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Starting Out In Residential House Cleaning

Monday, August 25th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Starting out in the residential house cleaning business is relatively easy and simple; especially if you already possess a cleaning streak. This type of business can offer a wide range of services.
Vacuuming and dusting
Plant care
Window cleaning
Organizing and tidying up the house.

Making Extra Income

Residential house cleaning services all started with one client. Many people keep a part-time status in this business as a way of providing added income to the family. Others pick up multiple clients and eventually go full time or locate one large client and stay with them. Some areas to look into when seeking out your first few clients:
Residential neighborhoods
Apartment managers who require occasional cleaning in buildings
Real estate companies looking to spruce up vacant homes for showing.
Small business owners who don’t have time to clean.

Possible Pitfalls

Starting a residential house cleaning business is like any other business. Eventually you will need to deal with liability and legal issues. While you will not need to have everything in place when you first start into the residential house cleaning trade, being aware of certain issues is a must.
Check into liability and bonding insurance to get pricing.
Find out at what level you will need to register with any state or local authorities.
Find out income levels and tax issues by making a visit to an accountant.
Check on storage issues for any chemicals or compounds you might be using.

Starting Out

When you first start a residential house cleaning service, you will be working part-time, and mainly with less than five clients. A residential house cleaning service, like any other service provider, relies on referrals, word of mouth, and lots of advertising. Here are some cheap ways to get your name out.
Small classifieds - to start out you only should try listing 25 words or less during the weekend runs. Once this gets enough clients, move up to the business directory of the paper or run a small display ad in a weekly paper.
Networking – this is the cheapest and most needed form of advertising. Everyone you know must be made aware of your business. Place business cards in everyone’s hands you meet.
Referral discounts – once you start getting your first clients, offer good service and a discount if they help spread the word about you.
Door hanging flyers – put out flyers on every door within reach. Do not put anything in mailboxes or leave the flyers where they can blow away. This can cause fines.
Teaming up with larger commercial cleaning operations – check with larger commercial cleaning operators to see if they are willing to let you work as an independent contractor for residential work they might otherwise turn away.

It is very easy to start a residential house cleaning service. Make sure that when you start you are able to keep up a professional manner and maintain schedules as needed by clients. If these two aspects are always accounted for, the referrals will follow.

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