Start a Cleaning Business: 15 Things to Do Before You Get Mopping

1. Get Legal

So you’ve decided to start your own cleaning business.

If you’re like most people, you’re probably eager to get out there and start making money and gaining experience.

Or maybe you’re knee deep in the research phase, trying to perfect your business before you’ve even begun.

But whichever camp you fall into…

There’s one thing you absolutely must take care of first:

Getting your business legal.

Too many people make the mistake of jumping into business without obtaining the licensing that they need to legally start bringing in money.

Please, don’t be one of these people.

Go ahead and get your business license, and decide which business formation and structure fits your needs:

Since you’re just starting out, a Sole Proprietorship or LLC will probably make the most sense for you, and will be the easiest to obtain.

You will also need to apply for your EIN number online.

2. Write a Business Plan

This next step is another one that can often fall by the wayside.

Writing a business is tedious, and not exactly the most fun part of going into business for yourself.

But on the flip side of things, it can be an invaluable tool for long term success.

When you’re creating your business plan you’ll want to include some basic information.

When you write a business plan, you are able to separate the excitement and emotion that comes with starting your own cleaning company…

And just focus on the facts.

Even if you don’t anticipate ever needing to apply for a small business loan, or approach and investor for future funding…

A well written business plan can help you stay on track to reach your business goals.

Plus spot potential issues in your business strategy before they come up.

3. Build Your Brand

Every smart business owner knows that to become truly successful, you need more than just good service or a great product.

You need a brand.

Your brand is more than just what you’re doing.

Your brand is your entire story.

It’s the values and purpose behind your business, and the ideals and image you want people to think of when they hear your business name or see your logo.

Take some time to think about what you want your cleaning business to be known for.

Do you want to be known for being extremely affordable?

Or maybe you want your brand to be centered around the green energy cleaning products that you use?

Or perhaps you want to be known for being an extremely trustworthy cleaning company that people trust to clean their homes?

Whatever it is, start off on the right track by creating a set of company values.

Take a step further by also creating a mission and vision statement for your cleaning business.

Your mission statement defines your business, and your vision statement describes how you want your company to look in the future.

Once you’ve gotten all of these things written down, choose a name that fits your cleaning company’s objectives and values.

Then design your logo around this.

If you are starting a cleaning business on a budget, then you can use tools like Canva to design a logo yourself.

But if you have the money, invest in a graphic designer that can bring your logo to life.

4. Customer Avatars

So what the heck is a client avatar?

Your client avatar is much different than the customizable video game avatar that you might be imagining.

But the concept is actually pretty similar.

A video game avatar is your ideal player for the game, while your customer avatar is your ideal customer for your business.

It’s the imaginary customer that your cleaning business will serve best.

Which means that your customer avatar goes hand in hand with your unique selling proposition.

If you haven’t heard this common marketing term before…

It comes down to identifying the unique value that you bring to the table in your industry.

It’s the thing that sets you apart from the crowd, and persuades a potential customer to choose you over your competition.

Sometimes this comes down to price.

Your ideal customer might be someone who doesn’t think they can afford to hire someone to clean their home, but is surprised by your affordability.

But maybe your ideal customer is extremely eco conscious.

They don’t want harsh chemicals used in their home, and green products are important to them.

So if your brand is geared towards being “green”, then that becomes your unique selling proposition to that customer.

Make sure you know exactly who you’re marketing to, as this will affect the way you move forward with your business.

5. Hone Your Services and Pricing

Alright, your business is legal, you have a business plan, you’ve honed in on your brand, and you’ve identified your ideal customer…

Now it’s time to nail down your services and pricing.

You might be wondering when it’s finally going to be time to get out there and starting cleaning…

But all in good time, my friend…

All in good time.

Doing your due diligence on the front end is going to save you a world of time and some major headaches later on.

Trust me.

Your service offerings will greatly depend on your ideal customer.

But a good frame of reference is to evaluate what other companies in your area are offering, and if there is a gap to fill.

If you can provide services for a need that isn’t already being filled, then you’ve got a great marketing strategy.

Either way, it’s a good idea to see what is already being offered, and what these other companies are charging.

Take all of this into account as you build out your own service list and nail down your pricing strategy.

6. Website

Now it’s time to build out your website!

You have all the information you need to put up your very own website for your new cleaning business:

All of this information will come together to create a comprehensive website that will help you start getting in new leads right away.

Building a website can be intimidating if you’ve never done it before…

Or if you have little to no graphic design skills to speak of.

But if you can’t afford to pay a graphic designer to create your website for you…

Don’t worry.

There are so many template based website builders out there now, that you have nothing to worry about.

Creating a simple but user friendly website is easier than ever before.

Check out these template based website builders:

Also consider including a section on your home page for a free quote.

