An original business with a difference to help

[stokes89]

Hi

Hope you are all doing well. I am looking at starting a new cleaning venture with a bit of a difference, seeing if this could be viable.

I use to run an exterior cleaning business with an employee so I am up to date on that side.

What I would like to offer is a whole house care cleaning package which would include cleaning, carpet cleaning, oven cleaning, bathroom & kitchen deep cleaning on a weekly or monthly basics. Obviously the options would be there for windows, gutters, patios, roofs etc. All payments on a monthly basis like a clean plan.

My thoughts are yes you have a normal pay per hour cleaner which is usually a really low rate and they do everything. Not always upto a professional standard as not using the industry standard equipment for carpets, ovens, patios etc which does make a difference in looks and speed of clean.

My target market are people who haven't got time to organise 5 different professionals for all different jobs which can take place weekly to yearly. No work is subbed out so it will all be my company employees, which I think makes a big difference. Ideally the same person each time.

I would ideally like to employee mainly term time only employees. As I know there are a lot of people struggling with childcare and mental health, I lost my exterior cleaning business due down to a break down and a mental health disability, so if I can give back that's also the purpose of this idea. Doing a brief forecast and a bit of market research a fair wage of £14 an hour could be achieved as i know i can make a healthy margin on that. I would love to give its not all about the biggest profit i can make.

So in short:

Is this a service you would consider using?

Would you be open to a monthly subscription service for this? (I personally don't like subscriptions)

Would it be convenient using the same company for all the different services? (It would be the same people to each time)

Sorry for the long post and hope it makes sense as I am dyslexic!

Thank you all for your time

 

[fisicx]

Is there a need for all this?

Even busy people have time to do a Google search and find someone to clean out the gutters.

 

[WaveJumper]

I have neighbours who have a cleaner, ironing service a gardener so yes people use multiple services, I don't think they can even screw a light bulb in themselves but thats another story. Personally I would never sign up to a monthly subscription service I am quite cable of seeking out the services I need as and when required and happy to make sure I am getting the best value for that service.

However many as you say are busy people, but pretty sure they are going to be higher net worth individuals. You are going to have to test the water and have a pretty good marketing plan in place

 

[stokes89]

Is there a need for all this?

Even busy people have time to do a Google search and find someone to clean out the gutters.

Thank you for the reply. This is why I'm possibly thinking there is a need.

We actually use to clean gutters out and sign people up on a yearly basis or a yearly text reminder to bring in repeat work. It worked perfectly!

A lot of customers were saying they don't have time to call or can't be bothered until there's a problem! We also done their windows, drives etc. This is why I'm thinking housing indoor market to.

Regarding phone calling our online quoting and booking system way out done phone calls. Saying its so much easier no faff as again saying they aren't wasting time.

Market research shows that alot who have the above services done are house proud and do take these services out yearly.

So wouldn't it be easier to do it all with the same company on the same day?

Maintaining some of those things Also will make them last longer.

Appreciate the reply though. I do take all comments on board though.

 

[stokes89]

I have neighbours who have a cleaner, ironing service a gardener so yes people use multiple services, I don't think they can even screw a light bulb in themselves but thats another story. Personally I would never sign up to a monthly subscription service I am quite cable of seeking out the services I need as and when required and happy to make sure I am getting the best value for that service.

However many as you say are busy people, but pretty sure they are going to be higher net worth individuals. You are going to have to test the water and have a pretty good marketing plan in place

Really appreciate the reply. This is my issue to, I hate subscriptions but I know some people love them and then this is where the market research is needed more. My exterior side did charge direct for windows only then pay bank transfer for the yearly services. The yearlys usually had different carpet cleaners, oven cleaners and so on. These services definitely add up over the year.

I do know a full detailed marketing plan is needed, it's very brief so far and seeing if its worth going ahead.

Thanks

 

[Fagin2021]

We have two young ladies who come in to do a clean on the second Tuesday of each month. Other things - like gutter cleaning, window cleaning I do on an ad-hoc basis with different people.

Yes, your idea could work depending on the local area, but I suspect a subscription service would be a tough sell. Better perhaps to offer a calendar service - eg. a standard clean on a designated day of each month (like us) and a deep clean every 3 or 6 months. Then a simple email reminder to the client a few days before the clean with an options list for additional services.

