I had so many quality influences growing up, but not many in the entrepreneurial path until my mom remarried Paul Tibbitts when I was 10 years old. Paul grew up with entrepreneur parents who owned multiple businesses, held real estate, owned an airplane, and understood excellence in all they put their hands to. I didn't understand this until later in life and this episode shares my journey.
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In 15 years of solo cleaning, over 75 families have hired me to clean for them. However, I sold my business with 17. What happened to the others? It's simple. This is a seasonal service for some and a lifetime for others. I never tried to figure that out. I just served. I have lots of experience getting "let go", "moved on", "fired", etc. Some let me know face-to-face with a month's notice. Some stopped immediately through email, phone, or text. Others just disappeared (literally a UFO got 'em)! There was only one time that I fired myself. For the sake of privacy, we'll call this customer "Bob".
I break down the numbers in this episode. If you remember, I was at a low point in "Broken Record", making the connection between average SMART goals and average results. I wanted 2020 to connect great SMART goals to great results. Therefore, I had to make a critical change. For the previous 10 years, I've been creating ACTIVITY & OPTIMIZATION SMART goals on my main business and GROWTH SMART goals on my side passion project. This wasn't fruitless as I optimized my solo cleaning business big time, sold it, and we got debt free. However, I left a lot on the table. What could have happened to both my main cleaning business and side business if I reversed the way I set up goals? That's what 2020 would be.
The week started off great. In my last podcast update on my own solo cleaning business, I shared the story of Doug sliding another cleaning business's card across his desk and asking me what I thought of her. I spoke highly of her, even after he told me that he used her company for his own house. Well, I got an email from Doug on Monday asking if I would be willing to do a cleaning estimate for his house. I was amazed, scheduled an appointment, and completed it by the end of the week. It just goes to show that you never go wrong by sowing good seeds about others. I share the full story in the episode, but I was torched on my mastermind call this week. The guys weren't impressed with my goals and how I was approaching the next 12 months. I tried defending myself, but they called me on it. Overall, it was a great call and I was challenged to do what I preach and get an accountability partner (see the Accountability Roadmap). John VanderMuelen. John is a good friend and MASTER of selling on Amazon. He runs a group holding other Amazon Sellers accountable and trains them. I set up electronic payments for the first time after 15 years of running a cleaning business. I did my research and for now, chose Stripe. It's about 3% cost but it's easier for my new house cleaning clients and possibly an office or two. This gives me a new option for collecting money and not waiting or worrying about checks and bank deposits. It's streamlined. This next meeting with my realtor friend, Denise Simone, is where the title for today's episode came from. Denise has a passion for the elderly and helping them downsize to fully enjoy the twilight of their lives. She told me a beautiful story of a former client. Betty is a widow that Denise helped downsize through crazy issues with mold, a broken septic, obtaining permits, and just 45 years of a lived-in home. Denise was her hero and did work way beyond real estate to help her client and friend to a better life. She even helped her clean the house a bit. Denise had a great line. "An old unkept house is like a broken down car." This was in reply to houses over time with neglect fall into disrepair. I shared an analogy about the brain and personal development. Our brains, businesses, and relationships don't stay the same. They also fall into disrepair with neglect. I was so impressed with Denise and was grateful for the time and for allowing me to share her story of Betty! Previous Show Mentioned: "Blueberry Pie" TLF Mastermind friends I mention: Andy Storch, Gustavo Fernandez, Jon Appino, John VanderMuelen,
Listen to this episode to hear the backstory and how our game of Giant Jenga went. I want to share the vital part and message in the show notes. We were at the critical point where there were no more potential blocks to pull. My daughter was faced with a critical decision. Does she go for the best option and face a 99% chance of failure? Or does she CREATE a new option?
