House Cleaning Business FAQs

The Best Vacuums for Residential Cleaning

Question: Which brand or brands of vacuum are the most powerful (whether upright or cannister) and are most recommended by professional house cleaners? Paul King

Answer: That’s a loaded question and I’ll tell you why. There are many different ways to run a house cleaning business and everyone has a different opinion depending on how they operate. I consider a commercial upright one of the best investments you can make in your business. Read my recommendations.

I built my business on detail work and you can expect your clients to be particular about the vacuum you use on their carpet. They’re also concerned about the amount of dust particles your vacuum emits in their house - that’s why a hepa filter is important.

_____________________________________________________________________

The One Thing Clients Can’t Live Without

Question: What is the ONE thing that clients look for in a housekeeper? Cleaning is a passion of mine and I desire to be the best. So what thing do I need to do to make clients feel that they cannot live without me? Debbie Adkins

Answer: This is the mistake most new business owners make. Somehow they have the idea that knowing that “one thing” - the silver bullet - will make their business a success. If I tell you what that was for my house cleaning business, it may not mean anything for your business because we may not have the same target market.

I’ve written about the importance of defining your target market and structuring your business around that. For instance, if you call yourself a housekeeper, you are limiting the prospects that will be attracted to your business. If you call yourself a house cleaner, you are limiting the prospects that will be attracted to your business. Another fact most new business owners don’t know - there is a difference between a housekeeper and a house cleaner.

That’s what you’ll learn in the House Cleaning Pro…that’s why I wrote it. You can find free information on the Internet that will help you setup your business, but how important is that information to you if it’s free? Is there a difference between information you pay for and what you get free? Yes and No.

You need to look at the quality of the information and who is providing it. I have a technical business background and had my house professionally cleaned for over 10 years. I knew what the house cleaning businesses offered and where they failed. I used that information to build my house cleaning business. It worked, because I had inside information before I started.

That’s why you need to do your research before you waste a lot of time and money on building a business model that may not be as profitable as it could be. Or you could end up with another j-o-b only this time you have all your clients as your bosses, instead of the 1 you used to have.

With the purchase of my Business-in-a-Box, you also get personal business coaching from me. Building a business can be lonely and getting through the rough times is not easy. That’s why I offer my mentoring to support you and your specific business.

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 

Where to Start Advertising

Question: Where is the best place to start advertising. I would like to start with maybe handing out some flyers. I don’t have the money to do much else. Lindsey

Answer: This is a difficult question to answer without knowing anything about your house cleaning business. Once you have defined your target market (no - not everyone is your customer), you can design advertising that speaks directly to that market. You will never be able to design an ad that everyone responds to.

So - I suggest you start with your target market to determine who and where they are. Flyers can add up in cost if they’re not effective. I cover all advertising methods and tell you which I like the best and why in the House Cleaning Pro. If you’re not ready to invest in that much information, I suggest my special report - Advertising, What Works and What Doesn’t - located on the right navigation panel on this blog.

Advertising is the fastest way to lose your hard earned money.

_______________________________________________________________________

My Clients are Stealing My Employees

Question: I started the house cleaning business last August, since then I have problem to keep good workers, they are staying for 2-3 month, getteng refferals from my customers and leaving. So they are using my company as start up their own private business. I have one example: I hired one experienced lady, she cleaned three houses and she got an offer and she left. How I can prevent that? Where to find people who is bondable, reliable and experienced, I meant cleaning ladies? Sincerely appreciate for your answer. Irina

Answer: This is a common problem in the house cleaning business and one that I fully cover in my House Cleaning Success System Platinum Membership site. I established this site to provide ongoing information and support for those with employees and those interested in growing your business.

You will encounter this problem when you:

  • Don’t have an Employee Handbook or Policy and Procedures
  • Don’t have a Training Manual
  • Don’t have an employee clause in your Service Agreement
  • Pay employees cash

If you are not operating a professional and legal business, your clients and employees will always take advantage of you. Just as large corporations set their policies for their employees, you must do the same. Otherwise, your employees think you have no rules to follow.

