Starting my own business!

[Nikki]

Well, kind of. :


After spending the last 3 weeks trying to get a job that will agree with my availability, I've decided that I'm going to work on my own.

I'm going to clean houses!

My mom has been cleaning homes on her own for over 10 years now and loves it. She makes a really good amount too....averages between $15-$25/hr. She works alone (except when I help her) and got all her homes by word of mouth. I may already have a potential client! We cleaned a home together last week and the lady was so impressed that she said she may want it cleaned on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. My mom only cleans two homes a week and said she doesn't want to take on any more, so she'll give her my name and number. The lady is the niece of one of my moms clients. All of my moms clients are family members except one.

Anyways, wish me luck! I'm going to make up flyers and pass them out. I know I can't put them IN mailboxes, but do you know if it's ok to tape them to the outside of mailboxes?

I figured I'd try to make them look cute or fancy. When I see something taped to my mailbox, I usually toss it without looking at it. I don't want people to do that, so I thought about printing them on decorative paper, rolling it up, and holding it closed with pretty ribbon.

What should I put on the flyers? I'd like to mention that I'm a stay at home mom.

 

[Relic]

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Nikki,

I graduated with a degree in small business management, but my major was in accounting. And I've had various small businesses of my own for that past 29 years out of my 53 years on this earth, including housecleaning when times were tough or I wanted to be there for my children as they were growing up. Small business like the one you are talking about is also going to require that you report your income. So if you want to keep it small you can only make so much according to law. In my parts of the world, a person is only allowed to earn $600 a year before it is considered taxable income. So be careful about how you go about telling the whole world what you plan on doing. Some people will only hire you as an outside contractor and insist you do it legally ( all the paper work and such) if they are nit picky because some people who work out of their homes can claim a portion of the expenses of cleaning the office part of their home off of their income taxes as a deductable. If they insist on that, then that is when you have to be careful in the legalities of your "business" and consider that you will have to report what they take claim to as an expense. So you don't' get audited by the IRS. If they want to deduct part of what they paid you as an expense they might be required to report who they paid the money out to. So that would be a legal glitch you have to watch out for.

As far as advertising, that is not always the easiest thing to do when you want to pass out flyers without being a reputable "legal" entity, and in the phone book, or registered with the BBB or some local business group, especially without having built up a reputation for yourself. When you start out a business like cleaning, doing it by way of word of mouth and through friends and relatives is most likely to get your so called "foot in the door". Believe me, work like that is mostly gotten through word of mouth or through agencies. And if you work through an agency you are bound by contract to not steal their clients after you quit working for them.

It is not easy to get new clients just by passing out flyers.
If you insist on passing out flyers, start with streets in which you know someone on the street and they are able to pass the word for you, those would be good streets to start with. Streets in which people know you a friend or relative of yours.

Also, Maybe you can also get some clients through your church. But you would have to be careful about who you deal with . You also must be very careful in who's home you go into. It is not good to work alone when you are working for someone you barely know.

You have to attribute your mothers success to the fact that most of her clients ARE relatives. So please Nikki, be careful. This world is too freaky people these days. Wolves in sheeps clothing, Male and female alike. And just because someone goes to church doesn't mean they are trustworthy. You have to be very careful. Especially if you are going to work for a single man, being that you are an attractive woman. I have had plenty of incidents in which I had to ward off the men, both married and single in an office environment! Let alone in a secluded place in which there aren't others around to put a check on their behavior. Sorry but stark reality isn't to be taken for granted. Maybe it's just me, but men approach me no matter if they are married or not! And it's no fun having to put up with that! And sometimes it's scary! It's been that way for way too many years. I've even talked to counselors about it. It's been a real "problem" for me. I wished all too many times they would just stop doing that! I don't know what it is, Maybe I smell to good or something! LOL. So if you have that problem, I suggest you don't work for any men in which you would find yourself alone with them. Work for just women, friends and or relatives or people that you were given a referral. and don't be alone with strangers! It's a jungle out there! Be careful in dealing with strangers on your own! It's always best to work with another person as a team if you want to work as a business entering into strangers homes or businesses. I know of NO maid or cleaning service that sends out only one employeee to go into someones home!

I hope I gave you some sound advice. I speak from years of experience. Believe me. If you recall from previous posts of mine, I had mentioned My mother was a maid while I was a young child up to the time I was 12 years old. She too only worked for people she was referred. Never did she work for a man and never did she work for a stranger that had no link by way of friends or referrals. Be careful Nikki.

And Best wishes.
You can succeed and do it if you go about it the proper way.

God be with you.


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[Nikki]

Thanks for all the tips. I wondered about possibly ending up getting some nutcase. I think I'll just go through people my mom already knows. Even if all I get is one house, that's more money than I'm bringing in now!

I don't see why a person has to get bonded and stuff if the client doesn't claim it on their taxes. None of my moms clients do. They pay her as a "friend". I don't see how it's any different than a teenager babysitting. I know teens that clean homes as their job.

My sister also cleans as her job. She cleans every day of the week though and non of her clients claim in on their taxes. She's also not bonded or anything. She's been doing it for 4 years now.