Last Updated on August 21, 2023 by The ZenMaid Team
What to expect
Cryptocurrency has been on the rise since 2009. With more businesses accepting cryptocurrency every day, have you wondered what it could look like in your maid service?
In this article, weโll explore how cryptocurrency can be relevant for your maid service. Hereโs what youโll learn.
- How itโs different from traditional money
- The most common types of cryptocurrency
- How your business can benefit from accepting payments
- What the risks are
- How to set up payments for your business
Are you interested in this topic? We think youโll also find this article helpful: 6 ways to improve the financial systems within your business.
What is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a digital form of money used to purchase products and services like any other currency.
Cryptocurrency lets you cut out the middleman between you and another consumer as if youโre operating your own bank.
Transactions are produced by electricity from computersโ lines of code into monetary value. While there are over 7,000 types of cryptocurrency today, the most common one youโve probably heard of is Bitcoin.
How is it different from traditional money?
We’re all familiar with how we use traditional money: itโs exchanged for goods and services. Cryptocurrency is no different when it comes to exchanging goods and services.
At this point, there is no government regulation over cryptocurrency, whereas traditional money is controlled by the Central Bank that services as the mediator between the consumer and the seller. In the United States, the Central Bank is the Federal Reserve.
Some see the lack of government regulation as risky, which weโll get into more later. On the other hand, the lack of government regulation can be seen as a way to boost countries with devaluing currencies, like Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Processing speed
With most credit card payments, it can take up to two to three business days before the transfer is complete. With cryptocurrency, payments are transferred within a matter of minutes.
Transaction fees
With a traditional credit card, you can expect a fee anywhere from thirty cents per transaction to 2.93%. Cryptocurrency offers the benefit of minimum transaction fees, ranging from zero to one percent.
Most common types of cryptocurrency
As we mentioned earlier, the biggest big buzzword in cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, developed in 2009. Compared to the US dollar, Bitcoin is currently worth 34,300 to one US dollar.
Cryptocurrencyโs โrunner upโ is Ethereum. Ethereum has a couple of variations, but the main one was developed in 2015. Itโs currently 2,200 to one US dollar. Also established in 2009, early investors of Ethereum are now multimillionaires.
The second runner-up in cryptocurrency is Litecoin. Established in 2011, Litecoin is also worth billions of its market cap.
Check out this resource to learn more about the different types of cryptocurrency.
Who is accepting crypto payments?
More than ever before, large companies are seeing the value and down-investing their talent to get more cryptocurrency experts on their executive board.
Businesses using cryptocurrency that may be familiar to you include Amazon, Google, Microsoft, PayPal, Shopify, and Dell โ just to name a few.
Your maid service is probably not the size of Googleโฆ but there are great benefits to considering accepting cryptocurrency in your small business. Letโs explore the reasons why.
How can your maid service benefit from accepting crypto payments?
The first benefit is that there’s no third party when exchanging the same type (for instance, Bitcoin to Bitcoin.) This means zero transaction fees! Every single dollar goes straight into your account. If youโre currently losing large sums of money to transaction fees, this is a huge benefit to consider.
While there can be transaction fees for exchanging across types, the fees are usually only one percent or lower. Either way, it saves a lot compared to the traditional credit card or PayPal transactions.
Decentralized currency
As we mentioned before, cryptocurrency is a decentralized currency, meaning no central bank controls it. For businesses offering services across borders, this means you donโt have to worry about currency conversions; itโs an even playing field.ย
Processed in minutes
When it comes to processing transactions, you get your money faster. It usually comes down to the speed of technology, so within a matter of minutes, you receive your payment for a service or product. Compared to the usual two to three business days with credit cards, this is a big win!
Staying ahead of the curve
The last benefit weโll cover today (though not limited to) is that cryptocurrency can help you stay ahead of the curve. If youโre serving an audience interested in investing in cryptocurrency, offering it as a payment method is really appealing.ย
However, if youโre serving a market that prefers traditional forms of payment, like writing checks, this is probably not the way to go. As in any good business practice, know your audience well before you make any decisions.
What are the risks?
