What forms and steps would be involved to start your own housekeeping business in Oregon?

Question

I have a great friend that does housekeeping for a motel chain, and she would like to be self-employed and clean houses for individuals.

I would like to be able to give her some advise about business licenses, insurance, advertising.

Thank you for taking the time to answer. Even if you can only tell me about part of the question.

Answer 1

Hi,

I am not from Oregon, but the state shouldn't matter a lot.

First, she should contact a lawyer and setup a corporation. This should cost more than a few hundred dollars and will protect her assets. The lawyer can advise her to state specific regulations (which is why I said it shouldn't matter a lot.)

After she legally sets up the business, she should start a business bank account. This is free and takes only a few minutes. She will want to keep all her finances separate. If she is technical, she could user QuickBooks to keep her expenses or hire a bookkeeper. If she ever grows to the point of hiring employees, definitely let a bookkeeper manage the money. It's not that expensive, and it is a preventative cost since your accounting bills will be much lower at tax season.

Insurance is another story. When you own a small business, you can get health insurance for yourself. The major insurance providers realize there is a niche for this. Just work with an agent and let them know that she is starting a company and already been through the necessary steps.

While working with the insurance agent, you can also get insurance on your service. This protects you from breaking items or if some one needs to file a claim against the company. I actually anticipate this figure to be fairly high. She should definitely look at something with a high deductible/high cap. This would probably give her the best protection at the most reasonable price.

Advertising. If you live in a major city, you could try CraigsList. If you live in a smaller town, the local newspaper are fantastic. Once she gets a few clients, she will get referrals if she is good. She could also, print business cards and give existing clients $25 off if they recommend a friend.

Good Luck,