18 y/o starting a local cleaning company.

[Twiizlar]

I am currently starting a cleaning company. My company will be a premium service with a 200% guarantee. It is online booking only with flat rate pricing. I am currently putting the finishing tweeks on my website " www.vabeachmaids.com ". In the next couple of days I will be hiring maids as sub contractors. After i will advertise and get bookings. I am using an automated back-end software so automate this thing as much as i can. My goal before i start college (August 21) is to profit at least $500 monthly.

EDIT: Company changed to detailing service under www.beachdetailing.com

 

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[Michael W.]

Good luck! I work with janitorial firms daily. If done correctly it can be very lucrative. It's also very competitive. But no doubt it can be done.

 

[Twiizlar]

UPDATE:

I have finished up my website. Yesterday i posted a hiring ad on craigslist. I have gotten over 10 emails and have replied back with a link to a short online application they can fill out. This is to weed out the non serious lazy ones. After i will give applicants a call and set up an interview.

 

[Lauryn]

congrats

 

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[NicoleMarie]

Impressive website!

 

[youngtrep]

Be sure to check out /r/entrepreneurridealong on Reddit. It is an entire group dedicated to people starting cleaning companies similar to yours. Good luck with the business.

 

[PMac]

Nice job with the quick start! Keep it up!

 

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[Michael W.]

What is the reasoning for outsourcing personnel before getting jobs? Just wondering about the mindset and not criticizing.

 

[mgore714]

What is the reasoning for outsourcing personnel before getting jobs? Just wondering about the mindset and not criticizing.

It took him 5 minutes to post on Craigslist. Now he has emails and applications coming in as he works.

Also, signing contracts before he gets work won't hurt.

 

[Twiizlar]

It took him 5 minutes to post on Craigslist. Now he has emails and applications coming in as he works.

Also, signing contracts before he gets work won't hurt.

Also when i start advertising my website i may get some bookings for the next day or day after and i dont have time to hire maids that fast and i will lose customers. Also i am hiring these maids and independent contractors so say i hire 5 independent contractors, i send out a email to all of them saying location and time of cleaning and the first person that responds gets the jobs. I am pretty much supplying clients to these maids. They may have their own clients outside of my business.

I am also paying percentage wise so they get a certain percentage of each cleaning they do for me. So i am not losing any money right now.

 

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[SuccessAddict]

That's a sound business plan. Like @Michael W. said it's a competitive market so you'll have to work extra hard to stand out. Good thing is there have been people who've done it before and you can reverse engineer them while improving and establishing yourself as an authority.

Would be interested in seeing how you progress with it.

The best of luck to you.

 

[sbinnc]

Great idea. Best of luck

 

[Michael W.]

Also when i start advertising my website i may get some bookings for the next day or day after and i dont have time to hire maids that fast and i will lose customers. Also i am hiring these maids and independent contractors so say i hire 5 independent contractors, i send out a email to all of them saying location and time of cleaning and the first person that responds gets the jobs. I am pretty much supplying clients to these maids. They may have their own clients outside of my business.

I am also paying percentage wise so they get a certain percentage of each cleaning they do for me. So i am not losing any money right now.

I'll let you learn the hard way way. Best of luck to you my friend. Keep us updated!

 

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[Michael W.]

It took him 5 minutes to post on Craigslist. Now he has emails and applications coming in as he works.

Also, signing contracts before he gets work won't hurt.

Signing contracts for WORK would be better in my opinion but what do I know.

 

[D11FYY]

The website is classy and easy on the eye, the logo however is not. Spend $30 get a professional one done it will help with business contracts.

What background checks will you be doing on the workers?
Do you have your workers insured at all?
How long have you been doing this line of work? Also can you do it yourself?

Best of luck youve done all the steps.. Now its time to get customers! How are you going to approach getting new business and contract work?

 

[Guest12120]

The website is classy and easy on the eye, the logo however is not.

I agree

I would place clearly on the website your policy on how you handle damages caused by your maids. I hired a cleaning service when I lived in NYC and they sent a guy that did ok job cleaning the apartment but he broke a glass piece I had on the floor next to the fireplace (cheap IKEA crap). The whole process of dealing with this was very confusing and I wasn't assured from the very beginning that this would be taken care of. They said something about getting the money off when I use the cleaning next time. All I wanted was to tell them how much the item cost and receive a check for the amount. I don't even remember what was the outcome of this but I know I never considered using them again. Bad customer service.

