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    Start & Run a Home Cleaning Business
    Start & Run a Home Cleaning Business
    Start & Run a Home Cleaning Business
    Ebook287 pages2 hours

    Start & Run a Home Cleaning Business

    By Susan Bewsey

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    About this ebook

    Home cleaning is one of the fastest-growing service businesses in North America. A good cleaning service brings comfort and order into people’s lives and in today’s world, these are highly sought-after commodities. A home cleaning service can start out small, but it has the potential to grow to be a multi-million dollar business with branch offices and franchises. Your business can grow to the point where you need to lease office space, hire staff, purchase a fleet of vehicles, and develop your own products and customized services. With the help of this book, you can get your business up and running, and survive that essential first year.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSelf-Counsel Press
    Release dateSep 15, 2023
    ISBN9781770408500
    Start & Run a Home Cleaning Business
    Author

    Susan Bewsey

    In 1981, armed with a secondhand vehicle, a small staff, and a dramatic advertising campaign, Susan Bewsey launched her first cleaning business. Within three months, “the little cleaning service that could” was a success, and Bewsey sold her first franchise shortly after. By 1988, she had sold and resold 157 franchises and managed a fleet of more than 80 vehicles. After five more successful years, she parted with her latest home cleaning venture and is now a development and planning consultant for small business, primarily in the cleaning service industry.

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      Book preview

      Start & Run a Home Cleaning Business - Susan Bewsey

      INTRODUCTION

      The need for service businesses continues to grow, and the home cleaning business is no exception. Anyone who is organized, has business know-how, and possesses some leadership qualities can turn this type of service into a profit-making venture.

      My countless years converting common sense into a proven formula continues to yield financial gain. Over the years I’ve researched home cleaning businesses in Canada, the United States, and Australia (and to a lesser degree France and Italy), and I’ve found that the service providers from these different countries do share many tools of the trade in common. And I continue to discover that there are, relatively speaking, three markets for home cleaning: those who use cleaning services, those who need cleaning services, and those who want cleaning services.

      The cleaning industry has a fascinating place in history. It is one of the world’s oldest professions, and it brings comfort and order to people’s lives. Maid services has industry roots as early as 1861. With the creation of the middle class during the Industrial Revolution, there were not enough people to service the needs of the newly rich, the industrialists. Aging servants took to organizing maid services for a profit. (To this day, it is a great provider of employment, particularly for employment-seeking youth.)

      Some servants were as young as nine, and conditions were poor. In 1931, a Labour Party (UK) bill introduced the Domestic Service Commission to improve working conditions, and the industry has not looked back since. The need for cleaning services keeps increasing annually. Not only are there more working couples than ever before, and people looking for more free time, there is a marked increase in the population that is aging. As people age, they lose not only their interest in maintaining show-ready homes but also the physical abilities to keep up the strenuous work required to do so. Home cleaning help is becoming a necessity, and less of a symbol of class and privilege.

      A home cleaning business is relatively easy to set up and, with the proper formula, it can be operated in any town or city in any country. However, with the ease of entry, it is not surprising that each year many people decide to enter the business and an equal number decide to leave. While it is not a complex business, it demands critical attention to many details in order to provide quality service to clients. I have written this book with an eye to providing quality service, with attention to all the finer workings of the business, because enthusiasm alone is not enough to ensure your business’s success.

      Nonetheless, the cleaning service business can be lucrative. Depending on the market, cleaning has the potential to grow into a multimillion dollar business with branch offices and franchises. Your business can grow to the point where you need to lease office space, hire staff, purchase a fleet of vehicles, and develop your own products and customized services. Keeping the business small can actually become a problem.

      The size of your business is only limited by your desire to grow and your financial requirements. You can also decide to be low-key with your business and run things from a small, private area in your home; the decision is entirely your own.

      For those who enter this business from the world of middle management, it offers the opportunity to make an equivalent amount of money (or more) in less time, as well as the opportunity to become an entrepreneur. It is a business that provides money during its lifetime and has a value upon retirement or resale. The value you build in your business is an advantage not available to cleaners who work as part of the underground economy or the countless individuals who clean for a living.

      Since I wrote the second edition of this book, this industry has evolved, as has everything in our rapidly changing society. Homes have changed, products have changed, environmental issues have become more pressing, technology is now a common feature of the home office. And most importantly, there are now new niches to take advantage of. Opportunities post-pandemic are there for new small businesses. Baby boomers are starting to downsize their lives — that is, they are moving into more compact homes that are easier to maintain. Such a move is a big step for anyone, and home cleaners will be called upon to help.

      This book is your guide to what you need to know to successfully run a home cleaning business. The rewards show up in profits and the satisfaction of a job well done. With common sense, craft, and determination, these can be yours. And remember that one thing will always remain the same (which ensures the industry of cleaning will always be alive and well): Dust and dirt know no boundaries.

      CHAPTER 1

      SHINING IN THE SPOTLIGHT

      1. BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

      Starting a home cleaning business is an attractive idea, but before you plunge ahead, consider carefully whether you have the proper skills and attitude. Being your own boss and setting your own hours sounds fun, but the reality is that when things go wrong, you are responsible for putting things right.

      The early stages of a business venture always require long hours from the boss. Depending on your financial goals for your business, other personal goals may never be realized because you may have to commit so much time to running the business.

      To find out if you have the right attitude, examine your reasons for wanting to get into business for yourself. Here are some examples:

      • I just want to make money.

      • I want more time with my family.

      • I got fired, and I just need a job.

      • I need more personal achievement.

      • I want to be the boss.

      • I just think it would be fun.

