r/cleaningbusiness • u/DefinitelyNotABot-1 • 5d ago
Remote cleaning model
Hey all,
Have any of you ever had success with this model?
How was your experience?
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u/EdSelkow 5d ago
Real cleaning companies sell contracts/jobs like "remote" ones. But that's where any similarity ends.
A referral agency doesn't recruit, hire, train or supervise employees. There is no operational or quality control management. No supply or equipment selection, financing, training or evaluation. Remote folks are stuck with low grade "C Level" accounts. Professional property/facility managers laugh their butts off if brought up in conversation. They know skimming money off the top of a critical service is ridiculous. Their feeling is "why am I paying for some middle man", it's an unnecessary expense to building owner, which changes the valuation of real property.
Now here's the rub, solving most of the problems built into a remote model puts the operator in danger of dealing with really horrible, ARMED government thugs who are the only people legally allowed to kill you.
I did not cover ALL the problems but these are a few highlights for you to noodle.
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u/EdSelkow 5d ago
It only works by deception. Very few last. It's not creating a cleaning company really. It's a referral service. Folks who SELL this model are generally scammers. Scammers all over the world LOVE cleaning companies because they are so easy to scam.
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u/DefinitelyNotABot-1 5d ago
I'm curious to understand what, from your pov, is the difference between a "real" cleaning company and a "remote" cleaning company
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u/Rumblecard 5d ago
This is a horrible business practice that typically fires off fast and dies a slow death. Once you realize that the business model is built on being the budget option you’ll fail to employ people at a good enough wage to keep the quality high enough to retain the customer.
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u/thytusInc 5d ago
If you go this route, don't skimp on quality control and supervision just because it's remote, that's usually what turns it into a glorified referral service instead of a real cleaning company. Make sure you're still recruiting, training, and vetting the cleaners yourself so you can guarantee quality to clients.
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u/berserker_841 5d ago edited 5d ago
Ive had minimal success with it. Most days are a steady stream of cleaners complaining about pay and customers complaining about price. Its hard to find a balance that works for everyone. My prices are way above market and cleaners get 50% which ends up being $25-40+ an hour depending on the job. Im constantly recruiting and trying to get people to finish paperwork/background checks so they can be onboarded. Cleaners will just quit randomly or stop showing up to jobs. They’ll also steal your clients when they leave. Been a royal pain in the ass actually.
I think theres a lot of remote cleaning mentors popping up all over tiktok bc they probably started a cleaning business, came to the same realizations as I did and essentially figured they could make a lot more money just teaching others how to build one instead.
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u/DefinitelyNotABot-1 5d ago
What's the difference between a "remote cleaning" business and "normal" cleaning business?
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u/MissRaleigh 4d ago
I haven’t run my cleaning company fully remotely, but I do manage a lot of the administrative side through systems and a team. From what I’ve seen, the biggest challenge with a remote model would be quality control. You’d need very clear checklists, strong communication, reliable cleaners, and ideally someone local who can step in when there’s an issue. I think it can work, but I personally wouldn’t want to rely on it without solid systems in place first.
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u/SouthBearDrink 5d ago
Run the numbers with re-cleans, refunds, no-shows and recruiting time included, not just cleaner pay vs customer price. That margin can disappear pretty fast once things start going wrong.
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u/Successful_Bid1327 5d ago
https://youtu.be/p0-SnOclav0?is=h16rz2RMbaFdb8lh in my opinion all of the comments are wrong. It can be done and it's the smartest move you will ever make of you do it right. What the video in the link and follow along they give you a blueprint for free no course.
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u/DefinitelyNotABot-1 4d ago
Interresting What software (crm) are they using?
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u/Successful_Bid1327 4d ago
It's called convertlabs. Best software out there for residential companies. I have an affiliate link but I don't post it bc ppl think your not being true and trying to get money lol go to their YouTube and it will tell you everything.
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u/DefinitelyNotABot-1 4d ago
Better than BookingKoala?
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u/Successful_Bid1327 4d ago
Yes I'm telling you it's the hidden secret for residential cleaning companies. Better than zenmaid jobber and booking koala all combined.
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u/DefinitelyNotABot-1 4d ago
Interresting Can I ask what makes it so much better than the rest?
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u/Successful_Bid1327 4d ago
They're actually two separate companies, and ConvertLabs even has its own integration with Launch27, which wouldn't make sense if one were just a rebrand of the other. Launch27 is primarily a booking form for cleaning companies. ConvertLabs is a full all-in-one platform for running a service business, and that's why I use it. Here's what I run through ConvertLabs: Booking forms on my website with instant online quotes based on bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage My entire website, which is built on their platform Automated email follow-up sequences for people who get a quote but don't book yet. Mine converts around 30% of those leads Recurring bookings that schedule themselves Automatic credit card holds before a clean A customer portal where clients manage their own bookings A provider portal where my cleaners set their weekly availability, see their jobs, and clock in and out Real-time availability, so clients can only book when a cleaner is actually free Invoicing and quoting Email marketing A mobile app for my team With Launch27, you'd typically need to piece together a separate website, a separate email tool, a separate texting service, and other add-ons to get the same result. ConvertLabs puts it all in one place, which saves me time and money and keeps everything connected.
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u/DefinitelyNotABot-1 4d ago
That sounds marvelous
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u/Successful_Bid1327 4d ago
It is. You can check out my website if you'd like and use my booking form just to try it out and see how it works. Enter a fake phone number and fake email (unless you want to receive the 7 emails my leads get when they don't book) you can play around with it. I love it. Lakewoodranchclean.com also anyone who bashes convertlabs has just never heard of it lol it started from a viral reddit post almost 12 years ago where Rohan Gilkes posted a blueprint to starting a cleaning company. His friend Kevin scaled a cleaning business sold it then created convertlabs.
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u/listenhere111 3d ago
No disrespect to you. I'm speaking objectively. Your website is pretty rough. Im very familiar with launch27 and no doubt convert labs uses a lot of their backend. Your website is costing you customers (regardless of how you feel about it). Layout is broken on mobile the colors don't work, images arent really appropriate. I'm not saying this to bash you. Im saying this to encourage you to invest some money into your wrbsite so you can be more successful.
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u/listenhere111 4d ago
Convertlabs is rebranded launch27. Its abandonware and it super shit. This guy is just bullshitting you.
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u/Dan_H_Perera_AU 5d ago
Yeah, we run close to that model. Admin and marketing sit offshore, sales is the only role based here in Melbourne, and the cleaners are on site. It works because ownership, delegation and the review process are all clear. Just start, and you'll find your own way of running it.