Have you decided to start a cleaning business? If so, you’ve probably already done some research and have realized it’s going to take a lot more than just trying to find people who want your services and going in to clean their homes. Starting a cleaning business takes plenty of leg work if you want it to be successful. While there are plenty of things that should be on your checklist (link here), there are also several mistakes to avoid when starting a cleaning business. Let’s take a look.
Ignoring a Business Plan when Starting a Cleaning Business
Every business needs a plan and a cleaning business is no exception. If you’re not sure what it needs to include, here are some ideas. Your business plans needs to include things like how much money you’re willing to invest, where you want to run your business out of (home or other location), what cleaning services you’re going planning on offering and at what prices, whether you’re targeting residential or commercial clients, as well as what the competition looks like. Ignoring any of these things could really be setting yourself up for failure.
Ignoring Advertising and a Marketing Plan
How are people going to know about your business, especially if it’s new? You need to determine how you’re going to advertise and market your business. When starting a cleaning business, you want to be careful where and how much you spend on advertising. Social media is a great place to start because you can do a lot of advertising and networking for free. Once you set up a web page and have information out there about your business, spread the word on social media. Ask people to share your information. This can start an entire chain of new customers, or at the very least, people who now know you’re in business.
Once you get established, you can branch out to other forms of advertising and marketing. The key is to get in there from the beginning so that you can watch your business grow.
Hiring the Wrong People
While you may think hiring friends or people you know is a great idea when starting a cleaning business, that’s not always the case. Do these friends have experience? Are they reliable when it comes to working? These are things you want to consider when hiring your new staff.
You also want to make sure you are doing background checks on your potential employees. Don’t forget, these people will be going into your clients’ homes, probably when they’re not there. You want people who you can trust and who won’t cause any problems.
You also want to hire people who are good at what they do. When you’re starting a cleaning business, you want to have top-notch employees working for your right out of the gate. If your company is not known for good work, you won’t get any repeat or new customers.
To make sure you are hiring experienced employees, be sure to check references and see what their former employers have to say. If you find they were unprofessional and had a bad attendance record, you may want to think twice.
Buying Too Much/Not Enough Equipment
People tend to fall on either end of this one. Either they buy too much equipment when they’re starting out or they don’t buy enough. You should have enough sets of equipment for each employee you hire, or at least enough so that your company can do multiple jobs at once. Some of the supplies and equipment you’re going to want to buy include:
- Cleaning Cloths
- Dusting cloths
- Spray bottles
- Vacuum
- Floor & Glass Cleaners
- Mops
- Garbage bags
As your business grows and you hire more employees, you can buy more equipment. On the flip side, you also want to have enough supplies and equipment to give each job the attention it deserves.
Charging Too Little or Too Much when Starting a Cleaning Business
To avoid paying your employees too little or too much, you want to see what other cleaning companies in your area are offering. Location can play a big role in this area. Some companies can charge more for their services because of the areas they serve, while others may need to dial it back a bit. Whatever the case, you want to be competitive.
In the beginning, you may consider offering specials to bring in customers. This can help, but once you get established, you want to bring your rates to what you will be charging normally.
Not Paying Your Employees Enough
Cleaning homes is a tough, manual job. It takes a lot of physical energy to do it well. That’s why you want to compensate your employees enough. This is another area where you can try to find out what the competition is offering. You want to be competitive when it comes to wages. Not paying enough may attract workers who are not the best qualified. This will only hurt your business. Being on the same page with what other companies are offering can give you the best chance of drawing the best employees.
Do You Have Questions About Starting a Cleaning Business?
If you have questions about starting a cleaning business, Debbie Sardone, the Maid Coach can help. Debbie knows the ins and outs of starting a cleaning business because she did it herself.
She started her business out of the trunk of her car and turned it into one of the largest maid services in the country. She has a step-by-step course to help teach you how to get your new maid business off the ground and be successful. Debbie shows people how to build their cleaning business and get it to a seven-figure business. She’ll tell you what mistakes to avoid and what you need to do to be successful.
