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Cleaning invoice example for Support

hi i'm bethany jean and i've been cleaning professionally for over 20 years owning my own cleaning business for every single one of them and in this video i'm going to guide you through the process of starting your own profitable cleaning business in just eight simple steps owning your own cleaning business while extremely rewarding can seem overwhelming to start but if you watch this video and if you're willing to work hard then i know you can earn a fantastic income love going to work and be proud to call yourself a professional cleaner and this video will give you the confidence you need to get started today before we dive into the steps i just wanted to quickly answer the four most common questions people ask me about the cleaning industry number one can you make good money cleaning absolutely yes i started cleaning to support myself through college but after i got my degree and graduated i learned that i could make way more money cleaning than i could with my degree and i'm still cleaning today for that reason and this will be true for you whether you want to build a big cleaning business with employees or keep it a one-person show it is very possible for one person cleaning businesses to make six figures a year even working part-time and businesses that scale with lots of employees can do millions in annual gross sales number two will people respect you if you're just a cleaner again absolutely yes there are plenty of incredible clients that will value and appreciate you and this has proved true for me time and time again number three does it cost a lot of money to get started no you don't need fancy equipment requiring a business loan or expensive marketing just get some affordable tools and products get to work and start making money and number four there are a lot of cleaners out there already so can you be successful even if there's a lot of competition in your area without hesitation i say yes this is an industry with a huge demand which creates incredible opportunities especially for new cleaners like you as we go through these steps be sure to drop any other questions in the comments below this brings us to step number one write down your goals and the dates you want to achieve them by some might simply refer to this as your business plan for example do you want to create a full-time income or is this just a side hustle do you want to work alone or have a few employees or create the biggest cleaning business in your area do you know yet if you want to specialize in residential commercial vacation rental or construction cleaning how much money are you looking to earn each week month and year what hours do you want to work the reason writing these things down is so important is because these goals will shape your future decisions limit the amount of time you waste and reduce the mistakes you make along the way but if you don't know the exact direction you want to go yet that's okay don't let that stop you from starting just start with the goals you do know and see where it takes you but write these things down so you can work towards them starting today and if you already know at least one of the goals you have be sure to put that down in the comments below so i can cheer you on step two is to pick your business name this does not have to be complicated because at the end of the day your success in this industry is not about your business name it's about your professional nature and whether you know how to actually clean if your goal is to grow and sell your business then you shouldn't use your personal name but many cleaners do use their personal name and it serves them just fine especially if they are focused on residential or have no desire to ever sell their business just make sure your business name very clearly states what it is that you do if it's just cleaning then abc cleaning if you also do home organization than abc cleaning and home organization you get the idea step three register your business once you have your name figured out then go see if that name is available where to look depends on where you live for example in the united states it's generally by state but you need to register your business name before you invest in things like business cards there's nothing worse than getting far into your business setup and only then realizing that your name is already taken part of this process is also choosing your business structure again using the united states as an example you could choose a variety of tax structures but the two most common for new cleaners are sole proprietorships and a single member llc the advantage of llcs are they offer some protection against your personal assets without over complicating your taxes in the united states you might also need an employer identification number or ein which you can apply for online i can't get too specific here since depending on where you live the process can vary quite a bit but don't get overwhelmed google is your friend and if in doubt just hire an accountant there are a lot of good and affordable accountants out there to set this all up for you one of the reasons i love this industry is because there's very little overhead meaning the expenses to run a cleaning business are incredibly low but a good accountant is one of the things that i recommend investing in unless you're comfortable doing your own taxes personally i'd rather pay someone else to do that and use my time to go make more money so again register your business as soon as you have the name figured out step four with your business name locked in now it's time to think about your marketing materials but don't get carried away the only thing i recommend getting when you're just starting out is business cards don't worry about a website or setting up social media or fancy flyers or branded clothing start with a high quality business card to this day i don't have a website for my day to day cleaning business because i just don't need one i talk about this more in my online course but i do invest in high quality business cards because they can help you make an excellent first impression everyone i hand my card to compliments me on them which helps me stand out there are a lot of providers online and i've used a few of them but they're all about equal in quality and in service just invest in the nicer and thicker cards as opposed to the cheapest option now is also a good time to set up a new email address to print on that business card and record a professional voicemail message keep your email address professional like abccleaning gmail.com not bethanylovescats gmail.com and in your voicemail make sure that there aren't any screaming kids or barking dogs in the background keep it calm simple and professional one other thing cleaners often include in their business cards is whether they are licensed and insured