Do you know how to start a house cleaning business? Here is all you need to know about opening a venture in your locality.

Cleaning has been your hubby for a long. This strong desire has kindled an interest in you to establish a house cleaning business for a long.

However, you seem stuck due to confusion on what steps to take. Does this sound familiar? It does for many people.

How to Start a House Cleaning Business

Establishing a house cleaning service, though exciting, can be challenging.

We’ve written this article to help overcome and eliminate all confusion. As you read through, you will find definite steps that, when implemented, will enable you to achieve your goals.

Without further ado, let’s get to business!

Cleaning Your Home Vs. Cleaning For Others

An important fact we need to establish is this; cleaning your home compared to cleaning for others is an entirely different ballgame.

In other words, while you may cut some slack when cleaning your apartment or home, it doesn’t apply to clients. When you get a house cleaning contract, the client wants to walk in and find a spotless house.

Your client won’t be cutting you some slack because they believe you are a professional. Therefore, you must prove yourself to be one. You may want to learn the ropes by working with a professional cleaner.

This is hard work and will take some time.

Nevertheless, the benefits derived far outweigh the stress involved.

Sticking to Your Specialty

There are many specialties within the cleaning niche.

You’ll want to know precisely the type of cleaning service you are competent in. If you feel you can offer general house cleaning services, then, by all means, you should consider that.

The reverse is true if you’re good at cleaning windows, glassware, etc.

House cleaning specialties will include carpet cleaning, floor cleaning, window cleaning, drainage, roof, dryer vent, chimney, furniture, and kitchen cleaning services, among others.

Find out the service you are good at and focus on it. This will mean specializing in a particular area. The decision is yours to make.

Transportation

No house cleaning business will function effectively without making necessary transportation arrangements.

Remember, you’ll need to move your supplies and equipment to job locations. Using the public transport system is totally out of consideration.

You want to be able to easily reach your clients on time as well as to and from cleaning jobs.

Having a van or truck will save you additional costs. These can be used for your business. On the other hand, having no such vehicles means you’ll have acquired them.

Now, you can lease a cleaning truck or vehicle or buy it outright.

From experience, we’ve seen that leasing a cleaning vehicle for house cleaning is much less expensive than buying one from the market.

Registration

One of the requirements for starting a house cleaning business is having it registered. There are different registration guidelines for other states.

You will need to find out what applies to yours.

Whatever applies to your state, such registrations follow the same procedure.

Picking a name for your cleaning business is the first step. You should be able to convey your message through the name you choose.

Find one that resonates with your target market. Your name for your business will need to be checked for availability. You only get to use it when it’s available for use.

Your revenue will also determine how your house cleaning business is categorized. Choosing its structure is vital and must be done in a way that serves your interests.

There are sole proprietorship, partnerships, or LLC business structures.

So, which is best for your house cleaning business? Let’s find out;

  • Sole Proprietorship

A lot of house cleaning businesses take this form. One of the reasons for this is its ease of formation. This is less tedious than other structures because, as the name suggests, it is ideal for one-person ownership.

But there must be benefits, right? Absolutely! The most obvious benefit is its tax exemption status. The IRS gives some slack to house cleaning businesses having this form of legal structure.

A sole proprietorship is not so rosy, though. There are downsides to this type of structure. This is because your assets as an entrepreneur are at risk.

In other words, there is no distinction between business and personal assets.

As such, your assets are exposed to lawsuits. These can be used to settle business debts.

  • Partnerships

This can be between two or more people. Under this type of operational structure, the house cleaning business is also easy to form. Easy in the sense that there are few upfront costs to incur.

Taxation is quite friendly to the business too. Owners get to pull resources together to fund their operations. The downside here is when conflicts arise. This may lead to long-drawn-out legal battles that unsettle its entire operations.

  • Limited Liability Company

LLCs have a much more complex type of operation.

By its name, this structure limits your level of liability exposure. For instance, assets belonging to your house cleaning business are differentiated from your investments.

In other words, the business takes the form of an independent entity.

This advantage is seen in a situation where a client sues your cleaning business. However, the case goes, your assets don’t come into the equation. It begins and ends with the company.

  • Get A License

In getting your house cleaning business registered, you are expected to obtain a license. This is a requirement for all professional cleaning services.

This process starts with your state’s Department of Commerce.

Start by visiting its website to know the requirements for obtaining such a license.

Clients are wary of housecleaning services operating without a license. Clients avoid such types of businesses, and rightly so. You will want to create a sense of professionalism by having your house cleaning business licensed.

  • Get An Insurance

House cleaning jobs are pretty risky.

You will likely have a bad day during your professional cleaning career. Have a bad day in the sense that things might mistakenly get damaged as a result of your cleaning activities.

