Books & Resources

3 Expert Tips for How to Start a Cleaning Business

3 Expert Tips for How to Start a Cleaning Business

Books & Resources

House cleaning is always in demand, and has a relatively low barrier to entry. So you might be wondering  if this is a good option for you to go into business. As an entrepreneur who ran a successful house cleaning business for 20 years, I offer these 3 expert tips for how to start a cleaning business. So read on to learn more about how to start and run your own cleaning business.

Pros and Cons of Owning a House Cleaning Business

Nothing is perfect. Not in life, and certainly not in business. There are pros and cons to every industry, sector, and business model. What matters is that you understand them so you can make the choice that is right for you. Building a business is always hard work, takes time, and requires risk. So pick a business that is the best fit for your lifestyle and income goals. 

Advantages of Owning a House Cleaning Business

1

Passive Income

Building a strong management team means you can own a cleaning business and, well, not be cleaning. Not only that, but you can be doing other things, like running another business. Or travelling. For example, I once enjoyed an amazing trip to Israel while my team managed the day to day of the business.

2

Unlimited Potential

Starting a cleaning business means there is endless potential to grow. You can expand your service area, or even open new locations in other cities. Add on services to bring in new revenue streams. Carpet cleaning, window washing, chimney cleaning, eavestrough cleaning, power washing - so many opportunities to offer your customers more cleaning services for their home!

Disadvantages of Owning a House Cleaning Business

1

Staffing Headaches

A cleaning business needs people to perform the services. Though technology is valuable for automating communication and information sharing, there is no app that can do the work. Staffing is the biggest headache in any service business, and this is a disadvantage of having a cleaning business. It can be tough to find and keep great staff. And even the best employees are not 100% reliable. They need vacation time, get sick, or just have a bad day and make mistakes.

2

Customer Turnover

Even when you work hard to provide a 100% customer satisfaction rate, customers will leave. Because there are so many things outside of your control. Life events like new babies, divorces, job loss, and moving may mean that a loyal customer stops doing business with you. Therefore, never stop marketing, so you can replace customers that leave and not see a drop in revenue.

How to Start a Cleaning Business

Understand the industry and how to succeed
Read Now

Expert Tips for How to Start a Cleaning Business

#1 | Differentiate

House cleaning is big business. The sector generates $18.9B annually in the United States alone. So there is lots of competition, including many high-profile and well known brands. Though I was competing against internationally established companies, I built my business into a 7-figure brand with franchised locations. And a key reason for this was differentiation.

How do you differentiate? For example, my business offered home checks, pet sitting, carpet cleaning, and window washing. It was a one-stop-shop concept which stood out against the maid services in my region. 

So take the time to understand what competitors are doing, and find a way to differentiate. It will make you stand out. But more importantly, if you are offering a service or experience that others are not, you will land more customers.

#2 | Don’t Make Assumptions

Communication is everything. Especially in a service business. Both communication with your customers, and with your employees. So an expert tip for how to start a cleaning business is to not make assumptions. Right at the beginning, set up processes and communication channels to be sure that everything is clearly understood.

For example, “deep clean” can mean many different things. Imagine that you launch your house cleaning business by promoting a deep cleaning service. But you are not very specific about what that includes. 10 new customers book the service. Though 6 of them were satisfied, you have 4 very unhappy customers. Because 2 of them assumed they would get the inside of their fridge and oven cleaned. Another asked why their garage wasn’t cleaned. And the last asks why their carpets were not cleaned.

As you can see, don’t make assumptions. Clearly communicate to manage expectations and ensure customer satisfaction.

#3 | Expect Risks

House cleaning doesn’t seem edgy or sexy. So it may surprise you to learn that this is actually a high-risk business. There are many opportunities for costly complaints, damage, and  injury.

For example, one of my franchisees had to pay for a new kitchen counter for a customer. Why? The customer wanted their own products used, and they left them out on the counter for our staff. Then one cleaning day, the customer came home to find a blue stain on their countertop. During the hours since the cleaner left the house, a small drop from the lid of the bottle of toilet cleaner had dripped down to pool on the counter. That stuff stains. And there is no cleaning it off. So the options were to lose the customer and risk bad reviews, or step up and do the right thing. Because the bottom line was, the damage was our fault. 

