Starting a House Cleaning Service

Why

Starting a house cleaning business can provide a valuable entrepreneurial opportunity in good or bad economic times. House cleaning is a service that is needed by everyone and whether people outsource the duties or do it themselves depends on both their income and their time availability. While homeowners may not be wealthy, they may have to work two or more jobs to maintain a lifestyle and need help in maintaining their homes. House cleaning can provide flexible options for all economic levels, from daily cleaning and maintenance to weekly or monthly overall cleaning. Start-up costs for a house cleaning business are minimal. Often, house cleaners need no additional equipment if they use the cleaning tools available at the homes they clean.

How

As a single owner and operator of a small house cleaning business, start by asking people you know for jobs and referrals. Personal references go a long way in establishing a business that involves entry into people's homes. Be prepared to cover expenses for at least three months while establishing a clientele and receiving regular payments for your work. A single owner can keep expenses to a minimum by performing the work alone. As referrals begin to mount and additional work starts coming in, look for helpers and other house cleaners to bring on board. Check with local unemployment offices, local high school and college counseling offices and social service departments to find employees. Add extra help only as the jobs accrue to avoid the need to seek financing to make payroll each week. Check with clients regularly to make sure they are satisfied with the work and ask for referrals. Eventually, you should be able to leave the physical work to employees and spend time marketing, recruiting and supervising the jobs.

Franchising

There are a number of house cleaning franchise companies that can help an entrepreneur get started in the business using a proven system of operation, name recognition and a ready marketing plan, as well as corporate backup for guidance. Franchise operations such as Maid Pro and Merry Maids train business owners in the intricacies of starting a business as well as the company's proprietary cleaning techniques. They offer national advertising campaigns that can help to build the business as well as ongoing training and professional development. While there is an initial investment to purchase a franchise, the corporate identity may be worth the money if you can avoid a long process of building a new business from scratch and if you want to avoid doing the cleaning yourself.

Resources

• Merry Maids
• Maid Pro