Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Janitor Built a 7000 Monthly Side Hustle in Commercial Cleaning Software Consulting
Transcript
- Lucas: So you're a night-shift janitor, you're mopping floors at 2 AM, and you realize the software the cleaning company uses is terrible. What do you do? Marcus — who worked as a janitor for a mid-sized commercial cleaning firm in Columbus, Ohio — turned that frustration into a seven-thousand-dollar-a-month side hustle. Luna: I love this. Because most people would just complain about the software, maybe mention it to their supervisor, and move on. He built a whole consulting business out of it. Lucas: Exactly. And the key detail is that Marcus wasn't in management or IT. He was on the floor — literally. He saw daily how the scheduling software double-booked crews, how the invoicing system missed billable hours for specialty services like floor stripping, how the CRM had no field for client-specific notes like gate codes or hazardous materials. Luna: So he knew the pain points from the ground up. That's actually a huge advantage over a consultant who's never held a mop. Lucas: That's the whole thesis of his business. Marcus started by researching what software was out there. He found that most small to mid-sized cleaning companies use either a generic tool like Jobber or Housecall Pro — which are fine for residential — or they kludge together spreadsheets and paper. A 2024 survey from the Cleaning Management Institute found that only about 22 percent of commercial cleaners with under 50 employees use a dedicated operations platform. Luna: So there's a huge gap. Those companies are losing money on inefficiencies and they don't even know it. Lucas: Right. So Marcus started offering a free 30-minute audit call. He'd ask about scheduling, payroll integration, client communication, inventory tracking for supplies. Then he'd show them one quick win — like how to automate text reminders to clients, which reduced missed appointments by about 15 percent. That got him his first three clients, each paying 500 dollars a month for ongoing advice. Luna: Wait, so he's charging five hundred a month for software consulting? What exactly does he deliver each month? Lucas: He does a monthly review of their software usage, recommends new features or integrations, troubleshoots issues, and helps onboard new employees onto the system. He also creates custom templates for estimates and invoices. But the real value is that he stays current on software updates. Cleaning companies don't have time to read release notes. Luna: That's such a smart recurring revenue model. He's not doing one-off projects. He's embedded. Lucas: And he kept scaling. After six months, he had twelve clients. He raised his rate to 750 for new clients — existing ones stayed at 500. He also started offering a premium tier at 1,200 a month that includes on-call support for emergencies, like when a scheduling glitch causes a crew to miss a big contract. Luna: How did he find clients? Cold calling? I imagine cleaning company owners aren't exactly searching LinkedIn for software consultants. Lucas: He used his insider knowledge. He knew which companies had the worst software because he'd worked for some of them. He'd reach out to the owner or operations manager and say, 'Hey, I'm a janitor at your competitor, and I noticed your crews are always late. I think I can help.' And because he came from the industry, they listened. He also posted in a few cleaning industry Facebook groups, offering free tips. Luna: That's humble and effective. He's not pretending to be a tech guru. He's saying, 'I've been in your building, I know your problems.' Lucas: Exactly. And he built a small website with case studies. One of his early clients was a 40-person company that was using a mishmash of Google Calendar, QuickBooks, and paper logs. Marcus moved them onto a platform called CleanGuru — it's a vertical SaaS built specifically for commercial cleaning. He streamlined their dispatch, cut their billing cycle from two weeks to three days, and saved them about 2,000 dollars a month in administrative overtime. Luna: That's a massive win. And that client probably became his best referral source. Lucas: They did. Within a year, Marcus had 25 clients and was making over 7,000 dollars a month. And he was still working his janitor job — though he eventually dropped to part-time. He says the janitor work kept him grounded and gave him credibility. Luna: It's interesting — he didn't quit his day job right away. A lot of people would have, but he used it as a credential. Lucas: That's one of the smartest moves he made. When he talks to a potential client and says, 'I still clean buildings,' they trust him more. He's not some MBA who read a case study. He's lived it. Luna: And now the software companies are starting to notice him. I read that CleanGuru actually reached out to him to be a beta tester for their new mobile app. He got early access and could give his clients a heads-up. Lucas: Yeah, he became an unofficial product ambassador. That's a nice side benefit. But the core lesson here is that operational expertise — even from a so-called low-status job — can be incredibly valuable if you package it right. Marcus saw a gap in the market that most tech consultants overlooked, because they don't scrub toilets. Luna: He also built a side hustle that's recession-resistant, right? People always need cleaning, and companies always want to save money on overhead. Lucas: Absolutely. And the software category is growing. The commercial cleaning software market was valued at about 1.2 billion dollars in 2025 and is projected to grow around 11 percent annually through 2030. More companies are digitizing, but they need someone to guide them. Luna: So for someone listening who works in a service job — maybe they're a hotel housekeeper, a maintenance worker, a delivery driver — they might have similar insights. What's the first step? Lucas: Start by documenting the inefficiencies you see every day. Write down three things that waste time or money in your operation. Then research software solutions that address those pain points. You don't need to be a tech expert — you just need to know what problem the software solves. Luna: And then offer to help one small business for free, like Marcus did. Build a case study. Lucas: Exactly. One free audit, one documented win, and you have a portfolio. From there, you can charge. And if you keep your day job while you do it, you have credibility and a safety net. Luna: It's such a clean, replicable model. And it doesn't require a degree or a big investment. Just observation and a willingness to help. Lucas: Before we wrap, I want to mention something. We keep this show ad-free on purpose — no sponsor reads, no commercials. It's a choice we made because we think the content should speak for itself. If you find value in these episodes and want to support that, you can buy us a coffee. The link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, but it helps keep the lights on and the episodes coming. Luna: Yeah, and we really appreciate those who do. It allows us to spend time finding stories like Marcus's instead of chasing advertisers. Lucas: Exactly. So back to Marcus — he's now thinking about launching a digital course for cleaning company owners on how to choose and implement software. He's planning to charge 200 dollars for it. And he's also been approached by a software company to do paid consulting for their product roadmap. Luna: So his side hustle is turning into a full ecosystem. From janitor to software consultant to product advisor. That's a pretty remarkable trajectory. Lucas: It is. And it all started because he paid attention during his night shift. So next time you're doing a routine task, ask yourself: what's broken here, and could I fix it for someone else? Luna: Great note to end on. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.