How to Start A House Cleaning Business … In 7 Simple Steps
Posted: Sunday, April 25, 2004
by Fayola Peters
Fayola Peters
One of the main reasons people start businesses is to make money. For some it’s a blessing to make money doing something they love. I’m not saying that you have to love house cleaning in order to have a successful house cleaning business however it would be a good idea if you didn’t hate it. How much money you make depends on how big you want your business to be. It could be a one person operation where you set up at home and service areas close to home, or you could set up a commercial office and hire people to work for you. Here are 7 simple steps to get you started on your own house cleaning business.
2) Pricing your housecleaning service. To have an idea of how to charge for your housecleaning service, use your competition. Check your telephone directory and the classified ads section in your local newspapers for cleaning businesses, call them up (pretend to be a prospective client) and find out exactly what cleaning services they offer and how much they charge. With this information gathered decide the best price to charge for your cleaning service.
3) Workout startup costs. For this you need to consider, tools, material, transport, advertising, insurance etc. Write down a list all the tools and material you need, like cleaners, sponges, mops, carpet cleaning equipment etc. Next find out the cost of each item on the list and write it down next to the item. Transport: you will have to estimate your costs here. You see it depends on where your client is located and your means of transportation to get to your client. (Having your own vehicle would be to your advantage). Advertising: You can use free advertising (word of mouth) and paid advertising (classifieds, telephone directory ads etc). Phone calls to your local newspaper and the telephone company who publish your telephone directory will tell you the cost of placing ads. Once you’ve gathered all this information, calculate your total startup costs.
4) Name your business. Choosing an appropriate name for your house cleaning business is important. Here are a few examples I got of the internet, ‘Maid Brigade’, ‘All Shine Cleaning’, ‘White Glove Cleaning Service’. Please avoid using ‘Your Name Cleaning Services’. Using your own name as part of your business name is over done by many house cleaning businesses. Brainstorm and come up with a name that helps you stand out of the crowd.
5) Learn the zoning regulations of your community. Check the city clerk’s Office or your local library for a copy for a copy of the zoning laws governing your community. Your reason for doing this is that some zoning regulations prohibit home businesses in a community.
6) Do a few free cleaning jobs. Well you’re not actually doing them for free. You’re doing them in exchange for references (these add to your credibility for future paying clients and are invaluable). You can offer these free cleaning jobs to friends, non profit organizations in your communities etc.
7) Get your first paying client then get another and another and another and so on. Tell everyone you know that you’ve started a cleaning business and place ads in the local newspapers.
In the beginning you need to spend most of your time and money getting paying clients. However, the more clients you get the less time and money you spend on marketing and more time you spend on cleaning and making your clients happy. This is just the beginning. Once you start making money take a house cleaning business course to help you better manage your business in terms of growth, accounting, taxes, insurance, better marketing strategies and more. Fayola Peters is the webmaster of housecleaning-tips.com. To find more information about a house business cleaning course check out her website at http://stay-at-home-moms.housecleaning-tips.com
This Article has been viewed 5,732 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)HELLO THIS IS CHANNEA HUNTER I LOVED THIS ARTICLE MY PARTNER AND I STARTED A CLEANING BUSINESS AND I THOUGHT THIS ARTICLE WAS VERY HELPFUL DO YOU THINK YOU CAN ANSWER A HELPFUL QUESTION WHATS THE SECRET TO GETTING LOTS OF CLIENTS
I have owned a residential cleaning service in Virginia for 23 years. I have learned more from The Association of Residential Cleaing Services than from any other source.
Fayola, good job on the article. I know it's fun to a business and see it succeed. John Lenz
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.