How I Built a $125K/Month Cleaning Business
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2023
- Neel Parekh launched his cleaning business start-up MaidThis in 2013 to achieve financial independence. A decade later, it’s expanded into a national brand with an average monthly revenue of $166,000-and run as a 100% remote digital business. Learn how to start a cleaning business following Neel’s model in this UpFlip interview.
What Neel built is extraordinary. If you're interested in owning a piece of MaidThis and becoming a franchisee... Neel is giving all UpFlip viewers an exclusive $6,000 in marketing credit. Learn more here: maidthisfranchise.com/upflip
Neel’s goals when he became an entrepreneur were two-fold: to have freedom to travel and to provide financially for his parents. He experimented with a variety of side hustles when he first ventured into entrepreneurship. He’ll explain what drew him to starting a cleaning business and what he learned from those earlier ventures that helped him launch MaidThis once he found his niche.
Most people think of a cleaning company as a local business, but Neel bucked that trend by launching MaidThis with a fully-remote model. Their team is distributed across 8 countries, and he’ll explain the advantages and challenges that come along with running a remote cleaning business. He’ll also share his strategies for communicating and managing the workflow with a remote team. Building that team has brought its own challenges, and he’ll explain how the business improved their recruiting systems during Covid.
One factor that drove MaidThis’s success is that they niched down into Airbnb cleaning. They were the first Airbnb cleaning franchise in the United States, with an automated scheduling system that integrates into Vrbo and Airbnb easily. He’ll share why this is such a great niche for a cleaning business and how they developed the systems they use in the business today.
If you want more insights into how to start a successful cleaning business, check out some of our past interviews:
A Day in the Life of a Business Owner Making $4,120/Day ►
• A Day in the Life of a...
$300 Turned Into $14M Cleaning Business ►
• $300 Turned Into $14M ...
Resources
Main landing page: maidthisfranchise.com/upflip
Neel's Podcast: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
Grow Baby Grow Marketing: gbg.marketing/
Neel's CZcams Channel: / @neelbparekh
www.upflip.com/podcast - Hear interviews with other business owners on the UpFlip podcast
www.upflip.com/newsletter - Subscribe to the UpFlip newsletter
#cleaningbusiness #cleaningbusinessstartup #cleaningcompany
Check out our courses by entrepreneurs who’ve achieved what they claim to teach: www.upflip.com/courses/business
There is so much money to be made in this world and he is chasing it day after day. His strategies and overall perspective is the qualities of an amazing business owner! I’m starting a small auto detailing business, advertising my services, gaining clients, and climbing that ladder at 20 years old.
Indeeded!! That's awesome, let us know how it goes ;)
Glad it resonated, and thanks for the kind words! Best of luck on your journey
Nice! Good for you!
@@NeelBParekh Bro you had me at travel the world, that's my dream. I booked a call with your team, let's see how it goes.
@NeelBParekh hey bud. Ty for the insight. I have simple questions. I know yourr are very busy but I would love to get an answer.
1. Is this agency model dependent on you creating your company and hiring people to work under your company and sending them jobs.
Or
2. You have an agency where you have many other cleaning companies (sub-contract) under your umbrella and you just provide them jobs..
Please let me know which model is yours and if other model would work as well.
Their franchise fee is around 30k btw in case anyone's wondering, a cleaning business doesnt even take $1k to start so handing someone else that much to "give you a business" means you have money to waste and no initiative. Because a savy entrepreneur with that much capital could create a booming startup with no help .
%100 correct
True
lol buying a business means you have no initiative? That makes no sense.. a savvy entrepreneur is buying cashflow and buying a company is a cheat code on saving time. Paying $200k for a company that can save you 6 years of time building is an absolute no brainer. Entrepreneurs are also looking for leverage and buying a business is leveraging money, time, and other people.
The guy being interviewed is sharp
lol I don’t think you understand what savy means. You buy cash flow because NPV matters.
Well a business owner can also start a burger stand for 1k$ compared to a McDonald’s franchise but obviously you see the difference. As a franchisee you pay for their marketing and branding to bring in customers for you
Having a systems in place for the phone script... is worth GOLD. Thank you for sharing.
Hope you picked up a thing or two from the script. It was insanely good!
Really Thank You Upflip for Interviewing Neel Parekh, It Just Gives Me A Whole New Brilliant Idea Today !