      • I want a more fulfilling lifestyle.

      • I need a challenge.

      • I just want to work alone.

      • I believe I can provide excellent service.

      • I need to control as much of my life as possible.

      • I believe I can better use my skills on my own.

      If you picked reasons that started with I just, you are headed in the wrong direction. However, if you were attracted to reasons that started with I believe, I want, and I need, you are on the right track.

      These are the reasons to get into this business: to challenge yourself, to provide the best service, to improve your personal and working life. If you start out thinking negatively, you won’t have the proper motivation to make things happen. Be realistic and do it because it’s what you want to do.

      In Worksheet 1, write down your wants and needs for starting your business. It’s okay to have needs; they are the fuel that sustains you on your journey. But note that it is truly motivating to turn those needs into wants. Compare I need to be self-employed with "I want to be self-employed."

      WORKSHEET 1: DETERMINE YOUR WANTS AND NEEDS

      2. IS THIS THE BUSINESS FOR YOU?

      You don’t have to love housework and cleaning to start up in this business, but if you do, that’s an added bonus. What you do need are top-notch cleaning skills and the will to do the job well. The ability to be an efficient organizer is also a plus. You don’t have to be a neat freak, but you do have to have the energy and the desire to make order out of other people’s chaos. It’s a hard job, but it is one that people appreciate and will pay for.

      If you’re going to be successful at providing a cleaning service for people’s homes, you’ve got to be able to deal with your clients. This is a demanding service that depends on repeat customers. If your customers don’t like what you do, they’ll let you know. If you can’t provide what they want, they will go elsewhere. Sometimes, wearing more than one hat in a business is extremely difficult, especially when you’re starting out. Can you be the person who cleans and the person who handles customers’ complaints and concerns, as well as the person who follows up and makes sure the bills get paid?

      Being your own boss is great, but your cleaning skills and experience only get you so far. If you’re really determined to go ahead, consider getting further training to help beef up your entrepreneurial side, or find a partner who can handle the customer-relations side of things. Community colleges and small business centers often have courses and seminars on customer service and bookkeeping.

      Starting a home cleaning business requires an investment of both your time and your money. You’ll need to assess the potential market, purchase equipment, and advertise. Consider whether your location is one that can support a home cleaning business. Is there any competition? For more about assessing market possibilities, see Chapter 5 on marketing.

      Have you got what it takes to get your cleaning business up and running? Worksheet 2 will help you decide.

      WORKSHEET 2: BUILDING BLOCKS — KNOW YOURSELF

      3. FILLING IN THE VACUUM

      Cleaning services come in all sizes: there are independents, agencies, franchises, and corporations. There are those who dabble and those who devote their lives to this market.

      How far you want to go in this industry depends on your ambition. Remember, demand is high due to an increase in overworked, dual-income couples, more homes being built, and an aging population, who are not only in search of less work and more leisure time, but are also moving into assisted-living residences. American figures compiled in 2000 indicate there are over 115 million homes across the country. There were over 12,000 house cleaners listed in the telephone directories in 2005. In 2004, cleaners (this includes cleaners for all types of establishments) held more than 4 million jobs, with over 6 percent self-employed. In Canada, there were over 11 million dwellings in 2001. Over 400,000 workers were employed in these areas, with about 15 percent of them self-employed. Not included in these figures is the underground economy servicing homes and offices throughout North America.

      Many services are included in the homecare cleaning industry and new ones are added all the time. The following is a general list of services offered:

      • General housecleaning

      • Spring cleaning

      • Window cleaning

      • Blind cleaning

      • Wall and ceiling washing

      • Post-disaster cleaning (fires, floods)

      • Post-construction cleaning

      • Post- and pre-party preparation

      • House-sitting

      • Pet sitting

      • Garden and outside patio maintenance

      • Laundry and valet service

      • Party hosting, reception

      • Office cleaning

      • Estate sale preparation

      • Boat and yacht cleaning

      • Property management

      Your business can offer many special services besides cleaning. Use the services above as a starting point. Some may be immediately attractive because they fit your vision of the business and what you see yourself providing. Use Worksheet 3 to help you pinpoint the services you want to offer.

      WORKSHEET 3: WHAT TYPE OF SERVICES SHOULD I OFFER?

      4. YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY

      Many people dream about starting their own business but never go ahead and do it. Faced with the reality of organizing even a simple venture, many people are overwhelmed and lose their enthusiasm. However, the key to success is to plan well and break down each goal into accomplishable tasks. If you follow the advice and steps given in this book, you may realize your dream and launch your own successful cleaning business.

      CHAPTER 2

      SWEEPING THE NATION: GETTING STARTED

      1. TARGETING YOUR MARKET

      Your market is that segment of the population that will pay for a cleaning service. In the United States and Canada, there are more than 125 million homes, not to mention the millions of offices, schools, hospitals, hotels, nursing homes, retail locations, etc. These are your potential clients. Since the aim of this book is to help you start a home cleaning business, here are the techniques needed to target this special market.

      1.1 Assess your market potential

      Look at your area and assess its potential. You need to find the answers to the following questions:

      (a) Who needs your cleaning service?

      (b) Who can pay for your service?

      (c) How many of those people are in your area?

      (d) How do you find those people?

      (e) Is there competition?

      (f) If so, can you offer something your competitor can’t?

      (g) Can you make a profit?

      1.2 Identify your customers

      Target homes with disposable income. Two-income families are best because they generally have a high acceptance for home help. Working couples are busy people for whom the idea of paying someone else to clean up is attractive and affordable.

      There are probably families and couples in your locality

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