To start a house cleaning business you do five things: register, get insured and bonded, buy basic supplies, set per-visit pricing, and book your first clients. It's one of the cheapest businesses to start — often $300 to $2,000 all in, using a car you already own. Below is the practical order, with real numbers and the parts you can put off.
We actually run a cleaning company in Tucson, so this isn't a guess — it's the path we know, and the same honest advice we'd give before selling you anything.
An LLC keeps your personal assets separate from the business — typically $50–$500 to form, depending on your state. Open a business bank account so income and expenses stay clean from the first dollar. This is paperwork, not a barrier.
General liability insurance covers accidental damage; a bond reassures clients trusting you in their home. Both are cheap, and many clients simply won't hire an uninsured cleaner. Do this before your first paid job, not after a problem.
A solid vacuum, microfiber cloths, mop, and a kit of cleaners cover most homes — a few hundred dollars. Skip specialty gear until a client needs it. You can restock from cash flow once jobs start.
Hourly pricing scares clients and punishes you for getting faster. Do a quick walkthrough, then quote a flat per-visit rate based on size and condition that hits your target hourly after supplies, travel, and taxes. Don't lowball to win the first jobs — it's hard to raise later.
Cleaning is a referral-and-reviews business, and that works in your favor when you're starting. The cheapest, most effective moves:
We run a cleaning company, so we'll be honest about this. Hold off on a paid website if:
The website pays off when you're hiring, scaling past one person, or competing for higher-paying recurring clients who check you out online first.
When you outgrow referrals, the website and marketing are where we come in — and we run the exact same stack on our own cleaning company. Start Getting Leads is $249/month: a hand-built site with 24/7 AI lead capture, hosting, and updates, month-to-month, and you own it. Grow in Google adds the monthly SEO content engine and lead attribution at $597/month for ranking on "house cleaning [city]."
See our cleaning company websites, SEO for home services, or how the AI receptionist catches bookings while you're cleaning. New to this? Read whether local SEO is worth it first.
We don't post stock testimonials. On a 15-minute call we screen-share the real dashboards behind our own businesses — live leads, rankings, and the exact page that produced each one. See the proof →
Often $300 to $2,000, covering registration, insurance and bonding, supplies, and a vacuum. You can use a car you already own. It's one of the cheapest businesses to launch.
Yes — general liability and a bond. Both are cheap, and many clients won't hire an uninsured cleaner. Get them before your first paid job.
Per visit, based on size and condition, targeting an hourly rate that covers supplies, travel, taxes, and time. Flat per-visit pricing beats hourly for both you and the client.
When you're scaling past referrals, send your company name and city — we'll build a working demo within 48 hours. Free, no card, no commitment.
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