Do you have items you don’t use often?

We all buy items we need and then stop using them. Depending on what they are, you might be able to make great money by renting them out.

We’ve compiled 141 of the best profitable rental business ideas to help you find an idea that works for you. We’ve broken rental businesses into 10 categories so you can pick a rental business idea that’s perfect for your lifestyle and business dreams.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] Click on any of the links below to learn more about the section you want.

• Should I Start a Rental Business?
• How to Choose a Rental Business Idea
• Rental Business Industry Overview
• 12 Real Estate Rental Businesses
• 6 Wedding Rental Business Ideas
• 34 Vehicle Rental Business Ideas
• 10 Party Rental Business Ideas
• 23 Equipment and Tool Rental Business Ideas
• 4 Furniture Rental Business Ideas
• 8 Tech Rental Business Ideas
• 9 Clothing Rental Business Ideas
• 23 Experience Offerings Perfect for Rental Businesses
• 12 Random Profitable Rental Business Ideas
• 1 Rental Business Idea to Avoid
• Rental Business FAQs
• Which Rental Business Will You Choose? [/su_note]

Author’s Note

Due to the sheer number of rental business options available, we did not review them all. We list dozens of niche rental markets in 10 categories then share specifics of some of the best rental business ideas below them. We hope you enjoy the way this piece is written; it allows us to provide you with lots of ideas and inspiration without getting too long.

Let’s start by discussing whether it makes sense to start a rental business.

Should I Start a Rental Business?

A rental business can be a good side hustle or a small business if you have time and in-demand assets. Rental businesses have high profit margins and are sustainable because they don't need to replenish their inventory constantly.

Some reasons to start a rental business include:

• Profit margins: Rental businesses can have higher profit margins than traditional retail businesses. For example, bike rentals can have 60-70% margins, while party rentals might have 40-50% margins.
• Sustainable business model: Rental businesses don't need to replenish their inventory constantly.
• Asset ownership: Rental businesses own an asset or inventory, giving them control over their primary source of revenue.

You can also automate or provide value-added services to increase the profits of rental business ideas.

Keep reading to learn how to choose a great rental business idea for you.

How to Choose a Rental Business Idea

When choosing a rental business idea, you can consider things like:

• Demand
• Competition
• Products

Let’s look at how each of these will impact whether a rental business idea makes sense in your area.

Demand

Research your local market to determine your area's demand for rental services. For instance, running a beach rental company in a desert doesn’t make sense. On the other hand, it makes perfect sense if you live near the beach.

Competition

Consider the competition in your area. You’ll want to compare how many competitors are in your area to the average for the U.S. population.

For example, the U.S. has 10,360 equipment and tool rental companies, meaning there is one tool and rental business per 32,000 people.

If your town has ten companies and 20K people, it’s probably not a great rental business idea. Meanwhile, you should start one ASAP if your location has a million people and no equipment rental businesses.

Products

You can broaden the scope of your rental products to improve your rental business offerings and create more demand. Just make sure that the products make sense with each other.

For instance, it wouldn’t make sense for a party rental company to start offering construction equipment rentals.

Next, let's look at how some of the best rental business ideas are performing in today's economic environment.

Rental Business Industry Overview

The rental industry has grown over the past decade, but its growth has been heavily weighted toward areas like weddings, car rentals, party supplies, and real estate rental businesses.

Each rental industry has different growth rates and revenue. The table below shows some of the main sectors of the rental industry.

Industry	Revenue	Companies	Compound Annual Growth Rates
Real Estate Rentals	$1,200,000,000,000.00	4,000,000	0.20%
Weddings	$60,000,000,000.00	336,725	2.10%
Car Rentals	$58,000,000,000.00	11,135	7.50%
Party Supplies	$7,900,000,000.00	10,118	3.40%
Tool & Equipment Rental	$4,600,000,000.00	10,360	-1.40%
Furniture Rental	$607,300,000.00	371	-3.60%
Total	$1,331,107,300,000.00	4,368,709	0.62%

It should be noted that the size of real estate rentals is so large that it makes up nearly 90% of the revenue for rental business ideas. Don’t expect rentals to stop any time soon.

Note that we use IBIS World and NYU Stern throughout this blog as references. Both are useful resources for understanding all kinds of industries.

Next, we’ll look at some of the best rental businesses for real estate agents and others who love buying property.

12 Real Estate Rental Businesses

Property rentals are the most profitable rental business on the planet. They account for 90% of the rental services revenue and 5.15% of U.S. GDP. They include:

These are by far the most profitable rental business ideas. Below, we share info and inspiration for getting started in a few of the most lucrative real estate rental niches.

Long-Term Home Rental Business

45.2 million people rent their homes and spend an average of $1,300 each month. That means the long-term rental business industry makes over $700 billion each year, making it the best rental business idea on the list.

The way this rental business works is a little different than many others. You will commonly see a small paper loss (-.76%) until market conditions change. Conditions that improve profits include:

• Rent increases: The average rental increases 5.77% per year, but in any given year, locations can range from -16.1% to 33.89%.
• Refinance for lower interest rates and payments: A 1% reduction in interest rates saves approximately $20K per $100K financed over the life of the loan, while refinancing without taking out some of the equity saves approximately $45 per $10K additional equity.
• Pay off the property: Yields nearly 90% monthly profits.
• Sell the property: When you sell a property, you can make profits from the difference between the price you sell it for and the sum of the pay-off amount and selling costs.

After making any of these moves, your profits increase substantially. In the meantime, your cash flow and net worth are steadily increasing. Once you reach 10 houses with 20% equity, you’re a millionaire.

