Quit corporate to be a housekeeper?

[woodenbatandball]

I work in a corporate job! Middle management for a middle wage! My job is insanely fast paced, stressful and has me working in the evenings and weekends. I'm seriously considering quitting and starting up my own cleaning/dog walking business. I won't earn as much, but I will save in nursery fees and my sanity! Has anyone else done similar? I've hired cleaners myself and know what would be good offering. Am I mad? I've done a lot of soul searching and I'm disillusioned with the 'women can have it all/girl boss rhetoric' what I actually want is a clear mind, quality time with my child and to not feel anxious about work! All helpful ideas and suggestions and opinions welcome!

Why do you use so many exclamation marks?

You will take ages building up a clientele and it is flaky work (clients cancelling last minute, holidays with little work). How do you earn money then?
Suck up the nursery fees and see this time as a long term investment. Kids will be in school and you will have more pension contributions and more experience (and maybe more money). Chances are when you become more senior you can be more flexible in the sort of work you do too and hours.

Will you take your baby on cleaning jobs with you?

"Girl boss" is just social media nonsense.

can you cut back your hours? Find a company with better balance?

you can change if you like of course. I worked crazy hours when I was young, which I'm imagining you are.

if you think you'll be happier self employed then go for it. I'm self employed and debating a return to corporate hamster wheel 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Galdownunder nope, I would work between 9-3pm, which would save me over £1k a month. In holidays get family to help out.

@Workingthroughit have you been a cleaner?

@TheShellBeach so excited at the thought of not doing my job!

The lady who ran the cleaning firm we use worked in corporate finance and quit to start the business. She was great and built the business over several years, managing it as well as cleaning herself (she was, by her own admission, a clean freak) and then sold the business for a good profit and retired to enjoy the rest of her life. It's absolutely possible if you want it enough.

Friend is. Drives her mad with the last minute ‘oh we have decided to go away for a few days/oh we can’t make this week/oh I’m not well today’ etc. as far as I know most of her regulars cancel a lot around summer and Christmas too.
Not to mention it took her the best part of 18 months to become well known.

@EmeraldRoulette thanks for the only positive response! I just want a better life! I have to commute too, and the juggle is insane! I just don't get much enjoyment out of life at the moment but I get a lot of stress! I'm a firm believer in things will always stay the same unless you change things up!

And 100% go for the corporate career! I don't want to put you off I think it's a mix of circumstance and full on company!

Go for it. It’s hard work and scrubbing out other peoples dunnies would make me gag but it’s worth a try? I was corporate then had my own business for 15 years now back to corporate. The workload in your own business can be extraordinary and you never get a day off.

@pinkdelight I love this! Thanks for sharing this story! The only thing people are looking for around where I live are cleaners/dog walkers and child minders! If I can combine a few services and do it well I think it could work! I'd get all the right insurance etc

@Galdownunder thanks for the positivity!
What business did you do? How come you went back to corporate?

Well of course it's doable, if you want to do it enough.

The questions which occur to me:

Have you worked as a housekeeper before? How would you feel about cleaning up really grim stuff? Have you run your own business before? Do you have a handle on how many unpaid hours it will take you to get up and running? Are you aware you probably won't have a pension or sick pay? Holidays will be few and far between, and when your child is sick and can't go to school you will probably have to cancel your work too. You need to think about every single possible worst case scenario before committing. If you still want to do it, go for it.

I owned Rockabye Baby Equipment Hire - had 3 branches and we hired out nursery equipment to travellers and parents with new babies. Dealing with the public is hard. The pregnant/new parent public can be a raging nightmare. Give me an egotistical arrogant Barrister any day of the week over Mrs Jones who has her husband call you on a Sunday and complain that you put blue sheets in the bedding pack and Baby Jones is a girl and can’t get to sleep because of it! Lol Soeey but jaded. 9-5 for 100k a year is so much easier.

@Galdownunder jeez what job is paying you £100k to do 9-5! My job is half that and then some and it is not 9-5! Sounds an amazing business idea

@catsnore I worked for myself freelance for three years before, so yes I know all the implications of working for myself! And yes, the risk is if my child is sick I may not earn!

My apologies I was unclear. I am paid 125k however thatd AUD. I was just speaking generally that I find my current work life balance much more healthy and haven’t lost a lot of $.

Op would you not be better to ask for flexible working and reduced hours?

I think cleaning and dog walking sound great but hard physically. A different type of tiredness.

@Galdownunder still a good wage! I'm on less! I do think the other option is to quit my job and get some local admin job that pays even less but I won't stress about when I get home! But then I wouldn't be able to afford nursery!

@Needanewname42 my job is already 'fleixible' and reduced hours would mean nothing! The same work will still need to be done!

OP, have you heard of full stops?

There’s a middle ground between highly paid corporate career and cleaning & dog-walking.

Is there a husband who you are expecting to be the financial backer for this experiment?

Where I live, cleaners are always in demand but every 20 year old girl who hasn’t found a proper job is advertising on Facebook as a dog-walker.

I think if it would make you happier and it would be better for your family do it. What's the point in being stressed and miserable. It's hard to get good cleaners in my area, and they charge a lot. It's a good business idea.

Yes of course you can do it! You can change your job at any age.

Do your research and Start gauging interest for cleaners in your area before you hand in your notice. Get a business plan in place for yourself so you can look at what youre dojng. Projected income etc.

My friend just quit her high level finance job, to start her own small business making and selling facial oils.