My cleaning business journey started about a year and a half ago. I wish I would have known a lot of what I know now about the industry, but I originally thought it would be an easy way to make some cash. My husband is in the Army and we were stationed in Germany. Part of being a member of a small military community is that jobs are sometimes hard to come by, as it is with a lot of the world. I turned in plenty of job applications, made sure my resume was flawless, and hadn't gotten called back. It wasn't that I wasn't qualified to work at Burger King, Subway, or even the other various customer service related jobs around base, it was just that there were so many people looking for jobs here that there really weren't any positions available. I found myself obsessively cleaning my house out of boredom and *ping* I had a lightbulb moment. 'Why don't I try to start a cleaning business since it's what I'm doing all day anyway?' You may find yourself in a similar situation where you're living, or maybe you just think it would be sweet to be your own boss for a change. 

Essential Questions to Ask Yourself

Before you waste your time going into a job you wind up hating, there are a few questions you need to be real with yourself about. Don't feel like you need to answer them all in one day. Spend some time thinking about them. Give yourself an interview in a sense to see if you're a good fit for the position. 

1. Is cleaning right for you?
   - You need to ask yourself if you actually could do cleaning as a job. You don't have to be in love with it, but is it something you could do on a daily basis for hours? Could you handle cleaning other people's excrement? How would you react if you walked into a house that was dirtier than you expected or dirtier than you would ever let your house get?
2. How good are you at cleaning?
   - Nobody is going to pay you to do an OK job at cleaning their house. Correction, they may pay you one time for your services, and never hire you back again - or worse, spread the word to their friends to not go through your company.  
   "It is estimated that the average cleaning company loses up to 55% of their customer base every year due to poor service. As one business owner states – good work goes unnoticed for years, but a bad job gets you fired immediately." https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/cleaning-industry-report/ 
3. How entrepreneurial are you?
   - In order to get business as a cleaning person you're going to need to have some entrepreneurial drive. I say drive and not experience because I didn't have any real experience at running a business when I started either. What kind of customer service skills do you have? How would you handle angry customers? How good are you at problem solving? 

So You Passed Your Interview, What Now?

It's time to figure out what type of services you're willing to offer and what you'll name your business. Naming is easy. Think of something that represents what you would like your company to be associated with. My business name is Sparkling Clean. Customers can clearly envision their home being so clean it sparkles. You'll want something catchy, and not too long. Try to avoid generic names like "Sam's house cleaning". 

 Will you offer a very specific specialty cleaning service like window cleaning? Will you try to get commercial contracts for apartments and office buildings? Or will your focus be on residential cleaning? These are the three biggest categories in the cleaning industry. Personally, I do residential cleaning because I feel I am able to control my schedule more than doing commercial cleaning, and it doesn't require as many resources as something like a specialty cleaning service could. Do your research on each of the big 3 and decide what's best for you, but this article will continue discussing the specific path of a residential cleaning business.
"But what do I clean in someone's house?" Thanks for asking! This is where I recommend asking yourself what you're comfortable cleaning and what you aren't. It's OK to set boundaries. I repeat, it's OK to set boundaries. Like I mentioned above, you don't want to wind up working a job you absolutely can't stand because you didn't set the boundaries you felt you needed. I offer three different types of cleanings. 

Deep Cleaning
In this cleaning, I do a real deep clean of the entire house (or the rooms specified). My deep cleaning checklist includes: 

• Clearing cobwebs, wiping light fixtures, wiping light switches, wiping down any railing in the house, removing trash, wiping door handles, dusting, cleaning any household mirrors 
• Interior and exterior of windows (including sills, track, ledges, and blinds)
• Bathroom sinks, mirrors, scrubbing showers and tubs (including all tiling), toilets (including the base and under the bowl), surfaces, and interior of cupboards
• Kitchen sink, full interior and exterior of the refrigerator, full interior and exterior of oven, scrubbing off baked on food material on stove, exterior and interior of kitchen cupboards, baseboards, interior and exterior of microwave, countertops and backsplash, exterior of all appliances
• Making beds and tidying up nightstands, making things look "neater"
• Vacuuming under couch cushions (if I'm able to remove them) and vacuuming the couch
• Vacuuming or sweeping all flooring (including stairs), mopping all hard flooring, wiping down baseboards
• Wiping down dining table and chairs
• My list isn't limited to this as each house is unique 