This is an ideal rental business idea for real estate agents. Thach Nguyen built his real estate business investing in single-family rental properties. He’s since expanded into multi-family units and apartments and makes around $800,000 in monthly revenue using this business model. Hear his insights in this interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWCzwn3R78A&ab_channel=UpFlip

Shop Space for Rent

When you own a commercial building and rent a shop to a local business, you benefit from the asset appreciation of the building and the cash flow from the shop owners. The margins will be similar to how long-term home rentals work, but you’ll have other factors that impact the rental.

A rental business focused on shop spaces starts with having a commercial space for rent. This can mean a fairly large initial investment compared to other options on this list.

The plus side is that they have a higher profit margin than residential renting—around 30-50% on average, compared to a 10-15% average across the rental market for residential or vacation rental properties.

Bear in mind that renting out shop space doesn’t need to mean someone occupies an entire storefront. Some brick-and-mortar businesses add revenue streams by renting spaces within their store to other small businesses.

For example, a grocery business could offer pop-up booth space to local farmers, or a retail store could rent display space to local artisans. You could also offer short-term shop rentals for a seasonal business that only needs the space for a few months a year. There are various ways to start a successful rental business by offering shop space to another entrepreneur with their own business.

Airbnb Rentals

• Average Annual Revenue: $201K
• Average Profit Margins: 8.10%
• Startup Cost: $100K-$3.5M
• Time to Revenue: 6-18 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.20%
• Best For: Homeowners, frequent travelers, people with hospitality experience

Airbnb commanded 20% of the vacation rental market in 2023, with a global user base of over 150 million people. It’s also one of the fastest and most affordable ways to start your own rental business and among the top rental business ideas for homeowners.

The variety of business models based on Airbnb is one advantage of this business idea. You can start small and rent out a room in a house, or invest in multiple vacation rentals to manage for higher rental business revenues.

NICASA was started with a single property in 2009 and has grown to 22 properties, generating up to $400,000 a month in revenue. Hear founders Sid and Eva’s advice for those starting Airbnb rental companies in this interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m-MosXlpOE

Commercial Spaces for Rent

• Average Annual Revenue: $298K+
• Average Profit Margins: 44.6%
• Startup Costs: $500-$5K
• Time to Revenue: 1-3 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: -0.3%
• Best For: Strong salespeople and negotiators, entrepreneurs who want a passive income

Shopfronts aren’t the only type of commercial business renting. Other business rental space that you could offer includes:

• A small warehouse for rent by owner
• Office space rental
• Conference room rental
• Commercial kitchen rental for pop-up or mobile food businesses
• Storage rental business for mobile construction industry businesses

There are certainly other rental business ideas in the commercial space niche, too. Renting commercial space has the potential to be a very profitable rental business idea.

The initial investment is also typically high, as with any rental business idea today that’s based on owning property or land. That said, the cost per square foot is usually much lower than for residential property, particularly for spaces like warehouses, which can translate to higher profit margins.

6 Wedding Rental Business Ideas

The wedding industry is full of business ideas that are profitable if you provide quality rental services. Some of the most profitable businesses in the wedding industry are:

Want to learn more about wedding business ideas? Consider the following insights on why photo booth rentals make a great wedding rental business…

Photo Booth Rentals

• Average Annual Revenue: $50K
• Average Profit Margins: 7.3%
• Startup Costs: $1K-$10K
• Time to Revenue: 1-6 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 0.3%
• Best For: Photographers and visual artists with strong customer service, communication, and organization skills

If you’re looking for unique rental business ideas, a photo booth rental service could be an excellent option. Photo booths are popular event rentals for school dances, birthday parties, and other types of celebrations, too, expanding your potential sources of revenue.

Since the majority of these events happen on weekends or in the evenings, this is one of those small rental business ideas you can easily run as a side hustle.

That’s how Josh Pather started. Within three years, he was doing over 800 events a year and turned it into his full-time job. Today, he averages $500,000 a month in revenue. Hear how he got started in this podcast interview:

Pro Tip: Check out our interview with a wedding photographer to learn more about the wedding industry.

Next, let’s discuss car rental businesses.

34 Vehicle Rental Business Ideas

Vehicles are among the most commonly rented items. It is estimated that 46.8 million cars will be rented in 2024, and the car and truck rental market is expected to grow by 11% per year through 2025.

These are just the tip of the iceberg for a rental business idea related to vehicles. From a bike rental business to hourly truck rental, construction equipment, or boat rental businesses like canoe and kayak rentals, there are a lot of options in this category. Let’s take a closer look at some options.

Car Rental

• Average Annual Revenue: $5M+
• Average Profit Margins: 6.8%
• Startup Costs: $100K-$3.5M
• Time to Revenue: 6-18 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.0%
• Best For: Mechanics, car experts, and collectors

Car and truck rentals have seen steady growth in the past few years as business travel rebounds and vacationers cooped up during pandemic lockdowns get back on the road. This makes 2024 a great time to start car rental businesses.

The main downside of a car rental business is that it has a relatively high initial investment. Car rental companies also often have fairly high ongoing costs for things like insurance and storage of the rental fleet when it isn’t in use.

The flip side of this is that car rental can be very profitable—one of the reasons it’s among the most popular rental business ideas. Ronnie Danelian started Legends Car Rentals in 2015, and today their fleet of exotic cars brings in around $175,000 a month in revenue. Hear how he built his business in this YouTube interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_01eckETe0

Bear in mind, too, that you don’t need a whole fleet to get started. Car collectors and car owners who only use their vehicles occasionally can rent out the vehicles they already own. You can find more tips in this blog post on how to start a car rental business.

Boat or Bike Rentals

• Average Annual Revenue: $285K+
• Average Profit Margins: 6.8%
• Startup Costs: $100K-$3.5M
• Time to Revenue: 6-18 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.0%
• Best For: Mechanics and vehicle repair pros with excellent sales, marketing, and customer service skills

If you’re looking for a vehicle rental service that has a lower initial investment, boats and bikes are an excellent way to go. This is the best rental business to start for individuals who are mechanically inclined and can handle the maintenance and repair of their fleet themselves, reducing the potential expense of running this type of business.

