After 12 years of solo cleaning, I ventured into the world of online coaching and courses in this amazing industry. Andrea McCoy was my second one-to-one coaching client. We talked for an hour every week for over a year as she was getting her business started. I interviewed her in the summer of 2019 as I was preparing to launch this podcast. Andrea definitely edified me as a coach, but that's not why I aired her interview as the 3rd episode of this podcast in October 2019. I loved her Why and her message. Andrea just wanted a business that would provide peace of mind for her large family. Peachy Clean out of St. George, UT has provided that for her over these last several years. I wanted to re-share this episode to newer listeners. Andrea's interview is still ranked in the Top 10 of all Smart Cleaning School podcast episodes in total downloads.

Check out my interview with the CBF Founder, entitled "A Buffalo Charges the Storm with Debbie Sardone". Debbie is offering free consultations to listeners of this show through the Smart Cleaning School Resources Page  at smartcleaningschool.com/resources to see if CBF could be the right solution for you.

In "Keys to Solo Longevity I", I established a few foundational principles. First of all, there is a clear difference in a Ford and a Honda. I prefer my cleaning machine to operate more like a Honda. They last longer and require less maintenance... and I shared this from my experience having owned 4 Fords and 8 Hondas in 30 years. Secondly, we deconstructed the domination and longevity of all-time sports greats Tom Brady, Cal Ripken, Jr., Serena Williams, and Roger Federer. Each of these greats believed very deeply that we will get out of our machines what we put into them. I shared the sleeping, dietary, and exercise training routines of each. Serena valued strength training through HIIT, while her male counterpart in tennis Roger Federer valued 12 hours of sleep per day. Cal valued exercise and strength training more after each birthday, which helped him to become MLB's Iron Man. Tom does everything. He's a cyborg. Can we emulate what these peak performers have done? We can try! In this episode, I will share my own health journey and winning routines. It's my hope that you can make a small change and stay consistent over time so you can reap the rewards of a long solo cleaning career.

This 2-part podcast was inspired by a Solo Cleaning School Elite member, Dave Reeks. Dave started implementing the ISO Model in early 2022, operating The Finest Clean in South Wales, Australia. I am so proud of his diligence and commitment. Dave has grown from an Initializer to the Stabilizer phase of the ISO Model in 6 months. I recently did an Optimizer's Workshop with him to help him hit his next goal. He is a male solo cleaner like I was and growing quickly with almost 20 house cleaning customers in a short time. Dave recognized the need to keep his body operating at peak performance and wondered if I had any tips for other solo cleaners. Thank you Dave for this question! Yes! I do. I was a solo cleaner from age 28 to 44. There have been seasons of physical domination when I could stay up all night and clean and clean and clean. I have also struggled with fatigue, injury, and chronic disease. Regardless of the season, I had no choice but to keep going... and I did. In this initial episode, we will deconstruct the habits of multiple peak performers from professional sports to learn from them. Then in the second episode, I also will share several keys to solo longevity that I have learned along the way from my triumphs and struggles.  I believe this will help all cleaning companies as we all have people cleaning, whether it is us or a team we've hired.

This is part 4 with Teresa Carfagno. We have already covered three other great topics, such as "Living with an Entrepreneur", Work / Life Balance and Healthy Eating Habits for our Kids in "Healthy Home Boundaries I & II" In this final part, we will help all of the families out there curious about the pros and cons of homeschooling your kids. Teresa has helped over 10 families start homeschools over the past 10 + years and has earned the nickname, The Homeschool Whisperer. If you've ever considered homeschooling and would like some solid information to start your research, this episode will help.

In the last episode (part 2 of this series), Teresa shared useful lessons from the Carfagnos in the area of Work / Life Balance or what we call the family business and the busyness of the family. In this episode, Teresa concludes her thoughts on this topic and dives into the tender topic of keeping our children healthy. There is no right way to do this. But this episode reflects how we have raised healthy kids. Hopefully, this will educate, inform, and give you confidence in your home!

Check out my interview with the T-Bag Company Founder, entitled "Respectful, Reliable, Responsible with Damon Washington". You can purchase any of the T-Bag products at a 10% discount through the Smart Cleaning School Resources Page.

In part 1 of Teresa's expert call from the Smart Cleaning Tribe, she dives into what it is like "Living with an Entrepreneur". In today's episode, Teresa unpacks a few key lessons the Carfagnos have implemented to achieve balance between the family business and the busyness of the family. I hope you find these lessons useful yourself.

This phrase is one of the most used when I'm training a new C3 Team Member along with "We don't clean everything every time. We clean everything  over time". I wanted to dive into some mindset to encourage you, regardless of whether you're on the C3 Team, a solo cleaner, or a cleaning company figuring out the basics of growing a team. Let's first explore what it means to put in your reps as I lay out the construct known as the 4 Stages of Competence. I will use cleaning vernacular and share bits and pieces of the C3 training system to help anyone listening.

It is so critical for each one of us to align or be congruent with how people see and perceive us as a business person in our communities. Before there was an online aspect of doing business, all we had to do was be out in the community building valuable relationships and adding value wherever we could.  This got us referred. Our branding was all about who we were and what we did in person in the community. In the early 2000's, websites started becoming a prominent branding component for cleaning companies along with Google, Yahoo, and even (dare I say it) MySpace. Social media then erupted on the scene in the 2010's and now our online branding may be the most important side of our branding.  The reality is that for most cleaning companies, more and more people are finding us through our online branding first. I want to keep this episode short and sweet. There's two scenarios that can happen: