How many of you enjoy cleaning your house?
I mean really love scrubbing all the dirt and grime that accumulates in places like the bathroom?
I know I don’t but it’s something that needs to be done! But these days it’s hard to find the time to really do a super thorough job cleaning the house.
What’s a person to do? Hire someone!
Do you know there are companies and people out there that make some pretty good money offering their cleaning services to households and companies? They’ll come in and charge you either a set fee per room or an hourly fee to clean up. They can come weekly, monthly, or whenever you think you need an some extra scrubbing.
What’s the point? Why not have the person they hire be you?
You can easily build up a small little business for yourself with little start-up costs. For most household jobs you will probably need cleaning supplies
This isn’t a passive income job where you sit at home while you make money. That’s a given. This will take some elbow grease on your part. But you get paid for that elbow grease and you can easily make more than $100 per job depending on the type of work you do. Think about it, one job for a couple of hours or so a weekend can net you $400 more a month.
Start off small by doing some friend’s places.
If you do well then there’s a good chance they will hire you again and tell their friends about it. I have a friend who started out working for a cleaning company and now does her own cleaning jobs. She worked on another friend’s place and he was so impressed that he hired her to take clean his mother’s place a few times a month. See, this is the type of job you can easily build up through word of mouth and networking from friends, family, and organizations you may be part of.
Now imagine this: You build up a good number of jobs to do a month. In fact it’s getting tough to keep up with all of them. What’s the next step?
Hire someone to help you!
Now you are taking something that earned you some extra money and you are turning it into a small business. The sky is the limit as to how far you can take it. Have a friend that lives in an apartment building? Maybe you can talk to the building’s management and do their vacuuming?
Again, this is work.
You’ll be scrubbing grimy bathroom tiles and cleaning behind people’s toilets. But you can also make good money doing this.
These days people have less time to take care of their homes which leaves you an opportunity to make some extra money!
If you want to make money then find something that someone doesn’t want to do and fill that need for them. People will pay. House cleaning happens to be one of those things and there’s certainly a demand for someone with real cleaning experience. When you pitch the idea you make a point of telling them that you have no problem getting to all those places they tend to ignore. Also make sure to play up how they can be so much more productive with their time by not having to worry about doing a big house cleaning. You are giving time back to them!
Cleaning homes is just example of the many ways you can make extra money. It’s up to you to go out and figure out what works for you and soon enough you’ll find your pockets a little more full!
Believe me, I contemplate doing this for extra money all the time. I actually love cleaning. 🙂 Thanks for the link.
Too bad you’re not here in NYC! Haha. It can really be an easy way to make some extra bucks.
I’m looking to clean
Can you make a lot of money by cleaning houses?
David- you should go for it, I recently started after like you thinking I would enjoy it, and I love it, it can be a lot of work, but it’s rewarding. I haven’t made a lot of money yet, but I enjoy what I do.
I clean here in Lexington Kentucky. Its a great way to meet really interesting hard working people.
My wife loves to clean the house (!), and despite us steadily making more money since we first started living together 8 years ago, she refuses to have someone clean for us!
Economically, it makes sense, since each hour we clean is worth around $500. Why not pay someone $15-20/hr instead? She’s a private person and it’s about trust.
Now cleaning someone else’s place, forget about it! 🙂
I hear you. But for many the opportunity cost of doing the cleaning is too great and they would love to hire someone to do their dirty work.
We’re do I start to try and get houses to clean..I would love to do that a couple times a week
Hello my name is judith fragosa, I am a independent cleaner for the New York city area and at the moment and I was wondering if maybe you or anybody you know can help me find more clients in the New York area I would really appreciate all the help
Good tip! There’s actually some decent money in cleaning. My wife and I have contemplated hiring someone to help us out with our cleaning.
Years ago we use to clean offices to help with some supplemental income when I was first trying to build a business.
Great to hear other people are doing it! We’ve considered getting someone in to do a big clean once in a while.
This is great I would like if you ge. me some costumers for clean houses let me know have experience like 10 years but is hard to find
that’s true sara but you have to start somewhere
How to house cleaning make if they have their own cleaning business?
Starting a cleaning business is a great idea. I have a few friends that actually started doing this to earn a little pocket cash, but now do it full time. Its great because you can make your own hours for the most part.
