Should I purchase a work vehicle? My employees just show up for work in their car now!

Buying a vehicle for your new cleaning company is a BIG DEAL. I know it was for me when I started my business many years ago.

I guess that’s why I get questions concerning buying work trucks every now and again! Anyway… The title of this post was a question I received recently.

It was an awesome question, so I thought I would share the answer I provided. Keep in mind that you don’t want to just base your decision on what I did and didn’t do in my business! You are the CEO now… so think things through CAREFULLY! Anyway, here was my answer.

Question: Should I purchase a work vehicle? My employees just show up for work in their car now!

First things first, there are a million ways to do things, and there is no right or wrong per say (only what is right for you). I always say that any business is like a piece of clay, and you can mold it into whatever you like.

For me, when I was a large company… I wanted work trucks that were plastered with my company name and phone number across them. I also liked the idea of my trucks being seen around town. I thought that would generate more business (which it did).

Having my janitorial tucks going to and from the jobs site (and bids) gave me name recognition, as many people would ask for business cards because they saw my vehicles all over town every single day. It was a win-win situation for me.

Keep in mind that what I did may not be the be what others want to do. So remember…I AM NOT saying that the only way to do something is to give people trucks to drive. All I’m saying is that is what I did, and it worked for me (and it help me accomplish my vision for the company).

At the end of the day my goal was this… I wanted a brick and mortar business with real assets. I also did lots of other work over the years, and the trucks came in handy (hauling equipment etc…). Plus showing up at a job in a car doesn’t send the message I want to send.

There is nothing wrong with those that do that, and I mean that. But for me showing up at some job sites in regular cars just wouldn’t work. I wanted a completely polished look, just like a franchise. I believe that polished look allowed me to charge much higher prices too.

Some people buy a cheap car while others buy a Porsche. Same goes for those that hire a service based business, some just hire the cheapest, while others want the Porsche so to speak. I wanted to be the sports car!

So in a nutshell, you are doing just fine. What you are doing works for you, and that is all that matters. As I said before (in this post and many others), you are now the CEO of your own business. You have to decide what’s best for YOU.