House Cleaning Business - What's Involved?

Thinking of starting a house cleaning business? It might be just the way to earn some extra cash - or even start you on the road to having your own cleaning service. Cleaning houses may seem simple, but there's a lot more than meets the eye when you're learning about setting up your business properly.

The Appeal of an "Easy Job"

Starting a house cleaning business may seem like the easiest job in the world. All you have to do is some dusting, vacuuming, and sweeping, right? What's so hard, even if you have to clean a few kitchen sinks or toilets?

Well, there's a little more to it than that. Yes, the nitty gritty of doing the cleaning doesn't really require a Master's degree in House Cleaning. But, in today's world you really have to consider issues like liability insurance, customer service, business permits, and background checks, to name a few.

Then once you have all your insurance and paperwork issues taken care of you'll be free to delve into a worry free job of actually doing the cleaning. Knowing that you're covered if a client accuses you later of breaking something (and not fessing up to it) will take away a lot of the worry about working in someone else's house. Being an "independent contractor" in another person's home puts you at greater risk to claims of breakage or worse, theft.

A House Cleaning Business? How Hard Can it Be?

When it comes down to it someone that's hiring you to clean your house is generally expecting a stellar service of getting everything spic and span. Leaving streaks on mirrors, counters, or appliances, forgetting to clean behind the toilet, or taking a smoke break half way through your job could all be things that lead to not getting asked back.

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When a client spends the money to have their house professionally cleaned, even if they're paying a little less for an independent cleaner, they want to have their home spotless. Or, if not totally spotless, to adhere to the specific details about what they want cleaned and how. Just a warning: folks who hire professional house cleaners can have VERY high standards.

So maybe you're first task is to learn about general industry standards of cleanliness. Get a feel for what constitutes "clean". You might even call a cleaning service in your city (or a nearby city if you're in a small town), pose as a potential client, and ask if they have written standards they have for their cleanliness goals.

Making Yourself Look Professional

Appearances can make a world of difference is how clients perceive your professionalism. Everything from your hair to your shoes will be judged, especially on your first house cleaning job. The cleanliness of your body (or not) will say a lot about how well you might clean a client's house.

• Hair: Just shampooed and pulled back in a ponytail, braid, or bun. Use hairspray or a headband to keep stray hairs from flying. If after an hour of cleaning house you appear like you've been through a windstorm your homeowner might raise an eyebrow. A neutral-colored bandana might work well, too, if you can tolerate something on your head for an extended period.
• Face: Scrubbed clean with a hint of makeup. Leave the smokey eyes and theatre foundation for your night life. Besides, after perspiring a bit from house cleaning your makeup is going to smear and run more easily.
• Shirt: A button-down shirt with collar, or a polo-style shirt convey more professionalism than t-shirts and sweatshirts. Avoid wearing clothes with logos or slogans (you'd be surprised what people find offense). Err on the side of plain, solid colors. If you wear a shirt with a logo let it be one for YOUR business.
• Pants: No jeans. Who wants to work in stiff denim anyway? A good source for comfortable pants for house cleaning gymnastics is medical scrubs. Comfy fit, nice colors, elastic waists. What's not to love?
• Shoes: No dirt or scuff marks. Newer, but not brand spankin' new. You might even want to bring a different pair of shoes to wear around your client's house while you clean. Something with little or no tread is best. Crocs, anyone?
• Fragrance: Deodorant yes, perfume no. Also, make sure your clothes don't smell of cigarette smoke, if you're a smoker.
• Cell phone: Ok to keep in your pocket for emergencies - like when you have to run to school to pick up a sick child. But, no yaking or texting. Clients want to see you totally focused on your job. Wearing headphones for music MIGHT be ok with a long-established client (ask first what their opinion is!).

Cover Your Assets - Insurance Issues to Consider

You're happily going along your cleaning business with several homes to clean every week when, out of the blue, a client accuses you of a misdeed - the kind that may require a call to the police. Yikes! Where did you go wrong? It may all turn out to be a simple misunderstanding.

Even though you may feel shelling out $300-$500 per year for liability insurance is painful, imagine the hot (and expensive) water you'll be in if you're not covered. That said, insurance doesn't prevent problems and accusations from clients, but it'll make smoothing out the issue MUCH easier.

Telling your clients up front that you're covered with a liability policy can also be a great marketing tool. Some people won't even let an independent contractor in their house without some kind of coverage. And you can charge a bit more for your services to cover that policy that's letting you sleep at night.

Make sure to shop around with 3-4 agents in the area. They'll probably need to know things like what's your projected yearly income, what kind of equipment you'll be using (yours and your client's), and what socioeconomic strata of household you intend to clean in order to give you a quote. Be up front with any information they ask for - being deceptive now could void your coverage when it comes time to make a claim.

Advertising Your House Cleaning Business

The old standby of word-of-mouth references will probably be your best bet for landing (and keeping) new customers. Other forms of advertising you might want to consider are business cards (always carry a handful to tack onto bulletin boards around town), vehicle window stickers (these can be kind of pricey, so make sure you know exactly what you want before it goes on your vehicle), and a website (check out blogger.com or wordpress.com for free options). You can even make a short, commercial-type video to post for free at YouTube.

Brochures are probably over-kill for a one-person operation. If your business evolves into hiring employees printed materials like brochures or customer information packets might be warranted. Printing costs can get high very quickly, though. At that point it might be more cost-effective to invest in a professional website that holds all the information your clients could possibly want.

Conclusion

Setting up a house cleaning business can be both easy and time-consuming. Doing your homework now and setting up your business structure appropriately right from the beginning will set up sailing on the right path to long-term customers and income in this field. Good luck!

For more information on house cleaning business go to CleanFreak.com for more information and terrific deals on hardware and supplies. Our Resource Center is another great place to pick up more information related to the cleaning industry.