Option #2: <\/strong>Start with the right systems from day one and scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dayane and her team at Washe Cleaning<\/a> opted for option #2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout this article, you\u2019ll see little microphones: \ud83c\udf99\ufe0fThese indicate direct quotes from our interview with Dayane of Washe Cleaning. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Washe Cleaning team is made up of three partners: Dayane (CMO), Juliana (CEO), and Mara (CFO). Before going into business together, they each ran independent cleaning services. But they knew they\u2019d be better together, so they combined their client lists, connections, and expertise to build what is now a 20-cleaner team who, in the last year alone, took on over 6,000 residential jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Washe Cleaning\u2019s revenue projections for the next year are impressive, but they caught our attention for another reason: they have a 100% employee retention rate <\/strong>and a waiting list of cleaners who WANT to work with them \u2014 how\u2019s that for a positive work environment?<\/em> Hiring, training, and retaining cleaners are of the most expensive challenges of running a maid service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s talk numbers for a second: Onboarding a new cleaner in the United States can cost anywhere from $870 to $2,050, and that’s just the start. Lose that cleaner, and the ripple effects \u2014 from lost bookings to shaky client trust \u2014 can skyrocket costs to a staggering $37,500 to $60,000. And that\u2019s just from losing one cleaner. Ouch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do insanely high employee retention rates just happen? No. In most cases, they\u2019re a direct result of streamlined communication and automated scheduling systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Washe Cleaning team knew they wanted to build the \u2018right\u2019 way. (Remember, they\u2019re option #2 people.) So, starting on day one, they had the following things in place:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 Personal cleaning experience<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 A team of cleaners ready to work<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 Professional in-house marketing experience<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 A full calendar of clients<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u274c A scheduling system that involved five paper calendars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, you read that right. Five paper calendars.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, Dayane and her team spent some time researching the top options for cleaning business scheduling apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most popular option in the industry offered scheduling, but it wasn\u2019t designed to grow with<\/em> them, and it wasn\u2019t made for<\/em> cleaning businesses. So that was an easy pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They also looked at the options designed for maid services, but most of them weren\u2019t intuitive and didn\u2019t have the easy-to-read calendar interface they were looking for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The one exception was ZenMaid<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zenmaid.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image_123650291-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nUnicorns in the cleaning industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Starting off (almost) right<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Researching software options<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n