It’s a new year with new possibilities. It’s also a new year with new challenges. You can’t separate one from the other sadly, so we need to embrace both simultaneously.
That’s why today I wanted to reach out to everyone out there and ask some very important questions about where you are and where you want to go in your career. Figuring it out can be tough. Kind of like that Rubik’s Cube in the picture. It’s no easy task!
In a nutshell I just want to know what has been the biggest issue you have faced in making your business run smoothly, grow bigger, or get off the ground for that matter. Are employees an issue? Are getting jobs a concern? If you haven’t started yet, what is keeping you from taking that first step?
I could phrase these questions in a million different ways, but I just want those that are having issues to post them in the comments below. While I’ll chime in with my two cents on any comments, the most important part is having EVERYONE ELSE add their thoughts to what shows up in the comments.
The goal, from my point of view, is to get a lot of people to post their viewpoints and solutions to whatever questions get asked below. I can only see things through my own personal experiences, and while they are valuable, they can’t possibly be the only way to see things. Let’s get started. Post questions, thoughts or wherever comes to mind below!
I hate to admit it but taking the leap is scary. I think that’s one of the reasons why people franchise. It provides the feeling that you are not doing it alone. My issue with franchising is they typically do all the behind the scenes work. I am an Accountant so I don’t need the back-office help that someone else may benefit from. I live in Houston, TX and it is a pretty big city. I have carved out an area to focus on but I still need to form my company and get all the initial things in order. I plan on doing that over the next few months. I want to be up and running by the summer. Once I get all my paperwork in order what is the first step regarding getting clients? How do I market while still holding down a full-time job (flyers, business cards, website, etc.)?
Michael
My biggest issue is finding contracts! I’ve did everything from going business to business, handing out flyers, and also leaving brochures and cards in mailboxes/business doors. Nothing seems to work. I started this back in November 2015, and it seems like a waste. I’ve put ads on Craigslist, and even made a Facebook website also. Everything fell short. I’m getting discouraged more and more every passing day, so any good advice will be greatly appreciated!
Hi my biggest issue , is to get staff i can be sure are able to work as well as i do and give the clients the wuality i deliver in a service.
If i get good staff i can then think about finding bigger contracts, which again im not sure how to seek contract work in bigger cleaning services like banks real estates and wanting good staff to gain bigger paid contracts
Also in finding the right staff to be dedicated and able to work within my business deadlines with time management and being available on a on call service as well fecible etc .
How can i know who will be a good employee from a bad employee so i can not be stuck with training people and then be disappointed by the lack of progress.
Thankyou for taking this time
Bev wade
I been. Is business about a year my biggest problem. Is. Marketing and pricing I really. Need to stop being. Scared. When ppl tell me no are coming. Down. On my price. I really. Want my business. To grow but I need. Alot. Of help plz
Right now my issue is expanding my service. I hired a helper to reduce some of my workload and expand with new clients. Most of my clients seemed to be hesitant with someone else servicing thier home so so much for reducing my workload. I have one client thàt would rather skip service than having somone else. I like the helper I hired but I need somone that is more like me but I think thats going to be hard.
Another issue that I have is overly picky clients that want more done each visit for the same price. I recently dropped a client for that reason.
How to transition from being a business owner/team leader to starting another 2 man team and replacing my team leading position with another employee? It it a two phase process with the new 2 man team starting very part-time. I am overwhelmed with the possibility of oversites and poor transitioning. The management of dual teams is also a concern.
My issue is staffing, can’t find good stable employees. i.m thinking about getting a staffing service to help with staffing. what are your thoughts about going through staffing agencies
thanks
james
My biggest issue as of now is trying to get some business. I don’t know exactly where to go or exactly what to do. I’m trying to get some government / city contracts. I’m looking at getting some apartment contracts. I am networking as of this week I’ll be mailing out flyers and doing all I can to get my cleaning business up and running. My business has only been in operation for a month. I’m trying not to be impatience, I’m so ready to go to work. Any ideas would be greatly appreciate.
Skills
Hello Tom,
How are you?
I started my cleaning service a few years ago as a parttime job hoping by now it would be full-time but sadly it’s still a parttime job.