That's fantastic! We're thrilled to have featured him. We're also curious - what brilliant idea do you have up your sleeve? 😊
Excellent interview. Very impressed.
Wow!! I didn't finish watching the video yet and I had to stop to leave a like and a comment! So much good information. A lot of videos that I saw before, it was all about their cars, money, and houses. Thank you, mate!!
Thank you for letting us know that you're enjoying the video! He did share a ton of golden nuggets and we just couldn't get enough of it!
If anything, I do want to say thank you for changing my perspective. I would have never thought that a "cleaning-service business" can also go remote.
Glad it was helpful! Were you inspired to start your own cleaning business? ☺️
Great episode, thanks guys! But it would have been great if you guys could've talked a bit more about the risks of this kind of business - insurance coverage, theft, damages, etc.
Also I what vetting process do you have in place to assure quality people with a clean record.
Paul is in the house. Never clicked so fast. Paul is the G. O. A. T 🐐of this channel. Welcome back Paul.
YESS PAULL IS BACK WOHOOOO
Phenomenal interview! So many gems and words of wisdom buried in this episode! Neil is very intelligent and captivating! I wish him the greatest success.
I'm a real estate investor and content creator, and I'm super inspired by stories like this. Imagine turning $1,000 into $1 million every year in just 3 years, all while working from anywhere - that's amazing! What really stands out to me is how important it is to answer the phone when running a business.
I couldn’t agree with you more!!! So amazing!!!
Wow, Neil, your journey from corporate finance to building a remote local business is truly inspiring! It's evident that you've put a lot of thought and effort into making it work. I'm curious, considering the importance of customer reviews, what have been some of the most effective strategies you've used to encourage customers to leave positive reviews for your cleaning service?
I agree with you! Neil shared valuable insights that can help others on their entrepreneurial journey. Keep up the fantastic work!
It's fascinating to see how you transformed a traditional local service into a fully remote operation, and your revenue growth is impressive.
One key tip he firmly suggests is ensuring that the process of leaving reviews is incredibly fast and user-friendly for customers. When it becomes complex, it's much less likely that anyone will take the time to leave a review! 🌟
I find it very inspiring to hear how Neil was able to turn his local cleaning business into a fully remote one. He did this by finding the right model and hitting three main pieces of criteria. He also spent under a thousand dollars to get started, which is very impressive.
Authenticity is crucial when soliciting reviews. Never fake or manipulate reviews, as this can damage your reputation and violate review platform guidelines. Focus on providing top-notch service, and the positive reviews will naturally follow.
This channel is so helpful. Please keep up the excellent work. Thank you.
Glad you found it helpful! Hope the information you learn propels you to new heights and success. 🚀
His energy is amazing😀Thank you for giving so many helpful tips 🙌🏾
Awesome! Do you also run a cleaning business?
@@UpFlip No I don't. I just think your videos are inspiring for the tips that can help anyone in any industry tbh
A lot of knowledge! He's all about marketing. He can do just about any business and replicate success. Using the right tools to manage his leads and following up.
You're right! Once you've mastered the intricacies of marketing, you can succeed in any business. 🙌
It's inspiring to see how determination, innovation, and leveraging technology can lead to such remarkable success in such a short period of time. This video is invaluable for anyone trying to start their own business or take their own business to new heighs.
Thank you for this great information. What service do you use in South Africa to answer your phones?
This is a great video!
Thank you! We're glad you enjoyed it ❤️
This is an incredibly insightful video. I appreciate the depth that Neel provided on his systems, processes, and how they are designed around the psychology of the customer. I'm also inspired by how he leverages data. Excellent!
He's done extensive research when he started and has applied the knowledge he learned to develop his systems. Clever guy!
That sales pitch can be used for every business! Very good content once again!!
I'm really glad you found it helpful! Are you a business owner, or are you thinking about starting one? 😊
Thank you for sharing this amazing video!
Glad you found the video amazing! 🙏
hey what software to use for the instant quote and booking feature on the website? would love to have in on my gohighlevel too thanks
It was an owesome and very informative video ❤.
Thank you! Hope we inspired you to try this type of biz! 🙏
Wow. Awesome. This just gave me an idea. And if this inspires anyone remember to move in silence...only get with people who want to rise together from zero...not someone who would only help you if u pay them upfront...if someone sees longterm potential and you and those someones also see long term team potential...then team up...but dont share all your movements...steps to take anyone can learn....the doing is the hard part to maintain but with a team you lighten up the load
What does he use for his website. Looks absolutely game changing
This guest is awesome. Both of you guys
Wow, thank you! 🔥
1:17 - 2 years of vacation every year!? I want that job!! :) Just picking. I flub up here and there when I'm on camera too. Great video as always!
