Cleaning lady agency?

Amarante

Mon, May 29 2023, 2:56 pm

lovetobemommy wrote:

How will people pay you? Would they give you always cash or they might give you a check or quick pay? How will you explain all the additional deposits if you Ch"v get audited? If one of this ladies is stealing and the customer will come after you? Will you have insurance? What if ICE is detaining one of the ladies and she tells them who provided her employment?

If you receive more than $600 through PayPal or Venmo, they will send you a 1099 at the end of the year. The limit used to be $20,000 but it was lowered

Last edited by Amarante on Mon, May 29 2023, 3:15 pm; edited 1 time in total

Cheiny

Mon, May 29 2023, 3:14 pm

amother OP wrote:

I actually wouldn't have them take less. They are charging 15/hr and I would have ppl pay 17 or 18/hr to use them

I know someone who does it. She takes $1 an hour from the cleaning ladies.

amother

Crocus

Mon, May 29 2023, 3:28 pm

amother OP wrote:

I somehow find myself in the position of getting names of ladies who are looking for cleaning help and ladies who are looking to clean. Someone suggested to me to maybe make a business out of it, since I really end up spending a lot of time acting as the shadchan and helping arrange schedules etc.

Has anyone does this before? I would love to hear more and get some tips. I am not looking to necessary make a mint, but maybe enough to make it worth my time and efforts, and to also be a chessed to the community.

I know someone in an in town community who has a cleaning lady agency as a business. She has loads of people coming to her and makes a nice profit. She charges what you would pay the cleaning lady for one week. So if you only need a few hours a week your fee wouldn’t be so much but she makes a lot of money from the women who are looking for full time cleaning help.
I don’t know if she charges the cleaning ladies a fee also.

amother

Steelblue

Mon, May 29 2023, 3:32 pm

OP you can go to jail if you regularly hire people who are not legal to work here.

You’re better off as a referral agency. You take x% of the weekly salary as your fee.

I’ve used to diff ladies/unofficial agencies. One took the fee out of the cleaning ladies pay. The first two week I paid 50% of the pay to the cleaning lady and 50% of the pay to the referring lady.

The second person I used charged me. I got the cleaner for one week. If I was satisfied then I paid a one time fee of the weekly pay to the referring lady. She also guarantees a cleaner that I like for a certain period of time.

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 4:47 pm

amother Hosta wrote:

You have to realize that people aren't going to see this as you doing them a chessed. So you need to realize this is a business.

I have this fear as well...I do not want to make that kind of name for myself in my small community that I am looking to make money off of people etc. But what is interesting is that anyone who has asked me to help them find cleaning help has said something along the lines of "I should be paying you shadchanus!"

Of course, I never took anyone up on it bc I genuinely enjoy helping ppl and am happy that I have been able to. But as time goes on, I am finding that I really am spending several hours a week arranging schedules, acting as translator, being the middleman, and I know that realistically I can't keep doing that without it taking away from my other responsibilities and job.

But it seems like most people understand that it is a big job that takes time and effort out of the one making the arrangements.

keym

Mon, May 29 2023, 4:47 pm

Leaving all legal stuff to the side, with a business there are more expectations.
Currently, if a cleaning lady doesn't show up one day to your neighbor, there can't be any expectation of you. If they're paying you a cut, then they WILL be upset if the cleaning lady doesn't show, they will likely expect you to find someone else, give a reduced rate.

Same thing if the cleaning lady has an unpleasant experience at a specific house, there's little that you're expected to do. But if you're being paid, then your level of having to vouch is way more.
What if a cleaning lady steals?
What if she doesn't steal but gets accused of stealing?
You'd be responsible for all of that. Without insurance (because the business isn't legal)

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 4:48 pm

amother Steelblue wrote:

How is this any different from a legal standpoint? I obviously am not looking to risk going to jail or getting audited etc. I am only looking for a way to continue helping people in a way that can work for me and my family.

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 4:50 pm

keym wrote:

I would have to protect myself my putting in clauses that I am not responsible for no shows and they do not have to pay me or the lady obviously, and that I can not vouch for their integrity, stealing etc, more than standard vetting and checking out...

Meaning my job is that I am there to make a shidduch between u and a cleaning lady and to find time on her schedule that works for you. Nothing more.

Amarante

Mon, May 29 2023, 5:39 pm

amother OP wrote:

You are forming legal relationships with both the employers and the cleaning ladies.

However you structure it, you would have an employment agency and those are covered by legal requirements in most jurisdictions.

There is no way to protect yourself legally if someone decides to go after you because you are breaking the law and so you are vulnerable.

Given the amount of energy and time you are spending as a favor, I would suggest only doing it as a true favor to your cleaning lady and your family.

You could set up some kind of a chat group in which the cleaning ladies and people needing their services can find each other and you are completely out of the loop.

amother

Oxfordblue

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:47 pm

amother OP wrote:

Getting paid isn’t going to give you more time to do your other responsibilities or job.

Can you encourage the people who contact you to use translator apps, sounds like you are in the middle of this because of language.

amother

Tue, May 30 2023, 1:51 am

amother Oxfordblue wrote:

The first part is not necessarily true. The main reason why I am.in the middle.is becasue I know the cleaning ladies and some of their friends and people want that. They prefer using someone tried and true and have lots of questions. And on the flip side, the ladies know that I have connections to help them find work so they keep asking me.

groovy1224

Tue, May 30 2023, 3:40 am

Sounds like you should just make a Whatsapp group. Ladies looking for work can post their availability, and people looking to hire can respond directly. You can be the admin of the group with whatever rules you choose but the actual back and forth would take place privately between parties.

If you start taking a fee, it would mean you would need to be willing to follow up on late/absent workers, or complaints from the working ladies on whomever they worked for. It would become even more work.

amother

Papayawhip

Tue, May 30 2023, 3:45 am

I know 2 "agencies".
One is a frum woman who finds competent, reliable candidates and arranges their schedules. She doesn't charge the cleaning ladies any fee, but expects to be paid a dollar an hour for every time you use the lady she found for you. There is no contract, more of a code of honor that you would set aside a dollar for every hour and send her the money every month or so ad infinitum. I assume there are customers who take advantage and just don't pay her, but I do know plenty who are very ehrlich about it. If you have a bad experience with a cl she might mediate, but all she can really do is not recommend this lady again to any other people.

Another is a gentile man who has contacts in his community. He arranges schedules and transportation and vets the customers so that the cleaning ladies are working in safe environments. You are always supposed to schedule through him and never deal directly with the cleaning woman. He charges the cleaning ladies and not the customers. This arrangement makes me very uncomfortable and I worry about the safety of his ladies.

chick567

Tue, May 30 2023, 8:46 am

charging per hour is messy and has lots of potential pitfalls.

I suggest charging a finders fee of $100 or whatever is fair, for finding a cleaning lady that fits the person's needs and gaurantees they will show up for at least a month. after that it's their problem. by then the cleaning lady and family should be able to handle any issues between themselves.
you can keep sending different women until they accept one that fits their needs, and then pay the fee, and good bye.

amother

Geranium

Tue, May 30 2023, 8:57 am

chick567 wrote:

Not the OP but curious- what is messy about charging per hour? Hiding