I don’t recommend hiring anyone until you have completed a background check. It’s just too easy for people to attempt “resume fraud.”

 

_______________________________________________________________________

Starting From the Ground Up

Question: I have been given an opportunity to develop a “cleaning biz” with an already well established company. They want me to develop everything from the ground up. I am terrified, yet am excited. Where and how should I begin this endeavor? Lisa

Answer: Without knowing more details about this endeavor, it’s hard to assist. I suggest starting with your Business Plan. When properly done, this will give you a road map to follow for the first five years of your business.

Your business plan will define your “unique selling position” that will differentiate you from others, your target market, research on your competitors, services to be offered, supplies and equipment needed, price of your service, reference to a marketing plan and your analysis of time-line to be profitable.

Do a Google search on “house cleaning business” and review the information that is available. Be careful to only use information that is provided by people that have built the business AND have done the work themselves. It’s also important to look for the information that is most closely related to the type of house cleaning business you will build.

Good Luck!

 

_______________________________________________________________________

How to Get Started

Question: I just wanted to know what is the first thing that you did to get your business started? Did you have to get a business loan to get you started? what about getting clients and keeping them? cleaning supplies? I will be the only one from the beginning in this business so what type of insurance would I need just for me to get started. I have had trouble in the past getting loans to get this started but I just needed some pointers on writing up a contract(if needed) and all the necessary paperwork that I will need to get me started. If you can help me I would really appreciate it. Oh, one more thing, what type of paperwork will I need to get me started? Tracy

Answer: That’s a big question, Tracy! You do not need a loan to get started in a house cleaning business, unless you plan to immediately compete with the franchise services. You can start part time and work up into a full schedule gradually. And you don’t even need your own cleaning products and equipment.

I started my business with around $1,000. With that investment, I purchased my supplies, equipment, business cards and flyers. A big chunk of that investment went to the purchase of a top-of-the-line commercial vacuum. If you have a computer, you can make your own cards and flyers. I started cleaning alone and quickly hired an employee to work with me. I then grew the business, one employee at a time.

I cover everything you need to know to get started in my special reports and in the House Cleaning Pro. You need to be careful whose information you use to get started. Most of the information is written by business people that have never cleaned professionally and janitorial company owners that do house cleaning on the side. Don’t you think a home owner would hire a janitor if they wanted a janitor service? Well they don’t and that’s because their home is their castle and they are very concerned with the products you use, your cleaning procedures and how you move through their house. They are concerned with your guarantee and your policy on damage/breakage.

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________

Old Homes, Old Surfaces

Question: How do you handle cleaning old homes that need alot of work? For example bathrooms with old tubs and caulking that just won’t come clean, old wood floors that don’t look clean even after cleaning. I’m finding alot of these homes and no matter how much cleaning you do, the home looks no different.
Stacy Roberts
Website: www.bizeebeemaids.com

 

Answer: That’s easy - You’re there for residential cleaning, not to resurface! I cover this in depth in Special Report #5, Pricing and Bidding Your Jobs and of course, in the House Cleaning Pro.

A major part of your job as an estimator is to set expectations for the prospect. It’s a good idea to have referral companies that you have partnered with in these situations. Then you can set the expectation, refer another qualified company (and make money at the same time) and impress your prospect.

Learn more about partnering with companies in my House Cleaning Success System Platinum Membership site.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

