Cleaning Franchise

Commercial and residential cleaning franchise

As lives and schedules grow increasingly hectic, more and more people must rely on a residential and/or commercial cleaning franchise to keep order in their home or office. Franchisees organize and dispatch a staff of trained maids to clean even the most disorderly abode at low financial risk to themselves and their operation.

You have a number of options if you are interested in owning a cleaning franchise. You can focus on commercial or residential cleaning. You can choose whether to franchise a professional janitor service like Jani-Pro or one composed of teams of maids like Merry Maids. If you decide to go with a niche franchise, you can concentrate on cleaning windows and carpets, even roofs, gutters and air ducts.

The price of starting up a cleaning franchise is relatively low when compared to other franchises. The simplest cleaning franchise requires cleaning supplies, basic staff training and perhaps a truck or van for transportation. Paying your franchisor a franchise fee guarantees you a neighborhood to work in and a proven method of doing business, which is usually the company's approved cleaning technique.

The total investment, royalty fee, franchise fee, terms, availability of financing and franchisee qualifications all depend on the franchise's policy. Clean and Happy Windows, a basic window-cleaning service, requires a low investment of $100 to $2,000. On the other hand, The Cleaning Authority, a full-service residential cleaner, costs $84,000 to $129,300. Chem-Dry Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning chemically cleans carpets and a franchise is $24,950 to $86,900. The time required to start your cleaning franchise is usually short; it only takes a couple of months to sign the agreement and secure the equipment.

The pros to owning and operating your own cleaning franchise:

Very low startup and development costs
Comparatively low overall investment for both time and money
The possibility of running your cleaning franchise from your home
A variety of niche cleaning operations
Training programs for staff are relatively uncomplicated

And the downside:

Competition makes business tough and drives down profits
'Maid teams' require a large number of hired staff
Specialized operations requires extra, more expensive equipment such as steam or chemical carpet cleaners and roof equipment
It's not as easy to foster brand name loyalty and customer recognition as with other industries