set up a little cleaning buisness

nosierosie

Hi all i would like some ideas please, to set up a little cleaning buisness. But not sure how i would go about this. Would i need insurance, and how much per hour would i charge. Also how would i advertise for this. I have good experiance in cleaning as have done this most of my life. So any ideas would be great. THANKS:D

pineapple

Phone some companies from yellow pages. When I did this about a year ago they were charging £12 an hour. But of course they were employers and had overheads. Then take a look in newsagents and post offices. I've noticed a lot more individuals advertising - even down to £5 an hour! It depends where you are of course but times are hard and people are desperate.
I'm sure people do it without insurance - which is all very well till you get accused of breaking someones prize Royal Doulton. Public liability insurance would probably be a wise move.
I've thought about doing it myself but I have a particular target market in mind. And I'm going to do leaflet drops as well as shop ads.
Start by looking at who is doing what in your area then ask yourself what you could do to compete and make yourself stand out from the crowd.

nosierosie

pineapple wrote: »

Phone some companies from yellow pages. When I did this about a year ago they were charging £12 an hour. But of course they were employers and had overheads. Then take a look in newsagents and post offices. I've noticed a lot more individuals advertising - even down to £5 an hour! It depends where you are of course but times are hard and people are desperate.
I'm sure people do it without insurance - which is all very well till you get accused of breaking someones prize Royal Doulton. Public liability insurance would probably be a wise move.
I've thought about doing it myself but I have a particular target market in mind. And I'm going to do leaflet drops as well as shop ads.
Start by looking at who is doing what in your area then ask yourself what you could do to compete and make yourself stand out from the crowd.

thanks for that, i used to clen houses with my sister. She charged £7.50ph. she doesnt do it naymore as she now is a teacher, but my job is rubbish and really poor pay. So im now on a mission lol . good luck to you with urs and thanks

brians_daughter

why dont you contact your local chamber of commerce? mine offers 20 hrs free reseach so they can research how many in areas, charges, etc etc... also try business link for start up grants etc

Raquela

I don't know if it would be the same here, but a very lucrative area is cleaning holiday homes, do you live in or near a tourist area? I did this one summer in America, worked one day a week (5-6 hours) cleaning the rental beach houses and private summer residents, for my landlady who did that as a business. She paid us two of us $20 an hour (then around £10), I think she got paid by the house rather per hour as it was her business, but she must have been earning a packet! Downside is in winter you would be earning a much much lower rate, but she lived in Canada outside of the tourist season.

That is still my most fun job ever; get to see the inside of very posh houses, realise that those who live in summer rentals generally leave the place looking like pants, I learnt speed cleaning (had to be in and out in 10 minutes in some cases! My specialty was the bathrooms lol). It was very very hard work, but I had such a good time working with my landlady and my friend! Our favourite houses were the ones with air-con cos it was 80-90 degrees most days.

MaddyW

Hi nosierosie,

I am looking to start my own cleaning business too so looks like we are in the same boat! I am currently researching the market in my area and beginning my business plan. Good luck! xxx

SailorSam

Don't forget to look for other markets other than private houses.
I know someone who did cleaning and they contacted house builders and got a couple of contracts to clean the show homes.

clairibel

Hiya noiserosie, I had my own cleaning business and did private homes and contracted with a small building firm and i did the show homes, cabins which the men used for breaks, toilets (really horrible) and builders cleans which is basically cleaning up all building debris from new builds which is a lot harder than you think But it was swings and roundabouts as the show homes where done asap as no real dirt or dust. I used to charge a tenner an hour no matter what i was cleaning.

I was a good cleaner provided extra's like windows, putting rubbish out etc as a lot of cleaners won't! I gave up due to health reasons as it is hard physical graft but if you enjoy it then it's a flexible way of working, all's you need is one client that know's others who need a cleaner and believe me you will have a snowball effect and have them asking for you to work for them .

Get insured as i broke a vase once with the hoover cord, but luckily it was a cheapy and my client was cool about it as it was in a dodgy position lol but you never know.

Hope you do well x

nosierosie

Thanks, all for ur ideas. very gratefull and wish you lots of luck Maddie, on ur adventure x

nosierosie

hi all would you charge extra, if i have to supplie my own cleaning stuff.
Or do most people let you use theres.
i have had a few messages rearding cleaning. But whats the best way to look professional.for instance what should i put back on the message to them. thanks for all your help and theres some great ideas of you all.:D

carkeyz

I am starting up my own cleaning business as well at the moment, nice that we can all bat ideas around without treading on each others toes!