How Do I Start a Cleaning Business?

Ready to be your own boss? It’s something many of us dream of doing and, if you’re ready to make the move, you could consider setting up a cleaning business. 

This market offers a lucrative opportunity for the competent residential cleaner. As a nation we work longer hours and so, as a result, our homes can get neglected. This means we may need to turn to a cleaning service to do the jobs we don’t want to come home to, after a long day at work. 

Commercial cleaning also offers lots of opportunity - there are no end of small, medium and large businesses requiring affordable cleaners who can keep working environments fit for their employees. 

If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, read on to find out everything you need to consider before starting a cleaning business. 

There’s nothing wrong with offering a comprehensive cleaning service, spanning both domestic and commercial cleaning tasks, but sometimes it pays to find a niche and only offer cleaning services for this. 

This means you can be seen as a specialist in one area and people specifically looking for this are more likely to come to you. Perhaps you only want to offer oven and kitchen cleaning services? Maybe you’d prefer to only clean offices but offer optional extras such as internal window cleaning or office fridge cleaning? 

Consider what service you feel you can best provide to a high standard and focus on this. Of course, you can be flexible if a client asks for something else but going into the industry with a specialism will help when it comes to targeting particular customers. This will also help when it comes to marketing yourself later too. 

This depends entirely on your personal situation but if you are going to take on a business loan you will need to do some careful research into future profit projections and whether you will be able to comfortably pay back what you have borrowed. 

You shouldn’t need a huge amount of money, as a cleaning business allows you to be mobile and avoid the expensive overheads associated with running your own office.

Speak to a business loan provider about your situation and they may be able to help you find the right product for your business start up. 

It’s a good idea to put together a list of business expenses you may incur when starting up. Here is an example list below: 

1. Business insurance: It’s important you are insured just in case there is an accident or damage caused to property while on a job. 
2. Supplies: These will need to be well stocked to ensure you don’t run out mid job. Buy in bulk to save money. 
3. Fuel: Cleaning jobs require travelling from location to location so you will need to consider fuel costs. These can change depending on the economic climate and fuel prices so be aware that one month can feel very different to another. 
4. Vehicle maintenance: If you are using a van or car to transport yourself and your supplies from location to location, the general maintenance of this will need to be taken into consideration. This includes its annual MOT, road tax and fixing anything that breaks. 
5. Uniform: A feeling of professionalism is easy to create with a uniform that you and staff can wear on a day to day basis. Ensure these are kept clean after big tasks. 
6. Advertising: Businesses can no longer rely solely on word of mouth. This means you will need to put some money into marketing your business through social media channels or via local advertising in newspapers and magazines. 
7. Staff wages: At the time of writing, the minimum wage stands at £8.21 for those aged 25 and over. Factor this into your costings if you need to hire people. 
8. Tax: Being self employed means you will be resposible for filing your own tax return at the end of each finial year. Keep all business receipts safe and save money to one side each month so you are able to pay when April rolls around. 

It’s important you do some research into where you will be sourcing your supplies from. Here at Brosch Direct, we offer a wide range of cleaning supplies to meet your demands. You’ll find a detailed list below of the items that could easily set your cleaning business up for the first round of jobs: 

1. Refuse sacks: Have high quality refuse sacks ready to dispense of rubbish. 
2. Bin liners: Have a supply of bin liners available to re-line bins you empty. 
3. Multi surface cleaners: These allow you to minimise the amount of cleaning products needed and still carry out jobs to a high standard. 
4. Window and glass cleaner: Leave streak free finishes on glass and windows. 
5. Toilet cleaners: Ensure washrooms are hygienic by using high quality toilet cleaner. 
6. Disinfectants and sanitisers: For environments where minimising the risk of infection is important, have a stock of sanitisers and disinfectants ready. 
7. Bleach: For jobs that require the highest level of sanitation, bleach is best. 
8. Floor cleaner: Keep floors clean with specialist floor cleaner. 
9. Disposable gloves: Protect hands with high quality disposable gloves, that can be thrown away once the task is complete. 
10. Cleaning cloths: Microfibre cloths are best for dusting jobs, while colour coded options are good for ensuring you don’t cross contaminate cleaning products. 
11. Brushes and brooms: You should only need one of these but keep the bristles clean after each job. 
12. Dustpans and brushes: Again, only one of these should be required. 
13. Squeegees: Use alongside your floor and glass cleaner. 
14. Cleaning in Progress signs: Make people aware of hazards to protect your business’s liability for injuries and accidents. This is best for use in commercial areas where there is high foot traffic.

