We are looking for experienced cleaning pros to join our growing team as we expand our business in New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area. There’s a good chance it could be you.

If you wish to become part of a growing business, including the opportunity to not only earn more pay than what other cleaning companies typically offer, but to have economic freedom and independence then we welcome you with open arms and we will help show you the way.

We are a family business started by my wife and I not that long ago and have already developed a reputation for excellence in what we do and the service we provide. Between us we have personally cleaned more than 400 homes throughout northern New Jersey over 1.5 years so we know what it’s like to roll up our sleeves and get down to cleaning. We are ourselves “Top Pros” and have the experience and knowledge that goes into cleaning every imaginable size home and cleaning condition. We know what to look for in other cleaning professionals and we understand our customers’ requirements.

My professional background is not in cleaning, in fact far from it. Having run publishing companies for many years and in charge of hundreds of employees this experience has given me the management skills to adapt it to what we are doing now.

We fell into this cleaning business by accident – quite funny when you think about it!

As with any business, it’s necessary to have the right attitude, the right work ethic, determination, and belief – not only in yourself but in what you do. There is no place for mediocrity, we only look for people who want to excel at cleaning, like what they do, and fundamentally believe they have something to offer to those who are paying for a quality service.

We ONLY use Eco-friendly (“Green”) cleaning products that are bio-degradable, good for the environment, and good for us to breathe – why would anyone want to subject themselves to harsh chemicals…not only do more and more customers want them but our service pro’s want them too.

Let me first tell you what you are not – you are not going to become an employee, but rather an independent contractor. What’s the difference you may ask: An employee works for someone else, has their taxes deducted along with social security, FICA deductions and pay to them is after all these deductions and the net pay is what is received. An independent contractor is paid the entire amount and is responsible for taxes paid to the government on an annualized basis. Working this way, you have the potential to earn more pay, and having your own business allows you to deduct business-related expenses whereby over the course of the year you can make more money than if you work as an employee. For example, all your travel expenses, car-payments/gas/insurance, cleaning equipment and supplies, laundry for your cleaning clothes and wash cloths are ALL tax-deductible so keep your receipts and be organized.

An increased number of companies are working this way since it is more beneficial for them and it’s more beneficial to each team member. It’s the smart way for people to work. The IRS sent out 90 million 1099’s for 2016, that’s how many people in the US work for themselves in mostly home-based businesses.

If you are in New Jersey, or looking to work in New Jersey (across NY state line on the west side of the Hudson) then you need to have your own car, cleaning equipment and cleaning supplies. You need to have the necessary tools of the trade to provide service. If you call an electrician or a plumber to your home do you expect them to bring what they need to do the job, of course; well, it’s the same thing for our customers.

If you are in New York City and are seeking to work in Manhattan, then you need to have at least a “Mobile” set of cleaning equipment and products since most of you will be using public transportation to get around.

You can’t assume when arriving at an assignment that the customer is going to have everything needed to do the job. If they do, then that’s great but you need to go prepared in case they don’t – there’s nothing worse than showing up to provide a service only to realize that you can’t because you didn’t show up prepared. You will have a better idea for recurring service with the same customers what you should take. It’s common sense but remember if you show up for a cleaning assignment and can’t provide the service then you don’t get paid, so be prepared!

On our website, we show suggested products we use. Our decision to give you cleaning assignments is not only based on your level of experience but also whether you have what is needed to do each cleaning assignment.

While it is not necessary for you to have everything, everyone needs to have the basics, items that we feel are necessary include (there may be alternatives you have or like that may be substituted, so long as they are Eco-friendly; however, take into consideration what we display on our website are not only items that WE use but are items that our customers are looking at that influence their decision in booking our service):