Imagine how stressful his work was that he was able to get a 2 year vacation yearly 😂
I love watching every Upflip videos. It gives me that push, plus hope that screams, "There is money to be made out there".
And yes, death to mosquitoes world wide😂
I love this guy just for the answer he gave in the quick quiz answer, what a legend.
Smart guy! ☺️
Great video 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
That's awesome! Were you inspired to start your own cleaning business? ☺️
Great story. Love to there about success and all the work that goes into that success. Some advice, if you look through binoculars you can see better if you take the lens covers off. :)
Just saying Paul if my favorite interviewer.
You'll get to see him a lot going forward ;)
That makes two of us ❤
Whats the name of the dashboard he uses for following up with customers at 23:28?
Wow incredible
Glad it was helpful! Were you inspired to start your own remote cleaning business?
Wow fantastic story!! But I didnt get it, why he needed only a laptop and a wifi connection at the beginning? what about cleaning equipments?
Secondly, how franchise does work in terms the company is totally remote?
I would like to know what system he uses for reviews. Love the way he described it.
Love this! What is the dashboard being used to automate the mangement of the company reviews?
Paul is back!
🥳
The mock call sales section is great, definitely copying that
Surely helpful! 👊
Dan, AND he is gorgeous!
The problem I have with this, and many of the UpFlip videos, is the way it glazes over the issue of finding people to actually do the work. We are currently in the middle of a labor crisis where it is almost impossible to find reliable unskilled labor. The majority of the video should be dedicated to how to solve for that one problem.
Thank you for the suggestion! We always aim to cover a wide range of topics, and that one sounds quite specific. It's a great idea for future content. 😄
Simple: offer better pay, there's no such thing as "labor crisis" people want to get paid more that's it
@@CristobalMondragon I appreciate your input 👍
He’s making this sound super easy, but it’s not. I’ve ran a cleaning business for years, employees steal clients, they steal items, dealing with clients is very frustrating, also most people are cheap , they don’t want to pay more then $200 for a cleaning, this guy isn’t running a cleaning business, he’s selling franchises, this is way different, and yet they label it as a “cleaning”business. Please don’t try to jump into this thinking you will reach a million easily.
@@CristobalMondragonoffering more money doesn’t help. Bad employees also want more money. Industry standard is $17/hr for cleaners in our area and we bumped up to $25/hr to get better talent. We quickly learned that we got more applicants but the talent level didn’t change. Jobs that used to have people lined up out the door for $20/hr are now unable to get people to show up to interviews for $30/hr. There is very much so a labor issue right now
Great info! What company do you use for 5 touch marketing and shipping brownies?
Really good episode! Wish he would've dropped a few crumbs on his cost for contractors vs his revenue.
Glad you found the episode valuable! We'll keep your suggestion in mind for future episodes! 🔥
Could you please bring more people up who are not selling their coaching / franchise? 🙏
Thanks for the feedback. BTW we think franchises are great due to their impressive success rate of 80%, a stark contrast to the mere 20% success rate observed among independent ventures ;)
Buy an existing cleaning business already has clients and making money!
Nothing is free in this Life , even if they gave all the sauce you will say it’s a LIE and never take action
Amazing
Thanks! Hope you learned a thing or two from Neel 🙌
i am so surprised, that this is working remotly.
he must have the most amazing recruiting skills.
He does work with cleaning agencies. And with the experience he has, he does have excellent recruitment skills 😉
It’s all about having a system in place. And he sends new subcontractors on a test clean before sending them to someone’s home
You can do it in usa canada ...but other countries i dont know if thats works
Great segment. I wonder if you need to start off as a cleaner to know what you are doing and what is formula is for employee rates and cleaning rates.
He didn't start as a cleaner.
This video is packed with so much value. No flexing no cars, lavish vacations.. just facts and tips.
Good stuff!
Is there anyway to upload these without any background music? It could be an unlisted video. Thank you
Love your channel
OMGI LOVE NEEL!!!!! He is who inspired me to start a cleaning business too!!!!
