We continues with our series about how to make money with side hustles or small business ideas that do not requires a lot of money down. If you want to share how you make money your way, please drop me a line, info@makemoneyyourway.com.
Today I would like to talk about cleaning services. We live in a world where people do not have a lot of time between jobs, raising kids, commuting and having a life, cleaning services are often the first thing people hire out when they start making a little more money. Here is your chance to earn a little more!
Home cleaning services
When I was working full time, I had a cleaning lady coming to my apartment once a week to do a deep clean of the place. Then during the week, I would only have to do a load of laundry and superficial cleaning. When I lived in Guatemala, the cleaning lady even made food for the next few days. It saved a lot of time.
I hired the cleaners by word of mouth, and ended up hiring my neighbor’s who had some free time to come clean my place. If you are on the other side of the equation, that means you should be treating each job like a potential platform to more jobs, and do the best you can to leave a good impression on your employer. Chances are they live in an affluent neighborhood where other people need cleaners, or have friends with similar means who could hire you too.
In the UK, I hired a cleaner via internet. Even when I lived with roommate, the lady would come and do my turn of the house chores, and yes I am very spoiled and lucky to have been able to afford cleaners in my early 20s, but I also value my time, as I had half a dozen freelance gigs going on top of a day job, I was able to be more efficient and earn more doing other jobs and paying for a cleaner than cleaning myself. I am not of the people who find it a relaxing and soothing activity… But back to the point. When I was looking for a cleaner online, I noticed two kinds of cleaners: corporate and private.
Private cleaners are just students or young mums looking to make extra money. They charge less, do not give you an invoice, generally ask for cash, and do not bring their products.
Cleaners who come on behalf of a company are more expensive, they can give you an invoice if that is a tax deductible item for you, and tend to do a better job.
If you want to work for a cleaning company, you will make less than if you charge cash on your own, but you will have that income count for your unemployment benefits, social security, and so on. The company may even have other incentives for their workers, like paid sick days and holidays. Consider the whole package before you make your mind.
What bothered me about private ads online is the person rarely published the rates on the ad. So you had to email, wait (sometimes for a while, or no answer at all) to hear back with the rates, while the company usually had all the info on the website. Make sure you make an informative ad with your details, maybe even a picture, and your rates. If people inquire, offer to give references, they will rarely check but they will feel safe.
I paid my cleaner $15 per hour but the market rate will depend on the neighborhood, how many hours you take, both per week and at a time, since it cost more in gas or bus fare for someone to come for two hours than the whole day, and how often they want you to clean. If they want a monthly deep clean, you can charge as much as twice the rate of a weekly clean, so make sure you have all the details before giving an exact quote.
The main advantage about cleaning is nothing more than two arms (did you see that 2 Broke Girls episode where the cleaner they hired has one arm because they can’t afford one with two?) and some motivation is needed. You can put your ad up for free online or at the local store.
Window cleaning
Starting a window cleaning company requires a bit more to get set up. In most neighborhoods, even office buildings are one or two stories high, and having a telescopic handle to clean the higher windows will be your main investment, on top of cleaning products. Again, this is a service most companies are happy to hire out, so you just have to go around and offer your services. Starting your own website can prove useful if you are in a small town, try to Google “Window cleaning + name of your town”, if nothing appears apart from Yellow Pages, creating your own page will allow you to rank first and be seen by companies looking for that service.
A great way to hook the company is to offer a monthly plan, and a discount for paying a year in advance. Unlike a gym membership, they will get the full 12 months worth of cleaning, as nothing is required on their side, but you secure your business for the months to come.
Considering you will be working on third party grounds, you should be properly insured to do the job, and have a liability insurance. Operating as a company will be more expensive to set up, but your responsibility will be limited in case something goes wrong so it is worth the expense rather than going self employed.
Especially if you take the business one step further and invest in scaffoldings to clean higher buildings. Buying a van and the necessary materials can be a bit expensive, so you may want to finance via companies like BusinessLoansDirect.com to have all you need to start working from day 1.
Car wash stand
A car wash stand is the typical way for kids to make extra money during the summer, and only requires a hose and a few cleaning products. I wouldn’t recommend you do it for more than a weekend to raise money for a good cause, as it may bother your neighbors and you are not properly set up for more.
However, if you have some empty space on your property, you could look into installing a real car wash. Some are pretty basic and coin operated so no action is required on your side, you just have to check everything is working properly once in a while and empty the coin machine. My favorite automated business would be a Laundromat if I owned commercial real estate in a town center, but out in the suburbs it would probably be a car wash.
