I know you want to look in the mirror and see a successful cleaning business owner. That why this weeks post is all about YOU.
I want to hear from you about WHERE you are in your journey to business success. Are you in the VERY BEGINNING stages or are you in a more advanced stage of growth.
So I am going to keep this short and sweet because I want to hear FROM ALL OF YOU VIA THE COMMENTS. This post is about FEEDBACK. I really want to hear about your business and where you are now and more importantly….where you want to go.
Three simple questions about your cleaning business
The first question to you is a simple one. How many accounts do you currently have? Maybe you don’t have any because you just started, or perhaps you have five accounts, or ten or more than that. If you don’t mind sharing, I would love to know where you stand.
The second question I’m asking you today is another easy one and it goes like this… How many accounts do you want? Don’t try to tell me “as many as possible”, because that’s not a number. Give the number of accounts you are shooting for.
The last question deals with any potential “road blocks” that you see as being in the way. The actual question is… What is keeping you from reaching your goal? Be specific and share what you believe is holding you back (that is IF there is anything).
Feel free to answer those questions by leaving a comment as short or as long as you feel comfortable doing. I think we may collectively learn a lot by putting our goals and objectives on paper in a sense. It will also help me ZONE IN on what to tackle in future posts down the road.
If you liked this post, you can subscribe to our Cleaning 4 Profit RSS feed. If you are looking for a step by step blueprint that will show you how to start your own cleaning business, then check out my Cleaning Business Training Manuals.
I have two accounts that I am subcontracting from another company. To be honest with you, procrastination is my biggest problem, and fear. I am very discouraged at this point in my cleaning career. I know that this is a very good business and that a person can build a very good business. I am discouraged because the two accounts that I have. I do the cleaning myself, and I put a lot of time into servicing these two accounts. So I am at the point of questioning whether this business is far me.
Hi Jack! Thanks for sharing that. I have some free flyers and sales letters that may be of help to you… Did you see this page?: http://cleaning4profit.kinsta.cloud/freebies-from-tom-watsons-cleaning-4-profit/
If you have any questions about those free files, or need something else, please email me and I’ll help you the best I can.
At a glance, you may just need some good marketing materials and some legwork to get them in the hands of your target market.
Hi there!
At present I have 3 commercial accounts, 2 of which are multiple site accounts. I also have 6 residential accounts as well. The commercial accounts are what I am looking to grow the most, and at present my current goal is 10 accounts. My biggest hold up is finding good employees. I would also like to find a good training program to use so that it is all consistant and the employees are all being trained the same way whether I am the one training them or not.
THANKS Bridget! I really appreciate you sharing that. What you and Jack have shared is very valuable to me and everyone else who is reading this.
We just started our cleaning business last month. We’ve landed one residential account and working on two commercial accounts. I think time is our biggest road block because we also work full-time. We are also trying to figure out the best way to gain commercial accounts, which is our main focus. Due to our full-time jobs, our availability is mainly in the afternoon and evening, which is why we are focusing more on commercial accounts.
Well you can acquire many many accounts, lot of responsibility comes with that, You can get a half dozen or so, if you have no debt, this would be an ez gig for one person. Gets expensive when you hire someone though. I have 22 and i have 2 part timers, ez money and someone else is doing the work. I still do some of the work to keep me in shape. I look at it as a paid workout.
Hi Tom,
I’m a 22 year old woman. I left my dead end gas station job about one year ago to start a cIeaning business with my mom. I have found it’s very hard for me to market in the winter months. I’m not sure how I can market with the residential side of cleaning. I have a Facebook page that I run ads on and a website. I cold called my commercial clients and I’ve gotten two accounts from that. This year I’d like to get about 4-5 commercials clients and I’d say about 6 residential clients ( I currently have no residential customers) and more reoccurring jobs. So my question is how can I market in the winter? How can I grow my business?
Right now I have three commical accounts, but I’m working on getting seven more account by the end of this year.
On of my biggest struggles was trying to find good, dependable employees, but right now I’ve come to find out that I sturggle when it comes to networking. When I’m networking I get extremely nervous and start blabbering about nothing or I force a conversation.
