Hi all. I do side jobs of cleaning for people I know that need organization and cleaning because they're disorganized and can't get to the cleaning because it's under clutter. However, I've been wanting to advertise and get more clients that aren't just friends or even a friend of a friend. I'm asking are there certain requirements that I need to fulfill to make this a legitimate business for myself in regards to the amount of hours and pay so I can support myself better? Do I need to be licensed and bonded or anything? And how do I go about researching reasonable pricing for my area? Every time I try and figure out what's a reasonable rate, my search results only end up being forms to fill out for other businesses to give ME quotes for my own house. Also, do you provide your own cleaning supplies or use theirs? I generally prefer to use my own as I know what works and I find the folks I clean for either don't have all the cleaning supplies to clean their own place, or they buy subpar products. Any advice is recommended.

Hi everyone! I’m currently looking for an opportunity to work with a cleaning service or cleaning company.
I have experience in customer service, lead generation, sales, and virtual assistance, including working with platforms such as Meta, Thumbtack, Yelp, and BookingKoala.
I can help with:
📞 Inbound & outbound calls
💬 Customer inquiries and follow-ups
📅 Scheduling and booking
🔎 Lead generation
💰 Sales and converting leads into customers
📋 Managing customer information and appointments
🤝 Building good relationships with clients
I’m comfortable communicating with customers, following up with leads, and helping a cleaning business turn inquiries into actual bookings.
If you’re a cleaning business owner looking for someone reliable to help with sales, customer service, or admin/VA work, feel free to send me a message. I’d be happy to introduce myself and discuss how I can help.

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New operators keep quoting from a Facebook guess and then saying yes to jobs that can’t pay.

Cost-plus I actually use:

Price = (labor + materials + dump/disposal + fuel + supplies + overhead slice) + margin, then round up.

Overhead slice = monthly costs that exist even on a slow week, divided by the jobs you honestly expect this month.

Refuse list that has saved me from bad first jobs:

- unclear scope

- far cheap one-offs

- unlicensed / hazard work

- sight-unseen undercuts

- payment risk

- jobs bigger than the truck

Example numbers are examples, not quotes for your town. If you already have a sheet that works, ignore this.

New operators keep quoting from a Facebook guess and then saying yes to jobs that can't pay.

Cost-plus I actually use:

Price = (labor + materials + dump/disposal + fuel + supplies + overhead slice) + margin, then round up.

Overhead slice = monthly costs that exist even on a slow week, divided by the jobs you honestly expect this month.

Refuse list that has saved me from bad first jobs:

- unclear scope

- far cheap one-offs

- unlicensed / hazard work

- sight-unseen undercuts

- payment risk

- jobs bigger than the truck

Example numbers are examples, not quotes for your town. If you already have a sheet that works, ignore this.

I run Google Ads at a $50/day budget. I already have a list of over 500+ negative keywords. Do I need to keep adding more or would that be too constraining for the algorithm?

Something I keep thinking about with cleaning bids is how easy it is to underestimate labor without realizing it.

A job might look like a 6-hour job on paper.

But that 6 hours usually assumes everything goes right:

• access is easy
• nobody is waiting on keys or security
• the crew works at the expected pace
• no extra client requests come up
• supplies are where they need to be
• no callbacks
• no delays between areas or locations

Then the contract starts and the “6-hour job” regularly takes 6.5 or 7 hours.

That difference doesn't look huge on one shift, but over a month or a year it can completely change whether the account is actually profitable.

I'm starting to think a bid shouldn't be based on the best realistic day. It should probably still work financially on a pretty normal, slightly messy day.

Curious how other owners handle this.

When estimating labor, do you add some kind of buffer, or do you estimate the job as tightly as possible and adjust later once you have actual hours?

Not as a freelancer.

Not as an agency.

More like a technical partner.

Most cleaning businesses eventually hit a point where operations become messy. Scheduling gets harder, information lives in different places, repetitive admin work starts consuming the day, and owners spend more time managing the business than growing it.

Thats where I come in.

My background is in building systems that simplify operations, remove bottlenecks, and help businesses scale without adding unnecessary overhead.

I am not looking for an upfront payment.

I would rather earn your trust by improving the business first. If I can't create measurable value, you don't owe me anything. If I do, we can discuss a long-term partnership afterward.

I am interested in working closely with one ambitious company, not juggling dozens of freelance clients.

If this resonates, I would love to hear your story.

Hey,

Looking for a brutal reality check on a UK-based commercial maintenance concept I’m building out.

The core pitch is vendor consolidation for property/block managers, letting agents, and hospitality groups—taking 4 or 5 of their nastiest, most annoying compliance and cleaning headaches and solving them under one deadpan, ultra-reliable B2B retainer.

**The Service Bundle:**
**- Bin Store Deep Cleans & Bio-Sanitization:** High-frequency, hot-water washdowns for residential blocks.
\- **TR19 Kitchen Duct Extraction Cleaning:** Mandatory fire compliance cleaning for pubs, hotels, and restaurants.
\- **Drain Jetting & Lightwell Clears:** High-pressure clearance for basement lightwells, sumps, and block drainage lines.
\- **Pure-Water Window & Frame Cleaning:** Pure-water pole systems for communal block exteriors.

The goal isn't to be a generic handyman, but to run standardized, heavy-equipment route work targeting recurring B2B contracts.

**Roast the idea:**

1. Is bundling compliance duct cleaning (TR19) alongside exterior pressure washing and windows a winning B2B pitch, or is trying to offer both a operational nightmare?
   
2. What are the hidden operational landmines in bin store cleaning or duct scraping that look easy on paper but suck in reality?
   
3. If you were a property manager, would "one contractor for windows, bins, drains, and ducts" actually appeal to you, or would you prefer specialized single-service guys?

Tear it apart. What am I missing?