which brings us to step five but before that if you're finding value in this video please hit that like button as it really helps out my channel so step five do you need to be licensed bonded and insured and do you need any other cleaning certifications let's take these one at a time and start with licensing in certain industries a license is needed to show that you're legally permitted to conduct business in your city municipality or state but it varies by location and profession for example where i live home builders are required to have a business license to perform their work but handymen are not and as a cleaning professional i'm not required to have one either so it really comes down to this what is required where you will operate your business if you don't know you can easily find the answers online or here's another reason you might consider hiring an accountant as they will absolutely know the answer let's move on to being bonded and in short bonds are a way of reassuring your client that you will stand behind your promises and if you don't they will be protected but you likely only need to be bonded if you work for certain types of clients such as government entities and even then they may not require it on the other hand insurance is required if you're going to build your business the right way specifically you need general liability insurance this protects you as well as your clients and the good news is that it usually isn't that expensive at the time of making this video i only pay around fifty dollars a month for a two million dollar policy you can get free quotes from a variety of providers or even find a local agent to compare rates for you which i recommend since like so many other things the requirements vary depending on where you live and a pro tip i have found that it pays off to buy insurance from well-known companies like hartford or liberty mutual here in the us they really aren't much more expensive than smaller companies but they make you look way more professional and make the client feel better protected workers compensation is another type of insurance that you could need but it's not usually required when you're just starting out unless a client is requesting it and don't start paying for your insurance until you actually need it just get your quotes lined up and then purchase it when you start going on interviews it should only take about 24 hours to get your coverage activated once they've built out a quote for you and lastly what about cleaning certifications these might be needed for certain types of advanced cleaning like mold remediation but for general cleaning like scrubbing toilets and dusting bookshelves they are not usually required if you google cleaning certificate or cleaning certifications you will find all kinds of online courses that promise completion certificates but that doesn't mean that they are a requirement in this business it goes back to what i said earlier your success depends on your professional nature and whether you know how to actually clean not on whether you took bethany jean's cleaning course step six is to set up your bank accounts and invoicing every bank requires different documentation so ask before you go in but since you've already registered your business you should have all the paperwork you'll need i have my insurance premiums deducted from my business bank account so this step goes hand in hand with purchasing your insurance once you have your bank account number you can figure out how you'll invoice for your cleaning services there are lots of apps and websites like square up and quickbooks and some are even completely free for invoicing and income tracking purposes the only time you might have to pay fees is if you want to let a client pay with a credit card which can actually save you a lot of time if you're okay with the fees but another option is to just use the app for invoicing and then let the client pay you in any number of ways from cash to check to apple pay but if you keep all of your invoicing in one app it really simplifies your accounting at the end of the year step seven is purchasing the other physical products you'll need for this business but don't worry it's not as much as you think let's start with work attire you don't need fancy branded clothing but you should always look professional and this will really set you apart from your competition when i clean i wear nice jeans a polo shirt with clean running shoes and i keep my hair and makeup consistent and when i interview i step it up even more this is one of the ways i attract much higher paying clients as far as equipment and products my clients are trained to maintain everything i need to clean their properties so i don't have to pay for everything or carry it all from job to job but i do carry a cleaning bag with some tools i consider essential as well as cleaning towels and mop heads but everything else is provided by the client even the vacuum while there are some exceptions if you take your own vacuum from client to client you are spreading germs and allergens and last but not least is step eight which is learn how to clean the right way you can be the best salesman on earth but if you don't know how to clean properly and what products to use on what surfaces you will not be able to keep your clients happy or know how to train your staff when you get to that point the biggest complaint i hear from new clients looking to hire me is about damaged surfaces from their prior cleaner not knowing what they were doing so invest the time into getting your cleaning skills dialed in and you will find much success in this industry so to recap it is not as hard as some people make it out to be and you can make an incredible income and grow your cleaning business as big as you want it to be as i said earlier six figures a year is very attainable for most cleaners working alone and you can earn well beyond that if you grow your business with employees and the best part is that once you have everything we talked about set up it's just about finding your first client once you do you will quickly grow from there by getting quality referrals but you're probably left with some other questions like how do you find your first client and beyond how do you interview with those clients how do you bid jobs what should you charge how do you know when to add employees and how do you become the cleaning professional everyone wants to hire well of course subscribe to this channel for more content that touches on all of that but also be sure to check out my online course linked below for immediate detailed answers to those questions and so much more thank you so much for watching i hope you found all of this very helpful i believe you can build the business of your dreams so get started today have confidence in yourself and know that i'll be here to help you build something you love and happy cleaning [Music] you