Everything you wanted to know about cleaning franchises and how top operators grew to a 30 million dollar a year business.
So, why do some cleaning franchise owners earn millions while others are basically earning minimum wage? The answer is the type of cleaning franchise they choose to own. The secret to becoming a millionaire in cleaning is not to be the best cleaner, but to become the best businessperson. Anyone can clean, but very few people are willing to learn the skills needed to take the business to the next level.

In the franchise world there are 3 basic cleaning operational models. The first, what most people see advertised locally is what I call a sub-franchise. These opportunities generally range from $1,000-$10,000 and what you are actually doing is buying cleaning contracts from a franchise owner who owns the "Master Franchise".
With a sub-franchise you buy contracts from the master franchisee and you fulfill those contracts. In a sub-franchise situation you will typically be doing the cleaning yourself as there is often not enough margin to hire employees. A sub-franchise is a good starting place if you lack the money to buy your own dedicated franchise but you aren't going to make millions in this situation. The negative is you don't own the contracts and they can be taken away from you.
You might ask, why would I give a cut to the master franchise when I can go out and start a cleaning business on my own. The answer is there are many things you need to start a cleaning business that many people starting out aren't comfortable with. Securing the contracts, are you comfortable cold calling businesses and submitting quotes. Are you bonded and insured? Do you know how to register a business? Do you have business cards, a website, a logo, and most importantly do you have any references to provide? A master franchise owner helps you with all of that but in return you'll be paying them ongoing fees. This model is also not very scalable as you are limited trading your time for money. There is nothing wrong with this model but you really want to have a plan in place to move up the cleaning ladder.
Next up is the traditional unit cleaning franchise. You're probably familiar with some of the names in the space like Molly Maid, Chem Dry, Maid Brigade. IN this situation you are not just buying and fulfilling contracts like the sub-franchise, you own the entire business, you run the show. You are no longer cleaning, you are hiring cleaners, you might be doing estimates and quotes, running the business in an executive role. Some of these franchises do generate millions a year but they are not at the very top for revenues. The investment for this type of business is higher as you'll need a small office with a washer/dryer, vehicles, employees so you will be in the $70,000-$200,000 investment range and financing is typically available with around 30% down. If you sock away your money as a sub franchisee, you could eventually buy your own unit franchise with around $20k down plus operating capital.
This leaves us with the third option the cleaning "master" franchise. The master model is completely different than all the others and this niche that has even average owners doing 5 million. And, if you expand the services beyond cleaning to offer other services like HVAC, pest control, window cleaning, lawn maintenance, this is where we have seen owners making almost 30 million dollars a year, with expanded services. Many of these owners don't know anything about cleaning, they are just accomplished sales pros and B2B relationship builders. And that is the skill that not just in cleaning, not just in franchising will get you into the million dollar club. The service itself, cleaning, landscaping, pest control, anyone can learn that, but very few people will pick up a phone and get good at it, and even fewer are able to stick with it long enough to close deals at a high level.
So here is a simple million dollar game plan for someone starting out in the cleaning world with little to no money. Start with a sub franchise and stash away the extra money. Take an hour a day to learn sales and marketing there is tons of information online for free. Once you have saved enough and learned enough, move up to owning a unit cleaning franchise, hone your sales skills giving estimates, get better at managing employees and overall running of a business. Next, take a look at a master franchise, now these range from around $150k - $400k plus operating capital so you'll need some money, but now you can use your B2B skills to build a multi million dollar business that has recurring revenue. Remember once the business is built up you have pretty much created a lifestyle business.

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