Following are some interesting facts and figures on the residential cleaning
business. This information has been gathered both from research and through our
own experience during our 18-plus years in the residential cleaning business.
Number of American Households Hiring Cleaning Help:
According
to a report by American Demographics, the number of households turning to
outside help with their house cleaning chores was estimated at about ten
percent. This number included households that ranged from one-time, move-in,
move-out or spring cleanings as well as those who had their homes cleaned on a
regularly-scheduled bases throughout the year.
Frequency of Cleaning Visits:
The key to building a viable residential
cleaning business is to develop a clientele who use the service on a
regular weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule. Our own experience
around the country over 18+ years has revealed the following breakdown as
being typical:
Frequency of Cleaning Schedule
Percentage of Clients
Weekly
12.07%
Biweekly
70.35%
Monthly
12.17%
Other (one
time, periodically, etc.)
5.41%
Typical
Demographic Profile of a Residential Cleaning Customer:
We have found that typical clients are dual-income households, professional single adults, high income single
parent families, and affluent empty nesters and retirees. They will
typically be between 35 and 65 years of age, with a household income over
$75,000 annually. However, virtually EVERY household earning over
$100,000 a year, regardless of other demographics, is a prime candidate for
a weekly, biweekly or monthly cleaning service. Even households with
high six- or seven-figure incomes who have part- or fulltime domestics often
hire outside professional cleaners to assist their live-in help.
Average
Cleaning Price:
The price for
house cleaning varies, depending on a number of factors.
The entity doing the
cleaning. There is generally a wide gap between what individual
house cleaners can charge for their service versus what a full-fledged,
professional residential cleaning company can command.
The amount of work
involved: No two homes are identical when it comes to cleaning
them, even if they are identical in size and layout. Obviously, the
more work the higher the price.
The geographic
location: The price for cleaning a home that requires "X" amount
of time and labor in a large urban center is generally higher than it is
for a house with the same amount of time and labor in a small town. The difference is in the cost of labor and other
operating expenses.
The value-added
features and benefits:
A professional cleaning service offers far more than just doing a
satisfactory job of house cleaning. ""Real" cleaning companies carry
liability
insurance,
third-party fidelity bonding, and Workers' Compensation Insurance.
They pre-screen their employees, including legal eligibility to work in
the United States, conduct criminal background and reference checks, look
after their employees' social security and Medicare taxes, and provide
professional training and supervision of their employees. The
average cleaning price we've experienced around the country has ranged
between $80 and $150 in recent years for routine weekly and biweekly
cleaning visits.
First time or onetime
versus repeat cleaning visits: It can take as long to clean the
bathrooms alone on a first time cleaning visit as it will to do the entire
home on subsequent regular weekly or biweekly visits. It is not
unusual for a first time cleaning to take two to four times as long as
routine light house cleaning thereafter. We have seen first
time/onetime cleaning charges ranging from as low as what is charged on
repeat visits (for homes in pristine condition) to as much as several
hundred dollars.
The Value of the "Average" Client:
In many businesses the owner is challenged
with spending a lot of time, money and effort to find and sell a customer one
time, or only infrequently after the first sale. One of the benefits of
this industry is that you get to sell the client every week or two.
A client who pays you $120 every other week represents over $3,000 per year
in revenues. A weekly client at the same cleaning price can be
worth double that amount annually. Get your calculator out and do the
math! A couple hundred repeat clients can represent substantial annual
sales revenues.
