Attachment
If you’re looking to go into business for yourself, start by asking yourself what you want to get out of your enterprise. Richard Sparacio, President and co-founder of MaidPro Franchising, asked himself something similar back in 1991 when he decided to open a cleaning company. “Before I even thought about how to start a cleaning service, I asked myself why I should go into the residential cleaning industry. Once I answered that for myself, I knew I would be poised with the confidence I needed to start the best house cleaning service out there.”
So, what did Sparacio come up with? The simple answer is that residential cleaning offered a recurring business model with payment at the time of service. But, time and experience showed that there were many other benefits to choosing this industry. “In other industries, owners may experience the busiest day of the year on opening day, and are left crossing their fingers that the revenue volume will stick. The expenses for these early days are often the highest, too.” Sparacio says. In residential cleaning, a great deal of risk is allayed by building your business a few clients at a time. This steady start allows the owner to master the moving parts of the business, one step at a time.
Sparacio also wanted to make sure he started a business that people would be happy to work for. “Whether you’re an employee or a business owner, everyone needs to take a break from work sometimes. I can’t imagine owning a business that stays open nights and weekends. Or worse, holidays.” The core hours of operation for a residential cleaning business are early mornings until late afternoons, five days a week. With longer commute times and more travel required for many professional positions, many consider regular working hours a huge job perk.
Today, revenues from residential cleaning services are still growing at a staggering rate. Gains will be driven by ongoing increases in the number of households and the number of business establishments, as well as the increasing availability and affordability of cleaning services. Changes in demographics will also support increasing cleaning service revenues as the number of dual income households rise and the US population ages. Dual-income families often do not have the time or inclination to perform cleaning tasks, and the growing number of baby boomers in the US generally have the financial wherewithal to use professional services on a routine basis.
The shift away from “do it yourself” to “do it for me” will persist, especially in the residential cleaning market. Whether they’re not good at it, they don’t have time, or they just plain don’t like it, residential cleaning customers want someone else to clean their homes, and there will always be someone there to do it.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
