Don't Be a Hoarder

So many companies are ultra competitive, trying to dominate their local area. They hang onto proprietary information and get patents to own their knowledge. This is great and definitely needed so others don't steal your inventions and creative processes. But is it always good to keep your specialized knowledge close to the vest? I believe we are blessed with the ability to learn and comprehend and obligated to give back to help others. I'll even go so far to say that hoarding your knowledge in hopes of retaining your competitive advantage is selfish and unhealthy. My hope is that this episode opens your eyes that sharing your knowledge actually endears you to your target client and will not only increase your business, but serve your community.

During the peak of COVID-19, I was home a lot more than usual and had extra time on my hands. I knew that I needed to dig into the CDC's cleaning & disinfecting recommendations. This lead me into a journey in learning, where I became an expert in disinfecting properly. My next goal was to share this knowledge with my community to empower others to be safe during a difficult time.

• Carfagno Cleaning Facebook Page - I wrote a large summary of two weeks of research on disinfecting, wrote out a 5-episode FB Live series with challenges to share on my business page and mom's groups. I created an intro video on my Carfagno Cleaning FB page and shared it to my personal page and Teresa shared it to the locals mom's group. By the time of my first FB Live episode, the intro had 700 views and 8 shares. The content focused on "90% of people are disinfecting incorrectly" and I would teach how to fix the 9 mistakes. The first Live had 5 viewers and a few comments. This Facebook Live series turned into the "9 Mistakes in Disinfecting".
• MCBA -  Our weekly business-owner's networking group had to go virtual and many were still trying to figure out how to keep their employees safe. I presented a brief summary of my 9 mistakes to equip others. Tom McKee from Edward Jones texted me afterward. This is the same Tom that I met through LinkedIn ("Because You're a Business Person That Cleans"), who introduced me to Marcy (his OM) at Edward Jones for an office cleaning estimate. Again, seeds! Tom loved the tips and was interested in having me teach the Greater Montco Chamber this content. That is in the works. I was not afraid to open my mouth and help with my knowledge.
• Chamber of Commerce - I joined the Indian Valley Chamber in October as the only cleaner inside of 300 members. I met with Ken Byler ("Get a Name for Doing") a few weeks later. He helped me a ton and then came onto a SMART Cleaning Tribe call as an expert. He was impressed at my facilitating skills and proposed to our chamber president that I co-lead a Zoom call for the chamber. I was honored. The call went great. We had 25 members on the call, running companies from 5 to 100+ employees. I was able to promote my business! Afterward, I connected with 5 members that engaged on the call and sent them VidYard messages as thank you's. The chamber would like me to facilitate a webinar on my "9 Mistakes in Disinfecting" next!
• BIB - My other local business-owner's networking group went virtual as well. I volunteered to do a showcase on my business and used my time to educate on my 9 mistakes. One of the members, Bill Downs (from "Tips from My BIB"), was so impressed that he shared my information with a friend from church. Drew contacted me and set up an office cleaning estimate. His company, Town Supply, sells doors and has been a staple of Pheonixville, PA for 73 years. Drew is the 2nd generation owner. Their growth forced them to build a new facility and they needed a new cleaner. When Drew's wife watched my videos on the 9 mistakes, she uttered these words. "This guy knows a lot about cleaning! Can we get him to clean our new office?!" I didn't know this until after the estimate!
• Skippack Pharmacy FB Page - I stopped in my favorite local pharmacy and was amazed they had nitrile gloves and gallons of disinfectant. I scooped them up and ran my mouth to help people. I talked about using HEPA bags for homemade masks. Customers were listening. They were asking for my business cards. Then I told the owner about the disinfectant he had in stock called Odoban. I've been researching this stuff for weeks and knew quickly that the product would work for Corona and how to properly do it. He asked if I would do a video for them and he would share my company FB page to their 2,000 local followers! I said I'd have it done that night. I did. I also recommended and reviewed their pharmacy on FB and Google. Dr. Mak was so thankful. He shared the video on Friday night to his 2k followers FB page and wrote - "We've had a lot of people asking about cleaning supplies. We love cleaning and we keep our pharmacy spotless ;) BUT when it comes to speaking about cleaning, we'd rather refer that question to a local expert. Our friend, Ken, from Carfagno Cleaning shares a tip on a product we have in stock currently at the pharmacy, OdoBan. If you have any questions about disinfecting, drop them below." The video got over 300 views in 24 hours with a few liking my FB page. I shared my link to my FB Live series. The people learning about me are ALL in my prime geograph  ic area and many are my ideal client. This is the same pharmacy that Eva Finlan told me to visit and say I knew her in "Building My New Cleaning Network II". I left my business cards there in October. Five months later, I was NOT afraid to share my knowledge. Those initial seeds came back because of my action and courage. On the way back from the Town Supply estimate with Drew, I stopped back at Skippack pharmacy per the owner's request to check out their latest disinfectants. They had added a Lysol Neutra Air and Clorox Germicidal. I looked them up and gave the update to Dr. Mak. He gave me the gallon of bleach and asked me to do a second product endorsement. I completed the video and converted my "9 Mistakes" content into a free online course. Then I sent the video and link to the free course to Dr. Mak. He posted the video right away and thanked me. Here's what he typed - "By popular demand, Skippack's cleaning specialist, Ken Carfagno from Carfagno Cleaning is back! You've seen gallons of Clorox germicidal bleach next to our entrance when you've walked in and out (if you've come inside recently). Enough people asked how to use it, so we've reached out to an expert who provides some tips!" 

This is just the beginning of a marketing strategy to give away my knowledge to build up my community and by default, build my cleaning company. My next adventure in education will be to join my professional organization, ARCSI (Association of Residential Cleaning Services International), and take certification courses in house cleaning technician and disinfecting. This will add another layer of expertise to my brand and allows me to share more knowledge to help my community!