How to Start a Cleaning Business
Before you decide to start your cleaning business, make sure this kind of work is right for you. You will need to be in good physical condition.
Cleaning is very hard strenuous work. You will need to have good customer relation skills.
You will need to have basic office skills and some accounting skills.
If you are planning on leaving your full time position to start a cleaning business, make sure you have at least six months of savings.
Or keep your full time job and start out part time.
Research all the aspects of the cleaning service business. From customer service to advertising, taxes, employees, insurance and bonding, what to charge and how to clean a home professionally.
Cleaning your own home and cleaning professionally is totally different. Learning how to clean professionally takes a lot of time.
When a client pays for your services they expect to come home and find their home spotless.Getting those first clients takes time, persistence and patience. You will not get a hundred clients overnight.
Obtaining those first clients The hardest part of starting your own cleaning service is obtaining those first clients.
Most clients want to know how long you have been in business and want references. The best thing to do is let clients know that, yes, you are new to the business but that you have thoroughly researched all aspects of the cleaning business and assure them that you know what you are doing and that you are quite capable of cleaning their home to their specifications.
Be confident. This can't be stressed enough. Clients love to see confidence. It relieves their worries and lets them know that their home is in good hands.
Get good references. To get a few good references when starting out, ask some friends or family members if you can clean their home for free or at a discounted rate. The sound of working for free may not be appealing but it will be worth it to get some good testimonials.
Go for quality. When cleaning those first homes, go for quality, not how fast you can clean the home. Cleaning efficiently takes a long time, but you will get to the point where you can do a thorough cleaning in a short time.
After cleaning make sure you go back and double check all rooms to make sure you didn't miss anything. Impress those first clients and word of mouth will spread soon.
Advertise. Advertising your company image is everything. Before you start advertising, decide what image you want to portray on your advertising material. Your image is very important.
Be consistent with all your advertising. If you have a logo be sure to use it on all your advertising materials. It is best to have a website developed before you start advertising. When advertising, stick with the same logo and colors.
Advertise in a local paper. Start by running a text ad in your local newspaper. Try to come up with an eye catching ad. Do not sell your services on low rates, sell your services on your quality of work and what you can do for the client that other companies don't. There is a lot of competition in the cleaning service. You have to stand out from the rest.
Having your business name and contact information on your vehicle is a great way to advertise. It's recommended to use vinyl lettering. The lettering looks much more professional than the magnetic signs.
Print flyers. You can print nice flyers on your home computer, invest in some professional flyers. Hang flyers at Hair Dressers, Laundromats, Restaurants, Bakeries, Grocery Stores, etc.
Put flyers on car windows at local groceries stores and businesses.
You can even go door to door in neighbourhoods you would like to work in.
Make door hangers. Door hangers are a great way to get new clients. Pick the neighbourhood you would like to work in and hang the door hangers on the doors.
When people get flyers or ads in their mailbox they usually throw them away with the junk mail. But if there is a door hanger on the door they will take the time to look at it.
Print business cards. Start giving out your business cards to friends and family members. You can also ask your local businesses if you can leave some cards on their counters.
Get a referral program. A great way to obtain new clients is through a referral program. Offer existing clients a discount when they refer a friend. You can give your existing clients a discount when the friend uses your services three times.
Invest in a website'. These days people live very busy lives so they use the convenience of the internet to shop for the services they need. A lot of working women will shop for services while at work.
Everyone that has a business should have a website. It shows clients that you are serious about your business and allows them research your business in their own time.
Use natural cleaning products. By using all natural products, you can offer your clients a healthy cleaning experience and protect ourselves against harsh chemicals. Clients love the natural cleaning products with essential oils. They come home to a healthy clean home filled with the wonderful scents of aromatherapy essential oils.
Charge your work proper. You should sell your services on your quality of work and not your low rates. If your rates are too low, clients will think that your work is sub-standard and that you are not experienced. Also you want to attract the clients that can afford your services.
Don't make the mistake of pricing your work too low when you first start out. Cleaning is hard work, charge what you are worth. As the old saying goes "You get what you pay for."
Some companies charge by the hour, some charge by the room, some charge a flat rate per home and some charge by the square foot. It is better to charge by the home, not by the hour. If a client knows they have to pay one set fee, they don't care if you take 2 hours or 5 hours. Also your clients will know what they are paying up front and won't have to worry about added expenses.
No two houses are the same. And there is no set charge for all homes. You have to clean for awhile yourself to get some experience and to work out a system to clean efficiently. Only you know what you want and need to make. Decide what you need to make hourly to cover all expenses and still make a good profit.
A word of advise: Make sure when you start your company that you charge what you would charge if you had employees. Some people make the mistake of under charging when they start out just to get customers and then later on when they grow and need to hire help they aren't making enough money on their houses to pay help. Don't under price your work. Cleaning homes is very hard physical work and you didn't get into this business to work for nothing.
Get insurance and Bonding. You need to be an honest person and somewhat personable. People will need to trust you to be in their homes. Most clients are concerned about having someone new in their house, with good reason. You should be bonded and fully insured. Liability insurance rates depend on your insurance carrier and where you are located. Each person you hire will increase your liability insurance. It's well worth the cost. You can pay quarterly or yearly. You can purchase your bond through your local insurance company. You will need to renew the bond every year.
Note: If you hire employees and cover them under your insurance, they must be an employee on payroll and not a sub-contractor. If you employ them as a sub-contractor your insurance will not cover them. If they are a sub-contractor they are required to carry their own insurance.
Hire help. If you start out cleaning the homes by yourself, you will eventually get to the point where you need to expand your business. Start out with one part time employee. Train them and let them take your place one day a week. Then have them take your place two days a week and so on.
This will give you the free time that you need to market your business and obtain more clients. After you get more clients you will be able to hire more part time help. Eventually you will be able to stop doing the cleaning yourself and just run the business end, which is the only way you will be able to grow your business. When training new employees, always, either train them yourself or have a lead person train them. Make sure there is a lead person on each and every cleaning job. Employees have a tendency to slack off when they are on their own. Growing your business.
You will eventually get to the point where you have enough employees and lead people and you will be able to stop working in your business and start running your business. You will find that after awhile it will get to be too much trying to clean everyday and at the same time giving estimates, answering calls, scheduling, doing book work, obtaining new clients, etc.
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