You can easily carry all this in an easy to transfer cleaning caddy with a handle. This will keep bottles upright to avoid spillage and will ensure you look professional when you arrive at a job. 

Every business needs insurance to ensure it is protected from claims and covered in the case of accidents and injuries. 

You should definitely start with public liability insurance. This covers the cost of compensation if a client or member of the public is injured from your work - for example, if they slip on a wet floor. It’s also worth adding extra cover that protects you if you damage a client’s property or don’t secure a customer’s home properly on leaving. 

If you work with expensive equipment, it’s also a good idea to look into a policy that can protect against theft, loss or damage. 

If you employ staff, by law you must have employer’s liability insurance and this must be displayed in a way that staff can access and understand it - there is a fine of £1,000 if you don’t display this certificate to staff. Things can get expensive if you don’t have employer’s liability insurance, as you could be fined £2,500 for every day you don’t have it in place.  

Qualifications aren’t necessary to starting and running a successful cleaning business, however it is a good idea. It establishes your credentials and marks you out as someone who provides a reputable service, giving you something to include in your marketing material. 

Look into a City & Guilds course, these are different levels available to suit your business needs and client requirements. 

Advertising and marketing your business is important, here are a few ways you can get your brand out there:

1. Word of mouth recommendation: Start by cleaning for friends and family and encourage them to spread the word of your handy work. People prefer to use cleaning services that they know their friends trust. 
2. Social media: Many people find services via Facebook nowadays, so be sure to set up a page featuring your logo, contact details and a price list for your services. Keep this page updated regularly with news, testimonials from clients and images of before and after cleaning jobs you’ve carried out (although be sure to ask the client first if you can take a picture of their property). You can also set up advertisements on Facebook, to promote posts that talk about your services or advertise to local people. To reach as many people as possible you do need to put a fair amount of money behind these adverts, but they may be something to consider if your budget permits. 
3. Newspaper and magazine advertising: Does your local area produce a news magazine featuring information about events? Buy an advertising space in this to promote your business locally. If you have a little more money in your marketing budget, consider advertising in your local newspaper too. 
4. Traditional marketing methods: Leaflets and business cards left in your local takeaways and newsagents are another good way of getting your business in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

Perhaps not straight away but if you get to a point where you may need to start turning down clients because you can’t fit them in or are finding the stress of carrying out so many jobs is taking a toll on your health, it may be time to consider employing staff. 

Simply keep an eye on workload and budget and, if it allows, start local and ask around to see if anyone you know is looking for part time work to support you on bigger jobs. 

However, bear in mind that once you start employing people there is a lot more paperwork to think about, such as payroll, and budgeting for things like uniform and extra cleaning supplies. Think carefully before you start taking on staff. 

If you do decide to employ people, they will need to go through some form of training process to ensure they understand yours and the client’s expectations. On their first job, it may be a good idea to go along with them. Explain to the client they will be carrying out the task but that you are guiding them - clients usually won’t have an issue with this. 

Show them how you would perform a task to a high standard and ask them to complete it. Tell them if there is anything they could improve on. Ask the client to inspect what has been done and offer feedback - this way they will get a better understanding of how to do things. 

You may also need to offer specialist training if your team are dealing with hazardous cleaning products or heavy machinery to ensure tasks are carried out without injury. We offer a range of guides here on the site that can help when training staff, covering everything from how to wash hands effectively to how to spot signs of a latex allergy from gloves. These can all be found on our blog. 

If you are ready to take on a cleaning business we wish you the best of luck, be sure to come back if you need supplies or advice on products, for the jobs you need to carry out.