Regular Cleaning
This type of cleaning is for upkeep of a home after an initial deep cleaning has been performed. I recommend making it a requirement of your business to do a deep cleaning before you start into regular cleanings because a deep cleaning sets you up to be able to keep up on the customer's home. If you go straight into regular cleaning for a customer, you may find yourself overwhelmed with the amount of work there is to do that you didn't budget time for. I refer to my regular cleaning customers simply as "regulars". The frequency of services my regulars can choose from is weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly services. Anything longer than that I can't be certain what condition their house is in and I'll need to do another deep cleaning. Regardless of frequency, I recommend that my regulars have a deep clean done once a quarter, or at least once every 6 months. For regular cleanings I offer:

• Dusting, vacuuming/sweeping (including stairs), mopping, trash removal
• Bathroom sinks, mirrors, showers and tubs, wiping down surfaces, toilets
• Kitchen sink, exterior of all appliances, interior of microwave, countertops and backsplash
• Make beds
• Wipe down dining table and tops of chair seats 

Moving Out Cleaning
These cleanings are just like a deep cleaning, except they are for when a person or family is moving out of a house and needs it to be clean. The family may be renting and the property manager has given them a specific cleaning list, or you may have to just use your judgement on what you think needs to be done. Some of the additional services that you might offer in addition to deep cleaning the home are:

• Washing walls 
• Unclogging sinks, showers, toilets
• Cleaning interior and exterior of the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher
• Cleaning behind the oven, fridge or any other appliances that aren't moved very often
• Wiping out the interior of all cupboards and closets
• Carpet cleaning
• Make sure you ask the person or family if there is anything specific they are going to need cleaned

How Far are You Willing to Travel?

This is an important question to ask yourself for a few reasons. You'll need to figure out what your transportation will be. I recommend having reliable transportation, you'll need a vehicle of your own. I don't really see a way around this. You can't walk, ride a bike, or take a bus with a load full of cleaning supplies. You'll need to figure out your vehicle's gas mileage per mile/km. Then you'll need to figure out what the average gas price is in your area. Determine how far you're willing to travel based on this calculation. Example: Let's say my car gets 30 mpg which is pretty accurate. If the price of gas in my area stays right around $2.00 per gallon, every ~30 miles I travel will cost me $2. Also factor in the price of wear and tear and number of miles you'll be putting on your vehicle. This is subjective for each person and a calculation can't be made for the personal value you put on the miles of your vehicle or the risk of wear and tear. For me, I'm willing to travel right about a 30 mile radius from my house. So that's about $2 in gas, and we'll say 30 cents in wear and tear and miles each way. So a total of $4.60 for each trip that is 30 miles away. Obviously this can vary. Not every client is going to be exactly 30 miles away, so make sure you're keeping track of each distance you travel so you can add it up at the end of the month and take each amount you've spent on gas, wear and tear, and mileage out of your gross earnings. Another thing to think about when considering travel distance is how reliable your car is. If you don't think your car could make it past 15 miles (I hope that's not the case for you), then don't schedule clients outside of that radius. 

Business Licensing and Insurance

Each state, and sometimes counties and cities, can have different laws regarding licensing and insurance of a business. This website is a great resource for getting a brief overview of the requirements of your state and finding out more resources for applying for a business license in your state. Here is a more in depth explanation of what types of insurance would be best for your cleaning business and why it's important to be covered by insurance. 