 

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[D11FYY]

I agree

I would place clearly on the website your policy on how you handle damages caused by your maids. I hired a cleaning service when I lived in NYC and they sent a guy that did ok job cleaning the apartment but he broke a glass piece I had on the floor next to the fireplace (cheap IKEA crap). The whole process of dealing with this was very confusing and I wasn't assured from the very beginning that this would be taken care of. They said something about getting the money off when I use the cleaning next time. All I wanted was to tell them how much the item cost and receive a check for the amount. I don't even remember what was the outcome of this but I know I never considered using them again. Bad customer service.

I also agree with this.
That is the thing with sub contracting your work/getting random workers.
How do you know you can trust these folk?
I recommend you either go with them their first couple of cleaning jobs to figure them out as a person or if you can have someone else conduct the interview and you go along side them in the job pretending you are a random worker also this will give you a better idea as their will be no indiciation that you are in actual fact the boss.

 

[Twiizlar]

The website is classy and easy on the eye, the logo however is not. Spend $30 get a professional one done it will help with business contracts.

What background checks will you be doing on the workers?
Do you have your workers insured at all?
How long have you been doing this line of work? Also can you do it yourself?

Best of luck youve done all the steps.. Now its time to get customers! How are you going to approach getting new business and contract work?

You are completely right about the logo. It is a fiverr logo and i need a better one done. Where can i get a professional logo done?

No background checks. I will figure out what kind of people they are in the interview. Not ideal but just for now as i am short on money.

Fake it till you make it. At first i will not have insurance (risky i know) but once i have enough revenue i can get it for $500 a year.

This is my second entrepreneurial journey. The first one failed. I have never been in the cleaning business. And yes, i can do it myself.

 

[Twiizlar]

I agree

I would place clearly on the website your policy on how you handle damages caused by your maids. I hired a cleaning service when I lived in NYC and they sent a guy that did ok job cleaning the apartment but he broke a glass piece I had on the floor next to the fireplace (cheap IKEA crap). The whole process of dealing with this was very confusing and I wasn't assured from the very beginning that this would be taken care of. They said something about getting the money off when I use the cleaning next time. All I wanted was to tell them how much the item cost and receive a check for the amount. I don't even remember what was the outcome of this but I know I never considered using them again. Bad customer service.

I am going to add the policy in the FAQ section. Also with broken or stolen items i will have insurance. If not i will cut it out of maids pay if the maids admit they did it. If they deny it i will pay out of pocket. This is a premium maid website with high prices. I have to have excellent customer service. One bad review on yelp can kill me.

 

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[D11FYY]

You are completely right about the logo. It is a fiverr logo and i need a better one done. Where can i get a professional logo done?

No background checks. I will figure out what kind of people they are in the interview. Not ideal but just for now as i am short on money.

Fake it till you make it. At first i will not have insurance (risky i know) but once i have enough revenue i can get it for $500 a year.

This is my second entrepreneurial journey. The first one failed. I have never been in the cleaning business. And yes, i can do it myself.

PM me I will try come up with a logo for you ; for free. Should have it ready for Sunday if you are interested. Happy to help someone embarking on a new venture!

I defo think you should go with them a couple of times mate, people can seem the most enthusiastic and best people you meet in a interview ; 3 weeks down the line their slacking cause they think their job is comfortable and they are in the door.
At least you've picked yourself back up and are trying again good on you!. You would be surprised all the different tips and tricks you will learn if you have an experienced cleaner who would have thought baby oil on stainless steel makes it look brand new? lol.

I am going to add the policy in the FAQ section. Also with broken or stolen items i will have insurance. If not i will cut it out of maids pay if the maids admit they did it. If they deny it i will pay out of pocket. This is a premium maid website with high prices. I have to have excellent customer service. One bad review on yelp can kill me.

Yep bad news spreads like wildfire. Fingers crossed it doesnt happen to you any time soon!
If theirs any Galas/Charity events happening soon near you offer your service for free and hopefully people will bid on it for Charity plus getting their house cleaned, great way to get a bit of advertising for your business especially offering your services for a good cause.
Best of luck

 

[Twiizlar]

PM me I will try come up with a logo for you ; for free. Should have it ready for Sunday if you are interested. Happy to help someone embarking on a new venture!

I defo think you should go with them a couple of times mate, people can seem the most enthusiastic and best people you meet in a interview ; 3 weeks down the line their slacking cause they think their job is comfortable and they are in the door.
At least you've picked yourself back up and are trying again good on you!. You would be surprised all the different tips and tricks you will learn if you have an experienced cleaner who would have thought baby oil on stainless steel makes it look brand new? lol.


Yep bad news spreads like wildfire. Fingers crossed it doesnt happen to you any time soon!
If theirs any Galas/Charity events happening soon near you offer your service for free and hopefully people will bid on it for Charity plus getting their house cleaned, great way to get a bit of advertising for your business especially offering your services for a good cause.
Best of luck

Thanks man you are very helpful! PM sent!

