Commercial Cleaning Service

There will always be a need for commercial cleaning services. Offices are only one piece of a prosperous pie: You can also count apartment buildings, retail shops, and even health clubs among your best customers. Starting small with a home-based cleaning business will keep your overhead low, allowing you to reach a break even point much more quickly. You can even branch out to several locations by offering some of your best employees their own territory. If you’re willing to put in the time and energy necessary to continually win new clients (while keeping the old ones clean and happy), you can enjoy a very healthy income doing something that is relatively easy. Best of all, you can set your own hours.


If you want to promote yourself as an environmentally friendly cleaning service, you will likely spend a little bit more for your cleaning solutions; however, you can easily recoup this in charging slightly higher fees for your services. Should you choose a more traditional route, you can get away with a cart of cleaning solutions, one industrial-size vacuum, and a supply of garbage bags (about $500 worth of supplies to start). Don’t forget rubber gloves to protect your skin. If you decide to invest in heavy-duty cleaning supplies that include professional-quality vacuums and power cleaners, expect your start-up costs to be as high as $5,500.


The hardest part of running a successful cleaning business is keeping it running. While that may sound like a riddle, it’s no joke that the turnover in the cleaning business is quite high. So look for innovative ways to keep your employees happy and motivated. Run contests for those who bring in the most business or award time off for those who put in a high number of hours. Also, you should constantly strive to set yourself apart from competitors, especially larger chains with bigger advertising budgets than yours. What you offer is personalized service and attention to detail. With your company, customers are not just numbers on a spreadsheet.


Lillian Lincoln, President of Centennial One, Inc., in Landover, Maryland, says her company distinguishes itself from others by emphasis on quality.“We place a great deal of emphasis on giving our clients a comfort level that assures them that their building maintenance requirements will be adequately addressed.”


Vacuums, buffers, scrubbing and shampooing machines.“No equipment is needed until some work has been secured. No lead time is needed unless the job requires specialized equipment, so purchase only the equipment needed for each job as they roll in.”


“Industry knowledge as well as business acumen are great assets. Too many people have the mistaken impression that this industry is a ‘mop and bucket’ business. Far from true! It requires knowledge of chemical and equipment usage, time management, human relations, and a number of other skills. For anyone going into this business for themselves, I advise them to work in the industry for a minimum of six months first.”


“I would spend more time working in the field to learn more about on-site operations. I made some mistakes early on because I was not as knowledgeable as I should have been about the basics of the business.”


Approx. cost of start-up: $700 to $5,500


Approx. potential earnings:$45,000 to $75,000


Typical fees: $25 to $50 per hour or a monthly fee of $500 to $2,500 (depending on size of facility)


Where to promote: Local business publications and newspapers, Yellow Pages, Web site


Qualifications:License


Things needed:Janitorial cleaning equipment and supplies


Required staff:Most likely


Hidden costs: Liability insurance, licensing/bonding fees, high turnover if you employ a staff