After 20 years of working for others doing industrial labor and in the commercial cleaning business, Carl Wetoskey decided to open his own cleaning and maintenance company.

“Cleaning for another company has taught me to be a perfectionist, and that quality counts,” said the New Haven man who, along with his wife, Kim, recently opened K&C Cleaning and Maintenance at 10001 Minnich Road. Wetoskey said his experience working in a factory also “taught me discipline and outstanding work ethics.”

While the Wetoskeys were aware that good work ethics are an important part of getting a start-up business off the ground, they also knew they needed professional advice on setting up a new business. So they turned to Scot Goskowicz, a business adviser with the Northeast Indiana Small Business Development Center.

“Scot pointed us in the right direction on things like registering our business name, obtaining a tax ID number and securing leads for government jobs,” Wetoskey said.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business' (NFIB) Education Foundation, more than 3 million new businesses are started annually, with two-thirds of them starting in the owner's home.

One survey done by the foundation and Wells Fargo Bank, using U.S. Census Bureau data and household surveys, revealed that about 50 percent of businesses that employ people are still operating five years after the business opening.

The NFIB estimates that over the lifetime of a business, 39 percent are profitable, 30 percent break even and 30 percent lose money, with 1 percent of businesses falling into the “unable to determine” category.

Another study by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) found more than two-thirds of new business ventures were successful after four years.

A surprising finding of the study was that of the businesses that closed, one-third were operating successfully but were closed for other reasons such as sale of the company to a larger company or geographic move of the owner.

“The study corrects the long-held belief that a large majority of start-up businesses fail - a belief that may have deterred many would-be entrepreneurs from taking on the risk. Knowing only 33 percent fail after four years may encourage more entrepreneurs to start a new venture,” SBA economist Brian Headd said in his report.

To get his company's name out in the community, Wetoskey has been visiting banks, credit unions, doctors' and dentists' offices, and shopping malls, introducing himself and leaving his business card.

“There are a lot of big cleaning companies out there. With bigger companies they can charge a little less, I think, but I've talked to so many people who are not happy with some of the bigger companies.” Wetoskey hopes that will work to his advantage.

“We might be small, but I've been in the industry long enough to know that you need to do good work to keep business,” he said.

Operating a cleaning company takes flexibility in both scheduling and work requests, Wetoskey said.

The Wetoskeys say working with the SBDC has helped get them off to the right start from the legal and financial perspectives. Now their own “elbow grease” will ensure happy customers.

“Our mission is to provide outstanding service with integrity and professionalism,” Wetoskey said. “With our company name, I know I have a reputation I've got to maintain. This is my name.”