other consideration if you are on the fence is to just put feelers out on social media, to your community and through grassroots channels like Craigslist to see if you can generate demand for your services. If you can generate a couple of repairs per week through free means of promotion would you be consider this venture validated and be content to continue building the business up or would you need a much larger number of inquiries for validation purposes?

Startup Checklist For Building A Mobile Vacuum Repair Business

Step-by-step guide to starting a vacuum repair business for less than $1,000.

Step 1: Learn how to the most common vacuum repair issues except for motor repair as they are often not cost-effective.

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Step 2: Create a vacuum repair business plan that outlines the specifics of how your business will start, operate and grow.

• Number Of Operational Businesses (BIZ): 500

• Average Annual Revenue (REV): $30,000

• Average Gross Profit Margin (GPM): 70%

• Average Ticket Or Order Value (AOV): $50

• Average Cost Of Goods Sold (COGS): $10

• Average Profit Per Unit (PPU): $40

• Average Lifetime Value (LTV): $100

• Minimum Viable Product Startup Investment Cost (MVP): $500

• Average Payback Period To Breakeven Point (BEP): 3 Months

• Average Lead Or Per Action Cost (CPA): $3

• Average Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): $10

• Average LTV:CAC Ratio (ROAS): 10X