Cleaning-Success.com

Introducing The Happy Cleaner Blog!

We recently conducted a survey of all our newsletter subscribers to find out more information about how they're handling Human Resources issues. Some of you might have taken the survey and we'd like to thank you!

We received a lot of feedback asking for more specific information on these issues so we've created a blog specifically for cleaning company owners who would like more support and information on this topic.

Please head over and visit the new blog to see the survey results. And be sure to sign up for email updates!

The Happy Cleaner Blog

Do I Stay In The Cleaning Business Or Do I Quit?

The past year has been tough on a lot of people, including cleaning business owners. Many are simply shutting the doors to their business because they're losing clients faster than they can obtain new ones. The good news is that many cleaning company owners are actually growing their business despite the odds against them!

Recently a cleaning business owner asked for advice because she's fearful of the growth of her business. She has the opportunity to go back to her old job and she's seriously considering it. She asked, "Do I abandon my growing cleaning business to accept a job in my old profession (with all of the same old headaches) or, do I take on new headaches that will come with moving forward to fully grow my current business and hire an employee?"

A couple people offered encouraging advice:

1. Do you prefer working for yourself or for someone else? Which one gives you the most pleasure, makes you happy, gives you freedom and control? Anything we want bad enough is worth working for and working through the headaches.

2. You have to ask yourself several questions first. Then, the answer to those questions will drive your pursuits. If you want to be in business for yourself and don't want to return to your old job, then I recommend you stay in the business and look for ways to grow. There are incredible opportunities for growth in the cleaning industry. Hiring and training and growing and expanding your cleaning business can be rewarding and lucrative. But it can also be fraught with headaches and frustration as any business can be. Your vision and your dreams for this business need to be the driving factor.

What advice do YOU have on whether or not she should stay in the cleaning business or quit? Click on the Comments link below to share your thoughts.

Get Your Cleaning Prospects "Off The Fence"

We often hear from cleaning business owners that after they submit a proposal to a prospect, they never get a call back as to whether or not they were awarded the contract.

First, you should schedule a follow-up appointment after turning in the proposal. But if you're not able to do that or if they cancel the appointment, be sure to make follow-up phone calls to see where they're at in the decision-making process. Just be sure not to become a pest!

Sometimes people just get busy and put off making a decision. In this case, you may want to try something to get them "off the fence". Here is a suggestion from cleaning business consultant, Dick Ollek:

Whenever I had someone on the fence delaying their decision or just not making a decision I would try to think outside the box on how to get their attention. I have been known to send a flowering plant with a note indicating something like, "hope these flowers brighten your day and you can surely brighten ours by awarding us your business. You are important to us".

Doesn't have to be flowers or this wording but something that grabs their attention and something like this should bring a smile to their face and not aggravate them.

What do YOU do to get your cleaning prospects "off the fence"? Please share your thoughts by clicking on the Comments link below.

Cleaning Business Owners - Are You Happy?

This week I had the privilege of seeing Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos talk about his company's culture and how Zappos became famous world-wide for providing a memorable customer experience through customer service.

But it was the end of his presentation that really caught my attention. Here he talked about what makes us happy, and it occurred to me that most of us are chasing carrots. You know what I mean -- dangling the carrot in front of the horse's nose so he's always focused on chasing immediate gratification. 

Tony calls this type of happiness Rock Star (always chasing the next high). If you're a cleaning business owner it might be something like, "if only I could make a half a million in sales I'd be happy, (or a million, or whatever that  number is for you). Or "when I achieve _____, I will be happy". But are you really happy when you've reached that goal? Or are you now on to the next carrot?

The next stage of happiness is called Flow (engagement - time flies). During this stage of happiness you are more engaged in what you are doing and time just seems to fly by. Isn't it fun when business is booming and cash is flowing into the company? Yes, you're happier, but not quite there yet. Suddenly you need to hire more people to handle the extra business and the quality of work starts to slip... Is happiness only fleeting?

The third stage of happiness is called Meaning/Higher Purpose (being part of something bigger than yourself). Ahh, now it's starting to make sense! When have you truly felt happy in your life? Was it when you did something that had meaning or a higher purpose than your own self-gratification? Is it any wonder that people who do charitable work seem so happy? It's no coincidence.

Tony Tsieh discovered that when he defined his company values and culture, it translated into happy employees and customer satisfaction. Suddenly he was a part of something bigger than himself. If you could create your own company culture and transform it into something bigger than yourself, would it make you happy?

Share your thoughts by clicking on the Comments link below.

Cleaning Company Owner Shares Success Story

A member of The Janitorial Store shared this success story.

I belong to my local Chamber of Commerce and was able to get a set of mailing labels for free. (Most Chambers charge a small fee for mailing labels of Chamber members)

Next I bought some postcards from Staples for $25.00.

It cost me $42.00 for bulk mailing charges.

Four days later I was awarded a $500 a month account ($6,000 a year). I also got a $250 one-time clean, a window washing job and the opportunity to submit a proposal on a floor care account.

Please share YOUR success stories by clicking on the Comments link below.

What It Takes To Be Number 1 And Stay Number 1

Jeffrey Gitomer Explains what it takes to be Number 1 and stay Number one with 10.5 success strategies.

Do you agree? Post your thoughts by clicking on the Comments link below.

Is the REAL Money in Commercial or Residential Cleaning?

This question has come up occasionally from both residential and commercial cleaners. People in residential cleaning hear there is more money to be made in commercial cleaning and to a certain degree this is true; primarily because commercial cleaning companies can grow to a tremendous size - in the tens and hundreds of millions in sales a year. Many of the most successful residential cleaning companies have grown to $2 to $5 million a year in sales. To do more than this in residential cleaning is rare. So from a sales perspective, yes, it is feasible to make more money in commercial cleaning.

