subject: How To Start A Sure Fire Success Business - House Cleaning by:Kathryn Maclean [print this page] A cleaning business is a sure fire way to make income quickly, a home based residential cleaning business is one of the very best businesses in 2009 that you can start for very little cost. Here's how to do it.
You may have never considered this type of home business before but it is definitely one to consider in these hard economic times with so many people laid off needing income quickly. When you don't have much money, getting started a residential house cleaning service may be just what you need. Of course it helps if you are something of a neat freak.
In today's economy this service type of business can be you and your families answer to an uncertain future. So many people are in the terrible position of no income at all after being laid off from a company they have worked many years for. So many people find themselves in a bad place today. It's a situation that has not been seen since the depression, especially in the USA.
If you are not facing a lay off or company down size, count yourself among the lucky. No doubt you know of someone in the family or a friend who has been laid off recently. I started my cleaning business a year ago and now have a nice clientintel. I have a steady income and I am thinking about expanding my team in the future. Pay close attention to this information and see if its something you might be interested in pursuing. You can even send it to a friend, as the links have different programs that your friends might be really thankful to receive.
What gives this industry a strong appeal to a wide range of people? Flexibility. You can have a variety of goals in this industry. Office cleaning, or window cleaning or branching out to a professional organizer. You can build a company that suits your own particular style and talents. If you like doing the work on your own, then you could stay a small company of one or two people. Or if your talents run more to the administrative side, you could build and mange several teams to do the work. This can be very profitable. Residential cleaning offers predictable scheduled hours that can be part-time or as many hours as you can manage. It's up to you.
So how do you go about getting started?
I thought it best to work for someone else first, before I invested in my own business. I checked out ads on the net, looking at kijiji in my area. Later on, I advertised there as well. I worked for a woman who had been in the house cleaning business for 10 yrs. She had hundreds of clients and a team of 6 girls that worked full time hours.
I worked part-time hrs for 4 mths. Even though it is hard physical work, I really liked the feeling of satisfaction of leaving a clean and tidy house. The money was not good, only $10 an hour, the owner made a good amount of money. New high end car, nice house and took several trips while I was there.
Starting your own business often requires a lot of money, however a service related business like house cleaning can be started for less money than you might think. With a bucket of cleaning supplies and some cleaning rags you can start an instant business. It would be smart to do your research on this subject so I have included some information in a website about starting your own business.
What would You Charge New Clients?
Your fee to clean a house will be based on a few factors. The size of the house, the layout - lots of stairs?
Any specific needs. Every situation is different. Some individuals want their home cleaned once a week, some who want it done every other week and some just need it done once a month. You should also take into account if there are pets and children, more to clean, and the degree of clutter. Whether there is lots of hardwood floors or rugs, or other materials with specific needs.
I offer a free estimate walk through of the home. All the information can be gathered in order to give the best quote possible. I leave them a copy of my back ground check with the local police (which costs aprox $45. Cdn), a check list of services and a list of references.
Payments can be directly made to your bank account if they do online banking. This is the least hassel free ways to handle payments. I use: INTERACT MAIL MONEY TRANSFER. http://www.interac.ca/consumers/faqs.php#emt
You just give them your email connected to your bank with a password that is of their choice.
Or you can just ask for cash on the day of the service to be left on a table for you. Most people will give you a key, but some like to leave it on their property. Some people are home the day of service and some are not.
How Much Do You Charge?
Find out the rates in your area. What is the average? Any were from $10 to $25 an hour usually. Cleaning jobs should be priced by the job and not by the hour! Look at it from your clients point of view. If the customer knows that she has to pay $100. to get the house cleaned, it doesn't matter to her if it takes 3 or 5 hours. But if you tell her that the same job would be priced by the hour, she just might question why it too you an hour to do a bathroom etc.
The Initial Cleaning.
When you are cleaning one house it will not always be priced the same. The first time you clean, the initial cleaning will be different than the subsequent cleaning jobs. You should charge accordingly, any ware from 25 to 50% more.
If you charge $100. for a 3 bedroom house, add $30.00 depending on experience, you will adjust your price on the initial cleaning.
Business Supplies.
Any club type store membership such as WalMart, Sam's or Costco are good places to buy in bulk your supplies for less. Most of your clients will expect you to bring your own supplies and have your own tools. I recommend that you invest in a small portable vacuum as some clients vacuums will not be what you need to do a good job. If they have central vac its usually best to use that.
So what supplies would you need?
* an industrial grade bathroom cleanser - Scrub free - tubs with a plastic milk containe, an all purpose cleanser - Mr Clean - floors - toliets
* a window/mirror cleanser - Windex (antibactrial) and Vim multi surfaces
* a soft scrub cleanser - Vim cream cleanser
* furniture polish - Pledge - used mostly for the dust mop
* wood floor cleanser - Murphy's oil soap once a mth on all wood surfaces
* 2 buckets - for moping and to hold all your products
* a bag of cleaning cloths - linen is best - wash nightly
* a swiffer with dry and wet strips - good for new hardwood floors
* extension pole duster and a duster (feather) several sponges.
Some customers have certain products that they like used in their homes. You should ask at the estimate and note it on the schedule. Also any preferences, I write on the check list that I leave with them for the initial first clean. With each visit I add my comments as to what was done that week. For the customers knowledge but also so I remember what was done.
How Do You Advertise?
Flyers work very well. You can produce an attractive flyer on your home computer and print them out. Great for frustrated customers who are not actively seeking cleaning services. They see the flyer and think its a great idea. A simple website works very well. You can link it to the flyers and your business card too. I make my own, or you can have them produced cheaply online. I use my ads on kijiji in my area, linked to a website with email access. This also is linked to Google if you sign up for Googles local area merchants.
Your Website.
Make it personal, with your picture and a little about yourself. I have a pic with my husband and my dog on mine. I list all my services with the average price breakdown.
Also a list of clients and references are given out at the estimate, so when they see comments from emails from my clients on my website, they can link the name to the comment and call them as a reference, if they choose to.
I have several web sites about marketing, my other business, so I know about where you would go to set up a website and how to get a domain name and hosting for relatively little cost. You can email me for any website links pertaining to starting a website.
In conclusion, starting your own cleaning business right now in this time of economic crisis is a great way to earn a solid income. It's not anything I ever thought I would be doing but it really is a great money making business.Your repeat customers will pay you continuously on a regular basis. You just can't beat that!
About the author
Kathie Maclean is an internet marketer intent on helping others make an income online. Please check out her websites & blogs for more on starting your own business on or offline. http://internetincomewah.com
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