Is a Cleaning Business Profitable? How It Stacks Up to Alternatives

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all begun worrying more about germs. Before, many people thought of cleaning in terms of aesthetics—making things look good. Now they think about it in terms of health—as a way to kill the germs and viruses that can be deadly.

Consumers want to know establishments they frequent are disinfected and sanitized and they want to see proof of it, whether its employees wiping down surfaces between customers, or signage declaring the premises are regularly cleaned by a certain company.

And, as workers return to their offices, they want more out of the people cleaning their workspace than someone who empties their trash cans and runs a vacuum cleaner over the carpet.

Knowing a space is regularly cleaned and disinfected by people who use the best products for the job and know how to apply them correctly promotes peace of mind in all of us. And as an added benefit, the cleaning protocols that have been established to combat COVID will help prevent the spread of the flu and other illnesses.

Because of this, the demand for professional cleaners continues to rise. According to the latest figures from Allied Market Research, the global cleaning services market size was valued at close to $56 billion in 2020 and by 2030 is projected to reach upwards of $111 billion. That’s a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5%.

Is A Cleaning Business Profitable?

The simple answer to “Is a cleaning business profitable?” is yes. As stated above, there is a high demand for cleaning services so there’s plenty of business to go around. You can clean homes, offices, rental properties, and work for real estate agents cleaning houses for sale.

Cleaning businesses generally have low start-up and low overhead costs meaning you can start turning a profit sooner. You don’t need a brick-and-mortar location—you can operate out of your own home and drive your own vehicle to jobs. The only supplies you’ll need at first are microfiber clothes, cleaning solutions, and tools like a broom, a mop, and a vacuum.

How much you make depends on how much you charge. To accurately calculate your profit margin, you need to quote jobs based on your labor costs per hour, your overhead including insurance and cleaning supplies, and the amount of markup, or profit, you want to make.

As an example: If you charge $225 for a cleaning job and the amount you spend on labor and overhead is $195, or 60%, then you have made $90 on that job—a profit margin of 40%.

Is A Cleaning Business Worth it?

While it may be profitable, you should also ask yourself, “Is a cleaning business worth it?” The answer is it depends. If you own a reputable cleaning franchise like Two Maids and a Mop, you will definitely be more successful than if you start a cleaning business on your own.

But many entrepreneurs have seen the increase in demand for cleaning services since the start of the pandemic and want in on the action. How are you going to make your company stand out from all the other businesses offering the same type of service?

And once you have a client, you only have one service to offer them. Short of convincing them they need an annual deep cleaning, in order to increase your profits, you will need to raise your rates (and risk losing their business) or continue to increase your clientele.

That’s why instead of opening a cleaning service, you might want to consider opening a restoration services business like AdvantaClean.

 The AdvantaClean Advantage

In business for more than 25 years, AdvantaClean offers our clients eight different types of services: Water Damage and Restoration; Fire Damage and Restoration; Natural Disaster Recovery; Mold Testing and Remediation; Radon Testing and Mitigation; Moisture Control, Air Duct and Dryer Vent Cleaning; and Sanitization Services.

By providing this wide variety of services, we offer our franchise owners multiple revenue streams, and we have more to offer our customers, making repeat business more likely and increasing the amount of money each homeowner spends with us. Plus, we offer each franchisee a guaranteed territory, protecting them from other AdvantaClean franchisees competing against them.

Contact AdvantaClean Today

So, instead of asking ‘is a cleaning business profitable?’ you should be asking ‘is starting an AdvantaClean franchise right for me?’ Contact us today and one of our franchise advisors will be in touch to help you answer that question.