I've literally never seen anyone do this in Jenga. Christianna lifted up the top half of the building and rotated it 90 degrees so that it fit together like Tetris. This created a loose block that she slid out and sat down to escape losing. My mouth dropped in awe as my initial reaction was, 'That is literally the most creative solution I've ever seen in Jenga'. We did wonder as a family if the move was legal, but we played on. Ultimately, Christianna did not lose. I posted the video clip on Facebook with a question and the video? "I need a Jenga ruling! This is a the most creative solution I've ever seen in this game. But... is it legal?!" I got a lot of comments, but two back-to-back contrasting views really stood out. I won't mention names. One said, "If you're not going to play by the rules, don't play the game." The other said that she loved the out of the box creative thinking and that she will go far in life. I was so thrilled to see these two comments as they show the stark differences between the employee and entrepreneur's mindset. Employees are trained to always follow the rules and stay inside the box. I mean no disrespect to the first commentor or to employees in general. I was an employee for over a decade and have great memories. I'm just stating that employees have been trained to be excellent direction followers. The better they follow directions, the better they do on the test and in the job. Now granted, those that are in leadership do think bigger. However, there is always someone giving them instructions. In stark contrast, entrepreneurs are always stretching and redefining the new box. In fact, great entrepreneurs just say, "What box?" They are creative, curious, and think critically to solve difficult problems. It's what our awesome nation was built on! After reading this comment, I was so excited about my daughter's future as we train our kids in entrepreneur thinking! Way to go Christianna! I'm so proud of you! If you like or identify with this level of thinking, check out the work of Seth Godin as it inspired so much of what I wrote and talked about here!he
Everything is NOT all flowers and sunshine in a solo cleaning business. I have shared solid mindset to grow and so many pros to this amazing business as I've grown my own solo business a second time. But it's not always great. There are Cons of Solo Cleaning. In this episode, I wanted to be REAL and share when I reached my "February of Cleaning" and wanted to quit! Essesntially, I had a pity party and needed the encouragement of my wife to get me through.
I shared the story of Ian Traynor of Albany Pure Cleaning. He was so excited to start his new solo cleaning business. It was summer time, warm, sunny, and didn't get dark until 9 pm. I warned him about February, saying "Ian, February is coming. I know you're excited now but a time is coming when you will question everything. You'll be leaving the house in the dark and cold and snow of Upstate New York and coming back home to the dark and cold and ice. Your supplies will be frozen as well as your car every morning.You'll wonder why you're doing this. But remember that spring and summer are coming again." I meant this in a literal and metaphorical sense. Spring and summer are literally more fun and tolerable for cleaning. However, in a metaphorical sense, Ian's business will go through seasons. The first season is shiny and new, which leads to the emotion of excitement. The last season is optimizing and great profit and great mindset, leading to the emotion of excitement. But the middle season, the "February of Cleaning", will be old and boring and cold, leading to the natural emotions of depression and frustration. You'll have to listen to my account on this podcast, but I share what I was feeling after cleaning Erika's house for the second time. I worked so hard to get two new clients and I was excited to start rebuilding my company. Then, I started the actual cleaning and realized it was going to be hard work. I realized that I needed to get my mind back into "Cleaning Mode". That's why podcasts like this can be so beneficial. I had my pity party as I was tired after cleaning two houses. That's when my wife stepped in and encouraged me. I told Teresa. "I don't want to do this anymore." I was questioning my career and if I would have to clean solo the rest of my life. Then I talked to Rachel Hicks of Slightly OCD Cleaning while doing an office later that night and came up with a plan that excited me again. I have fully trained Ian, who was an entrepreneur looking for an opportunity. She reminded me that I trained her to double her hourly rate as a cleaning owner. That's what I'm great at and what I love doing. Rachel helped me to dig out of my season of pity and also encouraged me. I started to see and visualize the spring and it excited me again. Once I got my mind straight, I noticed an email in my box. Kayla from Sammy's Bullfrog Cafe asked if I could come in to meet with Sammy to discuss cleaning. I set up the estimate and met with Sammy while the restaurant was closed. It was very productive and I sent a proposal out a few days later to serve Sammy. I offered a comprehensive plan to cleaning the cafe with their existing staff, an outsourced cleaning service (me), and carpet & floor company (my friend Jim). They were thankful and we'll see, maybe they'll be a new client! We are all going to face our "February of Cleaning". The strong ones will endure through determination and disciplined thought. It's totally amazing how our emotions follow our thoughts.
My Pop-Pop has been the man I've wanted to perform for my whole life. My father and I are both named after him. My son is named after him. For most of my life, Pop-Pop has been an encourager... except for this one time!