Materials 

Now is the time for you to decide what kind of materials you're going to work with. You will most definitely need a vacuum with several attachments for crevices, cloth, carpet, and hard flooring. You will also need a broom and dustpan, a mop and bucket, an all-purpose cleaner, window cleaner, feather duster, furniture dusting oil, a lime and rust removal product, an oven cleaner, sponges, microfiber cloths, paper towel, metal scrubbies (in case you need to really scrub at something), and mop solution for both laminate and hardwood flooring. I will do another post at some point on cleaning product reviews and which products I prefer to use. 

There has been a recent surge of eco-friendly products rising in popularity. Some clients have specifically asked me if I used environmentally friendly products. If you're planning on going this route, do some research into eco-friendly cleaning product companies or even consider making your own products. I do cater to those people who ask me to use green products. I usually make my own products, buy from companies like Seventh Generation, or use a combination of both. By comparison, here is a highly unscientific experiment I did over the course of a week. I sprayed each banana with different all purpose cleaners: Lysol, water, Bad Reiniger (a German cleaner), and Seventh Generation. The purpose was to see if these cleaners had any adverse effects on a banana that could possibly hint at the same effects on humans. 

As you can see, the Lysol was the big loser in this experiment. So there may be some benefit to using green products when it comes to your health and the health of those you are cleaning for. 

How to Determine Your Prices 

There are two different ways to determine how you will charge: Hourly or house-by-house basis.
There isn't necessarily a right or wrong way to charge. 

• Hourly Pros: You will be paid a set price for each hour. Even if the job takes longer than you expected, you're still going to be paid for your time. 
• Hourly Cons: If the job takes less time than you anticipated, you will make less money than if you had given a set price. If you have a regular cleaning customer, over time you will get quicker at cleaning their house as you develop a routine. You may be doing the same amount of work, but taking less time so you will get paid less for the same amount of work. The customer may not have the right amount of cash on them to pay you if the job takes longer than you both expected. 
• House-By-House Pros: You know the exact amount you will make for a particular house. You will get paid the same amount each time regardless of how much time you take (as long as you're consistently doing a good job, of course). The customer knows the exact amount they need to pay you each time. 
• House-By-House Cons: If a job, particularly a deep cleaning or move out cleaning, requires more work and more time than you expected - you may short yourself. 

Personally, I use a combination of the two methods. I started off using the hourly method for every type of cleaning I offer, but changed to house-by-house for regular clients quickly once I realized that I was getting paid less for doing the same amount of work (remember the routine thing, it will happen). 

I prefer to charge hourly for deep cleanings and moving out cleanings; I charge on a house-by-house basis for regular clients. 

*OK, you're doing great!  Let's take a breather and enjoy a few cleaning memes together.*

*Now where were we? Oh, yes, what you're most interested in! Pricing!*

You'll need to make sure you keep your receipts from all the products you buy, even if you decide to make your own cleaning products, factor in the time you spend making them and the price of the ingredients you use. 

Here are the steps to figuring out the right pricing for you: 

1. Cover your costs.
   - Remember how we talked about the amount it's going to cost you to travel? The amount it would cost me for 30 miles was roughly $4.60. Next, you'll need to add up the cost of the materials you have purchased or made. Just for the sake of an example, we'll say my products cost me $40 total for all cleaning solutions I need (not including my vacuum, mop, bucket, broom, dust pan, feather duster, cloths and sponges, etc.). Let's say I estimate that I use 1/4 of my solutions on each house I clean, again, just for the sake of an easy example. That number would be $10. So, $10+$4.60=$14.60. My costs equal $14.60 as is right now. Make sure you also factor in the cost of your business insurance each month. We will say my business insurance costs for each house are $10. $14.60+$10=$24.60. I will want to make sure that I don't make any less than $24.60 at any given house. 
2.  What is your worth to the people you'll be servicing?
   - This is where those initial questions of how good you are at cleaning come into play. How much value will potential customers place on you? You don't want to be so expensive that nobody can afford you, but you also need to know your worth and not short yourself either. What makes you different from the competition? What experience do you have? What price would you feel confident charging per hour? What price would you feel confident charging for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house? Feel free to ask your friends if they think your prices are unreasonably high, or too low. If you're charging hourly, you definitely don't want to be making less than minimum wage after your costs are taken into account. 