I'd rate the service-provider on reliability, efficiency and trust. Reliability - that they turn up when they say they will, efficiency - they do a good job and don't spend half the time on the phone to their friends, trust - they're (at first) strangers in the house.

 

[fisicx]

We get email reminders that x is now due. But I’m not so sure it all needs doing on the same day or by the same people.

Rather than offer an all in one service, focus on the domestic cleaning, laundry and ironing, garden and other things that need doing weekly. You can then upsell and offer other services like wheelie bin cleaning, pressure washing, gutters and roofs - tasks only done a couple of times each year.

We have a gardener come each month and twice a year he cuts the hedges. Ad hoc tasks for which quotes.

Not sure a subscription service would work with such a diverse range of things.

 

[stokes89]

We have two young ladies who come in to do a clean on the second Tuesday of each month. Other things - like gutter cleaning, window cleaning I do on an ad-hoc basis with different people.

Yes, your idea could work depending on the local area, but I suspect a subscription service would be a tough sell. Better perhaps to offer a calendar service - eg. a standard clean on a designated day of each month (like us) and a deep clean every 3 or 6 months. Then a simple email reminder to the client a few days before the clean with an options list for additional services.

I'd rate the service-provider on reliability, efficiency and trust. Reliability - that they turn up when they say they will, efficiency - they do a good job and don't spend half the time on the phone to their friends, trust - they're (at first) strangers in the house.

This is really helpful and gave me food for thought, much appreciated.

The subscription isn't really the upsell to people as I know it would be really hard. My thoughts behind this was we use to charge on average for a 3 bed detached drive, windows, gutters clear and clean would be just under 1k a year. Windows payed 8 weekly direct debit the rest bank transfer on completion. Started adding on carpets, ovens, deep cleans which happens you are looking at a lot more.

I really do like your idea of the reminders every few months and a easy book option though.

Reliability is key for me. That brings the point if using a number of different company's one doesn't show up say the oven cleaner but your marble floor is being polished that's a headache.

A question if you don't mind me asking? on the ad-hoc tasks to do with the exterior do you use the same company? If not, is there any reason for that as must provide it all.

Many thanks

 

[stokes89]

We get email reminders that x is now due. But I’m not so sure it all needs doing on the same day or by the same people.

Rather than offer an all in one service, focus on the domestic cleaning, laundry and ironing, garden and other things that need doing weekly. You can then upsell and offer other services like wheelie bin cleaning, pressure washing, gutters and roofs - tasks only done a couple of times each year.

We have a gardener come each month and twice a year he cuts the hedges. Ad hoc tasks for which quotes.

Not sure a subscription service would work with such a diverse range of things.

Good points again. Not everyone has to take everything it would be tailored to that individual.

No not everything has to be done on the same day but that's one of my usps I'm going for. Time and convenience.

You and your wife have profesional jobs lets say nurse, doctor etc a young family etc. Why and when do they have time to sort this? I could be spending that with my children for example. I can't wait in multiple days or different times etc.

The other usp is its all one company who caries out the services and hopefully the same 2 people. Which brings trust with people being on your property.

As said in the first post the subscription was an idea and this is why I asked for your input which has been great.







 

 

[Mark T Jones]

I'm sure there is a market- it's unlikely to be on here.

The wealthier parts of any town, particularly London would be your natural target.

 

[stokes89]

I'm sure there is a market- it's unlikely to be on here.

The wealthier parts of any town, particularly London would be your natural target.

Thanks for the reply Mark.

Living between bath and bristol I think will help a 20 mile radius around. Which helps with wealthy villages and professional family's.

Yes I doubt it will be on here but just wanted some constructive criticism. I know this is the perfect place for that.

 

[fisicx]

A lot of the services can be done with nobody at home. Cleaners get a key and outside jobs can be done anytime.

The USP of all on the same day by the same 2 people isn’t a strong selling point. Would the cleaners even be interested in doing pressure wash of the patio? Would you get them up a ladder to do the gutters? How are they going to carry all the kit in their fiat 500?

 

[stokes89]

A lot of the services can be done with nobody at home. Cleaners get a key and outside jobs can be done anytime.

