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Why would anyone want to start a cleaning business? It’s not something I would have considered until I started considering the conveniences people will actually pay for in the real world. I have all these fantasies about starting a business that revolves around what I want and what I need, but the real money is in what other people need. Cleaning is something a lot of people pay for in Southern California. I grew up cleaning after myself and for many years scoffed at the idea of paying someone else to do something so trivial. In my maturity and continuing trend toward the SoCal lifestyle I see the appeal. I am a busy person and I have paid 40 dollars to have someone clean my car. It took them 20 minutes and a machine did most of the work. I have paid 400 dollars to have my house cleaned. It took them 4 and half hours and I thought, dang, after taxes that’s more than I make in a 10 hour day (8 hours of work plus 2 hours of driving).
I know from my own searches that finding a good and consistent cleaner can be troublesome. You might wonder, who am I inviting into my home? Are they going to steal my stuff? I feel like this is not too much of a concern with most professional cleaning services. The concerns I have had are more like: What chemicals are they using that my family and pets are going to be exposed to? Did they know they pulled the curtains out of the drywall and if so why didn’t they just tell me? Did they literally sweep everything under the carpet or was that there already? Minor stuff overall, but sometimes annoying. Honestly I don’t have a lot of experience with hiring other people for cleaning, like I said I am usually too cheap and just do it myself.
I believe there is a need in my area for competent and consistent cleaners. I think people will pay a lot of money for such a service. The question is, do I want to be the one to provide that service? I am no spring chicken and the physical aspect alone is daunting. I know I could adapt, but I would hope to hire help relatively soon. I also have this vision in my head of dealing with snobby customers who are ultra perfectionists, doing white glove inspections after each job and publicly complaining. My experience in customer service is limited, but I know people will always find a way to critique.
I always thought getting a government contract would be the best way to go. Our facility contracts a company to clean the windows, a separate one to clean the shades, and another one to do the basic janitorial work. I have done all these things for an air traffic control tower, because the Marines do not contract people to clean when enlisted people can do it, and it’s all pretty simple. I’m not up on the exact numbers that contractors get these days but I feel like I could meet all of their requirements in about 5 hours a week. I estimate Uncle Sam pays about 1800 dollars for that work. Yeah, 1800 dollars for 5 hours a week. That’s why our Janitor drives a Mercedes and I drive a Nissan. That’s the type of cleaning business I want to have.
Isn’t it funny how you talk to certain people and they look down on certain industries like they are less worthy. I think jobs need to be done, and if you can make money doing it, good for you. I had a friend who would rag on me because I delivered pizza. He was a real estate agent, and I didn’t realize this at the time but I made more money than him. Now he is unemployed and struggling because he’s too good to work a ‘menial’ job. I’ll bet that guy who used to work at Dominoes and now owns 16 franchises would be laughing his ass off from his Laguna Niguel mansion with his 15 cats. Yeah, you know who you are.
I’m honestly a little worried about pushback from my own family. Not my East coast family, they won’t care. My West coast family, like my wife, California born and raised, is gonna be like; “you wanna do what now?”. Oh and of course my kid at school; “yeah my dad’s a…sanitation engineer…”. Obviously it’s not what I want to do until I drop dead, I just feel like it is a practical business idea that can actually go somewhere with a little discipline and persistence. I like the idea of running a business and watching it grow, improving the numbers. With that in mind I created a little sample business plan with the help of ChatGPT and my own prior experiences such as they are.
Business Plan for California Casual Cleaning Service (The name needs work, I know, just go with it.)
1. Executive Summary
- Business Name: California Casual Cleaning Service
- Business Address: Somewhere in Orange County, CA
- Owner: The one, the only: Mad Mike
- Services Offered: Residential cleaning (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly), deep cleaning, move-in/move-out cleaning
- Mission Statement: To provide top-quality, reliable, and affordable residential cleaning services, ensuring our clients’ homes are always stress free, clean and comfortable.
2. Business Objectives
- Short-term Goals:
- Secure 10 regular clients within the first 3 months.
- Achieve a 90% customer satisfaction rate.
