Hello Everyone,
I just need some help. This will be the first house I bid on. The issue that I have is that the guy wants to have his house cleaned weekly and is looking to have the house done for $75-80 bucks a week. The only issue that I see is that a 3/2 house with 1600 sqft cost that much to do around here. He has double the size and wants the same price. Should I try to take the job just to at least get a client so that I have a reference? The good thing is that he would be a weekly client which would bring in a steady income. It takes about 3 hours to clean a 1600sqft house I think? I wanted to know if that is correct as well. So if that is the case this should take double the time so 6 hours which means I am only making $13.33 an hour before my expenses. Please let me know what you think. I am in need of guidance.

Not everyone gets what they want. He may of paid that amount in the past, however if you are to run your business legit then you will need to charge more in order to cover your expenses.

Don't make mistakes rushing to get your first client, you will regret those mistakes for along time

High five to sister T. No business is better than bad business. You mention referrals. Whom will he refer? Other clients that want the same low price thats who. Soon you'll have a nice full book of jobs and you'll be making $400 a week. My nephew makes more than that stocking shelves in a grocery store.

If that is all your time is worth to you then go for it. But my thinking is you own a business, you have expenses like phone, insurance, gas, supplies, taxes, as so on. Why the heck would you even consider making 13 bucks an hour? Tell this guy where to stick it in a nice way and move on dude, it isn't worth it.

I agree with all the responses above. We average out at around 25 an hour here where we live. And i complain about that at times. He may have had that done for that price but i can garuntee he was not grey headed at that point and time. The good ones will come around. GOOD LUCK. Thanks

Early last year I did a mailing campaign to others in the cleaning industry, I sent out over 2000 post cards to businesses that were listed in several states worth of yellow pages...... My rate of returned mail due to the business no longer being open averaged right around 25% of the total mailings!!! I found it sad to think that a large portion of those companies who had paid good money to be in the most recent yellow pages were now out of business, yet I do have to say that I can truly understand why when I see the resistance of some to see that it takes alot of work and perseverance to run a business


Another thing that a lot of first time business owners lack is the knowledge of what it takes financially to run a business. If you get it right in the beginning you will be a HUGE step ahead of at least 25% of your peers who too are just starting out and probably at least another 10 – 15% of businesses who are less than 5 years old.

Too, when you figure your costs, include a portion of future growth. That way when your equipment fails or you want to upgrade you will have the funds.

Just some more of my 2 cents worth

T

I applaud your out of the box thinking way of investigating your industry.

Ive been charging by the square ft recently. Look at the home first, if there is an extreem amount of dusting and clutter I charge .05 per sq ft, if it looks like an easy clean .04 per sq ft. 3000 sq ft minimum $120 per clean. Good luck!!

Hello All,
I just wanted to let you all know that we went out to the house and we put a bid in at $120.00. So as of now we have not heard a response.

Sincerely,
Jonathan

Good for you, Jonathan. Never leta customer dictate price. They have no idea what you need to make to stay profitable.

You may lose a few, that is common, however those jobs that you do land will be ones that you can live with and be proud of. Hang in there even this one may land in your lap soon, it is not uncommon for persons whom I give estimates to call me back even up to a couple of months later wanting service. *heck I just got a call last week from a lady that I did an estimate for over 1 year ago

I can remember starting out with my first customer at a cheap price. Three years later that customer has helped me land a dozen regular current clients... Since she has been with me since day one, I have never raised her rate. She knows not to mention what she pays. I just told her she can quote what I get for a house like hers now, and she is happy to brag and tell her friends since her rate is sweet!
I could ask any of my regular customers for referrals and could easily double my work load if I thought my old body could do it...

When ever I clean I do it thorough hence the trade name I use "ThoroClean". That quality of service, being reliable, trustworthy, etc., is how I get top dollar for my work. I "average" $30 an hour, work alone, and would never even think about having employees. What is so nice about referrals is the potential client already knows what kind of service I provide and I just walk in and state my price and get it! I have only one customer from advertising on my website and they have been with me for over two years.

I tell them quality doesn't cost, it pays!

If you need the money then you have to bite the bullet and work cheaper. As time goes by and you have some houses to your credit, believe me you will be able to get your price once you make a few mistakes, get fast and organized and most important "confidence".

Get the "rep" then make the "cash"

Referrals are GOLD!!!!!!!

Did I mention that all of my customers are less then 8 miles from my house with 3 of them on my own street.

