How to Start and Grow Your Own Cleaning Business

CD 3: The 3Rs of Employee Development:  Recruiting, Relations and Retention.  Many people who are considering going into the residential cleaning business think that getting clients will be their biggest challenge.  If you’re already in the business, you know that the bigger challenge is finding and retaining good employees.  This 17-session course may well be the most valuable part of our entire program!   (Run time:  5 hours and 6 minutes)

"The House Cleaning Biz 101 system is a business in a box. It is the most complete how-to-do-it system I have ever seen, for any type of business.  Don’t go it alone, take Gary Goranson along as your silent partner and constant coach. Skip over the mistakes others always make and grow your business with confidence." Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE  Author of the bestsellers, Relationship Selling and The Acorn Principle http://www.cathcart.com

• Using our 3Rs model, you will learn a scientific and systematic 5-step selection system for recruiting and selecting the best potential candidates for success on the job.  (We invested $25,000 in 1995 developing this proven system specifically for the cleaning industry with the help of Dr. David L. Stum, PhD, a human resource consultant to dozens of Fortune 500 companies).

• You’ll learn how to use a quantifiable system to make your hiring decisions instead of relying on "gut feel" or "seat of the pants" decisions.

• You'll  learn how to perform meaningful employment and personal reference checks and dig up information about your potential hire you might not otherwise obtain.

• We'll show you the proper way to conduct first-day orientation sessions for your newly hired employees to help them confirm that they made the right decision in joining your company..

• We provide effective training and training review guidelines that will best equip your employees to perform above and beyond the expectations of your clients.

• We'll explain various employee compensation options and advise you why we have found one particular method to be worth your strong consideration.

• You'll learn how to use quantifiable performance reviews to improve employees' morale and performance on the job.

• We'll share a proven approach for managing your employees to get the most out of them and enhance your workforce retention cycle far beyond the industry norm..

• And we’ll provide you with the information you need on complying with all employee-related legal issues. 

• And more, much more....

The information contained on this one CD is worth the price of the entire program, even if you only had a single employee working for you.  STOP!  Go to CD 3 Table of Contents 

CD 4: The 4Ps of Client Development: Product, Price, Positioning and Promotion.  In this 10-session course you’ll learn (Run time: 3 hours 35 minutes):

• Proven advertising, sales and client relations practices to help you develop and retain a roster of clients who will use your service on a regular weekly, biweekly and monthly basis.  These are not merely theoretical guidelines but rather systematic, predictable approaches to marketing your service. 

• We'll explain how very important efficient client scheduling is to your bottom line and show you in great detail how to use an inexpensive, readily available, off-the-shelf software program to do so.

• We’ll share our unique “POM=CP” pricing formula which is designed to build-in a predetermined profit on each and every cleaning job you do.  Because the formula's foundation is built around payroll, the formula can be applied everywhere in the world.

• We’ll discuss in detail your various advertising options to help  you develop an effective advertising program to grow your business month after month and year after year. 

• You'll learn how to convert a high percentage of inquiries

   into long-term repeat clients.

• Included in this course are samples of newspaper and Yellow Page ads, flyers, and advertising brochures that have been field-tested and proven effective over many, many years.  STOP!  Go to CD 4 Table of Contents   

CD 5: Interactive Customizable Documents in MS Word Format.  This Optional CD contains over 50 documents which are on the other 4 CDs in PDF Adobe Acrobat Reader format.  In order to allow you to edit the copy to suit your own needs and insert your own company name, address phone number, etc. they are in Microsoft Word format on this CD.  This includes marketing literature, employee materials and a variety of three dozen forms for use in your business.  Click here to physically preview all the customizable documents on this CD.

 

 

Is This Program For You?

We have designed our program to provide proven systems, strategies and techniques to lead the following people down the right road to building a more successful and profitable residential cleaning business:

In addition to all 50 states in the USA, this program is being used by our customers in the following countries:   Anguilla

Australia Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Bermuda Canada Chile France Germany Ghana Great Britain Guatemala Holland Honduras Hong Kong Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Italy Jamaica Japan Korea Lebanon Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Antilles New Zealand Namibia Nigeria Norway Philippines Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Saudi Arabia Singapore South Africa Spain Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Trinidad & Tobago Turkey United Arab Emirates  Vietnam Virgin Islands Wales

• Individuals considering starting their own house cleaning business, contemplating buying a house cleaning franchise, or purchasing an existing cleaning service;

• Individuals or companies already in business but who realize their business could do better and could benefit from the experience and wealth of information contained in the House Cleaning Biz 101© course;

Takes more than a "mop and a bucket."  Many people think it’s as simple as buying a vacuum cleaner, a few cleaning supplies and printing and distributing a few flyers in the neighborhood.  If all you want to do is make a modest living cleaning houses by yourself and get a dozen or so clients to clean for on a regular basis, that hypothesis is true.  If this is the case, this course is not for you.