However, my two biggest issues are hiring the right people and getting more commercial cleaning accounts(carpet cleaning only).
Ok!
Thanks, for your time.
Hi Tom,
Thanks for everything, I have been following your blog since I started my business early 2015 and I must say you have been a blessing. How do you polish ceramic tiles without leaving them slippery? Emily. Kenya
I am a one man gang still, working office spaces for now, however, I still working on bigger accounts, no joy yet. Couple of interviews, no accounts.
Hi Michael! That first step is hard, but if you take it smartly there is not much to risk. Bottom line: you need to keep the costs in check as much as possible to limit the downside financially.
The franchise part is not as cut and dry as most people think. The things they take care of, are things that are learnable. And what you give up to get them is like WOW… way too much.
You will give up control in many ways, not to mention you’ll have to give up a percentage of ALL FURTURE EARNINGS “forever”, which is a STEEP PRICE (plus whatever the down payment is). With margins being tight on many jobs, what you give away comes from your profit margin.
And though they may promise you “accounts” that bring in a certain amount per month…. the only thing that matters is PROFIT per month, NOT how much it brings in. This results in many people working accounts that have no profit in them (they can’t even hire people to do the work, as there is not enough money there to make it worthwhile). I see it “all the time”.
Your first step should be getting your marketing plan in order. You need a sales letter, flyers and business cards. Website needs to be done, even if it’s something basic (but it need to be polished and professional). Get door hangers made, look into what networking groups fit your goals.
I would also be asking “WHO is your ideal customer?” Mine was doctor offices (small and manageable even for beginners and yet profitable PLUS when you add more services, they are a ideal fit. IE: window cleaning, carpet cleaning, floor care). They can also be cleaned AFTER HOURS so it won’t interfere with your current job.
As far as HOW to market while holding down a job… you will be working a lot! 🙂 There is no way around that. When I was new, I worked all day, then did my work while at home on my kitchen table (getting mailings in order, going to networking meetings… you name it).
In your case… direct mail is a good fit. You can REACH a lot of companies (a few hundred at least) per month with a sales letter, flyer and business card. I would focus on that, plus door hangers (great for when you have a tight budget) to drive people to call you.
You’ll be fine! Just get a little done each day and success will find you. Touch base if you need me.
Hi Lawrence! Ok… 1 – What advertising are you using? (send me your info via email) 2 – How many have you given out? (give me an estimated number). The answers will yield clues to what is happening. Contact me via the contact page, I’ll reply THEN you can send me the marketing material (or reply to one of my newsletter mailings).
Hi Bev! Finding people that are “like you” is a tough thing to do. I hired hundreds and hundreds of people in my career, and never found another Tom Watson. I found really good people, but not another me. The pragmatic way is to find good people, train them in the way you operate, then supervise them regularly.
For me that meant hiring those that already had a full time job for a least a few years (as that shows they know what it takes to show up and give an effort that their current employer is happy with). So in essence, I wanted those that needed an “extra income” to go along with their regular job. They typically needed 10 to 25 hours per week (which I gladly provided).
These people were who I looked for. I did hire the “occasional” full time worker but the vast majority were part timers (80% PT to 20% FT). This approach helped me out a ton. Does it fix everything? No, of course not. Getting good people is an issue for ALL COMPANIES. There is no way around it!
Hi Linda! People will say no to you no matter what. That is business and you’ll have to accept that. Also keep in mind that getting every job is not feasible. You only want jobs that are profitable.
So if someone says no, and you backtrack on price, that eats into your profit (and you have to be careful). So if I can ask a question or two… how many jobs have you bid and how many have you gotten?
As to the marketing part, take a peek at the reply I sent to Michael. That approach will help you as well.
Hi Carol! Your issue is common. I would just do the ones that threaten to quit your service in order to keep them a little longer. Pass the newbie on to ones that don’t complain as much. You won’t find another you (you may get close, but it’s like looking for a unicorn).
When people want more, just say something like “I can work up a price for the added service. Would you like me to send that over to you or call you in the next day or two?” That puts the conversation in a different context for them (if you want more, you pay more).