This is why you need insurance, as it saves your business and the client some stress.

Clients are more comfortable working with house cleaning services that have insurance. That way, they know that the cleaning company foots the bill when an accident happens due to their cleaning activities.

Join Professional Associations

As a serious cleaning business, your network should be broadened. This can be achieved by joining professional associations related to cleaning services.

That way, you get to keep up with happenings.

But more importantly, you can attract clients, which might lead to a cleaning job.

What more? You can also exploit such associations by exchanging services. A construction company, for instance, can use your house cleaning services to clean up newly constructed residential buildings.

That is a way to get a steady stream of jobs.

Being reliable in this regard can fetch you a lot of house cleaning contracts.

Determine Your Coverage Area

One of the main reasons many house cleaning businesses struggles is to overstretching their resources. To win over more clients, such companies accept jobs from clients far off their coverage area.

This means incurring more gas, time, and other expenses to reach such clients.

You shouldn’t fall into the temptation of desperation. Establish your coverage area and stick to it. It saves you a lot of stress and cost.

Also, you get to provide better cleaning services to clients within your target area. You should only expand your coverage area when you have increased your capacity.

Plan Your Entire Operations

This is of the essence as it helps your house cleaning business to succeed. Your business plan is indispensable. It doesn’t matter if you cover as both employee and administrator.

All stages of house clean cleaning services need one.

It enables you to streamline and focus on what is most beneficial to growth.

A copy of your plan will also be required during the business registration process. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to write one as long as it’s done correctly.

All services must be reflected in your cleaning business plan. Systematically implementing its contents is a significant step to building traction.

Marketing

To have clients patronize your house cleaning business, some marketing work will need to be done.

This is about creating awareness of its presence and exploiting the edge you have for promotion.

Having an edge means you’ve compared your operations with other house cleaning services and found yours to be better in several respects.

Find out what your competition offers and what stands your services out. Also, discover how to do things better and let your clients know.

You’ll need to use all the tools available to market your business.

This includes word-of-mouth marketing, printing and distributing business cards and flyers, social media marketing, and building a website for your service.

These are ways to start a cleaning business.

Consider moving out of your comfort zone and giving it a try. When followed, these steps will immensely help actualize your dreams.

Above all else, you must be passionate about what you do. Without the passion and love for cleaning, little can be achieved.

How to Start a Residential Cleaning Business

Residential cleaning can be quite tasking and sometimes overwhelming, but not when professionals handle it.

Professional cleaners take charge of the most challenging cleaning jobs, finish on time, and do a good job. If you think you are cut out for this type of job, it may be time you consider starting your own residential cleaning business.

Don’t know how to begin or what to do? That’s why we are here. So relax and read on!

Types of Residential Cleaning Services

It is important to decide beforehand the type of residential cleaning services you intend to offer.

This helps you get along with your clients. When clients call, they may ask for your complete residential cleaning package or choose a particular type of service.

You need to know these to be well prepared when the need arises.

There are two types of residential cleaning. These include the one-time cleaning service and also the recurring services.

  • One-Time Cleaning

One-time residential cleaning service is just like the name suggests.

Here you are called to provide cleaning services without an agreement to return in the future. Clients may decide to re-establish contact whenever they need your services again.

One-time cleaning service has other sub-categories. These are; regular, deep, and move-in/move-out cleaning services.

i. Regular Cleaning

This type of cleaning offers clients just the most basic cleaning services. What these consist of is a whole different story.

In other words, you will need to find out what services qualify for regular cleaning. This will be no problem at all if you’re an industry expert.

However, for novices, you could make inquiries about such services from cleaning businesses around.

ii. Deep Cleaning

Regular cleaning is much more thorough than routine cleaning. It is a more detailed cleanup of residential properties. This will take more time, effort, and resources.

It might also include both indoor and outdoor surroundings of such property.

Deep cleaning isn’t done frequently but periodically after dirt must have accumulated in difficult-to-reach or clean areas.

iii. Move-in/Move-Out Cleaning

Under this type of cleaning arrangement, residential property is cleaned before the client’s stuff is moved in. Move-out cleaning is the opposite.

During move-out cleaning, furniture, gadgets, electronics, etc., are cleaned before moving to the new property.

The clients may decide to ask to clean the residence they are moving out of.

  • Recurring Cleaning Services

Some residential cleaning services offer recurring services to interested clients. This means the contract entered into requires periodic cleaning visits.

The duration might be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, or bi-annually. It depends on what you decide to include, and the frequency of visits you feel is necessary.

On the other hand, some other clients won’t need you to convince them of such services. They may be the ones asking for it.

In any case, you’ll need to be very prepared when inquiries are made.

Are You Buying Into a Franchise or Owning Your Business?

