Steve Toburen

We’ve all been there … Your best employee quits without notice at the worst moment possible!  And our latest job includes a “customer from hell”.  And now you’re afraid to even open that official looking and ominous letter from the IRS!  Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger!  All these nightmares (and worse) have happened to all of us at some point or another.

Wouldn’t it be great if expert help was available at the click of a mouse? So review all the sob stories found here first.  Then give us a chance to help your own unique problem …

• Can a carpet cleaner survive in a rural area? February 2, 2012
• "How should I pay an outside sales person?" January 27, 2012
• "How much per square metre should I charge?" January 16, 2012
• I don't want to be rich- will SFS help me? December 23, 2011
• I need help with a letter for commercial accounts! December 5, 2011
• One tech or two on carpet cleaning trucks? November 23, 2011
• How can I get my techs to restock their vans? November 21, 2011
• Will adding a partner help me grow my carpet cleaning business? November 7, 2011
• How much do you charge to be a SFS "member"? October 31, 2011
• Commercial carpet cleaning confusion? October 3, 2011
• I'm tired of getting blown off in commercial sales! September 5, 2011
• So how do I get started in contract commercial carpet cleaning? August 19, 2011
• How can I "work" my 70 year data base of installed carpets? August 15, 2011
• How should a carpet cleaning company answer the phone? August 4, 2011
• How do they make money at 7 cents per foot? July 22, 2011
• I can't travel but I REALLY need SFS! HELP ME! July 1, 2011
• How can I keep these "inherited" carpet cleaning customers? June 16, 2011
• How should we pay our first cleaning tech? May 16, 2011
• Burning out with janitorial in New Zealand! April 27, 2011
• Getting beat up on regular commercial cleaning contracts? April 14, 2011
• "Steve, what if you could do it all over again?" March 17, 2011
• I need help with carpet cleaning "contract legalese"! February 10, 2011
• 24 years old and rarin' to go in commercial carpet cleaning! January 6, 2011
• So should I ask to put up a carpet cleaning "yard sign"? December 17, 2010
• Can a new carpet cleaner handle a Home Show? December 8, 2010
• How can I incorporate the pre-paid "Stay Beautiful" program into rentals? December 3, 2010
• My big cleaning business just isn't fun anymore! November 24, 2010
• "I'm hitting a road block on implementing the 'Stay Beautiful' program!" November 18, 2010
• What equipment should I buy with $5,000.00 for a carpet cleaning start-up? November 10, 2010
• "I need help with a complex commercial carpet cleaning bid!" November 5, 2010
• Can you help me with a restoration "comment form"? October 29, 2010
• Pricing commercial cleaning with encapsulation vs. hot water extraction? October 22, 2010
• How many listings can a cleaning operation set up in Google Places? October 21, 2010
• What to do with the tables and chairs in restaurant carpet cleaning? September 23, 2010
• Can buying a franchise help me get started in carpet cleaning? September 9, 2010
• What can a carpet cleaner present at a "ladies club" meeting? September 2, 2010
• How soon can I "escape" my carpet cleaning business? August 30, 2010
• After 15 years as a "Lone Wolf" carpet cleaner, should I expand? August 26, 2010
• How can I raise my carpet cleaning prices without losing clients? August 23, 2010
• Sick of being "on-call" 24-7 for water damage losses? August 16, 2010
• Browning on a Berber Carpet- now what? August 9, 2010
• Help me, Steve! I'm striking out with your SFS carpet cleaning phone script! August 5, 2010
• Can I increase my profit on carpet cleaning sales by peddling carpet spotter? July 29, 2010
• Carpet cleaning technician pay- commission vs. hourly? What to do? July 26, 2010
• Should I "stoop to the level" of my cut-throat carpet cleaning competitors? July 22, 2010
• How can my janitorial service not get blamed for unlocked doors? July 19, 2010
• Why and how to promote Scotchgard on your website July 15, 2010
• How can I reach out to my "straying" carpet cleaning clients? July 12, 2010
• The world of steady, profitable commercial work is really tempting me! June 30, 2010
• Intimidated by residential carpet cleaning! What to do? June 28, 2010
• Who knew selling carpet cleaning to restaurants could be so easy? June 17, 2010
• What freebies should I give my carpet cleaning customers? June 10, 2010
• Are carpet cleaning door to door sales calls worth my time? June 7, 2010
• Should I start out hitching a ride as a sub-contractor cleaner? May 31, 2010
• So can my carpet cleaning business gross 700K per year in my 30,000 person market base? May 28, 2010
• Tired of the "your carpet cleaning prices are too high" objection? May 24, 2010
