How To Start House Cleaning Business – Starting a cleaning business is a great idea. Cleaning services are in high demand, you can earn good money, and you can start with little money.
The owners of Handmaid Cleaning, Grace and Kevin Reynolds, started their cleaning business with little more than a rag and a van. Today they manage a nationally recognized brand.
How To Start House Cleaning Business
You can do it too, but first organize things. This article will walk you through everything you need to start making good money running your own cleaning business.
Good Cleaning Starts In Your Bucket
You can also watch our How to Start a Cleaning Business video series for expert advice in action:
As you build your list of cleaning services, look at your competitors’ websites to see what they offer. It will show you which services are missing in the market and which you can offer – and use to stand out.
Start small with a few core options for your final list of services. Think short and long term: what can you do now, and what can you do later with more money?
At this point, decide if you want to focus on residential (house cleaning), or if you want to also be a commercial cleaning business, serving businesses in your area.
How To Start A House Cleaning Business
When you know the type of services you offer, you can choose whether you want to run a solo operation from your home, a larger business with other employees, or something in between.
You can also decide whether you will work part-time or full-time, weekdays or weekends, and where your service area will be.
Unless your city or state has rules about certification, you don’t need formal training to start a cleaning business—casual training will do just fine!
But it is important to learn how to clean professionally before starting to clean houses, and to learn how to avoid cross-contamination from one place to another.
Free, Custom Printable Cleaning Business Card Templates
AHCA offers cleaning certification courses to help you learn about cleaning guidelines, chemicals, disease prevention and even the history of the cleaning industry.
Money is often tight for an entrepreneur just starting out, so certification may not happen yet. Still, you can start learning by using resources like our house cleaning checklist.
Do your research on cleaning chemicals, find out what can affect what, what will damage surfaces and what is safe to use.
There are some legal and financial details you’ll need to iron out before you clear your first home. This helps you establish a reliable cleaning business that your customers will want to work with.
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The first step is to register the name of your cleaning company. If you don’t have one, here are some tips for naming your cleaning business.
When you register your company, you may also need an Employment Identification Number (EIN), if your city or state requires it.
Pro tip: Not sure what the local rules and regulations are for business cleaning? Just google “your city name + business laws”.
You will need a business license before cleaning a single house. This is what legally allows you to run your business. You can get into big trouble (and pay a hefty fine) if you don’t have one.
How To Market Your Cleaning Business (15 Steps)
There is an upfront cost that varies depending on where you live. You’ll also need to renew every year, at which point you’ll likely pay the same fee again.
Visit your city or state’s website, find their business resources, and search for information about applying for your license.
Cleaning a house without insurance is a high risk game. When it comes to protecting your business and your future employees, janitorial insurance is a must.
The last thing you want as a new business owner is to accidentally damage a client’s home, not have insurance, and find yourself in debt as you cover the property damage out of pocket.
How To Start A House Cleaning Business And Make Savings Possible
Insurance gives you a safety net, and it’s an essential part of running your cleaning business. Search for the right insurance plan for your business and check out different providers in your area.
You can burn down someone’s house, break something valuable, or scratch something, especially when you’re just starting out.
You can’t run your business from your personal bank account, so get a business bank account where you can receive payments and monitor cash flow separately from your personal assets.
From there, create an expense budget for purchases, equipment, gas, marketing, and any other overhead. This is the budget you will stick to each month. Don’t worry, you can adjust over time if you need to!
House Cleaning Business Insurance: A Buyer’s Guide
One of the most important expenses is your paycheck. Decide what you’ll be paid, then set up a bi-weekly automatic withdrawal so you can pay yourself from your earnings (and employees, if you have them).
Keep track of all your income and expenses so you can accurately report when it’s time to file your taxes. Here’s who you file your taxes with, depending on where you live and work:
Expect to spend $685 (USD) up front to start your cleaning business with a few must-have purchases. Activation costs will vary depending on the cost of these items in your area:
Not everyone has the money to start a cleaning business. It’s OK! Don’t let that stop you from following your dream of owning a business.
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Start with only what you need for your first cleaning job—that is, the right materials and some basic equipment. Then invest in better equipment and marketing over time.
If you do not already have experience in cleaning, it is recommended to work with another cleaning company first before starting on your own. It will also give you the start-up money you need.
While starting a residential cleaning business is a relatively low-cost venture, you should buy items from this list of cleaning supplies before your first job. After all, it takes money to make money!
Still, you’re starting your business on a budget, so you don’t have to buy everything right away. Here’s how to set that budget and decide what you need to get:
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Now it’s time to decide how much to charge for house cleaning. First, choose your pricing structure. Cleaning companies charge for services through:
However you decide to do it, pricing your services is a huge factor in the success of your business.
Pro tip: Create cleaning service packages based on services that make sense to group together, such as a full deep cleaning package. You can use good, better, best pricing for these packages – just make sure you don’t cut into your profits!
When you’re still trying to perfect your pricing, a messy handwritten quote can look like you’re making things up as you go. This could be why a customer is asking for a discounted price.
What Makes A House Cleaning Business Successful?
But a professional-looking cleaning estimate template and cleaning invoice template puts the power back in your hands. This tells your customers that this is the price – don’t negotiate for a better deal.
When we started using Jobber and got a digital quoting system, we increased our business tremendously.
In addition, quotes and digital invoices save you time. Your customers can see the quote or invoice, send it directly to their inbox, and approve it online.
They can do the same with payments too, so the cash stays flowing without any work on your part. Talk about making money in your sleep!
House Cleaning Business Forms
Marketing is essential to the survival of your new business. You will be competing with many other cleaning companies for visibility and potential customers. But don’t stress—there are plenty of ways to get your foot in the door, and many of those options are free.
But if you want to grow your business and if your ultimate goal is to build an empire, you must advertise and market. There is no way around it.
The internet is where you’re going to get most of your new long-term cleaning clients, so it’s important to understand everything you need for digital marketing.
Join the Jobber Entrepreneurship Group on Facebook and share ideas with other small business owners from many industries.
How To Start A Cleaning Business: Complete Guide With Checklist
It is important to set up a process for receiving payment and checking in with customers who have not yet paid their invoices. This is how it could look:
You will likely encounter customers who pay late or not at all, so decide how to deal with that early on as well.
Next, you need to figure out how you will run your business and give your customers a positive experience. You can make adjustments based on what works and what doesn’t.
Once the work piles up and you start feeling overwhelmed (because it’s definitely going to happen), it’s time to get out of your home office and start hiring cleaners. so:
How To Start A House Cleaning Business In 5 Steps
Also invest time and effort in training cleaning workers, so that they are ready to practice in the field. Tools like task lists, employee handbooks, and regular evaluations will help you keep your cleaners’ skills sharp.
A cleaning business is one of the simplest types of businesses you can run. It’s easy to get started and start earning revenue right away, and you don’t need to take out a business loan.
You can also be your own boss, set your own standards and do work that makes a real difference to your clients and your community.
The most important thing is the passion and mindset. If you want to start a cleaning business, you will start
Start A House Cleaning Business For Maximum Profit
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