Do you have a cleaner and how much do they charge?

Be realistic about the length of time that it will take you to clean a house or flat. You do not want to say that you will clean it for eg £8.50 an hour and it will take 3 hours when in reality it is 4 hours so you are working an hour for free.

My cleaner has re-organised her weekly cleans so that she is cleaning house A in the morning and house B in the afternoon is only a short bus ride away. Before she was wasting time (and money) by travelling a fair distance between houses. Now that she is more established she can pick and choose her jobs.

Good for you Biker - This might have been mentioned already but have you thought of advertising in local shops, the library and the doctor's surgery?

Good point made by MiniMouse. I had to be police checked for my voluntary work as a helper in a Stroke Club. It used to be called CRB but now it's DRB.

The Level 2 Advanced Course sounds excellent.

What about insurance for yourself?

Best of luck with it all. I admire your courage.

pensionpat yes good idea, I have put that in my business plan, care homes(although they do tent do have their own cleaners) sheltered/small businesses which we have plenty of here in this little town.Also I am due to go on Level 2 Advanced Cleaning course in April which I think I may have mentioned and includes "how to removed body fluids/sharps etc" so maybe that will enhance my skills

lol Galen Hells angel...yes sounds good lol scary but good lol.

Biker. What about all the sheltered housing? There will be a manager at each who could be approached. They could advertise on their notice board, allow you to leaflet individual flats or maybe allow you to speak at a coffee morning so that people could meet you first. There will be some who have a cleaner already, but you could find out what they charge and how satisfactory they are. Good luck.

Thanks all for the input I will take it all on board of course I am "getting on a bit" ! and a bit late for taking on Physical work, but there you go..on wards n upwards.

Mini yes we did touch on that subject at the Mentor meeting yesterday and it is something I shall certainly be looking into, it is now called a DBS check(hope it doesn't go as far back as when I was chained to the lampost naked with furry handcuffs) (only joking) and gosh!! if they happen to check Gransnet at our past virtual Parties!!!!!!!

But yes I appreciate all your advice,

Gill no I couldn't afford to under price as that is my only source of income, but I have to remember I live in a not very affluence area although it is away from the main town which is slowly closing down. But saying that I have lived on £73 a week since Last July and have managed to just keep my head above water (although had to sell my bike) (will PM you) thanks.

But I have to show to the Enterprise trust that I am making a living wage (what is the living wage? I have no idea)!

This week we have had to do a business plan off the template we were given, so I made a start on that. Next week it is about Loss/sales forecast/pricing and costing/public liability insurance and all the sundries/cash flow/start up costs.Which is more aimed at the ones that are starting a buying and selling business. This is before the plan is even approved so I may not even receive the approval yet!

well done Biker. PM me and I will give you some help. The best way to avoid the difficult asking for money bit is to actually invoice people. It means that you dont get the cash there and then of course, but it keeps the transaction on a more formal footing. Main advice: dont undercharge. Many people charge too little and dont allow for down time, time spent travelling. I am so busy here that I am turning business away, do a great job, charge fairly ( for you and the client) and you will soon be very busy. I am happy to help at any time.

whatever not ehatever

Just a thought bikerg but would you need to be CRB checked (or ehatever it's called now)? If you clean for elderly folk they may fall into the 'vulnerable' category.

Good luck smile

Good for you, biker, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I think people like to know what hourly rate you'd be charging, so would definitely put that on whatever form of advertising you decide on. Also perhaps think about prices for one-off spring cleaning etc. (obviously that would depend on the size of the house).

Cards in local shop windows and ads in local free papers magazines are good. You need a snappy name. Hell' s Angel cleaner perhaps?
I'm sure Grans can think of a good one!

forgot! would you think I needed a website? would you look on a website?

Initially I will have to advertise/leaflet drop etc but eventually Im hoping it will be word of mouth. I only need 16 hours to start with as can claim some working tax credit.

thanks all

Ok well! here we go...........

Have been pushed a little by the JC decided to take the plunge and try and start my own cleaning business.

Although when informing the JC of my hesitation, they encouraged me to go to the first initial interview on Tuesday, before I knew it I was attending a Mentor group the following day (had to let my charity shop down which I wasn't happy about) but JC has to take priority.

