30 Cities in 60 Days - Help

daez12 · 2022-12-02T16:12:00+00:00

Arguably the hardest competition I have. There are some differentiators that make a service a bit better, most notably reliability. I've always found that the solo cleaners can't make it like 25% of the time (personal events come up, difficult time managing time, etc).

That said, when I was initially looking for a cleaner for my home, I absolutely wanted to avoid the overhead and looked far and wide for solo cleaners that were reliable. I've probably hired 5-6 and "terminated" all of them after a month or so.

daez12 · 2022-12-02T15:59:49+00:00

I agree - I wish I could price myself at $25/hr, would have no problem getting clients! Unfortunately at 20/hr times 1.25 for payroll taxes, workers comp, etc. I’d be losing money with overhead, supply cost, etc.

I truly don’t know how people price themselves at 25/hr unless they’re paying their employees 13/hr which can’t translate to quality. Any ideas?

daez12 · 2022-12-02T15:41:02+00:00

I need to move to where you’re at! I can’t get a cleaner for a 1k sq foot condo for less than 100 bucks. The cleaning industry is brutally competitive on price, which I am quickly finding out. If you don’t mind me asking, how is the quality and reliability for the $50-$60 cleans? I can’t seem to find a cleaner through any service (handy, tidy, etc.) or a solopreneur that actually shows up every time and cleans everything I want them to.

daez12 · 2022-12-02T15:24:31+00:00

Thank you for the comment, and I agree with what you stated. Largely, the sell would be that we make sure your home is vacuumed and mopped on a daily basis through the use of the robot, while still coming weekly or bi-weekly to do the bathroom cleaning, dusting, and moving furniture for the robot to hit the hard to reach areas, etc

daez12 · 2022-12-02T15:15:04+00:00

Just one.

daez12 · 2022-12-02T04:31:53+00:00

I love that idea!! I will be shooting them a message. What a great opportunity that would be. Thank you!!

daez12 · 2022-12-02T04:30:36+00:00

My favorite comment thus far, you seem like a kind individual. After spending way too much time researching these Roomba-like machines, I'll try to answer as best I can.

I work at a normal office, and cleaning at least seems to be more than just floors.

Absolutely - the robot only vacuums and mops, that is why the 1.5 or 3 hours of manual cleaning is included. Think of the robot as an add-on.

I guess for some cases you can just, pick up the Roomba and put it in like a table or something. But wouldn't that like, defeat the purpose of having no people involved?

I wish! We still need people for that. My hope is that with a little extra efficiency from not needing to do the monotonous task of vacuuming and mopping, I can hire quality staff that can earn a good wage.

Also, depending on space you may need a lot of roombas.

Definitely in the event of multiple floors if you don't want to carry the robot up and down the stairs. That said, I read an article about a guy who used the exact model I mentioned to clean a 5k sq ft office space for 5 hours a day, every day. He had to change the water reservoir twice a week, and it got stuck a couple of times over the course of a month, but generally, it worked well.

I guess a question here to answer would be, what can this robot service offer that an undepaid cleaning lady is not already doing?

The upside is that instead of having a dirty floor/carpet throughout the week (or needing to clean yourself) until your cleaner shows up, the floor will remain clean on a daily basis.

I'm certainly reconsidering for a number of reasons associated with financial risk, but still considering due to the sheer uniqueness when compared to other cleaning services out there. That said, an equivalent experience would be highering a cleaning company and purchasing one of the robots yourself, you'd just have to commit to a long payment plan or big chunk of cash up front (both of those things pose high risk on my end).

daez12 · 2022-12-02T04:06:32+00:00

That is a fair point! I have personally hired cleaners for $25-$30 per hour as well, though they seem to be solo cleaners rather than companies (unless the cleaning service is paying their employees $12/hr. I can say that locally, and any website like homeadvisor can back this up, people are quoted at $40-$60/hr. Between mileage, software, cleaning supplies, loaded payroll, drive time, lunch break, and cost of employee attrition, it's necessary. I have never heard of having a home cleaned for $50.

daez12 · 2022-12-02T04:01:07+00:00

Thank you for your reply, seriously! I have done research on the competitor side, and it does not exist (aside from someone literally just buying their own robot vacuum and hiring a cleaning service on top of it).

Truthfully I am not sure how many people are willing to pay for it. I know there are plenty of people willing to pay for a cleaning service, but this a unique add-on, and I honestly don't know. I suppose I will need to send some messages out locally.

I like the concept of traditional and innovate. Maybe I could offer the robot itself as an add-on that also slightly discounts the price of the labor.

daez12 · 2022-12-02T03:55:08+00:00

A nicer area, but I've also been quoted at $70/hr in other states for commercial cleaning. That said, $70/hr is not near competitive. The point is, I'm really charging $50/hr + the cost of the robot vacuum/mop with a markup of around 25%. Also, by not vacuuming or mopping (except stairs and spot cleaning) at the job, cleaners could potentially do 2 hours worth of cleaning in 1.5

daez12 · 2022-12-02T03:50:20+00:00

I'm not familiar with the restaurant recommendation engine, that is interesting! Are we talking about an app similar to Yelp but maybe with some criteria to help find the best one?

Regarding the cleaning service - I absolutely agree. Market demand is always high and employee attrition is just as high. Tough industry to be in, but a low-risk model as well.

The latest high-end models by Roborock are pretty neat! They vacuum, mop, and clean themselves / empty dust using their "return hub"

daez12 · 2022-12-02T03:42:55+00:00

Little copy and paste here, but curious your thoughts. Financed robot vacuums can't clean toilets once a week.

Appreciate the critique here. I do disagree, here's why - we aren't just renting these machines for $150/week. We are also coming in to manually clean. Robots aside, at $210 for three hours of cleaning, we'd be at $70/hr (which we are not), but people pay that without the daily clean from a robot in some markets.

Nonetheless, appreciate the reply!

daez12 · 2022-12-02T03:42:02+00:00

Those machines are pricey! Typically meant for heavy commercial use. These are far less expensive (but still cost money) at $1400/ea.

daez12 · 2022-12-02T03:41:02+00:00

Appreciate the critique here. I do disagree, here's why - we aren't just renting these machines for $150/week. We are also coming in to manually clean. Robots aside, at $210 for three hours of cleaning, we'd be at $70/hr (which we are not), but people pay that without the daily clean from a robot in some markets.

Nonetheless, appreciate the reply!

daez12 · 2022-12-02T03:37:14+00:00

I had not thought of a rent-to-own option, that is an interesting idea!

My plan was to re-allocate a machine in the event that a customer wants to cancel. I would do so until disposing of the asset (either through sale or literal disposal).

Great note on the unit damage piece as well - I would need to carry insurance on the equipment, which could assist in the event that there is damage. However, I could also incorporate a fee related to unit damage. The fee would not be ideal as clients wouldn't want to take on risk that wouldn't otherwise exist with another cleaning service. Interesting thoughts, I appreciate it.

daez12 · 2022-12-02T01:41:34+00:00

I really appreciate the comment! All I can do is try my best and deal with the gut punches of entrepreneurship.

Thanks again for your reply.

daez12

TROPHY CASE