 

[vinylawesome]

As D11FYY points out going out with the subcontractor on their initial visit to a customer would help with your quality control processes. It could also be a good selling point to your customers. "Management has strict quality control standards" "Initial work is inspected by management"

That type of extra care doesn't scale at first but the initial customer feedback can lead you to refine your processes into a scalable business model that is long term and doesn't alienate your customers.

 

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[Operation_OPM]

Awesome website. There is some sage advice in this thread!

 

[MTF]

I spoke with some big guys in the cleaning industry (B2B) and learned a couple of things that can also be applied to the maid service industry.

First and foremost, in this business people are everything - and especially your employees. You either need to have mad managing skills or hire someone else to manage your cleaners for you because they WILL cause many headaches.

While you can hire subcontractors at first, I'd say that if you want to ensure fast growth and high quality of service you will have to hire them as soon as you can afford it. Otherwise your quality of service will not stand out from the competition. Keep in mind that low wage workers are usually not very loyal - if you offer them $9 per hour and someone offers them $9.5, they will leave your company.

Secondly, cleaning services are a commodity and many people will switch if given a better price. Find a way to differentiate yourself and develop a good process of building relationships with your clients. Moreover, if you really provide outstanding service, expect a lot of referrals (they can be the lifeblood of your business). It's particularly important in B2B cleaning, but I bet it's also very important for maids.

Thirdly, at some point in the future you will have to come up with some way of tracking your employees to ensure they're doing what you told them to do (especially subcontractors). Some companies use GPS trackers and/or apps that both track the location and time spent on cleaning.

Last but not least, as you will learn from the interview in the PS, you should come up with a thorough checklist of cleaning tasks to ensure your workers don't forget anything. It's also a nice list to show to your potential clients. Other than that, create an operating manual. It will come in handy later if you decide to go the franchising way, but will help you with day-to-day tasks (e.g. "what happens when my maid breaks a very expensive glass vase?").

Oh, and by the way, the way you present information on your website doesn't differ much from all other cleaning companies. You need to make your 200% guarantee one of your major selling points. Right now, your "200% guarantee" listed above the fold doesn't tell me anything. None of your customers will get what you mean by "200% guarantee" until they scroll down. But will they scroll down if your offer doesn't captivate them?

I'll definitely watch your thread and wish you good luck!

PS. Read this interview with the founder of MyClean, one of the leading maid service companies in NYC: http://mixergy.com/interviews/michael-scharf-myclean-interview/ He also mentions that hiring subcontractors is not a good idea: "When we subcontracted, I admit, our service was horrible. Most of our negative reviews are from the early days."

 

[DeletedUser12]

I take it you listened to the Mixergy interview on Amber Maids? Looks like they just got sold in a private acquisition.

 

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[Twiizlar]

@MTF thanks for the thorough reply.

I will definitely not be hiring someone to manage the maids. Sure at first it will be hard but once I have a quality set of maids it won't be too hard.

Referrals are a big part of any cleaning business. I am aiming to have superior customer service and good cleaning maids. I also hope the 200% guarantee helps.

I am going to have to think of a way to present the 200% guarantee on the top of the page instead of a little down.

I already have a checklist. If you go to the pricing section under "services" is where the checklist is located. It also includes services we don't do.

 

[Justin079]

I did something similar to this in construction when i started a plastering company some years back here in the uk, (i'm a plasterer by trade).

A few little pointers i would give are:

• Accept that in the beginning it may take a while to get some quality workers on your team. When you do, hire them direct as soon as you can, subbies as we call them here can be very fickle and if they think they earn more else where they leave. Often without giving you much notice.

Don't do what i did and pay top dollar to your workers, make it so they have get stuck in to earn a living. The guy i work for is brilliant at this, i wasn't!

• Personality is key to this kind of business, you need to be liked by everyone. Keep smiling even if you feel like strangling an employee who has cost you money through negligence on a job or you have a difficult customer. Remember the moment you lose your cool, they've won!

• A quality crew of 5 workers can make you more money and turn over more work than a mixture of 30 so/so workers. If you also go for larger contracts as well as private customers, tell big companies what they want to hear. They want to know that you can handle the job, if you don't have 30 workers but 5 excellent one's then tell them you have 30. This worked very well for the guy i work for, and telling a little white lie here and there to win work doesn't matter when you fully intend on providing top service.

• While it's important to hire good people direct, you will get some good sub contract workers who will stay with you if you can provide a steady flow of work, even if it's average money. This is where people who are married and have financial commitments are what you want on your firm. They need the work and the money.