The JC only care about me coming off their list so I really don't think they could care less if I succeed of fail, but hey ho! we shall "have a go"

I go to my next mentor group meeting next Wednesday and from then on have 3 separate one to ones with Mentor.

As from now I am to concentrate 30 hours a week on my new business venture, but one good thing is I do not have to spent hours applying for jobs so a bit of rest bite there!

I have 8-10 weeks to get my business up and running
If I am right and have not! made a success after the 26 weeks or things are not looking good prior to that, then I think I can go straight back on Jobseekers..

My biggest failing as I pointed out to my mentor is! asking people for money, I am a big softie and have in the past ended up doing things for nothing! If anyone can suggest an easy way of when I visit premises of how I charge? then advice is welcome.

Would you? rather be able to look at a website /leaflet/business card and know*how much per hour they charge*?
before making enquirers.?

Or would you be happy to make enquiries then the person visit your home and give you the* hourly rate*?

It would have to be the same for everyone as you could not charge one rate for one person and another for a diff person.

I am hopefully trying to secure private/domestic/small business/sheltered etc.

Thanks all for any help and advice form all you Gnetters walking Wikipedias

Thanks MamaCaz for that info, which I wasnt aware of.

If I go ahead I have to put a business plan forward(Ive done a very rough one) shown it to the JC adviser last Friday, she asked me to bring it back next week and decide if I want her to make me an appointment with the Enterprise trust which is run from the via the jobcenter. If accepted you get a mentor for 8 weeks and during that time are expected to concentrate on new business and make that a priority and not your job searches. After the 8 weeks you are expected to "go forth" into self employment, the jobcenter gives you £65 for 13 weeks, then £33 for another 13 weeks, if you earn any money on these 13 weeks you are allowed to keep it if I'm right. If the business doesn't take off?? hmm ?? I need to ask about that.

The 8 week is to learn you all about NI contributions and Tax HM, keeping records etc..not sure what else. Although the reviews I have read about this Enterprise idea are not good, I didnt find one good review about it.It is not the Princes Trust it is the Enterprice trust.thinsk its N ?? something, I will have another read later. but thanks for any info form all :

Bikergran: Another warning - be aware that if your self-employed earnings were low, you would not be expected to make class 2 nat. ins. contributions unless you are earning over, roughly, £6,000 per year. If I understand the regulations properly, you could still offer to pay them voluntarily if you earn less, but it won't happen automatically like it did until recently.

Also, I don't know if you currently rely on any benefits other than job seekers allowance, but if you do, you will still have the job centre on your back unless your profits are equal to full time employment on a minimum wage, and you would still be expected to spend your non-working time looking for better-paid / full-time work.

Good luck though if you ahead. It sounds like you are just the person to make a go of it.

I am in my 50's and find cleaning difficult due to MS balance problems and my lovely Billy pictured here had his left leg amputated a couple of years ago so I would LOVE to employ a reliable cleaner.

Instead Billy employs an uncle who is about as useful as a chocolate teapot but and I have to clean up after him....lol

I dont know about AgeUk cleaners, but with my insurance, my staff can clean insides of windows from a small set of steps so with most homes that is sufficient. It does mean that those silly landing windows over he stairs cant be cleaned! The best idea to be honest is to get your window cleaner to do the insides every now and again if you cant do them safely yourself.

My mum has a "self employed" cleaner but she is not very reliable. I have asked why she doesn't get one from Age UK but she has been told by friends that they are not allowed to do certain jobs, such as clean windows. Does anyone know if that's the case?

Respect biker

ok thanks gettingonabit

rubylady .

biker I'm too thick to link but there's a thread going on MN under Self Employment that discusses the weird and wonderful world of the Tax Return.

Ah, yes, rubber gloves!

ty ruby didn't think I would have wheels again after having to sell my motorcyle last August to to financial situation. But there you go, who knows what round the next corner (and plenty of room under the seat for dusters) lol.....lol (and rubber gloves)

That's lovely, bigger than mine were, I had two in my time. Great pic too. You are very lucky.

have scooter will travel