The cost to start rental business ventures involving boats or bikes varies largely depending on the type of equipment you plan to rent out. For instance, a kayak rental business at a resort or campsite requires lower startup funds than a luxury yacht charter company.

If you live in a large urban area, a bike or scooter rental business can be a profitable idea. Last-mile public transportation is often lacking in these markets, and your company can be very successful if you can fill that need.

You can also combine these vehicle rentals with related services to add revenue streams. For instance, you can offer a fishing rental service as an add-on to boat rentals, or provide guided tours as an extra service for visitors renting bikes or scooters.

10 Party Rental Business Ideas

A lot of the things people need to throw a great party aren’t items they’ll just find around their homes—and aren’t things they’ll use very often (if ever again). This is what makes a party rental business a smart investment: you’re providing equipment that many people won’t have reasonable access to otherwise.

Just like there are a lot of different types of parties, there are many ways you can make money with rental equipment or a party supply rental business. This includes things like furniture rental of chairs and tables for dinner parties, fun items like karaoke machines or bounce houses, or the space where people host gatherings as an event rental business. Here are our top party rental business categories:

Party Bus Rental

• Average Annual Revenue: $689,656
• Average Profit Margins: 8.8%
• Startup Costs: $1K-$100K
• Time to Revenue: 3+ months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 0.7%
• Best For: Outgoing and social entrepreneurs, people with event planning and party planning experience

For those who want a unique and profitable party rental business, a party bus fleet is a strong contender. For one thing, there are multiple revenue streams built right in. You can rent out just the bus, or provide full service with snacks and drinks for an extra fee.

Along with this, it offers a lot of flexibility. There’s the potential for passive or side income if you put effective processes in place. More hands-on and extroverted entrepreneurs can put their people skills to work, hosting party games or other activities while the group is on the go.

The initial investment to start a party bus rental business is also lower than you might expect. If you don’t have a ton of startup cash and are mechanically inclined, you can repurpose used school buses or similar vehicles and save on that initial expense. 

23 Equipment and Tool Rental Business Ideas

Construction equipment is expensive, and the average person only needs it occasionally. This is what makes it ideal as rental equipment, particularly for avid DIY-ers or construction pros who already have the tools and want to make a bit of extra profit from them.

Compared to something like a home or car rental business, an equipment rental business has a lower initial investment, even if you’re starting from scratch.

While construction equipment offerings like crane, dump truck, or mini-dumpster rental involve more sizeable initial investments (and require more storage space), renting out smaller gear as a power tool rental business or camping equipment supplier can make for excellent equipment rental business ideas.

As camping rental businesses prove, a tool rental business doesn’t need to be focused on construction projects. There are lots of other categories that can be very profitable. Depending on where you live, a business in ski and snowboard rentals, fishing equipment rentals, or similar outdoor adventure gear can be very profitable.

Another growing category is a medical supply rental business, which can help older adults stay independent longer or be a godsend for people in recovery from illnesses or injuries.

The bottom line is, the equipment rental industry is broad. Here are some ideas within the niche to get you started:

4 Furniture Rental Business Ideas

A furniture rental business is among the top businesses you can start with what you already own.

Short-term furniture rental includes things like tables and chairs for events. You could also rent out furnishings on a more long-term basis, for example, to furnish a short-stay apartment or during the infancy of a new child. Here are some of the most lucrative furniture rental options to consider:

1. “Furniture rental near me” businesses
2. Animal crates and haulers
3. Artificial plant rentals
4. Baby equipment rental

Baby Equipment Rental

• Average Annual Revenue: $2.1M+
• Average Profit Margins: 3.9%
• Startup Costs: $500-$250K
• Time to Revenue: 3+ months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.7%
• Best For: Moms, childcare professionals, organized and system-oriented entrepreneurs

Items like cribs, strollers, and playplaces are must-have equipment for parents. That said, they’re also items with a fairly short useful life, and not all new parents have the money (or the space) to buy a bunch of stuff their kids will grow out of in a few months.

A baby equipment rental business can be an especially smart move for parents looking to make some side income. As your kids outgrow their gear, you can clean it up and rent it out to other parents who need it. If you want to grow the business, you can use the profits from these early rentals to invest in new gear and grow your revenue potential.

8 Tech Rental Business Ideas

Similar to construction equipment, high-tech gear can be costly. It also becomes obsolete fairly quickly, which makes it a poor long-term investment for individuals.

Individuals or businesses who have a short-term need for professional recording equipment, drones, or other technology often see it as more cost-effective to rent than to buy. That creates an opportunity in the rental market for people who do own this gear to make more profit from it.

Here are some tech rental business categories worth considering:

Drone photography rentals

• Average Annual Revenue: $50K
• Average Profit Margins: 7.3%
• Startup Costs: $1K-$10K
• Time to Revenue: 1-6 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 0.3%
• Best For: Photographers and visual artists, tech-literate and creative entrepreneurs

Drone photography has a lot of applications. It’s a great way to get shots of outdoor events like festivals and concerts. Many event planners also use it to record events like weddings, while realtors can use drones to document properties for potential buyers to see online.

This variety of potential customers is what makes drone photography rentals a smart business option. You can focus exclusively on drone photography, or have this as an additional service to a broader camera rental business.

Mile High Photography has made its name working with everything from marketing and advertising professionals to party planners, and they bring in more than $35,000 a month in revenue. See how they built their business in this YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUcv1HAAbns

9 Clothing Rental Business Ideas

People don’t like buying things they’ll only use once—and that applies to things they wear, too. From tuxes to prom dresses and Halloween costumes, here are some of the best types of clothing to start a rental business:

23 Experience Offerings Perfect for Rental Businesses

Your business doesn’t need to stop with renting equipment out to use. Offering services and experiences related to that equipment creates new ways to earn revenue from it.