Hi Candace! The turnover is always going to be a concern. In my experience, I had a few workers stay over ten years. The vast majority (of quality workers) only lasted 1 to 2 years. The cleaning business doesn’t generally offer career opportunities (it’s stepping stone job or a part time gig for most).
You need to get the most out of what you have. You are like a coach on a football team, training and supervising their development. So when you have two person teams, the best one gets the “lead” and the other is the subordinate in a sense. You float around and supervise it all.
When you don’t have that many hours to go around it makes it harder (it’s tougher to attract people). You just have to fight through that! Market more to land more jobs and quicken that process as best you can afford to. I will say that you will be able to manage multiple teams (you’ll learn how to handle it as you go along).
Hi James! Take at the reply I sent to Bev. That covers the staffing part (as far as what worked for me). As far as a staffing service, be wary on that (I’m not sure exactly what you mean by that, as their are two kinds).
I had some “staffing firms” that wanted me to pay a “finders fee” of up to a thousand bucks to have them provide a permanent employee (that may just turn around and quit in a week, leaving me out a grand).
Now if you are talking about a temp agency where you just pay a pre-determined amount to an agency and they loan you the help in a sense, that works for when you are in a pinch, but not as a permanent solution (these workers are untrained and usually unreliable over the long haul).
Hi David! The government / city contract angle may not be your best bet. If you had tons of contacts and prior business experience, that “may” work, but it’s a tough road. When you compete on the larger jobs, the margins get slimmer and the more accurate your bids need to be (you go there WHEN you have experience and the hiring ability to pull it off).
The apartment angle is the best bet for getting some experience (they are predisposed to hire beginners). It is hard work, it’s a pain in the butt at times, but it provides income (and valuable bidding experience) that can be leveraged into other more profitable endeavors.
Networking is good (just stick at at). Flyers are good (just make sure they are professional and have a good headline, offer and deadline). Aim for doctor offices and other small medical facilities (easy to bid and offer good margins when bid properly).
Hi Shonea! I’m good… all is well! Anyway, take a peek at some of the solutions on hiring I offered in prior comments. As to getting more carpet cleaning accounts… what are you doing to get those? And what material are you using (send me a copy via email and I’ll take a look at it).
Hi,
My issue is finding how to pay employees, on a percent basis or an hourly wage, weekly or daily? i own a small cleaning business “houston tx”, for ova 6yrs got around 150 customers, some on 3mth clean and others 6mth clean, mostly carpet cleaning. Now getting more eqpt. to offer tile/grout cleaning and strip/buff and waxing for commercial accounts
thanks
james
jlptx69@yahoo.com
Hi Emily! Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated. To your question… What product are you using that leaves the floor slippery?
Hi Raymon! The interviews are a good sign. What are you doing to get those interviews?
hi,
What about wages. how much to start employees pay? hrly wage or percentage?
Hi James! There is no perfect answer, it depends on your situation. For commercial cleaning (nightly type) I paid by the hour, every two weeks, as I wanted to make it as easy as possible for me (why do payroll every single week when I can just do it every other). Did this annoy some staff, a few in the beginning. But once I switched to hiring workers that already had a regular job, it became a non-issue.
I did kind of do a bit of a “blend” in a sense on paying hourly. I would establish how long the job would take and leave it at that. If the job took longer than expected, they could just leave a note explaining why and I would pay them the extra. If they got done sooner, then good for them. This approach allowed me to make doing payroll easier (I’m not counting minutes on a timesheet).
As far as how much to start them at? Well, it depends on your market. I “usually” paid 10 per hour for basic cleaning and 12 to 15 for specialty skills (carpet, VCT) depending on experience. Once again… I did hourly pay versus percentage.
Hello Tom, I have bid on 25 bids and I got 20of them and 1 commercial that I think I short. Myself on it was a 8000sq office building they remodel the whole building he wanted. Everything clean & windows it was my first and I didn’t. Know how to price so I charge. Him 750 and did the work and he only paid me 350 it’s so hard when it comes. To pricing for residential and commercial in Norfolk. & Virginia. Beach plz help
If you are getting that many, that is good. If you got every single one, then that would be a sign you are under-bidding, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The one mistake on the commercial bid, that happens. It’s actually a good thing, as you LEARN from mistakes. As to getting stiffed for payment, you have to get them to sign a contract. If they don’t pay it goes to a collection agency.