• How can I set my carpet cleaning service apart from the rest? May 13, 2010
• What is the survival rate of new carpet cleaning start-ups? May 3, 2010
• Do we need to personally call back every single carpet cleaning job? April 22, 2010
• When should I move my owner-operator carpet cleaning operation out of my house? April 14, 2010
• Should carpet cleaners accept credit cards? April 12, 2010
• As a "just starting out" carpet cleaner should I buy expensive or low cost cleaning chemicals? April 1, 2010
• Why won't my wife get on board with my new carpet cleaning venture? March 25, 2010
• What can I do to pay the bills till my carpet cleaning business kicks in? March 18, 2010
• Can I build a "Honda/Accura" carpet cleaning business model? March 8, 2010
• How can I calm a frazzled customer with a water damaged home? March 4, 2010
• What percentage of your carpet cleaning business is "repeat"? Are you sure? Really? March 1, 2010
• How to avoid getting hung out to dry on commercial carpet cleaning without a key ... February 25, 2010
• Is there a down-side to the "Five Around" door hangar concept for carpet cleaners? February 18, 2010
• I'm getting beat up on this upholstery cleaning job! February 15, 2010
• Should I go with a "one stop package" carpet cleaning "business opportunity"? February 11, 2010
• Don't get caught in the middle between the adjuster and the property owner ... February 8, 2010
• A wounded carpet cleaner's cry for help ... February 5, 2010
• What pitfalls are there in buying a carpet cleaning business? February 1, 2010
• So what do you have against structural reconstruction in fire damage restoration? January 28, 2010
• How should I price my cleaning work? January 25, 2010
• How can I get more water damage restoration jobs? January 21, 2010
• A cleaner reaches out to local carpet retailers ... January 18, 2010
• How can I get my carpet cleaning techs to upsell? January 14, 2010
• Can I charge a premium for after hours commercial cleaning work? January 7, 2010
• How can I target the right age group for residential carpet cleaning? January 4, 2010
• Thanking the home owner after a water loss? December 31, 2009
• One carpet cleaner's house building odyssey after attending "Strategies for Success" ... December 28, 2009
• Should carpet cleaners advertise in the "services section"? December 24, 2009
• Scared by the "big bid"? December 21, 2009
• Leaving a void on the truck ... December 14, 2009
• Profits in Trauma? December 8, 2009
• Steve, I'll take anything ... November 30, 2009
• How to find the OK cleaning price in OK? November 12, 2009
• Welcome to a great industry ... November 5, 2009
• Should I wear a bow tie when cleaning? November 2, 2009
• Longing for a good night's sleep ... October 29, 2009
• Internet scam or innovative on-line marketing? October 26, 2009
• Where is the REAL (and easy) money? October 15, 2009
• High or low pricing- which way to go? October 12, 2009
• Too high? Too low? HELP! October 8, 2009
• How and where do I find temporary fire restoration workers? October 1, 2009
• What is "great customer service"? September 28, 2009
• Turning the tables on those pesky "Price Shoppers"! September 24, 2009
• Buying a business versus "starting from scratch"? September 22, 2009
• Just getting into business ... September 14, 2009
• Commercial proposal butterflies ... September 7, 2009
• So how long is it going to take? September 3, 2009
• I think I need a partner ... August 31, 2009
• Fear of the "Franchise Onslaught"! August 24, 2009
• Should I make him a sub-contractor? August 20, 2009
• Timidly entering the commercial arena ... August 17, 2009
• Ready to tear my hair out ... August 1, 2009
• So what all can I "up-sell" to the home owner? July 17, 2009
• Why don't they like me? July 10, 2009
• How can I help? Should I? July 6, 2009
• Struggling with a business "identity crisis"? June 26, 2009
• Worried About Unemployment Claims ... June 22, 2009
• What to Do? Part II June 18, 2009
• Should I hire techs for carpet cleaning or should I just go it alone? June 11, 2009
• Do I see a contradiction here? May 28, 2009
• What should I give for referrals? May 25, 2009
• Can I make it in this market? May 21, 2009
• Just starting and a bit scared ... May 18, 2009
• Will incorporating protect me legally? May 14, 2009
• Dog puke and Spot Out- a volatile combination? May 11, 2009
• Goods versus services? Wassup wit dis? May 7, 2009
• Perplexed in Springfield May 4, 2009
• Hungry for Commercial Accounts? April 27, 2009
• Commercial Sales Wardrobe April 20, 2009
• Letters for Commercial? April 13, 2009
• Crying the motel blues here in Tupelo April 6, 2009
• Carpet cleaning technician mobile phone frustrations March 30, 2009
• Non-Repeating Cheerleader March 16, 2009
• Crossroads of Expansion March 9, 2009
• Sick and Tired of PRICE, PRICE, PRICE in Milwaukee March 2, 2009