So expect risk when starting a cleaning business, and take steps to minimize it. In the example above, a strategy is to make it a policy that cleaning products are never placed on surfaces that can stain. Countertops, carpets, marble floors. If the employee had left the toilet cleaner in a bucket under the kitchen sink, it would have saved the business hundreds of dollars.

6 Tips to Manage Risk in a Cleaning Business

  1. Get a really good insurance broker and policy
  2. Clearly set expectations with customers
  3. Keep a separation between business and personal relationships
  4. Cross-check and verify all work by managers and supervisors
  5. Protect sensitive information like building alarm codes and payment details
  6. Underpromise and overdeliver – manage expectations with clients to minimise complaints and bad reviews

More Expert Tips for How to Start a Cleaning Business

Here are a few  more expert tips. First, develop your skills in communication and conflict resolution. This is a business that requires you to deal with diverse personalities. It’s a fact that when people are stressed, they are easily triggered. So a customer comes home and sees a dusting cloth was left behind. It’s a small thing, but after a tough day at work, it may set them off. After all, it’s easier to call up the cleaning service and vent frustration than it is to tell their boss what they really think. So be prepared to listen to your customers. Don’t get defensive, or go on the attack. Be polite and professional. Protect your boundaries. Have your policies and procedures well documented. 

Next, do careful market research. Don’t be discouraged if there are already lots of companies operating in your area. Remember that competition is CONFIRMATION that there is market demand. Learn what everyone does well, and analyze for opportunities to innovate and differentiate. 

Last, be sure you are aware of all labour laws and your responsibilities as an employer. Protect yourself by getting good legal advice when preparing employment contracts or subcontracting agreements. 

Overall, a starting a cleaning business can be a rewarding and profitable experience.  Good luck!

3 Expert Tips for How to Start a Cleaning Business Read More »

How to start a cleaning business

How to Start a Cleaning Business

Books & Resources, Inspiration

If you are wondering “how can I start a cleaning business” then you are in the right place. I had the same thought myself, way back in 2001. My cleaning business grew to a 7-figure franchise system. So I have some inside tips on how to start a cleaning business. Read on to learn steps, best practices, checklists, and links to tools you’ll need.

Types of Cleaning Businesses

First, some explanation about the cleaning sector.

Just like there are many varieties of apples, there are many kinds of cleaning businesses. The services provided and the target audiences are very different. Each also have different start up costs, operating expenses, and management needs. Here are the highlights:

Residential

Clearly, this is cleaning private homes. When you start a residential cleaning business, your customers are the homeowners. Services are usually weekly, biweekly, or monthly cleaning. This makes scheduling very easy since there is repeat business. Building this type of cleaning business with a base of loyal customers provides stable revenue throughout the year. Additionally, there are also these services which provide extra income:

  • move out cleaning
  • move in cleaning
  • AirbNb turnover cleaning
  • tenant turnover cleaning
  • one time cleaning 

Restoration

What is restoration cleaning? This is what is required when there has been damage to the surfaces of the home. Typically, this is after a fire, flood, storm damage, mold, or pest infestation.

Restoration cleaning is very specialised service. So it requires investing in training and equipment. The IICRC is the best place to start with this. Also, given the nature of the work, this is a 24-7 business. Expect calls from insurance companies at any time of the day or night to respond to emergency situations.

Commercial

Commercial cleaning is also known as janitorial cleaning. Here, your customers are business owners, not home owners. Contracts are set up for regular cleaning services. So like with residential cleaning, there is the opportunity to build a loyal base of customers.  loyalty and have a secure income.

However, while a residential cleaning business tends to be more 9-5, commercial cleaning is around the clock. This is because offices, restaurants, malls, and factories prefer to get their cleaning services done at night when the space is empty of employees and customers.

And like restoration cleaning, starting a commercial cleaning business means investing in education. Because while a homeowner may just want a shiny sink, building managers require that certain health and safety standards are met. See the Cleaning Industry Management Standard for more information if you are thinking about starting a cleaning business in the commercial or janitorial sector.

Market Research Tips for Starting a Cleaning Business

First – discover WHO is operating in the same city, area, or region where you want to operate.

Then, learn WHAT they are doing. As in: services offered, pricing, hours of operation, customer experience, value, and messaging.