- Long-term Goals:
- Expand to include commercial cleaning services in 2 years.
- Grow client base to 100+ regular clients in 5 years.
3. Market Analysis
- Target Market: Homeowners and renters in Orange County, particularly busy professionals and families.
- Market Needs: Professional, reliable, and flexible cleaning services.
- Competitors: Local cleaning companies, national franchises, independent cleaners.
- Market Trends: Growing demand for eco-friendly cleaning solutions and convenient booking options.
4. Services Offered
- Standard Cleaning: Dusting, vacuuming, mopping, kitchen and bathroom cleaning.
- Deep Cleaning: Detailed cleaning including baseboards, behind appliances, and inside cabinets.
- Move-In/Move-Out Cleaning: Comprehensive cleaning for homes before or after moving.
5. Marketing and Sales Strategy
- Website: Create a user-friendly website with online booking capabilities.
- Social Media: Use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to reach local customers.
- Advertising: Utilize local online classifieds, community boards, and flyers.
- Promotions: Offer first-time customer discounts and referral incentives.
6. Operations Plan
- Location: Operate from a home office to reduce overhead costs.
- Hours of Operation: Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 6 PM.
- Suppliers: Source cleaning supplies and equipment from local or online retailers.
- Staffing: Start with a small team, hiring additional staff as needed based on growth.
7. Financial Plan
- Startup Costs:
- Equipment and supplies: $1,000
- Business registration and insurance: $500
- Marketing and advertising: $500
- Miscellaneous: $500
- Monthly Expenses:
- Supplies and equipment: $200
- Insurance: $50
- Marketing: $100
- Miscellaneous: $100
- Pricing Strategy:
- Standard cleaning: $100 per visit
- Deep cleaning: $200 per visit
- Move-in/Move-out cleaning: $250 per visit
- Revenue Projections:
- Month 1: $1,500
- Month 3: $4,000
- Month 6: $8,000
8. Legal and Administrative Requirements
(So in the beginning I would probably go with a sole proprietorship for the sake of simplicity. I’ve never actually done an LLC, but my understanding is that the LLC model is for a larger business that needs to limit liability on the owner, and look better to more prestigious clients.)
- Business Structure: LLC for liability protection.
- Licenses: Obtain a business license from Orange County.
- Insurance: General liability insurance and bonding.
9. Conclusion California Casual Cleaning Service aims to become a trusted name in residential cleaning in Orange County by providing exceptional service and maintaining high standards of cleanliness and customer care.
I’m going to research the idea of cleaning for a straight hourly wage. I don’t like the idea of being potentially paid 100 dollars for a job that takes 8 hours. I would have to set minimums as well, I’m not thrilled with the prospect of driving 20 minutes to work for an hour, and then having to drive back. I once worked teaching chess to kids after school for 20 dollars an hour as a part time gig. It sounds great and fun on paper, but some of these schools were 35 minutes away, and the class was only an hour long. Yeah, it took me less than a month to realize I made a mistake and I got out as soon as I could. Luckily the classes were only 5 weeks long.
Getting insurance was not something I had initially considered. I feel that something like cleaning should be relatively low risk, right? Unfortunately, Californians do love to sue each other. It’s so scary to think that you could lose everything because some idiot slipped and hurt themselves on a wet floor. Dumber things have happened. I know someone who used to work for a company that did risk evaluation and litigation assistance for construction companies. I heard a lot of stories, but one that got to me was this guy who was running down the sidewalk, tripped and broke something, I can’t remember what. So he sues the owner of the house next to the sidewalk because their tree root had lifted the sidewalk and made him trip. Yes, he won the lawsuit.
So if I do this, I will shoot for a start date around January 1st 2025, since that seems like a good time to start a business. It seems like relatively little effort to at least try it out and see how it goes. Maybe I won’t get any customers because the need is not as great as I thought. More likely though, I’ll clean a few houses and the customers will be so disappointed with the results, that they don’t call back. I do not underestimate the difficulty of competing with the companies already out there. Let me know if you have tried anything like this and how it worked out. Wish me luck.
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