A duct cleaning business plan comes down to four things: startup cost (roughly $5,000 to $30,000), pricing ($300 to $700 per residential job), how you'll get customers, and the math that proves it works. Equipment and licensing are the easy part. The piece that decides whether you make it is the one most plans skip: a steady, repeatable way to get found and booked.
We run an HVAC company ourselves, so this is a working outline with real numbers — not a template to fill with buzzwords. Here's what to plan for, and where we honestly fit versus where you're better off doing it yourself.
A portable duct-cleaning machine runs $2,000–$10,000; truck-mounted systems cost more. Add a vehicle, a vacuum and brushes, insurance, licensing, and starter marketing. Most owners begin with portable gear to keep the entry near $5,000–$15,000.
Residential jobs run $300–$700, averaging $400–$500, priced by vents and system size. Add dryer-vent cleaning, sanitizing, and commercial work quoted by square footage. Decide your floor price and your add-on menu before you take the first call.
The dependable channels: a complete Google Business Profile with reviews, a website that ranks for "duct cleaning near me," referral deals with HVAC and restoration companies, and seasonal pushes. This is where plans are usually vaguest and where the business actually lives or dies.
Jobs per week times average ticket, minus fuel, supplies, and marketing. Margins are healthy per job — the variable is volume. A realistic plan models a slow first quarter while your reviews and ranking build.
The equipment shows up and the phone stays quiet. The usual reasons:
We'd rather you spend your startup cash where it counts. Skip hiring a web-and-SEO partner for now if:
Once you have a few reviews and steady-enough cash flow, the website that ranks for your service is usually the highest-return next dollar.
When you're past the startup phase and ready to get found, our Start Getting Leads plan is $249/month — a website that ranks plus 24/7 AI lead capture for the calls you can't take. Grow in Google ($597/month) adds the monthly SEO content engine and lead attribution. Month-to-month, you own it all. See HVAC and duct SEO, HVAC website design, and the AI receptionist.
We don't post stock testimonials. On a 15-minute call we screen-share the real dashboards behind our own businesses — live leads, rankings, and the exact page that produced each one. See the proof →
Roughly $5,000–$30,000. Portable equipment runs $2,000–$10,000; truck-mounted systems cost more. Many owners start portable to keep the entry low.
Residential duct cleaning typically runs $300–$700, averaging $400–$500, by vents and system size. Commercial is quoted by square footage.
It can be — margins per job are healthy. The constraint is booking volume, which is why getting found online matters as much as the equipment.
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