Running a Cleaning Business

Types of Cleaning Businesses You Can Start Yourself

With our guide and research, you will have all the necessary information you need on the types of cleaning businesses you can start.

By The Turno Team

Last updated: October 31, 2023

When starting a cleaning business, the biggest obstacle is figuring out what to do first. With this guide, you will have all the information needed to determine the types of cleaning businesses and what to keep in mind when getting started.

Types of cleaning businesses

Have a Clear Goal in Mind

First, make sure that you know what you want to achieve and how you will get there. You can achieve this by creating a detailed budget towards spending for your business and the estimated revenue you will earn as a result. Based on your location, rates for your cleaning service may also vary. Therefore, it is important to consider location when starting your business and affect your services.

For example, chimney sweeping services are popular in warmer climates, as fewer households use the fireplace during hotter months. Finally, be sure to create a business model and plan to outline your mission, strategy, and how you will handle finances. This will make it easier to look back on in the future to know your goals towards success.

Investing in Your Business

When starting a business, one of the first questions you may have is, “How much is this going to cost?” Starting a cleaning business can be daunting, especially when investing in earning profits can be a risk. Investing in a business can be costly, including equipment, supplies, labor, insurance, and other legal matters. Registering your company, getting insurance, licenses, and permits can cost upwards of $4,000, depending on specialty and location.

It is important to keep in mind that some businesses may have a higher insurance cost with a greater risk of doing the job. For example, window cleaners require equipment cover, van insurance, personal accident cover, and public and employers liability insurance. In addition, you will need to purchase portable equipment for hard-to-reach places, belts and holsters, and scaffolding for the windows. With this in mind, it is important to research costs specific to your specialty before going on a specific route.

Picking a niche

There are many different kinds of cleaning businesses that you can choose from, each with its unique challenges and benefits. Based on what you are looking to achieve as a business owner, picking a specialty can make or break your company.

Here are 10 types of cleaning businesses you can specialize in:

Basic Residential Cleaning: Most commonly, basic residential cleaners tidy and do light cleaning for single-family homes. These cleaning businesses focus on building relationships with a trustworthy clientele and bring in income with hard work and networking.

Deep Cleaning: A more detailed type of service, deep cleaning involves heavier equipment and human resources to tackle residential units. Deep cleaning is usually conducted once a month per unit and costs more than basic residential cleaning.

Sanitization Services: Some businesses or residences occasionally opt for sanitizing their spaces by professionals. More recently, sanitizing has been used to disinfect spaces from schools and workplaces where COVID-19 has been present. In addition, demand for sanitizing services increased during the pandemic.

Disaster Cleaning/ Restoration: This type of cleaning happens after damage from floods and fires, water damage, sewage spills, and other events. It is also done to preserve the space and prevent further destruction.

Specialized Cleaning Services:

Window Cleaning: Window cleaning occurs anywhere from residential to high-rise apartments and commercial buildings. With a significantly higher insurance cost and risk, window cleaning occurs above ground level with special equipment and products for external glass surfaces.

Carpet Cleaning: Professional carpet cleaning has many benefits, such as removing dust mites, bacteria, fur, and other allergens. Thus, specializing in carpet, upholstery, and spot cleaning can be a lucrative business to tap into.

Pressure Washing: This type of cleaning service gets rid of any exterior surface that has caked-on dirt, grease, plant residue, or other material across a large surface area.

Restroom Cleaning: For many public spaces such as shopping centers, museums, shared offices, and more, restroom cleaners keep bathrooms sanitary for public use.

Office Cleaning: This cleaning covers work areas, common areas, cubicles, restrooms, kitchens, and reception areas. Tasks include vacuuming, mopping, dusting, polishing, sanitizing, and waste removal.

Upholstery/Steam Cleaning: One of the best ways to disinfect surfaces naturally is with steam. Upholstery cleaning maintains your carpet and other soft surfaces to get rid of stains and odors that linger.

Building a brand

Finally, you must market your business to customers interested in your services. This can be as easy as choosing a simple, catchy name that will impact customers. In addition, have a logo that you will use across all aspects of your business. You can create a logo by hiring a professional or yourself on applications such as Canva or Looka. Then, take the extra step and use the logo on business cards, websites, and clothing to leave an impression on customers.

Choose your cleaning business.

Be sure to have an easily accessible website for guests to find out more information about your business. Additionally, link your website to social media accounts for your business. Popular social media platforms include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Be sure to create accounts on these platforms and regularly post to reach a wider audience. By doing so, you can promote your cleaning business to potential customers.

Keeping everything in mind, you are ready to choose from the many types of cleaning businesses and start your own.

The Turno Team Avatar
The Turno Team , The Turno Team researches and publishes articles designed to provide short-term rental Hosts, Property Managers, and Airbnb Cleaners with insightful, useful resources. Articles written by the Turno Team cover a wide range of STR interests, from the latest industry data and best practices to real-world, practical advice on running efficient, revenue-generating vacation rental businesses in an ever-changing market. Here at Turno, we’re always looking for original ideas and hot new topics. Have something you’re curious to learn more about? Interested in authoring a guest blog? Drop us a line at [email protected].