Small Business Ideas From Home: How to Start a Cleaning Service

The demand for maid, janitorial, and domestic cleaning services has increased over the last few years. As household members become increasingly busy, it has become more common to delegate the task of cleaning and maintenance to external agencies.

Within the trend of domestic cleaning is the desire for more nature-friendly, hypo-allergenic, waste-conscious cleaning. As more people come to understand the dangers of using toxic chemicals in our home environment and their health, it is also a good idea to offer “green” cleaning services.

To create a green cleaning business, the business model will need to be adapted to allow the extra expense and effort required to keep the business green and environmentally friendly. By offering a green cleaning service, you will set yourself apart from the standard home cleaning company, targeting a unique customer base, those willing to spend a little more for the sake of preserving and protecting mother earth.

How to Start an Eco-Friendly Cleaning Service

You’ll need to target more affluent areas of your neighborhood, those who would be more interested in green cleaning. Look for the type of person or family that is already environmentally conscious. Perhaps they would be driving a hybrid or electric vehicle, have solar panels on display and use separate recycling trash cans. It is important to assess demand in an area before deciding to concentrate your marketing efforts there.

Get Your Paperwork In Order

Whether you start out as a sole trader, or you wish to set up a limited company, ensure the right paperwork is in place before you go out and offer cleaning services. The most important thing you need to have in place is insurance. Your vehicle and equipment insurance will need to cover trade use. Your business will also need insuring for public liability and cover possible damage to the client's property.

Housecleaning Price: Do You Charge By the Hour or By the Job?

To Employ or Not to Employ

If you’re just starting out, it would be better to do a few jobs on your own, or with a partner to get used to things. If your marketing is good, though, you’ll soon start receiving frequent calls and inquiries. Having employees to cover extra work will enable your business to expand very quickly. Advertise for potential employees on internet job sites, local shops, moms groups and the like.

Does Your Business Really Offer Green Cleaning?

You’ll need to be thorough with this. Some clients will hire a green cleaning business, not solely because of protection of the environment, but because they may be allergic to certain, (or all) types of harsh chemicals and surfactants usually used house or office cleaning.

If you slip up once with this, your client may come up with an allergic reaction. Not the best customer feedback for your business. When purchasing cleaning supplies, be very vigilant about checking the ingredients and guarantee. They need to be 100% organic, and chemical-free. 

Try the DIY green cleaning products shown in the video below or check out your supermarket for green cleaning products.

Some Supplies You Will Need

Microfiber Mop Floor Cleaning System

Biokleen Natural All Purpose Cleaner - Makes 64 Gallons - Super Concentrated

Marketing and Customer Service

Effective marketing can make or break your business. Cleaning is a very competitive industry, and because of this, clients have a huge choice, making it very easy for the service vendors to not only gain work but lose work as well.

For starters, you can promote your services in your local community. Prepare flyers and hand them out in your local grocery store or other public places. If you want to target offices, you can ask commercial building owners if you could handout flyers in their properties. A good target market also includes condominium residents and their respective property management.

Download this Cleaning Service flyer for free from Creative Fabrica
and edit to customize for your business

If you want to grow your business further, you could explore having a web presence. Create a website that should show what you offer, why you should be trusted, what makes you different from others, and your connection to the local area. Clients are much more likely to hire a local firm than a multinational, faceless corporation to do their cleaning.

Consider signing up for websites that refer cleaning services. Creating a profile is usually free and you just pay some fee when you get a client referral. Check out Goodwork.ph and Gawin.ph. 

Green or “eco-friendly” cleaning is a great service to offer and is part of a growing trend that only seems to be getting stronger. Domestic cleaning is a very easy business to start up, with a relatively small overhead. Perfect for the work at home mom needing flexible hours.

This is the fourth post in the series Small Business Ideas from Home. Read the other posts in the series

Starting an Errand Service

Starting an Ironing Service

Starting a Garden Service