What issue are you having with the pricing? Was it because it’s commercial? Bidding is all the same, as it comes down to TIME INVESTED TO CLEAN. On the jobs you did get… were they priced correctly? If not you just adjust up or down accordingly.
It’s. With the residential what if they. Don’t know. The Sq. foot of the home are they only want bathrooms and floors do I charge by the hour. I try calling. Around. To other. Cleaning. Companies to see how they bid but that’s. Not working
You can’t bid over the phone. You MUST see it IN PERSON. And you charge by HOW LONG you will be there (forget square footage for now). Just take your best guess as to how long it will take and pick an amount per hour you want to earn (like $30 per hour).
After a few times you will start to get very accurate in your bidding. Chalk up any mistakes to “that’s life” (that is how we LEARN). And also… FORGET about what other companies charge, as you don’t want to copy someone who MAY NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.
For those of you who are having issues with finding new customers, what are your thoughts regarding lead services(Thumbtack, Home Advisor)? I have been in business full time for less than a year and have 16 regular clients. I used a lead service to get most of them.
As far as pricing, I think it depends on where you are. Where I live(southern Arizona), people lowball eveything, so I price my services as low as possible without shooting myself in the foot. I charge by the job, not by the hour.
Hi Tom, and how do arrive at a specific figure for an hourly rate? In fact I thought the square footage was more reliable.
Hi Tom,
I am new in the industry and from my little search, I have found out that most products in Kenya only polish PVC tiles and NOT ceramic for example carefree 2 . Please advice on options that could be available here for polishing ceramic tiles.
My biggest issues are:
1.) Bidding too low on the hours needed to clean, hence i end up cleaning 1-2 hours extra without pay since we have already signed a contract. I am always afraid of quoting more hours as the price will increase and they might not give me the job, if it’s too high. My price per hour are average of what other cleaning companies charge here.
2.)
Hiring staff, i am finding it difficult hiring a good staff that can clean properly like me. Most, i have found told me they are good with experience but when i hire them while giving them training i then discover that they can’t clean well at all , i had to re-do some of their cleaning and some are very slow in working, wasting too much time.
Considering, that most people applying for cleaning job here in Europe are foreigners that are new residents or can’t find other jobs due to language barrier or job shortage etc, so it’s hard to find out if they have good working experience as some can just lie that they do, just to get the job. What is the best approach to this ? in other to hire the best ones even without them having job experience here.
I always provide training to them before assigning them an independent job or to work in teams while i supervise.
And also, do you hire independent contractors/ subcontractors that pays their own tax, pension, insurance, sick leave etc or do you hire cleaners directly into your company and pay their tax and all of the above benefits ? what is the best solution ? because right now i am hiring independent contracts, if i employ them directly to my company i will be force to pay all the above benefits which will be a big cut on their income ( about 50% cut from their income, if i pay all the benefits and that won’t benefit them much after the tax and other benefits cost are taken away from their income but, if they pay it themselves they will on pay 25% tax .
3.)
About hiring a supervisor to supervise the cleaners. Do you pay supervisor hourly or a fixed monthly salary?
How much jobs/team can a supervisor supervise per day on average?
I am thinking of hiring a supervisor that can help me supervise my cleaners because soon i won’t be able supervise them all soon, i need help asap.
My bigest chalenge is to get new clients for my business to kick off to the next level
Hi Binda! Hourly is better in my opinion. EXAMPLE: If you bid two houses of the same size and one is clean and the other is horribly dirty… would you bid them the same? (if you bid by square footage you do!)
Hi Emily! I don’t know any vendors for your area. Maybe another reader of this can answer this for you. Sorry about that!
Hi Eve!
1 – You have to adjust going forward on all new bids. What you have already underbid is your LESSON LEARNED. Either keep the price the same and chalk it up to learning the ropes or risk raising the price (and losing what you have).