The USP of all on the same day by the same 2 people isn’t a strong selling point. Would the cleaners even be interested in doing pressure wash of the patio? Would you get them up a ladder to do the gutters? How are they going to carry all the kit in their fiat 500?

Might not be a strong selling point to you as you may have plenty of it. That's not meant in a disrespectful way. Just saw you run your business and time to your lifestyle what's ideal for you.

Yes cleaners fo get a key generally when the trust is there.

Regarding the cleaners, if they don't want to under take some of those jobs they won't be employed by me simple.

Who said anything about a fiat 500? Obviously I would supply the van needed. I would definitely not send an employee out in a vechile which isn't suitable for the job or dangerous.

 

[fisicx]

I totally get what you are trying to achieve but it’s not stacking up very well.

Your cleaners coming round once a week and probably doing two properties per day don’t need a van or will want to do the outside work. The laundry and ironing doesn’t need a van but the person doing the work may not want to do the cleaning. The person doing patio pressure washing will just want to do that and already has all the kit and the van.

It’s about the practicalities of the business idea. It’s different skills and motivations of the people and the time needed to do everything at all sorts of periodicities. Creating a schedule would be very complicated.

As I said earlier, focus on the regular weekly work and upsell. Bring in specialists to do the infrequent tasks.

We get our oven cleaned twice a year. The chap has a van with all the kit installed in the back. There isn’t room for a pressure washer. Same with rug cleaner.

For you to buy all the kit and multiple vehicles only to have them unused for much of the time isn’t viable.

I used to manage a workshop that had all sorts of regular maintenance requirements. We called in specialists as necessary and looked after the high frequency work inhouse. It was the most economical way to do things.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Thanks for the reply Mark.

Living between bath and bristol I think will help a 20 mile radius around. Which helps with wealthy villages and professional family's.

Yes I doubt it will be on here but just wanted some constructive criticism. I know this is the perfect place for that.

Wealthy and time-poor (or potentially immobile, but that's risk ground)

Either high-powered jobs or time-consuming hobbies

You are effectively selling time-freedom

 

[stokes89]

I totally get where your coming from and the way you see it.
Only thing I'd say is I have done exteriors for many years and the reason people sell up or jack it is it for a couple of reasons. They find it very reparative And boring or they just can't market the business what I've been lucky to be able to do. My thoughts were if they are doing a variety of tasks it's not as boring and as say the pay will be good but also the flexibility with school hours. But that's long term thinking.

Logistics though, I totally understand and I really need to think about that more.

It maybe a non starter but this is why I need to do more market research on the idea.

 

[stokes89]

Wealthy and time-poor (or potentially immobile, but that's risk ground)

Either high-powered jobs or time-consuming hobbies

You are effectively selling time-freedom

And this is exactly one of the reasons I asked on here!

I did think about immobile grounds etc but I don't think I want the headache and paper work what will come with that.

Just that last sentence though had gave me a lot more ideas on how to market the service.

Many thanks

 

[fisicx]

My thoughts were if they are doing a variety of tasks it's not as boring and as say the pay will be good but also the flexibility with school hours.

Does the cleaner of the ironing lady want to do pressure washing? Does the rug cleaning chap want to do the dusting?

Maybe you and a mate need to set up the first few contracts and do everything yourselves. Test the viability of the business.

 

[stokes89]

Does the cleaner of the ironing lady want to do pressure washing? Does the rug cleaning chap want to do the dusting?

Maybe you and a mate need to set up the first few contracts and do everything yourselves. Test the viability of the business.

Like I said they aren't self employed. If they don't want the job don't apply simple as that. It's an employed position, why apply for the job if don't want to do it. Ideal person would be who doesn't want to work in a shop and doing all different tasks and flexible school hours.

I will be doing it myself again starting of definitely not with a friend made that mistake before!

I think i will test the market as i think this will be the best way to see. Many thanks for your time much appreciated.

 

[fisicx]

I get that, but cleaners apply for cleaning vacancies. Gardeners apply for gardening jobs. I’m not sure you will find people who want to do everything.

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there is a whole bunch of potential candidates out there. A bit of market research will reveal the answer.

