How This Couple Launched a Six-Figure Cleaning Business on the Side

      Side Hustle Nation is focused on enhancing your personal profitability. To achieve this, we frequently collaborate with companies that have the same goal. If you sign up or make a purchase through links provided by our partners, we may earn compensation at no additional cost to you. Learn more. Anthony and Jhanilka Hartzog eliminated $114,000 in debt in just 23 months.

      This entrepreneurial couple was earning decent salaries from their full-time jobs, but they realized that there were limits to budget cuts. They then decided to explore the income aspect and began multiple side hustles. They took on secondary jobs at their gym, listed their car for rent on Turo, offered dog-sitting services, and — motivated by my episode featuring Chris Schwab — they launched a residential cleaning service called Maids2Match.com.

      Currently, this business generates between $20,000 to $25,000 in monthly sales, with other cleaners doing the work. Anthony and Jhanilka now adopt a business-owner mindset, dedicating only a few hours each week to manage it. You can follow their journey on Instagram @thehartrimony.

      Tune in to learn:

      - How they launched this business while working full-time

      - Their methods for finding reliable cleaners

      - The marketing strategies that have been effective

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      How the Concept for Maids2Match Originated

      Anthony mentioned that the inspiration for the cleaning business came from episode 295 of the Side Hustle Show, where I spoke with Chris Schwab, who was earning $10,000 monthly with his cleaning service, ThinkMaids.com.

      What intrigued Anthony was that Chris wasn’t doing the cleaning himself; he was managing an agency that hired cleaners. This matched exactly what Anthony was looking for—a scalable business model!

      Neither of them had prior experience running a business, so Jhanilka understandably had many questions. Anthony reached out to Chris for insights and conducted extensive online research on starting a business and necessary knowledge.

      Supply vs. Demand: Contractors or Customers First?

      “We always focus on securing contractors first since we don’t want to do the cleaning,” Jhanilka explained. Starting a service business often presents the dilemma of whether to hire staff first or generate business and hope to find workers later.

      Jhanilka highlighted that cleaning contractors usually have other clients, so once you establish contact, you can wait to pay them until jobs come in.

      Where to Locate Cleaners

      Identifying cleaners is “the most challenging aspect of the business,” Jhanilka told me. When instructing students on this business model, they recommend a strategy of “always be hiring.”

      They utilize a mixture of free and paid advertising channels to recruit cleaning contractors. Some of the free platforms they use include:

      - Facebook Groups

      - Craigslist

      - Nextdoor

      For paid advertising, Anthony and Jhanilka use platforms such as:

      - Yelp

      - Thumbtack

      - Indeed

      - ZipRecruiter

      When they recruit contractors, they “pitch” the benefits to them, detailing pay, communication methods, and expectations. Anthony noted that most cleaners appreciate this setup since they're skilled at cleaning but not in marketing; Anthony and Jhanilka manage all marketing and pricing aspects—they simply need to do a good job.

      Managing the Revenue Split

      “When discussing pricing, we’re quite transparent,” Jhanilka shared. She mentioned that they retain 40% of the job's cost, with the remaining 60% going to the cleaners. They inform cleaners upfront about their earnings for each job and how much they charge clients.

      According to Jhanilka, the ideal rate that cleaners find agreeable hovers between $25 and $35 an hour. For clients, they offer flat rates based on the number of rooms, with additional fees for extras like deep cleaning or move-in/move-out services.

      Using flat rates instead of hourly charges benefits both parties, incentivizing cleaners to work efficiently and allowing clients to know their exact costs.

      Are Certain Cleaning Jobs Unreasonable for That Flat Rate?

      All cleaning assignments are assessed without prior visual inspection. What one person considers a “light