How to Bid Houses

Question: I have been working for a lady who started her own cleaning business about three or four years ago. I have been working for her for a year and a half. I would like to know how to bid houses. This lady charges by the hour and does not charge as much as she should. Most of the time we go over the time allotted for each job because the customers refuse to pay more than the set time or this lady does not bid the job for the time that is needed to adequately do the job well. The ladies I work with as well as myself are frustrated at times. This lady does an excellent job and we are trained to be very thorough and detailed. I know for myself I take time to make sure extra things are done as well that show that we really care and we all take pride in our work and doing a good job. I have read elsewhere and from another person who has a successful cleaning business that you never bid by the hour. You bid by the job. Many of the homes have animals and we do a great deal of vacuuming up pet hair and getting it out of bathrooms and all. That takes extra time. I guess I would like to know what you would advise. I have tried to mention to this lady that she might try to bid by the job but she said her sister told her that even in Chicago where she lives they do not bid by the job. All I know is that is causes a great deal of frustration and often we do not put down our full time as the customer will not pay and therefore any extra comes out of our bosses pocket and this just is not right. She either loses or we do and we work very hard as you well know from cleaning yourself. I have told this lady about your website and your ebook. I do not know if she will check into it. Also, she has more houses then she has workers and somedays we are so swamped that there is no possible way we can get all the houses done and that causes her to push them to another day. Sometimes she has a cancellation on these days which enables us to finish. Then if one of us is sick or has to take a day off that puts us in a bad way. This lady has over 65 houses and businesses and I feel she should be making very good money but that does not seem to be the case. I Just wonder how other cleaning businesss operate as I would like to help her as this is very taxing on her as well. Sorry to have gone on so long but any help you could give me would be very appreciated. Barbara

Answer: This is why I created 10 new Special Reports on my website. I know there are many people in the house cleaning business that have specific issues they are struggling with.

“never charge by the hour”….this is true for the ongoing service of your regular clients that are on the schedule for weekly, bi-weekly or monthly service. Other than that, I always charged by the hour. Each new prospect must have a deep cleaning as the first appointment and these always take more time. We worked in teams of 2 and a bi-weekly house that took 2 people 2 hours to clean might take up to 8 hours for the deep cleaning!

Once you have the house spotless, you can charge a flat rate for ongoing service. Even two houses with the same floor plan can take different times to clean due to the contents, number of people living in the home, kids, pets, etc. The flat rate would take all this into consideration. It’s based on the time the house should take to clean on the regular service.

If the client house situation changes (more people, new pets, etc.) you can negotiate to increase the flat rate.

There’s a lot more to this issue that I cover in Special Report #5 - Pricing and Bidding Jobs. But from what you’ve mentioned in your question, you might consider additional reports or even the House Cleaning Pro Business-in-a-Box or Pro Tips and Tricks on my site.

_______________________________________________________________________

Complaints When Cleaning Rental Property

Question: How do you handle complaints when cleaning rentals? Let’s face it, rental properties are JUST NOT as clean as SOME residential homes. Most rentals that I have seen would require ALOT of ‘deep’ cleaning in order to keep it clean. I recently cleaned a rental unit for the Realtor I do some work for, (keep in mind this was the first time I cleaned this unit). I rec’vd a complaint from the Realtor (complaint actually came from the person renting the unit) stating the shower/tub was not clean. And that there was dried urine and feces on the toilet rim. I know FOR SURE that the toilet thing was not true. How do I reassure the realtor of that other than my word? However, when I went into the unit, there was atleast 6 months worth of dirt and soap scum that would require an hour of scubbing. And I did tell the Realtor that. Do you clean rentals the same way you clean your residential? I feel that if would have to spend 8-10 hours of ‘deep’ cleaning a rental property in order for it to be clean in my eyes. And if I am only being compensated $50 for that rental cleaning it’s just not worth it to spend more than 2 hours cleaning. It is very difficult for me to go into a rental and NOT clean it the way I clean residential homes. Am I making sense? How would you handle this situation? Thank you. Stacy

Answer: “How would you handle this situation?” I always handle this situation by charging what the job is going to take. It’s your business and you have to charge what your time is worth.

It doesn’t make sense to take a job for a flat amount. You have no control over the situation. You absolutely must charge for the time it will take to clean each unit; this will also eliminate the complaints. If they’re not willing to pay, then move on to your next client that will.

Once you charge appropriately for the job, you can set your guarantee. Take complaints within a 24-hour period; otherwise they forfeit having the issue addressed.