Thanks for watching and supporting our channel! ☺️
😃👋so happy to hear this!
@@UpFlipI definitely already do! I want to be featured one day!
@@NeelBParekhthank you for passing the baton and being a huge inspiration! 🤗
I want to start one and to get it. Let’s partner up.
great video once again, my goal to is automate my service and run it virtually but I am starting the in person service by hiring people to clean. Can't believe they made that typo on the pamphlet !
Good luck with your business! Hope this video showed you how to get started with automation. 💪
21:57 bro still has the binocular covers on LMAO
😅
Can we apply this with (senior) home care service(my kids are RNs and love to travel)? What other services and be good for running remotely for example, handyman, plumbing, auto glass/windshield repair, car key programming, AC/Heater repair, home appliance repair install, TV Mount install, furniture moving, mobile car repair, tree services, air duct cleaner/replacement etc.?
Home care service does indeed seem like a promising candidate for a remote business. It's wise to conduct thorough research before diving in, and the digital age has made that process much more accessible. Wishing you the very best of luck!
Nice work
Thanks for reply me
Thank you for taking the time to watch! ☺️
How did you make sure the workers could actually clean? I've hired workers from those sites but had to train heavily
Usually, you need one great cleaner on staff that will train others.
Same!
@@ChristianJHarriscompletely agree
great info, I was intrigued as Im starting from nothing so the franchise idea sounded great but found out you basically have to be rich to start a franchise with them so I guess its a no go for me, maybe start like he did without a system go door to door with a bucket & rag
We understand the sentiment. You can always start as a stand-alone. Franchising isn't the only way to a successful business venture. Hope you still have some valuable takeaways 🙏
Do you price the same throughout all countries?
Impressive!
Would love to hear more about getting the first employee(s) when first starting. I assume they aren’t 1099 as that wouldn’t be allowed with this style of operation (you’re dictating what time they carry out the jobs, so they aren’t 1099’s). How do you afford to have an employee on payroll when first starting? Thanks!
That's a great question and certainly something we should've asked him. If we get another interview in the future, that question will surely be at the top of the list. 🙌
You are allowed to give a window arrival time.
Why can’t they be 1099? It’s gig work like DoorDash or Uber.
You can and should start as 1099, it’s definitely gray area but once you have a handful you can transition them to W2. Opening payroll too early is super expensive
hey UpFlip, how can we but the operation manual, I'm so obbssessed with operations, and does it ork for all businesses or certain industries and types of businesses?
That manual he showed is all about his franchise cleaning biz. Every business has similarities, but specific niches has their own special techniques. What kinds of businesses are you thinking of starting?
@@UpFlip cllothes brand but I also always learn about business and operations as they are related to my job, but how can I get the book, and does it help me in business and operations in general?
Totally in love with the business model, i have a question, how do we stop the client from being direct with the labor? maybe going forward the client calls the labor directly at a cheaper bargain, need suggestions on this please...thank you
Hey there! Neel here. Most clients have worked with individual cleaners before and don’t want the headache of scheduling and reliability, especially as it relates to Airbnbs. It’ll still happen though, no way around it, but happens less than one would think
1:12 You had me at "Heavy on Excel" 🤑Underappreciated AND heavy on Excel? that is just torture.
Don't get me started on the Excel macros I had to use...
“Two years of vacation every year” doesn’t sound too bad though.
Indeed!
Can someone tell me what software he is using to manage leads and online gamified form?
Most CRM's would work for this
Is no one else gonna mention the misspelling of "cleaing" on printed brochures at 17:36 ??
Lol
What are the main softwares they are using?
*Everything he says is easy but what's REALLY HARD is to find good work force and people to work for you as cleaners.*
*There is a shortage of employees everywhere - look at all big corporate stores - NOW HIRING signs everywhere that pay a good hourly rate, benefits health insurance etc YET there are hardly anyone ready to work.*
Yup
They just don’t wanna work for you…
There’s plenty of workers out there 😐
@@eliianskee5889
No, there are hiring signs everywhere - read my comment again.
Walmart, Target, Costco, Every other gas station, every other small business..... the problem is, Uber and Delivery business has been booming so much that every blue collar is getting into it.
Truly work your own hours, nothing to sell, too much inline. No slavery of a 9-5 boss and work. Everyone wants it.
That’s not right. The nature of this work is different from the jobs you’re talking about.
