Introducing the C3 Experience!

I've built my cleaning company for 16 years solo and have operated under my own set of personal core values. I've communicated them in my marketing system and they have earned me better, higher paying clients that stay with me a long time. However, I've never had to document them or communicate them to a team. My coach, Josh Melton, has been driving this point home recently. He recommended that I re-read the book, "Traction" by Gino Wickman and complete the EOS® VisionTraction Organizer or the VTO. This process is so helpful because it forces me to extract my most inner and core beliefs about me and my company and share them in my vision. I have never done this before. It was scary at first. But now, it energizes me and that's a true tell if my foundation is right. I should be able to communicate my mission, vision, and values. Before I dive in, let me give thanks where thanks is due. I've already mentioned Josh. Josh, if you're listening... thank you! I want to also thank Kevin Smith of Grace Home Cleaning in Omaha, NE. Check out my interview with Kevin called, "It's Grace for a Reason". Kevin shares his mission and vision in this interview and it truly inspired me. I shared the exact one, just didn't know how to communicate it. Thank you Kevin for being so real and transparent about your relationship with God and He leads your company.

Let's return to a previous episode, "We All Need a Coach". I read a portion of scripture from the Book of Matthew called "The Parable of the Talents". I'll paraphrase. The master gives 5 talents to one servant, 2 to another, and 1 to the other. One talent or a talent of silver from biblical times was worth around 6,000 denarii and a denarii was referenced in the bible as a day's wages. Therefore, a single talent could be worth as much as 6,000 days of labor. If the average worker works 22 days per month, it would take him 22 years to earn a talent. I've also seen commentary where a talent was approximately a year's salary at that time. Whatever the answer, a talent is a significant amount of money. The one given 5 talents trades and accumulates 5 more. He is highly commended by the master as a good and faithful servant or steward. The one given 2 did likewise and accumulated 2 more. The master was happy again. The third servant hid his 1 talent in the ground out of fear and gave it back to his master. The master was furious and delivered him to extreme punishment and he gave his talent to the one with 10. This parable really speaks to me. I don't relate to the 3rd servant. I desire to be like the 5 talent servant. He believed that the Master owned it all and he wanted to do his best to multiply His talents. This is called Stewardship. Just like my friend Kevin and the 2 and 5 talent servants, I believe that God owns it all. I believe that He owns my cleaning business. My job as a steward is manage it well for Him. The question I asked myself was this. "Ken, how well do you want to manage it?" The answer was quick and short. I want to manage it like the first servant. He started with 5 of God's talents and ended with 11! That's amazing! God still owns the 11, but the servant was just elevated big time. This became my new life and business mission statement.

Mission Statement: Carfagno Commercial Cleaning is a 10-Talent Stewardship company. We believe that God owns it all and we are His workers to steward it through ownership, excellence, and safety. This is the only way we can be proud of our work and honor God.

Let me just pause for a second and acknowledge you. If you're listening to this and don't subscribe to the Bible or Christianity or God, that's fine. I'm sharing my foundation and why I believe it's strong. I recommend that you glean what you can from this podcast episode and apply it how you see fit.

Did you hear my mission statement. My core values are inside. They are ownership, excellence, and safety. These core values tell the story of HOW my company multiplies the 5 talents into 10. I'll share that story now.

1. Ownership - Ezra 10:4 "Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.” 10 Talent Stewards take ownership of the roles they're given. Ownership claims full responsibility for the role and the results that come from it. The greater ownership each team member takes, the less that ownership, management, and our customers have to think about that team members's role. This gives others on the team the freedom to take ownership of their own role completely. Owners are thus independent and interdependent versus being dependant. Team members that take ownership are directly rewarded through higher compensation, promotion, and other rewards because they understand their role in the greater purpose of the organization's mission. In contrast, team members that do not take full responsibility for all results (good or bad) require babysitting. This pulls other team members away from their 10 Talent Steward role and hurts the team and its overall output of new talents for the master. This is not tolerated.
2. Excellence - Proverbs 22:29 "Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men." 10 Talent Stewards take pride in the work that they do. They strive to give their all at every opportunity because God is always watching. Excellence is doing the right job, the right way, every time, no matter how inconvenient. Excellence is high quality delivered consistently over time. Excellence is how we present ourselves in the company to others in the community, whether they are customers or not. Excellence is how we speak and how we treat others. Excellence holds a high standard of professionalism for professional companies that need our cleaning services. Excellence is collecting feedback on the work we do, analyzing it, and improving our service to keep our customers smiling. Excellence is full integrity, which is alignment between our words and action. We are honest and trustworthy. Excellence is viewing every office as if our own family worked there asking the question, "how would we clean this desk or restroom or break area if it was your mother's or father's or sibling's or best friend's." Excellence is the 5 levels of the C3 Experience. 10 Talent Stewards take ownership and they are excellent in their work.
3. Safety - Deuteronomy 22:8 “When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it." 10 Talent Stewards complete their work safely. They do not jeopardize or compromise safety to themselves or others. Safety is a balancer of our core values as it forces the team member to think with safety while they are taking ownership and working with excellence. This 3rd leg of the stool cannot be removed or the chair topples. A safe work force is a confident one! Our workers perform their jobs in small office buildings off hours. We take as many precautions as possible to ensure their safety. Our customers have confidential data in their professional offices. Our workers are excellent, professional, and trained to clean around such confidential data. Therefore, our customers can trust our company with their buildings. 10 Talent Stewards exercise safety as they take ownership and excellent in their work.