House cleaning is one of the least expensive businesses to start and operate.  You can actually launch and build a viable cleaning “business” with as little as $10,000 and start the business out of your home.  Most of these funds will be needed to purchase the necessary insurance, equipment and materials, advertising to get clients and a variety of other startup expenses.  But you should have a line of credit or a cash reserve of at least an additional $10,000. 

House cleaning is one of the least expensive businesses to start and operate.  You can actually launch and build a viable cleaning “business” with as little as $10,000 and start the business out of your home.  Most of these funds will be needed to purchase the necessary insurance, equipment and materials, advertising to get clients and a variety of other startup expenses.  But you should have a line of credit or a cash reserve of at least an additional $10,000. 

If you’re already in business, the additional investment required to expand it will be less than for someone starting the business from scratch.  If you already have the equipment and cleaning materials and required insurance, you may only need to make an investment in advertising to grow the business, along with a few other expenses you’re not currently incurring (such as the cost of setting up commercial office, for example, should you choose to do so – and you eventually will, probably sooner rather than later).

This business is not “brain surgery.”  It’s much easier to start and operate than most other businesses — IF you know the right things to do to attract and retain clients and recruit, select, train and manage good employees.  Building a successful house cleaning business requires two primary ingredients: 

1. the know-how and financial resources to advertise to build a large, repeat-client base; and

2. the people-skills needed to successfully attract and manage a professional work force.

We will teach you how to get the most for your advertising investment and the skills required to successfully build and manage your workforce.

Operate the business right and you'll experience a change in your life that is so overwhelmingly positive and significant that you cannot even begin to believe how wonderful it is. It's everything and more that you think it will be; truly it is.  Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

Operate the business wrong and you are going to subject yourself to such unbelievable mental anguish and financial hardship that it will take years to recover from it, perhaps never. You'll regret the day you ever decided to go into business for yourself. If you're really lucky, you'll barely escape the crushing effect that it will have on you.  Suddenly, it doesn't sound so good does it?

There's no middle ground! You will either operate the business successfully or you won’t. It's all in your hands.

 

What If I Buy Or Already Own A Cleaning Franchise?

We have 25 years experience offering and selling franchises in two different industries with concepts we founded; a dozen of those years in the residential cleaning business.  And there is no question that investing in a franchise is usually a safer bet than striking out on your own.  There are several good house cleaning franchises in which you can invest.  This is definitely an option for the individual wanting to start a business, but, as the experts will tell you, investing in a franchise is NOT for everyone.

First of all, the House Cleaning Biz 101© course is about as comprehensive a program as what you might expect to receive if you invested $15,000 or $20,000 in initial franchise fees with one of the major cleaning franchise companies – perhaps even more comprehensive.  And, if you already own a residential cleaning franchise (and a number of our customers do own cleaning franchises), we’re pretty sure that you can get some ideas from this course that will repay your investment in the program many, many times over) — unless your franchisor prohibits you from implementing them.  Restrictive covenants imposed by a franchise agreement are often considered one of the drawbacks of owning a franchise.

Offering, selling and supporting a franchise network is not an inexpensive or simple task.  These costs are born by the individual franchisees through royalties paid to the franchisor on their gross sales.  In return, you, as the franchisee, should receive ongoing support and hand-holding when required.  This course DOES NOT offer such ongoing support, but it doesn't cost you a substantial upfront franchise fee or an ongoing royalty obligation ranging from 4% to 7% of your sales volume, either.  What this course DOES DO is provide you with a roadmap and the knowledge on how to operate a successful, thriving and profitable residential cleaning business.  And you can refer to it as a continuing reference resource anytime you want.  It is up to YOU to implement the program.  (Note:  Personal coaching by Gary Goranson via email or telephone is available as an option to those who may feel it would be helpful.)

Even if you are considering investing in a franchise, you can get an enormous jump by immersing yourself in the House Cleaning Biz 101© course.  You’ll learn enough about this industry to ask your potential franchisor all the right questions to help you determine if and how joining the franchise network can be of additional benefit to you.  This alone could make the purchase of this course a very wise decision.

What You'll Learn:

What You Must Know Before Forming A Business Entity: If you’re just starting out, will you form a sole proprietorship, partnership, Sub Chapter-S Corporation, or a Limited Liability Company?  We provide an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of each.  If you’re already in business, is it time to consider changing your type of business entity?  We don’t provide you with legal advice, but we do present information you should consider and discuss with a professional advisor like your attorney or accountant. 