• This is where i tripped up majorly, when you need to for the good of the business, be ruthless. Not to say you need to be nasty but don't be afraid to make tough decisions, if you have to let someone go or something unpleasant has to be done, do it. When you have people working for you, it's natural to build personal relationships but remember why they are there and what for: To earn themselves and you money!.

• Depending on how you are socially, i'd read a great book: "How to win friends and influence people". When i started my company i wasn't into reading or education at all. Big mistake! Keep learning and applying my friend

• Anything is possible, i wish i had your head and this forum when i was your age! Go get'em kid!

 

[Twiizlar]

I did something similar to this in construction when i started a plastering company some years back here in the uk, (i'm a plasterer by trade).

A few little pointers i would give are:

• Accept that in the beginning it may take a while to get some quality workers on your team. When you do, hire them direct as soon as you can, subbies as we call them here can be very fickle and if they think they earn more else where they leave. Often without giving you much notice.

Don't do what i did and pay top dollar to your workers, make it so they have get stuck in to earn a living. The guy i work for is brilliant at this, i wasn't!

• Personality is key to this kind of business, you need to be liked by everyone. Keep smiling even if you feel like strangling an employee who has cost you money through negligence on a job or you have a difficult customer. Remember the moment you lose your cool, they've won!

• A quality crew of 5 workers can make you more money and turn over more work than a mixture of 30 so/so workers. If you also go for larger contracts as well as private customers, tell big companies what they want to hear. They want to know that you can handle the job, if you don't have 30 workers but 5 excellent one's then tell them you have 30. This worked very well for the guy i work for, and telling a little white lie here and there to win work doesn't matter when you fully intend on providing top service.

• While it's important to hire good people direct, you will get some good sub contract workers who will stay with you if you can provide a steady flow of work, even if it's average money. This is where people who are married and have financial commitments are what you want on your firm. They need the work and the money.

• This is where i tripped up majorly, when you need to for the good of the business, be ruthless. Not to say you need to be nasty but don't be afraid to make tough decisions, if you have to let someone go or something unpleasant has to be done, do it. When you have people working for you, it's natural to build personal relationships but remember why they are there and what for: To earn themselves and you money!.

• Depending on how you are socially, i'd read a great book: "How to win friends and influence people". When i started my company i wasn't into reading or education at all. Big mistake! Keep learning and applying my friend

• Anything is possible, i wish i had your head and this forum when i was your age! Go get'em kid!

Thanks for the tips. This is why I love this forum. People i dont even know in real life will take time out of their day to help someone.

For right now the hardest part is getting a team. I have gotten some emails back but no one has filled out the online application yet.

I actually tried to start this business a couple months ago but i didnt have the right mindset. I wasnt hungry enough. My whole mind has shifted and now i am ready.

I will sub contract at first and then once i get some good things i will look to hire them. But the maids that work for me will get paid the most because i have premium pricing and they can earn more than at any other maid company. Each maid gets a percentage of the sale. Trust me they will want to stay lol

 

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[Twiizlar]

Update:

I have just ordered a video testimonial on fiverr to put on the homepage. I have replied to 10+ emails interested in working for VA Beach Maids. I sent them the link to the online application but no one has filled it out. I will need to post another hiring ad on craigslist.

EDIT: The ad i originally posted on craigslist used craigslist mail relay and there is a glitch in it so the people who emailed me about the job never received my reply. I will post another ad on craigslist not using the mail relay.

 

[D11FYY]

Thanks man you are very helpful! PM sent!

No problem mate, I have already started a fresh clean looking logo for you should have it to you maybe by Friday or sooner.

Thanks for the tips. This is why I love this forum. People i dont even know in real life will take time out of their day to help someone.

For right now the hardest part is getting a team. I have gotten some emails back but no one has filled out the online application yet.

I actually tried to start this business a couple months ago but i didnt have the right mindset. I wasnt hungry enough. My whole mind has shifted and now i am ready.

I will sub contract at first and then once i get some good things i will look to hire them. But the maids that work for me will get paid the most because i have premium pricing and they can earn more than at any other maid company. Each maid gets a percentage of the sale. Trust me they will want to stay lol

Ok basically my Dads a great believer in you have to be there yourself otherwise the jobs not going to be getting done the way it should.

Dive yourself in as many hours as possible at the start first of all your saving your self a wage, second of all your building a customer relation. If someone was coming to clean my house and it was the boss of the company I seen he was eager and the job was getting done right I would believe that this is the high standard he sets so therefore his workers should be the same would be happy to keep hiring them.

A good business is like raising a baby put all the hours in at the start, bring it up right.. Sure it will get grazed knees and colds but once its old enough and experienced enough.. It starts to take care of itself.