Home-Based shoe cleaning and polishing

Busy professionals, school and uniform shoe owners, people with good leather shoes, and dry cleaners or tailors who refer work to you.

Per-pair prices by service level, such as basic shine, full restoration or sneaker clean, with a delivery or pickup fee where needed. Regular clients and referral partners can bring repeat work.

• Patient, detail-focused hand work
• Knowledge of leather care and shoe materials
• Simple online marketing and messaging
• Reliable communication

• Check with your local council whether running a business from home needs approval
• Public liability insurance, and cover for customers' items in your care
• Register for an ABN, and check when GST registration applies
• Risk of damaging valuable shoes, so agree the work and condition with the customer first
• Storing and disposing of polishes and solvents safely

Estimates suggest startup costs typically around $200 to $1,000, depending on your polishes, brushes and workspace setup. Revenue is typically around $200 to $1,200 a month, depending on how many pairs of shoes you take on.

Check with your local council whether running a business from home needs approval, and get public liability insurance plus cover for customers' items in your care. Check ABN and GST registration, and how to store and dispose of polishes and solvents safely.

Estimates suggest at least around 5 hours a week, depending on how many shoes you handle. Useful skills include patient, detail-focused hand work, knowledge of leather care and shoe materials, and simple online marketing. Agree the work and condition with each customer first.