On Building A Booking And Management App For The Cleaning Industry
My name is Harold Mutobola, and I am one-third of the co-founding team at Booking Bucket, which is a mobile-first software for cleaners!
We are solving the pricing/ quote-generating process for the cleaning industry and the management of those cleans once it has been won, lost or pending. We are automating cleaners and cleaning companies’ everyday mundane/ repetitive tasks such as managing accounts, billing, follow-ups, and marketing. These tasks take away from growing their business or just taking time away from their loved ones.
Currently, our customers are primarily individual cleaners and midsize cleaning companies, but the plan is to expand our software. We’re aiming to target commercial cleaners and eventually any businesses that require pricing and CRM.
I guess, our journey is much different from most stories highlighted on Starter Story as our software is currently not making any money as we are still in the Beta stages. But we wanted to challenge ourselves to make our story public so that in a year or two years we can have an update for all readers. We love a good before and after.
The first version of the software is 100% free as we are still iterating and getting feedback from users on how to improve the software. If you want to check the early version check this link.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
About 2 years ago, a friend asked me to help her scale her family cleaning business in return for a stake in the business. I was transitioning careers and looking for a new challenge and this seemed like the perfect opportunity at the time. With little to no experience in the cleaning industry, I set out to learn everything I could to help her in the best way possible.
I started reading books, pdfs, listening to podcasts, and scooping around every group chat regarding cleaners on Facebook and Reddit that I could find (Note to self, nothing will ever be a substitute for just trying something yourself). Despite the challenges, I slowly started to piece the puzzle together.
First thing first, you need to have systems for everything. A system for hiring, a system to gather feedback and reviews from customers. Most importantly a system on how to do the cleanse to deliver a consistent product across your organization.
One thing led to another, and I quickly realized that one of the main questions most cleaners ask on forums and Facebook is “How much should I charge for this job?”. A light bulb went off, and I realized that there was no a standard on how cleaners charge for a job. It varies from one cleaner to the other, one could charge you hourly and the other can charge you a flat rate or production rate. But no one knows how much a clean should cost.
Try to release the earliest version of your product. The feedback, functionality, and how the product is being used are way more important than how it looks but also you build a bond with your users and they feel a part of your growth.
I started to play around with different factors that would affect the pricing of a clean. And landed on a few factors such as:
- production rate
- the city and town in which you are offering your services
- google reviews
- whether you pay for insurance
- whether your company is bonded plays a big factor in how much you can afford to charge for a clean
Therefore, we developed a formula that takes into account all your expenses, ratings, and years of experience and spits out a price that is competitive in the city in which you are offering your service.
Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.
Considering where the world is today… Pre-pandemic phones were already a big part of our lives (Fun fact: 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device) post-pandemic only will speed up the rate at which we purchase things online. Therefore, we made a conscious decision to design a software/App that was mobile-friendly, first.
We are catering to an industry that is always on the move (cleaners, managers, owners) therefore, we want everyone to be able to have all the information they would ever need at the tip of their fingers to make the right decision. It also helps that nowadays everyone has a smartphone (Another fun fact: 77% of Americans own a smartphone).
We initially started by subcontracting the design out to a UI/UX designer out of India. We were lucky and found someone that we can work with but we realized that the amount of UI/UX needed for the interface alone would set us back a few thousand.
Like any good entrepreneur would do, one of my co-founders Francois Lebas decided to learn the skills and industry standards required to cut costs but more importantly be in control of the design process. Now all of our UI/UX is done internally thanks to Francois.
Also, early on we brought on a front-end engineer and paid him $5k to take care of all the front-end coding and make the website. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of working together, it was clear that he did not have the same vision and drive as the rest of us. Therefore, we had to part ways and $5k investment.
Altogether it took us about 6 months to build the MVP.
One important lesson I have learned from the design stage to production is, that despite having a great-looking conceptual product, you should always try to release the earliest version of your product. The feedback, functionality, and how the product is being used are way more important than how it looks but also you build a bond with your users and they feel a part of your growth.
Describe the process of launching the business.
Launching any product is a process, it is half calculated and half don’t fear the unknown. For Booking Bucket, we followed The Lean Startup approach which is a book written by Eric Ries about launching a business but more importantly a tech/software product.
Some of the principles we are using to make sure we are building software that cleaners and cleaning companies will use are by using 2 principles from the book which are validated learning and Build-Measure-Learn. Creating a product with the customers’ input from the start. This allows us to build exactly what our client will use and not waste time on features that will never be used which as a startup is crucial.
As a business owner/ founder you are always going to be learning something new. And if you are not, it means you are not trying enough things.
To prove the concept we first started with something as simple as an Excel sheet. We took time to automate everything on an excel spreadsheet for all cleaners and sent it out to contacts we knew in the cleaning industry but one thing we wanted to do is watch how they interacted with the spreadsheet and we took note of any questions they had. This helped us figure out what our next step was going to be.