 

[Shopclicks]

I think what you need is an online booking service. One place where people can book all the services you offer (no subscription).
They enter the date that suits them.
They tick the services they require on that date.
They enter their details or login to their account.
The booking system calculates the cost based on the services and location. (You may need conditional logic to avoid double booking).
They either pay when they book or you send an invoice.

You then know who to send and what equipment they need. Not sure it gets much more efficient than that.
Key safes are ideal for this (that's how Airbnb co-hosts do it).

 

[stokes89]

Thank you for your reply.

This is similar of how I used to do the smaller external cleaning quotes. It was like an quoting tool where we had set prices for certain size property's then it would calculate the cost. It would also show other services and prices for gutter cleaning for example which they could book together.

I know some people still love picking up the phone but this was people's preferred method and outsold 10 to 1 to the calls at least. And I use to ask why and it was always time or more convenient, I would email a date or call after.

I do really like the idea of selecting dates and services for certain days. And to solve a logistics issue I suppose it would be possible to only pick dates on certain areas which are in certian radiuses?

I really appreciate the reply and not sure why I didn't think of it!

 

[Shopclicks]

I do really like the idea of selecting dates and services for certain days. And to solve a logistics issue I suppose it would be possible to only pick dates on certain areas which are in certian radiuses?

For SEO purposes you would have separate location/booking pages set up for regions ie. Bristol, Keynsham, Bath and any other major centres. Location based pages will help you rank outside of your base. You can align your availability to each region.
Your Google Business Profile is going to be crucial and you can set your various locations and services to optimise your reach.

You can automate reminder emails, target clients with services they haven't used, send 'tell a friend' special offers, etc.

 

[fisicx]

@Shopclicks that’s not going to be a simple website to set up and manage.

For example suppose the power washer is booked at 10am on Monday for two hours. Someone else wants to book at 12 but the location is an hour away and the ladders to clean the gutters are on the other side of town and not available.

It’s possible to build but not going to be cheap.

Far better to begin with a simple cleaning business and expand should demand for extra services be there.

 

[stokes89]

@Shopclicks that’s not going to be a simple website to set up and manage.

For example suppose the power washer is booked at 10am on Monday for two hours. Someone else wants to book at 12 but the location is an hour away and the ladders to clean the gutters are on the other side of town and not available.

It’s possible to build but not going to be cheap.

Far better to begin with a simple cleaning business and expand should demand for extra services be

@Shopclicks that’s not going to be a simple website to set up and manage.

For example suppose the power washer is booked at 10am on Monday for two hours. Someone else wants to book at 12 but the location is an hour away and the ladders to clean the gutters are on the other side of town and not available.

It’s possible to build but not going to be cheap.

Far better to begin with a simple cleaning business and expand should demand for extra services be there.

Oh 100% I would test the theory before jumping down that route. There is software pre made for this industry which they can customise at a cost naturally.

If multiple services are booked together though this gives room for discounts etc as Will be at the property longer. This was part of the idea to have the services done together from a business point of view.

I can see you build financial wordpress plugins and sites so understand the costs aren't cheap. I am a realist when comes to costs and I know developers time isn't cheap!

 

[WaveJumper]

I think what you need is an online booking service. One place where people can book all the services you offer (no subscription).
They enter the date that suits them.
They tick the services they require on that date.
They enter their details or login to their account.
The booking system calculates the cost based on the services and location. (You may need conditional logic to avoid double booking).
They either pay when they book or you send an invoice.

You then know who to send and what equipment they need. Not sure it gets much more efficient than that.
Key safes are ideal for this (that's how Airbnb co-hosts do it).

Like this idea

 

[stokes89]

@Shopclicks that’s not going to be a simple website to set up and manage.

For example suppose the power washer is booked at 10am on Monday for two hours. Someone else wants to book at 12 but the location is an hour away and the ladders to clean the gutters are on the other side of town and not available.

It’s possible to build but not going to be cheap.

Far better to begin with a simple cleaning business and expand should demand for extra services be

For SEO purposes you would have separate location/booking pages set up for regions ie. Bristol, Keynsham, Bath and any other major centres. Location based pages will help you rank outside of your base. You can align your availability to each region.
Your Google Business Profile is going to be crucial and you can set your various locations and services to optimise your reach.

