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Starting
A Natural Cleaning Service
If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep
Streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Bethovan
composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry.
He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven
and Earth will pause to say, here lived a great
sweeper who did his job well.
~ Martin Luther King Jr
People who desire to start a Natural Cleaning service
are usually already prosperous at other careers.
It is done out of a burning desire along with being an
avenue of income. That has been what I have found
receiving e mails from people. Lots of people who come
to this site are looking for information and getting ready
to open a new natural cleaning business.
I totally believe in natural house cleaning and it does work. I believe it will benefit everyone greatly to clean their homes all naturally. It has been a tremendous benefit to me and my family.
If you do not already clean your home using all natural products I always recommend that you start doing that first. You can get use to how to clean all naturally and build confidence in promoting your natural cleaning service. You need to know that it really does work first hand.
This information is geared to the start at home with a shoe string budget business. I hope you can take the information and make it better. I hope you have the disposition to run a business. Every house and business that is cleaned using natural cleaning products is a benefit to everyone.
I have read some things about the cleaning service business and small business start up. I also have my own personal experience with it.
I will share what I have learned along the way
Obstacles and Overcoming them
* The cleaning service is a business but no matter how great the products you use or how much easier this or that new great thing is suppose to be over that great new thing it is all just still ass and elbows.
House cleaning is taxing on the body. Until somebody invents a tool that you just plug into the wall and it sucks up all of the dust and bacteria and cleans your dishes and bathrooms well somebody has got to do the physical labor. I hear there is a robot being developed but it cost a lot of money right now.
It is a great idea to provide some high energy snacks for yourself or your employees. Encourage a few breaks here and there. All cleaning services want to rush, and push to get to the next job. Breaks and Lunch is skipped especially on those busy days. Grab some bananas, nuts and water to take with you.
* As a rule it is difficult to find long term help
* Natural Cleaning is growing in popularity but it is still not completely socially accepted in all areas of the world and with all people
This is changing really fast and has changed completely with clients that are more holistic in their approach to life.
* Large corporations that have money are always finding new and interesting ways to make it difficult for brand new start up businesses to have any kind of go of it at all especially when it comes to products and the chemical industry.
More people want small companies to clean there house because they get to know the person coming to their home and like them. The trend for hiring large cleaning services for housekeeping is going down especially for individual houses and small family owned businesses.
* The cleaning service and janitorial service in general is not looked upon as a good career move and you will be snubbed more often than not and looked down upon by just about everyone including many of your clients.
People who are into holistic living are extremely appreciative of their housekeeping help. You will not find this attitude among clients that love natural cleaning. As for the rest of the people they like the idea of natural cleaning but it is not important to them. Some cleaning services require a contract. That will guarantee you income for a certain amount of time and during the summer when most people go on vacation. This summer I nearly gave up the cleaning service because so many people went out of town for the entire summer. I am thinking of doing a contract myself.
* The cleaning service industry is not taken seriously and people will drop you for any reason on any given day. There is no loyalty or respect for the housekeeper.
People who love natural cleaning will not drop you ever. They are so grateful to find someone who will really clean their homes all naturally. The only reason you will lose them is if they move.
* When you have your own business you work longer and harder and make less especially the first 5 years than if you worked for someone else and your company still may not make it.
This is true.
* You have to pay your own taxes, pay your employees and their taxes, pay for your business licence and your provide your own benefits.
It is a great idea to subcontract workers until you can really take on the financial responsibilities of having employees.
The 20 Step Check List.
I have made a 20 step check list for house cleaning. You can copy it and use it for yourself or improve upon it for your own cleaning service. I can tell you that it is a great idea especially if you have employees. It gives you, your clients and your employees something to go on. Everybody knows what to do and what to expect from the service.
Every Room gets the same cleaning including laundry rooms and porches unless you request certain areas that you do not want included.
20 Point Check list!
1. Home is Naturally scented with pure essential oils
2. Ceiling fans are dusted or vacuumed
3. High dusting is maintained - cobwebs removed
4. Lampshades are dusted or vacuumed
5. Wood surfaces are carefully polished
6. Monitors are dusted
7. Telephones are wiped off
8. Blinds are dusted or vacuumed
9. Doors are dusted and wiped down and the door knobs are disinfected.
10. Window Sills are wiped down
11. Glass doors are cleaned
12. Inside glass is cleaned as needed
13. Floors - Carpets and area rugs are thoroughly vacuumed.
14. Make the beds
15. All floors are carefully washed
16. Couches and Chairs that are cloth are vacuumed underneath the cushions and we will vacuum the tops that need it. Leather and vinyl couches and chairs are wiped down with the Furniture and Leather Polish if you want us too. Pillows fluffed and throw blankets folded
17. Kitchens - wiping down outside of cabinets and counter tops, wipe down small appliances, inside microwave, outside of refrigerator that is cleared off and wiping the top of the refrigerator and floors
18. Dishes can be loaded in the dishwasher and washed with T&T and Vinegar or washed by hand.
19. Bathrooms - Clean and Sanitize toilet, showers, bath tubs, sinks, mirrors, floors
20. Waste Baskets are empty and disinfected
Keeping Books
I keep written records of everything. I use what I call the shoe box method. I have never put anything on the computer. Basically I can not tolerate these book keeping programs or any of the Excel type programs. I have started to use them but go back to my old shoe box ways. If I ever get busy enough it would certainly benefit me greatly to hire someone to do that.
