I want to start my own residential cleaning business and am looking into writing a business plan. Just wondering, is $30,000 a pretty attainable income within the first year with hard work? How about after about 10 years? I Know this is kind of an invasive question but just looking for a rough idea. I know there are plenty of variables. I live in a medium sized city (75,000 people) in north western Washington state.

Dang, 75,000..... lots of variables there. You should be able to make $30k a year if you work at it really hard. $30k a year is only 2 houses a day. Actually 2 houses a day is more than $30k. Not sure about a 10 year goal in that small of a town. Depends what town it is.

Since it is a small town if you do 2 a day and low ball at $65 x 2 = $130 x 5 days = $650 a week x 50 weeks = $32,500. The higher you bid them (and get the bid) the more you make! But if you bid them at $95 and everyone is saying no, then you make $0.

But..... if you do this..... bid them just $2 higher at $67 x 2 = $134 x 5 = $670 x 50 = $33,500. That's why I always bid odd numbers such as $89 instead of $85 or $92 instead of $90. $2 turns in to $1k very easy.

Thank you Sprintcar for helping me crunch the numbers & all the other info. You're very helpful.

Good luck for your business.

Thanks Briana! I'm studying speed cleaning, listening to the arcsi conference topics on every Tuesday I can, going to informational sessions through the SBA, and getting advice from this forum (thanks Sprintcar & others!) & scouring the Internet for as much advice as possible. I went to the ARCSI convention in Las Vegas & did the 2 day House Cleaning Technician class. I have a few (low paying) customers. My problem is I'm too slow. Need to pick up the pace. I also need to jump in more & make this work.

Tell me exactly what you use to clean stand up showers/tubs.

I've been using Scrubbing Bubbles or vinegar with a scrubbie & a razor blade for stuck on stuff. I like the Mr Clean magic erasers sometimes too. What do you usually use Sprintcar?

It took me 2 years to finally end up using the Magic Erasers daily. And when I figured out how to use it..... this was WAY back..... I let the girls start using it and it cut down our clean time by 33%. Which meant I made 33% more profit for the WHOLE year!

You can spray what ever you want in the shower.... it's just for show, it does nothing in reality except make you feel better..... then get you a cup and a Magic Eraser. Wet the M E but squeeze it out so the water doesn't run down your arm (leave it as wet as possible without dripping down your arm).... then scrub 1 wall. Don't spend all day, it should take 30 seconds to scrub 1 wall and now rinse within 30 seconds. If you don't rinse within 30 seconds it will leave a white glaze on glass walls. Move it, move it, move it..... Do you use a walker to get around? If not.... MOVE IT!!!! A shower doesn't take all day to clean. Now clean the second wall, rinse and repeat. Keep it moving.....

If you are doing first time in cleans you can use other things because of soap scum the M E won't do very good with soap scum. Be careful with that razor blade

Don't buy name brand M E, buy the off brand. I usually buy mine from Ebay/Amazon 100 for $7.

I'm going to use the magic erasers more. Going to check out some off brands. That's a really good deal you get.

a lot

Looking like a model will assist you in your endeavour.

Pick up a shower squeegee, lather the walls up really well and use the squeegee and a dry cloth (or paper towels) I use magic erasers, but not the knock off brands. I've had bad luck with them staining colored walls, but the name brand Magic Erasers have been awesome.

Think of a long term goal, what you want to reach in 5 years is typical in the business world for long-term goal setting.

It is a much better mindset than thinking year by year.

good luck

These guys have a lot of good resources for pressure washers and related cleaning products, Pressure Washers Direct

Stay on you way and you will get what you search for

hope success to you

There are a lot of opinions on how much to charge and a lot of that depends on the market in your area. I suggest cleaning your own home 3 times and time yourself doing it. Don't bother with laundry and dishes, etc. Just focus on cleaning tasks you would handle for someone else, like vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, windows and so on.
If it takes me 2 hours to clean my 3 bedroom 2 Bath home at 1200 square ft and I want to make $30 an hour, than I know how much to charge a house of comparable size for the same services I just did.
Obviously commercial cleaning is a bit different, but the same principle can be applied to window cleaning, carpet cleaning, pressure washing, etc. Start with friends and relatives, get a checklist or work flow together and THEN start offering your services.
This will give you the BEST idea of how much money you can make long term. 4 homes a day @ 2hrs each (x) $30hr (+) 1 hr of drive time = $240 a day (as an example). You would still need to add supplies, insurance, vehicle expenses, etc.

You train others how to clean when you can't use an off brand Magic Eraser without messing up the wall? Really? Do you know what they are made of? Do you realize the only difference between the high priced ones you buy and the low price ones I bought?

Frances,
Apparently sprintcar93 has used every off brand of Magic Eraser and can confidently recommend every off brand on the market .... I on the other hand only ever tried one off brand and had terrible luck with it, used it on a colored wall and it left white stains on the wall, EVEN THOUGH the directions clearly stated it could be used on color surfaces.
I don't sell Magic Erasers, I'm not Mr Clean, I don't receive a portion of Mr Clean Erasers sold domestically, I'm not an affiliate and apparently recommending the brand has offended sprintcar .... so, use them or not at your own risk

I think it's very much possible to make 30K a year in this business. It's such a vastly growing one with so many opportunities. As long as you stay consistent in it, you're well on your way. Good luck!!