Steps to take when starting your house cleaning business in Nairobi
Although some of you may not agree with me, most people find that cleaning the house can be very hectic and at the same time stressful and sometimes even painful. By starting a cleaning business, you are venturing into a huge market with a large client base. There is always a need for cleaning services, which allows you to conduct business and keep each customer’s home spotless. Below is a complete guide on how to start a cleaning business from scratch.
Do the initial cleaning work yourself
When you consider how to start a house cleaning business in Nairobi or how to start a maid service, you may want to start with staffing, but one of the best ways to start is actually to do most of the work yourself. After all, you need to understand the business before you can successfully operate from a distance. One way to get the first few clients is to ask friends and family for recommendation letters or clean their houses.
Dedicating yourself to sourcing and working for the first few customers will ensure that you also keep costs low. Instead of investing in hiring workers, you can pay a reasonable salary for yourself while solving any problems in your business model and determining the company’s best practices.
By taking care of customers personally, you can also gain a good reputation and maintain control over your business image. Once the business starts to improve, you can start contracting the help of larger cleaning jobs. You may decide to outsource employees to provide services to ordinary customers while handling other aspects of the business, or you may hire employees in-house.
Formulate a reasonable cleaning business budget
Some of the questions potential cleaning company owners ask themselves are: can I start a cleaning company without money? How can I cut costs? Is it costly to start such a cleaning company? The answer is that it needs some money, but it can be much cheaper than you think to start effectively providing House cleaning services Nairobi
Doing most of the cleaning work alone will help save more money in your pocket, but the budget is more important than how many hours you work. After all, you need to invest in some supplies to make your business successful, and to track and pay for vehicle maintenance and fuel costs.
Determine a reasonable budget for your business, including replacing products and equipment when necessary. If you outsource labor, include recruitment and wage costs into the equation, but remember that as a business owner, you need to set aside funds for taxes and insurance.
The goal is to pay your hourly wages, set aside funds for cleaning equipment, and calculate estimated taxes so you can prepare for successful business ownership. If you neglect to set aside funds for taxes, your business budget will quickly disappear.
Decide what cleaning equipment to buy
Consider the types of materials and cleaning products needed to clean the customer’s house and business. You will need cleaning detergents suitable for different surfaces and spray bottles, scrubbers and scrubbers, protective gloves, disposable or reusable towels (or both), and cleaning accessories such as mops and brooms.
What type of cleaning products are you considering: Will you use bleach and other traditional cleaners in your customers’ homes, or do you plan to use environmentally friendly or other “green” products? Determine how you will prevent cross-contamination between customers’ homes—whether through the use of disposable materials or adopt strict sanitation measures—and plan accordingly when purchasing equipment.
Choose a brand name for your startup House cleaning company
Any start-up cleaning company needs to establish a brand. Choosing a brand name may just be the most enjoyable part of having a cleaning business. You can use word games, some or all of your names, weird or funny nicknames based on your geographic location or the specific type of cleaning service you provide (whether residential cleaning or commercial cleaning).
Choose a brand name for your new House cleaning company in Nairobi
Any startup cleaning company needs to establish a brand. Choosing a brand name may just be the most enjoyable part of the cleaning business. You can use word games, some or all of your name, strange or funny nicknames based on your geographic location or the specific type of cleaning service you provide (whether residential cleaning or commercial cleaning).
Set up proper permits for your cleaning business
After choosing a business name, you need to register the name to prevent others from using it. The requirements vary based on your state and local legislation, so please check to make sure you comply with local business regulations.
Your business needs a license and possibly a permit, especially if you choose to operate under a name other than your own. Depending on the laws of your state and other local requirements, you may need to apply for a business license and pay for it.
Set up proper permits for your cleaning business
After choosing a business name, you need to register the name to prevent others from using it. Requirements vary based on your state and local legislation, so please check to make sure you comply with local business regulations.
Your business needs a license, and possibly a permit, especially if you choose to operate in your own name. Depending on the laws of your state and other local requirements, you may need to apply for a business license and pay for it.
If you choose a brand name for your cleaning company, you also need to submit a DBA-Doing Business As-license. This license establishes your fictitious business name and ensures that your company operates legally.
You also need to determine whether local laws require you to purchase commercial insurance, liability insurance, or other protective measures. Working in a customer’s home is not always risk-free, so commercial insurance can help protect you and your customers when problems arise.
Start marketing your new cleaning company
After you have determined the name of the cleaning business, submitted the appropriate permits and permit documents, and purchased all cleaning supplies, it’s time to look for customers. The marketing of a cleaning company can be as simple as word of mouth, or as complicated as advertising in a local newspaper or online.
You can print flyers to promote your services, launch a website or email campaign to promote, invest in digital marketing, or post signs on your property or other locations (with permission). If you already have one or two customers, you can ask for recommendations from satisfied customers. You can even offer referral coupons or discounts to encourage existing customers to guide more work your way.
Make customer service a top priority
Cleaning is a simple task: you can remove dirt and make the surface glow. But in the customer service role, you need to put customer needs first, which means you can provide services to potential and existing customers, respond to service and quotation requests in a timely manner, and follow up with customers to ensure repeat business.
In order to effectively manage the technical aspects of the cleaning business, you need a way to communicate with your customers. Voice mail and phone services, email accounts, websites, social media pages, or a combination of all these tools can help improve a company’s outreach and customer satisfaction.
Organize with cleaning software for smooth operation
As the owner of a cleaning company, doing house cleaning, submitting permits and paperwork, and replenishing cleaning supplies may take up most of your time. But in addition to meeting customer needs and reserving supplies, you also need to track budgets, supervise employee arrangements, process customer invoices and record relevant account information, and plan taxes and other business expenses.
Compared with the paper and pen method, cleaning software can help you organize and supervise your business with less stress. Imagine even trying to save your employees or contractors’ schedules, customer lists, account notes, and payment information in a spreadsheet? Even with a systematic worksheet, it can quickly become cumbersome and confusing. All-in-one software eliminates all this confusion.
Professional cleaning business management software can also help improve your image when marketing cleaning business by requesting comments, marketing automation, customer surveys and other functions. Keeping your brand simple—from the software you use to the uniforms you and your employees wear—can do wonders for your new company’s image.