Before I share the final part of my company's foundation, I want to back up and zoom out. I have a personal vision statement that applies to my life and all of my business ventures. In fact, you've heard this tag line in the opening  of each podcast for the past year.

Vision Statement: Helping visionaries make the impact they were meant to make.

Have you ever wondered what that meant? It's simple. I exist to help others achieve greatness. I believe that visionaries change the world and I want to be a part of helping as many as I can achieve greater things. That's the purpose of this podcast. It's the greater platform to my cleaning business as well. I have been gaining influence in my community through my cleaning business. This has opened doors for me to share with other local leaders and visionaries ideas and concepts that can elevate their life.

Now, let's put a wrap on this episode and the launch of my re-brand of cleaning business to the C3 Experience.

The 5 Levels of the C3 ExperienceTM
 
Level 1 Trust through Professionalism– You have sensitive and confidential information in your office. We hire professionals from the corporate and academic worlds that need extra money part-time. They are fully screened, background checked, and understand the professional settings that they clean. We are a fully insured, tax compliant corporation. We are a professional company that you can trust with your key, alarm code, and secure information to get the job done without you having to ever think about it.
 
Level 2 Mastering the Basics – Ken has 16 years of detailed house cleaning experience where the "basics" are held to a higher standard of cleanliness than commercial cleaning. Perhaps, many of your employees were working remotely during the pandemic. This residential standard places the C3 ExperienceTM a notch above the basics for your staff. Our team reviews and updates our training protocols to maintain a consistent quality over time using the Swept Janitorial Software. We also check in regularly to assess our team's performance to develop a unique cleaning experience over time to fit your specific needs.
 
Level 3 Advanced Cleaning Science – Covid-19 taught how important sanitizing and disinfecting are to workplace safety. There are so many pathogens besides coronavirus and we know how to kill them. Ken taught the "9 Mistakes in Disinfection" in 2020 through the Indian Valley Chamber and other local events because 90% of people and businesses were doing it wrong pre-pandemic! Advanced cleaning science also includes chemistry. We train our techs to use eco-friendly options with strong chemistry to safely remove dirt while always avoiding surface damage.
 
Level 4 Presentation Cleaning – Ken was trained by realtors and stagers on how to "present" a home for sale and helped these real estate professionals sell homes for over 15 years. Ken is the cleaning industry founder of the niche called "Presentation Cleaning". We understand the why, how, and where of adding sparkle to master the art of first impressions to IMPRESS your prospects, clients, corporate leadership teams, and staff. 
 
Level 5 Mentorship – The highest level of learning is when you teach. Ken is the founder of the Smart Cleaning School, where his podcast, online courses, and membership programs are helping cleaning company owners win across the country. Ken is also a local teacher to the community where he hosts webinars on various topics to help other entrepreneurs win. Most importantly, we believe it is vital to help our team achieve their goals through ongoing coaching and mentorship. Stronger employees create stronger communities. We develop better people and your support of our company is thus helping more families win in our area. 

Does it seem like a lot of work to build your business foundation? Why can't I just hire employees, add clients, and build my business? I'm glad you asked! The size of the building is directly correlated to the strength of the foundation. The height and strength of a tree is directly correlated to the depth and breadth of its root system. And of course I'll reference my Master again.

Matthew 7:24-25 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."

How strong is your foundation? Would you risk building a large company on a weak foundation? I had Josh Melton of Athens Cleaning as an expert in my Smart Cleaning Tribe recently and he was asked how often he communicates his mission, vision, and values. Josh quoted Andy Stanley. "When you've communicated your core values and mission statement so much that you want to vomit, you're halfway there."