I want to earn extra money-self employed cleaner?

[IncognitoRegular]

Basically s above! I know there are a few people on MN who work as private cleaners, and I'm wondering about the feasibility of doing the same.

I'm aware of the need for insurance etc, but I'm looking for some advice on how to get started.

I drive and have transport, so that's ok, but I already work part time on different days each week (although my shift pattern is set in stone so I know what days I'm working for evermore) so I'm wondering if my not being available the same days/times each week would be a problem for most people, or if by using very careful diary management, this could be overcome.

Any advice from either cleaners or people who use cleaners would be very welcome!

(Oh and as my name suggests, I'm a regular member but for obvious reasons want to stay under the radar for this! Pom bears, naice ham, pe is beaker etc)

I started this at a ridiculous time of night didn't I! Hopefully more people will see it now!

Anyone?

Watching with interest as I'm thinking of doing the same

I think we're just going to have to wing it Bette!

How do you want it to work? You can advertise on Gumtree or you can set yourself up as a cleaning company.

I would definitely want fixed times - I would want to be able to leave the house knowing for sure whether or not my cleaner would be there that day.

You could build a website using Squarespace and make it look quite professional. If you became inundated with clients (you never know!) you could hire a 2nd freelance cleaner (you charge £15, pay them £10 or whatever) to help you out. You could ring HMRC and ask them how that works - once everything is clearly invoiced, you're probably in the clear, but check!

As a potential customer, I'm fine with cash in hand for an individual (the govt. doesn't police Starbucks' tax, so damned if I'm going to police yours), but if I thought you were a company or something fancier than an individual freelancer, I'd think it pretty dodgy if I couldn't pay you by bank transfer/invoices etc.

Thanks for your ideas NotYouNaanBread, I totally understand what you're saying about wNting to know what day of the week a cleaner would come, so that's something that would have to be planned for in advance. You've actually given me an idea for another way to "pitch" the service too-being flexible for shiftworkers.
When you work shifts, it can be difficult to have something like a cleaner on a regular basis, so if I could build flexibility around other people's shifts into it.....

Hi myself and my husband are partners in a cleaning company, I began solo, like you, 18 years ago.

I have to go out in a minute but some key pointers:

You need to give clients a day, not a time, we never work to appointment, but they do need a set day to plan for your visit and to prepare the house for cleaning (ie pick everything up and not have family members home using the rooms on that day etc) they need a set day to plan for.

You need to decide upon a business model, ie will you sell it hourly or per home after quoting based upon size, number of occupants, pets , clutter etc.

You WILL be inundated with work once you are established as good and reliable (make sure you are of course). There is a shortage of domestic cleaning service in this country. Every cleaning service we know has been unable to meet demand after at least a year in business, it's finding the right calibre ofstaff that stalls the business in most cases (including ours!).

Price for the future - you need at least £15 per hour coming in if you ever plan to have employed staff, if you go for the agency model of hiring self-employed staff you can be cheaper but there are a lot of legal grey areas to be wary of with that model. You can start lower to get established but NOT MUCH LOWER - maybe £12 per hour with a view to creeping up to the necessary rate. Make sure you provide service the customer values, there is a lot of rubbish out there, offer the best in both quality and customer care, then you charge what you need to go forward in the future. Even charging premium rates we struggle to make a profit now we have several staff to fund, don't underestimate what you'll need.

Bring your own fresh cloths chemicals and equipment, it's an additional cost but you cannot do an good job with just what clients provide, they don't know what you need and their vacuums never work and they do not maintain these, maintain your own and bring it, learn about the chemistry of cleaning to identify the best chemicals for the jobs and bring these with you.

We are on the panel of a members association for domestic cleaning business,once you can prove you have insurance and are registered to pay tax you can join for additional support btw - pm me if interested in this help, it's free at the moment and has proved to be a huge support to all of us as we are able to pool our knowledge and help one another solve problems.