In business cities like Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kisumu, lots of folks need help keeping things clean. Whether it’s big offices needing tidy spaces or families wanting affordable cleaners, there’s always a demand for good cleaning services. This guide is here to help you become a pro cleaner in Kenya.
People these days are super busy, especially in cities. They don’t have much time to clean their places. So, they’re hiring others to do it for them—both regular folks and businesses are looking for outside help to keep things spick and span.
Imagine starting your own cleaning business in Kenya for as little as Ksh 80,000. This guide will show you how to do it, step by step, so you can take advantage of this opportunity and make it big in the cleaning business.
The importance of cleaning business
Health Benefits
Being clean reduces the risk of illness or infection. Regular cleaning ensures that bacteria, viruses, and other harmful microbes are removed from surfaces.
Better Indoor Air Quality
A clean environment improves the quality of indoor air. Dust, filth, and other materials can accumulate as pollutants in the air and hinder health. Cleaning businesses use specialized equipment and solutions that enhance air quality to remove these pollutants.
Saves Time and Energy
Cleaning can be a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. Hiring a cleaning service allows you to save time and energy that you could spend more wisely.
Related Article: How to Start a Beauty and Cosmetic Business in Kenya
Professional Results
Cleaning businesses have the skills and resources required to deliver results at the highest level. They have skilled workers who have handled a variety of cleaning responsibilities. Every time, the outcomes are expertly done.
Types of Cleaning Businesses in Kenya
Cleaning services for homes
Apartments and houses can be cleaned by residential cleaning companies. Move-in/move-out cleaning, thorough cleaning, and general cleaning are some of these services. Weekly, biweekly, or monthly cleaning schedules are typically provided by residential cleaning services. Residential cleaning services include duties like dusting and vacuuming, vacuuming floors, vacuuming kitchen and bathroom areas, dishwashing, cleaning windows, and ironing and laundry.
Commercial cleaning solutions
Offices, banks, restaurants, and retail establishments are among the business structures that cleaning firms referred to as “commercial cleaning services” can clean. Commercial cleaning services usually offer cleaning schedules on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Commercial cleaning services include vacuuming and dusting, sanitizing the restrooms and kitchen, emptying the trash cans, steam cleaning the floors and carpets, cleaning the windows and doors, and restocking supplies.
Services for industrial cleaning
Industrial cleaning services refer to the cleaning provided by businesses that focus on industrial settings and facilities, such as manufacturing plants, warehouses, and factories. Typically, industrial cleaning services provide customized cleaning schedules based on the needs of the customer.
Some of the duties that industrial cleaning services handle include the following: vacuuming walls, floors, high-pressure washing, cleaning ventilation systems, and cleaning machinery and equipment Sanitizing potentially dangerous substances
Required equipment for the cleaning business
A vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner needs to be kept on hand by any cleaning company. It is used on carpets, upholstery, and floors to remove dirt and debris. A range of models, such as canister, upright, and backpack variants, are available for vacuum cleaners. Considerations, including suction power, filtration system, and noise level, should be made while buying a vacuum cleaner.
Carpet Cleaner
In the cleaning industry, carpet cleaning is crucial, particularly for home cleaning services. A carpet cleaner gets rid of stains, debris, and odors from carpets. Carpet cleaners come in different varieties, such as truck-mounted and portable models. Considerations such as cleaning effectiveness, water tank capacity, and hose length are critical.
Floor scrubber
A floor scrubber can be used to clean and polish hard surfaces, including hardwood, tile, and concrete. It’s a machine that saturates the floor with a solution of water and a cleaning solution. uses brushes to scrape it, and the spent water is subsequently vacuumed away. There are many different designs of floor scrubbers, such as walk-behind and ride-on versions. When purchasing a floor scrubber, it’s critical to consider factors including cleaning width, brush type, and battery life.