You might be interested in the new special reports I just added. They’re listed on the right navigation panel on this blog.

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Folding and Hanging Clothes

Question: How much to charge for folding or hanging clothing. Ana

Answer: How much is your time worth? How much do you want to make? What do other businesses charge for this task in your city? Do you want to do this for the pay you will receive?

I don’t have much information to go on with the limited information that has been provided. I could write pages in response to this!

  • You could charge a flat fee
  • You could charge by the item
  • You could use an hourly rate with a minimum charge

Sometimes clients ask for more work than they’re willing to pay. For this reason, you need to decide what you’re willing to do and the MINIMUM you will take for the work. Otherwise, your clients will always be getting more than you make for doing the work in your house cleaning business.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

Sticky Cobwebs

Question: I have a quetion about cob webs. I currently use a feather duster to remove the cob webs but the feather duster doesnt do a very good job because it will pick up the Cob web then leave it on the wall in another spot so its like your just shifting the cob webs left to right. Do you know another way to get rid of the webs? Ebony

Answer: I know what you mean about the cobwebs, but it could also be the procedure you are using. For lots of cobwebs, like you find in a first-time clean, I prefer to use a lambswool duster on an extension wand. This allows you to get up very high and the cobwebs really stick to the lambswool. I also prefer to use a little dusting spray on the duster before I start; this also causes the cobwebs to stick better. I prefer not to use my very expensive feather duster, but if a cobweb gets stuck to it, just take a rag with a little dusting spray and go up the feathers - it will take the cobwebs right off.

If you’re still having an issue with the cobwebs sticking and transferring, rubberband a terry towel with dusting spray around your lambswool duster and use that to take down the cobwebs.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

Training Household Cleaners

Question: I already run a cleaning products manufacturing business and wish to incorporate a division for training household cleaners to promote my products. How do I do this? Bulelwa G

Answer: That’s an interesting question! I would start by selecting a house cleaning business “how to” book to promote, like the House Cleaning Pro. It contains step-by-step procedures for all cleaning routines. It also contains a list of the type of cleaning products needed, which of course, you will have in stock.

Then sell the House Cleaning Pro to all your customers that are starting or have a house cleaning business. Be sure to tell them you stock all the products listed in the book and encourage them to purchase with a coupon off their first purchase.

Once you have your own copy of the House Cleaning Pro, you’ll quickly understand why I support this method of selling your products!

To discuss further business arrangements, please open a ticket at my Support Desk.

_______________________________________________________________________

How Much Can I Earn?

Question: I have recenly re-entered the workforce after staying home with my 3 children for the last 6 years. I have always wanted to own my own business and I enjoy cleaning. A friend of mine is also interested as possibly becoming partners. I would like to be able to support myself and my three kids and still see them. How much do you generally make say with 6 - 8 jobs a week. I don’t want to jump in without any idea of how much I will be bringing home. Cindy

Answer: Hi Cindy - that’s really a loaded question! There is no “one charge fits all” when it comes to a house cleaning business. The price you charge is dependent on the current rate in your city, the type of service you provide and the type of customers you are targeting. Even after purchasing the House Cleaning Pro, you’ll need to do a little research with the information we provide.

Let’s say your current rate is $35/hr for 1 person and you have an 1800 sq. ft. house every two weeks. The average home with this square footage will take around 3-4 hours for one person to clean. Cleaning alone, you can usually clean two of these per day. If you have 6 similar houses per week, you would earn $840 per week gross. You may decide to clean Wednesday through Friday (the busiest days) and take Saturday through Tuesday off. Of you could schedule one house Monday through Thursday and clean two on Friday.

If you have a partner and work as a team, double the number of houses you clean and cut the cleaning time in half (for 2 people). Your earning power is as unlimited as the types of houses there are to clean. No two houses are alike, even if they’re the same model because the content and occupants are different and that determines the time time it will take to clean and the price you will charge.