There is certainly a market for this if you are willing and able to do the work. It’s all a matter of what your goals and focus are and how valuable your time is to you. It’s not for me though. 🙂
That’s the thing, if you can find out the things that other people don’t want to do then you have a market to build from. Many have a high time premium so it’s worth it to pay someone else to do their cleaning.
I would like if you can get me some customers for star to work clean houses ok, let me know thank you.
I clean here in Lexington Kentucky. Its a great way to meet really interesting hard working people. You just haveto put your mind to it and be yourself. I love it!! Im my own boss. And Im helping people.
Pls sir I can do it I wanna do it I need it badly
I have a friend who recently started cleaning houses. She’s doing so well, she is quitting her full-time job to do this.
She really grew by doing an excellent job and referrals from clients.
There you go! This is certainly something that could prove lucrative.
This is the perfect job for the self-starter. In my town, if you do a half-way decent job at this you can make big money and always have clients.
cleaning houses can be the easiest way to earn money from doing very little, but one thing i’d like to mention is don’t under sell yourself as you’ll be stuck with someone who pays too little and you wont be able to ask to increase to a good level. i find the easiest way is simply go out and knock on doors asking if they need one, worked for me enough that i quickly could hire people to help me out.
Adam, I completely agree with you. Never undercharge. Leave undercharging to other people.
If anything, you should charge fees at the higher end of the scale for your area.
Door knocking is a tough way to build up your business. Congratulations on making that work so well for you.
For those who might find door knocking scary, there are other options for marketing your cleaning business that are easier and can multiply your efforts.
You can make inexpensive door hangers or fliers. Make sure you don’t put theses in mailboxes — those are only for stamped mail. But an attractive flier with an incentive to call you for an appointment can attract many new clients. And you can do door knocking while you’re distributing fliers if you’re not afraid to do so.
Another idea is to do a joint venture (JV) with another (non-competing) business. For example, with JV marketing, all small businesses in your town are potential business partners. Strike up an agreement with the local hardware store that customers who buy at that store get a 5% discount on a specific type of service with you. In exchange, your clients get some sort of a special deal at the hardware store. Sweet! Other people marketing for you, and you’re not there.
I’m a firm believer that even a part-time cleaning business is the answer for many who are now out of work, or who are underemployed (as so many are right now).
People who have homes can be shown that hiring a house cleaner is a smart idea.
This is true if they don’t like to clean and can make money with the time they save by hiring you.
Happy Cleaning!
-Amy
I would love to help clean your homes and yes I am unemployed right now and yes I do think it is a gud ideal
Besides just making extra money, I have a good friend (and now business partner) who has doubled his business every year and made multiple six figure returns.
Not too shabby for a high school dropout!
Hey, I have started cleaning houses after being laid off and now I am so busy its unbelievable my point is I need to make more money. Can you give me advice on how to raise my rates and how to grow the business?
Brenda
Does anyone know if you can just clean houses with out a business license in Illinois.
I can’t say for sure but you should be able to check the state website for what you would need as a small business (my gut tells me you wouldn’t need one but don’t take my word for it).
Hey,
It’s so true that many people think ‘clean houses!?’
I don’t even like cleaning my house.
Well, I did some part-time house cleaning when I was in need of extra income a few years ago. It’s amazing how much easier it is to get out a mop and bucket when you’re getting paid for it.
It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to get paid for it 🙂
This is a great way to make money. I have been doing it for awhile now. I charge $60 a house. Homes take about 3hrs. So that breaks down to $20 an hour. Great for a mom with kids in school.
Still haven’t figured out how to hire someone and make money from it.
Even if I have a helped I would have to work double the amount of houses just to pay them and all the insurance etc.
I have just recently started cleaning homes and it takes me a long time to clean the first time about 4-5 hours there after however I think I am doing too much. I charge $65.00 a house. If you don’t mind could you tell me what you include in a cleaning.
Brenda
Hi I’m Harriet.I clean apartments.if it’s just a general clean.you do the basic.wash dishes,wipe down stove counter top. mop,empty garbage, make beds,clean bathroom,and vacuum. Laundry,cleaning frige,inside stove,cabinets,walls,you supposed to charge extra.That is considered as deep cleaning.Thank you.
