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Starting and Maintaining a Cleaning Business
An Q & A interview with Matt Goodwin
Q: For what reasons did you get into the cleaning service
business?
A: At the time I started my
cleaning business, I was married to a woman that had a few clients she did on
the side for extra money. I worked in the automotive industry and could see a
problem arising at the business that I worked for. Planning for the future, I
began to use my paychecks from my job to pay for advertising for her cleaning
business. As the amount of clients began to grow, we started using income from
the house cleaning business to pay for the advertising. I was laid off from my
job about 6 months later and I went to work full time for the cleaning business.
Q: What do you consider the best or most enjoyable part of
the cleaning business? Why?
A: I enjoyed seeing my clients
and enjoyed the freedom of being self employed. Many of my clients were elderly
and consequently, also lonely. As sad as that was, I really wanted to spend more
time just talking with them. I remember one of my clients was a nature nut (as I
am) and we would talk about so many fascinating things, I didn’t even want to
leave. As the cleaning service business became more robust and we hired
employees, I would leave the cleaning to them and I just did the talking. I
became known as the “Rent a Friend.” But I didn’t see it that way as I really
enjoyed the conversations with my clients. My “nature nut” friend lost her
hearing and we were no longer able to communicate except for writing things on
paper. Soon after, she was removed from her home by her family and put into a
nursing home.
Q: Which parts of the cleaning business are your least
favorite? Why?
A: Bookkeeping was always my
least favorite thing to do. It takes a lot of time to keep the books straight
and I felt like I was not focusing on cleaning or customer services as I set out
to do. I certainly didn’t want to hire a bookkeeper as I felt the cleaning
business never got to that point where I couldn’t just do it myself.
Q: What is the most important lesson you learned? How did you
learn this lesson?
A: I learned many lessons during
my years of owning the cleaning business. Advertising in the right places was
probably the most important lesson I learned because I lost so much money
advertising my cleaning services in the wrong places. I tried radio and TV
advertising and found that it just didn’t work for me.
Q: What niche or specialty do you offer clients that set
your cleaning business apart?
A: I would offer my clients
handyman services and pet sitting for when they went on vacation. I found that
the clients already felt comfortable with me in their home, so it was easier for
them to hire me for other services than it would be for them to go find another
company to provide those services. I did very well with that end of the business
and it was a nice break for me.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to someone
interested in starting their own cleaning business, what would it be and why?
A: Get insurance! Without
insurance, you are taking enormous risks with your future and your clients home
and belongings. Besides the obvious advantages, it is also a great selling point
for your cleaning services. I would send my potential clients an insurance
binder. The insurance company I used would even mail it directly to my customer
at no charge. Even if my client didn’t ask for it, I would still send it and
they loved that.
Q: What do you feel was the secret to your success as a
cleaning business owner?
A: Advertising your cleaning
business in the right places and being insured has always proven important.
Always make sure you install confidence in your abilities with your clients.
Having a professionally built website that people can read about your cleaning
business installs confidence and gives your cleaning service business a
trustworthy look. Your clients will know that you are not a fly by night
uninsured cleaning person looking to cash in. It shows that you are serious
about your cleaning business.
Q: What guides your employees on a daily basis?
A: Just treat your clients homes
as you would treat your own family’s homes. A client that hires you to do
cleaning in their home is not just thinking about the cleaning services you
offer. Remember, they are trusting you inside their home, even their bedrooms
and bathrooms. These are some of the most personal spaces people have. Never
lose respect for that.
Q: Which do you consider most important in providing
outstanding customer service?
A: Always go above and beyond
the clients expectations. When you do, your clients will refer your cleaning
company to their neighbors and coworkers. That’s when you know you are on the
right track. I made a special effort in every visit to do just one thing that
was not required or expected while cleaning a clients home or office. My
favorite thing to do was to take one room and move all the furniture in that
room one piece at a time, clean under the furniture and put it back exactly
where it was. You will find all kinds of stuff from dog toys, kids toys, paper
clips, pencils, and occasionally lost items that the homeowner hasn’t seen in
years. Put the stuff you find together (except the garbage) and place it
somewhere with a note telling them where you found it. They will be shocked that
you went that extra little bit, but will never forget it. And if you’re lucky
enough to find a lost item, they will tell everyone about what you did. There is
no better advertising than word of mouth for any business!
Q: Did you find it important to preplan all stages of your
cleaning business?
A: I can honestly say that I
didn’t plan much when I started my cleaning business. This probably goes against
the thinking of every business expert out there, but I was desperate when I
started the cleaning business and I knew I would do well as I have always been
good at customer service. I also had no money to plan with. So I guess my plan
was to cross my fingers, stay insured and if there was any extra money, use it
to advertise my new cleaning business and keep my name out there.
Q: How did you reward or motivate your cleaning service
employees?
A: When the cleaning business
was doing well, or if we finished early, I would give them an extra $20 here and
there and made sure they knew that it was not an every week thing, that I would
share when we made extra money. For instance, if we had a large cleaning job
like a move out clean, I would give them extra money. I also made sure I thanked
them every day and told them when they did a good job. Saying “Thank You”
doesn’t cost you a penny, but it goes a long way.