You can automate reminder emails, target clients with services they haven't used, send 'tell a friend' special offers, etc.

The seo I would have no clue how to do correctly I don't thinkand wouldn't want to Learn how, i do know i would need to pay.

My previous ways advertising were google ads where my roi was roughly 7x ad spend but that was exterior only. Facebook ads was OK but I didn't see as good return.

 

[Shopclicks]

For example suppose the power washer is booked at 10am on Monday for two hours. Someone else wants to book at 12 but the location is an hour away and the ladders to clean the gutters are on the other side of town and not available.

It’s possible to build but not going to be cheap.

Far better to begin with a simple cleaning business and expand should demand for extra services be there.

Sure the OP could start small and grow the business. But it's part of the cost of doing business. And not a huge investment.
The website could grow alongside the business (start with Bristol and gradually spread to the entire catchment).
Anyway, just something to think about.

The seo I would have no clue how to do correctly I don't thinkand wouldn't want to Learn how, i do know i would need to pay.

Local SEO isn't expensive or necessarily ongoing.

 

[iconic]

OP,

I run an exterior cleaning business, mainly window and gutter cleaning. Most of our work is domestic, but in 2023 we concentrated on gaining more commercial work in order to get more of a balance.

Just out of interest why did you stop your exterior cleaning business, and what do you do at the moment?

With regards to your idea, funnily enough I had the exact same idea a few months ago... I think that if focussed on and marketed well it would work. I just haven't given it much thought since thinking of the idea, and probably won't ever do it as I've also recently setup a completely non cleaning related business which is slowly taking up more of my time.

As others have said the problem would come about where your staff would be expected to be a "jack of all trades", this would mean quality of work would be an issue which would straight away throw a spanner in the works.

Within my idea when I was thinking about it I would look down the avenue of perhaps employing general house cleaners for the weekly work, but then sub out the extras such as gutter cleaning etc.. But in future as the business grows employ specific members of staff for specific jobs.

I was thinking of offering these services: General house cleaning / window cleaning / gutter cleaning / pressure washing / garden maintenance / chimney sweeping / oven cleaning all on a monthly subscription basis with the cost being based on what services the customer picks to use.

I think it can be done, but would need to be done well.

I could see your role being a massive fire fighting role in that you'd be spinning lots of different service plates for different customers all at once, making sure all services were being carried out properly.

 

[stokes89]

OP,

I run an exterior cleaning business, mainly window and gutter cleaning. Most of our work is domestic, but in 2023 we concentrated on gaining more commercial work in order to get more of a balance.

Just out of interest why did you stop your exterior cleaning business, and what do you do at the moment?

With regards to your idea, funnily enough I had the exact same idea a few months ago... I think that if focussed on and marketed well it would work. I just haven't given it much thought since thinking of the idea, and probably won't ever do it as I've also recently setup a completely non cleaning related business which is slowly taking up more of my time.

As others have said the problem would come about where your staff would be expected to be a "jack of all trades", this would mean quality of work would be an issue which would straight away throw a spanner in the works.

Within my idea when I was thinking about it I would look down the avenue of perhaps employing general house cleaners for the weekly work, but then sub out the extras such as gutter cleaning etc.. But in future as the business grows employ specific members of staff for specific jobs.

I was thinking of offering these services: General house cleaning / window cleaning / gutter cleaning / pressure washing / garden maintenance / chimney sweeping / oven cleaning all on a monthly subscription basis with the cost being based on what services the customer picks to use.

I think it can be done, but would need to be done well.

I could see your role being a massive fire fighting role in that you'd be spinning lots of different service plates for different customers all at once, making sure all services were being carried out properly.

I unfortunately had a breakdown due down to mental health.
It has been a 2 year recovery period and now I feel ready to start again. With what I had learned through the 13 years external cleaning, I think I see a gap in the current market in the cleaning industry.

Ideally, I wouldn't want to sub as I don't know the quality of their work. And it would be more of a headache organising those people, knowing how reliable they are. This is taking away my usps Time saving, convenient and reliable.