For instance, if you have experience as a construction professional, you can rent out your power tools and teach classes on how to use them. That’s twice the revenue potential from the same gear.

Guided tours are another way to leverage your knowledge and equipment in tandem. For example, offering curated fishing excursions, or renting the camping gear to participants in a wilderness retreat.

Here are some ideas for rental experience businesses:

12 Random Profitable Rental Business Ideas

Just about anything can be rented for a profit if there’s someone else who wants to use it! Here are some final random ideas you could turn into your own rental business:

1 Rental Business Idea to Avoid

Do not start a movie rental business. People can watch as many movies as they want on streaming services for a small monthly fee, making a movie rental business a dead business model.

Rental Business FAQs

What are the most profitable things to rent out?

The most profitable rental business category by far is renting out property. Like we mentioned earlier, these account for 90% of rental industry income in the United States. In terms of profitability, commercial space tends to have higher margins, though home and apartment rentals are also a very profitable industry.

How profitable are rental businesses?

Rental business ideas can be extraordinarily profitable. For instance, an Airbnb can be profitable as a rental business idea with as little as 50% occupancy.

While the average Airbnb may lose money (a little bit) on paper, ultimately, it has the potential to increase in value. Profit margins can approach 50% or higher when the property is owned outright.

What profits should I expect from an equipment rental business?

An equipment rental business idea will have different profit margins depending on the economic environment and the equipment.

U-Haul has had gross profit margins of 28% to 40% and net margins of 1% to 20% since 2009. Meanwhile, United Rentals, the largest equipment rental company in the U.S., has gross profits between 25% and 43%, with net profits between -4% and 22% during the same periods.

What are the most profitable rental business ideas to make money in 2024?

While property rentals tend to make the most revenue, equipment rentals can have a higher profit margin. This is because there are fewer ongoing costs to maintain and own them. This is particularly true of durable, long-lasting equipment like power tools.

Which Rental Business Will You Choose?

There are numerous rental businesses to choose from. You just need to decide which is right for you. Consider what you already own, the network of people you know, and the value of the items before choosing which to pursue.

Then you need to create the business and start marketing your rentals. As you start making money, reinvest in other assets to rent, and you’ll build an empire in time.

So which rental business will you start?

Professional house cleaning is a major industry. The global cleaning industry is currently over $55 billion and is expected to double by 2030. That means it’s a great market for new entrants, but you’ll need a house cleaning pricing guide to make sure you charge properly. Chris’s wife started Queen Bee Cleaning Service in 2015 to make some extra money, but it took off so quickly Chris quit his job and helped build it into a $1.5 million company. Queen Bee is also top-rated on Nextdoor, Yelp, Houzz, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor, and Porch. We’ll share his information to help you create a cleaning pricing guide that will help you make a great living in the house cleaning services industry. We’ll cover the types of services, different ways to charge and share the pricing list. [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] IMPORTANT: Keep reading for a rare opportunity to learn Chris’s unique pricing strategies inside his exciting new course The 7-Figure Cleaning Business Blueprint. You’ll discover exactly how he prices his cleaning services, which skyrocketed the growth of his business to $4.5M in record time. [/su_note]

What kind of house cleaning services should I provide?

A housecleaning service will normally offer other services besides just cleaning homes for people who live in them. They may also provide services for Airbnb, moving, apartments, and commercial spaces. For instance, Queen Bee also offers:

1. Airbnb Cleaning
2. Carpet Cleaning
3. Disinfecting Service
4. Home Cleaning
5. Move-In Cleaning
6. Deep Cleaning
7. Move-Out Cleaning
8. Office and Commercial Cleaning

He told us: [su_quote]If I was to start today, I would probably focus on Airbnb cleaning because it has a higher profit margin.[/su_quote] For standard house cleaning services, Chris includes: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Dusting all furniture, walls, fans, counters, and other hard surfaces
• Vacuuming all floors 
• Mopping wood, marble, tile, and linoleum floors
• Mirror and window cleaning with a glass cleaner
• Cleaning and sanitizing all bathroom surfaces including toilets, sinks, tubs, and showers
• Sanitizing all kitchen surfaces including inside the microwave and the front of the fridge
• Spot-cleaning cabinets
• Changing linens (if fresh linen is left out) and making beds
• Emptying the trash and relining the trash can before exiting each room

[/su_note] These are just some of the items in his house cleaning services. You can find his complete cleaning services checklist, including 11 add-ons, in our Cleaning Business Master Course. Sign up now to be one of the first to take it.  Let’s look at what you might offer with your house cleaning business. We’ll start with the Airbnb cleaning.

What should I include in Airbnb cleaning services?

In addition to the standard services you offer as a house cleaning service, Chris suggests maintaining an inventory of your own supplies to replace toiletries, kitchen essentials, and linens. For the laundry portion, you’ll need to have someone do laundry or partner with a laundry service. He also told us: [su_quote]I charge extra for the toiletries and linens, but it basically takes me the same time as a normal home clean.[/su_quote] Check out our interview with Chris below: [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Iip7BHXwg"]

What should I include in carpet cleaning services?

Carpet cleaning services focused only on rugs, carpets, and other floorings. You’ll need to assess your time differently from other services and have the special cleaning equipment to do the job best. Chris shared his cleaning pricing guide for carpet cleaning, and it includes five main cleaning points with time and price for: 

1. Rooms
2. Hallways
3. Landings
4. Each stair
5. Rugs

It’s typical for a carpet cleaning business to have a minimum amount, such as $99 for two bedrooms.

What should I include in disinfecting services?