Shark Rotator Professional Lift Away Vacuum NV501 $149-176 Wal-Mart WE RECOMMEND THIS IS YOU HAVE A CAR, IF YOU ARE MOBILE THEN CONSIDER VIBE DIRT DEVIL – SEE BELOW
Vibe Dirt Devil $24.99 Amazon.com 
Bona Hardwood Floor Mop $39.97 Bed, Bath & Beyond – THIS IS THE BEST MOP HOWEVER BIT DIFFICULT TO CARRY AROUND SO CONSIDER SWIFFER INSTEAD – SEE BELOW
The dry/wet Swiffer $11.99 Target – ONE OF THEM IS COLLAPSIBLE AND CAN FIT IN A BAG.
Method – Wood for Good Daily Clean Spray 28 oz. $5.99 Target
Method – Orange Tangerine Granite Cleaner $5.99 Target
Honest Company Coastal Surf Multi-Surface Spray – 26oz $3.99 Target
Mrs. Meyer’s Tub and Tile Lemon Verbena – 33 oz. $5.99 Target
Mrs. Meyers – Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner Lemon Verbena 16 oz $3.89 Target
Quickie Microfiber 14 in. x 14 in. Towels (Pack of 24) $8.98 Home Depot
HDX – 60 Pack Multi-Purpose Terry Towel $19.97 Home Depot
Casabella Bristle Everywhere Scrubber $15.99 Container Store
Casabella – Smart Scrub Scrub Brush $3.95 Chef Central
Swiffer – Dusters 360 Extendable Handle Starter Kit, 4 count $9.99 Target
Swiffer – 360 Degree Dusters Unscented Disposable Refills $9.49 Target
Sprayway Glass Cleaner Ammonia Free Aerosol 19 oz $2.49 Target
Casabella Dark Taupe Bucket $6.99 Target
Mrs. Meyer’s Room Freshener Lavender – 8 oz $4.99 Target
Premium Grout Brush Scotch Brite $4.49 Target
Bon Ami – Powder Cleanser – 14 oz $1.19 Shoprite / Target
Scotch-Brite™ Scour Pads Heavy Duty, 4 Pack $3.82 Target
Scotch-Brite Shower Scrubber $12.29 Target

As you can see most items can be purchased at Target.

Excluding vacuum and mop, the above items come to around $150 – if you don’t already have these products then it’s money well worth investing to be able to not only provide a good service but to become qualified as one of our Pros.

If you don’t have them, then you’ll need to buy them otherwise we can’t consider working with you. Come back and let us know once you have them so we can re-consider you. You can’t expect us to offer you cleaning assignments if you don’t have your own tools of the trade.

In a few months time, our website will assign each cleaning assignment to you based on the zip codes you have provided to us close to where you live (if in NJ) or close to where you want to work (if in NYC).
Until this process becomes automated, and based upon certain preferences, we are manually assigning each cleaning assignment via text message.

To begin with you will be sent a text message that looks like:
“Can you do a 4 labor-hours assignment tomorrow in Manhattan (200 West 57th Street) at 9 AM?”
If you reply yes and the assignment is given to you (this might depend on how quickly you respond because if you are slow to respond it may be taken by another of our cleaning professionals) then the format of the assignment looks like: “Monday, 11/12 @ 9 AM. Name: John Smith. 200 West 57th Street, apt # 5A, Manhattan. Someone is home. 1/1/Deep 4 labor-hours”
The designation of 1/1/Deep means 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom home with Deep Clean service. This does NOT mean you only clean the bedroom and bathroom, it’s how we designate the size of the home – you clean the whole home including the living areas and kitchen.

A labor-hour is the amount of time a cleaning assignment will take one person to clean. So a 4 labor-hour assignment will take 1 person 4 hours. If there are 2 service professionals working together then they will each work 2 hours that makes up the 4 labor-hours.

If you work by yourself that’s perfectly fine however you will be restricted mostly to 4-6 labor-hour assignments. We may offer you a larger size assignment and pair you up with another one of our Pros.

Let them complete our Careers form as well as the Recommended Products Usage Form (same as you did) and if it looks like they have the experience and the necessary tools of the trade (or can share with you) then we can consider offering you both a greater number of cleaning assignments as well as those with a larger number of hours.

If a customer has requested any of our add-on services then it will be included in our text message to you and will appear like: “Monday, 11/12 @ 9 AM. Name: John Smith. 200 West 57th Street, apt # 5A, Manhattan. Someone is home. 1/1/Deep + clean inside regular fridge, + clean inside regular oven 6 labor-hours”. If it’s not part of our communication to you then it has not been ordered and customer may be seeking to take advantage of you, and us. In such event, you must tell the customer to request these add-on’s with us directly so that we can then send them an electronic invoice to pay. Once confirmed, we will then give you authorization to proceed with the additional tasks and increase the amount of labor-hours and pay to you accordingly. Do not attempt to work directly with the customer, if you do and we find out then we will not offer you any future assignments – honesty is an integral part of our working relationship.