Hi Tom, where do I begin! Well, when I first started out in this business, I started out like gangbusters! It seemed like everything I touched turned to gold. Then 9-11 hit and everything went south from there. Unfortunately, I still haven’t fully recovered from that period of time! I don’t know if I’m fully afraid to dip my feet in the water again or just need a pep talk to get me going again! But in my mind, I’m determined to take my business to the next level. So for now, I’ll take whatever advice you can give. I currently have 2 contracts. And my ultimate gold is to get 3 to 4 more.
Hi Tom, and everyone else,
My name is Tina, I just started my business a few months ago, as many of us business owners, I also started with residentials and I had about 5 accounts that I was cleaning on my own prior to starting up my business but then I ended up losing 3 of them because I was getting paid by the hour and of course the more you know a house, the faster you become and they wanted to pay me less because instead of 3 hours for instance they wanted to pay for 2 or some of them actually wanted me to still make the same amount of hours but they wanted to make me do extra stuff like wall washing, organizing etc…just so to make sure that I get paid for exactly how long I am supposed to on my initial cleaning.
I had to let them go and from then on, I only work per cleaning meaning I would charge depending on how many rooms they have and a little more ($15) if there is laundry and like ($20) more for deep cleanings like oven, refrigerator …
Now I’ve acquired only 1 residential account under my business and I’m still doing the remaining 2 that I clean on my own and I’m afraid to even tell them that I no longer work per hour because for sure they’ll let me go.
I have a website and some flyers made by vistaprint.
I am just so lost on how to get new accounts especially commercials.
Thank you for reading and I’ll take any suggestions, tips or anything.
Hi Tom, I been at this 3.5 years have 4 commercial and 5 residential accounts some air bnb.I want a couple more commercial accounts for this year here. i advertise in local papers but really nothing comes out of it to speak off.I work by myself, really can’t afford a helper yet.I get my kids once in awhile if I need them.What do you think ?
Hi
I have 2 commercial contracts
5 domestic .
I would like to move my business in the direction of move outs cleans and builder’s cleans.
I am finding it really hard to do this as I am trying to meet new potential clients and clean at the same time.
I cannot afford to have staff at the moment.
I am not sure of what to do ,
I live in Australia qld it is very competitive here there are cleaners out there who offer there services very cheap which makes it hard to compete.
Hi Jen! Direct mailing your potential target market with a good sales letter and flyer is a good idea for you. That is how my wife and I did it. Take a good look at one of my freebies (3A) on this page… http://cleaning4profit.kinsta.cloud/freebies-from-tom-watsons-cleaning-4-profit/
Modify that page to suit your needs and get it into the hands of your target market. Aim for mailing / handing out 200 to 300 per month. You’ll get something from that effort (add a business card too).
THANKS Gary! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experience.
Hi Tom,
I’m a 22 year old woman. I left my dead end gas station job about one year ago to start a cIeaning business with my mom. I have found it’s very hard for me to market in the winter months. I’m not sure how I can market with the residential side of cleaning. I have a Facebook page that I run ads on and a website. I cold called my commercial clients and I’ve gotten two accounts from that. This year I’d like to get about 4-5 commercials clients and I’d say about 6 residential clients ( I currently have no residential customers) and more reoccurring jobs. So my question is how can I market in the winter? How can I grow my business?
Hi Wendy! The Facebook advertising is tough UNLESS you are an experienced PRO. I would avoid that unless you suddenly get results. Handing out flyers in a nice neighborhood is still the cheapest most effective way to get residential clients. This is tough in the winter months however. A mailing list (though expensive) is best during the winter provided you have good sales letter and some special offer that entices people to sigh up for service.
On commercial side, you had success with cold calling (most don’t) so keep that in the mix. I would also visit doctor offices and industrial parks with flyers in hand. Mail if you can, but staple your business card to a flyers or sales letter and drop them off at front desk. If nobody is there place in envelope and stick in front door with “Attention Office Manger”.
Also… work this angle (I had a LOT OF SUCCESS in this approach) TIP: If you can’t afford the food angle, just stop in with flyers and business cards in hand, it won’t work as well probably, but you never know … http://cleaning4profit.kinsta.cloud/2013/10/20/10-reasons-why-real-estate-offices-are-goldmines/
Hey Dunshen! Employees are tough to find (good ones anyway). Remember to use my approach if applicable (make sure they already have a job, and just use them part time). If you are trying to hire full timers, that is really HARD.
As to Networking… try this… “Hi!, my name is Dunshen and I own a cleaning business here in town. We work hard trying to give our clients the most BANG for their CLEANING BUCK. If you ever need me, even if you just have a question, contact me” (then hand them your business card). Say no more after that if you don’t have to.
