1. Did you "grow up" in your father's cleaning business, or come
back to it as an adult?
I come from an entrepreneurial family. Prior to the cleaning business my parents and grandparents owned a pet store (in the late 60’s) and a bicycle store in the late 70’s. For various reasons, neither business was very successful so in ’83 my mom started a housekeeping company while dad worked at a hardware store. Dad was never happy working for others and could not wait to use his entrepreneurial skills once again.
He purchased a Von Schrader machine while I was a Junior in High School on the advice of my grandmother, who had never cleaned carpet before in her life before attending a Von Schrader school. I was dad’s technician for the summer of ’83 and told him at the end of the summer, “Dad, I love you, but I will NEVER be a carpet cleaner!” The Von Schrader just wasn’t my cup of tea. Dad and I had no training other than the Von Schrader manuals and didn’t know a thing about the cleaning industry. The next summer (’84) I joined the Air Force and 10 years later (1994) received an early retirement because of personnel cuts.
I immediately went back to work for him and discovered that I, too, was an entrepreneur. While I was in the Air Force, Dad discovered Cleanfax magazine and a local distributor turned him on to Hot Water Extraction. Grandma was devastated because she took the Von Schrader bait of wet, moldy carpets via HWE hook, line, and sinker. She retired cleaning and went back into the marina business. My grandma and parents were a HUGE inspiration for me to become an entrepreneur.
Most of the businesses they started ultimately failed and I was just old enough to recall some of the major problems they had. Their #1 problem in each of the businesses was lack of differentiation. There was no compelling reason to choose their pet fish over the pet fish at K-Mart or their bikes over the Schwinn dealer’s bikes. By the time they started the cleaning business they figured out that they had to appeal to a specific niche. Their niche in the cleaning industry was appealing to well-to-do customers who valued unparalleled customer service. Carpet cleaning was merely an add-on service to the housekeeping service. When I joined the company it was a one-truckmount operation with 22 housekeepers running around in mini-vans all day. 18 months later we grew from 1 tm to 3 by implementing extremely focused marketing. Direct mail was huge for us in the early days.
In 1998, when I bought them out, we had 3 TM’s and a delivery van, sold the housekeeping division, and life was grand! “More profit” and “less hassle” are four of my favorite words. In 2005-6 I restructured the business to a strategy of “Big and Easy” jobs. We’re now doing more profitable jobs than ever (added restoration and commercial) which perfectly fits “Big and Easy” with the same and sometimes less manpower. As you’ll see below building our Brand is my main focus in my cleaning/restoration business. Build the brand and everything falls into place very nicely.
2. Do you believe that single truck, owner operator businesses are a
good value for a buyer who wasn't previously associated with the
business (such as a long time employee or family member?)
That depends on the circumstances. If an owner/op business is profitable and the buyer understands he’ll be working the truck, why not? There’s room for everybody in this industry. The majority of owners are mom/pop outfits and the lifestyle that a profitable cleaning business provides is hard to beat. It’s low-overhead, relatively easy, requires no degree, and cleaners have excellent resources for training, the bulletin boards, their distributors, and association members. I would never advise anyone to sell their 401K to get into any business, if that’s what you’re asking. J
3. Have you noticed that most cleaners show interest in marketing
programs during the "slow season"? Do you feel that often those
making such moves during "starvation time" are doing too little,
too late?
Yes, I’ve noticed two seasonal spikes in interest to growing a business. Right after New Year (I think resolutions have a lot to do with it) and right after the Spring rush has started. Most of the people who call for the Cleaning Mentor program have been around the block a few years and are making some money, but want to increase their numbers, tighten their systems, and decode finances and management. A few of the calls that come in are from desperate cleaners and restorers who are hanging on by a thread. I do not accept their money as they need it much more than I do, so I give them some general advice as time allows. Obviously I can’t provide the same level of service free of charge that a paying customer receives, but I do sleep well at night knowing I didn’t take a family’s last box of Mac and Cheese while also helping them a bit.
4. Can a marketing and/or management program create real change for a
cleaner who is not suited to a business model already, or do they
work primarily for those who already have a mind set to work
within such frameworks?
Ask any of the guys and gals I’ve worked with and they’ll tell you I’m all about building the Brand. I talk with a lot of cleaners and restorers who have great ideas and implement excellent customer service, but without a brand to go along with their service they’re not building value in their business. This is a fundamental no-no in my book. One of the first things a new student and I work on is building a success model. Together we set up a structured “linkage” program that first identifies the brand (I call it “being a Banana”) and then every single action we take works towards building value in the brand. If an idea, marketing plan, or strategy doesn’t help build the brand, we ditch the idea. You would be amazed at the results that a highly focused branding strategy accomplishes.