Office cleaning
Cleaning offices is a great side gig because you will be cleaning the place when people are not working, i.e. nights and weekends. Usually you get a rotation, or a whole floor in a big building, no one else is there to bother you, and when your job is done, you can go home, regardless of the hours you worked. It fits great around a student schedule or as a second job, unlike house cleaning that is generally required during the day.
Again, you can work for yourself or on behalf of a company, with similar pros and cons to working alone or not for home cleaning.
This post was featured on the Financial Camaraderie, Carnival of Money Pros, thank you!
I cleaned houses while I was a student in my early 20’s and it was very lucrative. I only did it a few days a week but I made more money than I ever could have at a part-time job.
Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted…Reward yourself for good spending habits
Ugh what a pain that private cleaners don’t post their rates! Sometimes I wonder how people get jobs when they miss basic things like posting how much they charge. Anyway, I think cleaning services is comparable to other freelance gigs – you can do it as much or as little as you want.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted…4 Tips for Becoming a Full Time Blogger
I have cleaned cars in the past. It is hard work and not very lucrative. You can still earn some money, but it is a crowded marketplace these days.
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I used to clean my own car before. Starting only last two years I pay someone in our car park to clean my car. I realized the value of my time and it is not wort it to save few dollars but you waste 30 minutes of your time.
I recently did a mystery shop for a cleaning company and like you said, they brought everything they needed except the vacuum and bucket (as they came via public transit so couldn’t carry everything). I noticed the clean was thorough and they seemed to encourage me to want to sign up as a regular client. I’m sure she made less money as being employed through the company but like you said, she also had job security in that she didn’t have to advertise the services herself.
If I had less debt, I would be a fan of a cleaning service on a more regular basis. While I am not as busy freelancing as you are, when I’ve got a busy day job, it’s hard to have the motivation to clean at home. I’d rather have more time to relax with my friends and husband.
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That is an awesome mystery shop gig 🙂
Hey Pauline!
I think being a freelance cleaner of other people’s homes IS a great way to make some decent cash, but one needs a thick skin when dealing with some less than appreciative folks who may be a little too finicky!
Also, I had a female friend who had to stop cleaning because there were too mnay clients trying to hit on her. Sad really ’cause she was making decent cash.
Now I realize that this may not be everyone’e experience, but it is something to consider in our less than perfect world 🙁
Take care and all the best.
Lyle
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Hey Lyle, I had no idea people hitting on your were that frequent. Here in Guatemala there are tons of stories of the boss going with the maid, including getting the maid pregnant and then firing her… It is really sad, but I guess that is a plus for us to provide a safe environment for our staff as they would stay longer with us, knowing other patrons are worse.
Here in the UK, when I see jobs advertised for a cleaner as part of an organisation, the rates are barely minimum wage. However, I agree that setting up your own cleaning business can be very lucrative and the great thing about it is that the more clients you can take on, the more you earn. It’s possible to make a decent income (providing you do a good job that is!).
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I could imagine that house cleaning would pay pretty well. I like the idea of saving time so I would be open to hiring a cleaning person for my own house.. however I don’t think I have the income to support that just yet!
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My cleaner in the UK was about $20 per hour and came two hours a week, which was enough to keep the place nice. It wasn’t a ton of money and I made more with side jobs so preferred that rather than cleaning.
Pauline, I would love to find someone to do cleaning and make meals like the one you had in Guatemala, but somehow I think that would be unaffordable. Yea, cleaning service has low barrier to entry, but I think people are fickle and likely change this type of need often.
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Another business idea: do healthy meals in small freezable portions and sell to the neighbors 🙂 It is quite nice to have meals prepared although now I only ask the maid to prepare a few things I never do well, like rice, and most of the cooking I do myself as I enjoy it. She cleans after though!
Part of my “work” as being my friend’s personal assistant when I have time is to clean his place. It’s not that bad if I’m there more often but man if I haven’t been there in awhile! It’s gross. 🙂 But it’s a great way to make a little extra money.
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I totally agree, it’s all about the cleaning services industry. In the United States alone it’s over a $50B industry. Why not go out and get your piece of the pie!? It’s all about relationships. You really just need to go out, pound the pavement and be respectful! And clean like a machine!
Cathy Sanders @How to Start and Grow a Profitable Cleaning Business recently posted…The Best Way to Clean Grout and Impress Your Clients
The task of house cleaning might sound a tad too mundane but it pays to keep a house spic and span. Cleanliness at home helps in improving quality of life in terms of better hygiene and orderliness. A cleaning service either for an office or home can make the place look as good as new.
