[Sarah2005]

Hi

Firstly I would like to introduce myself to the board, my name is Sarah and I live in Bedford.  I previously worked as a Call Centre Manager, however gave this up to be able to have more quality time with my Daughter.  My Husband had set up his own Courier Business and I became a Partner, answering the telephone, preparing maps for drivers and doing the odd delivery here and there.  Unfortunately I was hit by a lorry in September and this has put me off driving for a living (luckily I wasn't injured )  The Courier business is very small, with one larger customer and serveral adhoc users, so my Husband is in a position to manage this on his own and I want to do my own thing.

I have now decided to set up a seperate domestic cleaning business and the information I have gained from this MB so far is invaluable and I would like to thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and tips.  I cannot believe I have found such a valuable tool to help me get started.  I have a lot more planning to do before I begin, however I will spend as much time as I can, reading through the information on this MB.  I came across this by chance whilst searching for various websites relating to domestic cleaning.  I am so glad I did    This MB has already saved me some time in research which I am so grateful for.

Anyway thanks again for all your help so far, particularly the 'Starting Domestic Business' thread 

Sarah 

[maggie67]

Hi Sarah and welcome

I too found this forum in exactly the same way as yourself. It is excellent to know that if you have any queries there are so many people with a wealth experience which they are willing to share!! .

I also offer a similar service aimed at the executive householder i.e. high income earners and in this respect your ideas with regards to the importance of quality paper etc is spot on as is professionalism, uniform, appearance etc., so do feel free to contact me if you have any questions and I'll try my best to help!

As quoted in a previous posting for those who walk away because the price is 'too high' you will be one step nearer to the client you deserve (or should I say is deserving of the service you have to offer!!)

Anyway wishing you good luck and much success in your new future

Regards

Maggie

[Sarah2005]

Maggie

Thanks for your warm welcome 

It is lovely to know you are happy to be there to help me with any questions......which I am sure I will have

I definately want to go into the executive area and luckily I live in one of the most sort after areas in the town (even though I don't live in one of the big houses ), which will hopefully mean I won't have very far to travel at all if I am successful   I feel it is the only way I will get the price I feel I am worth.  My friends always comment on how well I keep my home and this is the standard I would provide to others.  The hard part is going to be proving this to the prospective clients.

A long time ago, I did work as a cleaner after my day job for a while to make some extra money and I saw so much that went on, this would have been in the contract area.  It was a Company in Bedford I was cleaning and half the cleaners spent their time using the telephone to call friends and family.  I know this was also a problem at BT where I first started out as a telephone operator, they had to block the phones in the end due to finding out cleaners had been calling their families all over the world.  Luckily I won't need to recruit for sometime as I want to get things going by doing the work myself which will be of a very high standard and then make sure that I vet and interview any cleaners to sure they are aware of the standards I expect of them.  The site has clarified to me that paying more to my cleaners and being fair in relation to holiday pay etc should bring along the loyalty and trust.  I have always believed in going the extra mile 

I cannot believe how lucky I am to have found this site as it makes me feel I now have a support network to help me along the way    I think it has given me so much belief in myself as I know I will do a good job and have a lot of experience in managing others.  My previous Manager always said my strength was my people skills, so hopefully that will come in handy in the future too.

Anyway it's that time to go and pick up my Daughter Katie, so thanks again and I will be in touch with you very soon, I am sure 

Sarah 

[Clean 'n' Tidy]

Hi Sarah,

A warm welcome to the web site.

I too came across this website by accidient and have found it helps. All the people are willing to give advise and help when asked.

I too run a domestic cleaning company in Hampshire. I have been going for around 20 months now. It has been hard work and like yourself I started out as the only cleaner. I am currently in the position of passing on most of my work at the moment, in order that i can concentrate on the business side of things.

If there are any questions you would like to ask then please get in touch.

all the best.
Kim

[Sarah2005]

Hi Kim

Thanks for another really warm welcome and great offer of support 

I am currently spending my days, reading through all the threads and seem to be picking up more and more information as I go.  I really want to keep it simple from the beginning and build up gradually to gain the experience and enable me to look into every aspect of running a domestic cleaning business.

