What need do you have for cleaning company and how much would you pay?

[mortgageman]

A friend of mine is considering starting a cleaning company in Edmonton with rental properties being the target market.
So I`m helping her by seeing what sort of demand there is for a service dedicated solely to cleaning recently vacated units.
She`s trying to determine how many crews she could keep busy.
As landlords, how much would you be willing to pay per hour?
How often would you need the service per month or per year?
How quick of a turn around would you expect from the beginning of the vacancy?
Any other thoughts are also appreciated.
Thanks for your help.
Jason

 

[MonteDobson]

Hi Jason,

One idea might be for her to link up with a number of different property mgt companies. Some likely have their own services but I do know that many outsource it to whoever is available at the time.

We have utilized cleaning services a number of times and the cost can vary greatly, depending on the services rendered. I would suggest she look in the yellow pages and make a few calls to see where the competition is at.

Hope this helps...

 

[mortgageman]

Hey Monte,
Yes, I`m sure she will do that. She`s at the extremely early stages of exploring the idea.
Thanks for your help.
Jason

 

[writeabooknow]

Hi Jason!
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they start a business is that they go to the competition, find out what they are charging, and then set their price a little above, or, more usually, a little below, what they`ve discovered.

That`s just rubbish. You charge what you want and then justify the value to the customer. That`s why a Mercedes has a different average price than a Ford.

Frankly, after all the grief of a tenant exit, the last thing I want to do is clean some toilets. And, no, I`m not going to spend three hours `price shopping.`

Tell her to pick a number, any number. $200, $300, $500. And then write a list of everything the landlord gets for that price. Telemarket every house that`s for rent in the newspaper. Tell the landlord what she gets for the price she has to pay. And, no, she is never allowed to discount the price. If she does, I will find out where she lives and beat her about the head with a mop!

When, lose or draw, keep those telephone numbers and telemarket them once every month.

When she cleans, she goes in by herself and does the job. If there`s too much work for her, then either raise the price or hire and train a second cleaner, using her specialized rental cleaning system, called in `as needed.`

Tell her to get out of the day to day cleaning as fast as she can. Hand it off to hired staff who still come in `as needed.` Then hand off the telemarketing. Finally, hand off the management... Now get a map of the western hemisphere and find `Belize.`

Cheers,

Steve Manning