When I was 12-years-old, I was competing in a Saturday morning bowling league where I was one of the best in my league for my age. I carried an average around 135. But on one occasion, I defied all sense and threw a low-game of 12. There are only 10 frames in a game of bowling and if you don't mark in the 10th, you only get 20 throws of the ball down the lane. In this game, I threw 18 / 20 gutter balls. My score was embarrassment enough. But not on this day, nor the 30 years since. My Pop-Pop watched every throw. He could see what I was doing wrong and had the answer. He was in the right perspective to help me make the adjustments, but I was too dang stubborn to accept his help. So what did he do? He heckled me like the Volkswagon guy in Happy Gilmore. I'll let you listen to the episode to get the gist of it My Pop-Pop reminds me over and over again about this epic failure of a bowling game. I reply. "Pop, that was 30 years ago!" His response is powerful. "Have you learned yet?" What about you? Are you throwing gutter balls over and over again? Do you have a mentor or coach that sees a broader perspective of your game, but you are too stubborn? Get over yourself and adjust! Change your approach and increase your score.
Dionne was a struggling single mom. She was willing to do anything to make it, including moving to a different state and trying out a crazy business... cleaning houses. If you're a mom listening to Dionne's interview, I fully believe you will be encouraged to know it's not easy but you can do it!
Dionne shares how surprised and honored she was when I invited her to join the Solo Cleaning School as a founding member. The idea of paying for a membership forced her to take personal leadership for her future and she dropped this insane metaphor - "Don't worry about how much the shovel is going to cost if you have a gold mine." It's a great message as cost and investment have completely different meanings. Cost implies consumption. You buy and use it up and it's gone. On the other hand, investment implies growth. You buy and use it to get more of what you need. Dionne illustrates this perfectly as to why she decided to join our School!
This is the last business update on my new solo cleaning business for 2019. What a way to go out! Andrea Szlavik of A2Z Realtor Pa assures Ken that he is not a cleaner who happens to do business. He is a business person that happens to clean. This is a big difference. Let's dive into this week in my business!
We had a business showcase presentation from Laney Landis this week at MCBA. She is the 5th generation owner (over 200 years in the family) of Old Village Paint. I was mesmerized at the history of this American Pre-Civil War paint company. I happened to record this meeting as I wanted to learn each member's business better. This was very fortuitous as Laney was sad she didn't have a recording of her showcase on her family company. Afterward, I told her of my bootleg recording and sold it on the black market for a can of paint. Just kidding. I sent it to her after the meeting and she was so pleased and thankful. As I've shared many times, always look to sow good seeds. I also connected with a few other members after this meeting. James wanted to set up a 1-to-1 breakfast meeting to get to know each other's stories better. Charley wanted me to start sending me cleaning referrals. Paul wanted to connect. I am becoming a trusted face & member and others recognize that and want to get to know me better to refer me. I met Andrea Szlavic on NextDoor last week and she added me to her realtor preferred vendor list. I was very thankful and asked if she would like to grab a coffee and connect. She opted for breakfast at a brand new local spot called Sammy's Bullfrog Cafe in Harleysville, It was a productive meeting where we shared our business stories with each other while enjoying the new flavor in town. We discovered a common connection as well. I had attended the Growth Now Movement LIVE! Conference in Reading, PA with Justin Schenck. While at this conference, I met another Keller Williams realtor at the same office as Andrea. It's a small world, after all. At the end of the meeting, I asked her this question. "Why did you add me to your preferred vendor list without meeting me or seeing my work quality first?" Her answer floored me and became the title to this episode. "Because you set yourself apart by reaching out to me first on NextDoor. That told me that you were a business person that did cleaning verses a cleaning person that tried to do business. Most cleaners don't take that initiative." As we parted, she assured me that she would get me out to her team's office in the spring for a real estate cleaning presentation. Then instead of getting in my car, I went back into the cafe and asked to speak to the owner. They were hesitant as they assumed I wanted to complain. Then I told them that I enjoyed the experience and would like to leave the cafe a 5-star review on Google. The hostess introduced me to my breakfast waitress, who was also part owner in the brand new cafe! She was very grateful and told me where to leave these reviews and asked for my cleaning business card. I left one on the cafe's bulletin board and went home. Once I got home, I followed up by giving 5-star reviews on Google, NextDoor, and Facebook for Andrea and the Bullfrog Cafe. Andrea and Kayla (my breakfast