House and apartment cleaning services are gaining in popularity. The main reason for this is due to families that have 2 working adults/parents in the home. The overworked family has no time for cleaning their home. Their need to supplement the family income creates the opportunity for you to set up a lucrative business.

Ten years ago, businesses of this kind were serving only the affluent - homes of the wealthy people where people didn't want to be bothered with the drudgery of house cleaning, and had the money to pay someone to do it for them. But times have changed, and today the market includes many middle-income families in every residential area across the entire country. The potential market among apartment dwellers is great also. All in all this is a business that has grown fast, and has as much real wealth building potential as any we can think of.

Cleaning services are generally associated with women owners, however, men are finding that they can organize, start, and operate very profitable home and apartment cleaning businesses just as well as women. It's an ideal business for any truly ambitious person wanting a business of his or her own, especially for those who must begin with limited funds. Actually, you can start this business right in your own neighborhood, using your own equipment, and many items you already own.

Many enterprising homemakers are already doing this kind of work on a small scale as an extra income-producing endeavor. There's a growing need for this service. Organizing your efforts into a business producing $40,000 or more a year is quite possible, and you can get started for $100 or so, always using your profits to expand and increase your business.

In most cases, no experience is required. Everyone knows how to dust the furniture, vacuum carpets, make the beds and carry out the trash. But you must ask yourself if making a house clean and bright is important and uplifting work. If you look on it as degrading or as drudgery, don't involve yourself in this business.

Pricing your services will always be a constant challenge for you. You will learn as you go. The pricing really depends on you, the services you provide and how thorough you are. To start off, your best bet is to figure out what you need to make ends meet per week. Then, divide that number by amount of hours you want to work per week. Then be sure to add any expenses you will incur by working that many hours (ie. Daycare, Gas, Cleaning Supplies, Insurance, Equipment Repairs, Etc.) Also count on a little downtime for traveling between jobs, sick days, auto breakdowns, etc.

As a general rule, you shouldn't charge less than $12.00 - $15.00 (USD) per hour, per person on a job (depending on where in the world you are located. Most cleaning companies will charge $20-$30 (USD) per hour, per person. This is just a guide, and some parts of the US or other countries may be much different.

Here is an example: A 2-Bathroom, 3-Bedroom house with a Living Room, Kitchen, Dining Room, Hallways, Stairs and a family room, will approx. take 4 labor hours as long as there is not a lot of clutter (always be sure to notice the amount of clutter and how dirty/dusty the home is when doing an estimate and take that under consideration). Labor hours means the amount of time it will take multiplied by the number of people cleaning. For example