Anyway I keep a record on a calendar of each house that I clean. Add it up at the end of the week. then add up the grand total at the end of the month and record the information in my real time record keeping books. I keep all of my receipts and record them at the end of the month. That is it. I have to pay sales taxes every three months for the businesses that I clean.
For the product sales it is much more tedious. But works the same. I keep a record of what I sale and what my expenses are and tally them up. (I have never made any money from selling products I always break even so far)
I also send in my personal taxes every three months. I save out a certain amount from each house and put it back into savings to pay these two things.
Employees
You can hire and pay a wage or subcontract out and pay a percentage.
To hire a person you have to pay a percentage of there taxes, take out there taxes and pay them. To subcontract out the person is responsible for their own taxes.
Marketing
I make my own business cards and flyers with The Print Shop. I have consistent fonts and colors. My colors are Orange and Green. I also have two sets of car magnetics.
I have done best with passing out flyers. I have advertised in the Newspaper and in local papers. I have car magnets and the website. Most of my customers have come from the flyers and from my clients friends. This is the current flyer that I pass out.
My Flyer
Cleaning Service
All Natural (Non-toxic House Cleaning)
Give yourself the gift of more free time. How about some domestic help?
Like a house cleaning service that uses products that are made from vinegar, salt, castile soap, olive oil, essential oils and more.
A cleaning service that uses dry vapor steam cleaners that only use water and will clean almost everything in the house, disinfects, kills bacteria, mold and mildew.
Naturally we use vacuums with HEPA filters.
A service that is dependable with high quality cleaning and great customer service.
Leaving your home with the aroma of essential oils.
Good for you, safe for your family, your pets, the environment and gives you more free time.
Especially beneficial to those with Asthma, Chemical Sensitivities or other health issues.
For more details you can visit us at
http://www.nancysnatural.info/naturalcleaningcraft
Call Nancy for a free consultation
Cleaning as a Craft
Natural Cleaning Craft
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Marketing ideas
The places that I have had a good response at are the large organic food stores and or co-ops. The Waldorf community and holistic centers.
Places to Advertise for natural cleaning
Health Food Stores
A local neighborhood newspaper
Holistic newspapers
Holistic or Wellness Centers
Waldorf Communities
Montessori Schools
Yoga Centers
door to door flyers ( placed on the door jams)
Craigs list (on the internet)
Business License
The requirements for this will depend on your local laws. I live in Clay county which does not require a business license, however I do a lot of work in Duval County which requires a business license and I had to have a registered business name with the State of Florida.
Run the Business or Work the Business?
When you start out you will be doing both unless you have the resources to just run the business.
Lets talk about doing both since that is usually what a start at home business does. This is why starting a business takes so much time. You have to run and work the business.
To do both you need to develop a lot of strength and stamina. I know this because I get emails from women who run and work their cleaning service and believe me they are doing some kind of work out program. Lifting weights or something. I do Karate. If I do not work out I go into tired and start to burn out really fast.
You wear all of the hats. You will be working all of the time cleaning during the day , meeting with clients, buying things you need, marketing, keeping the books. I am up around 6:00 in the morning and go to sleep between 11:00 to 1:00 am. I usually do my website stuff early in the morning and late at night. I pass out flyers in neighborhoods after I clean a house in the area. I keep my cell phone with me all the time and talk to people while I am working. I eat in the car on the way to the next house. When I get home I clean my own house, wash clothes, cook the meals and all of the ordinary things people do. I think you can Sincerely see why I am so tired.
Running the Business. You are still extremely busy and your business will take off much quicker. You do everything except the actual house cleaning. You keep the books, market and hire help, buy equipment and meet with new potential clients. Have freedom to find better accounts and work out problems on the spot. You will need money to get you up and running to pay your own bills for at least a year. It would be great if I can break through the barrier and develop myself in this area. I know people who are great business people and their cleaning service starts making a million after the first year. I know this for a fact. It can happen. I have tried to get information on how they did this and the best thing I can say is that they bid high and never come down. They walk away and keep going to the next prospect. They also are doing janitorial work not housekeeping or they are doing apartment move out clean ups.
Bidding Jobs
This is the most frequent question I get. How do you know what to charge. I think for house cleaning this is really an art form. Every house is different. Find out what other people in the area are charging. I start out with a minimum price. I will not go out and do anything for under $50.00. I have some very small one room condos or people that say I can only pay $50.00 what will you do for that. Well I will do a small one bedroom cleaning the bathroom, the kitchen and the floors for that.
I go up from there add more for more bedrooms and bathrooms add more money the more people that live in the house and consider the pets the type of pets and the hair. I always consider adding more for stairs. The stairs have to be cleaned too. Then how clean are the people is it already clean and picked up , the dishes washed, the beds made or do they want me to do that to? What about washing a load of bed clothes ect. Take all of these things into consideration when pricing a job and always think do I want to do this for this amount of money or will I begin to resent cleaning the house because I bided it too low. Even if the house is pretty clean and all of the rooms are not used that much it still has to be cleaned.
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