Part-time business idea – cleaning

The UK domestic cleaning market is worth some £9 billion per year, which just shows how much we have become reliant on other people cleaning our homes. Many franchise companies such as Molly Maid have taken advantage of growing demand for cleaning, but there are distinct advantages for cleaners who prefer to operate an independent service.

If you are considering cleaning as a part-time business to earn extra income, you won’t have the same kind of overheads as a cleaning company and will be able to offer a cheaper hourly rate. It’s easy to get set up; a card in local shop windows or your local paper should get you noticed, or you could have some flyers printed and go house to house in the area you are targeting. Once you’ve got a few customers and are doing a good job for them, your reputation will grow through word of mouth.

You’ll also need to decide how you are going to work. Will you use the cleaning products and equipment in your customers’ homes or will you provide everything yourself? This will affect your hourly rate and if it’s the latter, you will probably need to have a car for easy transportation. You could also consider extending your service to ironing – another chore many people are happy to pay someone else to do. And if you’re a good cook, you could even offer to prepare an evening meal – some cleaners manage to integrate this into their service very successfully.

When you are marketing yourself, think carefully about how wide a geographic area you are going to service. If you have to spend a lot of time travelling from one house to the next you will be reducing your earning potential and spending more on travel expenses. Make sure you are well organised; keep a diary of appointments and what your customers expect during their allotted time.