2 – Everyone has that issue (and remember… you WON’T find another YOU). You need to fight through that (every single business has that issue). I never did a sub-contractor setup (they were hired as employees). I don’t know the laws there, so I can’t say what is best for you.
3 – I did not pay a fixed monthly fee. And how many can they supervise?… that depends on too many variables (distance from job to job and size of accounts). You will have to experiment to see what works.
Hi Mhcs! What are you doing now to drum up accounts?
Hi Tom. I’ve been working in cleaning business for 15 years now, kept the same clients for all those years, most of this time frame I worked myself, now I hire helper here and there. I only gave one small office and the other accounts (about 6 properties) I decided not to work so hard and grow by business. My biggest issue is how to get some commercial business like apartment building, and how to price since I never worked big jobs, what kind of paper work my business will need? I recently lost a weekly family nice property because the owner asked me for license and insurance, I was never asked for that before.
Thank you Tom.
That makes good sense . Thankyou
Hi Rose! Insurance is mandatory. I would highly recommend talking to an agent in your area. Just Google “General Liability Insurance” PLUS your “zip code” in the search bar to get options on where to go. You will need that to get any type of commercial property. The agent will show you the needed paperwork. The license they asked for is probably to make sure you are a real business and not an un-registered company.
Tom, .TO EVERYONE..CONCERNING RESIDENTIAL PRICING
Since we are here in a blizzard I have lots of time to respond lolol
I have some thoughts when it comes to residential pricing that always worked out for me in years passed that I thought I would share. I no longer do residential I am full fledge commercial and now spreading into restoration work. However I do help people around here get into residential with my tips because I don’t have any concern for it being something I want to do again and every one I helped is 100% successful to the point they turn people away because their schedules are full. I will say this, to get alot of residential customers very fast is EASY BUT you must except about a month or two of about no sleep and endless days and nights of running off flyers, oh the cheaper black and white are the best, and going door to door every night, WINTER OR NOT, and rolling and putting them on people’s doors. I am not talking a couple hundred either, I am talking of being dedicated to a few thousand or more. I played mental games of being a post man, a morman missionary, you name. Whatever it took, I was ‘hungry’ and determined at the time. Please don’t make the mistake in thinking you see dollar signs in rich people’s neighborhoods YOU DON’T AND YOU WON’T. …Your best most amazing people will be in the middle to middle upper class neighborhoods. They will respect you, love you, and in many cases even tip you….TRUST ME…
With that being said….with what Tom said
I neither agree nor disagree with your approach but rather came about it a bit differently if you will.
Absolutely with you on nixing the terminology ‘Sq ft’ especially with customer. It is never relevant in this entire business anyway, commercial or residential unless you are restoring floors or something like I do in my restoration end.
Also never ever ever ever, did you hear that, EVER give price over phone for cleaning because THEY ARE BUYING YOU not your company, YET it is never a good idea, it has bad business written all over it.
Every flyer I put out on homes has my pricing and list of what is done in each room and it works like a charm so who ever calls me is all ready 90% my customer, once they meet my charming self lol deal was done, even though my price may have gone way up after visiting their house. You may be asking how so?
Well, ever here of fine print? So, my flyer may say something like this….well it’s catchy all over
(Just an example)
Were Making America Clean Again
Call Today Elect Us Your Home Cleaning Company
Winter Caucus Special CALL NOW and get
First 4 rooms @ $39.95, each additional only $11.49
(Picture of cleaning lady in American flag apron)
Each room has list of duties
ends March 15th
Then I place a box at the bottom with * points that state
1. Room must be considered average size and average condition
2. Powder rooms and foyers are considered .5 rooms
3. One hallway with one flight of stairs is one room in calculation
4. Average condition is left to discretion of owner and may lead to additional cost
5. Cost does not include anything above stated duties
Anyway Tom I have a copy of it if you want to scrutinise it but just thought it may help….
Hi Angela! I missed the snow this time (currently in the 60’s with a breeze swaying palm trees). Anyway… thanks for sharing that with everyone (and sure… send the flyer over).
Hello Tom & Angela !
Thanks for taking your time to reply this post and clarifying some of our concerns.
Is it best to write the full price for the numbers of rooms or can one use hourly rate also ?