Finally, understand what customers are saying about your competitors. Check out reviews on Google, Yelp, HomeStars, and anywhere else. This gives powerful insight into what customers love and expect. And also, what your competitors are doing well – and NOT doing well.

Hint – Use software for this! Spend your valuable time on analysis, not clicking around getting data. Check out web-scraping services on Fiverr.

how to start a cleaning business

How to Start a Cleaning Business

So you know what kind of services you want to offer, and you are ready to start building your new company. Perhaps you even have an idea for a business name.

Congratulations!

Now, here are steps on how to start a cleaning business.

1. Do Market Research

You may be tempted to skip this step. That would be a mistake. Why? Because knowing your competitors is KEY to competing. 

For example, if you start a cleaning business offering exactly what a well-established company already does, and you are charging 3% more than their rates, what do you expect will happen? 

It’s already a challenge to start a new business and get customers to trust you and hire you. Make it easier by being competitive. By offering services that people are demanding. Or providing a customer experience which is better or unique than what they are getting now. And all of this requires knowing WHAT is going on in your market.

2. Set up Business Basics

Next, set up some business basics. This will also take some research so you can make decisions that best fit your big goals. Think about tax implications for the various business structures available where you live. And what suits your own financial circumstances. Some business basics for how to start a cleaning business includes:

  • Register a company
  • Open a business bank account
  • Set up a DBA (doing business as)
  • Obtain business insurance
  • Secure marketing assets (domain name, social media accounts)
  • Get any licences or permits required in your area

3. Create your Brand

A brand is more than a name or logo. It’s the whole look, feel, and tone of a business. A brand signals to customers what to expect. Here is an example. Say you start your cleaning business as “Angie’s Personal Best Cleaning Service.” Your face is in the logo. The website and marketing message is “Hi, I’m Angie and I will do my personal best cleaning your home as though it were my own.”

Is this wrong?

No.

Not if your long term goal is to be cleaning every day, and to establish yourself as a cleaning person.

However, if your goal is to build a cleaning business that can be managed by staff while you do other things, then this is not the way to go. Why? Because customer will ALWAYS be expecting Angie. So when someone else shows up to clean their house, they will not be happy.

So think about your big picture goals for your business, who your target audience is, and where in the market you want to be positioned. For example, don’t limit yourself by including the name of your city if you want to expand to other cities. And if you are providing a premium service to high-end customers, don’t present it as a discount brand or call your company “Budget Maids.”

4. Map Customer Experience

In a service business, customer experience is everything. After all, they are not purchasing a tangible thing they can put on a shelf. They are receiving a service from your company, and the feelings around that matter just as much as the quality of that service.

Because in a cleaning business, customer experience is not just the quality of the cleaning they get. It’s the entire experience of interacting with your company. Such as:

  • How long does it take to get a response when they contact your company?
  • What information do they get when they hear from you?
  • How easy is it to make requests, change their schedule, or update their billing details?
  • How friendly is the staff they speak to and see?
  • What response do they get when they make a complaint?
  • Do they feel appreciated and valued as a customer?
  • How much do they understand about what tasks are being done at every cleaning visit?

Mapping out the customer experience journey for your cleaning business will inform decisions about software, systems, processes, and policies.

Also, use technology to ease communication and improve efficiencies. See this list of software to help you start a cleaning business.

Read examples of good and bad CX in What is Customer Experience?

5. Run your Numbers

An important step in how to start a cleaning business is running your numbers. Use bookkeeping software or spreadsheets to estimate profit and loss statements and cash flow projections.

For example, if a service is $200 and your business has the capacity to do 120 of them in a month, that is $8000 of revenue. But what does that really mean for your business? List out all the fixed and variable costs to calculate your net profits. 

Fixed costs don’t change from month to month. Whether you have 1 customer or 100, these costs must be paid. For example:

  • Office rent
  • Insurance
  • Operations (software for scheduling and bookkeeping)
  • Website
  • Communications (cell, email marketing, CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
  • Salaries (managers, supervisors, staff)

However, variable costs are tied to revenue. Meaning that the more customers you have, the more these costs go up. Here are examples:

  • Labour (hourly workers)
  • Supplies (cleaning fluids and equipment)
  • Marketing (usually set as 2-5% of revenue)

Run your numbers to know your break even point.

