5 Tips for Building a Business Plan for a Successful Domestic Cleaning Franchise

When you’re entering the world of franchising and starting a domestic cleaning business, you’ll find that there’s a lot of demand to work with. But as a result? There’s also a lot of competition to contend with. Building a business plan that’s comprehensive and foolproof from day one will help you immensely with running your own business and building a house cleaning franchise that can achieve and maintain profitability.

During the first COVID-19 lockdown, domestic cleaning services were stopped overnight. 80% of window cleaners, for instance, were furloughed [Federation of Window Cleaners]. But even with this massive disruption and more to follow, domestic cleaners were largely able to adapt and overcome. The end of 2021 outlook for the domestic cleaning industry is bright, and if you want to become a domestic cleaner, now’s the time to make your move.

How to build a business plan for a domestic cleaning franchise

Running a home cleaning franchise will see you entering a densely-populated sub-sector of the cleaning industry. There are many different domestic cleaning franchises in the UK that are currently working at the top of their game, and if you want to stand out from the crowd and get a foot in the door, a strong business plan is essential. All franchise business plans, regardless of industry, should include the following sections/details:

• An executive summary
• A business description
• Product/service descriptions
• A management summary
• Market analysis
• Operational details/business premises details
• Sales and marketing plans
• Financial projections and requirements

More specifically to you and your plan of starting your own domestic cleaning franchise, these five domestic-cleaning-industry-focused top tips for business plan building will ensure that you include all the essential information and detail...

1. Utilise the knowledge you’ve already gained during the research phase, pre-investment

Many see the business plan creation process as very daunting and overwhelming when they become a franchisee, and some might choose to skip it altogether (to the future detriment of their franchise, sadly). Avoid this overwhelmed feeling - and the urge to skip on by - by remembering how much research you’ve likely already done to get this far. What did you learn about the domestic cleaning industry when you were trying to decide whether to invest in it? How can this be repurposed, now, during the section of your business plan in which you conduct market analysis?

2. Make your cleaning franchise’s slate of offerings distinct by focusing in on your mission statement

Every house cleaning business positions itself differently to the next - even when the services offered are very similar. When you make a career change with a domestic cleaning franchise, reach the business-plan-writing stage and have to create a mission statement, you should use this as an opportunity to discover what makes the franchise network you’ve invested with distinct from the rest - is it their services, or their cost, or even just their branding? Here are some examples of well-written mission statement style sentences that position similar house cleaning companies differently via branding:

• Bright & Beautiful puts the focus on the client - “We free up our clients’ time by providing as little or as much housekeeping and cleaning support as they need.”

• Poppies emphasises its passion - “Poppies is a cleaning service with a difference – a lot of differences actually! [...] We are truly passionate about what we do, and are proud to be able to offer our bespoke services across the UK.”

• Cleanhome taps into customer pain points - “As the pressure of work mounts, the first thing to suffer is the housework. Let Cleanhome send you someone honest and reliable to do it for you.”

3. Pay careful attention to your branding and marketing plans

As mentioned, a strong and foolproof business plan matters more in a saturated market. So, then, does marketing. Marketing should be a bread-and-butter part of daily life running a domestic cleaning franchise, and you should be developing regularly updated, high-impact advertising strategies early on. You can’t skip this step or speed through it when you’re looking to find your place in an industry that employs almost 1,000,000 people in the UK [Tidy Choice].

4. Actively liaise with your franchisor as you build your business plan

Your franchisor has a wealth of experience in the industry, and in helping franchisees like you to grow successful businesses that in turn benefit them. If you find yourself unsure about something as you’re putting together your franchise business plan, take it to your franchisor for query/confirmation. If you think of a way to improve your business that the franchisor hasn’t already considered, take this to them, too. One of the biggest advantages of franchising with a domestic cleaning company, and of franchising in general, is that it’s a collaborative, supportive process - so don’t forget that you never have to go it alone!

5. Set measurable goals that allow you to track your future success

Set SMART goals in your business plan, rather than abstract goals that you won’t truly be able to continually track and monitor. SMART equals: Specific (who, what, when, where, why?), measurable (in figures, usually), attainable (not totally unrealistic), relevant (in line with the vision you have for your franchise) and time-based (how long do you have to achieve the goal?).

Goals [in business] serve as a guide to keep you on course when times get tough, and prevent you from becoming distracted by unimportant matters. Goals also provide benefits in areas like planning, motivation and the attainment of rapid results.
- Chris Joseph, Chron

Use these business plan tips to enter the domestic cleaning industry and start a house cleaning franchise

Putting yourself ahead of the pack in any way that you can will allow your domestic cleaning franchise’s services to really shine. For more advice on starting and running a home cleaning business, stay on Point Franchise and keep up the research. Discover five tips for running a domestic cleaning franchise and find out exactly how to choose the right domestic cleaning franchise for you.