|
...(which includes Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Grant Okanogan counties) will grow by more than 6 percent a year through 2010, with more than 40 job openings each year (with 15 of those completely new jobs in the industry).
Why?
It's a service driven by demand, according to those same bean counters.
But can the local area support so many housecleaning companies?
Industry business owners--ranging from those who have been at it for several years to those who are just starting--say the opportunity is there. For a startup business, the overhead is relatively low, which can be attractive. But those in the business say the survivors need the same visionary and organizational skills as any other successful business owner. They also need the flexibility to adapt to a market that rides the economic wave.
When money gets tight, people clean their own houses. But when times get better--and in the spring--house cleaners are in demand.
The Wenatchee Business Journal asked the owners of a variety of housecleaning companies in the Valley to share their experience in this booming niche industry.
Here are their stories:
Holding steady, making room for change
The hot housing market has also warmed up the housecleaning business--at least that's been the observation of Suzzy Homemakers owners Betty Weitzel and Sandra Mathena.
The mother/daughter team purchased Suzzy Homemakers from its founder, Marilyn Young, nearly six years ago.
Weitzel and Mathena phased out some of the heavier janitorial work the company had been doing (To do the job right they would have needed to make an investment in heavy-duty equipment like buffers, waxers and polishers.) and focused instead on smaller commercial jobs and residential cleaning.
As the client base grew, they added employees and eventually purchased two vans to transport crews to their jobs. Previously, the employees used their own transportation.
Now, Suzzy Homemakers has 10 employees (most of whom have been with the company for at least three years) working in two three-member day crews that handle most of the residential cleaning and another two evening/night crews that take care of the after-hours commercial cleaning.
In the past four years, the percentage of jobs related to new homes, sales of existing homes or rental turnovers has increased.
It doesn't hurt, of course, that Mathena also works full-time as a real estate agent, she said. But the connection between the concept of moving into a new house goes hand-in-hand with the need for a clean house.
Suzzy Homemakers has been working steadily with about four builders and also is on-call with several agencies for rental turnovers, which typically cost more than the average house cleaning because it's a more thorough cleaning.
"We're doing a lot of new construction now," Weitzel said. "We work them in. We try not to make them wait. Someone who is moving into a new home has usually already been waiting and we don't want to make them wait any longer."
She said that, depending on the size of the house, she might put five or six people on it at once, so they can get the job done in two hours.
The drywall dust, sawdust and dirt are only part of the cleaning needs.
"The bathtubs seem to...
NOTE: All illustrations and photos
have been removed from this article.
More articles from Wenatchee Business Journal
Hernandez appointed to state Higher Education Board.(Keeping Up With P..., March 01, 2004
Howell earns LUTCF designation.(Keeping Up With People)(Michael A. How..., March 01, 2004
Malloy joins Country Insurance.(Keeping Up With People)(Country Insura..., March 01, 2004
When spring cleaning isn't enough--dejunk.(Brief Article), March 01, 2004
17 locals attend Buffini's Bellevue seminar.(Keeping Up With People)(B..., March 01, 2004
Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.
Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication
name or publication date.
About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company
analysis or best practices in managing your organization,
Goliath can help you meet your business needs.
Our extensive business information databases empower business
professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible,
authoritative information they need to support their business
goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting,
company research or defining management best practices -
Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.
|