I currently need my house windows cleaned for me. It really makes sense to me that you suggest hiring a young mother or young married couple to help clean your home. In a lot of ways, it kills two birds with one stone. The home gets clean and these young married people are receiving extra cash at the most needed time in their lives.
Pauline, it’s quite interesting to know the difference about private cleaners and commercial cleaning services. It seems like the cleaning crew from the commercial cleaning services are the ones that do additional work. Such as cleaning big window building like the one shown in the first picture.
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Cleaning services is the kind of business which always going to be in demand… Even courses also available to get qualified trained “Cleaning Worker”… Nowadays lots of cleaning products & equipment also available to provide high quality “Cleanliness”.
Thanks for sharing,Pauline.
Great post! It’s the ultimate deep cleaning tips list. So much helpful and useful information gathered on one place. Thank you for sharing ! I’m definitely recommending your article to my friends and colleagues.
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This is a valuable information to base our decisions with making money with. Thank you for sharing a good one! Keep it coming.
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I agree that residential or commercial cleaning can be a good option for a job. Like you said, even if you’re a student, commercial cleaning can be a great job since it usually takes up the off hours. While professional cleaning doesn’t appeal to me, I admire all those who do make it their profession. Thanks for the information.
Hiring a cleaning service I think is a great idea if you can put it into your budget. That is awesome that cleaning services are in pretty high demand for businesses. I like that hiring a cleanings service can really affect the office demeanor.
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The easiest way to earn money without any stress or degree is cleaning service job. This is the work which everyone knows like to clean house,cars,windows,etc. People are involved in competition to earn money as much as they can. In any free time they can do this job, without any qualification and experience. Adorable idea !
It is nice to know the run down of a typical day in the janitorial or cleaning service atmosphere. I am amazed at the extent of what is able to be cleaned and how they are able to be so timely. That is interesting that each cleaning service is unique and different in it’s own way.
As an owner and cleaner for my own cleaning service I love this article! There are all kinds of options that can make some decent cash with cleaning.
Made a greater sense. I know you are going to reach further of your blogging career.
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Consider a litter cleanup service outside commercial properties. Almost as easy as a walk in the park! I’ve been making a six figure income yearly for over 35 years, and you can do the same. http://www.cleanlots.com
This is one of the most informative information I’ve read. It really helps a lot.
Wow!
The post is really helpful .
I must say that thrash disposal is one of the most significant aspects of maintaining environmental cleanliness.
Garbage dumping in landfills and unoccupied lands affect the people living thereabouts. Due to the emission of toxic gases they have high risks of acquiring various forms of cancer and other deadly diseases.
These injurious health effects can be prevented through proper waste management strategies.
The best idea to do cleaning is hire a waste collection company.
A dump company will send out the most professional crews to remove every single piece of garbage that you don’t want around.
Thanks a lot for sharing this great information.
Keep doing good work.
God Bless U Buddy !
Hello Pauline,
Thanks for your great post regarding cleaning services.
Yeah, i am totally agree with all of your point. By profession, i am domestic cleaners. i have a small team with 12 cleaners. 80% staff are uni or college students and getting extra cash during weekend or holidays.
I believe that cleaning services is the best way to earn some cash money. However , cleaning services are bit hard job than other non-skilled jobs .
Best Regards
Arran
Hi,
I really like your post!
You have shared such a nice post that how we can earn from various house cleaning services. It is really very impressive.This carpet cleaning business is something that the average person can really do without a big amount of education or spending.I am really very greatful to have this post. Keep sharing such post.
Thank you so much for such a nice post!
Regards
Adedc
Starting to offer local domestic cleaning services and perhaps even commercial cleaning services is a great way to make money. Many people will do this when they are made redundant and have a shoestring budget to live on until their unemployment payment begins (if they’re even eligible)
It’s also good because for domestic cleaning companies and commercial cleaning companies your only real expenses are cloths, sponges, buckets, mops, vinegar, spray bottle and dish washer soap.. That’s what I started with, anyway!
Paul recently posted…Why should you hire local cleaning companies?
After going through the given post i am thinking to do a part time job in cleaning services.Very happy to find this post as i need money urgently.Thank you very much for sharing!
You have a very inventive way of approaching finding a service that fits your needs. The point about insurance will probably be helpful for your readers.
You make a nice distinction between house cleaning and office cleaning. Knowing that one is typically required in the middle of the day can help people determine which is best for them.
I think Commercial cleaning is more beneficial.