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How to start a house cleaning business on a tight budget

“If you use emotion and love to drive your sales and your business, you’ll create a loyalty beyond reason. And I promise you’ll build relationships and enjoy business that exceeds your wildest expectations.”

First of all, before you decide to start your cleaning business, make sure that this type of work is right for you. You will need to be in good physical condition. Cleaning is very hard and strenuous work. You will need to have good customer relationship skills. You will need to have basic office skills and some accounting skills.

If you plan to leave 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 working part-time.

Research all aspects of the cleaning services business. From customer service to advertising, taxes, employees, insurance and bonds, what to charge and how to professionally clean a home. Cleaning your own home and cleaning professionally is totally different. Learning to clean professionally takes a long time. When a client pays for your services, they expect to come home to find their home spotless.

Getting those first customers takes time, persistence, and patience. You won’t get a hundred clients overnight.

Get those first customers The hardest part of starting your own cleaning service is getting those first customers. Most clients want to know how long you’ve been in business and they want references. The best thing you can do is let customers know that, yes, you are new to the business but have thoroughly researched all aspects of the cleaning business and reassure them that you know what you are doing and that you are capable of cleaning their home to your specifications. Be confident. I can’t stress this enough. Customers love to see confidence. It eases their worries and lets them know that their home is in good hands.

References – To get some good references when you start out, ask a few friends or family if you can clean your house for free or at a discount. The sound of working for free may not be appealing, but it will be worth it to get some good testimonials.

When cleaning those first few houses, go for quality, not how fast you can clean the house. Efficient cleaning takes a lot of time, but you’ll get to the point where you’ll be able to do a thorough cleaning in no time. After cleaning, be sure to come back and double check all rooms to make sure you didn’t miss a thing. Impress those first customers and word of mouth will soon spread.

Advertising The image of your company is everything. Before you start advertising, decide what image you want to represent in your advertising material. Your photo is very important. Be consistent with all your advertising. If you have a logo, be sure to use it on all of your advertising materials. I think it is better to have a website developed before you start advertising. When advertising, use the same logo and colors.

Advertise in the local newspaper: Start by running a text ad in your local newspaper. Try to create an eye-catching ad. Don’t sell your services cheaply, sell your services based on the quality of your 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.

Magnetic Signs or Lettering for your Vehicle: Having your company name and contact information on your vehicle is a great way to advertise. We use vinyl lettering. Letters look much more professional than magnetic signs.

Frills: You can print pretty flyers on your home computer, but I suggest you invest in some professional flyers. Hang flyers in Hairdressers, Laundromats, Restaurants, Bakeries, Supermarkets, etc. Post flyers in car windows at grocery stores and local businesses. You can even go door-to-door in neighborhoods you’d like to work in. You can’t put them in mailboxes. but you can put them on the front door.

door hangers: Door hangers are a great way to get new customers. Choose the neighborhood you would like to work in and hang the signs on the doors. When people receive flyers or advertisements in their mailbox, they usually throw them out with the junk mail. But if there is a hanger on the door, they will take the time to look at it.

Business Letters: Start handing out your business cards to friends and family. You can also ask local businesses if you can leave some cards at their counters.

Referral Program: A great way to get new customers is through a referral program. Offer existing customers a discount when they refer a friend. You can give a discount to your existing customers when the friend uses your services three times.

Website: These days, people live very busy lives, so they use the convenience of the Internet to purchase the services they need. Many working women will purchase services while they are at work. Everyone who has a business should have a website. It shows customers that you are serious about your business and allows them to research your business on their own time.

Cleaning products: By using all natural products, you can offer your customers a healthy cleaning experience and protect us against harsh chemicals. Customers love natural cleaning products with essential oils. They come home to a clean, healthy home filled with the wonderful scents of aromatherapy essential oils.

Advice: Always carry hand sanitizer with you and wash your hands frequently while cleaning houses. Wear gloves when cleaning bathrooms. You will be exposed to many different germs in customer homes.

