How to Start a Cleaning Business from Scratch

Starting a business may seem risky and it takes courage to follow your dream. Many people are indulging themselves in entrepreneurship and find this as a great alternative to the nine-to-five grind. There are many businesses to start with and some require special training or experience to initiate.

But if you want to start with something that involves minimum overhead and upfront cost, then starting a cleaning business would be the best bet. Moreover, this business does not need special training or hands-on experience. You can gain modest profit and gradual success from this business venture.

Just because it does not require formal training or a vast knowledge base and certification, do not take this lightly- it is pretty challenging and has wide market demand. Though there is no such business blueprint for this business type but will guide you to learn how to start a cleaning business from scratch.

But before we head on, let’s discuss why the cleaning business is a lucrative business option for a novice!

Why start a cleaning business?

There are various benefits of starting a cleaning business. Besides making enough money, this business offers various other perks. Mostly, the business owners charge their services on hourly rates and it ranges between $20 to $200.

Starting your business always comes with a list of benefits and initiating a cleaning business adds a few more to the list. You can decide your working hours and set your rates. Starting a cleaning business will help you decide your workplace and form a friendly relationship with your team members.

Moreover, it is always a great pleasure to witness the satisfaction in the eye of your clients, which you can get by starting your cleaning business. Another biggest plus is that cleaning businesses require minimum start-up costs and experience.

There are multiple ways to break into the cleaning industry. Here are some of the creative business ideas to try your luck in. Check it out!

Ideas for starting a cleaning business

• Residential cleaning: It includes deep cleaning, kitchen cleaning, and others. Moreover, it is quite profitable and helps to build a lasting relationship with the clients.
• Commercial floor cleaning: This is one of the most in-demand services that include carpet cleaning, vacuuming, etc.
• Window cleaning: This is another growing sub-sector of the cleaning industry. This is ideal for those who would love to enjoy being outdoors and the thrill of climbing the heights of skyscrapers for cleaning windows.
• Commercial hood cleaning: It is another profitable specialty that includes work like cleaning exhaust, grease traps, and ventilation systems.

Let’s now begin with the guidelines of starting a cleaning business from scratch!

How to start a cleaning business from scratch?

Whatever cleaning business you start with you need to follow a few basic steps to make your business run smoothly.

Determine your target market:

After you decide on your niche look for the target market. According to the market research, you can set your services and rates. This also allows you to plan out your marketing campaign. Your marketing strategies would be different for homeowners and business owners. Therefore, thorough research on market demands is essential.

Identify your service area:

Researching your target market helps you decide your service area. Look out for those places or localities where there is demand for cleaning services and not many cleaning businesses are available at that place. Once you decide on your service areas, it becomes much easier to look for your potential customers.

Register your business:

Registering your business is one of the most vital tasks that you need to perform before you launch your business officially. Form your business structure to get tax benefits to avoid legal complexities. You can run as sole proprietor or structure it as LLC(Limited Liability Corporation). In the first case, you are responsible for the profit and loss incurred by you. In the second case, your business finances are kept separate from your personal finances. Registering your business is vital while you are dealing with corporate clients where proper documentation is required.

Choose a brand name and logo:

Give a suitable name to your business and design an attractive logo. This will help you to get identified among a wide network of clientele.

Decide your service and set your prices:

Your target market will help you decide what services to provide and how much to charge for each service.

Some of the basic cleaning rates:

• Hourly: $50 to $90
• Flat rate: $120 to $150 (for a single-family home)
• Deep clean: $400
• Junk removal: $130 to $350
• Move out cleaning: $200 to $400
• Square foot rate: $.05 to $.20 for commercial cleaning

Cleaning for small residential spaces would cost less than large commercial areas. Research about the rates that your competitors fix for their services to get an idea of the pricing methodology.

Manage your finances:

As soon as you set off your cleaning business and you start getting projects you need to maintain a proper financial record. Creating estimates and sending invoices would be common as other services. But do maintain your business financial record to track your expenses and yearly income so that you can invest in your business growth. You can get various online software for creating estimates and invoices to speed up the payment process.