Like anything in life, there are risks associated with cryptocurrency. We wonโt go into too much detail here, but weโll cover the basics.
Unstable value
Any investment can feel like a rollercoaster because values can change at any given time. With that in mind, we wouldnโt recommend cryptocurrencies as your businessโs main source of payment. Treat cryptocurrencies like you would any investment: do your research, invest wisely, keep a diversified portfolio, talk to a professional, and keep an eye on your assets.ย
Lack of government support
For some, having no government support for cryptocurrencies makes investing in them seem too risky. Traditional investors want to stick with more predictable options. If you fall into this camp, cryptocurrencies might not be the best option for your business. However, if you believe in the value of where itโs going, itโs worth considering at least small portions of your revenue.ย
Money laundering
Unfortunately, there are always bad apples looking for a way to launder money. If you trust your business partners and stick to secure systems, this shouldnโt be a problem to expect.
How to accept crypto payments
There are a few different ways to accept crypto payments in your business.ย
Wallets
Generally speaking, the easiest way to hold your cryptocurrency is in the same place where you bought it. But to do business transactions, youโll likely need a secure wallet.ย
For cryptocurrency, the two kinds of wallets are software-based, โhot wallets,โ or a device that holds your currency offline, โcold wallets.โ Either way, youโll accept your currencies digitally.ย
Payment processors
No matter which wallet you go with, youโll need to set up a reliable payment processor. The most popular payment processors are coin-based. A couple of highly trusted ones are Bitpay (by PayPal) and Quickbooks.
How to get your business started with cryptocurrency
Once youโve researched which cryptocurrency youโd like to accept and invest in, these are the four steps to take.
Set up a wallet
First, find which wallet you want to use and then create a QR code for it. (You know โ those little square codes that look like a puzzle!) Use that QR code on your website or invoicing system. It makes it super easy for crypto-paying customers to make a transaction.ย
Set your price and process
The next step is to make a plan for your process and pricing. For instance, will you accept any of the top forms of cryptocurrency or only Bitcoin? Will you accept a Discover Card, Visa, MasterCard, and/or American Express, etc.?
Make an announcement
Then, tell the world youโre accepting cryptocurrency! This could be through a press release, email blast, or social media campaign โ any way to make sure your customers and target market see it.ย
Announcing your acceptance of cryptocurrency will create some buzz for your business and attract new customers interested in the subject. And then the more obvious outcome: current customers will know they can pay you with their cryptocurrency.ย
Pay your taxes
We hope this doesnโt come as a shock, but itโs always worth mentioning: be prepared to pay your taxes. Since cryptocurrency payments are like a form of cash, you wonโt be able to track it like traditional payments. Talk to your accountant to see how you should track and report those earnings.
Is this right for your business?
We hope this article has helped open up the potential for your business, or if itโs an option you need to avoid. At the end of the day, it all boils down to what decisions will help your business succeed. With all of the information weโve shared in this article, keep your target audience in mind. Will they see the value in doing business with a company investing in cryptocurrency?ย
Do you see the value in it? This could be the start of something great in your cleaning business. Let us know what you think in the comments!
About the presenter
Vanessa Higgins is the Owner and Founder of Clean Tu Casa. She believes itโs an exciting time to learn about cryptocurrency! Vanessa and her CFO husband, Alex, are opening doors by accepting crypto payments for cleaning services.
Es un momento interesante para aprender mรกs sobre las criptomonedas โ conozca los beneficios y los riesgos! Descubra cรณmo Vanessa y su esposo, el director financiero Alex, estรกn abriendo puertas al aceptar pagos en criptomonedas por servicios de limpieza.
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This talk first aired at the 2021 Maid Service Success Summit.
The Maid Summit is an annual online event that brings together the most successful leaders in the cleaning industry, like Debbie Sardone, Angela Brown, Courtney Wisely, Amy Caris, Chris Schwab and more. Get free access to masterclasses and workshops that will help you to grow, scale and automate your cleaning business so you can get more leads and create more profit. Make sure youโre on our email list to find out how to get free tickets to the next event.
If you found this article helpful for your maid service, you may also like:
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- How to Market a Cleaning Business: 10 Strategies that Actually Work
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