Читать книгу Start & Run a Home Cleaning Business - Susan Bewsey - Страница 4

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Shining In The Spotlight

1. Before You Get Started

Starting a home cleaning business is an attractive idea, but before you plunge ahead, consider carefully whether you have the proper skills and attitude. Being your own boss and setting your own hours sounds fun, but the reality is that when things go wrong, you are responsible for putting things right.

The early stages of a business venture always require long hours from the boss. Depending on your financial goals for your business, other personal goals may never be realized because you may have to commit so much time to running the business.

To find out if you have the right attitude, examine your reasons for wanting to get into business for yourself. Here are some examples:

• I just want to make money.

• I want more time with my family.

• I got fired, and I just need a job.

• I need more personal achievement.

• I want to be the boss.

• I just think it would be fun.

• I want a more fulfilling lifestyle.

• I need a challenge.

• I just want to work alone.

• I believe I can provide excellent service.

• I need to control as much of my life as possible.

• I believe I can better use my skills on my own.

If you picked reasons that started with “I just,” you are headed in the wrong direction. However, if you were attracted to reasons that started with “I believe,” “I want,” and “I need,” you are on the right track.

These are the reasons to get into this business: to challenge yourself, to provide the best service, to improve your personal and working life. If you start out thinking negatively, you won’t have the proper motivation to make things happen. Be realistic and do it because it’s what you want to do.

Write down your wants and needs for starting your business. It’s okay to have “needs”; they are the fuel that sustains you on your journey. But note that it is truly motivating to turn those needs into “wants.” Compare “I need to be self-employed” with “I want to be self-employed.”

2. Is This The Business For You?

You don’t have to love housework and cleaning to start up in this business, but if you do, that’s an added bonus. What you do need are top-notch cleaning skills and the will to do the job well. The ability to be an efficient organizer is also a plus. You don’t have to be a “neat freak,” but you do have to have the energy and the desire to make order out of other people’s chaos. It’s a hard job, but it is one that people appreciate and will pay for.

If you’re going to be successful at providing a cleaning service for people’s homes, you’ve got to be able to deal with your clients. This is a demanding service that depends on repeat customers. If your customers don’t like what you do, they’ll let you know. If you can’t provide what they want, they will go elsewhere. Sometimes, wearing more than one hat in a business is extremely difficult, especially when you’re starting out. Can you be the person who cleans and the person who handles customers’ complaints and concerns, as well as the person who follows up and makes sure the bills get paid?

Being your own boss is great, but your cleaning skills and experience only get you so far. If you’re really determined to go ahead, consider getting further training to help beef up your entrepreneurial side, or find a partner who can handle the customer-relations side of things. Community colleges and small business centers often have courses and seminars on customer service and bookkeeping.

Starting a home cleaning business requires an investment of both your time and your money. You’ll need to assess the potential market, purchase equipment, and advertise. Consider whether your location is one that can support a home cleaning business. Is there any competition? For more about assessing market possibilities, see Chapter 5 on marketing.

Have you got what it takes to get your cleaning business up and running?

3. Filling In The Vacuum

Cleaning services come in all sizes: there are independents, agencies, franchises, and corporations. There are those who dabble and those who devote their lives to this market.

How far you want to go in this industry depends on your ambition. Remember, demand is high due to an increase in overworked, dual-income couples, more homes being built, and an aging population, who are not only in search of less work and more leisure time, but are also moving into

assisted-living residences. American figures compiled in 2000 indicate there are over 115 million homes across the country. There were over 12,000 house cleaners listed in the telephone directories in 2005. In 2004, cleaners (this includes cleaners for all types of establishments) held more than 4 million jobs, with over 6 percent self-employed. In Canada, there were over 11 million dwellings in 2001. Over 400,000 workers were employed in these areas, with about 15 percent of them self-employed. Not included in these figures is the underground economy servicing homes and offices throughout North America.

Many services are included in the home-care cleaning industry and new ones are added all the time. The following is a general list of services offered:

• General housecleaning

• Spring cleaning

• Window cleaning

• Blind cleaning

• Wall and ceiling washing

• Post-disaster cleaning (fires, floods)

• Post-construction cleaning

• Post- and pre-party preparation

• House-sitting

• Pet sitting

• Garden and outside patio maintenance

• Laundry and valet service

• Party hosting, reception

• Office cleaning

• Estate sale preparation

• Boat and yacht cleaning

• Property management

Your business can offer many special services besides cleaning. Use the services above as a starting point. Some may be immediately attractive because they fit your vision of the business and what you see yourself providing.

4. You’re On Your Way

Many people dream about starting their own business but never go ahead and do it. Faced with the reality of organizing even a simple venture, many people are overwhelmed and lose their enthusiasm. However, the key to success is to plan well and break down each goal into accomplishable tasks. If you follow the advice and steps given in this book, you may realize your dream and launch your own successful cleaning business.