What is your time worth? This is the opening sales pitch of every house cleaning company. Then the follow up question is what your free time is worth. The time, on the week ends, that you would spend with your family, or pets, is it fair to trade that for the hours it takes to keep your home clean? Then, when it actually breaks down to about, four to six hours of your time, people really wonder if there is a savings paying a house cleaning company.
It’s true that if you make $10 per hour you will save money by doing it yourself. If you make $20 per hour it’s about a wash, pun intended. Then when you get above that it makes sense that the trade off may be well worth what you pay, for the time you have to yourself.
The other thing to consider is the motivation. When you cleaners come in from cleaning two other places they are already to get yours done and get home. That may sound bad, but you need to be motivated for what can be a tedious task. For you it’s a matter of getting out the stuff, following the game plan, and getting finished in a reasonable time frame. For the cleaners it’s a job that they are being paid for. They show up with every intention of doing the job well so they are allowed to come back.
One of my clients today was very proud that he keeps such a tidy, and clean place, which he does. He has all the time in the world. We charge him the minimum because he is right, he keeps a very nice place. The question I had for him today is what it’s worth to clean his bathrooms. He bristled a little bit, I also reminded him that we dust behind his new TV, under the bed, and scrub the kitchen sink with Comet, which he likes, but will never do.
It’s just my opinion that there are trade offs in life, and some are worth paying for.
Since 1968, high school, I have worked on properties for rent and sale. My first company was formed in 1972 with a partner. Over the years the business grew. Last year in 2008 my main company A Spring Cleaning won an award for Cleaning Service by the U.S. Local Business Association.
A Spring Cleaning was my own creation. In the 1980s and 1990s we did many things. Dry rot repair, yard work, paint, pressure washing, hauling, and design. In 2000 we changed to a regularly scheduled house cleaning company with the trade name Seattle House Cleaning.
The transition was gradual. A Spring Cleaning got a boost in 2005 with a mention on a national TV show, then a few interviews in the local media, and business was very good. I was also a licensed Real Estate agent with some project properties.
In 2005 I became concerned about the housing market and concentrated on finishing my projects full time. We sold off properties in 2006 then concentrated on the Seattle House Cleaning business. Three years later the cleaning business is good.
Blogging is a part of my daily routine. Most of the time my focus has been on Real Estate and economics. To go along with that we encourage people to be in business. Our cleaning business has branched off into other cleaning businesses and we consult with other business owners.
This site is an extension of what we already do. By sharing what we have learned about the cleaning business we hope you will see it's more than just a bucket and rags that get you the fresh feeling of a clean home. These are just some tricks of the trade and some of the pit falls we experience.