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In this Special Report from Jon-Don’s Strategies for Success Program you’ll:

• Examine the long term costs of poor inspection skills.
• Learn how to break the destructive cycle of “price-only” estimates.
• Benefit from an understanding of the “emotional chemistry” found in customer’s homes.
• Receive a five-step inspection outline that will dramatically increase your carpet cleaning bookings.
• Discover how to ferret out the customers “unspoken objections” and how to answer them in a positive, non-threatening manner.

Click the download below!

To your Success,

Steve

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I only do one restaurant now and they move all the furniture off the carpet into the kitchen and back in the morning. Now I am working on getting a small restaurant chain here in Orlando and there are lots of tables and chairs in each one and nowhere to put all of them. So I was wondering what you did with the tables and chairs during the cleaning?  I think we can find a place for chairs but not the tables. Also did you charge extra for moving the furniture in commercial work? Any positive suggestions would be appreciated as I am trying to get the commercial end of the business up, as the residential can be soft at times. Thank you very much,

Looking At My Options in Orlando

Well, Looking, I did things a “little differently”.  If a restaurant account wanted all the furniture moved (on some of them we just did the open areas on an every other time basis) we moved it AND replaced it. Why? I’m glad you asked:

A.  Less hassle for management. To be honest, I’m amazed you still have the one restaurant account where they stack the table and chairs in the kitchen.  I found that when my service became an “irritation” to the customer we weren’t going to be around long.  And I can’t think of anything more “irritating” for a restaurant manager than coming in early and finding a kitchen full of furniture!

B.  Faster production for us. If you are using two people anyway (which you probably should on commercial work for production, physical exhaustion and mental burnout reasons) one of them is just going to be standing (or sitting) around a lot of the time if there is no furniture.  Why not use the second person to keep moving furniture and replacing it?  After all, if the furniture is being moved faster than the wand (or Cimex) can move, then moving tables and chairs isn’t really costing you anything!

NOTE:  We normally would only move the tables and chairs enough to let us clean under them and then replace them immediately.  With most restaurant furniture and good extraction (or even better encapsulation cleaning!) I found that blocking and tabbing wasn’t needed. With a good system and two people working together smoothly the wand never stopped which was great because our mantra on commercial work was, “If the wand isn’t moving we’re not making money!” (And we made a LOT of money as my company cleaned over 50 restaurants and bars every month on a contract basis!  How did I get all those accounts?  Because I personally followed my weekly Dedicated Sales Morning concept! Download my free Special Report on “Selling Commercial Work” with all the details!)

C.  Not being able to “blend into the woodwork”. I found the commercial accounts we kept the longest were the ones where we didn’t get “noticed”.  We went in, did the work, sent the bill, they paid us.  Just like clockwork!  But if I had to call the manager or owner to remind them each month to move the tables and chairs it was too easy for him or her to say, “Let’s skip it this month.”  The kiss of death in commercial!

So to cut to the chase, Looking, I would strongly suggest you factor moving and replacing the furniture into your proposal for the restaurant chain.  (By the way, a great way to get all the information you need for your proposal and to “structure” your first visit with the Decision Maker is to use my Commercial Carpet Analysis form.)

More soon,

Steve

P.S. Commercial work is one area that the owner normally should excuse them self from ASAP. The problem is that these late hours will suck the life out of you.  I seriously question for most entrepreneurs if their “highest and best use” in their business is pushing a wand around some greasy spoon at 2 o’clock in the morning!

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This applies twofold for a prospective buyer of your business as they mull over his or her options. So you must make your company “beautiful” if you ever hope to cash out for big bucks!

Don’t want to sell out and retire just yet?  No problem!  The “Triple Win” here is a) your customers, b) your employees and c) the future buyer of your business will all love a company that is “beautiful”.  Follow the steps detailed in Steve Toburen’s “Beauty Makeover Check List” and you will make more money, keep quality employees longer AND build an “appreciating asset” out of your business!

Steve

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Larry and Elissa Holder

I thought that I would share a business success that we recently experienced. Please feel free to use this if it will help make the point about value added service. It all happened through industry networking.

Our business is located about 30 miles south of Atlanta, about 45 minutes south of the Atlanta airport. We service the 3 counties in our area, Fayette, Coweta and Henry. We also service other areas of metro Atlanta when referrals call. We have serviced homes in the northern suburbs but we don’t market there.

