Need Extra Cash? Start Your Own House Cleaning Business

Had you visited in our home when my children were young, you would have thought a tornado had passed through their bedrooms during the night. They were a disaster. And the worst part was, no amount of reasoning, threatening, and punishment ever cured the problem. All three of my girls, I feared, were destined to be old maids. After all, what man in his right senses would ever propose to a young lady who chose to live in a pig sty?

The funny part about it was that when my children went to visit their grandparents or to stay overnight with a friend, I got all kinds of compliments on what wonderful little helpers they were. Why to hear my Mother tell it, they cleaned her kitchen for her until it shone. If they were asked to dust the living room, they argued with each other over who got to do the job for grandma.

Isn't that just like a kid? And it's a bit like grown-ups, too. I notice that I'm not too keen on scrubbing my own sinks or windows, but when I baby sit for a friend or relative, I usually tackle any housework that needs doing there without giving it a thought. Why is that, I wonder? I guess it doesn't seem like real "work" when it is in somebody else's house. Anyway, that brings me to my subject for this article, "Starting your own house cleaning business."

My neighbor cleaned houses for extra money for years. She once raved to me about how much she enjoyed her job, and often had far more business than she wanted. Finally, she decided to stick to just three or four regular customers, and set up a time convenient to her for each of her clients, spreading them out during the week so that she didn't feel overworked. Her fee was $15 an hour. At that time, I thought, "Wow! I would never pay $15 an hour for someone to do something I could do for myself." But, after giving it some thought, I decided that paying that amount just once during the week and knowing that my vacuuming, bed changing, window washing, laundry etc. was taken care of would be well worth it. Apparently her clients thought so, too, because she kept most of them until she decided to retire.

If you decide to try the house cleaning business yourself, here are a few things you need to consider.

1. Set the limits for how far you will travel.

Decide at the beginning if you want to limit your business to your immediate neighborhood or whether you are willing to drive across town to work. If you plan to include sites some distance from your home, your price should include a mileage allowance or your profit will be considerably diminished, especially with today's high gas prices.

2. Supplies you will need.

For most housecleaning jobs, you will probably just need to come with an apron for yourself and some gloves if your hands are sensitive. Most likely, your client will have mops, brooms, vacuums, soap, etc. If you have a tool of your own that you prefer to use rather than what the client has, bring it along.

3. Finding the jobs.

Did you know that it is estimated that over 60% of all jobs are found through networking? That means letting people you know-friends, relatives, associates-that you are looking for work and what kind of work you are looking for. The chances are that the first few people you mention your new business to will not be in the market for a housekeeper, but they may know someone who is-or they may mention your business to a few friends, who may mention it to a few more friends, etc. Eventually, someone who is looking for your services will hear about you and give you a call. Especially if you print up a flyer, or a business card on your computer that you can hand out to people you meet.

You may end up with more clients than you can handle. If so, you might consider branching out and hiring a couple of helpers. A business in our town did this and incorporated, calling themselves the Merry Maids. They even have a van now with their name painted on it-the perfect advertisement for even more business, which will make it necessary to hire more Merry Maids. There is no limit to what you can do with your small one-person housekeeping business if you really work at it.

4. Services you will (or will not) perform.

Unfortunately, some people take advantage of their hired help. Make it clear at the beginning what your job will cover. If your weekly visit is supposed to cover light housecleaning, you want to make sure they don't suddenly decide that they want you to shampoo their carpets using a rented machine that you can hardly budge when you lean against it with all your strength; or to prepare all the fixings for a dinner party some evening.

The best way to avoid add-ons is to have a written contract to begin with. You don't need to call it a contract-that sounds pretty formal. Just have your employers give you a written list of your duties before you make a final commitment to them. Let them know if you would consider doing additional tasks for additional compensation.

If there are some chores you absolutely will not do, let your client know that from the beginning. For example, if you dislike caring for children, you don't want to have your client expect you to care for their grandchildren who show up after school. Or, if you don't want to run errands (although that could be a profitable sideline for you), let them know ahead of time.

If, at any time, you feel uncomfortable, unsafe, or taken advantage of, don't hesitate to quit. You found this job. You can find another.

Those are the main things you need to know to get started in your own, part-time housecleaning business. Even though the very word, "housecleaning," sometimes conjures up the thought of drudgery, remember how much more fun it was to polish the furniture at Grandma's house than at home. The same thing will happen when you start your own housecleaning business, along with the added reward of getting paid for your services.