Tina is a 35 year old mother of two who lives with
her husband and children in Hertfordshire.
Q: Do you work from home part-time, full-time,
just for extra cash or do you freelance?
A: Part time
Q: What type of work do you do?
A: Domestic help, which includes cleaning
and ironing
Q: How did you get started in this field?
A: I had some cards printed at
VistaPrint,
which I found on here. They're really good, you only pay for the postage
and package, so it's ideal if you're on a budget, like I was. I put
a card advertisement in a local newsagents window and dropped a few
through letterboxes in my area.
Q: Was it difficult to set up?
A: No, it was very easy, actually. Just
buy a few cleaning products and you're ready to go.
Q: Do you enjoy you enjoy carrying out your job?
A:Yes I do. I'm especially pleased when
my clients tell me how happy they are with my work. I also get lots
of exercise, saves money in the gym!
Q: Do you need any special equipment or tools?
A: No, nothing major. Just regular household
stuff like dusters, detergents, polish, rubber gloves, dustpan and brush,
broom, anti-bacterial solutions.
Q: Do the work materials cost a lot?
A: Not a great amount and remember,
many clients like you to use their own products. All my clients own
a vacuum cleaner, which, I suppose, would be the only piece of equipment
that might cost a bit.
Q: Do clients provide cleaning products for you to use?
A: Yes, many of them provide me with produts.
Clients can be quite particular about what types of produts are used
around their home. But it's always good to have your own materials too,
just in case.
Q: What are the negative aspects of your
job?
A: Very tiring. Sometimes conditions you
work in can be poor. Lack of security.
Q: What are the positive aspects of your
job?
A:You are your own boss, and are almost
always paid in cash when you've completed your clean. Some clients pay
me by cheque but I only accept cheques from clients I know well.
Q: Would you say that the type of work you
are doing pays you a good wage?
A: I think that I'm paid a reasonable
amount for the work that I do.
Q: How many hours do you work a day or week?
A: 10 hours a week. But this is by choice,
I could work many more but I've had to turn new clients down due to
other commitments.
Q: How do you find clients?
A: Word of mouth and advertisements.
Q: Would you recommend this type of work to
anyone?
A: Yes, I think I would. If you are determined
you can make a business of it, which is what I plan to do in the future.
I've got some regular clients who have recommended me to others so the
business is there.
Q: Do you need any skills to carry out this
kind of work?
A: No, but being committed to the job
helps.
Q: What advice would you give to a newcomer
in your field?
A: Being enthusiastic and doing a good
job will always lead to more work.
Q: Have you been doing this for long?
A: No. About 6 months. I was actually
quite surprised at how easy it was to set up and start work. I didn't
expect to be inundated with jobs either, many of which I've turned down.
I didn't realise how many people hire self employed cleaners!
Q: Finally, how has Homeworking4me helped
you and would you recommend us?
A: Definitely. I would recommend Homeworking4me
as it helped me decide on starting a cleaning job and gave me the relevant
information i needed. I also found the links on the Cleaning Page very
useful and used quite a few of them. What I like about this site is
it's no nonsence, straight to the point attitude - recommendations are
well thought out and even the ads on the pages are ALL usefull and ALL
relevant. Thanks.
This interview was provided on 01st July 2011