Starting Cost Breakdown
| Cost category | Estimated cost(KSH) |
| Registration and legal fees | 20,000 – 50,000 |
| Equipment and supplies | 50,000 – 100,000 |
| Insurance | 15,000 – 30,000 |
| Marketing and advertising | 20,000 – 50,000 |
| Staffing and training | 50,000 -100,000 |
| Miscellaneous expenses | 20,000 – 30,000 |
| Total | 175,000 – 360,000 |
Steps to start a cleaning business
Conduct your research
Before launching a cleaning services business, do enough research to learn about the market, the business, and the necessary needs. The benefits and drawbacks of starting a cleaning business should be thoroughly investigated, as should the best cleaning supplies and equipment for comprehensive cleaning services, as well as the cleaning techniques required to provide high-quality services and the cleaning chemicals utilized.
Learn the correct cleaning techniques and how to prevent cross-contamination from one customer’s house or business to another. Do a lot of research on cleaning detergents to make sure you know which chemicals are the safest and best to use, as well as how to apply and use them.
Starting a cleaning business usually requires a small amount of capital, but there are useful tools available, such as YouTube and free internet resources, to help you learn a lot about the industry.
Select a Value Proposition and Your Name
The core of your cleaning company is its value proposition, which enables you to attract the right customers and differentiate yourself in a crowded industry. You may better communicate to your clients what they can expect from your firm by putting your corporate values in writing.
Your cleaning firm will benefit greatly from selecting a niche since it will help you better understand your clients’ demands and maintain focus on providing the highest caliber of cleaning services. You must distinguish between your cleaning business and what you offer if you are unable to identify a specific niche.
Take into account the following when choosing your value proposition:
How do your cleaning services help your clients with their problems?
Which services make your company unique from the competition? It can be yours. Price, Climate-friendly cleaning agents, a time and location guarantee, skilled and trained personnel, Your intended audience, additionally straightforward online reservation
You are in a better position to suggest a business name as soon as you are aware of your cleaning company’s values. The name of your company might reflect your values as a business, or you might choose a name that expresses your own style or something memorable.
Furthermore, confirm that your company name is:
- Easy to spell
- Easily pronounced
- Easy
- Three words maximum
Choose Your Area of Specialization
Commercial and residential cleaning services are the two categories of cleaning services offered by expert cleaning businesses. Although it is still feasible to operate a cleaning service for residential clients, commercial cleaning is more profitable than residential cleaning.
Offices, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, hotels, and retail centers are just a few of the businesses that use your commercial cleaning services. Commercial cleaning services involve cleaning windows, floors, kitchens, doors, restrooms, office spaces, and garbage cans. Depending on your relationship with the clientele, you can offer commercial cleaning services on weekdays, weekends, twice a week, or at night.
Conversely, general cleaning, which is often done once a week, is included in residential cleaning services. As a result, expanding your clientele will increase your cleaning business’s earnings.
Selecting a Business Location
As long as you have a good location, the cleaning service can be operated from home or in a commercial space. You can operate the business out of your house to save money on startup costs by avoiding overhead such as rent.
There are several desirable locations to launch a cleaning business, including Nairobi, large estates like Runda, Lavington, and Kileleshwa, and the neighborhoods surrounding Upper Hill, which are home to several business buildings and residences. By placing your cleaning business next to the aforementioned sites, you may reach a wide audience of potential customers and increase the number of people using your cleaning services.
After your clientele grows sufficiently and your company is profitable, you can consider setting up your commercial workspace in the best area.
Obtain Your Cleaning Business License
Upon obtaining a license, you can now begin doing your cleaning business lawfully. You can register your cleaning business by getting in touch with the Attorney General’s office in your community or any of the Huduma Centers spread out over the nation. To register your business, go to Sheria House or the Nairobi General Post Office if you’re in Nairobi.
If the company is managed by two or more people, it may be registered as a partnership or as a sole proprietorship. A business license differs based on where the business will be located and which county it will operate in. It can be obtained from the appropriate county government offices as well as the Nairobi County Offices at City Hall.
Procure Cleaning Business Insurance
Getting cleaning insurance is a must if you want to protect both your company and potential employees. It is not advisable to clean someone else’s house or building without insurance to protect their belongings in the event of damage or loss. You may manage your cleaning business safely, which is made possible by insurance.
As a novice business owner, the last thing you want is to inadvertently do harm to a new client’s uninsured property and incur debt. The majority of clients would not choose cleaning services without insurance coverage.