A normal week will contain a mix of higher priced homes and smaller, lower priced homes.

You also have the ability to add a premium charge to houses you clean on prime days, such as Thursday and Friday. You could setup your business as all inclusive and charge more for your service. Or you could only perform specific tasks and charge less for your service and then charge your client extra for special requests. Your options are practically unlimited.

If you don’t mind physical work, a house cleaning business is the perfect business for a growing family. Your business can grow as your children get older and require less of your time. Once you have your business rolling, you can expand by hiring employees to do the work. This is the key to creating a profitable business that you can leverage later on or sell as required.

Read my article House Cleaning Business, What to Charge. I also have a special report, Pricing and Bidding House Cleaning Jobs.

_______________________________________________________________________

Finding New Clients

Question: I have been having trouble getting enough homes to clean. I bought the House Cleaning Pro system and have been reading it. I have had the best luck with word of mouth. I used to be able to get new accounts with flyers, but am finding this is not working so well right now. I have used your flyer template that comes with the system. I have also called old accounts and asked if they would like to come back or if they knew of anyone who was looking for someone to clean. I have a referral system in place and have tried a couple of ads in the paper with no luck. Any other suggestions? Melissa

Answer: Hi Melissa! I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble finding new clients. The good news is that you are entitled to private coaching with the package you purchased. Please use my Support Desk Knowledge Base and open a ticket for assistance.

In any business, and most importantly for a house cleaning business, the two most critical tasks you will have is finding clients/customers and good employees. The problem is that both of these issues are dependent on how you are presenting your business to the world and who your target customers are.

Here’s an example: If you have targeted “everyone” as your customer, you’re going to have to filter through a lot of people to locate those that are in-synch with your business. This is a time waster for you.

On the other hand, if you present your business specifically to the customers and employees that are looking for your type of business, you have narrowed down the number of people and have made it easier for those looking for exactly what you offer to contact you and respond to your ads. You can never be everything to everyone.

How do you find your target customer?

  • What area of your city do you want to work?
  • What type of people live in this area?
  • What is the median income of these people in this area?
  • Are the people living in this area retired? Stay-at-home? Work outside the home?
  • Do these people have children?
  • etc.

Once you know where you want to work and what type of people live in these area(s), you can design the perfect business and the perfect ads to attract these people as your clients/customers.

Marketing and advertising is a science - not an art, meaning that it takes consistency and tracking to develop a program that works for your business. That’s why you can’t duplicate an ad that you’ve seen and expect it to work for you. You can start with the ad, track the results, then start making small changes and track the changes until you have the results you want.

Here’s a link to my article on performing research for your business. I also prepared a special report you can access on the right navigation panel on this blog, Research and Plan Your Business.

_______________________________________________________________________

What to Charge

Question: How do you know what to charge each client? Tracey W.

Answer: Tracey, this is one of the questions that I get asked most often. My question to you is “what to you want to earn?”. You need to know what your time is worth and you need to know what prospects in your city are willing to pay for the service you offer. Every house cleaning business is unique and must charge what they need to stay in business. If you charge to little, you’ll be working like a slave to earn enough money to stay in business and pay your bills. In addition, you need enough clients to enable you to earn a decent wage from your house cleaning business. Commercial cleaners charge by the square foot, but I don’t recommend this method for residential cleaning due to the differences in contents in the home for the same home models. Consider the following when estimating the time it will take to clean a house:

  • The contents in the home and the types of surfaces to clean
  • Number and size of bathrooms
  • Size of kitchen
  • Number of remaining rooms to clean
  • Number and type of pets
  • How many people live in the home
  • Number of children and their age
  • Lifestyle of the people living in the home
  • Windows to be included in the service
  • Carpet versus flooring
  • Frequency of service

All of these variables are needed to determine the time it will take to clean the home. Multiply this by your hourly rate and you have the price to charge your prospect. Of course, estimating jobs when you’re just starting out will be difficult since you have no point of reference for your business. With experience, comes estimating accuracy.