For anyone interested in downloading the spreadsheet or knows anyone in the cleaning industry that might benefit from this, here’s the link.
Although we don't have a fully functioning product, we built a website showcasing the product and what it was going to be in the future and all the pain points we were going to solve. Here is the early version of the website designed internally with my two co-founders (Francois and Rishi).
After receiving a ton of feedback both from friends that are running their own companies or people in marketing as well as people in the cleaning industry some of the most helpful feedback was to keep things short and to the point (people have short attention spans), clarify your message from a marketing standpoint and highlight the benefits of the app.
As for cleaners and cleaning companies, we would conduct the test in person, to see how they interact with the app. By giving them a phone and not explaining much, we told them they needed to generate a quote for a new client and we would observe their behavior and note any comments or questions they would have. At the end of the test, some would say things like if it had this I would for sure pay for it and this is where some new features were born and being developed for the next release.
Speaking to potential users certainly gave us a whole lot of insight into the minds of cleaners and owners. One particularly is how to potentially price the product, we are looking at a tier system with a freemium option. We are fine-tuning the details of each tier as I am writing this.
Although it is a great feeling, to know that someone is willing to pay to use your product, it is important to continue to fine-tune the message and deliver the product your users will use for years to come.
Booking Bucket has been bootstrapped by all 3 founders till this point. We haven't gotten to a point where we feel it is necessary to accept outside capital or take on more debt but the future is exciting as we see a lot of opportunities in the service industry and beyond.
What steps have you taken to get your product on the market?
Despite the product not being launched just yet, we have had success with email marketing. Early on before finalizing the idea and what we wanted to do, we collected over 600 emails from cleaning companies and cleaners.
We used two methods to collect emails, the first is fairly simple and cheap. Most governing bodies have a list of companies that are in good standing listed on their website, so we scrapped those lists. Secondly, you can use apps like Apify to scrape google maps to find businesses you want to target in any city (There is usually a trial period then you gotta pay).
The thought process behind collecting the email was that we were going to start emailing them weekly to keep them updated on how the product is coming along and what new features are being built.
After further talk amongst the cofounders, we thought first to focus on our local market which is Toronto Ontario in Canada if and when we find success in the area we will start to expand to other states and cities across North America.
We haven’t fully pushed the product on Facebook or forums just because when in the beta stage having too many users could be a gift and a curse. We have wanted to organically grow the company and as I mentioned prior, incorporate the right feedback and build a product that every cleaner and cleaning company can use and feel comfortable using on the go.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
We are about 3 to 4 months away from launching the full product and starting onboarding individual cleaners and companies. We wanted to start organically and go from there as the foundation is probably the most important part of any project or company. From the money standpoint, with all the money set aside and the current expenses and expenses projected, our cash flow gives us a 6-8 months runway to deliver a product and leading to that start preparing strategies on how to onboard more customers.
Work with people who want to be there and cut ties with those that do not. Early on in any project, the energy around the project is so precious, and making sure you use it to propel the project forward should be your only focus.
Short term, we want to get to 100 paying users (Ambitious) within the first year of the product being released. Build a community on Meta (formerly known as Facebook), and provide all of our clients with the latest and most relevant information to help them grow their businesses. In the future, we want to offer a similar product for commercial cleaners. but that does not come unless we can deliver on the residential
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Yes, as a business owner/ founder you are always going to be learning something new. And if you are not, it means you are not trying enough things. Here are a few lessons that I’ve learned since starting Booking Bucket.
Patience, patience, patience. I can’t stress patience enough as building a company is a marathon and not a sprint. Especially at the beginning when you are still trying to figure things out a lot of things will not be as you expect them to be. Therefore, as a leader, you have to give yourself permission to make mistakes and allow those around you to do the same, and allow those people the opportunity to grow into their roles. Patience is a skill that can be learned, mastered, and remastered
Work with people who want to be there and cut ties with those that do not. Early on in any project, the energy around the project is so precious, and making sure you use it to propel the project forward should be your only focus. Any distraction or hint of things moving sideways should be addressed right away.
I.e - Early on we had an engineer who was good at his craft but he just wasn’t in the right headspace. Therefore, as a collective, we decided to let that person go and find another way to move on with the project.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
- Google Analytics to monitor website traffic
- Hubspot for marketing and sales management
- Mailgun to automate auto-responses for any website sign up
- Apify to scrape the web
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
Podcast list:
- How to take over the world
- Starting Greatness with Mike Maple Jr.
- How I build this
- My First Million
- Grow My Cleaning Company
Booklist:
- The Alchemist (it is a parallel to life, challenges and choices)
- Marketing made simple
- The mobile wave (Michael Saylor)
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Stick to the game plan. A lot of things will seem tempting and at times will take your attention away from what you are trying to accomplish but do not let any of that get you
Where can we go to learn more?
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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.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