Disinfecting services are focused on cleaning surfaces with medical-grade cleaning products. The focus here is on keeping the space particularly clean in a way that helps to minimize germs. I would imagine this is popular for businesses or households that have had a Covid outbreak. Christ told us: [su_quote]Eliminating germs & pathogens requires more than just a wipe of a towel with bleach. We use an electrostatic sprayer to apply the disinfectant. The sprayer “loads” the mist with a positive charge making the disinfectant stick to all surfaces killing 99% of the pathogens Our hospital-grade disinfectant is an EPA-certified product safe to use around children & pets, safe on ALL surfaces.”[/su_quote]

What should I include in deep cleaning services?

Deep cleaning services should include everything you do in standard house cleaning, plus baseboards and behind furniture. Chris also includes dishes in his standard deep clean service and offers a variety of additional offerings.

How much does a deep clean cost?

Deep cleaning services are normally charged at a premium to a standard cleaning price. In Chris’s case, the deep house cleaning cost ranges from $199 to $319 above the standard cleaning price. So, once you know how much you’ll charge for regular services, it’s easy to decide how much to charge for deep cleaning a house.

What should I include in a move-out cleaning service?

Move-out cleaning is a service offered to renters to help them save time and money by helping them get their deposits back. These services include:

• Thoroughly cleaning all counters, cabinets, and appliances
• Cleaning bathrooms, including toilets, sinks, and showers
• Cleaning floors and carpets
• Wiping down light switches, walls, and doorknobs
• Disposing of any expired food items
• Deep-cleaning the oven

Chris recommends using the move-out checklist provided by the client’s landlord as the basis for bidding on the cleaning job. Chris told us: [su_quote]I charge $279 to $479 more for move-out cleaning costs than my standard cleaning rates[/su_quote] Want more great tips like this? Check out UpFlip courses.

What should I include in office and commercial cleaning?

Offices and commercial cleaning jobs are different for every building. Chris recommends touring the property and establishing the following:

• Square footage
• Number of desks
• Percent of floors that are carpet and tile
• Number of windows
• Number of toilets and sinks
• Square footage of counters
• Kitchens in the building
• Parking lots
• Special requirements

These jobs can be more complex, but they need more routine cleaning services. Commercial buildings also tend to be better suited for pricing per square foot because you can assign a price per square foot to each task and then just multiply quantities. It might look like the table below (sqft = square feet). Every cleaning company will have costs associated with operating. One powerful difference between a successful cleaning business and other cleaning companies is how well the business owner manages the cleaning costs. Your house cleaning rate needs to cover the following expenses:

1. Payroll expenses, taxes
2. Marketing costs
3. Cleaning supplies
4. Fuel
5. Insurance
6. Repairs
7. Rent
8. Utilities
9. Professional fees

Based on Queen Bee Cleaning Service’s annual expenses, you might expect the total overhead costs to be approximately 87% of the amount that you make if you have employees. If you are a single-person house cleaner, the total overhead will be between 30% and 50%. In the following sections, I will share a few examples. You can use similar math regardless of what type of cleaning business you run. Queen Bee is primarily house cleaning, so I refer to house cleaners in these sections. Let’s look at each of these to give you an idea of what they are for Queen Bee and what you can expect to pay when you start to charge for housecleaning.

How labor impacts the house cleaning price

Labor typically accounts for approximately 50% of the costs of running a house cleaning company. Whether this amount is going to you or employees will vary. If you have employees, you’ll typically need to pay them either an hourly rate or billable hours. Just make sure you don’t try to consider them independent contractors. Chris told us: [su_quote]I was misclassifying the maids and got a hefty fine.[/su_quote] To help establish an hourly rate, check what house cleaning companies in your area pay their housekeepers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a lot of data on the hourly rate of the house cleaning industry. Most places will pay an hourly rate of $15 or more, though. Remember to train your staff well because employee efficiency can impact both quality and overhead. Assuming the following:

• Employee pay: $15 per hour
• Employee hourly rate, revenue: 50%
• Number of people on cleaning crew: two

That means you’ll want to charge the customer no less than $60 per hour. That is far lower than the cleaning rates for many house cleaning companies. The reason is that a house cleaner has other costs that go into the standard cleaning fees.

Payroll Expenses, Taxes

On top of employee pay, your house cleaning price will also need to cover the costs of payroll expenses and taxes. The government requires employers to collect: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

• Income taxes: You’ll need to withhold these for all employees using the information in Publication 15-T.
• Payroll taxes: The employee pays 7.65%, and the employer pays 7.65%.
• State taxes: There are seven states without income taxes. You’ll have to collect these from employee pay unless you live in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming.
• Other Deductions: Insurance, 401K, etc., will be deducted if you offer them.

[/su_note] There are a lot of tasks associated with compliance, so you may want to outsource your human resources. Most of these start around $39 per month plus $6 per month for each employee.   The 7.65% tax increases the $60 per hour fee to $65 per hour, which is starting to get closer to the cleaning rates of the Molly Maid cost of $75 to $96 per hour for a basic cleaning package. The revenue will also need to cover other costs such as cleaning supplies, which we’ll discuss next.

Cleaning Supplies

Based on standard cleaning services, you’ll probably need to spend an average of $3 to $5 per hour on cleaning supplies. You’ll be buying these in bulk to save money, but Chris estimates that the supply list for many cleaning companies will be around $900 for startup costs.  That means you need to charge around $70 per hour, which gets us even closer to the price cleaning services charge.

Vehicle, Fuel, Insurance, and Repairs

Local businesses will have to drive to provide weekly cleaning to residential and commercial clients. That means you’ll need to maintain the vehicle and insurance requirements. At Queen Bee, these costs are approximately 17% of the revenue.  This is why your credit score is so important to businesses. Bankrate estimates that insurance costs 25% more for an average credit score than excellent credit, and poor credit spends twice as much as any other group. If you add 17% to the $70 cleaning crew rate, we’re at $81.9 per hour without any administrative costs, marketing costs, rent, and other utilities.