It could be a slight issue with Jack of all trades but if they have proper training in the different cleaning industry's, it's their day in day out job. So not doing a pressure washing jobs for 5 days solid, it would be a mix.

I'm not sure if you have noticed being in the external cleaning market more multi van operators are moving into carpets, ovens etc as well as their current external cleaning?

My worry is with the commercial market is your have a 100k contract today and it's gone tomorrow due to shutting, that's a massive hit! With staffing etc.

I'm interested to know did you find the window cleaning, gutters and externals boring, is that why you have moved your self more away from the industry?

Many thanks

 

[iconic]

I unfortunately had a breakdown due down to mental health.
It has been a 2 year recovery period and now I feel ready to start again. With what I had learned through the 13 years external cleaning, I think I see a gap in the current market in the cleaning industry.

Ideally, I wouldn't want to sub as I don't know the quality of their work. And it would be more of a headache organising those people, knowing how reliable they are. This is taking away my usps Time saving, convenient and reliable.

It could be a slight issue with Jack of all trades but if they have proper training in the different cleaning industry's, it's their day in day out job. So not doing a pressure washing jobs for 5 days solid, it would be a mix.

I'm not sure if you have noticed being in the external cleaning market more multi van operators are moving into carpets, ovens etc as well as their current external cleaning?

My worry is with the commercial market is your have a 100k contract today and it's gone tomorrow due to shutting, that's a massive hit! With staffing etc.

I'm interested to know did you find the window cleaning, gutters and externals boring, is that why you have moved your self more away from the industry?

Many thanks

I'm sorry to hear about your breakdown OP, I'm glad that your ready to go again now!

I get what you mean about not subbing work out... I just struggle to see someone cleaning toilets at one job and then on their next job that day they are pressure washing a patio? Maybe you need different employees for internal and external work?

I haven't noticed that about multi van operators in my area (Surrey) as yet... Although window cleaning / gutter cleaning has become a saturated market, so it doesn't surprise me that similar businesses are adding more services.

I also get what you mean about commercial work... In my view its a "nice to have" as it pays more than domestic work. However, domestic is our bread and butter and always will be.

I would find the work boring if I was out covering the manual work 5 days a week... But I've now managed to get a balance whereby I mainly manage the business now, and carry out the manual work 1 - 2 days a week, which I really enjoy doing because I can pick and choose what I do and where I go.

I started up a new business as I am currently training to be a psychotherapist... The new business I have started is an agency for online counselling / therapy.

My goal is to move away from the cleaning business over the next few years (but still own it) and concentrate on my agency business and own psychotherapy private practice.

 

[stokes89]

I'm sorry to hear about your breakdown OP, I'm glad that your ready to go again now!

I get what you mean about not subbing work out... I just struggle to see someone cleaning toilets at one job and then on their next job that day they are pressure washing a patio? Maybe you need different employees for internal and external work?

I haven't noticed that about multi van operators in my area (Surrey) as yet... Although window cleaning / gutter cleaning has become a saturated market, so it doesn't surprise me that similar businesses are adding more services.

I also get what you mean about commercial work... In my view its a "nice to have" as it pays more than domestic work. However, domestic is our bread and butter and always will be.

I would find the work boring if I was out covering the manual work 5 days a week... But I've now managed to get a balance whereby I mainly manage the business now, and carry out the manual work 1 - 2 days a week, which I really enjoy doing because I can pick and choose what I do and where I go.

I started up a new business as I am currently training to be a psychotherapist... The new business I have started is an agency for online counselling / therapy.

My goal is to move away from the cleaning business over the next few years (but still own it) and concentrate on my agency business and own psychotherapy private practice.

What a coincidence that is! I have just finished my therapy just shy of 2 years worth. I wish you the best of luck, I admire anyone who does this to truly help people.

I do have a worry of them not wanting to do certian jobs. My thought is the pay will make up for it and the flexiablity, so if i can find the right people it may work.

I to noticed the market is becoming more saturated, I believe this is because jobs just aren't paying enough and people need flexibility.
This Is also why I think if you are offering all this and trust, reliability and quality of service why go anywhere else?

I think the bread and butter will always be the domestic market to. But commercial does pay nice and opens other avenues.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Been meaning to reply to this one all weekend. To be honest I couldn't disagree more with the suggestions to start a booking platform etc. Sounds not only costly and difficult to build, but incredibly costly to market and gain any traction.

