Why Side Hustlers, Startups, and Solos Struggle

I recorded this training for the 2023 Maid Service Success Summit

Fundamental #1: Financial

Start with the Stats!

• 90% don't know their numbers (Life After Sale YT)
• 98% don't know the value of their business (cnbc.com)
• 72% don't know their credit score (smallbiztrends.com)
• 73.6% of all statistics are made up (businessinsider.com)

Notes from the Talk!

• Me – I knew my numbers and optimized every 90 days with SMART goals from 2014-2017 to go from 5-6 days solo cleaning per week to 2 days all while earning the same profit! We started at $60k profit and ended at $60k profit. This is the ISO Model.
• Kate – I was helping a friend running a $1.2M residential cleaning company. She has 375 clients. We analyzed her business with numbers and calculated that her average biweekly client is paying $130/visit. She recognized an opportunity to grow that average to $160/visit. I coached  her to use the 80/20 rule and assume 20% of her clients are leading to 80% of the high drama and low profit costing her business money. This amounts to 75 clients. We used numbers to determine the potential of her business with the SAME number of clients (375) but replacing the 75 with great ones. It was an additional $50k-$100k per year in profit! When we increased every client from $130 to $160/visit, it added an additional $150k-$250k per year in profit! Same business, same size, better numbers! Mind-blowing.

Fundamental #2: Mindset

Start with the Stats!

• 60% have a fixed mindset (Dweck).
• 98% don't pursue their dreams with confidence and excitment (2% Mindset).
• 33% are held back by fear (Smallbiztrends.com).

Notes from the Talk!

• Fixed vs Growth Mindset – "This is the idea behind a growth mindset: we believe our intelligence and abilities can be developed over time. Growth mindsets are one end of the spectrum of how we think about ourselves, with fixed mindsets on the opposite end. Having a growth mindset means we are eager to learn, adaptive, find value in embracing challenges, and believe that being effortful can improve certain skills, compared to the fixed mindset’s belief that our abilities are unchangeable." A fixed mind sees limited opportunity and the cards they were dealt are the ones they must keep. A growth mind can change and must change as nothing in life ever stays the same. It either grows or dies. So the irony of the fixed mindset is that it is decaying or dying over time. You have to grow a little to "stay the same". (Carol Dweck, "Mindset")
• A growth and business-owners mindset sees investment, not cost. They see delayed gratification vs immediate. They see long-term thinking and planning vs. immediate. They seek mentors, coaches, and  value life-long learning.
• If you don't believe you can grow your mind, you're right. And if you are fixed in your mindset, you better know your numbers because you'll be holding onto whatever you've got as the only way to grow your income in to grow your mind.
• How do you acquire a Growth Mindset? First, you must believe it for you. Second, become a reader of personal development books and  NEVER stop. Get around those that stretch you. Stretching your mind shows you the gap and forces you to want to grow to fill the gap.

Fundamental #3: Strategy

 Start with the Stats! 

• The average entrepreneur spends 68.1% of their time "in" and 31.9% "on" their business (agilitypr.com)
• 83% don't have goals at all (Harvard Business Review).
• 97% don't have written goals (Harvard Business Review).
• 41% don't have a business plan (Babson College of Entrepreneurship).
• 67% of strataegic plans fail (Inc.com) 

Notes from the Talk! 

• I've done a whole course on SMART goals for the Solo Elite Members and a free version on my podcast. The numbers are insane. The 1% that have a plan in terms of setting goals, writing them down, and holding themselves accountable to achieving them are 100x more successful than 83% that have no goals at all. I wanted to be in the 1% Club!
• Strategic plans or business plans are a mixed bag. 41% don't have one, but 2/3 of the ones that do, don't work! The reason they fail is because of inexperience and inaction. They make a plan without having ever done a business before. Here's the secret and it's Growth Mindset. You need to set your goal first based on your Why. Then you need to find someone with a lot of experience in leading others to that goal in your specific scenario and industry. Copy their strategy. Fixed minds won't invest in this type of proven strategy that WILL work. They see cost and try to figure it out themselves and cost time and money. There are many great plans available to cleaning company owners. Do you homework and choose the best fit for you. If you're a side-hustler, startup , or solo and you want to optimize a solo cleaning company like I've done twice and have lead dozens through the same process... then you need the Solo Elite Membership powered by my ISO Model
• A huge reason shown in the stats for aimlessness is our lack of time. When we spend an average of 68% of our time IN our business, it leaves very little time for strategic, long-term planning or even looking at our numbers. The ISO Model is purposefully designed to get the solo making money first and  then freeing up time. As we buy back our time, we re-invest it. This is the power of a sound strategy.

Fundamental #4: People

 Start with the Stats! 

• 93% of all communication is non-verbal (93/7 Rule)
• 69% S-personality, 17% are C's, 11% are I's, and 3% are D's
• 86% lack effective collaboration and communication skills (pumble.com).
• “The one common denominator to all success and happiness is other people. Various scientific studies have proven that if you learn how to deal with other people, you will have gone about 85 percent of the way down the road to success in any business, occupation, or profession, and about 99 percent of the way down the road to personal happiness.” (Les Giblin)

Notes from the Talk!

• We must accept first this basic premise of business. All businesses are made up of people. Our success in business depends full on our success with people. If people are just numbers and transactions, your outlook is short and unfulfilling. If you value building relationships, your outlook is long term, fulfilling, and full of business success.
• Now we build on that. The numbers are stacked against us to build any meaningful long-term relationships unless we work very hard to develop people skills. Almost 70% of people are quiet and introverted and hard to read (S-type personality). Add to that, 93% of all communication is non-verbal. These 70% are picking up the most on what you're not even saying.
• The way to overcome is to learn how to communicate and collaborate with people. This is done through reading a lot of books and practice... lots of practice. You also need a giver's heart vs. a selfish takers heart. Selfish = Transactional, What Can I Get from You? // Giver = Relationship, What Can I Give TO You?

At the end of this training, I mentioned the Smart Cleaning School Backstage Pass. I wanted to make this available to every podcast listener too! Go to smartcleaningschool.com and click on the big orange button for "Backstage Pass". You will get access to my calendar for a free Discovery Call, access to my newly edited Solo Cleaning Quickstart Guide, and an opportunity for a $1 trial of my ISO Model Course! Here's my question to ponder. Would you like to optimize your solo cleaning business to earn over $50,000 profit cleaning less than 20 hours per week without employees or subs or drama! Get access to this game-changing training for only $57 per month or $597 per year in the Solo Elite Membership at smartcleaningschool.com/elite. Members get access to the full ISO Model Course to optimize your solo business, plus access to the Solo Elite Community, bonus podcast content, access to private coaching and additional courses at 50% off!