7. Business Insurance

Business insurance.

It’s an extra expense that you hate to deal with, but absolutely have to have.

Especially business insurance for a cleaning business.

Since you are going to be entering into other people’s homes and offices, you will need to invest in liability insurance at the very least.

As your business grows, you will also want to add on workman’s comp insurance.

This is a step that you will only have to take after bringing on a team of employees, though.

Another thing to consider when purchasing business insurance for your cleaning company is a janitorial bond.

Basically, a janitorial bond is peace of mind for your customers.

One of people’s biggest fears when hiring someone to come into their home and clean is that the hired cleaner will steal something.

Our homes are sacred spaces, and it can be unnerving and vulnerable to allow a stranger inside to touch our personal belongings and clean the spaces that we live in.

Giving your customers added peace of mind when they hire you is an invaluable added selling proposition.

A janitorial bond ensures that if one of your future employees steals from a customer that the customer will be properly compensated.

8. Marketing Your Business

Marketing your cleaning business will be a huge factor in your success.

Fortunately, there are a variety of different ways to get your new business out there and gain customers.

One marketing tactic that has become increasingly popular is that of social media.

Businesses have turned to social media platforms like never before.

Even fast food restaurants like Wendy’s have twitter now!

While you don’t need to have a social media account on every platform out there, pick two three and run with those.

You can use these social media platforms to run ads for your cleaning business as well.

Another great option for marketing your cleaning business is through your local chamber of commerce.

The chamber of commerce is an amazing opportunity to connect with your local business community and get your name out there.

The chamber will also help you with credibility…

Plus they will probably have a public ribbon cutting for your business when you launch officially!

Finally, you should also create business cards with your name, logo, and phone number on them.

You can use Canva for creating your business cards too!

But sometimes social media, a local chamber, and a stack of business cards just isn't going to cut it.

You're going to need to back those techniques up with a strong strategy for lead generation.

Fortunately, we actually have a course designed to teach small business owners how to generate their own leads, that you can find here.

9. Invest in Your Supplies

At this point, you’ve put a lot of work into the front end of your business.

But it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty.

You are about to officially start your cleaning business.

But you can’t do that without the right cleaning supplies!

I recommend finding a wholesale cleaning supplies supplier.

You will have to order in bulk, but in the long run this will save you money.

You’ll also want to do your research before heading off to clean someone’s home.

Make sure you know what products are safe to use on which surfaces.

The last thing you want is to damage someone’s hardwood floors or pristine granite countertops because you used a harsh unsafe chemical cleaner!

Do your homework, and thank me later.

10. Start Cleaning Yourself

While it might be tempting to hire a team of people right off the bat in hopes of scaling your cleaning business quickly…

Don’t do it.

You will get to the place where you will need multiple employees to handle the volume of cleaning jobs that you have coming in.

But it’s best to start out doing the work yourself.

This is for two reasons:

Running a company that you know nothing about is a dangerous game.

When you put yourself in the position of being “boots on the ground” and doing the literal dirty work yourself…

You set yourself up for success.

Because you will then have the behind the scenes knowledge to train your employees, and set a standard of excellence from the ground up.

Plus, when you’re first starting out, it’s important to pour as much money back into the business as you can…

As well as paying yourself at least a basic salary.

Once you start to feel overwhelmed by the amount of cleaning jobs you have rolling in…

Then you can consider hiring employees.

11. Write SOP’s

Before you hire employees for your cleaning business, you should consider writing down standard operating procedures.

Training a staff is extremely important…

And the last thing you need is to have a team of employees that are completing jobs with different methods and standards.

To ensure quality control and the best customer experience…

You have to write SOP’s.

Your standard operating procedures will detail down to the letter how each task should be completed.

And how your business is supposed to run.

They should include everything from which product to use for each task, to the uniform and dress code required.

Use all of the knowledge, hands on experience, and company values that you’ve developed up to this point to create an SOP handbook for your newly hired employees.

Not only will this create better employees, but it will also legitimize you as a boss and add credibility to your cleaning business.

12. Build Your Team

Hiring employees for your cleaning business is a huge step!

It means that your business is growing, and that means that you’re probably ready to scale your business to the next level.

Congratulations!

But in your excitement about adding on some help and getting some weight off of your own shoulders…

Don’t rush your first hiring process.

Ideally, you want to be able to take your time to really make sure that you’re hiring the right person.

Especially with your first hire.

This person will probably be way more than just an employee and a great cleaner.

You will want to find someone who can come alongside you in multiple areas to help grow your business.

That last point is important.

It would be better to hire someone who has never touched a carpet steamer before but is excited to work for you and has an eagerness to learn new skills…

Than to hire someone who you can tell will be difficult to work with but has prior cleaning experience.