I really think this idea has some merit if, as mentioned above, you target busy, high net worth couples and individuals. Don't have a "one size fits all" policy where you offer everybody a service for £99 a month or whatever. Do it as a tailored, custom service for each customer and quote accordingly. Visit to their home to assess the size, work required etc. I'd strongly suggest including gardening, plus you may find other things - such as swimming pool / hot tub maintenance I suspect could be common. "Subscription" sounds a bit naff, but "Managed Maintenance Service" doesn't.

Also understand your reluctance to sub things out but I think you would have no choice, but could work to vet and get to know a few key contractors and try to use them for bigger jobs if you're planning in advance. You could potentially put yourself in the position as manager/logistics rather than the hands on of the actual cleaning, where you are co-ordinating peoples boring chores and as mentioned above essentially selling the idea of free time.

Would I use you earning my current average/good salary but living in a rented 2 bed stone cottage? No. Would I be interested if (hopefully one day!) I'm living in a million £ house with a bit of land and 5 bedrooms to look after not to mention the on-site gym and pool....yep, me personally I definitely would! If I knew my cleaning was being done once a week and I got the occasional text "Hi John, just to let you know your winter patio jetwash / annual gutter clean / 6-monthly oven clean is due, we'll do it on 24th Feb unless that causes a problem" etc etc I'd happily pay you my money every month.

On a much (MUCH!) smaller scale I employed a friend to do my cleaning a couple of years back. Do I need her for an hour and a half every week? Not really, if I'm honest - especially when sometimes if I've been working away I might have only been in the house a day or 2 between visits. But she comes round - and this was very much a friendly joke between us - to give my house "a womans touch". She cleans what's required, if she has more time one week she might clean out the cubboards and do a deep clean on them. She will put a wash on or take washing out of the machine and hang it up, she'll change the bedding, she even has free reign to rearrange bits of things as she sees fit and has done so more than once Some of my friends and family have even questioned why I'm paying her but the honest answer is, for the sake of £25 a week I don't have to worry about it. I really, really cannot be arsed getting my marigolds on on a Saturday morning and scrubbing the toilet or sink. it's quite nice to come home from working away to a freshly made bed. And that to me is worth the money - it would be the same for many people on a bigger scale.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Another slight tangent but sort of relevant - one of my very good friends is now a self made millionaire. All through cleaning swimming pools! He worked for the local leisure centre, found a natural "knack" for understanding chemical balancing, how pools work etc and he realised (this still surprises me even now) that nobody was offering a "daily maintenance" service for pools. These pools in leisure centres and private gyms were relying on cheap, inexperienced labour for people to do the pH checking & testing, adjusting the dosing etc hence forever having problems. So he offered to basically do it for them - got himself set up in a little second hand Citroen Berlingo with some testing equipment and he would drive to each pool twice daily doing the maintenance records. He then very quickly started to pick up private clients, and counted numerous Manchester United / Manchester City / Liverpool players and managers on his books around the Cheshire area. With them it didn't need daily, but he would go weekly to check & balance the pool and of course these people thought nothing of paying him £300 - £400 a month for the privilege. Yes, it was costing them £100 a visit - but it took away them ever having to think about maintaining their swimming pool when their time is worth so much more than that. If there ever was a problem, my mate would diagnose it, tell them the issue, tell them how much and how long to fix it and they'd invariably say yes.


His business has grown massively from there and the daily maintenance that started it all off is actually now a tiny portion of the business compared to pool refurbishment, building etc. But that's what started it off - selling organisations less breakdowns, and selling individuals more free time.

 

[fisicx]

In other words, start niche rather than an all in one service. Then expand the business.

Also agree on the personal touch. I’d expect you to visit, do the assessment and tell me how much to do x y z.

I build plugins but it’s always after talking to the client to understand their needs. Because I take the time to understand their business they keep coming back for updates and new projects.

It’s no different for a cleaning service.

 

[Shopclicks]

Sounds not only costly and difficult to build, but incredibly costly to market and gain any traction.

