How to Start a Cleaning Business

Nowadays, most people are too busy to do their own housecleaning and whereas 20 or 30 years ago, residential cleaning was considered a very low status, low paid job, there is now an increasing demand for cleaning services. Many people are cashing in on the trend and setting up their own business in the domestic cleaning industry.

Providing a cleaning service could therefore be a very lucrative home based business and has the advantage of being a service you can start in your spare time and develop into a small business with additional workers if you wish to do so.

So if you don’t mind housework and are well organized and tidy, you could be just what today’s busy professionals are looking for.

Begin by researching the competition to check for prices and types of service offered. Depending on where you live, you can cater to specific niches. For example, if you live in a big city or any area which has wealthy residents, you can concentrate on the top end of the market. Cleaning a house which contains valuable items to dust, wooden floors to polish and expensive carpets to steam clean will pay a great deal more than cleaning an average middle class family home. You will of course, need to have liability insurance, in case of accidental damage.

You can advertise in local newspapers and once you have a few satisfied customers, you should start getting word of mouth recommendations.

You can also offer service such as spring cleaning and cleaning after a move. If you live in an area which has holiday rental properties, this is another potential market, as holiday apartments and villas must be cleaned every week, two weeks or even twice weekly for weekend and weekday guests. You may also wish to offer additional services such as upholstery cleaning.

You will need a good source of wholesale cleaning supplies and while most clietns will provide a vacuum cleaner, you will need some carpet cleaning equipment for steam cleaning. There is a wide choice of cleaning products and may find that some clients have a preference, for example for green cleaning that is, using products which are less damaging to the environment.

As you grow your business, you may need to take on some additional staff to work as maids. You should have no trouble finding women who want to work a few hours a week while their children are at school, and students who are looking for part-time jobs. You will pay them an hourly rate and they will be responsible for their own tax and insurance. However, you will need to make sure that you get references.

Starting a cleaning business is something which can be tested in your spare time and if you enjoy it and find there is a good market, you could find your business expanding quickly.