How I Started a US-Based Cleaning Business from South Africa: My Journey So Far
I want to share a quick introduction and overview of how, as a non-US resident from South Africa, I started my own cleaning company in the US while still living in South Africa. It all began when I found a Reddit post by a guy named Rohan, who explained how to essentially start a business like this. After going through the usual internet rabbit holes and a lot of back-and-forth research, I eventually got to the core message of his post. It’s like a short course on YouTube, where you learn how to do everything on your own. However, most of the content is geared toward US residents starting a cleaning business. That said, I’m now two months in and have been making a few hundred dollars in profit each month. It’s still early days, and I’m just getting started, but it really is possible. I think there are loads of lessons to be learned, and for South Africans or other non-US residents, this presents a major opportunity. Especially if you don’t earn in dollars, technology today allows us to interact and do business with people in the US, accept their credit cards, and help them get services. The currency exchange is amazing for us as South Africans. The journey has been interesting, though not without challenges. You still need to learn all the typical business skills like marketing, growing, and scaling your business. There are plenty of hurdles there. Being a non-US resident also brings some challenges, but it’s definitely possible to overcome them. For example, you can register a US company as a foreigner, get an IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN), and use that to open a US bank account. From there, you can open a Stripe account, sign up for software, accept credit card payments, and manage your business remotely using VoIP for calls, cold calling, and customer service. It’s not easy, and it’s certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme, but I’ve slowly been building this business. If you’re interested or have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. Thanks!