integrating your wife or spouse on to the team.

[juniorc82]

My wife and I have gave serious thought to bringing her on board to do marketing and admin. I feel like I have went as far as I can by my self with limited help on the labor end. I either need to get this thing to the next level or sell it and go be a happy employee for a disaster company or something. My wife and I are talking about her coming to the job next spring and helping with marketing and the desk and admin work. She has a double bachelors in marketing and human resources so I know she can do big things for us. Im just tryng to figure out a budget and how much we need to grow to support our household totally on cleaning

 

[Mikey P]

If she can't be a Michelle Gil type addition, it would be better for your relationship and your wallet to find somebody who really wants to grow your company



Call Dave Gill and ask permission to drill his wife.



figuratively speaking that is.

 

[hogjowl]

Never bring up your wife here.

Ever .

 

[Chris A]

It's been a good thing for us. My wife is a super people person and that has made her an excellent sales/customer service person. Now with a little one at home her time is limited but she still schedules all our appointments and handles the admin of our business

 

[Mark Saiger]

Wife came on board full time (as much as she wants to work) 2 years ago after our Grandson was born.

She is the day care center for our business you could say. (well after the grandson was born, she was ready to quit as a Bank Teller Coordinator to take care of him)

She takes most of the phone calls now, does scheduling, does the book balancing, runs some or most work orders....

She can even come out on job sites, run a wand for a bit and help as needed.

We have been supporting our family and my son in law/family on our income for about 3 plus years. No other income and paying for our health insurance and retirement.

You have to ask your wife how much and what she might be comfortable doing in the business and then decide if it is right for all of you....

Those are my personal thoughts.....and I did run this comment by my wife before hitting submit....

 

[juniorc82]

The thing is I live in an incredibly shitty market so I need to either grow the business and take it to the next lvel or sell it and move back to the city and work for a restoration company. She isalso having trouble making a desirable income in the area we live due to an abundance of low paying jobs. I do feel that If I could have dedicated person doing sales and admin we could grow as I am to the limits of what I can achieve as a owner with part time help

 

[rwcarpet]

Mine actually comes out on jobs with me, and is my PR person while I clean. Customers love her, and she can BS with anybody. I brought her on board a few years ago when we figured she still needed 8 credits for SS. She does move the hoses when needed, and helps on cleanup, but is still better at conversing with the custys.

 

[SamIam]

My wife answers phones and does the books. If your doing it all and letting the phones go to voice message your losing business.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Jim Martin]

12 years me and Tia have been doing this together.....rough start...but once we found our spot in the company everything ironed itself out....and our company runs perfect.....I am 100% convinced that it has been the key that has shot us out so far in such a short time....as a O/O ...it is hard to keep up on every little aspect of your company..sooner or later something is going to suffer....break it up where one person concentrates on one part and one person concentrates on the other and it is much better....

you have to separate things and you HAVE to trust in each other...she has her part...I have mine...I stay away from her desk..she stays away from my steering wheel.....never mix the 2 together.......or you might as well start putting divorce lawyers on speed dial................

 

[GCCLee]

My Wife has a separate job

Gets Real Lonely at times, but for the time being we gotta stay the course

Year 3 here we come : )

 

[Steve Toburen]

you have to separate things and you HAVE to trust in each other...she has her part...I have mine...I stay away from her desk..she stays away from my steering wheel...

Jim has nailed it here, Jon. Don't micro-manage your wife. (Don't ask me how I learned this.)

Steve

PS Jon, you will never find a better "partner" than your spouse. But they tend to be lousy "employees".

It will either a) work out GREAT or b) be a total DISASTER. For Sioux and me it was "b" (mostly my fault) and I hired a very capable office manager who eventually became my General Manager. Now thirty years later Sioux and I are tentatively working more together and she is doing the video editing for our SFS website.

 

[billyeadon]

I know she takes all the calls at the pool.

Saiger" data-source="post: 4300505" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

Wife came on board full time (as much as she wants to work) 2 years ago after our Grandson was born.