Plan out your marketing strategies:

A good business plan must include strong marketing strategies. Providing good services is not enough to get more clients. You need to invest money and effort to make your business known among the network of potential clients. You can frame your marketing strategies by taking help from a third party, hiring professionals or, just by following the below steps.

Referrals:

Reach out to your friends and relatives or your old clientele to ask for referrals. Offer them discounted rates to get more new clients.

Networking:

A good network can get you, new clients. Get into local communities or join various events to form connections so that you get more customers.

Google:

Creating My Business page in Google will also help you attract more clients.

Paid ads:

You can run paid ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram to gain more customers.

SEO:

Search Engine Optimization is one of the trendiest techniques to attract clients. You can boost your website traffic by tracking the keywords searched by your potential clients.

Social media platforms:

Social media platforms are great places to post about your businesses and the services you offer. People looking for such services can reach out to you through your social media profiles.

Stand out from others:

If you are wondering how to start a cleaning business from scratch, then you must make your business stand out from others. Define your USP so that your potential clients choose your firm over others. You must be updated in all respects to stay ahead of your competitors.

• Have a more experienced yet friendly team.
• Keep top-grade and eco-friendly equipment for your business.
• Professional branding along with proper marketing material will help your business develop.
• Keep well-maintained and clean vehicles to reach your clients on time.
• Offer the best service to enhance your business credibility.

Purchase your requirements:

Make a list of essentials that are needed for your business. You need to have the right equipment ready for a specific task. Some of the things you need are a bucket, disinfectant wipes, cleaning towels, cleaning rags, vacuum cleaners, all-purpose cleaner, etc.

Hire staff:

Hiring staff is also a significant part of your business planning. You need professionals for specific tasks so that your business is well managed and organized. Hire an accountant for your business finances, marketing professionals, labor, graphic designers, etc.

Sort out the logistics:

Depending upon the size of your business, you may have extra expenses on transport, services you provide, supplies, etc. Transportation, supplies, equipment, and technology consume a lot of your business revenue. Depending upon the size of the business, the size of the project you get, frequency of purchasing your supplies, and other factors, you need to sort your logistics to balance the business expenses.

Facts Related To Cleaning Business All Across US

• As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Cleaning industry is experiencing a growth of about 10% in the US.
• Over 2.35 lakh jobs are estimated to be created in this sector by 2023.
• Floor cleaning has the major market base in commercial cleaning and construction and post-construction cleaning also has a major impact on it.
• As per studies, North America has the largest market for cleaning services and California is the top employer for both residential and residential cleaning.
• The hourly price over the nation for deep cleaning is around $55-$65.
• Over 100+ commercial cleaning companies charge around $0.05-$2 per square foot for deep-cleaning services.

Additional tips to grow your business

Expanding your business and boosting business health is the main priority, besides offering excellent service to your customer. The following additional tips will help you grow your business.

Upgrade your skills:

Brush up your skills so that you can get more projects. Learn how to clean more efficiently in less time. Research what advanced equipment you can use that would give better cleaning. This will encourage you to charge higher rates for your projects.

Build a strong website:

Building strong websites help in marketing your business. Mention your services, prices, contact details so that your potential clients get all the information at a glance.

Invest in professional branding:

Hire a graphic designer and create a professional logo to attract more clients. The more you invest in branding the more benefit you will have.

Plan your taxes and expenses:

Besides planning your business budget, plan out your yearly taxes to safeguard your business from legal issues. Research to know about the tax rates and deductions to save unnecessary tax payments.

Ask for reviews:

Lastly, ask your clients to give reviews about your services after task completion. This way you can add good reviews to your portfolio. You can even work out the bad or poor reviews to improve your services.

FAQs

Wrapping up!

Starting any business needs planning and that requires certain basic steps to follow. This article will guide you to make your business strategies. Get Billbooks to avoid the hassles of maintaining your business finances. Check out our article on how to price house cleaning jobs to more on this.