All cleaning assignments are different, size of homes vary, as well as their cleaning condition. While we try to capture as much information as possible from each customer when they place their order, it’s down to how truthful and accurate is this reported information. The first thing you should do upon arrival is to look around the home and determine its overall cleaning condition and based upon your experience whether you think it can be cleaned to high standards with the allocated number of labor-hours. If you believe it is not possible then send us a text message and advise condition, perhaps send some photos, and advise how many additional labor-hours will be needed. We will then discuss with customer who will decide whether to expand the assignment or whether they want you to clean as well as you can within the designated period of time and in accordance to areas of greatest importance to them. It’s important to have good communication so the customer is ultimately satisfied with the cleaning service.

We are working towards accomplishing this over the next several months. More details will become available as and when we get around to programming this area.

Yes, you may. As an independent contractor, you can do whatever you want. Naturally it is hoped and expected that as you progress with us that you will want to take on as many assignments as possible and increase your earning potential.

It is always at the customer’s discretion whether to give you a tip. Some do, some don’t. In our experience and based on the value of the assignment itself, a customary gratuity ranges from $5-20 – this is your money to keep. Never ask a customer to tip you, it is unprofessional and bad manners and it will likely result in the customer not wanting you back and possibly giving you a bad review.

If anything is accidentally broken, then notify us immediately and we will do our best to deal with the customer. You should also let the customer know, do not hide it from the customer out of fear, most are more understanding when such matters are brought to their attention, and less sympathetic when trying to pretend such breakages did not occur.

In selecting us for cleaning service, our customers are opening their homes, and exposing their family members, pets, and all their personal belongings to you. These personal belongings are THEIRS, in as much as this may be considered by some to be a taboo subject, we need to state very clearly that any customer property (including but not limited to jewelry, cash, other items of value, food) are NOT to be removed from customer premises unless specifically given to you by the customer. To take what is not yours is theft and will not be tolerated period. Report to us of theft will result in the immediate termination of our relationship. Honesty is an important aspect of one’s work ethic.

Sometimes it happens when a customer is overly demanding or perceives you to have an attitude with them. Sometimes the customer is at fault and sometimes it is the service professional. We will try to understand what has happened and if necessary to intervene. The best rule of thumb is to simply accept that the customer is always right and not to argue with them or to do something that they would not like. Getting great reviews ensures you get offered more assignments and an increase in pay; similarly getting bad reviews could potentially have the reverse effect, it may even result in the termination of our relationship. We are only interested in working with pros who want to succeed, do good work, and have a positive attitude so please take this into consideration.

We pay everyone via PayPal (no exceptions), our customers pay us this way, it’s immediate and online. If you don’t have a PayPal account, then visit www.paypal.com and sign up. It’s totally free, you don’t need a bank account, and you can ask them to send you a debit card and link your account to your cell phone. It’s also 100% secure, in fact using PayPal is more secure, so we believe, than bank accounts. If you have a bank account, then you can also link your PayPal account to your bank account and transfer funds between them. If you don’t have or don’t want to have a PayPal account, then regretfully we can’t consider you as one of our cleaning professionals.

We pay everyone on a daily basis following the satisfactory completion of each cleaning assignment.

Yes, we have a specific form that will be emailed to you once we start sending you cleaning assignments. You need to get customers to complete the form and to sign it. It’s confirmation from them that a) you showed up for the cleaning assignment, and b) you completed the assignment to their satisfaction.

Yes, you will need to sign our Work for Hire Agreement that sets out what our relationship is and other important details. Over the next several months it will become an online form that is entered into electronically, until that time we will address it manually in paper form. We may decide to wait until you have successful completed a certain of cleaning assignments with us, and at our sole discretion we may provide it to you sooner. Once provided to you, you will need to sign it within 7 days for us to continue providing you with cleaning assignments.

Our pay starts of at $15 (net) per labor-hour so if you complete a 4 labor-hour assignment then you will be sent $60 via PayPal, as an example. Depending on your level of experience, how many assignments you do, how many 5-star reviews you receive from our customers; how punctual you are in arriving all goes towards our deciding how quickly to increase your pay.

We believe people who are given respect, opportunity, and ability to earn more pay are happier with what they do and work harder to maintain their success and this in turn is beneficial to us as a company.

Our interest is in you and to create the basis for a long-term relationship. You may decide this is not for you long-term, perhaps it is a stepping stone for you elsewhere. Whatever you decide we recognize this is your life-journey and we welcome our relationship with you if you should like it.

Thank you for taking the time to read through these questions and answers, we hope you find it useful.