waitress) were so thankful. Again, these are good seeds! After leaving the reviews, I checked my phone and had a missed call and voicemail from Sean at the grocery store. Do you remember in "I'm the Only Cleaner" when Vernessa gave me the lead for her common areas cleaning? This was Sean's follow up. Unfortunately, he is looking for a company to service the entire grocery store! This is way out of my league, but I'll still connect with Sean and see if I can help. Do you remember Eva Finlan from "Building My New Cleaning Network II" and the referrals she gave me. I heard back from one of them this week and added him to my cleaning newsletter. His local company is evaluating their cleaner soon and my name will be top of mind if he happens to see my newsletter. I also followed up with my friend Dexter from "Free Donuts" as we still need to get together for breakfast. I completed my first house cleaning estimate this week from Bill's referral and emailed out her proposal. It looks pretty good, but you just never know. Shortly after sending this proposal, Kayla from the Bullfrog Cafe emailed me back asking if I'd come in for a cleaning estimate. I love this! It's so fun to sow good seeds and start to see the harvest. I continued to market from home as well. Teresa connected with moms on our local Facebook Mom's group. I started conversations and build relationships on LinkedIn and NextDoor. One of my conversations from last week made it to the next level. Tom was one of my new LinkedIn friends. We had a lot in common. We both graduated Penn State, knew some of the same people, and were the same age. He is a financial planner and worked under a mentor at a local Edward Jones office. Last week, cleaning came up and he stated that they had a cleaning service and were happy. Everything changed. He shared over LinkedIn that "they were now looking for a new cleaner and thought of me." I connected with Tom's office manager Marci and set up an estimate for next week. You just never know! Oh, and I added Tom to my cleaning newsletter email list. Here is my LinkedIn takeaway. My first approach was to target office managers on LinkedIn. This produced not results because there was no trust. Then I changed my strategy to connect with mutual connections for the trust factor and look to grow those new connections with more trust. I did this with Tom and it lead me to his office manager for an office cleaning estimate. I have no idea how this will go next, but the opportunity was created solely due to trust.
This goes back to my introduction episode and going into more mindset on honoring what you currently do and have. Every seed sown comes up. The message here is simple for you to ponder during Christmastime... what are you sowing into the ground with your current job or business? What about your relationships? Every action you take will leave a ripple in the pond of your community. Which ripple are you making... one toward good will or bad? Merry Christmas to you and your family!
This is the craziest time of the year for the solo cleaner as EVERYBODY wants their house cleaned after Thanksgiving and before Christmas! Please allow me to help you declutter your scattered brains with one of the best remedies... HUMOR! Do you remember the "Funny Papers" in the Sunday newspaper? I remember my grandfather reading his comics after church every Sunday. I didn't get it. I didn't think they were funny. But he would read & laugh as he sipped his coffee in his Sunday best. That's how I remember it.
I have decided to add an element of the Sunday "funnies" to many of my episodes and in this one, I am making the entire show to entertain you! That's it. Life is short. Laugh a little!
Two years ago, my friend in the cleaning coaching world, Debbie Sardone, referred Marcia Davidson to me. Marcia was not ready to scale her business and needed my help in making her solo company extremely profitable. Marcia struggled as a single mom for the entire time, trying to hold onto $15/hour temp jobs to pay the bills. She desperately wanted to grow her solo cleaning business, but circumstances held her back. In this interview, you will see how Marcia turned the corner this past summer and has a totally booked calendar.
The biggest takeaway from this episode is Marcia's mindset of always giving the best. The majority of her recent new client surge had experienced sub-standard cleaning. Then they gave Marcia a try and she gave them deep cleans every time. Marcia elevated her quality to stand out and as she says, "They got hooked." Resources:
On October 2, 2014, I sat in the back of the Rose Theatre in New York City for the Business Gets Personal Conference. Seth Godin stepped to the stage to do his opening keynote and shared the story of the 5th Annual Solvay Conference in October 1927. Physicists such as Marie Curie, Niels Bohr, Max Plank, and Albert Einstein attended and were relatively unknown. Of the 29 in attendance, 17 went on to later receive the Nobel Prize. Seth explained that it wasn't the conference that caused them to be world-changers. It was the simple fact that 29 of the brightest minds in the world were together in one room, making new lifelong connections that could spark something after the conference. Seth said "Make this your Solvay Conference". After hearing this, I texted my new friend and said, "I'm glad you interrupted us. Let's make this our Solvay."
