Even some people in the housecleaning business find it hard to believe
that there are those who actually like cleaning houses.
William Dalgleish runs a cleaning agency. "I don't think anyone is
interested in 'the work' per se. It has become very involved in
recent years with a trend towards indoor quality emphasis, but cleaning a
toilet is cleaning a toilet."
Yes, cleaning toilets is involved. But there is much more. As anyone who
has experienced the satisfaction of settling into a living room with freshly
vacuumed rugs, sparkling tabletops, and glistening windowpanes knows, it feels
good to relax in a nice clean home.
If you enjoy producing that feeling for yourself, you might enjoy producing
it for others. There are people who will pay you for it, and who will sometimes
be grateful.
Kathy Patrick owns a cleaning service. Her motto is: "I don't cut
corners, I clean them." She is one of those people who prove that you can
be happy in your work, as long as it's something that suits you. And
cleaning suits her -- she likes it!
"I got started because I was unhappy in my job and wanted to try to do
something on my own. I had heard, and read, find something you are good at,
and turn it into a business. So, that's what I did! I love working for
myself. I like cleaning, and I like meeting new people," she says.
"The only frustrating thing I have come across so far is when I am in a
slump and have to rally to get more business going. It can be frustrating
sometimes. But there is such a need for this service that things pick up in
no time."
Dalgleish finds his satisfaction in the running of the business. "As a
business owner, the challenges are always there, and changing. The most satisfying
moments have come with the completion of a difficult job and recognition for
it from the client. The same as in any field."
There are frustrations as well as satisfactions in running a business,
however, particularly when you have employees, says Dalgleish.
"Especially ones that have been with you for some time but have recently
had their performance deteriorate for some reason or other. The termination
of an employee is always difficult and all the human resource material does
not alleviate the responsibility that you feel at that particular moment."
Paula Schwartz runs a housecleaning placement agency in Texas. She places
people in housecleaning jobs and holds their hands along the way. "I accompany
almost every applicant on their initial interviews."
Ninety percent of her candidates are hired after this first interview.
Her approach includes background checks on job candidates and continual follow-up.
This has resulted in many satisfied clients and a successful business that
she enjoys.
She started the business when she moved to Texas and was looking for housekeeping
help herself. After placing a classified ad, friends and neighbors kept asking,
"Oh, could I have one of those names?" and she thought, "There's a business
here!"
She tried hiring a few employees at one point, but now prefers to work
alone. She makes her living by the placement fees paid by the clients, not
the candidates. She says this makes for a very simple business. "There's
no one on my payroll and very little overhead. I wouldn't do it otherwise."
Her placements often involve child care, so she looks for candidates with
some history of working with children. Her applicants -- mostly women -- might
have helped Mom with the brothers and sisters or babysat during high school.
Those are all good qualifications. References help and a CPR course is useful.
If you're going to run your own agency, whether doing the cleaning
yourself or placing other people in the jobs, you need sales skills, says
Schwartz. "You have to have the gift of gab and be a people person to be able
to go into clients' homes. You have to be enthusiastic, compassionate
and understanding."
For her part, she spends much of her time on the phone. "I have a phone
growing out of my ear."
But she works as much or as little as she wants. You need to invest in
a little communication equipment to run this business efficiently, she says.
Have a beeper, voice mail, basic computer skills, and "hire an accountant
to do your quarterly tax returns."
John Kastelic is president of the National Association of Professional
Cleaners in Ohio, an organization he founded. He also owned a cleaning business
for 10 years.
"After ending my agreement with a franchise organization,
I managed to build my own cleaning company from the ground up. After one year
I was doing more volume than any previous year that I was in the business.
It was a particularly good feeling when I signed our first customer. It showed
me that it is possible to succeed in this business."