Marketing and Administration Costs

The Small Business Administration advises spending 5% to 15% of your desired revenue on marketing your cleaning business (or any other business). Chris doesn’t think you need to spend that much.  If you have good software, you can automate many of your tasks and reduce the final cost of operating. Chris runs his marketing between 2.4% to 6.2% per month, with the lower percentages during the holidays. To learn some of the ways Chris uses marketing check out our blog on getting clients.

Rent

His rent and utilities are based on a home-based business. These are marvelous because they are mostly legal accounting maneuvers. If you store supplies in your home or do office work out of it, you can claim the space you use and the energy associated with it from your taxes.  There are a lot of rules governing this, but if you choose the simplified method of claiming, it’s up to $1,500 a year. If you use the actual expenses, it can go higher (but may increase the chances of an audit). You’ll want to measure the square footage of the space used. You don’t have to include this in your cost, but if you do, it will raise the hourly rate by about $1 per hour.

Utilities

If you have a home-based business, you’ll be using the energy associated with work as a write-off, but if you have a separate location where you store everything, you’ll need to cover those costs.  Utilities shouldn’t be too much unless your cleaning business does a lot of laundry or manufacturing in-house. To give you an idea, Chris only spends about $300 per month on utilities.

Professional Fees

Local companies will often need a lawyer and accountant to help them structure their domestic services correctly. You’ll want to budget for these. Chris assumes approximately $1,000 per month for his cleaning company, but different cleaning services may have different needs.

Ways to charge for a cleaning service

There are a variety of ways to charge for a cleaning service. We’ll cover the most common pricing strategies cleaning businesses use, including:

• Charging by the hour
• Pricing per square foot
• Pricing per room 
• Comparing house cleaning prices in your area
• Offering weekly cleaning subscriptions with discounts
• Proposing household chores as add-ons
• Giving free estimates

1. How much per hour should I charge for cleaning?

Below is the easiest pricing structure to use, but it can create fluctuations in costs based on how long it takes to clean the property. This works best if the client provides all the cleaning supplies and just needs someone to help. You might want to do this if a client wants specific eco-friendly or other specific cleaning supplies. You’ll probably want to charge a higher first hour. I typically assume that it will cost me $50 just to drive somewhere. Based on Queen Bee’s pricing guide, Chris has established that cleaning services prices should be approximately $70 for the travel costs and booking fees. To calculate how much you want to charge, assume:

• 2,000 hours per year
• 65% profit margin when you are the worker or 15% when someone else is doing the work
• Your income goals (let’s say $100K per year to start)

You’ll divide your income goal by the hours in a year to get an hourly rate. See the example below:  [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] $100,000 / 2,000 = $50 per hour $50 per hour would be revenue, though. To calculate the profit, you’d need to divide the hourly by .65. $50 / .65 = $76.92 per hour [/su_note] Let’s make it a nice even number, so it’s easy to multiply and make it a straight $80 per hour. You need to add your first-hour fee, though. Let’s use the $70 Chris uses, and that will make the first hour $150, and each additional hour is $80. That means you need five hourly cleaners to make the same $100K profit as when you are the labor cost. Now, if you have five employees plus yourself, you can make $200K per year after paying your employees the house cleaning rates per hour.

2. How to calculate cleaning cost per square foot pricing?

The price per square foot is straightforward to estimate. Given that almost every address is a public record, you can look it up to see how many square feet their house is. Then to charge by the square foot, multiply the square feet by 20 cents (or divide by five). [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] Example: A 1,400 square foot house can be calculated as: 1,400 x $.20 = $ 280  1,400 / 5 = $280 [/su_note] You can make it more complicated and separate it by carpet and tile, where the carpet is 20 cents and tile is 25 (examples for easy math). [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] Example: 1,000 square feet carpet and 400 square feet tile (1,000*$.2) + (400*.25) = $300 [/su_note]

3. How much to charge for house cleaning per room?

Another easy way is to price by the room or by the fixture. Chris charges a fee per room plus fees for other specific tasks. For instance, he has a table that details:

• 1 to 10 room pricing
• Full restroom pricing
• ½ restroom pricing
• Add-ons like full window cleaning

Each has a specific price, so  he can quickly estimate based on the number of rooms, restrooms, and add-ons. You should really check out how he does it on the Queen Bee Cleaning Service booking page. He uses Booking Koala to automate the whole booking process. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

4. How much do cleaning services charge?

Professional cleaners have plenty of sites to help evaluate the average house cleaning cost in their area. Many of the sites are the same sites you’ll use to find customers for your house cleaning service.  For instance, Thumbtack makes it easy to establish the rates house cleaners charge in a particular area. While you’re on Thumbtack, you might want to sign up to provide cleaning services.

5. Offer weekly cleaning service discounts

Whether you are a residential cleaning business or offer commercial cleaning services, your cleaning company can benefit tremendously by offering regular cleaning services at a discount to loyal customers. House cleaners benefit from offering discounts for routine cleaning in the following ways: [su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

1. Increased efficiency: Less travel time, more cleaning jobs completed per day, reduced house cleaning costs.
2. Better forecasting: Order your own cleaning supplies with more accurate forecasts.
3. Better scheduling: You can schedule house cleaners working each day more effectively.
4. Better cash flow: The more of your cleaning jobs that occur on a recurring basis, the better your cash flow will be.
5. Reduces churn: CB Insights says that subscription models change the customer retention dynamic from mostly churning to mostly retention.
6. Increases lifetime value: The value of a customer increases consistently over time.
7. Less marketing costs: Your cleaning company will be able to spend less on marketing when you have higher retention rates.
8. Lower overhead, revenue ratio: As a cleaning company's recurring jobs grow, the overhead stays the same until you have to invest in more equipment or administration.
9. Happier customers: Everyone (except maybe hoarders) loves a clean home! Someone coming in each week and cleaning their home will delight customers.