There is a commercial floor care company on the north side of Atlanta called Floor Care Specialists. The 2 owners are former co-workers of mine from when I was with DuPont. They only service commercial accounts and do no residential work. Whenever they receive calls for residential cleaning they always have the prospect call us, even if it is one of their own commercial clients. They send us about 2 or 3 jobs per month. These jobs are on the north side of the Atlanta area.

When gas prices rose so high Elissa and I decided that we would have to stop traveling so far north. We would simply focus on our 3 county area. The cost of fuel made it unprofitable to go too far north. We began referring northern prospects to Steve Cameron or Tom Cermak whom Elissa met at SFS.

About 6 weeks ago we received a call from a new prospect. The lady on the phone told Elissa that Floor Care Specialists had referred her to us. She lived in the northern section of the downtown area. This was not all the way to the northern burbs but still on the north side. This is an older neighborhood where all of the homes had been refurbished by “yuppies” and prices started at about $1,000,000.00! As we discussed it we decided to take the job. Remember, this was just before gas prices began to fall.

On the day of the job I drove for just under an hour. When I arrived the customer decided that she only wanted to do 2 bedrooms and a hallway. This was hardly a gold mine. To make it a bit more interesting, the areas were on the top floor on the opposite end of the home! Sigh!

Though the job was small I committed myself to do the job right with the same commitment as if it were a huge job. I smiled and was cheerful as I dealt with the customer. The entire time I was there our exchange was very pleasant. I had never met the lady, but it was as if I were talking to a neighbor. I pre-vacuumed, pre-spotted, pre-conditioned, moved the furniture, extracted, groomed, and speed-dried all areas. (Sound familiar?)

I offered to “renew” her Scotchgard protection but she did not buy. She told me that she had been skeptical of carpet cleaners. She had used carpet cleaners before but the results were mediocre. She was totally thrilled with her carpet. She said that it looked brand new. As I began to leave she told me that she was going to put a listing on her neighborhood homeowner’s association online bulletin board about our service. According to her there were 700 homeowners on the mailing list. I liked the prospect but I did not get too excited. We’ve all had people tell us things like that before with no follow through.

About a week later I received an email from the customer. She had copied me on the post that she had placed on the electronic bulletin board. That first afternoon we booked 4 jobs. The following week as I was finishing the 3rd job in that neighborhood the client told me that she was now going to post a recommendation on the neighborhood web page. This was different than the bulletin board. According to this customer you have to be recommended by at least 3 neighbors to be on the web site.

In the last 6 weeks we have done 7 jobs in that community at an average ticket of $350.00 or more. We have been cleaning carpets, rugs and furniture. This past Thursday I told one of those customers that I had been spending a great deal of time in their neighborhood. She said that it was no wonder, our name is all over their web site! Regency Carpet is practically a household name in this upscale area!

The purpose of this story is to drive home the point that no matter how small the job, you must do it with the same dedication and enthusiasm as if it were your largest. The Value Added Service concepts found in SFS really do work!

Larry Holder  SFS Class of September/2006
Elissa Holder  SFS Class of March/2008
Regency Carpet & Floor Care
Certified Master Textile Cleaner
IICRC Approved Instructor

PS (Added On 3-15-2010 to show the value of “electronic Cheerleaders!))  A new client calls the office today. My beautiful young wife talks to him and schedules the job. As she finishes the conversation she asked the question that we always ask, “How did you hear about us?”. He told her that he had recently moved to the area. He lives in one of the more upscale neighborhoods. He did not know who to call so he sent out an email to the homeowner’s group. He said that in a matter of minutes he was inundated with emails from people recommending us! Some just recommended us, others said that they would never use anyone else!

I’m soon to be starting my owner / operator carpet cleaning business. I know what carpet cleaning chemicals I need, have my funds available, my list of equipment I’ll be purchasing and my logo developed. I also have read through all your “Bleeding Hearts” stories as well as the other columns here on this great Strategies for Success website.  (thank you!)  I have also acquired a banker and accountant too.  Things seem to be progressing towards my new career in floor care.  I have done my homework and have my cleaning solutions in place.

But my biggest obstacle to date is getting my wife on my side! I work full time at a utility company, 22 years so far, but want something “of my own” when I (hopefully) retire in 8-10 years that I can run full time. I’m  hoping that my business will be big by then. My wife is supportive and helps me out with the computer stuff and is super-organized and assists me in that area also. But I really want (almost need) her “positive” support. Not the “yeah I can help you but I don’t see how this will work” attitude.

