Start up tips and advice

[Samantha taylor]

Me and my partner want to start a cleaning business, my nanna has lots of friends that need help with their houses, feel free to give us any advice on products, prices we may charge, what services are included in a standard clean etc… someone grabbed my attention when they mentioned be careful of people with copd which now I’m worried to use any old products, what’s the safest products out there please not doing deep cleans yet not until we get the hand of general house cleaning for people to work out how long things will take etc, me and my partner want to do the cleans together so we’re thinking £15 per hour minimum 2 hours for a general clean that way we can both go and get it finished in 1 hour, does that sound about right? Also is there certain important questions we ask when booking customers lol throw it all at me please I’m clueless

 

[Ken Wainwright]

Hi Samantha

I'm not in a position to advise about the work you do as my speciality is carpet cleaning. However, from a business perspective, there is an aspect of your post which needs clarification.

You need to make it clear with your customers what your fees are. So, if you are working on £15 per hour for a 2 hour job, that's £30. If the customer knows your hourly rate and two of you finish the job in one hour, they will expect to pay just £15. So....... You are charging £15 per man-hour, so two operatives equals £30 for the one hour completion. A small detail but important to get it right from the start.

 

[Jamie Biles]

Ken's spot on,you would be surprised the high percentage of people that just don't understand this. Usually with a huff and shrug of shoulders and 'oh ok'.

 

[Nick Robertson-Vousden]

2 People can't earn enough working at £15 per hour ( £7.50 each!) so per man hour would be £60 for a 2 hour job with 2 people £15x2x2.

Regards

Nick

 

[Jamie Biles]

To be fair Samantha did say minimum 2 hours but both done in an hour but this must be explained/agreed with client before proceeding.

 

[Peter McDougall]

At that price level are you not planning on taking holidays? Wheres your profit? Are you including products and disposable items such as cloths etc in that price?

I charge £25 +vat per man hour for any general cleaning my company does.

 

[Dan Woodhead]

Hi Samantha

I would double check your hourly rate.

Are you happy working for £15 per person per hour? If you work 8 hours per day that's only £120 per day and that's assuming that you work 8 hours solid. Deduct travel time, insurance, fuel and materials and that doesn't leave you with very much. Oh, and don't forget Tax and national insurance.

My advise would be to get your pricing right first. Consider your monthly and yearly expenses and factor this into your hourly rate.

Also consider developing a marketing plan and consider any associated cost involved.

Most importantly, remember that your not in business to simply take home a wage, your in business to make a profit.

All the best with your new venture.

 

[Dave Byrne]

Without sounding rude, for £15 an hour you may as well become an employee and not have the headache running a business.