39k....12 companies sure sounds like a lot to me......It will come down to your Advertising and your service.... price might play a part to start, you might need a few incentives to get your foot in the door...

What you have to remember that some of those 39k have been using the same carpet cleaner for years and years...

A guy like doug has been servicing his community for a long while... it's hard to take his customers away

I live in a city of roughly 80,000 and there are probably close to 20 other cleaners.

12 shouldn't be too bad.

making yourself stand out will be the biggest obstacle IMO.

charge what you feel comfortable with

For 85K 12 cleaners is not that many.  How many others don't advertise?  How many are part time? This will be like starting all over, but for a second time.  I would want to determine what other systems are out there, how long have some been business?  Maybe some of the cleaners in the yp have already gone.  Are your competitors franchises, do they offer restoration services 24 hr. When going to a smaller population doing business can be different than a large city, some will disagree. All I can suggest is to do your home work and don't sell yourself short.  My whole service area is only 59,000 people and I have 10 to 15 cleaning companies  serving this area at any given time.