Do you live in the New York area? Are you passionate about anything cleaning? Do you want to turn your love of cleaning into a profitable livelihood as an entrepreneur?
If so, become a cleaning business owner. Jumpstart your New York cleaning business in 7 easy steps.
- Form an LLC for your New York-based cleaning business.
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to license your New York cleaning business.
- Learn OSHA’s health and safety regulations for operating a cleaning business in New York
- Incorporate these regulations into your New York cleaning business customer contracts.
- Apply for New York small business insurance for your cleaning business.
- Hire and train qualified employees to serve the New York residents and commercial clients who need your cleaning business services.
- Advertise your cleaning business throughout New York and on online venues.
Expedite this list by moving on to the next step as you wait for the previous step to be approved. For steps 1 and 6, there will be a longer waiting process as you wait for paperwork to be approved by the Secretary of State (step 1) and as you wait for applications to come in from potential employees (step 6).
Form an LLC for Your New York Based Cleaning Business
Forming a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) is usually the most popular of corporation options for small businesses.
What are the benefits of forming a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) for your New York cleaning business?
According to LegalZoom, you can benefit from owning an LLC by:
- Not needing shareholders or a Board of Directors like other corporation options. How you create your management team can be more versatile by having your business become a Limited Liability Corporation.
- Your business assets and personal assets are separate entities. If your cleaning business is sued or too many debts occur, your personal assets will not be jeopardized.
- You decide how your business is taxed every year.
What type of LLC is best for my New York cleaning business?
Are you not sure which type of LLC is best for you and your cleaning business? Look at the options below to see which one fits your situation best.
Sole proprietor LLC
If you are the only person operating your cleaning business. You have only a handful of repeat clients in your local area that you can handle by yourself on a regular basis.
Partnership LLC
You and a partner wish to enter business together. You have more customers than just the small number of repeat customers in your local area that you may have had when you were a sole proprietor.
C Corp or S Corp LLC
Any LLC can file as an S corporation or C corporation. Depending on the type of corporation you select, you will be taxed according to that corporation’s tax structure.
How do I form my cleaning business as an LLC in New York?
Have your cleaning business become a LLC by following these 6 easy steps. You can use LegalZoom or any other legal business entity to have your LLC become official. These steps below are explained on the LegalZoom website.
- Search to see if your business name is available.
- Choose the LLC package and add-ons that you want on LegalZoom.
- If the name you choose for your business is not available, a LegalZoom registration agent will contact you about an alternative name.
- Once the name has been approved, the agent will write your Articles of Organization to send to the Secretary of State.
- Any other requested documents and add-ons will be handled.
- All documents will be submitted to the Secretary of State for processing. Once approved, you can move on to the next steps of getting your cleaning business legalized before operations.
Obtain an EIN to License Your New York Cleaning Business
Obtaining an Employer Identification Number (EIN) is needed since your cleaning business will be a Limited Liability Corporation. LLCs will hire employees, have to pay employment taxes, and operate as a partnership or corporation. You can get your EIN the fastest by applying for it via the Internal Revenue Service’s website at irs.gov. Once you complete the required fields in the application, you will receive your EIN immediately.
Visit this link to start your EIN application.
How do I get a cleaning business EIN as a New York resident?
Follow these steps to obtain an EIN for your New York cleaning business.
- Select your business affiliation (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp, etcetera).
- If you are unsure about which affiliation to select, scroll to the bottom of the page to read descriptions of each type of affiliation, so you
- know you are selecting the correct one.
- Enter your name, DBA, your title, and SSN.
- Since you are starting a new cleaning business, select your reason for applying as “Started a New Business”.
- Choose your industry for the primary activity field.
- List your products and/or services offered at your cleaning business.
- Answer the general questions by checking the box to answer “yes”.
- List when your business started and when the end of the accounting year will be for your business.
- Finally, list an email and phone number for contact purposes about your EIN.
Learn OSHA’s Health and Safety Regulations For Operating a Cleaning Business in New York
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has health and safety regulations set in place for operators of cleaning businesses that span all across the United States. As a New York cleaning business owner, you should be privy to these regulations and meet them accordingly.
What safety regulations do I have to abide by when operating a cleaning business in New York?
Abide by the following regulations:
- Regulations for machines and platforms used for cleaning maintenance (for example, if you are a window cleaning service, this regulation would be relevant).
- Hazardous waste such as blood and bodily fluids clean up (if you are a crime clean up service).
- Protection for the eyes and face (can apply to any cleaning service).
- Protection for the hands (provide protective gloves for all employees)
- Protection for the feet (have employees wear no-slip footwear; give coupons and/or vouchers for employees to purchase the correct footwear).
- And more!
Where can I get more information about safety regulations that I must follow as a cleaning business owner in New York?
For more information on OSHA’s health and safety regulations related to providing cleaning services throughout the United States, visit this link.
Next to each type of safety regulation is a link where you can get more information, so that you ensure you are abiding by every mandate that is related to your specific cleaning business.
Incorporate These Regulations Into Your New York Cleaning Business Customer Contracts
As a cleaning business owner, it is best to administer contracts between each client and your business so:
- The client and your business will meet all expectations that are to be expected of them during the time of service.
- Your business states how to handle health and safety concerns during the time of service.
- Your client knows your policies and regulations for payment at the time of service.
