Top 5 Books Every New Cleaning Business Owner Should Read
Starting and running a cleaning business goes beyond just offering top-notch services. It entails being a strong leader, handling finances smartly, and really understanding what your customers need. Luckily, experts in the field have shared their wisdom in books that can transform your business tactics.
Today, we’ll dive into five inspiring books that can motivate and uplift cleaning business owners as they refine their business strategies.
1. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
What You’ll Learn:
- Most small business owners try to do everything themselves, which limits growth.
- To scale effectively, you must work on your business, not just in it.
- Systems and processes are essential for building a stable and scalable business.
Tired of being stuck in the day-to-day?
👉 Learn how to build a business that works without you: Audible | Amazon
How It Relates to Cleaning Businesses:
Imagine this: Every week, you're buried in scheduling clients, managing your team, and handling cleanings solo. With your time consumed by daily tasks, there’s little space left to focus on expanding. Gerber’s book offers guidance for designing systems that allow your business to run smoothly, without you needing to micromanage.
💡 Quick Tip:
Start by streamlining repetitive tasks like scheduling and invoicing using software or templates. As your business grows, consider implementing full-scale management tools to automate operations.
Tools like Augwa can help you handle scheduling, communication, invoicing, and more—all in one place—so you can focus on scaling your business instead of being stuck in the day-to-day grind.
2. Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz
What You’ll Learn:
- Traditional accounting says profit comes after expenses, Michalowicz flips that by putting profit first.
- Prioritizing profit helps keep your business financially healthy and sustainable
- Simple, separate bank accounts can help you manage cash flow effectively.
Want to stop living pay-check to pay-check in your business?
👉 Discover the cash-flow system that puts profit first now: Audible | Amazon
How It Relates to Cleaning Businesses:
Cash flow management is a big challenge small cleaning businesses face. Profit First introduces a straightforward system to keep your business profitable, ensuring it not only survives but prospers.
💡 Quick Tip:
Set up different accounts for income, taxes, operating expenses, and profit. For each payment you receive, allocate a set percentage to each account. This proactive method keeps your spending disciplined, your taxes covered, and your profits protected, supporting a steady financial growth overtime.
3. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
What You’ll Learn:
- Small, steady habits lead to significant improvements over time.
- Focusing on getting 1% better each day results in exponential growth.
- Create systems that make good habits simple and bad habits difficult to sustain.
Small changes, big results.
👉 Learn how to build success into your daily routine, read Atomic Habits here: Audible | Amazon
How It Relates to Cleaning Businesses:
Whether aiming for better time management, improving customer relationships, or training your team, Clear’s habit-based strategies show how small actionable steps can lead to powerful outcomes. For example, regularly following up with customers after a cleaning can boost loyalty and referrals.
💡 Quick Tip:
Start by committing to a simple weekly habit, reviewing key business metrics, like customer retention or job profitability. This regular check-in builds awareness, highlights opportunities for growth, and helps you make smarter well-informed decisions.
4. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
What You’ll Learn:
- In a crowded market, stop trying to outcompete, finding a "blue ocean" where you stand alone.
- Develop unique value propositions to distinguish your business.
- Embrace innovation and grasp what clients truly value.
🌊 Stop competing. Start innovating.
👉 Discover how to create uncontested market space: Audible | Amazon
How It Relates to Cleaning Businesses:
The cleaning industry is tough, with many businesses offering similar services. Blue Ocean Strategy offers a blueprint for making your brand stand out by creating unique, customer-focused offerings, such as eco-friendly options or customized cleaning plans.
💡 Quick Tip:
Conduct surveys to uncover what clients value most in a cleaning service. Then, emphasize those qualities in your marketing to position your business in a space where others simply aren’t competing.
5. Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days
– by Joey Coleman
What You’ll Learn:
- The first 100 days of a new client relationship are crucial for building loyalty.
- Creating memorable experiences early can increase client retention.
- Addressing potential issues before they arise helps prevent customer churn
The first 100 days matter most.
👉 Learn how to wow your clients from Day 1 and keep them coming back: Audible | Amazon
How It Relates to Cleaning Businesses:
When new clients book a service, those first experience and impressional with you company can make or break future loyalty. Coleman’s approach offers practical tactics to turn one-time customers into long-term supporters.
💡Quick Tip:
Design a simple “client onboarding” routine. Start with a friendly welcome email before their first service, follow up with a thank-you note afterward, and send a brief feedback survey. These small touches build trust, show professionalism, and increase the chances of repeat bookings.
Bonus Tips for Fully Benefiting from These Books
- Implement Gradually: Don’t try to adopt every idea at once. Focus on one idea, apply it, then move to the next.
- Connect with Peers: Start or join a book club with fellow cleaning business owners or team members. Discuss these books and share practical applications.
- Take Notes and Make Plans: Jot down action points as you read each book, and set specific timelines to integrate them into your business practices.
Final Thoughts
These five books can transform the way you manage your cleaning business, from boosting financial stability to creating remarkable client experiences. Whether you're just getting started or looking to refine your current systems, each title offers practical, proven strategies to help your business thrive in a competitive market.
They’re not just theory—they’re roadmaps to:
- Stand out in a saturated industry
- Build long-term customer relationships
- Strengthen your financial foundation
- Create efficient, scalable systems
Which book will you dive into first?
Have you read something else that made a big impact on your business? Let us know in the comments—we’d love to hear your recommendations and experiences.
