House cleaning startup: Under $1,000 investment

House cleaning services is a great business opportunity if you like making decent money, like cleaning, and you don’t mind flexible hours or working alone.

Whether a house, an apartment, or an office, everyone has a need for regular cleaning. As our lives become more hectic, more and more people are turning to house cleaners for help. Housecleaning is not a field just for women. Many men love the great money and steady year-round work this industry provides. 

House cleaning services is different than janitorial services, mostly due to the size and focus of the business and the number of employees each has. You can easily start a house cleaning service by yourself and add employees if you want, or even grow the house cleaning into a full blown janitorial service like “Sherry” did (read her story below). House cleaning services can be started for under $1,000, but janitorial companies are larger businesses often requiring $50,000 or more to start. 

Fast Facts on House Cleaning Services

“You Don’t Need Money Or An Education To Start”

INCOME RANGE: $18 – $35/hour or more.

TRAINING REQUIRED: None but ability to clean. 

START-UP COSTS: Less than $1,000.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: must be able to vacuum, move furniture, stoop to clean floors and toilets, kneel, and lift.

SPECIAL SKILLS: Common sense, enjoy cleaning and organizing, and have an attention to detail.

NEED TO INCORPORATE: No, but in this industry having insurance and even being bonded is a great selling feature. It is very inexpensive, only a few hundred dollars per year.

THINGS TO READ TO HELP YOU: Speed Cleaning 101: Cut Your Cleaning Time in Half! by Laura Dellutri lauradellutri.com. 

Let me share “Sherry’s” inspiring story of how she started a house cleaning service, and where it took her. 

Sherry’s Story

I am so proud of “Sherry.” After her children were born, her family was in need of extra income, and she started her own daycare from her home. As her kids grew, Sherry wanted a business that would get her out of the house and help her earn more money. Without a college degree, the only jobs she could qualify for wouldn’t even cover the cost of daycare. Then Sherry was inspired: she could clean homes figuring she could make money doing something she did anyway. 

She looked at ads for house cleaners and soon realized they were making great money and could set their own hours. With no assistance or training, but after plenty of research, Sherry placed an ad promoting her new venture. Little did she know her new career was born and to what heights of success it would take her. 

After a few years of successful house cleaning Sherry started to help other people get into the business, for free at first. Soon demand for her knowledge and help became so great she started charging for it. From there she started a cleaning referral service from which she fed business to the house cleaners she helped start. Soon that referral service started generating leads for large accounts. 

By this time Sherry hired cleaning employees and her janitorial company was formed. Her janitorial company grew into offices in two cities with around 100 employees and substantial annual sales. She later sold her company for a handsome profit.

Your vision and hard work can take you from the bathroom to the boardroom. If she launched a successful career from nothing, you can too!

Illegal to Legal has this success story and others. It includes many details on how to start up a cleaning service. Get your copy here.