what are your business strengths?

[FB7777]

before I started in business, I was reading books like Think and Grow Rich and ZIg ZIglars early stuff

Having goals and envisioning what you wantedto achieve was powerful stuff for a kid like me that grew up with very little, possibly like many here

I havent reached the business vision I had of 8-12 trucks like the early BaneClene days nor do I want to as I discovered

I realized I didnt want to take the risks or more importantly I wasnt the type of person that could or wanted to manage that type of business model

I started in janitorial ,grew it to 10 people on average for the first 3-5 years , it was the most hectic time in the cleaning business.

But I learned alot about who I was and wanted to be as a business owner

It all comes down to what I think are my strengths and weaknesses

and just like when you fail at something, weaknesses give you a better understanding of your business potential than your strengths

my weaknesses are that
I tend to be too much of a perfectionist,

I hate being on the phone too much dealing with vendors, customers , employees etc

I dislike the constant solving of issues created when I am not in control of the tasks

I have quite a few more weaknesses , bt I think Ive given you guys enough ammunition to throw back in my face for the next few years and you get my point eat shit!

running a 2 truck operation out of the home has turned out to be an effective way to reach my financial goals whle ( more importantly for me ) still enjoying being in the business we have chosen

its small enough that I dont have to worry about payroll, take on work I dont want 'just to pay some bills', suffer the human drama of employees that comes with a larger staff on a daily basis

yet large enough so that I can take vacations and not have to shut down, have far more control of the quality of work, take on large commercial accounts without subbing, and most importantly not limit my income to what I capable of suckmopping by myself 12 hours a day for 6 days until I burn out


your thoughts?

 

[Ken Snow]

Great Fred- Isn't it great to have a handle on where/how you want your business and personal life to operate? Congrats on finding what works for you.

Some of my weaknesses in bus/life are:

I can be very judgemental at times, especially towards people I care most about.
Sometimes over analytical
Procrastination, especially over tough issues is something I struggle with daily.
Stubborn at times

Some of my strengths
Thoughtful and caring toward my employees and loved ones.
Positive outlook on life.
Pretty good negotiator, looking for win win in all situations.
Love of animals
Good communicator in professional life, not so much in personal.

Ken

 

[Jay D]

Fred, it sounds like you have a handle on where you want to be. Just how many employees do you have on the payroll, and are you still cleaning yourself? 1 or 2 man trucks. I've been the 6 day a week guy for a while, but yours biz is closer to what I want to go towards.

 

[Brian R]

My strengths are
Awesome with customers
Idea guy
Huge vision
Not afraid to take risks
Look for the easy way to do things


My weaknesses are
Horrible personnel management skills (Techs)
Slow to make decisions
Get bored quick
Look for the easy way to do things

 

[FB7777]

Jay,

I have one full timer, and I am on a truck typically 4 days a week. My wife runs the home office and actually cleans carpet a few times per month on big jobs. Quite a few times when we're extra busy

My boys each help on my truck during the summer

My wife also does a weekly cleaning account that we've had almost 20 years

Thanks Ken... The point of the thread is that there are a ton of external factors that can influence where and how you want to take your business to different levels... But only you can determine what risks and tolerance for the constant barrage of challenges you'll face along the path.

Brian , interesting that you classify " look for the easy way to do things". As both a strength and a weakness

I'd always consider it a weakness, unless you substitute 'intelligent' for easy

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Thanks for posting your story Fred. I am at that crossroad in life on which way I should go and can go. I thought I wanted to be the next SS or large multi truck operation but I realize the stress that goes along with it is not something I can deal with on a lang term scale. I think having around 2 trucks would be a good fit for me because I like having control over what happens but I am worried that I am leaving money on the table by not expanding.

I have my nephew helping me now but even that is trying my patience at times. I went from 20-30 jobs a months to 70-90 a month in a matter of a couple of months and I wasnt really ready for that jump. I am turning over my phones to Full Circle to ease up the stress, but there is always something. The thing is I want to get away from cleaning but not sure if it will cause more stress in doing that, because I would have to turn over my business to employees.

How long do you plan on cleaning carpets and do you ever want to stop cleaning?

 

[FB7777]

Thats great Brent, Im glad you are busy... any decisions that involve how to accomodate profitable work are great 'problems' to have. I find when dealing with family in business, as the boss, it helps to be self depricating at times to let them know you are aware you ain't perfect while on the job AFTER you let them know that you run YOUR business as a tyranny not a democracy eat shit!

Not sure when I'll get off the truck completely Brent, scaling back even by a a day or two has made a significant impact on how I feel about this business. Like most O/O I paid my dues big time... and probably for too long.

Whether one of my kids enters the business , my health , how well my investments do over the next decade all factor in to my long term decision

I thought I would walk away before 50 but safe haven interest rates and my financial needs/desires have shifted far north of investment income over the years as well

 

[Brian R]

Fred, the hard way isn't always the correct way... I would almost venture to say that the hard way is OFTEN not the right way.

Too much pride is put into doing things the hard way just. That's old school thinking.

It's not looking for the easy way out... It's looking for the path of least resistance that leads to the same goal.

 

[Hoody]

I have had the pleasure of experiencing different business models, and company sizes in the industry. I've worked for the O/O and I've worked for the 10 truck cleaning and restoration companies, a sub-contracting estimator during national disasters. I really do mean pleasure, as it has given me a lot of insight that I don't feel I would have had otherwise. These experiences have allowed me to see what works, and what doesn't on many different levels, and also experience different markets.

I would consider my strengths as - Personable, good communication, adapt easily, willing to learn and try new things, good management skills, great at problem solving. Some of my weaknesses - I am still learning and will never pretend to know everything, I over analyze. When I was more green in the industry I found myself over explaining things, as a part of my attention to detail. I learned that talking to much can hurt a business relationship. It took me a while but I found that it was good that I knew the details to do a great job, but the consumer really didn't care about most of them. Learning to shut up and listen has made me more aware, and has heightened my intuition.

I'm a very cautious spender in my professional life, and in the last 2-3 years I've learned to be more modest with my spending in my personal life. Some decisions I've made personally have affected professional life and I have a greater understanding of how the two balance each other out. I grew up with little as was mentioned previously, however now that my son has come into my life, I find myself wanting to make sure he has it better than I ever did and I think that is our goals as parents.

I also have inherited, and personal investments, and I've lived modestly to ensure I could still invest into them. I'll continue to live modestly, and now invest my profits into the businesses that I have.

 

[Out of Character - 0]

I could imagine lots of great business strengths to have but so far I've only found myself to have 2. #1 I'm comfortable taking big risks, I'd be smarter if I could contain that trait to my business life.
#2 which has been most important is that I'm able to be likable whenever I need to. Being likable however does not come easy to me, I dislike knowing people. I generally prefer the company of people I don't know and try not to let most people who I regularly have to deal with know me.

I'm kinda surprised when I hear intelligent people in a good position like Fred say they choose to be cleaning. I can understand not wanting to manage 10-30+ employee's but I'd much rather manage 4-8 than be cleaning. I used to love cleaning carpets .....until I had about 100 under my belt