According to Nolo, there are certain health concerns that should be included in your client contracts. This will give your business much more credibility that you and your employees know what you are doing when providing cleaning services.
Answer these questions, so you know what details to include in the client contracts.
- How will your employees discard chemicals at the end of the client’s cleaning job?
- How will you keep your client’s personal information confidential?
- What are the mandates for how cold or hot the work environment should be for this specific cleaning job in which you are providing?
- Will the cleaning agent be allowed to answer a residential or commercial client’s doors if the client is not present at the time of service?
- Will the cleaning employees be able to operate machinery in a residential client’s home such as washing machines, dryers, or lawnmowers?
- Will your client be responsible for providing cleaning products and supplies or your cleaning business do this?
Check out our article to learn how you can start a cleaning business in Tennessee.
Apply for New York Small Business Insurance For Your Cleaning Business
Generally, insurance policies are very important for any small business. For cleaning businesses, insurance policies help to:
- Cover you monetarily in the midst of unforeseen incidents that occur while operating your business.
- Ensure that your business does not take the grunt of an unforeseen incident financially.
- Keeps not only you as the owner protected from a big change in your business, but also protects your employees if anything happens to them as they are working for you.
What are the types of small business insurance policies that you can purchase for your New York cleaning business?
The three main types of insurance policies that you should hold as a cleaning business owner are:
General liability insurance
Helps with problems related to property damage by the employee or possible injuries on the job. Covers the business to not have to pay out of pocket for these incidents.
Workers’ compensation insurance
Covers lost wages an employee may experience from having an injury on the job. If any of employees sustains an injury while on the job, this insurance can cover any medical or hospital expenses for treating the employee.
Janitorial bond
May need to purchase depending on the desires or mandates of the client. This type of insurance protects the client’s property in case the employee assigned to clean the residential or commercial space commits theft.
What are New York’s cleaning business insurance requirements?
New York’s government requires that your cleaning business hold workers’ compensation insurance if you are an LLC or corporation. This is due to the many employees that you will have at your company that could possibly sustain an injury on the job at any time.
If your cleaning business is a sole proprietorship, applying for workers’ compensation is optional. This is because sole proprietors usually sometimes use personal monetary assets to help run their business. If you were to have an injury on the job as a sole proprietor and you do not hold workers’ compensation insurance, you would have to pay out of your own pocket for your medical expense once your health insurance coverage has been exhausted.
Depending on your insurance provider, you could qualify for a business owner’s insurance policy. This bundles commercial property and general liability insurance together for a more affordable rate to save your cleaning business money on monthly expenses.
How can I start comparing New York cleaning business insurance policies?
Use Insureon to begin a free application for different types of business insurance policies to get your cleaning business entirely insured. You can compare rates from various insurance providers throughout the New York area once your application has processed, so that you can find the best rate and benefits for your cleaning business.
Advertise Your Cleaning Business Throughout New York and on Online Venues
The best way to get more regular contracts from residential and commercial clients is to advertise your business using 3 key methods.
- Word-of-mouth and networking.
- Company website.
- Social media.
Follow the checklist for each section to see how you can advertise your cleaning business throughout your local New York area for optimal sales and customer retention.
Word-of-Mouth and Networking with New York Residents
- Ask your clients to put in a good word about your business to any notable local business in which they are affiliated or know through the grapevine.
- Network with every client that comes into your business to see if you can make more connections to other people and businesses that turn into contracts.
- Institute a referral program. For every person that a client prefers, he or she can get a monetary credit of your choice towards their next cleaning job.
- Go to virtual or in-person networking events to make even more connections that could benefit your cleaning business.
Advertise on Your New York Cleaning Company Website
- Advertise your promotions on your website. Have a separate promotions page, but be sure to feature them on an automatic scrolling panel on the homepage of your website.
- Connect your social media pages to your website’s home page.
Advertise Your New York Cleaning Business on Social Media
- Place your promotion updates regularly on all your social media accounts.
- Draw up a conversation with your clients about how they clean at home when you are not posting about promotions.
What other ways can I advertise my New York cleaning business?
For more information on how you can advertise your New York cleaning business, check out this Chron article on how to get more cleaning contracts.
Summary
Becoming an entrepreneur is a challenging task, but as long as you have the hard worker, go getter mindset, anything is possible. Get started on your journey to becoming a New York cleaning business owner today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I have a separate checking account for my cleaning business in New York?
Yes! All your business financial accounts should be separate from your personal financial account. The same holds true if you apply for a credit card for your cleaning business. Keep one credit card for your business separate from your personal credit cards.
What are the keywords I should use when marketing my cleaning services to New York residents?
Use these example keywords below to help market your cleaning services effectively.
- Eco-friendly.
- Green cleaners.
- No toxic substances.
- Professional cleaning technicians.
To learn more on how to start your own cleaning business, check out my startup documents here.
Please note that the contents of this blog are for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Any action taken based on the information provided in this blog is solely at your own risk. Additionally, all images used in this blog are generated under the CC0 license of Creative Commons, which means they are free to use for any purpose without attribution.
About the author. Entrepreneur and Cleaning Business Fan.
Hi! I am Shawn and I am a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online cleaning business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a cleaning business owner, I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Cleaning Business Boss: I want to help cleaning business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.
