How I Built a Profitable Cleaning Business That Runs Without Me

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Hi, I’m Carolyn Arellano, founder and CEO of Spotless Cleaning Services in New Jersey, and the creator of Cleaning Business Mentor. When I started my cleaning business in 2018, it was out of pure necessity. My sister and I were just trying to make some money cleaning homes. Within the first year, we made over $320,000 in revenue with a team of eight people.

Today, I mentor cleaning business owners who are ready to stop trading time for money. In this post, I’m going to share the exact five-part CEO framework that helped me grow a cleaning business that runs without me.

1. How to Organize the Backend of Your Cleaning Business for Growth

The first thing you need to do to take your business seriously is set up a professional backend — phone, email, booking, payments, and website. This is the first step I took, and it made a huge difference in my initial success.

Set up a professional business phone system

Never use your personal cell phone for business. Ever.

I started with Google Voice (free and reliable) and later switched to OpenPhone, which costs around $20–30 per month but includes features like call recording, analytics, and call transferring. When your phone rings, you’ll instantly know if it’s a client or someone you know personally, and that clarity matters as you grow.

For a full list of options, check out this blog on the best phone solutions for cleaning businesses, which lays out multiple choices for all budgets.

By the way, ZenMaid customers can get a discount on OpenPhone through this referral link — it can help save you 20% 🙂 

Use a professional business email

A professional email like clean@lovespotless.com builds trust. People are more wary of scams now than ever, so if you don’t have an official email domain, you’re going to lose clients just based on distrust. Avoid personal addresses like spotless1@gmail.com

Connect your professional email to ZenMaid, which I use daily to manage my entire business — bookings, calendar, technicians, and invoicing. Clients can even book directly from my website or through a ZenMaid link (more on this below).

Use a cleaning business software

From there, connect that email to ZenMaid, which I use daily to manage my entire business — bookings, calendar, technicians, and invoicing. Clients can even book directly from my website or through a ZenMaid link.

Automate and manage your business with ZenMaid

Automation is actually what makes your business grow. The goal is to have your business running whether you’re cleaning, resting, or on vacation.

ZenMaid automates confirmations, reminders, and invoices, which means you don’t have to manually send texts or make phone calls. It also lets me charge cards automatically and track repeat jobs and cleaners, all in one platform.

Get paid like a CEO

If you’re still taking cash, checks, Zelle, or Venmo — stop. CEOs don’t get paid that way. 

I use Stripe (or Square) to process debit and credit cards directly through ZenMaid. Every client pays a 25% non-refundable deposit up front. On cleaning day, we charge the card on file and send a receipt. It’s clean, professional, predictable, and trackable.

Build a simple cleaning business website

It’s pretty easy to set up a simple cleaning business website nowadays, especially with so many sites offering pre-built templates. Good options include Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, or Canva, but each one caters to different needs — you can read about them and their offerings here.

Whichever you choose, make sure you start with a booking page or a basic site. Include your services, pricing, reviews, and contact info. A clean, professional presence builds instant trust and will allow clients to book immediately.

Summary: Steps to organize the backend of your cleaning business

✅Set up a business phone system (Google Voice or OpenPhone)

✅ Use a professional email

✅ Implement ZenMaid for bookings and automation

✅ Build a simple website

✅ Get paid through Stripe or Square

2. How to Delegate Cleaning Work and Hire Your First Cleaning Tech

You can’t build a six- or seven-figure cleaning business by doing all the labor yourself. This doesn’t mean you stop caring, though — you’re just stepping into a new role.

Hire your first cleaner the right way

The first step is to hire your first cleaner, whether that’s an employee or a subcontractor. I began with W2 employees and now mostly work with subcontractors. 

Either way, have all the proper agreements, onboarding forms, and clear expectations in place.

Set clear expectations from day one

Create a cleaner checklist for every job that outlines exactly what needs to be cleaned, in what order, and what’s included or excluded. Walk through the property before each job so your team understands the scope of work.

The key is to lead with clarity. Don’t be a micromanager — seriously, it’s not good for anyone. When I stopped cleaning and focused on sales, communication, and systems, my income grew.

Remember: Delegation equals growth. Your time is worth more than mopping a floor.

Summary: Steps to delegate cleaning work effectively

✅ Hire your first cleaner (employee or subcontractor)

✅ Have onboarding forms and agreements ready

✅ Use cleaner checklists to ensure quality

✅ Focus on leadership and communication, not micromanagement

3. How to Automate Your Cleaning Business for Time Freedom

Automation is literally what it’s all about. The goal is to have your business running whether you’re cleaning, resting, or on vacation.

If you’re manually sending every invoice or text, your business isn’t scalable. Trust me, it’s not going to work. Software like ZenMaid can help you automate:

• Invoices sent after every cleaning
• Booking forms with client info and payment details
• Email and text reminders for cleaners and clients
• Review requests after each job

Once you set up these automations, your business will run 24/7 — even when you’re not physically online to monitor what’s coming in.

Summary: Key automations to create more time freedom

✅ Automate your invoices and payments

✅ Set up online booking forms with client info

✅ Send reminders automatically through ZenMaid

✅ Request client reviews after each job

4. How to Price Cleaning Services for Profit

Pricing is one of the most common mistakes I see cleaning business owners make.

First, stop guessing your rates. Most cleaning business owners underprice because they copy others or price “what feels fair.”

You need to know exactly what it costs per hour to operate your business. This includes supplies, payroll, gas, insurance, and overhead. Don’t just consider what you pay your cleaners; add up every single expense before deciding on your hourly or flat rate.

A few pricing pitfalls to avoid:

• Don’t give discounts too early or too often. This trains clients to expect them, so they’ll be upset when you’re charging in full
• Avoid flat-rate pricing on first-time deep cleans; charge hourly until you know how long it takes
• Don’t be afraid to raise your prices. You’re not selling cleaning — you’re selling trust in someone’s home or business, peace of mind, and time

Summary: How to price your cleaning services for profit

✅ Calculate your true hourly cost (include all expenses)

✅ Don’t rely on competitors’ pricing

✅ Avoid unnecessary discounts

✅ Raise prices confidently and communicate your value

5. How to Step Into the CEO Role in Your Cleaning Business

The biggest shift in my business was a mindset change. Now, you need to make that switch too.

Essentially, you have to stop thinking like a cleaner and start thinking like a CEO. That means focusing on:

• Marketing and branding
• Team culture
• Partnerships
• Systems
• Scaling opportunities

When I stepped out of the field and became the strategist, my business exploded.

It’s scary at first, don’t get me wrong. Doubt creeps in, but the reward is freedom and growth. And remember, you’re not alone. There are tools, coaches, and communities to help you.

Summary: How to step into your CEO role

✅ Shift from “worker” to “strategist”

✅ Focus on marketing, systems, and leadership

✅ Build partnerships and team culture

✅ Remember that you’re not alone in this journey 🙂

Your Homework (Sorry!)

If you’re ready to stop trading time for money, here’s where to start this month:

• Set up your backend (phone, email, Stripe, etc.)
• Hire or prep to hire your first cleaning tech
• Create one automated system (booking or invoicing)
• Recalculate your pricing for profit
• Set a goal to clean less and lead more.

Your business grows through intentional decisions like these. And if you want more help, I offer mentorship, forms, pricing calculators, and web design services for cleaning businesses. Visit CleaningBusinessMentor.com or find me on YouTube at Carolyn Arellano.

Let’s build your path to CEO! I like to say that if I did it, so can you.

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