How Will You Get Business?

I use the Facebook Pages platform to promote my business. I like that I can keep all my messages for my business in one place, post content to my clients and potential clients, and it's accessible for most people. At the beginning to get my name out there I did give-aways such as a free deep cleaning, products I'd made, and surprise Christmas bags. I required each person to share my giveaway post, like my page, and comment on my post to be entered. I'm sure you've seen this marketing method used on Facebook before. It brought people to my page that otherwise wouldn't have even had a clue I existed. Make sure you post your phone number and email in case someone who isn't technologically capable or prefers email would like to get into contact with you.
Other methods to consider using: Word of mouth, posting flyers and giving out business cards, or using another social media platform. 

Great! You've got Your First Potential Client!

I can't stress the importance of a contract enough. Your clients expect you to show up on time, have the supplies you need, and do a great job, but you have the right to expect them to hold up their end of the bargain too. In a contract you should have clear guidelines regarding your cancellation policy (what you expect if they need to cancel on short notice), property damage, and their possessions. The potential client needs to sign, print, and date the contract and you need to keep it somewhere safe in your records. Another potential part to add to your contract is a satisfaction section. At the end of my cleaning job, I have the person do a walk-through of their house to ensure they are happy with the job I've done. I reassure them that if they have any concerns to please address them to me now. I let the client take as long as they need to assess their house. If they notice something you missed, fix it. Remember, we aren't robots or magicians, you are going to miss or forget something once in awhile. 

My contract has the following main points included:

• Cancellation policy: If the client needs to cancel, I need at least 24 hours notice unless it's an emergency. If the cancellation policy isn't met, they are subject to being dropped from my client list. It's not only rude to cancel on someone last minute for a non-emergency, but it wastes the time slot that you could have used to schedule someone else. 
• Property Damage: My contract states that I am not responsible for any damage that is in the family's home prior to my cleaning. Don't get pinned paying for something you didn't do. 
• Keeping their important possessions on their person: I added this clause after I had someone ask me if I accidentally vacuumed up their wedding ring. They had stated that their wedding ring was on the window sill of their bedroom before I cleaned and it was missing after I cleaned. I checked my vacuum and there was no wedding ring in it. Now, I have never stolen anything in my life, but what would you think if you had a cleaning person in your home and then right after your wedding ring came up missing? Very thankfully they found it 5 minutes later, the wife had forgotten she'd moved it; but imagine if they hadn't have found it. More than likely they would have assumed that I'd taken it, especially since this was the first time this family had used my services. And that could have led to them bad-mouthing my business for no reason or even reporting me to the police on suspicion. So now in my contract it clearly states that "I am not responsible for any of your possessions. Any possessions you deem valuable like money, rings, documents, etc. you are to keep on your person while the cleaning is being performed."
• When you will receive payment: State that you need to be paid in full at the end of the cleaning.
  
  I have the client sign, print, and date this document BEFORE the cleaning is performed. After the cleaning is performed, I have them sign, date, and print for the satisfaction section which I already discussed.  
  For other ideas of what you should put in your contract, click here. The best advice I can give you is to make sure you think of everything that could possibly go wrong. Cover your own butt. We all want to hope that we will have a happy, satisfied customer, but the reality is that's not always the case. No two customers are the same.
  

Staying Sane

• Set Specific hours that you will respond to clients
• Don't take more clients than you have time for - start off with one per day
• Don't get discouraged if you don't have potential clients messaging you left and right at first. Start out building a good reputation. 
• Know your worth and don't let anyone try to boss you around or make you do things you aren't comfortable with
  
  Finally, if you haven't had enough information from this post, I've found this video to be a great resource!
  

My promise to you is that I will respond to everyone who comments on this video. If there is something I didn't cover or you need more clarification post a comment and I'll get back with you as soon as I can with an answer. If you liked this post make sure to FOLLOW me, UPVOTE, and RESTEEM!