That about sums up the professional home cleaning industry wouldn’t you say?
Anyone with a good set of equipment, a business license, and general liability insurance can start a home cleaning company. Go to the business section of any bookstore and in the start-up book section you will find book after book, with authors and so called “experts” writing about how easy it is to start a maid service.
Home-based cleaning services can be found in just about every book that has a title along the lines of “Top 100 Home Based Businesses”, or “Easy Businesses to Start for Under $100”, while the latter title is quite a stretch even in the most ideal situations, it is true, you can have a legitimate, legal home cleaning company for a very small amount of capital, combined with the willingness to invest a great deal of “sweat equity”.
What most, or really of all these books fail to tell you is the rest of the story. Yes, it is true that a home cleaning service can be built up rather quickly, in a matter of months you can combine hard work with great service and create a great income for yourself. If you choose to hire employees you can even experience significant growth beyond that.
What is usually left out, is that to run a professional “company”, and not creating a “job” for yourself ,it takes a wide range of skill sets, most people do not individually posses all of them. There is a vast difference between building a company and creating a job.
There are many complex relationships to navigate, everything from cleaning technicians and what all comes with that, to demanding customers. Many service owners find themselves in over their heads once the business starts to grow beyond just them. Managing and juggling the relationship aspect of a home cleaning company requires the development of a keen management style and finesse.
Another area that small service owners tend to bite off more than they can chew is in the area of finances. This area can seem very complex even with a very small company. All too often everyone is caught up in ensuring the homes are cleaned and the customers are happy and the books are a second thought, many times to the detriment of the business. It is extremely important for the owner(s) to understand cash flow, profit and loss statements, and the rest of important financial statements that paint a picture of the overall “financial health” of the business. This should serve as a road map for the future.
If you have not already read “The E Myth” by Michael Gerber, I highly suggest you get the book today! It discusses in detail how a person can love what they do, be really good at it, turn it into a business and then completely end up hating the outcome.
Okay, so it is not all gloom and doom. Running a business can be the greatest challenge you ever take on, as an individual, or as a team. If you are in a situation in your own company and you feel overwhelmed or stress from a particular area, then perhaps it is time to seek outside help with that part. If when growing your business you hit a road block, you need to decide if you apply yourself, dig in and learn the skills you need to master it, or do you look for someone to fill that seat that posses those skills.
As your company grows it will be necessary to hire others and give them responsibility. One of the greatest things you can do for your company and yourself is to recognize the parts you are good at, keep doing those, and then find others for the areas you are not!
Tags: cleaning service owners, house cleaning business, maid service, perry phillips
May 16, 2009 at 8:21 am |
My company turned one year old in December. I always wondered (from the beginning) why people write articles declaring the cleaning industry to be an “easy” business to get into stay in.
It never looked easy to me, even from the beginning. If it were easy, we would not have the high failure rate. Depending on the source you read, anywhere from 50% – 90% of all new cleaning businesses fail within the first 6 months. I believe it’s closer to 90%.
I believe that the majority who fail, do so because they failed to educate themselves or establish a solid base. They jumped up and purchased some business cards and products and somehow thought that they were in business.
Somewhere along the line, they forgot to register the business. They “forgot” to purchase liability, workers comp insurance. They even forgot to hire an employee. In effect, they become “cleaning ladies” and don’t even realize it.
If you ask them who does their payroll…..confused look on their faces. What payroll? Ask them who handles their taxes……What taxes? Ask them about how they train their employees…..What training?
Sad, indeed.