How to Start and Grow Your Own Cleaning Business

 

Following are some interesting facts and figures on the residential cleaning business.  This information has been gathered both from research and through our own experience during our years in the residential cleaning business. 

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Number of American Households Hiring Cleaning Help:

According to a report by American Demographics, the number of households turning to outside help with their house cleaning chores was estimated at about ten percent. This number included households that ranged from one-time, move-in, move-out or spring cleanings as well as those who had their homes cleaned on a regularly-scheduled bases throughout the year.

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Frequency of Cleaning Visits:

The key to building a viable residential cleaning business is to develop a clientele who use the service on a regular weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule.  Our own experience around the country over 17 years has revealed the following breakdown as being typical:

Typical Demographic Profile of a Residential Cleaning Customer:

We have found that typical clients are dual-income households, professional single adults, high income single parent families, and affluent empty nesters and retirees. They will typically be between 35 and 65 years of age, with a household income over $75,000 annually.  However, virtually EVERY household earning over $100,000 a year, regardless of other demographics, is a prime candidate for a weekly, biweekly or monthly cleaning service.  Even households with high six- or seven-figure incomes who have part- or fulltime domestics often hire outside professional cleaners to assist their live-in help.

Number of U.S. Households by state

with the following demographics:

Annual Income:  $100,000 ─ $250,000

Age:  35 - 65

Own their Home

*Source:  InfoUSA 2008

Average Cleaning Price:  The price for house cleaning varies, depending on a number of factors.

• The entity doing the cleaning.  There is generally a wide gap between what individual house cleaners can charge for their service versus what a full-fledged, professional residential cleaning company can command. 

• The amount of work involved:  No two homes are identical when it comes to cleaning them, even if they are identical in size and layout.  Obviously, the more work the higher the price.

• The geographic location:  The price for cleaning a home that requires "X" amount of time and labor in a large urban center is generally higher than it is for a house with the same amount of time and labor in a small town.  The difference is in the cost of labor and other operating expenses.

• The value-added features and benefits:  A professional cleaning service offers far more than just doing a satisfactory job of house cleaning.  ""Real" cleaning companies carry liability insurance, third-party fidelity bonding, and Workers' Compensation Insurance.  They pre-screen their employees, including legal eligibility to work in the United States, conduct criminal background and reference checks, look after their employees' social security and Medicare taxes, and provide professional training and supervision of their employees.  The average cleaning price we've experienced around the country has ranged between $80 and $150 in recent years for routine weekly and biweekly cleaning visits.

• First time or onetime versus repeat cleaning visits:  It can take as long to clean the bathrooms alone on a first time cleaning visit as it will to do the entire home on subsequent regular weekly or biweekly visits.  It is not unusual for a first time cleaning to take two to four times as long as routine light house cleaning thereafter.  We have seen first time/onetime cleaning charges ranging from as low as what is charged on repeat visits (for homes in pristine condition) to as much as several hundred dollars.

The Value of the "Average" Client:

In many businesses the owner is challenged with spending a lot of time, money and effort to find and sell a customer one time, or only infrequently after the first sale.  One of the benefits of this industry is that you get to sell the client every week or two.  A client who pays you $120 every other week represents over $3,000 per year in revenues.  A weekly client at the same cleaning price can be worth double that amount annually.  Get your calculator out and do the math!  A couple hundred repeat clients can represent substantial annual sales revenues.

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The Number of Existing House Cleaning Companies:

With all the individuals who clean houses on their own or with one or two helpers -- many of them operating in the underground economy and under the radar of the IRS and the INS, no one knows for sure how many of these small independents there are throughout the country.  However, we do know that there were over 11,000 house cleaners listed in the telephone directories across America in 2008.  The breakdown by state is as follows:

*Source:  InfoUSA 2008

Seem like a lot?  Not when you consider there are almost 1,500 times the number of potential residential cleaning clients across America!  

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