Licenses and Permits: We identify what city, county, state and federal permits and licenses you’re likely to require, and where to obtain them.  In the event you plan to operate your business from your home, we also give you a potential alternative to renting commercial office space (at least for the startup phase of your business) if zoning regulations prohibit home-based businesses in your community.

Renting An Office: If and when you’re ready to rent commercial space from which to operate your business, we give you suggestions on choosing the location and other considerations, including what you need to know when you’re negotiating your lease and leasehold improvements.

46-Point Pre-opening Checklist: We provide you with a summary of items that need to be taken care of prior to opening for business, including a step-by-step 46-Point Pre-opening Checklist.  This includes a discussion on the types of insurance and coverage you’re going to need to obtain, a furniture and equipment checklist, printed materials, cleaning equipment and supplies a As a matter of fact, we provide you with a recommended one-stop source for all of your cleaning equipment and supplies, a company that has agreed to give purchasers of this program a discount on suggested starter packages that can more than offset the entire cost of this course several times over.

Managing By The Numbers: You’ll get information in basic accounting functions you need to know to manage the financial side of your business, including an explanation of capital expense items and how they’re expensed over time in accordance with IRS guidelines.  We give you a guide for setting up your Chart of Accounts and, in layman’s terms, an understanding of the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement and how to use these tools to monitor the health and progress of your business.

The Need For A Formal Business Plan: Few plan to fail; most fail to plan!  If you’re going borrow to raise money to invest in your business, your lending institution will want to see a written business plan that is based on valid assumptions and sound logic.  However, even if you don’t plan to obtain outside funding for your business we show you why a formal Business Plan is so important and, by example, provide a detailed guideline on how to create your own personal Business Plan.

Professional, Effective & Efficient Cleaning Methods:  If professional house cleaners performed their job in the same inefficient manner that most people use to clean their own homes (and many “for-hire” house cleaners use those same methods), it would be very difficult to generate sufficient income to pay a decent wage to either your cleaning staff or to yourself, let alone pay overhead expenses and earn a profit for the business.  Our Professional House Cleaning Tutorial CD and its accompanying supplemental handbook will teach your cleaning staff how to do a top-notch cleaning job in the least amount of time and one that will satisfy even the fussiest client. 

The Need For A Success Strategy In Managing Your Workforce: Today’s labor force is more transient and independent than ever, and there is no industry where this is more prevalent than in the residential cleaning business.  The key to building a successful cleaning business is in recruiting, selecting, training, compensating and managing employees.  You’ll learn how to use our 3Rs Model to become an expert at Human Resource Management.

Identify And Attract Good Job Candidates:  Not everyone is a good candidate for becoming a good house cleaner.  Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole can be a frustrating experience for both you and the wrong employee – as you have no doubt learned if you’re already in the business.  So, who makes the best potential candidate?  We’ll share this information with you based on our years of experience coupled with research studies that we commissioned.  We’ll also show what means we have used to attract good employees.

The 5-Step Employee Selection Process:  We’ll teach you how to effectively screen applicants on an objective basis through a scientific 5-step screening process.  These five steps include (1) telephone screen, (2) application screen (3) personal interview screen (4) employment and personal reference check screens, and (5) criminal history and driver’s check screens.  Through each of these 5 steps we provide you with an objective rating system to quantify each job applicant on a measurable scale to help you remove the guesswork out of making the hiring decision.

Orientation & Training:  Once you’ve made the decision to hire an employee, it’s critically important to get your new hire off on the right foot.  We provide an orientation checklist to assist you in this important first step in bringing your new hire into your company.  We also provide you with a detailed training outline and a quantifiable system for measuring your new hire’s progress and adaptation to the job, as well as a similar system for rating the training being provided.  Training is a never-ending process and you’ll learn how to “manufacture” quality employees.

Compensating Employees: Since payroll is the single biggest factor in the cost of operating a residential cleaning business, you need to come up with a compensation program that is palatable to employees and affordable by your company.  We have seen instances where payroll costs consumed up to 75% of gross sales, a very risky and unprofitable scenario.  By the same token, if your compensation is inadequate or unfair to employees, you’re going to have a serious turnover problem, quality control issues related to the work they perform and, ultimately, customer dissent and loss of clients.  We take a look at a variety of compensation alternatives and share what we feel is the ideal method to satisfy both employees and your bottom line.

Team Leaders And Team Size: What is the right number of people to compose a cleaning team?  Two, three, four cleaners?  Each of these combinations is used by various cleaning companies, including the major franchises.  Why not just send out individuals to clean homes?  We’ll give you our view and explain why using individual cleaners may not be a good idea.  We’ll explain what duties each person should be assigned to perform, and why they should not switch off on jobs. We’ll also outline the duties and responsibilities of the team leader and how to select and groom the best candidates to assign to this job.