Which of these gives better results? I am assuming with hourly rate , clients are not sure the hours needed to clean their home but with full price base on the number of rooms they have more idea what it will cost them?
I am trying to figure out which will produce better result to use on my flyer and why?
Thanks in advance,
Eve
Eve,
I am sorry you misunderstood me. I never give anyone out loud any sort of hourly rate it freaks out residential customers, especially old school ones many times. However, that being said, I ALWAYS make $20-$25 per man hour, meaning, if four people are in there its $100 an hour it takes one hour to clean that house somewhat speaking if were not all over each other. I never had four people in a home its never worth have anymore than two people crews in my opinion JUST my opinion. However, if you map out the pricing as I stated, they know exactly what they are paying ahead of time, you walk in and price it according to CONDITION, SIZE and time it in your head correctly, you are charging per room NOT square footage and not hourly ultimately you are coming out with those results in the end.
OH and btw, I always always use their cleaning supplies and vacuum and gave them a list of preferred cleaning products in the home. I only did this for residential, again commercial is A WHOLE OTHER BEAST please never try any of my suggestions commercially it is not how I run things commercially.
What did this do for me, I had so many account residentially it wasn’t funny, I had zero things to carry around, I show up and clean and left. They got to pick what they wanted to use in their house, I had no out pocket over head other than gas and maintenance on my car. I said to them in such a way they bought it every time as a benefit to them. Why would someone want me to carry a vacuum around from another persons house that may have had dogs and fleas or God only knows what? And maybe they prefer certain cleaning products that I don’t? Some people are very picky it is THEIR home anyway right? SO they leave it all out on the counter for me. I just brought in a bucket and rags thats it. I would suggest certain products I know makes my job go faster but I would just say I recommend such and such please purchase it so I can deliver a beautiful tub or floor etc when I clean I just know from my years of experience it will get this ring out of your toilet blah blah blah. It was ALL about them but really all about me but they bought it bait and switch and I pocketed the profit every time.
Does this help?
Hello Angela,
Thanks for the clarification, it’s been very helpful. I actually went through all the jobs i under-bid and realized it was because i was quoting using square meters instead of calculating using number of rooms like you stated. Once i calculated it via rooms i got the accurate working hours needed.
One question , did you use Unaddressed EDDM to send out your flyers ( that goes to every door in an area ) or did you use the ” Addressed EDDM ” ( where you select homes yearly income,age, villa’s or apartment etc? )
Thanks in advance,
Eve
First off, I love this blog! There is so much useful info here. Thanks so much!
Okay, I own an All Natural Cleaning Service and am finding it hard to find that target audience. It has been a true struggle. This summer I was incredibly busy with residential and post construction clean up.. but as the weather got colder.. clients just stopped responding to offers..promotions..
I need to get out there.. Find these clients.. I more than anything want to continue post construction cleanup.. But.. Im a woman and feel as if the Builder will not take the time to listen to me.
not only that.. I feel so intimidated to walk up on a construction site.. so many stares..
What do I say.. and to whom do I say it to?
Being an All Natural Cleaning Service.. i believe has made it a bit more difficult to target and obtain the post construction jobs.
Im in a rut.. I am down to a few regulars a week and .. nothing else on the side. I am confident business will pick up when the weather warms.. but I need something now!
What do you think?
Hi Crystal! Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated. First off… I’m not sure if you read this article, but check it out if you haven’t: http://cleaning4profit.kinsta.cloud/2014/04/06/how-to-get-construction-cleanup-jobs/
Secondly… when trying to get the construction clean up jobs, don’t try to sell them on the all natural cleaning angle (they probably won’t care for that pitch). Instead just focus on introducing yourself and asking for the chance to bid the clean up. Briefly state your experience in this type of work (have references if possible) and leave your business card and flyer with them.
You can’t do nothing about the stares from the workers, so just ignore that part and focus on being confident (no need not to be, as you have experience) and meeting the manager of the project. That is the only person who matters!
Thank you so much for your quick response. I have thought about just not bringing it up ..but it is in the name and they will question it right away.. Thank you so much for the words of advice. much appreciated