Maid Services of America. Empowering independent residential cleaners.

What Are My Start-Up Costs?
The following is a list of expenses typically incurred when you are opening a residential cleaning service. Costs will vary depending upon your location, how quickly you wish to grow, and personal preferences.

Start Up and On-going Expenses -
Will Vary From One City to Another

Office Supplies and Postage
Liability and Bonding Insurance (Based on Annual Fee of $1,150)
Help Wanted Ads (Month)
Promotional Materials - 10,000 8 ½ x 11 color flyers
Advertising (Monthly)
Telephone Line for Business with Internet (Monthly)
Home Office
Total Monthly Expenses

These figures are based on average monthly expenditures. Some offices will pay more for advertising and help-wanted ads, while others will pay less.

We suggest that you have enough working capital to cover the first two months expenses. Depending on your advertising budget you may choose to distribute flyers and brochures yourself, which will lower your advertising costs. Most offices spend approximately $400 to $800 each month on advertising and marketing efforts. There are several forms of advertising that you can use that are inexpensive and extremely effective although they will require more time and effort on your part.

When you first open your business, you will need to place a help wanted ad in the classified section of your newspaper. You will most likely run your ad each week for the first several weeks you are open.

Insurance premiums can generally be paid quarterly. We will tell you what information the insurance company will need from you to quote a price for a policy. There are discounts that you may be eligible for if you know the right answers to their questions.

What Are My Ongoing Expenses Going To Be

Advertising and Marketing
The cost to advertise your business can vary greatly from one city to another. Most of our clients initially spend approximately $600 to $800 a month on advertising expenses. There are several ways of marketing a maid service that have proven to be very successful, and a few that were not. This Professional Maid Service System, along with our support and consulting, will teach you about the different choices you will have, and what you should expect to see in the way of results for each type of advertising.

Telephone
You will need to obtain a telephone line for your business. Cost varies depending on whether you are using digital service or traditional land lines. The installations fees will range from $0 to $200. The charge for monthly service can vary from $50 to $100 a month depending on the type of service. The telephone is one of the most important tools you will use in your business. The cost for a business line is slightly more than a residential line, but it is well worth it. You will also receive a standard listing in the yellow pages at no additional charge.

Liability Insurance and Theft Bond
The cost of liability insurance varies from one state to another. The average premium is $1,000 each year for a policy providing $500,000 in coverage. The average cost to secure a theft bond is generally less than $150 a year.

Cleaning Supplies
We offer the customer a choice as to whether they would like for us to provide the supplies. We started doing this shortly after we opened in 1977 because so many customers had personal preferences about what type of products we used. When a customer requests that we provide the supplies, the house-cleaner takes her own cleaning supplies to the customer's home. The house-cleaner is then paid an extra fee for each job that she provided supplies for.

What Are My Labor Costs?
http://www.maidservicesofamerica.com/paymaids.html

What Is My Earning Potential?
http://www.maidservicesofamerica.com/earningpotential.html

If you make a sale you make a living.

If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer,
you can make a fortune.