But what is your definition of "REAL" money? Is it making $100,000 a year? $150,000 a year? $300,000 a year? ...more?

Here is something to consider that is besides the idea of how much money you can make in a cleaning business, no matter what kind of cleaning business you own. When we had our first really successful year in terms of income, it hit us that the old statement "money can't make you happy" is very true. We were finally making the kind of money we had always dreamed of, yet we were so stressed out that we couldn't take the time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Yes, our company was growing, but we didn't take the time to automate our business so it could run smoothly without us being there every single day. Because our company depended on us so much, we had a hard time taking time off and enjoying life. Sound familiar?

So what do I mean by automating your business? I'm talking about putting systems into place for everything you do in your business -- from hiring to training to home/building inspections to scheduling work. Yes, we had a policy manual that covered many of these things, and yes, we had certain systems in place. But what we did NOT do was document, step-by-step, each of these systems so that our key employees could duplicate what we did without us being there. This is where the REAL money is, because as you put systems into place you'll find you're spending less time spent fixing mistakes, handling complaints, and writing up poor performing employees. Instead you'll have more time to enjoy the lifestyle you really want to live because your company is learning to run without your constant presence.

You can certainly make REAL money in whatever type of business you choose - residential cleaning, commercial cleaning, carpet cleaning or selling widgets! The key is to choose a business you are passionate about and then systematize everything you do to maintain consistency throughout your company so your business can grow successfully. Before you know it, you'll not only make "real" money, but you'll be enjoying the lifestyle you've been dreaming about.

Please share your thoughts about this post by clicking on the Comments link below.

Do Your Cleaners See Things Through Your Customers' Eyes?

To some employees, janitorial work is just a job. They know they have to empty the trash, do some dusting, clean the kitchen and bathrooms and vacuum the floor. But are they really seeing the "big picture" when they're finished cleaning?

When your customers come to work in the morning, the first thing they see is the front door. As they approach the door, they're also observing the surroundings. What are they seeing? Dirt and debris along the corners and edges of the entry, and on the window sills? Cobwebs around the door frame? What about the door itself - is it sparkling clean and free of fingerprints?

Now they enter the office, where there is usually a reception area. Perhaps there are some chairs and a coffee table with brochures and magazines. Are the magazines neatly arranged and the brochures tucked in their holder? Is the entry mat vacuumed, free of sand and leaves?

Your customers are paying attention to the details, and if the details aren't taken care of, they assume the rest of the cleaning must be sub-par too. When training your employees, make sure they pay attention to the details that are important to your customer and that they see the office through your customers' eyes.

How to Deal With Burnout

A cleaning business owner asked:
How is every one dealing with burn out? I had a business owner tell me that in about five years you might get burned out. How do you deal with that, especially as a small cleaning business owner where I do so much myself?

The following advice was offered by another cleaning business owner:
The best way to avoid tomorrow's burn out is to manage today's stress. If you find yourself in a stressful situation, take a walk, listen to some music, take a snack break, just remove yourself from the situation for awhile and clear your mind. Sometimes stress is as much about the environment you find yourself in as it is about the actual problem you are facing. Deal with whatever is stressing you directly, analyze it, create a solution(s) and take action. Avoid running away from the problem, this is only a temporary fix. If something comes up, resolve it quickly. We are our own worst enemies and indecision is often the worst of all habits. Get your problems out of the way, you will feel a lot better for it. We beat ourselves up for mistakes, why not reward ourselves a little for our success? A lot of times the difference between stress and satisfaction is how we look at things.

I added my thoughts on burnout:
You really do have to be careful about burnout when you own a business. It gets in your blood and if you're not careful it will take over your life. But if you don't take it seriously and devote the necessary time to it, chances are it will fail. So there's a careful balance that you need to maintain in order to keep from burning out.

I believe the real key is to find the right people to help you. In the beginning you probably need to wear all the hats. But as time goes on and you get busier, you simply can't do it all yourself. And how will you every be able to take time off when YOU are the business? You need to find a way to have some personal time and time with your family.

You should always be on the lookout for a person (or people) that you feel is trustworthy, dependable, and could fill your shoes for a few days. If you hire them, give them a lot of detailed training. Once you feel they're working well on their own, start giving them small tests to see how well they do with making decisions. Take a night off and let them handle things. Gradually start extricating yourself from the day-to-day so that eventually you're able to take several days or even a week off without totally stressing out.

Dealing with burnout is something we all have to deal with eventually. How you choose to deal with it will decide if you can work your way out of it to continue running your business successfully or whether you decide to bail...

How do YOU deal with burnout? Click on the Comments link below to share your thoughts.

Do You Provide Customer Service or Customer Satisfaction?

A wise building service contractor once suggested to members of The Janitorial Store that we are NOT in the customer service business. Rather, we are in the customer SATISFACTION business. He explained that service is a concept; satisfaction is a demonstration.

Have you ever lost business and wondered why?

"The building was clean" we say, and it probably was. But somewhere along the line we irritated the customer. It may have been something one of our employees said like "that's not in the contract". Sure, your company was providing the service but the customer wasn't satisfied with your organization.

Years ago Tom Peters once said, "If you have to have someone in customer service what are the rest of your people doing"? Think about that the next time you go to Walmart or Target. They have a separate "customer service" department. You may even have a "customer service representative" who travels around visiting customers to see "how we're doing". If that's the case, what are the rest of your people doing to provide customer satisfaction?