What is it?

Costs

Tips for success

 

  • The value of good staff cannot be emphasised too strongly. Spend time building up a team of intelligent, discrete people who have a healthy attitude the work - which is not easy. This is not the kind of business where you get rich quick but you won't even get off the ground without the right people behind you.
     
  • You need to be prepared for having a high turnover of maids. You will make mistakes but you have to judge character as best you can. Taking on people recommended by existing staff can be a good way to recruit people.
     
  • Make the teams fully aware from the start that they will have to take criticism and will sometimes have to deal with difficult people. It won't stop it happening but it will help your staff deal better with it.
     
  • The risk of not keeping your staff happy goes hand in hand with keeping your customers happy. You can do spot checks but the teams will be on their own most of the time. Trustworthy staff are very important - once you've found them make sure you hang onto them.
     
  • At the risk of upsetting anyone, don't neglect to both charge and pay the right amount. It's a question of balance. If you up the price of the clean you will get more staff wanting to do it but less customers willing to pay. Equally, a lower price will get more clients but no one will be able to afford to work for you.
     
  • As you are going into someone's home, it is important to establish a pattern. Where possible, send the same team, at the same time, on the same day unless otherwise requested. It is your job to minimise the complications in people's lives not create them. A hassled client will be a lost one.
     
  • Adapting to the client's needs is very important. Each one will want something different out of the clean and it is important to be able to accommodate that. If they've got your name through the Yellow Pages remember you're a total stranger and work to get their confidence and to get the price right.
     
  • When you are advertising for clients but mainly staff, don't be afraid to advertise where everyone else is. If you see that no one else is advertising in a certain local paper there is probably a good reason for it: the adverts don't work. This is one place where following the herd is to be advised and you will get better people.