Cleaning is one of the lower-cost trades to start, but the businesses that struggle are usually the ones that treat every job as one-off instead of building toward recurring work.
Aim for recurring contracts, not one-off jobs
A one-off deep clean pays once; a weekly or fortnightly contract pays every week. From your very first customers, mention recurring options rather than waiting to be asked — most people do not think to ask.
Price by the job, not just by the hour
Hourly pricing punishes you for getting faster at the work. Once you know roughly how long a job type takes, price it as a fixed amount for that job — you keep the benefit of your own improving speed.
Budget for supplies properly
Decide upfront whether you or the customer supplies cleaning products and equipment, and price it as its own line rather than absorbing it into your rate. This avoids an awkward conversation later about why your price is "higher than the other cleaner."
Keep a simple stock list of consumables — cloths, sprays, bags — and note what you use per job for the first month. It is easy to underprice supplies until you actually track the cost.
Trust is your product as much as clean surfaces are
Cleaning often means working alone in someone's home while they are not there. References, a professional first impression, and reliable timing matter more here than in trades where the customer is present the whole time.
Keep a simple record of what each property needs
Different customers want different things done, sometimes in a different order. A short note per property — even a few lines — stops you relying on memory as your client list grows.
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