Domestic
cleaning and/or Office cleaning is a huge industry and an extremely
sought after service, which is very much on the up. Busy people are
always on the lookout for a reliable home cleaner.
Setting
up as a freelance cleaner is simple and once you become established
you could be earning a good income.
Your customers might be working professional people
who don't have the time to do the housework themselves, people who are
wealthy enough to employ a cleaner, those who are unable to do their
own housework due to illness/disability or people who rent out properties.
Getting Started
You don't need any qualifications to set up as a domestic
cleaner. However, you do need to be reasonably fit as household tasks
can be quite strenuous. As a cleaner you'd be required to complete housework
such as dusting, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms and kitchens and cleaning
floors. You may be asked to do additional jobs such as cleaning interior
windows, ironing, washing and carpet cleaning but this should be agreed
at an additional fee.
You will be expected to carry out your work during
the day if cleaning domestic houses. However, if you take on office
work you may need to start before office hours or after office hours.
Most jobs require you to take your own cleaning products
to complete jobs unless otherwise specified. Most households own a vacuum
cleaner but some, such as properties that are rented, may not. So you
may need to take your own vacuum cleaner on certain jobs, which means
you will need access to a car.
Spring-cleaning
services could earn you extra cash and you might also consider offering
cleaning services to people or companies (such as Estate and Letting
agenents) who have just bought a new property.
As
well as cleaning houses you could provide your cleaning services to
B&Bs and small guest houses.
If
you are asked to clean an entire property that has just been vacated
by tenants or previoius house owners then you should charge more for
this service. Properties like these may need a 'blitz' clean as some
people leave properties in quite a mess before leaving. Remember, not
all people are house proud and you don't want to undercharge for a job.
In such cases ask to view the property first so that you can get an
idea of what's involved and how long it will take you to get the place
sparkling! Give your customer a costing based on this. You could offer
a 'per job' fee for this service rather than 'per hour' to ensure you
are not out of pocket.
How much should you charge?
Now the important part - how much should you charge?
The pay varies and it really does depend on the amount of work involved
and the area you are working in. If you need to travel a fair distance
to carry out a job this should be reflected in the price. Cleaners charge
between £6.00 and £15.00 per hour. But on average domestic
cleaners charge in the region of £8.00 per hour, which is considered
a reasonable rate.
Domestic
Cleaners gain their customers through referrals. People want to know
that you are reliable, honest and hardworking. However, initially you
will have to advertise your services until you become established enough
for referrals.
Getting work
Placing
an ad in a local paper, newsagent or supermarket store is a good start
and you might consider getting some cards printed
to post in your local area and hand out to local Estate and Letting
Agents .
VistaPrint
offer
a great range of marketing products including FREE business cards (you
only pay for postage and package) as well as notecards, postcards, flyers
and posters. They constantly have special offers and deliver a quick
and efficient service too!
Try
placing cleaning services ad on
a free online classified such as:
Vivastreet
UK
Classifieds
Be careful when receiving replies from your
ads as some callers may be unscrupulous. Get as much information as
possible from them including their full name, address, landline number
and mobile telephone. If for any reason you don't feel comfortable with
the call or you have any doubts then don't accept that job - there will
be other jobs. You might consider taking a friend along with you to
an initial meeting that hasn't been arranged through a referral.
Once you've completed your fist job satisfactorily
your client will refer you to family, friends and acquaintances who
need a reliable cleaner. It would be a good idea to ask for a 'testimonial'
from satisfied customers to keep as a reference for future jobs. If
you give a top class service you might end up with a waiting list!
Get some FREE business cards printed
A proven marketing strategy in this line of
business. Telling people about your cleaning services is great but if
you support this with a business card or a leaflet it'll give them something
to keep with your name and details. You could always post flyers through
the letterboxes of households in your area or ask local business to
keep a few on their counter or post one on their wall. VistaPrint
offer 250 free business cards to help you get started, you only pay
for the postage and package. There are lots of designs to choose from
or you can upload your own image. They also offer affordable flyers
and lots of other promotional items such as keyrings, t-shirts, pens
and more. Find out more about thier services
here....
Look for work via an Intermediary Service Company
Servicestart
is a major online service intermediary, connecting
buyers and sellers of all common household, building and business services.
They have over 18,000 registered companies responding to requests and
is growing rapidly. This is how it works:
1. Visit Servicestart
and create a work profile
2. Receive requests from potential clients via email
or text - free of charge.
3. If you find a job that you'd like to take on then
you will have the option to purchase the buyers contact information.
4. Contact the buyer to agree on details. If the contact
details are wrong or the job is no longer current when you made contact,
you will be compensated.
As always please read Servicestart's terms and
conditions, and ensure that you are familiar and happy with their policies
before registering for their services.
For anyone who has used 'Servicestart' we'd be grateful
for any feedback to add to our pages. Please
with positive or negative feedback. Thanks.
Cleaning Insurance
You may also want to think about getting some
public liability insurance in case anything goes wrong. Compare
public liability insurance here.
Get your own FREE website
Consider getting your own FREE website to promote
your cleaning service. This will make you look more professional, plus
give you the extra advertising that you need. You can do this at Moonfruit.
Keeping Clients and building your business
So, someone has hired you to clean their house or
office, how do you keep that customer? The answer is simple - don't
cut corners and do a good job. This will ensure a call back service
and subsequently more clients via customer recommendation. Customer
service is paramount in any business. Remember most people (and this
is a fact) don't complain about a substandard service - they just won't
use you again! So don't just be adequate, make sure that your work is
outstanding and you will never be short of work.
What's it really like being a self-employed domestic
cleaner?
Want to find out? Our Case
Study might help.
Becoming self-employed
And don't forget to register as self-employed once
you set up. You may not be required to pay any tax at all if you don't
earn more than the threshold but you still need to register. More details
can be found on our Tax page.
When you've gained sufficient clients you may want
to consider building up your business and hiring other people to help
you. You could invest in a franchise or simply start up your own company.
Good luck.