Performance Reviews: We’ll teach you how to conduct effective performance reviews and how to use them to enhance proficiency and improve tenure on the job.  All too often this important management tool is improperly used or not used at all by owners and managers of cleaning services.  Yet, this is one of the best tools you have to help you to be an effective manager and to boost morale — when properly conducted.    

Transportation Issues: Should you provide company vehicles or reimburse employees for the use of theirs?  What are the pros and cons of each?  There are advocates on both sides of this issue, each with valid arguments.  We address the subject and give you the rationale for our position on this issue.

Home Office Versus A Commercial Location: Like the issue of company versus employee-owned vehicles, there are advantages and disadvantages to operating your business from within and away from your residence.  You’ll learn the pros and cons on each side of this subject.

Employee Dishonesty and Property Damage: As distasteful as it may be to think about, this is a very important topic.  We address this issue head on and teach you what preventative measures you can take to discourage and minimize the potential of employees stealing from clients’ homes.  We also teach you how to handle the situation if and when it occurs.  Likewise for breakage and damage to clients’ property, which, thankfully we have found to be a more common occurrence than employee dishonesty.  We also share eight questions you should ask your insurance underwriter related to these topics.

Safety Program: Did you know that under state OSHA regulations some states’ require you to have a formal safety program in place?  But regardless of the law, it just makes good business sense to do so.  Accidents can and do happen and this can result in serious injuries to employees and costly financial loss to you.  Your company’s experience mod with workers’ compensation claims will have a direct impact on your workers’ compensation insurance premiums over time.  We address this topic at length and provide you with a Safety Program Handbook to use as is or as a guide in formulating your own safety program.

Legal Employment Issues: You’re likely well aware of your responsibility to withhold and remit payroll taxes on your employee’s wages.  Likewise with respect to your employer’s obligations with respect to social security, Medicare, and state and federal unemployment insurance.  But there are many other legal issues you must be aware of to be in full compliance with state and federal employment laws.  We’ve got you covered here, too.

Staff Meetings:  You don’t have to be an orator to conduct effective staff meetings, but you do need to conduct meaningful ones.  This is a vehicle by which you can deliver important messages to your employees and ensure that the same message gets delivered to every one of them.  We discuss preparation and setting agendas for holding periodic staff meetings.

Pricing Your Service:  Most house cleaners under price themselves.  They often set prices based on under-cutting the competition or on some arbitrary basis.  This is one of the major reasons the majority of independent house cleaners have difficulty growing their business.  They set prices so low they can hardly make a decent wage for themselves, let alone pay employees or overhead.  In two separate sessions, we show you a formula for establishing a fair price that covers payroll and payroll burden, operating expenses and allows for a reasonable profit when its all said and done.  This part of the program alone is worth the cost of the entire CD series!

Scheduling And Routing:  Inefficient scheduling of clients can defeat all the work you put into teaching employees efficient and time-saving cleaning methods.  We show you how to use a very inexpensive, off-the-shelf $40 software program to create the most efficient scheduling of clients.  You’ll learn how to fit clients into YOUR cleaning schedule.  We illustrate in graphic fashion just how very important efficient scheduling is to your bottom line.

Advertising Media:  Because it’s important to develop clients in clustered areas to enable efficient scheduling, we show you how to use specific types of media to target precise neighborhoods into which you want to build a client base. We also provide information on factors that influence the return on advertising from the various media.  You’ll review samples of various advertising for yellow page and newspaper advertising, flyers and advertising literature.  We’ll teach you how to market like the “big guys.”

Sales Techniques:  Many sales are lost in the first 10 seconds on the telephone.  We guide you through the process of beginning the sale during the initial telephone inquiry right on through your in-home presentation, where the sale is made.  You’ll learn how to handle the process like a seasoned professional. 

Nurturing Your Clients:  Getting clients is one thing; keeping them is the key to growth.  Success in this business depends on building a roster of clients for whom you will continue to clean on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis.  Obviously, doing a good cleaning job is important, but there’s much more to retaining client loyalty than simply meeting their cleaning expectations.  We’ll show you how to handle a variety of situations that are bound to arise throughout the relationship.

Implementing Your Marketing Plan:  We’ll walk you through the process of developing and implementing your marketing strategy.  This is an area where the overwhelming majority of house cleaners come up short – and this weakness on their part can give you a huge advantage over your local competition.

"The House Cleaning Biz 101 Course is an outstanding resource and an absolute must for those that are entering into the business of residential house cleaning.  It also provides fabulous tools for established housecleaning businesses as well. The courses are dynamic.  This system is incredibly affordable and you can purchase one or all four programs." — Nancy Faville, Founder Mrs. Olsen's Domestic Engineering, Now a Consultant to the Cleaning Industry www.cleaningbusinessadvice.com

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