I think starting your own cleaning business is a great idea, if you love the cleaning. The most important is to love the job you will do all the time. I think weekly/daily domestic cleaning services will always be a good idea with a lot of customers, but of course you should have something unique and better than others in your offer. Wish you all the luck.
------------------------
Tascheva & Partner

Anthony,

Sounds to me like you are a hard worker, that is key in this business.
The good thing about cleaning is its easy to get into, and if you are a hard worker and do a good job then no reason you cant do well, and you dont need a lot of outlay. The key things people look for is really basic things such as reliability, and actually caring enough to do a decent job week in week out which doesnt sound much but a lot of cleaners simply wont do as they are doing it not because they love cleaning but they need some £££. If you love the satisfaction of cleaning then you will let that be your motivation. and the rest should follow.

In terms of which areas to target, commercial tends to pay more than domestic but it can be harder to get the work if its just you. Given your transport issue things like house clearances are going to be harder to get into as you will be going through estate/letting agents who might want you to work in a wider area, so than more regular work which might be easier to find.

If it was me, to get my foot in the door I would think about some key things you can offer, eg "I love cleaning" is exactly what people want to hear. say that. Tell people you are reliable. That you are flexible etc. Offer a decent rate, dont undercut the market and do it too cheap (people will tend to assume you are not much good) but dont overcharge either. Get some leaflets printed up (or just do them on your computer or a friends if you have a decent printer) and go out and seek the sort of places that might want a cleaner. ie big family houses within walking distance, upmarket flats which probably have two people working independent shops and offices, pubs etc. You can advertise on places like gumtree for free too which is a good way to find work.

And once you have a "round" set up with regular work you can then work out what sort of work you like best, and use that to get refferences to get more of what you like doing, and maybe later on think about getting your driving licence and perhaps employing some others to help out............and then you will have a proper business to be proud of.

Be cheeky and go for it. Talk to people, smile, be positive. if someone says "no" if you look a bit young, say "give me a chance, I will do the first clean for free", or "give me chance, if its not a good clean you don’t pay me".

Do it! Nothing is stopping you doing this AND looking for a mainstream job at the same time apart from you.

Regards,
------------------------
James Smith
Chartered Accountant
www.jamesesmith.co.uk

---------------------------
Your indispensable guide to Small Business Bookkeeping, Self-Assessment & VAT