Cleaning is one of those businesses people often find appealing because it seems straightforward to scale into a profitable and stable venture. From our experience as a local Birmingham cleaner, this can be true, although—just like many other endeavours—it’s not always that simple. If you’re not clear about the right goals, it’s easy to get sidetracked.
You need to factor in changes outside of your control that can either make or break the business. This is especially important when you have substantial staffing costs, and suddenly your income diminishes. One example from a few years ago was the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Almost overnight, cleaners were not allowed into people’s homes due to lockdown restrictions, even if homeowners wanted the service. Then came the long process of gradually resuming work, managing furlough, handling new PPE requirements like face masks, and, surprisingly, navigating potential staffing issues.
Another example is the current cost-of-living crisis and increasing inflation. You may have to agree on legitimate increases in cleaning fees just to keep up with salary and operational expenses, let alone make any additional profit.
Still, it’s possible to have a profitable domestic cleaning business. Here are five key issues to help you focus on what’s needed to achieve that. To make it as practical and applicable as possible, we’ll base this on a popular domestic service: end–of–tenancy cleaning.
This isn’t just a cliché; it’s critical to any cleaning business. After all, the results of an excellent clean are visible—nothing is hidden.
When you’re cleaning people’s homes and personal spaces, delivering quality service and maintaining a positive attitude are even more crucial.
Be careful when selecting staff. Make sure they’re fully supported, treated well, and recognised for their great work. Good individuals with a positive attitude and high-quality work are invaluable. You might consider offering them more hours or a variety of work rather than rushing to hire more people for the sake of it. This is particularly important for end-of-tenancy cleans, where speed and quality service are the keys to success.
Although it may sound obvious, it’s important to remember—especially with regular clients who have you clean every week or fortnight. Treat every job like a brand-new one without slacking off, even if you’ve grown familiar with the property and the client. Things that aren’t noticed immediately may be spotted later.
This also applies to one-off jobs. Take an end-of-tenancy clean, for example. Even if you never see that tenant again, they can still spread the word—good or bad—about your services to neighbours, landlords, or managing agents.
This can be the hidden gold in domestic cleaning—the extra work that can follow. Cross-selling might include carpet, window, or oven cleaning in addition to basic domestic cleaning. Upselling involves shifting from a one-off job to a regular, ongoing service.
End-of-lease cleaning is a perfect example. Landlords and tenants realise they need extra work done to meet lease and deposit requirements and to get ready for new occupants. This doesn’t have to be a hard sell. When customers are open to additional services and are comfortable with your suggestions, simply ask.
Naturally, you’ll think about this when starting and growing your business. Consider the sources of all new customers.
First, focus on existing customers. If you can’t cross-sell or up-sell right now, at least ask them to recommend you to others. You might even offer an incentive, such as 50% off their next clean if they refer someone to you.
Second, stay focused on what you do for new clients. Start with a particular niche service or area—like end-of-tenancy cleans in a certain region—and make sure it pays off. Offline methods may include flyers and building relationships with estate agents. Online, a good website with SEO and carefully planned AdWords campaigns can help. Social media is more about brand awareness than directly targeting specific customers.
We’ve mentioned this already, but it’s worth emphasising again. Ask customers for feedback and reviews when they’re pleased. Keep in touch—you never know when they’ll need a cleaning service again, maybe before Christmas or an upcoming party.
Whether you’re looking to start from scratch with just yourself, a mop, and a bucket, or you already have an existing business you want to scale, these five principles are important to consider and apply. Starting small and growing steadily is often most effective in the long term, helping you weather any storms that come your way.
Seek advice from others with experience in similar situations. For instance, connect with another cleaning business in a different location or with those focusing on commercial cleaning, who aren’t direct competitors but might be interested in future referral work.
Above all else, ensure you do a genuine and fair clean for your customers. That speaks volumes, and word will spread, bringing in more work.