More importantly, think about your target income for your business. Plug in that number to reverse engineer the revenue required to draw that from profits. Now you have a specific revenue goal to work towards.

6. Hire Staff

Can you start your cleaning business without staff? Sure. You could do the work yourself, in the very beginning. 

But get ready for staff early on. Because if you are cleaning all day, then that limits your ability to market, manage, hire and train staff. And having staff means capacity to take on more customers, make more bookings, and bring in more revenue.

Not having enough staff is the #1 reason why a cleaning business doesn’t grow.

So an expert tip for how to start a cleaning business is to get ready for staff. From uniforms to policy manual, hiring process to onboarding and training, this is a significant piece that is directly tied to the success of your business.

7. Start Marketing (and don't stop)

One thing to understand about running a cleaning business is that you will always be marketing. Not just because you want to grow your business. But also to replace the natural turnover that happens. Because customers have life events that may cause them to take a break from hiring a housecleaning service. Like a divorce or a job loss. Or maybe they are moving outside of your service area.

Either way, zero turnover is not realistic.

So launch your marketing when you start your cleaning business. And then keep up a consistent flow of marketing activities to raise awareness of your brand and attract new customers.

Hiring Checklist for How to Start a Cleaning Business

  • Know your labour laws to comply with all your responsibilities as an employer
  • Uniforms and standards of professionalism and appearance
  • Compensation plan (starting pay, when and how do raises happen)
  • Staff manual of policies and procedures
  • Onboarding process (paperwork, contracts, insurance, benefits, payroll, banking details)
  • Training (cleaning process, efficiencies, best practises, documentation)
  • Healthy and safety training
  • Performance management policies
  • Quality control processes

Software to Help you Start a Cleaning Business

Housecall Pro

ZenMaid

Jobber

Service Titan

Fieldcode

Big Change

ConnectTeam

Conclusion

Learning how to start a cleaning business is a pathway to build a solid business with a secure income. All businesses carry some risk. And every entrepreneur will tell you that lots of hard work is required to be successful.

But the potential is huge. The global cleaning services sector was valued at $388.4 B in 2023. And the market is growing at a CAGR of 6.50%. 

So it may be worth the effort. Carefully evaluate your local market and discover  competitive advantages that will differentiate your cleaning business. There are lots of opportunities if you want to start a cleaning business. 

Read 3 expert tips for starting a cleaning business

How to Start a Cleaning Business Read More »

What is an entrepreneur?

What is an Entrepreneur

Books & Resources, Inspiration

What could your therapist, the person who cuts your hair, and your handyman all have in common? They may be entrepreneurs. Though the skills and settings are different, they could be business owners. Not employees. What is the difference? This post explains what is an entrepreneur.

What is an Entrepreneur?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an entrepreneur is a person who sets up, owns, or manages a business, bearing the financial risks of the enterprise. 

So instead of working in a specific job for a fixed wage and reporting to a boss, an entrepreneur creates their own income through operating a business they started from scratch, or purchased. 

Which means that your house cleaning service, your bookkeeping software, and your new vegan bag could all be courtesy of the hard work and investment of an entrepreneur. Clearly, these businesses are all very different. Not only are they in different sectors, but they operate with very different business models.

Types of Entrepreneurs

There are 4 main categories of entrepreneurs, according to the scale of their business and their goals.

Small Business Entrepreneurs

A small business entrepreneur is local. These are individuals who start up a business that offers a service to an area, city, or region. For example, moving, dog grooming, landscaping, or event planning. Also, these entrepreneurs open up stores, shops, and restaurants. And finally, there are small business entrepreneurs who offer professional services or do trades. Like bookkeeping, roofing, plumbing, dentists, and vet clinics.

Overall, these businesses are designed to be local, and may be directly connected to the skills, training, and education of the entrepreneur who starts them.

Start Up Entrepreneurs

Meanwhile, start up entrepreneurs are in it for rapid growth and big payoffs. Companies are launched with the goal of selling to a large market – national or international. Typically, this requires lots of start-up capital. There are lots of ways to raise funds for start-ups, from bank loans to private equity options like venture capitalists and angel investors. Though the risks are higher, there are also bigger rewards.