Remember that most customers prefer that you bring your own cleaning supplies. That way, they don’t have to worry about going to the store to buy cleaning supplies before cleaning. Some customers have special cleaners for certain appliances or floors in their homes. These customers will usually have these cleaners on hand for you to use. We almost always use the customers’ vacuum cleaner. That way, you don’t have to carry a heavy vacuum cleaner from house to house.

what to charge I mentioned earlier that you should sell your services for the quality of your work and not for your low rates. If your rates are too low, clients will think your work is substandard and that you are inexperienced. You also want to attract customers who can afford your services. I made the mistake of pricing my work too low when I started. Cleaning is hard work, get paid what you’re 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 household, and some charge by the square foot. I think it is better to charge by address, not by the hour. If a client knows that he has to pay a fixed fee, he doesn’t care if it takes 2 hours or 5 hours. Plus, your customers will know what they’re paying for up front and won’t have to worry about additional charges.

No two houses are the same. And there is not a fixed charge for all houses. You have to clean for a while to get some experience and work out a system to clean efficiently. Only you know what you want and need to do. Decide what you need to earn per hour to cover all expenses and still make a good profit.

An advice: When you start your business, be sure to charge what you would charge if you had employees. Some people make the mistake of charging less when they start out just to get clients and then when they grow up and need to hire help, they aren’t making enough money at home to pay for the help. Do not underestimate the price of your work. Cleaning houses is very hard physical work and you didn’t get into this business to work for nothing.

New construction cleaning If you decide to do this type of work you will need more equipment. You will need ladders, window cleaning kits with long extensions, a shop vac, etc. These types of jobs are usually 2-3 person jobs. Cleaning new construction requires a lot more cleaning. You may need to remove stickers and decals from windows and bathroom showers, sinks, and toilets. Some require you to clean the vents to remove dust from construction work. There will be ceiling fans to clean, scrub floors, and clean woodwork to remove dust. New construction cleaning fees depend on the area you live in.

Insurance and sureties. You have to be an honest and somewhat affable person. People will need to trust you to be in their homes. Most clients are concerned about having someone new in their home, for good reason. It must be bonded and fully insured. Liability insurance rates depend on your insurance company and where you are located. Each person you hire will increase your liability insurance. It’s worth the cost. You can pay quarterly or annually. You can purchase your bond through your local insurance company. You must renew the bonus every year. *Note: If you hire employees and cover them with your insurance, they must be payroll employees and not subcontractors. If you employ them as a subcontractor, your insurance will not cover them. If they are subcontractors, they are required to take out their own insurance. You

RecruitmentHelp If you start out by cleaning houses yourself, you will eventually get to the point where you need to expand your business. Start with a part-time employee. Train her and let her take your place one day a week. Then have her take your place 2 days a week and so on. This will give you the free time you need to market your business and get more clients. After you get more clients, you will be able to hire more part-time help. Eventually, you’ll be able to stop doing the cleaning yourself and just manage the end of the business, which is the only way you’re going to be able to grow your business. When training new employees, always train them yourself or have a lead person train them. Make sure there is a lead person on each and every cleaning job. Employees tend to slack off when they’re alone.

Grow your business Eventually you will get to the point where you have enough employees and leading people and you can stop working on your business and start running it. You will find that after a while it will be too much trying to clean every day and at the same time giving estimates, answering calls, scheduling, doing book work, getting new clients, etc.

Remember that one of the most important requirements for a cleaning service is TRUST. A client has to know that he can trust you only in her house. After you purchase a few cleaning positions, ask customers if you can use them for reference. Most of the time they are more than willing to let you use them as a reference. This is how you build your business and acquire new customers through referrals. Be reliable. Most customers will want to set up on a schedule every week or every other week on the same day of the week. Try to always keep this same schedule unless the client asks you to change to another day. If you have to cancel a cleaning date, be sure to try to reschedule as soon as possible to get the cleaning back.

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