This question must be asked and well answered when starting a business. Residential cleaning franchises have made it easy to own part of a brand.

This usually comes with a term limit. The operational model of such businesses requires franchisees to abide by set terms.

It is much easier to operate a cleaning franchise than it is to own your residential cleaning brand.

Independent ownership means you are starting from scratch. However challenging this type of business is, it will be much more profitable if it’s well run and becomes stabilized.

No one should make this decision for you. You have to sit back and reflect on this question and compare the two models to find the one that best serves you.

Choose a Name

What will your residential cleaning business be called? This name is helpful for several things. To begin with, you need to have one to write a plan. Also, your business requires some form of identity.

What more? The registration process will only be possible when there’s a name.

The choice of a name shouldn’t be haphazard, though. It must be meaningful to you and your clients. Clients should be able to relate it to your type of residential cleaning service.

Also, it must not be so abstract that it disinterests your target clients.

Above all, the name you choose for your residential cleaning business must be available. How? Other companies may have picked that name. A search for name availability must be conducted. There’s a directory available for this purpose.

However, most states require you to apply for a name check.

Have an Action Plan

All residential cleaning businesses, irrespective of their legal structure, must have a good business plan. If you don’t have one, you will be doing a disservice to yourself and your business.

A business plan gives direction to your cleaning business.

There must be a grip on the affairs of your business.

All the services you’ll be providing, the rates, marketing strategies to adopt, expenses, and projected earnings are all contained in it.

To write one, you’ll need to have the experience. Not having the experience doesn’t mean you can have an excellent plan. Consultancy firms and experts are willing to provide this service at a cost.

You might be lucky to have a family member who’s an expert in this area. Their advice, inputs, or services will be very much needed.

Choose a Business Entity

What do you want to achieve with your residential cleaning business?

The answer to this question will help you choose a business entity that aligns with your vision. While some entrepreneurs prefer to operate as a sole proprietorship, others are more comfortable registering as limited liability companies LLCs or Corporations.

Why is it necessary to choose a business entity? Because you enjoy certain privileges or legal protections. Each type has its advantages.

However, one of them stands out: limiting your exposure to liability. This doesn’t apply to all business entities, though.

Ask for expert legal advice on the best entity that serves you best.

Establish Your Rates

The going rate for residential cleaning services isn’t fixed. In other words, there are variations in pricing. Each depends on a host of factors that serves the entrepreneur. Nevertheless, a common factor influences all sorts of rate fixing. That is a competition.

Thus, a residential cleaning business will want its rates to be competitive enough.

While trying to be competitive, others can keep up. You shouldn’t be pressured into lowering your rates to hurt your business or diminish its profitability chances. Quality cleaning services can balance this.

Do your research about average rates for cleaning businesses. The internet provides a wealth of information on that.

Another way to find out what rates apply for a cleaning service is by asking the business (your competitors) themselves.

Call or contact them online for their residential cleaning quotes. You should have all the information you need to establish your going rate.

Ensure Your Cleaning Business

When starting a residential cleaning business, you should consider all the risks of the job. A lot of unpleasant things or incidences might happen.

These could range from injuries (happening to either your client or workers) to damage resulting from breaking home items, among many other risks.

Although these situations are unpleasant, you won’t need to worry about compensation if you have a comprehensive insurance plan. Your insurance cover protects your business and your client’s property.

Being bonded is an added plus to your operations. Plus, clients are more comfortable patronizing a cleaning business that has insurance.

It Will Is Necessary to Have An Attorney

Your residential cleaning service will need the services of a law expert. An attorney comes in handy whenever there’s a dispute with a client or when your business is sued.

Apart from disputes resulting or being sued, an attorney advises on the legal aspects of doing business.

Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking they can survive without one until they get stuck. You shouldn’t allow that to happen to you. This will come at a cost, but it’s worth it.

Get one to avoid or significantly reduce legal problems.

Advertise and Market Your Business

Setting up a world-class residential cleaning business isn’t enough. Such a business won’t announce itself. You have to do that.

Now there are many ways to sell your business to residential clients.

One of the common ways to advertise cleaning services is by targeting your campaigns in predominantly residential areas. You need some materials to distribute in the form of your business cards and fliers all bearing your contact details.

Word of mouth marketing is another. You can knock on their doors and politely and nicely introduce them to your cleaning services. The online space is another way to sell your residential cleaning business.

First, have a website that carries all the information a client needs to know. You can link such services on your website with social media accounts for your business.

Conclusion

Setting up a residential cleaning business and getting it across to clients is a necessary line of action that any interested entrepreneur must take.

This entire process can be tiring. Hence the need to motivate yourself. Your love for cleaning should be able to keep you focused even in the most challenging times.