Home/Growth/✨ Cleaning/Pricing strategy for small office cleaning gigs in commercial clients?
Pricing strategy for small office cleaning gigs in commercial clients?
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DoorJammer3
·1mo·40 replies·36 participants
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DoorJammer3🔧 ApprenticeOP1mo
27
I've been running my side hustle cleaning biz for a bit now, started with one small office account at the beginning of the year doing weekly cleans for $500 a month using just a Bissell vacuum and some Method all-purpose spray. Aiming to snag 3-4 more similar spots where it's only 1-2 visits a week, nothing too heavy on the deep cleans. Been in the Chicago area my whole career and these small businesses seem open to locals. What's the best way to advertise online for this? Saw some tips in the Cleaning Business Owners Facebook group about Google ads but not sure. Would love recs on other places to ask.
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DirtBagLandscaper2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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damn these small office owners nickel and dime you on every quote, had one haggle me down to $400 when i knew it was worth 600.
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VentVenturer⚒️ Journeyman1mo
6
frustrated too, they act like we're charging for gold-plated mops or something. been dealing with it for years.
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VentVenturer⚒️ Journeyman1mo
11
same here man, the haggling never ends.
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CanvasKing2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
8
i feel you, started out the same way and it sucks when they lowball.
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ThermostatTitan⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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yeah its a grind, but once you lock in a few they start referring.
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ThermostatTitan⚒️ Journeyman1mo
6
screw these corporate types buying up cleaning companies and undercutting everyone. its ruining the game for us independents.
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AmpedUp2⭐ Expert1mo
10
haha just tell em your rates include free cat herding, that usually cracks em up and they sign.
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PruneMasterFlex⚒️ Journeyman1mo
5
print business cards with your rates clear as day and hit up offices near your current one, works better than online bs.
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DoorJammer⭐ Expert1mo
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thats what i did, landed two accounts last month just walking in with cards.
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DoorJammer⭐ Expert1mo
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customer thought i was kidding about the cat herding till i showed up with treats, hilarious way to break the ice.
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CanvasKing2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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lol gold, stealing that for my next pitch.
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CanvasKing2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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big corps are the worst, saw a thread on r/CleaningTips where a guy got stiffed by one.
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BoxBoss2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
5
totally get the struggle, hang in there.
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OddJobOtto2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
6
pisses me off how they expect pro work for hobby prices, walked off one job last week.
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FloorFitterFred⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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yep, been there with the lowballs.
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ACBandit⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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offered a buddy a free window wash for referring me, got three calls in a week.
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NotAnElectrician11⭐ Expert1mo
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try local facebook groups too, post your services with before after pics of offices you've done.
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ChillChampion⚒️ Journeyman1mo
17
facebook groups are a crapshoot, man - i post my before and afters of those small office gigs and get crickets half the time while some yahoo undercuts me at $25 an hour. tried it for months and barely landed two clients worth the gas. now im sticking to word of mouth cuz this online BS just wastes my damn time.
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RoofRat6⭐ Expert1mo
5
facebook groups are like that one buddy who promises to help on the job but ghosts you every time, total time suck. stick with word of mouth, thats where the real gigs hide without all the yahoo BS.
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ZapMaster3000⚒️ Journeyman1mo
18
yeah man, those facebook groups are a total ghost town, promise the world but leave you high and dry every damn time.
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ShingleShuffler5⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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facebook groups are like that one buddy who says he'll show up for the job but ghosts you with a 'family emergency'. been chasing leads there for years and all i got was a headache and a lighter wallet 😂.
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BoltBreaker2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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Steer clear of those facebook groups, man, theyll suck you in with fake leads and leave you chasing ghosts for weeks. Had a buddy who dumped $500 on ads chasing commercial cleaning gigs through one of em, ended up with nothing but pissed off clients who ghosted him. Dont waste your time or cash on that BS, its a total trap for small operators like us. Stick to local networking or even cold calling offices in your area instead. Last year i saw another guy go under because he relied on those promises, lost his truck and everything. Youll regret diving in if youre not careful.
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FrostFighter⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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chasing facebook leads is a trap, i wasted three months on dead-end gigs last year and it nearly sank my whole operation.
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BrushStrokePro7⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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yeah man, facebook groups are a total time suck for me too, stick with word of mouth and save your sanity.
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PolishPro5⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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word of mouth is gold but dont sleep on the fact that chasing facebook leads can eat your whole week without a single paying gig.
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TarpTitan3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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stick to per-square-foot pricing for those office gigs, aim for $0.15 to $0.25 depending on the detail level, it keeps things fair and beats the hourly haggling bs.
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ShingleShark16⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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word of mouth is still king for us cleaners, discount the referrer a clean and watch it spread.
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DuctDoctor4⚒️ Journeyman1mo
23
hate how these chains are swallowing up the market, forcing us to drop prices just to compete. time to unionize or something.
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TenYearVet20⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those damn chains are choking us out, underbidding with their cheap immigrant labor and zero benefits. time to unionize before they bury every independent cleaner in the ground.
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RidgeRunner⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those chains are killing us independents with their bullshit underbidding and zero overhead. unionize now or were all screwed, cant compete with their slave labor crap.
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WireWizard2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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switch to per-square-foot pricing on those small office gigs; its the standard and keeps you from getting undercut on hourly rates. aim for 15-25 cents per foot to cover your overhead without racing the chains to the bottom. i use jobber to quote it quick and it scales way better for independents like us.
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RodentRider⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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yeah man, those chains are straight up screwing us independents with their undercutting BS. i lost two office gigs last month to some corporate drone paying peanuts to their crew. feels like were all just racing to the bottom til nobody makes a living. been there, its exhausting.
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TrapTamer⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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screw the chains, i've built my crew up to $200k steady on local office gigs by sticking to fair wages and top-notch service that keeps clients loyal for years.
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TarpTitan⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those damn chains underbid everyone with their crap wages and immigrant labor just to squeeze us independents dry, but hell, good on you for holding the line and making it to 200k.
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AllAroundAce⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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unionizing sounds good on paper but dont jump in blind, i saw a bunch of local cleaners get roped into a union that jacked up their dues and left em with zero leverage against those chains.
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MulchMan2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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stick to flat rates for small office cleans, like $150-250 per visit based on square footage, and always get a signed contract to avoid those chain deadbeats screwing you over.
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WireNinja88⚒️ Journeyman1mo
14
those damn chains are lowballing everyone and turning this into a race to the bottom, i lost two good office contracts last month to their BS pricing.
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FlushKing⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those chains are screwing us all, lost a strip mall gig last week to their $0.12/sq ft crap. gonna have to start walking away from these lowball bids before we all go under.
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BlowerBoss⚒️ Journeyman1mo
14
those chains are killing us, underbidding at $0.12/sq ft and leaving us to pick up their sloppy jobs for peanuts. walked away from two bids last month cuz i wont chase that race to the bottom. if we dont stick together, were all screwed.
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PipeLord42028⭐ Expert1mo
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yeah man, those chains are like that ex who promises the world but leaves you broke and scrubbing toilets for pennies 😂
