Start a Cleaning Business

Cleanliness is essential to healthy living.  That's obvious.  What's also obvious is that most people abhor everything to do with cleaning.  Cleaning is boring, unpleasant and highly unrewarding - in the financial sense.  To them, that is, not to people involved in the cleaning business. 

Most people have something they'd rather do than deal with dirt and grime like earning a living, spending time with their children, enjoying themselves.

This is where a great business opportunity presents itself - several profitable opportunities, in fact - for anyone who doesn't find cleaning quite so offensive.

What the Business Involves

As you'd expect, this section deals with several money-making opportunities some part-time; others full-time; some where you do the work yourself, others where you have less direct contact with end-users.  You might, for example, start your own:

*  Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Service

*  Window Cleaning Round

*  House and Flat Cleaning Service

*  Contract Cleaning Service

A few ideas might tempt you.  Further information, technical knowledge and support is offered through franchise companies, machinery suppliers and most materials manufacturers.

How you operate depends not on the business itself but on what role you choose.  A sole trader might do everything from advertising to cleaning, invoicing and submitting end-of-year accounts.  As a partner you might do the cleaning while another person tackles administrative and managerial matters.  Alternatively, you might join up with a specialist franchise cleaning agency, where most managerial aspects are handled by the parent company, and local matters, like cleaning, are left to you.

Aspects of the Cleaning Business

Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Service

All business thrives on a professional image and most organisations choose good carpeting and quality upholstery, representing a major investment.  These things have to last, so regular, professional cleaning is vital.

Most organisations employ staff for day-to-day cleaning and vacuuming, with responsibility for shampooing and special treatments contracted outside.

Look in any local daily newspaper and you'll find a selection of small businesses, usually one-man (or woman) operations, offering to clean carpets and upholstery for private and business clients.  A satisfied customer is a regular customer and this is a business where repeat custom and word-of-mouth recommendation can generate the bulk of your earnings.

No special experience or qualifications are needed to run a small carpet/upholstery cleaning business, even to highly professional standards.  Machinery and cleaning materials are the greatest investment and most suppliers offer training and ongoing support. 

First impressions are important.  A custom-made machine and your name on the side of your van speak volumes about the quality and reliability of your service.  So too does your own appearance and attitude to business.   Look smart, try to keep appointments and act like a professional always.

Your equipment should also look good, be regularly maintained and operating properly.

It isn't just business customers you will be dealing with. Homeowners are another source of regular business and a valuable fund of free advertising through referrals and recommendations.

Earnings can be high, even for small businesses running with one man and one machine.  The main problem you will encounter is talkative clients, people who might make you late for your next appointment and reduce the number of calls you make in a day.  Be friendly but diplomatic.  Time is money.

It's a good idea to study established firms before starting your own business, even if this means having your own carpets and upholstery cleaned by someone whose advertisement has appeared for some time.  Alternatively, ask discretely at pubs, showrooms, hotels and restaurants about which cleaners they use and how satisfied they are with the service.

Window Cleaning Round

All premises have windows, some easy to keep clean, others less so.  Windows in smaller premises are frequently cleaned by the owner.  Larger houses, shops, clubs, pubs, and most businesses depend on regular outside window cleaners.  This is another time where repeat business and referrals make regular advertising unnecessary.

No qualifications or experience is necessary to start a window cleaning business and initial outlay is minimal.  Ladders, buckets, chamois leathers and cleaning materials are all you need, with some form of transport for larger rounds and others where large distances are involved between calls.  Large housing estates and compact shopping centres are prized among window cleaning firms, where little time is involved getting from one call to the next and transport is rarely essential.

Most of the best rounds will already be taken with other firms ready to jump in at a moment's notice.  Nevertheless, you could approach other people's customers direct to enquire about the service they get and indicate what you can offer at a more competitive price.  You only need one or two satisfied customers on a large round to spread the word and attract others.

The business can easily be expanded into other locations or by diversifying into different cleaning options.  You could hire staff to work on wider rounds or franchise your business to people wanting to work for themselves.

House and Flat Cleaning

Here you might handle all aspects of cleaning for private clients, from day-to-day activities such as vacuuming, cleaning baths and toilets, to irregular duties like valeting the car, spring cleaning, sorting out garage and attic, and so on.

Depending on how many hours they work, most single-handed operators find two or three clients a day is all it takes to maintain a profitable business.

Some firms hire others to do the work, meaning client list and profits are greatly increased.

Clients tend to be professionals and high-income families.  As for other areas of the cleaning sector, repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendation are common.

Contract Cleaning

This is where firms accept total responsibility for cleaning clients' premises, usually larger buildings like shops, offices, factories, blocks of flats and housing complexes.

A sole operator might handle one or two large clients, probably just one, making this a potential business for life, even without advertising.