It's been a while since we've posted to the blog because we were busy getting ready to go to Chicago for the Building Service Contractor's Associaion International (BSCAI) Convention. Now that we're back, it's catch-up week! Isn't that the way it seems to go when you have to leave town for a business trip or vacation?
The convention was great. There are three parts that were all worth attending. First is the trade show. Two days of walking through the vendor area, finding out what's new in the cleaning industry both in equipment and technology. It's very educational and it's also great to be able to talk to people from the companies you buy from.
The second part of the convention are the speakers and breakout sessions. The keynote speaker was Chris Gardner, of Pursuit of Happyness fame. He's had a very interesting life, although I'm not sure many of us would want to live through the hardships of his early life in order to achieve his current success.
One of the sessions that I think many of you would have been interested in listening to was from a woman in Texas who went from making about $200,000 per year in her cleaning business to over $1 million per year - in just one year! What was her secret? In a nutshell, taking advantage of mentors who were willing and able to give her the advice and guidance she needed. Of course, mentors couldn't make it happen for her, so the second piece of the puzzle was that she needed to take action on all the nuggets of information they gave her. Well she did just that - she took action every single day! Where did she find her mentors? Through her membership at BSCAI. Whenever you join an organization, take advantage of all it has to offer. If you don't, you'll be wasting your money. I was very surprised at how willing the other members were to share their stories and offer advice.
The third and best part of the convention was meeting the other attendees. Yes, there were a lot of very large cleaning companies represented there, but you'd be surprised how many of them started out just like us - with one person and one account. It totally motivated us to continue growing our business and made us realize that our vision of owning a multi-million dollar company is certainly achievable and within our grasp.
If you're thinking about starting a cleaning company or have already started and would like to find a mentor who can help you grow, then think about joining us as a member of TheJanitorialStore.com. We help our members every day with issues and questions that they have about their cleaning business. You'd be amazed at how much momentum you'll have once you belong to a community of like-minded individuals who are ready and willing to share and help each other out.
Its very refreshing to hear the sucess stories of memebers of this site. I've only had my business for 6 months and looking forward to many rewards.
Posted by: Derrick | April 25, 2007 at 06:15 PM
Derrick,
It's not easy but the rewards are many. You just need determination, drive, and hard work. Good luck!
Jean
Posted by: Jean Hanson | April 25, 2007 at 07:30 PM