@@OneAwareness1
You still cant find enough people to work for you with commitment and dedication in this market ... give it a shot.
This I need to start my cleaning business. Idk how to do this. I need to start cleaning and to hire women to clean. How to get costumers?
What is the dashboard at 23:30????
Ok I would love to know more about the business model that he used since he said it could work with any kind of service. I have a decorating service for the holidays. How can I implement a business model like his ?
That's great! Please feel free to contact Neel so he can better advise you. The link of his website is in the description! ☺️
I always call the $ the "My ridiculous number". It's the number I will 100% walk away from whatever it is I'm doing work wise only. EVERYONE has a number for this.
I hope he noticed that the brochure has a major spelling error. I'm surprised that a printing company in the US sent a product to the client without checking it.
Great catch!
Yea Neel
Hope you learned a thing or two from Neel! Thanks for watching 🔥
He’s smart to have shifted his business model to a franchise company. I wonder how much of that 25% margin comes from royalty fees.
Underrated question.
I personally think that cleaning is not the best service business to get into because the service fee is relatively low onless you make it into monthly subscription where it cost like 5000 dollars a month. Then it makes sense because your not competing on price but value offered.
Hey there, Neel here. The above numbers are all for my LA business (not franchise). So none of the 25% is attributed to the royalty fees :)
@@Lightflames85 which is the best service business to start?
@@NeelBParekhThank you so much for taking the time to respond to this thread! Much appreciated, very interested in this business.
The Bulanov is back!😁
We appreciate you tuning in! We hope you enjoyed the video ☺️
I think the reason most people considering building a company don't hire consultants (sherpas) to help them, is that most people charge quite a bit for this. A lot of people start a business with max a few thousand dollars to spend.
Having a mentor isn't an absolute must; you can always find one when you're ready. But if you've got the means, it's wise to have them right from the start to supercharge your success!
My only question ... How would a cleaning business get the cleaning products, (eg, cleaning supplies) remote 🤔
this is inspiration for a man from prison
Absolutely, there's always hope for a fresh start! 🌟
i have so many questions ? does he provide supplies?
At 17.07 it looks like hes made a really bad spelling error on all his leaflets
Ya but I could easily say I want to pay one time. How do you deal with those customers? I'm sure there's plenty of em
@UpFlip
in 15.13min you have mentioned about a service call Five Rounds. Could you share the link if possible. Couldn't find it online
How do you stop the customers going to the cleaners directly for the second time, and skip the middle man?
Great question! In his business model, the cleaners represent his company when dealing with customers, and they don't identify themselves as contractors. He has a clear agreement in place between his company and the cleaning agencies to prevent these kinds of problems.
@@UpFlipAn "agreement" isn't going to stop someone from stealing customers.
They may steal a customer or two, but then they’re cut off from the flow of new customers because they don’t have the know-how
Does he hire people that do the cleaning on full time job?If not, on what type of contract are they working and how are they managing time assuming these people have full time job?If yes, how did he payed them in beginning?
These are excellent questions! He collaborates with cleaning agencies, so there's a formal agreement between his company and the agencies.
@14:44 his brochure has a blatant spelling error; "outsource your cleaing"......uh oh =P
Add timecodes
i see you trying to increase that watch time upflip lol good vid
Can someone please please please take the time to explain to me how he is getting calls routed to south africa from calling a local number. I need this badly.
Although we didn't delve into this extensively in the video, the process is quite typical of call centers worldwide. His call center in South Africa manages his phone lines. This can be achieved by acquiring virtual numbers from services like Google Voice and others. This practice is well-documented and can be found online. Hope this helps!
@@UpFlip thank you so much for taking the time to reply!!
You started in one location, Los Angeles? All other locations are franchises?
He doesn't have an actual location as he works remotely, but yes, he does have a bunch of franchises. ☺️
What software is he using ? Thats what we need to know.
Go High Level
Go High Level!
Do you use that platform to scale your business? ☺️
How much did your finance degree play into this / was that your competitive advantage?
Bro he’s not the only one doing this. There are a lot of people in the remote cleaning business and they’re mostly hitting big numbers. That’s because you can expand far and wide, whereas a local business is stuck in one area
Can you share with us witch CRM system are you using ?
Go High level it looks like
When i will see software development company business and it business please love from India brother
We're working on it! 👊
Spelling mistake @14:45
OUTSOURCE YOUR CLEAING, LOL.