In fact, many of the big brands we know today were launched by start up entrepreneurs. Global businesses like AirBnB, Amazon, and Uber were all started by individuals who had the vision to build big. 

Social Entrepreneurs

Social entrepreneurs look for ways to contribute meaningfully to the world. This could even be operating as a non-profit. Usually, it’s a business offering a product or service to help with a social, cultural, or environmental issue.

Perhaps it is not surprising then to learn that there are more social entrepreneurs among young professionals aged 18 – 34. Using the structures and processes of a business, these entrepreneurs create ways to make the world better. For example, the inventor Boyan Slat started The Ocean Cleanup which is working to remove plastic from our oceans.

Serial Entrepreneurs

These entrepreneurs start and run multiple businesses. Sometimes one after the other, and sometimes concurrently. There are many famous examples of high profile serial entrepreneurs, like Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey.

However, serial entrepreneurs can also be small business entrepreneurs. The couple who own your favourite restaurant may also run an e-commerce business and previously had a chain of hair salons.

What is an entrepreneur Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog

Read about Famous Entrepreneurs

Why Rihanna is a successful entrepreneur

Lessons from Estee Lauder

 

Who can be an Entrepreneur?

Strictly speaking, anyone can be an entrepreneur. It’s a matter of having all the skills listed above, and putting in the work. Because unlike flying a plane or practicing law, there is no set of qualifications to pass before calling yourself an entrepreneur. 

Of course, there are business schools with entrepreneurship modules and courses which can help prepare you for starting and running your own business. 

However, studies by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor show that university graduates are more likely to start their own business because they have more technical skills, information networks, and knowledge about how a business runs. But as a university graduate, they also have employment opportunities that provide a higher salary, with less risk, than launching a new business venture.

And yet, over 900,000 new companies were launched in the UK in 2023, according to this report. 

So why do people keep turning away from the job track to the uncertainty of running their own business? This gets to the fundamental understanding of what is an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur has the drive, motivation, and vision to create. Whether it’s developing a concept or product from scratch, or innovating an existing idea to differentiate, entrepreneurship is about creativity.

Entrepreneurship Skills

To know what is an entrepreneur means to understand the very particular set of skills involved. To succeed as an entrepreneur requires the following key characteristics.

1. Being Risk Tolerant

There are no guarantees in life. Or business. But the facts show that the risk of a new business failing is high. And every decision an entrepreneur makes carries risk. Because though a marketing strategy worked well somewhere else, it may not land for their target audience. So part of being an entrepreneur means being very risk tolerant.

2. Being Disciplined

Entrepreneurs have to be self-starters. After all, there is no boss expecting you to show up to work. So having a huge amount of drive and the discipline to keep working on their business is a key characteristic of successful entrepreneurs.

3. Being Brave

Being brave doesn’t show up on many lists, but I think it’s critical. Because it’s scary to launch and grow a business. So it takes courage to make decisions knowing that things may not work out as planned.

4. Being Resourceful

The ability to problem solve and be resourceful is a must for entrepreneurs. When innovating and developing a brand new company, there are going to be problems and challenges. So being able to overcome those and figure out work-arounds is very important. Also, being resourceful means finding the money, people, technology, or tools required to achieve business objectives. 

5. Being Resilient

Sh!t happens. Trusted staff steal from the company. Customers leave bad reviews. So entrepreneurs need to be resilient. And know how to stay positive, regroup, and keep on going. Besides, sometimes those setbacks lead to pivots which creates enormous success. Read Famous Pivots in Business.

The Importance of Entrepreneurs

Overall, entrepreneurs are vital to our economy and culture. It’s the visionary work of entrepreneurs which has given us much of the technology we use today. And many items in your daily life can be traced to an entrepreneur. From make up to breakfast cereal to the chair you sit on – they may all be the lasting legacy of an entrepreneur.

What is an Entrepreneur Read More »

Blog Categories

Managing Staff

Operations

Marketing

Leadership

Customer Experience

Money & Finances

Reflections

Inspiration

Books & Resources

Information

Meet Rebecca

What is The Hagstone Blog?

Business Coaching

Disclosure

Subscribe
Email
Facebook Linkedin Instagram

Copyright © 2025 · Hagstone Consulting Ltd

Scroll to Top

Subscribe to
The Hagstone Blog

Insider stuff for entrepreneurs like you