With all the individuals who
clean houses on their own or with one or two helpers -- many of them
operating in the underground economy and under the radar of the IRS and the
INS, no one knows for sure how many of these small independents there are
throughout the country. However, we do know that there were 12,791 house cleaners listed in the telephone directories across America in
December 2009. The breakdown by state is as follows:
STATE
NUMBER OF
HOUSE CLEANING
COMPANIES
ALABAMA
141
ALASKA
54
ARIZONA
326
ARKANSAS
55
CALIFORNIA
1,844
COLORADO
318
CONNECTICUT
234
DELAWARE
50
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
10
FLORIDA
1,013
GEORGIA
415
HAWAII
55
IDAHO
55
ILLINOIS
557
INDIANA
166
IOWA
85
KANSAS
109
KENTUCKY
99
LOUISIANA
105
MAINE
63
MARYLAND
296
MASSACHUSETTS
337
MICHIGAN
356
MINNESOTA
199
MISSISSIPPI
64
MISSOURI
219
MONTANA
45
NEBRASKA
64
NEVADA
192
NEW HAMPSHIRE
87
NEW JERSEY
358
NEW MEXICO
121
NEW YORK
494
NORTH CAROLINA
412
NORTH DAKOTA
17
OHIO
383
OKLAHOMA
94
OREGON
199
PENNSYLVANIA
428
RHODE ISLAND
46
SOUTH CAROLINA
218
SOUTH DAKOTA
31
TENNESSEE
193
TEXAS
806
UTAH
83
VERMONT
28
VIRGINIA
403
WASHINGTON
558
WEST VIRGINIA
30
WISCONSIN
248
WYOMING
28
US TOTAL
12,791
*Source: InfoUSA
December 2009
Seem like a lot? Not when you consider there are
1,500 times the number of potential residential cleaning
clients across America!
Please note that the above
data is provided for information only and is not intended to represent
that you may achieve any specific sales, profits or results
"The CDs I purchased are
very great! The program has been extremely helpful
to us in starting our own
cleaning business here in France. It covers everything one can think of and
thank you so much for all the accompanying forms and brochures, in WORD format!"
— Gifty Awua Kyermaten
Boulogne Billancourt, France
Turkey:
" I
would like to appreciate House Cleaning Biz 101, because I was totally informed
what I would face when I was in the business. We have been in this business for
six months and the result is perfect. Even I live in Istanbul, Turkey I learned
lots of things because this material was written in an international approach
that is applicable all over the world. Thanks Gary, thanks House Cleaning Biz
101 team."
— Ergun Bingul
Founder of Temizlix Co., Ltd.
Istanbul, Turkey
According
to a report by American Demographics, the number of households turning to
outside help with their house cleaning chores was estimated at about ten
percent. This number included households that ranged from one-time, move-in,
move-out or spring cleanings as well as those who had their homes cleaned on a
regularly-scheduled bases throughout the year.
We have found that typical clients are dual-income households, professional single adults, high income single
parent families, and affluent empty nesters and retirees. They will
typically be between 35 and 65 years of age, with a household income over
$75,000 annually. However, virtually EVERY household earning over
$100,000 a year, regardless of other demographics, is a prime candidate for
a weekly, biweekly or monthly cleaning service. Even households with
high six- or seven-figure incomes who have part- or fulltime domestics often
hire outside professional cleaners to assist their live-in help.
insurance,
third-party fidelity bonding, and Workers' Compensation Insurance.
They pre-screen their employees, including legal eligibility to work in
the United States, conduct criminal background and reference checks, look
after their employees' social security and Medicare taxes, and provide
professional training and supervision of their employees. The
average cleaning price we've experienced around the country has ranged
between $80 and $150 in recent years for routine weekly and biweekly
cleaning visits.
In many businesses the owner is challenged
with spending a lot of time, money and effort to find and sell a customer one
time, or only infrequently after the first sale. One of the benefits of
this industry is that you get to sell the client every week or two.
A client who pays you $120 every other week represents over $3,000 per year
in revenues. A weekly client at the same cleaning price can be
worth double that amount annually. Get your calculator out and do the
math! A couple hundred repeat clients can represent substantial annual
sales revenues.
most exciting and interesting thing about this
house-keeping is the professionalism that it's conducted with — and it's all
thanks to the House Cleaning Biz 101© package. It is the most amazing business
tool I have ever came across. I salute you Gary for all your efforts."
to us in starting our own
cleaning business here in France. It covers everything one can think of and
thank you so much for all the accompanying forms and brochures, in WORD format!"
nformed
what I would face when I was in the business. We have been in this business for
six months and the result is perfect. Even I live in Istanbul, Turkey I learned
lots of things because this material was written in an international approach
that is applicable all over the world. Thanks Gary, thanks House Cleaning Biz
101 team."