[/su_note] When you have long term relationships you may want to have a commercial cleaning contract. Chris doesn't use them, but a lot of his suggestions still work for contracts. We used the pricing from Queen Bee Cleaning Service to show how their subscription model increases the revenue over the course of a year. As you can see, offering a 10% monthly, 15% bi-weekly, and 20% weekly discount can dramatically increase the revenue of a house cleaning business.

6. Propose household chores as add-ons 

Customers might want you to offer other services like appliance cleaning. Anticipate this and have easy ways to calculate cleaning cost estimates. Some of the most common add-ons are:

• Deep house cleaning
• Appliance cleaning
• Laundry
• Dishes
• Indoor and outdoor window washing
• Carpet cleaning

You can add each of these to the house cleaning cost to help improve your revenue per cleaning job. A $200 cleaning job easily turns into a full day if someone wants all the add-ons. It will increase the cleaning rate to potentially as high as $1,000 and make it where your cleaning crew only has to clean one house that day.  That’s great for reducing expenses!

7. Don’t forget to give free estimates!

Whether you are doing a deep clean, home cleaning, or post-construction cleaning, people love free stuff, and businesses should too! Chris told us: [su_quote]Most people don’t know the square footage of their house.[/su_quote] A free estimate gives you a chance to view the property, manage the risk of underestimating with a flat rate, and establish the square footage and whether it needs a deep clean. Plus, it gives you a chance to develop a relationship, ask questions, and help them develop a plan. This may increase overhead costs, but it builds loyalty. What type of pricing do you plan to adopt with your cleaning business?

8. Sign Up for the Course “The 7-Figure Cleaning Business Blueprint”

Knowing how to correctly price your cleaning services determines if your business will grow and prosper, or fail before it even gets off the ground. Chris will show you the best pricing strategies so you can start earning $10,000/month in just three months as you launch your business! Sign up today by clicking here.

Are you curious about the best networking groups for small business owners?

We looked for all the places a small business owner can network with other entrepreneurs to share knowledge. Whether you’re looking for in-person events or small business communities online, you’ll find a small business group that’s perfect for you as you start or grow your business.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] Check out the links below to jump straight to a professional networking group that looks interesting to you.

• UpFlip
• American Marketing Association (AMA)
  
• LinkedIn Groups
• Network After Work
• Meetup
• Eventbrite
• Facebook Groups
• Local Trade Associations
• Women in Business
• Local Development Associations
• Chief
• The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE)
  
• Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN)
• Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
• Chamber of Commerce
• SCORE
• Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)
• Business Networking International (BNI)
• Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC)
• Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA)
• Vistage
• 4Networking
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Consider Volunteering
• How to Network Effectively
• How to Find the Right Small Business Networking Group
• Go Out and Sharpen Your Networking Skills [/su_note]

Get ready to learn about the best business networking groups.

UpFlip

We’re creating a business networking and mentorship group to bring together successful business owners, consultants, and prospective business owners to help everyone succeed.

Given we’ve interviewed hundreds of successful business owners and have over a million people who look to us for business insights, we think you’ll love our online networking group. Make sure you’re signed up for updates.

American Marketing Association (AMA)

Let’s be real here: Every business owner needs to be educated on marketing for business success. One of the best small business networking organizations for marketing is the American Marketing Association.

Network with professional marketers, learn from online and in-person meetups, and get certified on the most updated marketing strategies.

LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn is a great place to network online, interact with other professionals, and learn skills in your industry. You can join community groups for free or you can subscribe to LinkedIn Premium to get advanced insights and online courses.

Network After Work

The Network After Work community offers four levels of networking opportunities:

1. Basic: Virtual networking events and three 1-to-1 meetings per month for free.
2. Connection Builder: For $9 per month or $49 annually, you’ll get in-person networking events, 1:1 community messaging, and masterclasses on marketing and business growth.
3. Community Builder: The $29 monthly plan includes curated peer groups and member profiles to help small business owners network and improve their business strategies.
4. Lead Finder: Small business owners can use the $99 monthly plan to help find leads. It includes everything in the lower-level plans and provides contact information to turn professional networking into lead generation.

Meetup

Meetup is a platform where people can create local meetups and join groups of like-minded people. The networking opportunities are mostly in your physical location (or somewhere you’re visiting). It’s free for both personal and small business networking groups, too (unless you wish to host your own events, in which case, you will need to invest in a paid membership).

Eventbrite

Eventbrite is best known in the event management industry because it helps concert promoters and other event planners manage their ticket sales. Like Meetup, it also has a directory of business events you can check out.

Facebook Groups

Business leaders can network with customers, other business professionals, and vendors in local and industry-specific Facebook online networks. Remember your messaging will need to be slightly different for each group.

Local Trade Associations

There are thousands of local trade associations you can join to improve your business network, improve your knowledge of your field, and meet possible mentors. Check out this directory of associations for some ideas of where you can meet like-minded individuals.

Women in Business

Women in Business is a networking group that supports women by offering masterclasses, features about your business, mentoring groups, and other materials. Lifetime membership is $397, or you can pay $47 per month.

Local Development Associations

The Small Business Administration provides leadership development through local chapters. Many small business owners find the Small Business Development Centers a valuable resource for learning more about:

• Business planning
• Capital investments
• Exporting
• Financial management
• Human resources
• Marketing
• New technology
• Operations
• Sales
• Strategy

Chief

Chief is a women’s-only organization of executives and founders of small businesses. Entry requirements vary depending on the size of your organization, your position, and business revenue. Those with fewer than 30 employees need:

• $2 million in annual revenue
• Prior experience at larger-sized companies
• Reporting levels under CEO in previous roles

Chief provides mentor relationships and professional development on inclusionary practices, media interactions, and technology disruption. There are also other networking groups inside the group. Learn more about Chief membership.