In Kenya, different insurance firms offer different types of insurance coverage. For example, Britam Insurance offers employer’s liability coverage, whereas Resolution Insurance Company offers liability coverage. When offering cleaning services, personnel are protected by all of these coverages from losses or damages.
Create your cleaning business brand.
Your cleaning company name can be changed into a brand by using your value proposition. Choose your brand colors and build your company logo (this may need to be done by professionals) or do it yourself.
Make sure to use your company’s logo on everything, including your website, car wrap, business cards, estimates, door hangers, uniforms, and invoice and quote templates. Changing your company logo periodically is also a smart idea because it is simple to update the version on your website, invoices, social media accounts, and email signature.
However, it will take longer and cost more money to restore your previous logo on tangible items like uniforms or car wraps.
Perform the Cleaning Yourself
To gain the chance to provide the greatest services and earn recommendations, you must serve your initial clients yourself. Being your own employer, doing your own cleaning will save you money and even eliminate labor expenditures.
You are the best person to represent your cleaning company to others. Before you can begin the process of hiring your first staff member, you must start to feel overwhelmed. As you start getting more work, choose one person to work with and train them so they can see that you value providing higher-quality services more than money. As you expand, you will be transferring the company’s culture and values to other employees.
Create Your Pricing and Service List
When making your service list, research the products and services that your rivals are providing in the market. Use their website as a reference to develop your service list and look for any business gaps in the industry that could present an opportunity for your cleaning company to differentiate itself.
Additionally, the way you price affects your profit margins right away because some cleaners charge by the square footage while others offer contracts. Setting a price for your cleaning services that includes square footage charges or contracts for a specific length of time is crucial to the success of your business. To price your business cleaning services, you must: calculate your contract fees; calculate the costs of your square footage with employees (if any); Account for overhead, equipment, and insurance Assess profitability, and account for taxes and fees.
Buy Your Cleaning Equipment
Starting a house cleaning company is a reasonably cheap business idea that needs minimal capital outlay to be profitable. Divide your materials, instruments, and apparatus into two categories:
You will need to purchase and use mops, face masks, rags and cloths, latex gloves, and all-purpose cleansers daily.
The goods, such as vacuum cleaners, cars, and caddies, will last for many years
If you have the will and desire to succeed, starting a cleaning business shouldn’t be hindered by the amount of money needed.
Your company’s mission should be to pursue success and to believe that failure will not be enough to keep you operating the cleaning service.
Your Cleaning Business
For your cleaning business to grow and turn a profit, marketing is crucial. Gaining customers for your cleaning business is simple when you use effective marketing.
A percentage of your allocated funds must be used for social media marketing, which includes purchasing YouTube channels, Google and Facebook advertisements, and comprehensive service promotion. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook pages, and business websites may all be used to advertise your business and reach a wider audience, which can increase sales. Use the influence of recommendations from friends and family as well.
Perfect and Customize Your Clientele Experience
After that, you’ll need to figure out how to manage your cleaning company by adjusting as necessary depending on what works and what doesn’t. Having a professional-looking quote template is one of the steps that gives you back control over how to run your cleaning company to increase sales and return on investment.
Since clients can read the invoice or quote, receive it via email, and approve it online, digital invoices and quotes also save time. By using templates for quotes and invoices, customers will be able to access them via the business website. Gaining new clients will be easier because you can talk about costs and other details online. As a result, your target market grows, drawing in additional customers for your superior cleaning solutions.
Conclusion
In Kenya, establishing a cleaning business requires careful preparation, a solid financial investment, and collecting the required paperwork from the appropriate authorities. For effective management of your cleaning business, as an entrepreneur, you must have a solid plan and a thorough understanding of the market and industry.
You must obtain the information and abilities necessary to offer superior cleaning services.
Superior cleaning services will always draw in new business; therefore, concentrate on delivering unrivaled cleaning services, gaining repeat business, and upholding a positive reputation. Since cleaning services are needed daily in both residential and commercial spaces, owning a cleaning company is a viable business endeavor in Kenya.