I have been cleaning a few houses on the side for the last couple of years and have been considering kicking it up a notch and doing some promotion to get more houses. Any recommendations anyone?
katey: whatever you do now to get customers just do more of it and you should get a few more. be prepared to no longer be a cleaner but a business owner if you really want to step it up
This is a great idea! Just one house a week can really help reduce your debt.
Reduce debt, put money towards retirement, build up a side-business into a full-time business…there’s no limit!
This is something that I have been told I would be good at and have been considering doing. I’m a stay-at-home wife and mother whose children are in school all day and would like something to do to get me out of the house a little and make some extra spending money. I was figuring on $60 a home. I don’t know exactly what that would include (sweeping, mopping, dusting, bathrooms, vacuuming, windows)? Do you charge extra for cleaning showers and tubs? Does the size of the home make any difference? Do you ask for any specific instructions from the home owner? See, I have no idea what to do! LOL!
One thing you could try is to call up a few services and see what they charge. This will give you an idea of how to price. You could also ask family and friends what they would pay and expect from a cleaning service.
Hello, me and my husband were thinking about starting our own cleaning business but are not sure where to start. For example, do we need to be insured and bonded just for the two of us? I thought it would be as easy as making flyers then cleaning houses for cash on the spot.
IF I WAS YOU I WOULD MAKE FLYERS AND GO AROUND AND PUTTHEM ON PEOPLE CARS.
I started my cleaning business a few months ago and I got insured and bonded for the fact that some of your clients will ask if you are. It’s for your protection as well. I would also register the name of your business with the state that way nobody can take that name.
Do you have to be registered and have insurance to do this kind of work
Yes it is a good idea! You will get more business.
Great post. Many cleaning companies have been started by people who wanted to make some extra money. However, there comes a time when they face some seriously polluted carpets or upholstery, that can only be treated with serious equipment. That is when people call for professional help – not only do companies have the proper equipment, but also know how to treat your carpet without damaging it. So if you want to make the big bucks you should definitely invest in equipment and training.
I live in nj you could give me some page to advertise my housekeeping
I’ve worked For several elderly people cleaning and miscelanious. Each had different expectations. Current lady frustrates me by not being specific and explaining what she expects but complains that I don’t get the job done efficiently. And she gets in my way doing her thing whatever it happens to be (which is never showing me what to do but sometimes “you don’t have to do that, you have a hard enough time getting everything done!) help?!
I tried this idea. Competition from major cleaning companies is fierce. My only client is my neighbor.
Yes there is a lot of competition out there but if you are good at what you do and know the business, believe me some people will get rid of a cleaning company to have you because some of those teams they send in the homes do not do a very good job! I started my business a few months ago and I’m up to 10 clients now and getting ready to hire someone to help me.
Hi,
I currently clean homes . I wondering if i am too cheap? I do the hands and knees kinda cleaning.
I charge 3hrs for $100 and $25hr thereafter so 4 hrs would be $125.
Ive been told I do too much for too little and that I should price per job?
If you are genuinely a business… Paying liability insurance, state sales tax, federal & local taxes on every dollar earned, you should be charging $40/ hr…. After all, if this is your main source of income, then you should be paying health insurance, putting $ away for retirement & reimbursing the mileage on your vehicle…. If you’re a part time cleaner getting cash under the table, then 15-20$/ hr is fair. The $40/hr includes providing ALL supplies rags etc… That get washed off sight… Which takes time & money
I have about 10 clients all from my doing. First things first you have to print out some flyers saying what u do and how much and hour and then u go to big stores Street poles especially if your in a big city and restaurants and post on Craigslist about ur services I have been getting phone calls off the hook. I love it I hope I help a little
Thanks for the info. I had forgotten about Craigslist and never thought about light post. Good ideas.
Hi My name is Johaida I am a 21 year old female live in Brooklyn and would love to make extra money cleaning anyone’s house in Brooklyn a few times a week … Please feel free to email me
I’m looking to clean houses , office spaces , storages, garages to make extra cash
Its’ true, I signed up to a gig-economy site and was working within hours cleaning a house! It was good money too – be nice to the owner and share your story and they gave me a tip!
Working a cleaning business is all about building trust and meeting the little extras that your client might expect of you. We have seen lots of cleaners come and go and the best are reliable, honest and turn up on time.
Can you make a lot of money by cleaning houses?