CLEANING UP PROFITS

CLEANING UP PROFITS

The continuing growth of families with two paychecks is a good indication

that maid services are booming. Two paychecks also mean that time is limited

for busy families. In fact, more than their cleaning skills or the type of cleaning

equipment they use, the success of maid service is premised on two factors:

time and convenience. With both husband and wife working, neither of the couple

has the time nor the energy to do housework.

Plus, the principle of delegated labor simply suggests that"...if the work

that needs to be done can be farmed out to someone who will do it for less

than what you can earn given the same amount of time needed to do the job,

it is better to pay someone else to do the job for you. If for anything else, doing

housework fits that description.

A CLEAN SYSTEM

Knowing how to clean a house is no guarantee of success in the housecleaning

business. The key to a successful cleaning business is good organization and

systematic process that lends to an efficient cleaning routine.

Most maid service operators recommend the team system, with two to three

maids in a team who visit the same accounts, homes or businesses, every week

or every day.Teams divide their chores, rotating tasks among team members, from

one account to the next, in order to reduce monotony.

GETTING STARTED

In finding clientele, target your advertising efforts, in terms of both the

demographic and geographic distribution of your desired audience.

Although maid service is no longer for the rich, it is not for low-income

markets either. You must be aware of where your prospective accounts are

located, on which zip codes to focus your efforts.

When setting up your rate structure, consider your hourly fee per employee

and estimate how long a cleaning will take.Provide a base rate while allowing

for optional services at extra charge. When meeting with clients for the first time,

try to up sell add-on services.