Good Luck

$120 for 1600 sq ft is really low. Sometimes having such low prices can make the quality of you work worth less. Don't be afraid to ask more than your competitors are asking for.

Sometimes when you are in a crapy situations you have to do crapy things.

I know this is an old post, but since someone may be reading it in 2016, here's some advice. Cleaning is really hard work. Nothing is worse than underbidding and then spending two or three hours every week for the next few years feeling resentful while someone who can afford a nice house is able to buy a few more lattes or get a manicure as the result of lowballing you.
If it's someone's first house, then what Manmaid said makes a lot of sense - because you can build referrals off that. Just don't bid too low or you will get trapped there every week on that house, and you will also be known as the cheap one. Bid moderately low but not super-low. BTW it's always the nightmare houses - the ones with shelves full of dusty hummels and pet hair- that want things cheap. (Another way to get referrals is to offer the customer $25 off for each referral that books.)
One good way to handle someone with a budget is let them know what you can do within that period of time. They can only afford to pay for two hours, then they have to understand that some things won't get done, and if they are having it done frequently, you can work out a schedule to rotate things. If they can only afford two hours once a month, then you have to ask them what their priorities are and explain that you can only hit those, and that they can choose what they would like done. Some customers are fine with that, they will book you for a few hours and bring you back for detail work.
If they say "so and so does it for so much less," than let them go hire them. Suggest they try Craigslist or find a college student or local teenager to help. That usually gives them pause. It's different with someone who truly can't afford it, like a single mom who is struggling, and that person deserves a break and someone who will work hard and work with her to put in place systems to make her life easier. But some people want to lowball you just because they are jerks. They are going to turn around and buy a 1500.00 purse or spend several hundred dollars on dinner out with their spouse or concert tickets, or fancy electronics, while you are working yourself to exhaustion to please them. If they can afford to bring you in, then they have disposable income.

I agree with KS555 on everything but taking a low ball price for your first client. Even your first clients have to pay your full rate. I don't see the reasoning behind taking a low price for your first house or your 101st house or your 351st house. Can you explain?

Keep your prices consistent at all times. Your pricing should be calculated from a predetermined formula. Every year or two you may want to raise rates to keep up with inflation and rising overhead costs, but every customer should pay the same rate no matter what.

I do agree that providing options to fit your services into the customer's budget is a good thing, but still charge them the same hourly rate. If your client cannot afford 3-4 hours of cleaning a week, then work with them to clean a customized priority list for 1-2 hours instead. Or lower the frequency to bi-weekly or monthly to meet your customers' needs.

I think it's a balance between not selling yourself short and giving a good price to one of your early customers. I agree with some of the other responses that you want to get those first customers in the door and prove yourself, but I also feel that you can't take a loss. Find that fine line. IF you are going to do the job for a little less, then totally crush it and hound your customers to leave you a review on Yelp or another popular review site. 5 star reviews will be worth gold for years to come.

Now, once you build your clientele, AND you've gotten your reviews up, then charge what you want!

Maidinoahu, you are a very smart person. I really like your idea of exchanging price for something like a customer review! Reviews are gold in the cleaning industry. I think incentives are great. Coupons, discounts, sales are all great marketing strategies. Keep an eye on your ROI and everything is great.

However, next month they should be back to paying full price. You can write those discounts off as incentives in your marketing budget, but like KS55 said, you may regret giving that one customer the deal for life because she is never going to leave. Five years later and you could still clean her 3000 sq ft house for $98 a week. Plus, you will find that all your other customers are low ballers too.

I see it like this...You should be using your first customers as guides to building your business around your target customer. Their problems and pains and struggles should be keeping you up at night.

If you get your first customers by giving your services away for next to nothing, then how do you know what your "real" customers real problems are so that you can solve them?

You only know the problems of low ballers!! By accepting a lower rate for your first customers, you are setting your entire business up to serve needy misers.

If you target a specific customer, like one that would rather spend the money then have the worries of cleaning, then you are getting to know the real problems of people who can afford your services.

Yes, money will be an incentive, but they might appreciate having a nice relaxing evening in a freshly cleaned home after a hard day's work or a nice clean home to entertain friends a little more. It depends on your customer.

i definitely would not take that job, you have a runnign business and need to make money not just survive!! You have costs associated as well as labor, taxes, and products. If they want cheap cleaning then they should just doit themselves! I run a successful cleanign company and hwen a customer wants to go cheap I will not even bother going to his place.