5. Do you think "most" biz/marketing systems work and it's more a
matter of implementing them than the system it's self?
Most of the marketing tactics that I see in our industry do work, BUT…(there’s always a but!) unfortunately many of the tactics marketers employ don’t fit within their “big picture” strategy. Let me give you an example. The “free room” trial offer can work well for a high priced company. But the cleaner that only implements the tactic and doesn’t work it into his/her strategy correctly will be unhappy with the results. In this scenario the high priced cleaner sends out free room offers via mass market. When he/she sees that they’re not adding on extra work they dismiss the tactic as a failure. If the tactic wasn’t executed (or aligned) with their strategy, it will usually fail. Conversely if the high priced cleaner had instead only issued the free room trial offer to his best referral hubs and taught them to only give it to their best customers, the results would have been much more successful. Having said that, good, consistent marketing does overcome a lot of business sins, even if they’re not aligned perfectly with the company strategy. Top of mind awareness is huge in the service industry, which is why I advocate building the brand.
6. How does your system differ from the others?
To my knowledge the Cleaning Mentor program is the only one in the industry that offers weekly one-on-one customized consulting, unlimited access via phone, and advanced sales training. I am not bad-mouthing my competitors but I’ve found that pre-formatted group sessions just don’t work well with me. I’ve been in some group session mentoring programs and I did not feel I received nearly as much value as I would have on a one-on-one customized program tailored to MY needs, capabilities, and strategies. It’s extremely important to me that when I work with a student I have a full understanding of their marketplace, their goals and dreams, their brand, where they’ve been, where they’re going and how they’re going to get there. With group sessions I would not have any of this knowledge and therefore could not help formulate specific strategies to accomplish their goals. Now, before you ban me I will say that
Strategies for Success is a FANTASTIC value, even though it is held in a group format. It’s not designed as a mentoring/coaching program, though.
7. What are the top five problems cleaners come to you with?
a. Need more work – without a doubt this is number one
b. Don’t have a plan (flying by the seat of their pants)
c. Need more profit
d. Disorganization
e. Having troubles with employees
Most of these problems are interrelated and identify that the business does not have a strategy to build their brand. Often when one problem is cured, several other problems are healed as well.
8. Which political party/President will best serve the Mom and Pops?
I’ve said this often – “all important politics is local”. If you think about it, what they do in Washington has very little affect on our cleaning/restoration businesses. However, city ordinances, state taxation and control, and many other local topics affect us much more. Also with local politics we have much more clout. I can’t waltz into my US representatives’ office and give him a piece of my mind because most months out of the year he’s in Washington. But I can go to my state senator’s office just about any day of the week and let him know if he’s doing a good job or not.
9. Lets use Dave Rampage as an example. For years he has strove to be
the pickiest, most anal retentive cleaner in town. Always goes the
extra mile for his clients and makes darn sure they know it in his
marketing . Even goes so far as making sure the carpet is bone dry
before he leaves. Now he wants to go multi truck. We all know most
employees will not do what Dave has done to wow his clients. What
would be your advice to him to realistically grow beyond two trucks?
With strategy and tactics, quality and continual training, brand focus, and several other plans, just about any model can work. The question becomes, “is the pond large enough”? In Dave’s case, I would say it can be done because he’s in a large “pond”. Conversely if a guy from Nowheresville, Arkansas tried to go high end AND add multiple trucks, it would be extremely difficult and practically impossible unless he added services or expanded his service area. However, adding trucks isn’t the only way to make money. Making each job as profitable as possible, pre-selling the next cleaning, getting referrals, adding complimentary services, etc. can all be part of the strategic plan to get from Point A to Point B.
I look at every service area as a large wallet. The wallet has a finite amount of money in it. Industry numbers indicate that only 20% of carpet on the market will ever be professionally cleaned, so a cleaning business owner in a size of 10,000 “fish” (customers in the “pond”) will have to do at least one of two things to grow: 1) add services, and/or 2) expand his market. I’ve worked with high end, middle of the road, and low priced companies and each model has pros and cons. Depending on the goals of the owner, practically anything is possible as long as the owner understands the NEED (not wish or want) to grow the brand. One of the first things we work on is getting this “big picture” together after analyzing the marketplace and determining potential of the brand.
10. What tastes worse, Kimche or raw squid?
There are only two vile foods in the world: kimche and celery. They should be banished from the planet immediately!