For the benefit of the OP, none of this is necessarily the case. I'm not sure how much Buster paid for their last website but 'sounds costly' and 'difficult to build' doesn't seem like experience talking. And I'm really not sure how marketing the same product, whether or not you have a website is going to be 'incredibly costly'. What I can say is, having a good website can take care of local search. Unless of course people have stopped using Google and nobody told me.

I really think this idea has some merit if, as mentioned above, you target busy, high net worth couples and individuals.

That sounds easy and not at all 'costly'.

 

[stokes89]

In other words, start niche rather than an all in one service. Then expand the business.

Also agree on the personal touch. I’d expect you to visit, do the assessment and tell me how much to do x y z.

I build plugins but it’s always after talking to the client to understand their needs. Because I take the time to understand their business they keep coming back for updates and new projects.

It’s no different for a cleaning service.

Yes, I will want to start on a small scale, but the idea is to offer these multiple services in on, that is the niche idea. I do see where your coming from, so I may rent bits of equipment if needed this saves on the massive outlay spoke about previously. And this can go into the marketing.

I would definitely be doing a in person visit before. I have always used rough guide prices on previous site to weed out the time wasters.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

For the benefit of the OP, none of this is necessarily the case. I'm not sure how much Buster paid for their last website but 'sounds costly' and 'difficult to build' doesn't seem like experience talking. And I'm really not sure how marketing the same product, whether or not you have a website is going to be 'incredibly costly'. What I can say is, having a good website can take care of local search. Unless of course people have stopped using Google and nobody told me.


That sounds easy and not at all 'costly'.

It;s not trying to market the same thing though, is it? The OP has specifically asked for feedback on "a whole house care cleaning package". That's what I've given feedback on, in particular the target clientele that would value that kind of service and how I would suggest to approach it - with my marketing experience - to make it appealing to that niche, high value market.

What you have suggested is an online booking platform...which is absolutely not what the OP asked about.

Building a website booking platform and then trying to market it location by location using SEO and hoping people start to book ad-hoc jobs..... or getting a smart outfit on, some decent brochures/portfolio, and doing some networking or knocking on doors in wealthy areas. I know which one sounds the least expensive to me.

 

[Shopclicks]

Building a website booking platform and then trying to market it location by location using SEO and hoping people start to book ad-hoc jobs..... or getting a smart outfit on, some decent brochures/portfolio, and doing some networking or knocking on doors in wealthy areas. I know which one sounds the least expensive to me.

These two marketing tactics are not mutually exclusive.

What I would like to offer is a whole house care cleaning package which would include cleaning, carpet cleaning, oven cleaning, bathroom & kitchen deep cleaning on a weekly or monthly basics.

What you have suggested is an online booking platform...which is absolutely not what the OP asked about.

What I suggested was an efficient marketing tool for @stokes89 to do exactly what they asked for.

 

[stokes89]

It;s not trying to market the same thing though, is it? The OP has specifically asked for feedback on "a whole house care cleaning package". That's what I've given feedback on, in particular the target clientele that would value that kind of service and how I would suggest to approach it - with my marketing experience - to make it appealing to that niche, high value market.

What you have suggested is an online booking platform...which is absolutely not what the OP asked about.

Building a website booking platform and then trying to market it location by location using SEO and hoping people start to book ad-hoc jobs..... or getting a smart outfit on, some decent brochures/portfolio, and doing some networking or knocking on doors in wealthy areas. I know which one sounds the least expensive to me.

Thanks for your previous response, some reason it would not let me reply on that comment! This is it, a home care cleaning package pretty much, I would say its like a home maintenance service but for cleaning.

Its wired how you mentioned pool maintenance and gardening as that was on the drawing board. The only reason I'm split on the idea of subbing as I'm not 95% in control of it, I say that, as can't be 100% of everything., but I'm relying on their time.

Definitely wealthier individuals are my target market, even households with nanny's etc. Yes they can clean but do they no the carpets etc, doubtful the will have a company coming in. They also wont be cleaning the exterior i doubt. Most have people who take care of their property's maintenance wise which they pay fees to monthly. Anything cleaning related they contact us or its scheduled in by us.

I know, in theory its only a cleaning business but this is why I asked for a bit of input, as I want to grow it as a business and not a job.

Thanks