How Many Cleaning Businesses Actually Fail?
Starting a cleaning business looks easy. Buy some supplies, post an ad, and start cleaning. But most new cleaning businesses close within two years.
About 20% of small businesses close in the first year. By year five, about half are gone. Cleaning businesses fail even more often. Why? Because anyone can start one. That means lots of people try, and prices get pushed down.
The good news? The same mistakes cause most failures. If you know what they are, you can avoid them. Here are the eight biggest reasons cleaning businesses fail.
Expecting Too Much Money Too Fast
Many new owners think they will make a full income right away. When that does not happen, they give up.
Building a cleaning business takes time. In the first few months, you will spend more time finding clients than cleaning. It takes most people 12 to 18 months to earn a steady income from cleaning.
How to Set Goals That Make Sense
- Start part-time — keep your day job until you have 10 to 15 regular clients
- Set small money goals — try to earn $1,000 in month one, then grow 20% each month
- Know your real pay — track how much you earn per hour after all costs
- Save for slow times — put aside three months of bills before going full-time
Charging Too Little for Your Work
This is the number one reason cleaning businesses fail. New owners charge less than others to get clients. But low prices lead to low pay and burnout.
When you charge too little, you cannot cover your real costs. Most new cleaners forget about drive time, supplies, insurance, and taxes. A $25 per hour rate might really be $12 per hour after all costs.
What Happens When You Charge Too Little
- You cannot pay for insurance — one accident could end your business
- You cannot hire help — you are stuck doing all the work alone
- You get tired fast — working 60 hours a week for low pay wears you out
- You get bad clients — people who only care about price are hard to please
Not sure what to charge? Use our pricing guide or price calculator to find the right price for your area.
Not Having a Plan to Get Clients
Some owners think great work will bring in clients on its own. It will not. At least not fast enough to pay your bills.
Word of mouth takes time. Without a plan to find clients, you will have weeks with no work. You need to look for new clients every single week.
Simple Ways to Get More Clients
- Set up a Google Business page — it is free and helps people find you online
- Ask happy clients for reviews — good reviews are your best sales tool
- Post on social media each week — before and after photos work great
- Join local Facebook groups — answer questions and share what you do
- Start a referral program — give clients a reason to tell their friends about you
You do not need to spend a lot of money on ads. But you do need to work on getting new clients every week, even when you are busy.
Not Keeping Track of Your Money
Making money is not the same as keeping money. Many cleaning businesses earn a lot but still go broke. Why? They do not track where their money goes.
Common money mistakes include not saving for taxes, buying tools you do not need yet, and letting clients pay late. One bad month can close a business that has no savings.
Money Rules for Cleaning Businesses
- Save 25-30% for taxes — put this in a separate bank account and do not touch it
- Get paid right away — collect payment when you finish the job, not 30 days later
- Keep three months of bills saved — this keeps you safe during slow times
- Write down every cost — use an app or a simple list to track what you spend
- Check your numbers each week — know how much you make on each job
Learn more about tracking your money in our bookkeeping guide and tax deductions guide.
Trying to Do Everything Yourself
You clean. You answer calls. You send bills. You post on social media. This works when you have five clients. It breaks when you have twenty.
One person can only clean so many homes in a day. When you also spend your nights on emails and bills, you get tired fast. The businesses that last are the ones that get help before they are too tired to keep going.
What to Hand Off First
- Bills and money tracking — use simple software or hire someone to do your books
- Scheduling — use scheduling software instead of doing it by hand
- Cleaning — hire your first helper when you have more work than you can do alone
- Social media — set up posts ahead of time so they go out on their own
Not Having Set Steps for Your Work
If your whole business is just in your head, it will fall apart when you get tired. Set steps and lists keep things running smoothly.
Without set steps, every day is messy. You forget jobs. You give different prices for the same work. Your helpers do not know what "clean" means to you. Clients see the difference and they leave.
Set Steps Every Cleaning Business Needs
- Cleaning checklists — so every home gets the same great clean every time
- Pricing rules — so every quote is fair and makes you money
- New client steps — so new clients know what to expect
- A calendar system — so you never forget or double-book a job
- Quality checks — so you catch problems before clients do
- Training guide — so new hires learn your way of cleaning fast
You do not need fancy tools to start. A written list and a shared calendar work fine at first. As you grow, use apps that do more of the work for you.
Not Listening to What Clients Think
Most unhappy clients do not tell you they are unhappy. They just leave. By the time you see a bad review, you have already lost other clients who left without a word.
Good cleaning businesses ask for feedback. They check in after the first clean. They ask for reviews often. They make it easy for clients to share what they think.
How to Get Honest Feedback
- Check in after every first clean — send a quick text asking how it went
- Ask a few questions each month — keep it to three questions or less
- Make it easy to tell you problems — give clients your phone number, not just email
- Fix problems right away — then tell the client what you did
Not Changing When Things Change
The cleaning world changes all the time. Clients want new things. New cleaners start up nearby. New tools come out. If you keep doing things the old way, you will fall behind.
A few years ago, most clients called to book a cleaning. Now they want to book online. Green cleaning used to be rare. Now many clients want it. If you do not change with the times, clients will go somewhere else.
How to Stay Ahead
- Watch other cleaners — what are they doing that you are not?
- Ask clients what they want — new services, better times, easier ways to reach you
- Use new tools — online booking, text reminders, and easy payment options
- Add new services — deep cleaning, move-out cleaning, or green cleaning
- Raise your prices each year — your costs go up, so your prices should too
Want to grow your business? Read our guide on how to grow your cleaning business.