by EVEliason

Created on: September 11, 2008   Last Updated: February 20, 2010

If you want your own business and you don't have much money to get started, a residential/house cleaning service may be just what you need - especially if you have a neat streak running through your veins. Residential/house cleaning is a great business that solves a problem for many busy households.

Numerous surveys verify that people give cleaning a low priority in the use of their free time. On top of that, cleaning seems to be one of those tasks that, for the most part gets half done. Most of us want a clean home, but we don't have time to clean or we simply just don't like to clean; especially, when the weekend comes. Who wants to ruin a perfectly good weekend cleaning house?

That's where you come in. With just a bucket of cleaning supplies and some rags you have an instant business. If your house cleaning service includes carpet or blind cleaning, this equipment can be rented to save on costs. You could clean rental homes and apartments after tenants move out. Some common tasks you might perform are dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, wiping surfaces, mopping and cleaning mirrors. Your first cleaning should always include tasks such as removing cobwebs, cleaning base boards, cleaning ovens, washing windows and walls.

Cleaning takes on a whole new meaning when you're getting paid for it. To ensure return customers, price your cleaning services accurately with an estimate that's fair for you and your customers. Experts suggest you should charge more for first time cleanings and slightly less for follow ups. When estimating prices, always include the cost of using additional employees as well as estimated supply usage and time. Create a pricing formula designed to give you a predetermined profit on every cleaning exceeding industry averages and still outsells the competition.

If you want a business that generates enough profit, to pay yourself an executive salary and the additional income to fund the growth of your business from within, you must become the standard by which all other residential/house cleaning services in your market will be measured. Only those who are seriously committed to developing a real business, have the access to financial resources required to make things happen, and are willing to learn to do the job properly, are the ones who truly succeed in establishing their cleaning services.

Once established in this kind of business, you can easily make the transition to office cleaning, or even start a janitorial business serving larger commercial operations. These facts, along in combination with our general dislike for keeping our homes clean, are what make the cleaning industry one of the fastest growing segments of the U S. economy.

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