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Cleaning Franchises: Commercial or Residential?

Written on February 25th, 2008 by Joseph in Franchise News.

The cleaning and maintenance industry is fast emerging as one of the best franchise opportunities. New players are coming up rapidly and old ones are spreading in a quick way. Hence, if you are plan on starting a franchise, you can definitely choose the field of cleaning services. There are basically two types of cleaning services – residential and commercial. Some pros and cons are associated with both areas; here are some of them to help you choose between residential and commercial cleaning services franchising concepts.

The pros and cons of residential cleaning service

Residential services such as maid services are in great demand these days, as working couples find little time to clean their houses. The services mostly include some basic cleaning of bathrooms, kitchens and other rooms and the client has the option of dictating how the cleaning should be like or whether any additional place is to be cleaned.

Pros
• Very much in demand, as working couples and senior citizens are increasing in number.
• The market is quite vast, as residential houses are spread across different US cities and hence, you can find a good market near your place of living.
• The team can be kept small, as cleaning a house won’t require a group of people. So, you can start with minimum number of employee.
• Low start-up cost is another big advantage.
• Even novices can start the business with proper guidance and training.

Cons
• The work-schedule can sometimes become erratic, as people don’t need to clean their homes on a daily basis.
• Several home-owners have unusual requests, which might be difficult to fulfill.
• Security issues also come up, since homes have more valuables in them than commercial areas.

The pros and cons of commercial cleaning service

This includes cleaning of various commercial properties such as offices and business centers. They have larger operational areas and several people need to be employed in cleaning each building. The rates are hence higher than residential cleaning services. The products used are also sometimes different, because, unlike residential cleaning, here cleaning large areas, which many people use (like office bathrooms), is necessary.

Pros
• As commercial buildings need more people to clean, the profitability is also higher.
• It’s not a weekly or once-in-a-month cleaning affair like residential cleaning. Commercial cleaning is supposed to be done on a regular basis.
• There are various aspects of commercial cleaning such as commercial carpet cleaning, window cleaning, etc. Hence, you can choose your area of work and concentrate on that only.

Cons
• High Start-up cost.
• The business area is limited to the commercial section of the city.
• You will need some kind of experience in this field to succeed as a franchisee.

So, the best bet is to opt for a cleaning company that provides both kinds of services. When you are new, you can start with residential cleaning. As you grow, you can start commercial cleaning as well. To get details on concepts that offer these services, check out the websites of www.brandEXPANSION.com and First Prize Franchise.