At this time in my life, I was cleaning houses solo like a madman nearly every day of the week. I was tired and demotivated. I needed a change. I was working with my landlord and friend, Tom Cronin of Success Public Relations to scale my cleaning company so I could finally get out of the field and see my family more. He was so generous to offer his help and to allow me to leverage his network of small business owners in the Capital Region. However, I was still unsettled. Was this the right move? Circumstances aligned so that I could purchase a ticket for the Business Gets Personal Conference with Dave Ramsey, Seth Godin, and Gary Vaynerchuk. I needed answers and a change. I was there by the thinnest of threads. Before the event even started, Vincent Pugliese interrupted a conversation I was having with two friends. We hit it off immediately, exchanged numbers, and texted throughout the conference. There wasn't anything about the conference itself that changed my life, but meeting Vincent did. This episode shares my side of the story from what Vincent shares in his Total Life Freedom Podcast episode, "Crossroads". Have you ever come to a fork in the road and you chose the road less taken? I made that choice in late 2014 and it has made all the difference. Book Recommendation: Get the free audio book download "Freelance to Freedom" by Vincent Pugliese.
In this episode, Beth Lane of Lavender Fields Cleaning Service joined Solo Cleaning School. She has been working in this amazing profession for 21 years and has a world of experience that she graciously shares with us today. She uncovers several key points for new solo cleaning moms to use as they grow their business.
I recently connected with Whitney Bonds of "Tried & True Mom Jobs" who helps moms venture out into the workforce to help their families. It's an awesome mission. Whitney or Max as she goes by, asked me to write up a concise blog for her on "How to Start Your Own Cleaning Business". She wanted to bring this content and example to her large blog audience of moms to show them the potential of cleaning as a mom job. Let's cover my answers to her questions in this podcast episode as I believe it's a great piece of content to cover early on. Make sure to go back to the Pros & Cons of Solo Cleaning as I covered some of these points already.
What are the steps to setting up your own cleaning business? It’s important to first understand the various models available to you. There are many “Aunt Sallie” cleaners out there. They take great risk as do the homeowners hiring them as they are uninsured and not paying taxes. Do not do this! The risk is too great and the income is low. A solo cleaning company is insured, registered in their state, and pays all necessary taxes. They work as owner-operators. I did this for the majority of my New York business. The final model are the team cleaning independant and franchise businesses. In all cases, the simplest way to set up your cleaning business is to do the following:
How do you decide how much you should charge? Do not charge by the hour! That is the most critical first decision. You need to choose a starting rate for houses (or offices) at a price reasonable to your experience. I suggest $100-$125 per house as a beginner. Then track your time to calculate your hourly rates. Strive to get to at least $30/hour to start. If you are not at $30, it means you are either undercharging or taking too long. Over time, increase prices to the $40-$50/hour range. In some cases, like in my business, you can optimize to $80-$120/hour. This requires specialized training in my ISO Model Signature Solution. How much money do you need to start a cleaning business? This answer depends on the business model you select. If you follow my advice and start as a solo DBA, you can legally be cleaning houses for under $1,000 in startup. At the rates I mentioned in #3, you can pay this initial investment back with 8 houses. Can this be done part-time and still lucrative? Oh, yes you can! I was able to build a flexible company earning $55k profit per year on 2 cleaning days per week and no employees or subcontractors. I worked around 20 hours per week for over $1,000 per week in profit. This gave me 5 days per week to enjoy my family and work on other projects. This is a PERFECT business for moms to start. How do I know? Because over 90% of house cleaning owners are moms! They love this business because it’s simple, profitable, flexible, and rewarding. Check out the podcast episode, “Moms Helping Moms Helping Moms”. How do you find clients or what are the best ways to get clients and retain them? This age-old question isn’t so much about the tactics, rather the strategy. You have to understand the nature of being a “Go-Giver” and then apply it. But in general, here’s how you find clients.
Do you have to set up any business requirements before getting started? This is a simple business with low barrier to entry. I have already over complicated it with my list of getting started in #2! Go and clean, make some money! That’s the only requirement. Stop talking about doing this amazing business and go do it! If you need help, I have free & paid resources to help you. What supplies do you recommend to start with? For a housecleaning business, you need a vacuum cleaner & attachments, microfiber cloths for cleaning & dusting, a tote bin, spray bottles, sponges & scouring pads, toilet brush, and the basic cleaning supplies (all purpose, glass, kitchen & disinfectant). You can start with what you already have in your house to bootstrap or invest in your own cleaning system I recommend studying the science of cleaning, so you understand why to use what you use! I have this training available in my Solo Cleaning School. How can you scale this business? Let’s not overcomplicate. I personally advise that you become proficient as a solo cleaner first. When you are profitable and ready to hire, you can take a few approaches.
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