She is the day care center for our business you could say. (well after the grandson was born, she was ready to quit as a Bank Teller Coordinator to take care of him)

She takes most of the phone calls now, does scheduling, does the book balancing, runs some or most work orders....

She can even come out on job sites, run a wand for a bit and help as needed.

We have been supporting our family and my son in law/family on our income for about 3 plus years. No other income and paying for our health insurance and retirement.

You have to ask your wife how much and what she might be comfortable doing in the business and then decide if it is right for all of you....

Those are my personal thoughts.....and I did run this comment by my wife before hitting submit....

 

[Desk Jockey]

I can't work with mine. We tried early on when she was between jobs and just a girlfriend.
She's a sharp gal but she has her own ideas about how to do things and we clashed a lot more than we got a long. She's much better off working elsewhere.....anywhere else!

 

[billyeadon]

This is one of the most critical subjects small companies face. Mikeys Fest would be a great place to have a mini seminar dealing with the ups and downs of having spouses working together. Steve T hit the nail on the head when he said it can be heaven or hell depending on how it works out.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Definitely not for this business but maybe for another one in the future.

 

[rwcarpet]

My wife answers phones and does the books. If your doing it all and letting the phones go to voice message your losing business.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Sam....my phone does go to voicemail. My custys will leave a message, and the price shoppers will move on. Anyone that calls my phone has been refered, I do no advertising at all. I don't want to clean every job that calls me.

 

[Mark Saiger]

I know she takes all the calls at the pool.

Yes she does Billy!

I'm a lucky guy

 

[SamIam]

Sam....my phone does go to voicemail. My custys will leave a message, and the price shoppers will move on. Anyone that calls my phone has been refered, I do no advertising at all. I don't want to clean every job that calls me.

You made my point by saying your fine with the business you lose. How do you know they're all price shoppers? You don't advertise they must have been referred! But if they don't wait for you to return a phone call they're deemed unworthy?

I really don't care as long as you make your money that's fine!

I know when people see Mike's or my reviews they call that's money, not every one has all the customers they need!

People don't get an answer most won't leave a message they call the next person on the list.

My repeats all leave messages if were closed. I wouldn't label someone who hasn't used me as cheap for not leaving a message. They just don't know the difference that not all carpet cleaners are created equal.



....

 

[JS41035]

If your going to ask your wife to handle the scheduling and paperwork side of the business,make sure you get her some training. I would say do more than if you just hired someone.
If I could do it again I probably wouldn't. It adds a big strain on your marriage. It's very hard to "shut off" you business and relax. I love carpet cleaning. I love talking about it. Planning stuff. When me and dad sit and talk at a family gathering. 90% of the time we are talking or arguing about carpet cleaning. My wife,she gets sick of it. Has no real interest in the Boards or trade shows.
If you are gonna have your wife start helping. Try one day a week. Do some practice calls so she can feel confident. Have a phone script so she can answer questions. Have your office systemized before you hand it over. And make sure you pay her. Basically at least do what you would if you hired someone else.
My wife is amazing. I'd probably be living in a dumpster hugging a rug doctor without her. But it was tough at first.



....

 

[Art Kelley]

My wife never wanted to work in my business. I'm good with that. I did have a woman answer my phones and book jobs for about 20 years while she raised her kids. That was a nice separation of work and home life. Now I do it all including answering the phone which is a cell in my pocket. My wife still doesn't do anything in the business, but she likes the income I bring in. This business is certainly not for everyone, and it is good to have some separation of work and home life considering how many hours we work.

 

[billyeadon]

amazing: and so is your mom.

If your going tolet your wife handle the scheduling and paperwork side of the business,make sure you get her some training. I would say do more than if you just hired someone.
If I could do it again I probably wouldn't. It adds a big strain on your marriage. It's very hard to "shut off" you business and relax. I love carpet cleaning. I love talking about it. Planning stuff. When me and dad sit and talk at a family gathering. 90% of the time we are talking or arguing about carpet cleaning. My wife,she gets sick of it. Has no real interest in the Boards or trade shows.
If you are gonna have your wife start helping. Try one day a week. Do some practice calls so she can feel confident. Have a phone script so she can answer questions. Have your office systemized before you hand it over. And make sure you pay her. Basically at least do what you would if you hired someone else.
My wife is amazing. I'd probably be living in a dumpster hugging a rug doctor without her. But it was tough at first.