Q: What marketing and advertising methods have been the
most successful for your cleaning services business? Which have been the least
successful?
A: As I mentioned already, radio
and TV advertising didn’t work for me at all. I didn’t have enough revenue to be
committed to it. Radio and TV advertising only works if you stick with it for
years from what I learned after I spent several thousands of dollars advertising
my cleaning service business. Phone book advertising was also a big waste of
money for me. What I found worked the best was Internet advertising. Most of my
clients were too busy to clean because they were always at the office away from
home and usually in another city, so they had no phone book, TV or radio. They
almost all have a computer they work with though, so that’s how many clients
found me. Once I figured out that was where my money was best spent, I focused
on it a lot and it worked very well. So well in fact that I started offering
advertising services for other cleaning services around the world. I offered
(and still offer) complete website services and a few online directories, like
The Cleaning Service Directory (www.House-Cleaning-Services.com)
which is a directory of home and office cleaning services. I also have The Pet
Sitting Directory (www.PetSittingDirectory.com)
which I found compliments the cleaning services I offered). I also just recently
began
www.JustCarpetCleaners.com which is a directory of carpet cleaning
services. After I began the original cleaning service directory, I became very
sick with Thyroid Cancer and had to give up the cleaning business altogether. My
focus now is online advertising services and specialize in helping other
cleaning service owners achieve their business goals.
Q: How do you make employee training successful and
enjoyable?
A: Always make a new employee
learn your cleaning methods, don’t give them time to develop bad habits. Watch
them clean and observe their determination. Do they mop with one hand? I had a
woman cleaning for me that did just that and I knew it was going to be a
disaster. I kindly asked her for the mop and showed her that you need to put
some power behind it and scrub the floor. She didn’t seem to understand, so when
she finished cleaning the floor, I asked her for the mop again and I brought it
out to the truck and brought in some white towels and a new bucket with floor
cleaner in it. I said “ok, now we’re really going to clean this floor.” Now, I
would never ask an employee to do something I wouldn’t do myself, so I got on my
knees and soaked the towel with cleaner and started to clean the floor by hand.
After a few swipes, I asked her to join me cleaning the floor by hand. She gave
me the raised eyebrow look and reluctantly began to clean the floor with this
lazy left to right, slow, sloppy movement. I continued to scrub, rinse and check
my own work. When the day was done, I dropped her off and told her that I was
sorry I wouldn’t be able to keep her. When she asked why I just told her that
professional cleaning is not for you and she agreed. I guess my point here is
that there are two kinds of people: People who understand the art of cleaning
and people who see cleaning as just “work.” If you cannot take pride in your
cleaning, then professional cleaning is not for you, period.
When I used to work in the
automotive industry as a service manager, I had a problem with an employee. I
just couldn’t get him to come to work and when he did he did great work, and it
frustrated me so much that my boss (the business owner) pulled me aside one day
and said something very simple about employees that I will never forget. He said
“You can only change people this much” as he held his thumb and index finger
about and inch apart, I never forgot that. People are stuck in their ways, so
don’t waste your time trying to make them change their lifestyle, put your
efforts into finding the right person for the job.
Q: Do you consider licensing and bonding important? Why or
why not?
A: When I started my cleaning
business, I registered a business name and got insurance. And that was always
enough. When I was asked if I was bonded, I would ask the client if they knew
what bonding is and if not, I would explain to the client what bonding meant.
Bonding is a three party agreement between yourself (the principal), the obligee
(whoever is requiring the bond), and the carrier (the bonding company). The bond
is a written guarantee from the carrier to the obligee that the principal will
perform as listed in whatever the bond is guaranteeing (could be a license or a
specific cleaning contract). The principal pays
the carrier a percentage of the bond amount as a fee for the guarantee.
If the principal defaults, the carrier pays the obligee up to the bond amount to
cover any losses. The carrier in turn looks to the principal for repayment (keep
in mind, bonds or bonding is NOT insurance). Some states require companies to be
bonded, so check your state laws. For cleaning services, bonding is a tricky
thing because you are usually not providing large cost cleaning services, but if
you are classified as a “Contractor” and enter into large cleaning contracts,
this is something you will want to explore. Your best bet is to call a bonding
agent and get information specifically about your business.
Q: Do you have any additional advice, insight or suggestions
for those who are starting their own cleaning business?
A: Always have respect for your
clients, make sure your employees are aware of your standards. Create a standard
conduct protocol that is adhered to every time you enter someone’s property.
Things like laughing (unless in a proper discussion with your client), joking,
horse play, etc are things that should not be allowed as they could cause
misunderstandings. Laughing, for example, may make the client (who is most
likely in another room while you are cleaning their home or office) feel like
you may be laughing at them or something personal that you came across in their
bedroom while cleaning.
Another piece of advice I found
helpful is to always discuss the cleaning services you are going to provide with
your client in detail. Go the extra mile to avoid any misunderstandings in the
future that could cause you to lose your client’s trust. What may be common
knowledge to you, may not be to your clients.
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