I'm wanting to start my own house cleaning business and I was wanting some info like how much the pay is?

Question

Hi I am 18 and I have been looking for a job the past week and it has gotten nowhere and I got thinking about how many people hire cleaning services to clean their homes. So my question is do I just need the basic cleaning supplies that I use on my own home? How much is the Average price for these services and is the any type of special license I'm suppose to have? I live in IL so I was wondering IL has any special laws on house cleaning? And case your wondering I was a nanny/housekeeper and also I did some basic housekeeping at a nursing home.

Answer 1

Depends on what cleaning services you'll do/not do for your business.

Also, who will your clientele be?  Offices?  Residential?  Businesses? Doctor's offices? Etc? High end,rich area?

Will you vaccuum?, Mop? Sweep? Dust? Iron? Laundry? etc?

Call several of your local area cleaning services companies, and get list of their prices and services.  Start with your Yellow Pages directory, call each of the companies up and ask "what are your rates and services?"  ask politely.  Some companies might provide you a menu type with their list of services, or some will just tell you over the phone.  Some are gonna be professional and some are just solo operations (pretty much like yours is gonna be).  But take notes on the types of cleaning services each offers and the prices of each. (i.e. vacuum cleaning, window wiping, laundry, toilet cleaning, tub cleaning, tile cleaning, refrigerator sorting, dusting, sweeping, ironing, etc.)  some might be a per hour basis, some might be per service; $40 for ironing, $50 for 1-room vacuuming, etc.  Just check.  Then you'll know what the general price range.  Of course you can always set your own price, but cross research with other companies.

Check at your IL Department of Consumer and Commerce Affairs, or Small Business Resource Center in your area for your special licenses for cleaning in your state.  Otherwise I think you might need to apply for a business license because you're going to charge for your services, and have to pay taxes on your business profits.  If youre starting off solo, think about doing a sole-proprietorship as your business entity- when you get larger or start to hire employees, you can grow into an LLC, or a C Corporation (research those).

The best thing you can do now is to get your references from those places you used to nanny/housekeep at.  Have them write a letter (business letter format) stating how well you cleaned, or how trustworthy you are, etc etc, and get them to sign in with their signature.  Ask permission if you can use their letter as your testimonial letter to give to prospective clients. You can make copies of that letter and give em out to your potential clients if they ask.  This establises your credibility.  People are reluctant to just give you the key to their house to clean without credentials/references.

I think you might need some type of liability insurance, (im not sure on this) but to protect you from clients fraudulently saying you stole this, or you broke this.

Start small, then grow big.  You can advertise in your church bulletin or free newspapers ads as a cleaning service.  Build up a clientele.  You make money off repeat clientele.  Start with your 'sphere of influence' people you come in contact with; your friends, family, their co-workers, etc.

Or better yet, read entrepreneur.com under 'cleaning business'

Good luck!

P.S. In Hawaii, my grandmother cleans houses for the rich people and she gets paid anywhere from $90-$200 for about 2-4 hours of work per house.  She does light dusting, laundry, vacuum, wiping, cleans toilets and tub.