....

 

[Desk Jockey]

If I could do it again I probably wouldn't. It adds a big strain on your marriage. It's very hard to "shut off" you business and relax.

Dan said part of the problem in his first marriage was that she worked here in the office. He wanted to go home and relax and forget about work and his ex wanted to talk shop all evening.

 

[bob vawter]

Richard...give me yor wifes phone #.....
sounds lik SHE needs a good talking to........

 

[Desk Jockey]

Bawb I care about you too much to throw you to that lion-ess.

 

[Russ T.]

My wife and I are partners. I handle the vast majority of things pertaining to our business though. I ask her to answer the phone, do the scheduling, and reply to emails that come in from our contact form on our website (thanks Hoody!).

It allows me to get a lot done while on the truck. I can focus on the customer rather than worrying about the phone ringing. We do use a call handling service which allows us to determine how incoming calls are handled. There are days when she's out of the office and the calls will come to me. I don't like those days very much.

It really helps when the person answering the phone is absolutely convinced that you are the best company around. Mel believes that about us and so do I. It might be our biggest strength.


The Clean Machine of Iowa
www.thegreatcleanmachine.com

 

[curt johnson]

What wife?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Make no mistake, I love my wife deeply.

I just love her even more...because she doesn't work with me. ig:

 

[Barry-QDCC]

I could add a lot of things but I'll leave it at one.

The problem when you hire your family (secretary,technicians,whatever) AND then in the future want to go on vacation, guess what? You have to shut the company down. I know in some cases there is no other choice and maybe when you start out that's the only option but as soon as it's feasible I recommend hiring non-family. (Depending on what your biz plan and goals are. Want to earn money with a night crew or earn while you are taking a day off? Building your biz to sell it later? Etc.)

OK... I'll add another for 2 thoughts. It's been REALLY nice having my wife work a great corporate job with benefits. That takes a tremendous amount of stress off me to just make money and not worry about insurance and such. We are very lucky and I realize not everyone can have such a job but it's something to think about.

 

[jcooper]

Im just tryng to figure out a budget and how much we need to grow to support our household totally on cleaning

Only you and her know that, Jon.

My wife started answering the phones and scheduling about a year or so ago. It has been great, not having to worry about the phone/book jobs. AND she charges more than me! Best thing I ever did.

We have small kids at home and she knows she lucky to be with them, if answering the phone is part of it, so be it. She actually gave up/quit/started to hate a well paying job to do this.

My wife and I are partners. I handle the VAST

majority of things pertaining to our business though. I ask her to answer the phone, do the scheduling, and reply to emails that come in from our contact form on our website (thanks Hoody!).

It allows me to get a lot done while on the truck. I can focus on the customer rather than worrying about the phone ringing. We do use a call handling service which allows us to determine how incoming calls are handled. There are days when she's out of the office and the calls will come to me. I don't like those days very much.

It really helps when the person answering the phone is absolutely convinced that you are the best company around. Mel believes that about us and so do I. It might be our biggest strength.

You and I are pretty much in the same boat, Russ.

 

[Russ T.]

"You and I are pretty much in the same boat, Russ."

I can tell Jerry.

Prices have gone up considerably for us since my wife started fielding the calls also. She wrangles with our 2 boys at the same time and it has been a good move for us. We are pretty much "all in".

Thanks for walking me through the hardwood cleaning a couple weeks ago. It went really well. Ideal situation with a big empty main floor full of hardwood. I used my 175 with a white pad and some Bona and it cleaned up really nice! Looking forward to doing more hardwood.


The Clean Machine of Iowa
www.thegreatcleanmachine.com