How to start a cleaning business and grow customers

American Demographics magazine recently reported that more than half of all two-adult households are two-income households. For couples with more than high school education, the figure rises to seventy-six percent. Today’s rising divorce rates have created more single parents—fifteen percent of American workers have two or fewer jobs. These facts, combined with a general reluctance to clean houses, have made the residential cleaning industry one of the fastest growing segments of the American economy. “Residential and commercial office cleaning is a multi-million dollar business that shows no signs of slowing down.” said Marcel Thomas, owner of Blue Island, Illinois-based Coverage Services. A home cleaning business has historically been one of the best businesses to start when you need quick cash. In fact, housecleaning can be the very first job for those who are unemployed and looking for new opportunities to earn an income. You can start cleaning the house on the famous shoestrings. For less than a hundred dollars, in a mop, a bucket, a broom, some rags and some good elbow grease, you could be doing business in no time.

What about heavy equipment?

You don’t need more than a vacuum cleaner and a long-handled vacuum cleaner. In the year 2001, when my wife Ann Eggs and I started our house cleaning service, we found that many of our customers preferred us to use our vacuum cleaners. When our customers need carpet and blind cleaning, we rent the necessary equipment and include the rental cost in the service fee. As with most new businesses, the hardest part of starting your own Rengøring Erhverv service is getting the first client. “Most customers want to know how long they’ve been with your business and referrals,” Thomas says. “The best thing is that your customers know that yes, you’re new to the business, but you’ve researched all aspects of the cleaning business and know what you’re doing. “To get a good reference when starting out, ask friends or family members if you can clean their house for free. Working for free may not sound appealing, but your “free for the family” will be worth getting good referrals.

Remember the old adage:

This applies to houses you cleaned earlier. Do your best work. Forget the speed. Think quality. Pull the bench away from the wall to clean. Make sure the bath shines like a diamond and keeps the bathroom smelling fresh all the time. “After you’re done cleaning, go back and recheck all the rooms to make sure you didn’t miss anything,” says Thomas of Coverall Cleaning Services. “Wow, first customers and word of mouth will soon spread.”

Here are some ideas you can consider to get your cleaning job off the ground:

       Visit your local beauty shop. Ask outside experts for advice on how to get your business off the ground. You get their help because you are seen as a customer. Some customers insist on this. A mortgage protects you from a potential lien on your client’s home. Prepare a professional price sheet to give to potential customers along with your business card when shopping for cleaning services.

What can you expect from your home cleaning business?

 It depends on whether you decide to stay small or buy a private cleaning franchise. When my husband and I ran our Aegis house cleaning service in 2000 our starting price was $10.00 per hour. When we sold the business in 2009, we charged homeowners $25.00 per hour. David Kiser, who owns and runs one of the most successful cleaning companies in the United States, makes a whopping 7 figures a year. Finally, if you see yourself as the CEO of a large house cleaning business, you might consider investing in a house cleaning franchise. Many cleaning franchises include income requirements in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), and this income can be quite impressive. If you research cleaning franchises to the point of accepting FDD, you will be surprised how much you can earn owning these businesses.