It is great to have people that have been were I am so I will definately be in touch with you soon, Maggie too 

I will attempt to get started through word of mouth, friends, family dropping flyers into my Daughters School etc and not going into areas like Yellow Pages until I am properly set up as I don't want to be turning away work through lack of prep.  I know from the site flyers aren't always the greatest way but I am in a position that I have some time on my hands as we have another business aswell.  That business has slowed down, however we are still earning enough for me not to feel too much pressure just yet.....

I am off to a Stop Smoking Group now, it's my first night so wish me luck, I really have to do it this time......

Expect a PM real soon  and thanks again 

Sarah 

[Jan K]

Hi again Sarah and also welcome!

I too found the site via a search engine.......it is an absolute mine of information and so valuable. I check the site a number of times a day (once I can squeeze myself in between my 2 kids and my partner) and can't imagine being without the MB now! I am really pleased that you have taken on board some of my previously posted messages and hope that my experiences both good and bad will help steer you through the direction your life and work are taking you at present. Righto better get off and finish the ironing I have for a Client.

Best wishes

Jan

[Tim Downer]

Hi Sarah
Glad to see another face (name!!) on the forum. Good to see that you have trawled your way through the forum and seen what others in your position have asked, along with the answers that others have posted.
I am not in the Domestic Cleaning side of the business. We clean new properties for building developers - Builders and Sparkle cleans etc... however have seen and explosion of postings refering to Domestic Cleaning. I take it that this is the best time to get organized and set up in this type of cleaning, before everyone jumps on the band wagon!! Just make sure that you make yourself different and better than the competition and stand out from the crowd......then you will not go far wrong. Although saying that, I get the impression that you know what you want and how you want to achieve it....and you will get it!!
As everyone else has said, this forum has a lot of good people who are willing to help and guide others in the right direction, so you and anyone else starting up are in the right place.
Anyway, i too have the ironing to do.....i have to do it otherwise the wife beats me up!!!

So all the best in your new venture and look forward to reading your postings soon.

Regards

Tim

[Jan K]

Tim, I see your wife has you well trained
You wouldn't like to pop own here and do mine too, I am so busy doing everyone elses mine is starting to do a beanstalk impression. The house is a tip too! You just can't get the staff!!   

[Tim Downer]

Jan,
Why don't you look through the local papers and find a cleaner who does ironing too!! Think this may solve your problem??

Tim

[Jan K]

Don't need to Tim, indeed like your wife, I have a partner who is more than happy to lend a helping hand with the old housework, he even enjoys ironing......that may be down to years of conditioning when he was in the Navy tho'. Every little helps, eh?

[maggie67]

Hi Tim!

These postings did make me chuckle! I too have a hubby who is very well trained however on a bad day I will hear him muttering 'bet you'd do it if you were being PAID though'!!. 

Veru uncharitable I think don't you??? :

Keep well

Maggie

[Sarah2005]

Jan hello again and yes I have found your experiences both good and bad very useful....thankyou    Going into business is always going to be a learning curve and we all make mistakes, we perhaps did this with the courier business as we got such a large account early on and we were doing so well, we didn't take on too many other Customers, now this workload is less due to them getting better in house, we don't have the work we did but we have learnt and my Husband is working on new accounts     Luckily the work we have is enough to keep us going and allow me the time to spend on my new venture 

Tim, I have read a lot of your posts and found them useful so thanks to you too.  My friend had said to me about getting into cleaning new properties for building developers as she knew a lady who used to do it, however from reading your posts and others in that line of cleaning, there is a lot more to it than she described, her words were 'good money for moving a bit of rubble'  , he, he, he (bet that made you chuckle )  The site has helped me know that I wouldn't even consider going into this area as I want something that fits in with the lifestyle I want.  To me Domestic cleaning fits the bill and is something I believe I can do well and build a good reputation on.  As they say don't run before you can jump    Long term I may consider small office cleans and trying to get into the letting side of cleaning but that is a very long way off.....for now I want to build up slowly, so I get the quality I want when it comes to taking on staff

One other thing that has made me feel good about going into this was the little things like uniform, quality etc which I had already decided on before I found the site.  The site has clarified to me that I am heading in the right direction 

My husband has been wanting me to sell my car and buy a small white corsa for courier work, however we have now agreed to do so and once I take off on the cleaning side, this will then be liveried for my cleaning business as I think this will get my name around the town and also give potential clients a good first impression 

Anyway I really look forward to keeping in touch with you all, you have so much knowledge and experience that is going to so useful to me in my quest to be a success 

Thanks for everything you have taught me so far 

Sarah