Learn How We Grew Our $3K/Month Cleaning Company
This is a follow up story for Hangover Helpers. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published about 4 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
Hello again, we are Hangover Helpers an after-party cleaning company for house parties and events. My name is James Hookway the founder based in Perth WA, Australia.
The business has been running for nearly six years and came about from a night of drinking as most good ideas do. My wife and I had hosted a party at our place and woke up with a massive hangover and wished someone could come in and clean our house and bring us breakfast. 6 months later hangover helpers were born.
What we found was that it was very hard to get weekend cleaners to come in and especially last minute. We specialize in taking the hangover out of hosting a party and getting your house or event space back to normal to look and smell like a party never happened.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?
The business has been solid in Perth with strict COVID restrictions in our State. We have been quite lucky to not be too affected and people can party like it's 2019.
We have increased our services to now offer our glassware for hire, we were sick of cleaning up other companies' glassware. We also set up some bar servers to serve drinks and food during parties.
So we are the Hangover Helpers alright, we give you a hangover then help you fix and come back and clean the next day!
Don't be scared to review your pricing to match the market and your target market. Say no to jobs you don't think to suit your business and focus on area demographics that do.
I have sold half of the business to a school friend who I have known for 20 years. It's great to get some new ideas and feedback. He runs a successful carpentry business so now we are an accountant and carpenter running a cleaning and events business.
Shout out to Michael McCracken. He has helped me not be scared to charge higher prices for our services. hey are valued and profit margins are up 15%, and it's awesome catching up for a ‘business meeting’ which is an excuse for a couple of cold ones.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
Missed opportunities such as revenue and growth in Melbourne on the East Coast of Australia, are heavily affected by Covid so we have nearly 2 years of no business over there. Shows how fast things can change in this industry. This was our second city to launch the business so started to take shape with significant growth in the second year of operation. This momentum was lost.
Make sure your overheads aren't high such as fixed costs like rent, and outgoings.
As mentioned don't be scared to review your pricing to match the market and your target market. Say no to jobs you don't think to suit your business and focus on area demographics that do.
In regards to our business we have multiple quotes come through for the same day, if we have limited resources such as staff available we focus on the ones where the largest profit margin may be and also the biggest reach to potential new clients might be.
An example would be a small 2 x 1 house with 25 guests with a quote of $200 vs a wedding with 150 guests and a quote of $400. Word of mouth is huge in our business.
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
Short term for 2022 we are looking at expanding to other states via either a master franchise or individual franchising agreements. We also plan to have multiple smaller businesses operating in zones and not ask a lot for a franchise fee so that a couple can easily start a side hustle.
Finding time to set out these goals are our biggest challenge right now we both are so busy, we try to catch up once a month and e have great ideas but actioning those ideas is our biggest issue. Finding time to work on the business is hard.
Hopefully, in the next 3 to 5 years we have taken this from a side hustle to a proper Monday to Friday business with staff that we can manage from a distance and not be so involved day to day.
Have you read any good books in the last year?
I have not, sorry. I tried to learn the guitar, but with two kids an accounting job, a side hustle, another treasury job, and renovation; I don't get much time to read. I try to learn from the daily experiences of people I am around. I love listening to other people's stories.
An important tip is to remember that even though you have dealt with hundreds of customers in the past every customer needs to feel special. This can be done by prompt responses, happy and bright messages, follow-ups, and asking for feedback.
I like to treat people how I like to be treated myself, I am understanding and believe a small gesture like free “rubbish removal” might be $40 off the bottom line but in the end will get you 5 new customers.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
Make sure your overheads aren't high such as fixed costs like rent, and outgoings. Our business model allows us to have barely any outgoings until a job is booked and we are getting revenue at the same time. Having now worked for 6-12 months does not impact us.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Always looking for teams of helpers anywhere in the world to take on our business model and start-up.
If you feel you would like to set up a team or multiple teams in your area we would love to have a chat or video call. We have a simple business model that works and look for people who would like to share our story and help the hungover people in their neighborhood.
Please email James and Mike at [email protected].
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
