Thinking of starting a Cleaning service

I love to scrap, Ive been scrapping as long as I can remember. But seeing as there is too much competition around me to have a guaranteed pay check every week, Ive been thinking of other ways to earn money.

Ive given up on the regular 9-5 jobs due to restrictions in my life, so that is not an option. With my taxes Im getting back ~$800, I have a decent start up capital for a small home based business.


My plans are as follows

1)Purchase Hitch and Small Utility trailer for my car. Then proceed to purchase basic cleaning equipment, preferbly second hand for more bang for the buck(Vacuums, Dry Mops, Buffer, Chemicals, etc...) I figure between all of that, I should have around $150 to $200 left of the $800.

2)I would then go old school and go business to business(small privately owned companies) and pass out flyers while talking with the owner.


I do understand there will still be competition, but has anyone tried the cleaning service before, and can you give me any feedback on what happened?

Sounds like a good complimentary business to scrapping. You'd get to take out their trash and then get first dibs on dumpster diving. :o)

just a few things right off the top to add to the bucket list

prepare to work weird hours and weekends

you will need to be bonded and possibly licensed

you will need to be insured

all cleaners/chemicals used will need msds sheets on file in the event a customers employee suffers a reaction in a freshly cleaned office

Never have done it myself but know some that do. Very competitive business and when times are slow, cleaning crew is the first to go...

target busy full service restaurants. you will probably need to hire someone to help, if you get a contract. they (you) will come in at the end of the night to do the floors in the kitchen, prep area and dry storage. the cleaning crews that i have seen do this service, move all equipment and use a water hose.
most restaurants use their cooks and dishwashers for all the cleaning at the end of the night so you should find many restaurants without this service.

i know one restaurant that i worked for, the chef told us that a cleaning company wanted to come in and do the floors. he asked us if we wanted to give up those hours... we all agreed that we would rather go home early than clean the floors. the cleaning service always did a better job anyway, we were all too tired to care.

msd sheets. we have to be be bonded for about a million and its just a small preschool

Run away, run away!

Seriously, I did it for 30 years. You get NO respect from your clients. If somebody misses a wastebasket you get a phone call at 7 in the morning, and it's DEFCON 2.

If someone forgets to refill a toilet paper dispenser it's DEFCON 1, you'll get fired, and deservedly so.

Also as someone mentioned earlier, if the economy tanks you are the first expense business cuts, and I don't care what kind of contract you have.

Speaking of contracts, when I started we had a simple one page agreement. By the time I got out of the business it was over 8 pages as I included clauses for all the new ways people found to f&%$ me. If you're interested in my template, pm me.

Half my contracts went away when the economy tanked 2007-2009. I began looking for something else, discovered junk removal and along with that scrapping. I was able to sell the business and was happy to do so.

I'm not bitter, just glad not to be doing it anymore.

I have worked with a janitorial company before, and know others that run their own companies.


It is a nightmare, as Burly spells out above in his post. Both corporate and homeowner accounts. There is money to be made, but I'm not so sure I wouldn't rather flip burgers.