You can easily train someone to master the skill set of cleaning…

But make sure that they are the right fit for you.

Your SOP’s will also come in handy during this process. 

Use them in your training and onboarding process.

While your SOP’s won’t suffice as a stand alone training program, they will be a great accompaniment to one on one, hands-on training.

Another thing to remember is that if you skipped the step of obtaining your EIN number from step number one…

Go back and do that right away.

You cannot legally hire an employee without it!

Fortunately this is a free step that can be completed easily on the IRS website.

13. Streamline Your Customer Experience

Without a stellar customer experience you don’t have a business.

Your customer service and client experience should always be the backbone of everything that you do in your cleaning business.

This means that you have to prioritize high standards.

These are the things that will set you apart from the crowd.

The beautiful thing about having satisfied customers is that they will often be your best opportunity for new leads!

When you have a customer that is thrilled with you home cleaning services, you can ask them to leave you a review.

This review can be listed on your website, your business’s Facebook page, and even your Google My Business page if you have one (which you should!).

Rather than asking for a review as if it was simply a favor, you can actually incentivize reviews through a referral program.

Starting your own referral program is actually quite simple.

So don’t overthink it.

You can offer your customers something as simple as a gift card or even a discount on their next cleaning service when they leave you a positive review!

You’ll be surprised how excited people will get over even a $20 gift card!

Plus, that $20 gift card might result in multiple new clients for your business…

So you’ll easily make back the money in no time!

When people are choosing who to do business with, they often look to online reviews if they don’t have a personal recommendation.

Getting these reviews from your customers will be a huge plus for your online presence. 

Another thing to keep in mind when streamlining your client experience is setting up an efficient billing system.

Whether you decide to invoice clients, or set up an on the spot payment system like a portable Square card reader…

Having a professional invoicing and billing system for your customers is very important. 

Most people want convenience more than anything when it comes to payment methods.

So rather than dealing with sending an invoice and waiting for checks in the mail…

Looking into a pay on the spot billing option for your residential customers is a good idea for both you and them.

14. Calculate Your Direct Costs

Now that you’re up and running, it’s time to turn your attention to the back end of your business again.

Keeping track of the direct costs related to each cleaning job you take on will be very important for your profit margins.

If you don’t know what you should be spending on each job…

How will you know if there is wasteful spending that can be reduced or eliminated?

Calculate an average of how much is spent on supplies for each cleaning job.

This will include things like your cleaning supplies, as well as gas for company vehicles, and labor costs.

These numbers are your direct costs.

Once you have an average for the direct costs per job, you can easily spot overspending or wasteful use of product when it occurs.

Keep a running cost list for each job that you do, so that you know how much is being spent.

15. Calculate Your Indirect Costs 

Another factor that needs to be included in your job costing are your indirect costs.

Indirect costs are the things you spend money on throughout the year that affect the profitability of each job, but aren’t directly connected to it.

For example, the amount you spend on things like janitorial bonds, insurance, payroll services, and marketing are your indirect costs.

Find out how much you spend on all of these indirect costs per year, and then divide that number by 12 to determine how much it’s costing you per month.

From there, you can easily divide this down even further per week and then per job.

You will need to estimate how many cleaning jobs you will be taking on each week and therefore each month.

For example:

If you think you can get 12 cleaning jobs per month, then that comes out to about 3 jobs per week. 

Then divide your per month indirect costs by the number of jobs you expect to book each month…

And voila!

This number will be your indirect costs per job.

This number will remain consistent per job assuming that you continue to book 12 cleaning jobs each month throughout the course of the year.

Starting a Cleaning Business Can Be Profitable, But Lead Generation Should Come First, Here's Why:

If you are interested in starting your own business, but you have limited start up capital…

Then starting a cleaning business might be a great option for you!

But the frustrating thing about starting a cleaning company is that the amount of profit is relatively low when you compare it to other business models.

Plus, it requires a lot of hard work.

It isn’t the type of business that will ever allow you to be hands off and enjoy any form of passive income.

At least not until you’ve been able to scale your business for many years, and potentially even franchise it.

But that takes a lot of time, and requires a steady flow of business.

Which is why I recommend starting off your cleaning business from a completely different approach:

Lead generation.

Online lead generation at its core is about supplying small businesses with the one thing they want the most:

New leads.

Through SEO strategies and harnessing the localization powers of Google, local lead generation accomplishes just that:

Supplying a steady stream of new business leads for a variety of different business models.

If you can master the skill of local lead generation, and apply it to your fledgling cleaning company…

Your ability for growth will be limitless.

Because you will have the greatest tool that you need to scale your business anywhere that you are in the world and wherever you decide to franchise. 

Click here to learn more about how we can help you get started with local lead generation today.