PLUS the real secret to networking is to just say your “30 second commercial” (which I just gave you) then SHUT UP AND LISTEN. Practice making your little speech then just letting THEM do all the talking. Over time you’ll make friends, and those friends will REFER YOU. REMEMBER… most of those you network with will never need you, but they probably KNOW PEOPLE who do (once you are a known commodity within your networking community, the referrals will come).
Hi Bill! You are not alone, so don’t fret. My thoughts in replying to Jen’s comment apply to you as well. Get sales letter 3A and attach your business card to it. Visit industrial parks, doctor offices and whatever else you can think of. SCAN the area near where your currents accounts are. YOU CAN DO THIS BILL. If you need a pep talk… call me and I’ll oblige.
Hi Diane! Thanks for sharing. It’s tough pulling double duty by working AND MARKETING. With that said… Check out files 3A and 13B (get them here: http://cleaning4profit.kinsta.cloud/freebies-from-tom-watsons-cleaning-4-profit/).
These two files will help you in your efforts. Just modify them as needed and get them into your target markets hands. When I was looking for construction clean up, I just kept my marketing materials (3A and 13B along with my business cards) in my car and if I saw a construction site or a retail remodeling effort I would just STOP IN and ask for the person in charge, then give them my info. That’s all I did!
As far as CHEAP competition… They are ALL OVER (World Wide). The people who hire them ARE NOT YOUR CUSTOMERS (those folks WANT A CHEAP JOB, and will GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY PAY FOR).
Hi Maureen! You are doing fine. Just need to add accounts. SKIP the papers… if you get nothing, why continue? I did advertising in papers a long time ago, spent a good penny, had professionally designed ads, and guess what. ZIPPO (not exactly, but not near what I paid). Get some free marketing materials 3A is a good sales letter template. Get it here along with some flyers: http://cleaning4profit.kinsta.cloud/freebies-from-tom-watsons-cleaning-4-profit/
Hi Tina! Thanks for sharing to begin with. You can go to a FLAT FEE for cleaning, but folks will still complain about you getting done faster. You could also just SLOW DOWN and spend the same amount of time as you did before. There is no easy answers there. I did a flat fee and put up with complaints as best I could.
Commercial accounts are harder to get but better overall in my opinion due to you getting fired less often (business cleaning is REQUIRED, where residential is a LUXURY). Same principles are at work as far as getting hired is concerned…. you need sales material in the hands of your target market. Once again 3A is a good start and you get it here: http://cleaning4profit.kinsta.cloud/freebies-from-tom-watsons-cleaning-4-profit/
I am new to cleaning I started my business sometime last year but have only been cleaning for about 5 months. I only have 2 clients so far and I am relying on social media marketing because I work a full time day job so instead of being able to go out and hand out flyers I have to do it digitally. I am planning on hiring someone to pass out my flyers to local businesses while I’m at work and hopefully I get some results from that. I would like a good sales letter to give to dr offices..ect. thank you
Hi Angel! Thanks for sharing that. I would recommend you request file 3A and modify it to suit your needs concerning doctor offices (or just leave it “as is”).
We have about 20 or so. My goal is arond 60 in the next several years and then reevaluate. I have a full time territory sales job outside of the cleaning business and my wife handles a lot of the day to day operations but I help with walk throughs and securing accounts. Our challenge is dealing with my travel, job obligations and our kid’s events as I am on the road sometimes 2-3 days a week with overnights outside of our city. My full time job is very solid and provides well for our family but long term I’d like to have the cleaning business be our sole focus. The timing is a challenge for us on that so we are going slowly in adding accounts and not trying to bite off more than we can chew. Thanks for all your insights Tom.
Thanks for sharing that Steve. It means a lot to people to hear your story.
Hello Tom I currently have 4 regular customers all residential cleaning… I also work full time 12 hr night shift… My goal is to be full time with my cleaning business as soon as possible. I don’t know how to transition from my job to my business cause I need to keep my benefits. I figure f I can get 2 clients per day I should be ok… because of health reasons i only want enough business to replace my income. I haven’t figured out how to charge enough to pay someone else to do the work for me and not overcharge the customer. If any of this makes sense I’m open to suggestions on how to get the ball rolling so I can give up my night job and be full time for me.