A cleaning contractor provides janitorial and cleaning services for both public and private buildings. Some contractors might offer specialized services for cleaning windows and carpets. Cleaning contractors operate their own businesses and therefore often have the freedom to choose the hours they would like to work.
Essential Information
Cleaning contractors are entrepreneurs who are hired to perform cleaning and janitorial duties to residential homes, businesses, and public buildings. Although no formal education and training is required, obtaining a degree in business can be beneficial to individuals who own their own business.
Job Description
Cleaning contractors are hired to perform general cleaning and janitorial duties in private homes or public buildings, including office buildings, churches, and government buildings. Instead of performing general duties, cleaning contractors may be hired for a specific cleaning job, including window washing or carpet cleaning. They may also be hired to provide regular maintenance of a building or home. Since cleaning contractors are considered entrepreneurs, it is up to them to decide whether their business will be focused on one specific cleaning duty or on general cleaning or maid service.
Schedule
Just as they can determine their own speciality, cleaning contractors can determine their own schedules. A beginning cleaning contractor may need an additional part-time job while building up their clientele. However, an established cleaning contractor may have enough clients to consider their business full-time and a sole source of income. They can decide the hours they wish to work, though it may be necessary in the beginning to be flexible in order to gain clients. If a cleaning contractor has a team of employees, their schedule can become much more flexible.
Income
The amount of income cleaning contractors bring in is based on the number of clients they have and the prices they have set. Initially, the income may be low because the client base is usually small starting out, and most income will replenish funds used to start the business. Cleaning contractors must set their own prices for services. Their income will be directly affected by these prices. Setting them much higher than the competition could result in a stagnant or decreasing client base. Setting prices too low may result in no profit or loss of funds.
Education
Since cleaning contractors are self-employed, no degree is required. However, a degree in business, specifically entrepreneurship, could prove to be essential while starting and maintaining a successful business. Topics that are typically studied in an entrepreneurship degree program include:
- Management and business basics
- Accounting
- Customer relations
- Supply and demand
A bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship typically takes four years to complete. Students may be able to complete a program on a part-time basis while they work as a cleaning contractor.
