Categories: Careers & Job Searching

How to Start Your Own House Cleaning Service

Have you found yourself between jobs, or are you just fed up with working a dead end job? Have you ever wished you could earn a living, and set your own schedule? Are you a mean, lean, cleaning machine? If so, consider the service sector and start a housekeeping service.

People today work longer hours than ever before. Many people have lengthy commutes and when they finally get home for the day, find they do not have the energy to start in on housework. This is where you come in. With a few tools, some business cards, and a cell phone you can become your own one person entrepreneurial enterprise! Housekeeping services are one of the easiest business startups, and the service is always in demand. The best thing about it is you set your hours, you accept which jobs you want, and you set your own pay scale!

You will need a few things to get your cleaning service started: Cell phone, Advertising, equipment, and supplies, insurance, an appointment and receipt books, and good transportation. A cell phone will be critical to the success of your business. You do not want to miss any calls that may cause you to lose prospective clients. Your cell phone will be your small business life line. As you build a client list add them to the phone book function of your phone. Always give clients good notice and an alternative if a crisis is at hand and you won’t be able to show up.

Advertising does not have to be a huge expense. Order low cost business cards through Vista Print. This online service will allow you to design your cards online and ship them out promptly. You will want to print up a stack of flyers you can design on your home computer. Keep them simple, and have all your contact information printed on them. A magnetic sign for your vehicle is a great source of advertisement as well. Make sure your phone number and business name are in big easily read lettering. Place your business card in every other business that will allow it. Put your fliers on bulletin boards in multiples so a prospective client can take it home. You can canvas high end neighborhoods and leave a flyer (or make up brochures with rates) at homes in the neighborhood.

You can purchase almost all of the equipment you need to do the job right at Walmart. First stop will be the paint department. You will find bundles of white cotton towels here very affordably priced. You will use a lot of these and will want to have extras on hand at all times. Start out with about 60 of the towels and buy more as your business grows. You can pick up some low-cost buckets while you are at it. These buckets will hold dirty towels, if the buckets have lids, all the better. Purchase a good vacuum cleaner with the transparent cup that empties. This will save you on bags. Make sure the vacuum has hoses and attachments to reach into corners, and under furniture. Purchase an appointment book and receipt books from the office supply department. Wheel your cart on over to the hardware department and pick up a mop bucket with a wringer. You will also find cleaning solutions in one gallon jugs. Some of these are concentrates that you can dilute and put into your own spray bottles that you will purchase from the gardening section. An alternative is to purchase your cleaning supplies from one of the many Dollar Stores. You will need toilet bowl cleaner, glass cleaner, trash bags, tub cleaner, lime remover, air freshener, furniture polish, a mold and mildew remover, sponges, soft scouring pads, floor cleaner, bleach, laundry detergent, and baking soda carpet freshener. Don’t skimp on your mop, broom, and dust pan. If you have the money go ahead and pick up the dusting tools for ceiling fans, and knocking out cobwebs. Any bad equipment will slow you down, possibly cause back strain by having to repeat the job, so purchase equipment that works for you. A large plastic caddy will be needed to carry your cleaning supplies.

You will need liability insurance to protect you from a lawsuit in case of any loss. There is always the risk you will knock something of value over, and need to reimburse a client. Better to be insured as the coverage is not all that expensive if you are a one person operation. Your insurance agent can assist you in getting a low-cost policy to meet your needs. You may also want to discuss being bonded with your agent. This will give your business more credibility with prospective clients.

Finally you will need reliable transportation. A small minivan is the ideal as you can easily load and unload your equipment, and keep things organized. If a minivan is not in your budget just use what you have until enough money rolls in that you can take trade in your current vehicle.

When you begin getting calls you will be visiting prospective clients and selling them your service. Expect to get a few calls from people who can’t afford your service. Give them your price, and be friendly and positive. They may tell someone else about your business, so keep it professional. There will also be homes that are so bad it would take a team in a hazmat suit to knock a dent in it. If you don’t want to clean a house, over bid it enough that if they did accept, you could hire a crew to do it for you. Then you will get the calls from real clients, with houses and offices that need light housekeeping. These are your keepers. Know ahead of time how you are going to set your rates. Setting rates by the hour will protect you from clients that want to add on jobs you didn’t initially agree too. Depending on the region of the country your starting out rates will vary. Remember that you will be paying your own taxes and social security, paying for liability insurance, fuel, and supplies. These all factor in on your hourly rate. It is not unreasonable to ask $12.00 an hour light residential cleaning, and $25.00 and hour for tougher cleaner jobs. Bid your offices at least $20.00 per hour. It will take you a few jobs to get a feel for how long something will take you. But if you have quoted a price by the hour, you won’t get hurt. Insist that residential jobs are to be paid the same day of service, and office jobs paid monthly. Remember you are the boss in this situation. Don’t let a client talk you into cheapening your rates. People talk and your other clients will want a discount and soon you are working for nothing.

Keep track of your jobs using your appointment book. Write your entries in pencil so you can keep things neat when someone calls for a cancellation. Always give your client a receipt for services, keep a copy for yourself. Keep track of your daily mileage, save fuel receipts, and receipts for all of your equipment, supplies, phone, and other expenses. These will all be tax deductions at the end of the year.

A small cleaning service is a great little business to get into if you enjoy doing your own thing, setting your own hours. It also has the potential of growth where you hire employees to do the work for you for a lesser rate, and keep the remaining income for yourself.

There are many resources available to assist you in setting up your own small business. Speak to someone at your nearest Small Business Administration concerning the legal requirements in your area. A bank account for the business should be set up separate from your personal accounts. Apply for a low interest credit card that you will use only for business purposes. This will help you buy supplies or replace broken equipment while you are waiting for payment to come in from commercial jobs.