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE)

The National Association for the Self-Employed is for self-employed people and offers monthly grants, discounts, business profiles, expert advice on a range of subjects, and even life insurance. They have a variety of plans ranging from $25 annually for students to $540 a year for the most life insurance and other benefits.

Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN)

This international organization helps people who are building businesses understand the entrepreneurial process, including ways to get different types of funding. You also get a member profile and can compete in global awards competitions for business. Check out GEN.

Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

The MBDA helps minorities, women, and formerly incarcerated individuals grow as entrepreneurs by providing access to information, grants, and events. This is a government agency; as such, you may require some assistance to best navigate the resources it offers for entrepreneurs.

Chamber of Commerce

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the largest business networking group in the States. The organization has thousands of local Chamber of Commerce groups across the country to help you meet other business owners and develop your business.

SCORE

You’ll benefit from in-person and online networking groups hosted by SCORE, plus you can use the platform to find a mentor and even volunteer opportunities. Check out their site to learn more.

Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)

Entrepreneurs’ Organization has 18,000 members across 220 local chapters in 78 countries. They offer local and regional events, education, and mentorship. You’ll have to apply and get approved to join the network.

Business Networking International (BNI)

There are over 318,000 people in more than 11,000 local BNI chapters. Members create economic activity equal to $22 billion each year. One of the most notable things about these business networking groups is that they are referral-based, meaning the small business owners who suggest new members are already part of the organization.

Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC)

Small business owners under the age of 45 who make over $1 million in revenue, have received more than $1 million in funding, or have sold a business for more than $2 million in the last three years should apply for the Young Entrepreneur Council. You’ll be able to network with other young business professionals who are at the top of their game.

Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA)

If you’re trying to make the world a better place, joining this vetted community shows your business is committed to placing the good of the world over your business profits. There are three membership levels with fees that range from $150 to $275 per year. All the plans get you included in the member database so you can network with other members. Learn more about SEA.

Vistage

Vistage is a mentorship group that is over 65 years old and claims more than 45,000 members and an average of 4.6% increased revenue during 2020. There are applications for guest speakers, chairpeople, sponsors, and licensees as well.

4Networking

If you’re looking to build business networks in the United Kingdom, check out 4N. They have online and local networking groups, plus a free online directory you can use to help your business grow.

Federation of Small Businesses

The Federation of Small Businesses is another UK small business group. There are more than 500,000 members and rates range from £97.5 to £1,195 depending on the size of your organization. It gives access to:

• Business banking
• Business insurance quotes
• Debt recovery service
• Free networking and events
• Funding
• Legal, tax, and employment advice
• Legal templates
• Payroll and pensions
• Tax investigation protection
• Training courses

Consider Volunteering

Organizations like the Rotary Club (focused on doing good in the local community and internationally) and the Kiwanis Club (an international nonprofit organization that helps kids) offer great opportunities for business owners. Contribute to the cause financially or volunteer with a local chapter.

While volunteer events aren’t technically local business networking groups, as a small business owner, they can provide a great opportunity to build your professional network and meet potential clients. Doing good in the community never hurt a small business!

How to Network Effectively

Networking is an essential part of business success. It can help you build relationships, generate leads, and learn from others. Here are a few tips to help you network effectively:

1. Set goals for your networking activities. What do you hope to achieve by networking? Do you want to generate leads, find a job, or learn about a new industry? Having specific goals in mind will help you focus your efforts and make the most of your time.
2. Identify your target audience. Who do you want to network with? Potential customers, clients, or referral partners? Once you know your target audience, you can tailor your networking activities accordingly.
3. Choose the right networking events. There are many different types of networking events, so it's important to choose the ones that are right for you. Consider the goals of the event, the target audience, and the cost.
4. Be prepared. Before you attend a networking event, take some time to prepare. This includes researching the other attendees, practicing your elevator pitch, and bringing plenty of business cards.
5. Be yourself. When you're networking, it's important to be yourself. People can spot a fake from a mile away, so don't try to be someone you're not. Just be genuine and let your personality shine through.
6. Listen actively. When you're talking to someone, really listen to what they have to say. Ask questions and show that you're interested in their perspective and experience. This will help you build rapport and make a lasting impression.
7. Follow up after the event. After you attend a networking event, follow up with the people you met. Send them a thank-you note or connect with them on LinkedIn. This will help you stay in touch and build relationships.

Networking can be a great way to grow your business and achieve your goals. By following these tips, you can network effectively and make the most of your time.

Pro Tip: Want to take your business to the next level? In addition to participating in networking events, you might want to commit to a mastermind group, too. New to the idea? Learn what you need to know in our blog on Best Mastermind Groups & Mastermind Pro Tips.

How to Find the Right Small Business Networking Group

Once you’ve performed the steps from the previous section, there are a variety of terms you can search to find the best networking groups in your area. Try some of these search terms:

• Business networking groups near me
• Business networking near me
• Business clubs near me
• Business network near me
• Marketing groups near me
• Entrepreneur groups near me
• Small business networking events near me
• Networking events near me
• Free networking events near me
• Networking events today near me
• Professional networking events near me
• Networking opportunities near me
• Networking meetings near me
• Small business groups near me
• Local networking events near me

Go Out and Sharpen Your Networking Skills

We’ve provided you with a list of business network groups where you can interact with hundreds of thousands of people. It won’t always come easy building your small business network, but if you follow our networking tips and keep building relationships, you’ll get there.

What networking events for entrepreneurs have you gone to? Did you like them?