Cleaning Apartments at Cleaning Check or Check-Out time
Description:
We all know that cleaning checks are a dreaded time for college students who run the risk of being fined if they don’t pass the “white glove inspection.” Many students are resigned to the fact that they are going to fail and so don’t even bother trying to clean, which results in them having to pay for their management’s cleaners come (normally at a fee of $15-30/hour). Instead of having them pay management and be resentful about the fact that they are being nickel-and-dimed, I clean their apartments before cleaning checks for a little less than management’s cost.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
One month my roommates and I were complaining about cleaning checks and how management always found something to fail us for. One of my roommates said that she just wasn’t going to do it and would go ahead and fork out the money this time since it was so frustrating. I told her that based on principle she shouldn’t do that, we all knew that our management purposely tried to gouge students for as much as possible and I personally refused to pay them a penny more than necessary. I volunteered to just do her cleaning checks for her instead and after doing hers I realized that there were plenty of people who I knew who would rather pay someone to do their cleaning than do it themselves. Once I made the decision to do this it was pretty easy to network within my ward and through friends and it’s been a nice extra source of income.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
The most important problem was that I would have felt awful if someone had paid me to clean their place and they still got fined because I didn’t do a good enough job. In order to alleviate that worry I told all of the girls whose apartments I cleaned that if they got fined I would waive my fee. Because I was driven by the fear of disappointing the girls who had hired me I did a much more effective job than I did on my own cleaning checks and I never once heard back from a girl saying that they had gotten fined after I cleaned for them.
What I learned:
That people like to stick it to the man, even though I was still charging a somewhat high hourly fee (I charged $10-15/hour and they charge $15-30/hour), people were still more than happy to pay me that fee rather than pay management. Additionally, I learned some pretty efficient cleaning techniques and cleaning has become much less of a chore for me now.
Library Custodian
Description:
A job that doesn’t interfere with your life because hours are so early in the morning. The job’s main duties include mopping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning windows, etc. Shifts start around 5AM and you are done by 8! Most people don’t even get up by 8!
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I found this employment through BYU’s online job search. There are current openings in this position.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
It was really difficult to get enough sleep. I was working another job, but the solution was simple: go to bed earlier. After I began doing that I was getting so much done during the day.
What I learned:
It’s true what they say: “Early to bed, early to rise” I felt so healthy from good sleep patterns caused by this job.
Window Cleaning Service
Description:
Providing cleaning window services. Cleaning/ managing my little business. Good rapid sucess enabled me to engage several workers which later became great partners.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
Last summer I kept thinking and reflecting of several possible opportunities that would perhaps increase my income to allow me to make some money for school and other expenses. In the process of sorting many ideas I kept in mind that I wanted to be employed for myself. I had decided to start cleaning windows. Initially I had done little research to make sure it would be the right decision. I began my idea by walking in the wealthy neighborhoods and asking them if they were interested in window cleaning service. As I’d visited several houses I found much of the success and therefore proceeded to my next step. My next step was to obtain necessary equipment to provide a great service for my customers
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
Surely any business that you start requires a good and determined mind, as well as thorough thinking. The way I perceived and overcame my fears was to see myself being successful and have a positive mind that I can do it. I have always seen myself as person that would get what I want. As I was working I had constantly seen and imagined myself to be the winner, to be in the place where I want to be. I loved working with people and getting to be their friends. Because of my best efforts working in the particular neighborhood I had been often well recognized by people and consequently referred to more houses. As I continued working a number amount of houses and appointments increased and I was in need of more help. A few weeks later I was able to introduce my job to couple of my friends and later they became my good partners. Together we managed to get more work and our daily income began to increase. Through working together we were able to expand our areas, and later I was able to spend less time working managing and making appointments for my workers.
What I learned:
What I learned: Working together and at the same time managing my little business I was able to learn much of the value. I was happy to see my success and more importantly of all was to see the satisfactions of my partners and customers. I became acquainted with many great people, I was thought of good reputation and received much pleasure working with them