Everyone Will Always Need Cleaners. As a domestic cleaner, there will always be work available. How can you get started and build a successful career?
In the current economic environment, job security is a major concern for everyone. You need only open the paper to see yet another headline about large scale layoffs, or work being outsourced overseas, where labour costs are lower.
Finding a way of taking control of your own destiny in a role where you are guaranteed customers is a holy grail for which we all grasp, and so it is no wonder that so many people are choosing to set up in business on their own.
While there are a number of avenues you can pursue, the role of a domestic cleaner ticks all the right boxes for many people. Barriers to entry are low, you have flexibility in negotiating your own working hours and you can at least be sure that the work will not be outsourced to someone in India or Vietnam!
Being self-employed does have its challenges too – you will need to carefully manage your finances, and take out your own insurance for cleaners, but the rewards can make it all worthwhile.
There are an estimated 800,000 to one million people working in the UK cleaning sector. Think you could join them? Then read on.
Prerequisites
As a cleaner, you are going to need to be in good health, as the work can be physically demanding. You also need to be completely trustworthy, as you will often work alone in your customer’s home.
There is no prerequisite for specific qualifications, but as with any job, having some certificates will certainly do you no harm. The British Cleaning Certificate course provides a qualification in domestic cleaning, which will show prospective clients that you are serious.
Getting started
Many cleaners start off small, working for neighbours or responding to adverts in the local shop window. As we have already mentioned, trust is of critical importance when it comes to inviting someone into your home, so once you get started, you will find that personal recommendations are everything.
If you do a great job and build a trusting relationship with your first customer, he or she will recommend you to friends and before you know it, you will have plenty more opportunities.
The other option is to start out working for a cleaning agency. This allows you to develop your skills and build up a network of contacts in the cleaning industry. You will also gain useful knowledge regarding different cleaning products and tools, that will put you in good stead if you decide to go self employed later.
Career progression
Being a domestic cleaner might not sound like the most ambitious entrepreneurial enterprise, but you would be surprised at where it can lead. Many cleaners have started out with one or two clients, and become so successful that they have ended up employing other cleaners and managing a successful business.
Others have chosen to specialise in particular areas, for example doing deep cleans for end of tenancies in rental properties, for which they can charge a premium amount.
So pull on those rubber gloves and get started – you never know where that cleaning job might take you!
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