Start a Maid Service

With the residential and commercial cleaning industry generating more more than $78 billion in revenue each year, you might consider starting a maid service of your own. [1] You will have control over the number of hours that you work and will be able to decide which clients you take on. If you own your own business, you will also get to decide who to hire as your employees and how to brand your business to the community. With some time, money, and preparation, you can have a successful career running a maid service.

Steps

Designing a Business Plan

  1. Decide if you want to run your own business. Owning a maid service requires much more thought and planning than just buying some cleaning supplies. Designing a business plan will help you think of all the different steps you should take to build a strong foundation for your business.
    • If you have other major demands on your time -- such as caring for a sick relative or going to school part time -- you might want to consider if this is the best time to start your own business.
    • Although the cleaning industry generally has low start-up costs, you will still need a minimum of $5,000 to purchase equipment and insurance, hire a lawyer to protect your legal interests, and get an accountant to run your payroll division and sort out your taxes.[2]
  2. Define your budget. One the key components of your business plan is your budget, or the amount of money you have to invest in your business. This will often determine the scope of your business plan, how many employees you plan to take on, etc. Do you have the money to spend on the massive amount of cleaning products that a large office building will require or are you intending to work out of a smaller, private home?
    • Your budget may also help determine if you will join a cleaning franchise (like Molly Maids, Merry Maids or Vanguard Cleaning Systems). Franchises often require expensive joining fees (usually between $30,000-$50,000), but they also help cover some structural needs like marketing, employee training, support for franchise owners, etc.[3]
  3. Write down your Unique Selling Point. It is likely that you won't be the only maid service available in your area. What do you offer that no one else does? Why should your clients pick you over your competitors?[4]
    • For example, will you offer eco-friendly cleaning supplies? Will you offer carpet or rug cleaning services? Do you offer hours on the weekends or evenings?
    • Write down three or four words that will define the core values of your brand. What three words do you want your customers to remember when they think of you? Some key words might be loyalty, trust, care, reliability, spotless, pristine, etc.
  4. Define a customer service plan. So much of the cleaning industry is based on customer service. If your clients don't trust you, they won't feel comfortable allowing you into their homes.[1]
    • Consider special incentives you can offer to your most loyal clients. You could start a referral program where your clients get 10% off if they refer your services to a friend or family member.[5]
  5. Set your price. Your price should be competitive enough that you won't lose potential clients, but high enough that you can still make a profit.[6]
    • Charge by the hour. Some cleaning services change by the hour. The national average for house cleaners is $14/hour, but cleaners in large cities average prices between $18-20/hour. You might find this is the best route to go when you have new clients and don't know how long it will take to complete a project.[6]
    • Charge by the room or square footage. You might also consider charging by the physical amount of space in the home or office. If you have a very large home to cover (like a vacation home that needs to be prepared after months of being unoccupied), this might be the smartest method to choose.
    • Set a flat rate. Many cleaning services also just set one flat rate for each visit, especially if they clean the house more than once a month. If you clean weekly, or even multiple times a week, you will find that charging a flat rate will be more effective than charging by the hour. However, if you only clean for the client once a month or less frequently, then you will have more work to do.[6]
    • You should factor in other things to your fee, such as the cost of transportation to different clients' homes and the cost of repurchasing cleaning supplies and appliances like vacuums or carpet cleaners.
    • You should also have a clear billing system in place. If you are working through a franchise like Merry Maids, it is likely they will have a system put into place already. But if you are working independently you should decide if you are going to have an invoice system where you send your customer a bill, if you will accept checks or credit cards on the spot, or if you will take payment at the beginning or end of the month.[7]

Implementing Your Business Plan

  1. Hire high-quality staff. The cleaning industry has a very high turnover rate -- an average of 300%.[1]. Although it might initially be more expensive to hire staff with lots of experience and great recommendations, investing in your employees and giving them favorable working conditions will mean you will save money in the long run.
    • Talk to your lawyer about the legal categorizations of workers. In most industries, you are not allowed to legally take on part time, contract workers when they actually complete the essential work of your business.[1]
  2. Market your business. If you have worked in the cleaning industry previously, you might already have a loyal following of customers who can use word of mouth to market your new business. But if you don't, there are number of other routes you can take:
    • Create brochures that you can leave in high-traffic areas, like community centers, gyms, churches and other places where your potential clients meet.
    • Outreach to potential clients through a Facebook page, Twitter or other social media page. You could use these to feature "Before" and "After" pictures of your work, promote special deals, or create content relating to your business.
    • Market yourself locally. Join the listservs of different neighborhood associations or websites like Nextdoor to advertise your services.
    • Some websites like Handy and Homejoy function as a space where you can list your services through their web site directly (like AirBnB). However, some of these websites have been shown to charge very high rates to their customers, but not give the same wages to their maids while also not allowing their maids to list their services on other web sites. Use caution when listing on these sites -- you might make more money on your own.[8]
    • In all of your promotional materials -- like brochures, flyers, web site design, business cards, etc. -- use a consistent logo and color palette. You want to position your business as a brand experience, where your customers get a consistently superior service.
    • You can also consider having your employees wear a particular uniform, such as slacks and a polo shirt with your company's logo on it.
  3. Seek out your target market. Your target market is your core demographic of clients. Do you want to work at the homes of busy working parents who don't have extra time to clean? Or do you want to help clients who are elderly and are incapable of cleaning for themselves? Establishing a key target market will help you specify your marketing campaigns?[9]
    • Look for unmet needs in your local cleaning market. Perhaps there aren't many cleaners who offer environmentally friendly products. If this is the case, position yourself as filling a void for your clients.

Nurturing Your Business

  1. Hire an accountant and a lawyer. An accountant can give you great advice on how to grow your business financially and a lawyer can keep your legal interests protected as your business grows. They will also be able to advise you if you should turn your business into an LLC or an S Corporation.[10]
    • If you are an S Corporation you can still be an employee (or cleaner) and get the benefits of begin on payroll while you are also the owner of the business. If you are an LLC, you cannot do this.[1]
  2. Get CIMS certified. The Cleaning Industry Management Standard certificate is generally not required to expand your business, but you will find that it gives you much more credibility within your profession.[11]
    • To get certified, you will need to pay a $500 application fee and a certification ($995 if you are already a member of CIMS, $1695 if you are nonmember). A CIMS assessor will then visit your business to inspect your cleaning processes to make sure they fit their standards. The price for this is $1500 for each assessment date required.
  3. Expand your business. As you grow and gain more income, consider expanding your business into other cities in your state. If you have upper-level members of your staff, you can consider making them responsible for another branch of your business.[1]
    • Make sure you keep your insurance as you take on more workers. If your employees are working with harsh chemicals, then you should make sure you have liability insurance and also offer worker's compensation for your employees.[7]



Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 http://www.nfib.com/article/how-to-start-a-cleaning-business-62638/
  2. ↑ http://www.bplans.com/cleaning_service_business_plan/company_summary_fc.php
  3. ↑ http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/merrymaids/282578-0.html
  4. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/02/18/how-to-find-your-companys-voice/
  5. ↑ https://www.care.com/a/how-to-start-a-cleaning-business-1303130733
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 https://www.care.com/a/setting-cleaning-rates-1303130514
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/41426
  8. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciarabyrne/2014/11/14/startups-status-and-service-professionals/2/
  9. ↑ http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/06/defining-your-target-market.html
  10. ↑ http://www.nfib.com/article/how-to-start-a-cleaning-business-62638/
  11. ↑ http://www.issa.com/certification-standards/cleaning-industry-management-standard-cims/get-cims-certified.html#.Vm-EXBG5DzI
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