Tell me what to do here, Steve, or at the very least what I am doing wrong.

Puzzled in Denver

Dear Puzzled,

Wow, what a great question and yes, what you are describing IS a challenge.  Any small business both affects (for good or bad) the family unit AND depends on everyone “on the team” for their synergistic contributions.  It sounds like your wife still has her reservations and of course that is her right. She is likely less excited by industrial cleaning supplies and equipment than you. (It’s not for everybody.)

I may be straying out of my self-assigned cleaning industry question role here, Puzzled, to tentatively push into family counseling but remember that the key to success in any family is COMMUNICATION.  I’m assuming this “entrepreneurial urge” you woke up with one day has been yours alone up till now.  Remember that often wives as the “keeper of the hearth” are resistant to change.  (Even when it is “good change”.)  She likely knows you even better than you do.

NOTE:  I see one word a LOT in your letter above and another word doesn’t appear at all.  If my math is correct I see the word “I” as in “me” nine times and the word “we” as in “my wife and I” doesn’t appear at all.  Hmmm …

My guess, Puzzled, is that up till now you have been focusing on YOUR new venture from a business/ financial/ marketing/ equipment standpoint.  All of these are essential (Far too many new carpet cleaners don’t do the planning you are wisely engaged in!) BUT they are NOT the most important things in your life.  (Or at least they shouldn’t be!)

Think for a minute on what I call the “Four F’s of Life”- your Faith, your Family, your Friends and simply having Fun every day!  Could it be that you have submerged these things in your enthusiasm for your new company?  Or could it be that your wife (knowing you as she does) is correctly worried that you will neglect at least “some of the above” as your business grows?

So maybe it is time for “Steve’s 6 Step Approach to Regaining the Favor and/Ear of Your Spouse”!

1) Apologize sincerely- Something on the order of, “I’m sorry, dear.  I’m afraid in my enthusiasm for this new ‘toy” I have overlooked you.  Tell me, what do you think?”  Then shut up.

2) Gently interview your spouse-  “I see.  So where do you see us in 8-10 years?  What would you like to do?  What fears do you have about me starting this business?”  Then shut up!

3) After listening (possibly for a looong time) tentatively suggest “acceptable alternatives” by building on what your spouse has said-  “Hmmm, I hadn’t looked at my personality in that way before but now I understand why you are concerned.  What would you think if I …”  Then shut up.

4) Appeal to your wife-  “Honey, this is something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time.  You know, I’ve always wanted more for us.  Plus I really, really need your active support.  For example …”  Women want the best for their men AND their families.  It is just that “best” needs to be “mutually defined”.  You get to talk here and then shut up and listen.

5) Agree on specific goals and a course of action for the two of you with clearly defined expectations for both sides-  One of my favorite SFS saying is, “Clearly defined expectations are the basis for all successful relationships.”  And so they are.

6) Thank your spouse for sharing her thoughts.  Take her out to dinner.   Do what you and your wife agree on.

Now I know this is over-simplified, Perplexed.  It is much more fun to concentrate on the tools. (Jon-Don sells quality truck mounts, cleaning chemicals and other cleaning equipment.) But simply put as men we can be wild bulls due to our Entrepreneurial Excitement, rampaging through the carefully ordered family life our wife has created over the years.  All this creative ferment can create havoc in your family and seriously strain your relationship with your spouse.  (Don’t ask me how I know this!)

Let me know how your “chat” with your wife goes.  Life really is about much more than business, a fact I have sadly often forgotten over the years.

Steve

P.S:  IF the BOTH of you decide to pursue this new venture (and I’m not sure you should!) then it is very important to get started off right.  So here’s some more homework.  I want you (and your wife) to carefully read this  Special Report which certainly could be titled “Getting Off on the Right Foot in the Carpet Cleaning Business” but isn’t!  Then I also want you both to seriously consider attending TOGETHER one of our Strategies for Success seminars.  The couples who attend together invariably implement more from the class and more importantly leave with a shared vision, which is exactly what you and your wife need!

Can I vent on you? So I finally get a day off, I’m going to “veg out” in front of my new 56” liquid plasma wide screen, watch a game or two, eat myself fat and toss off a few Coronas and bang!  The phone rings and I get to drive 58 miles one way to start extracting a flooded hotel!  Didn’t you ever get sick of being on call 24-7?

Ticked Off in Nebraska

Dear Ticked,

Did I get tired of being on call 24-7? Absolutely! After several years of invariably missing my kid’s school plays/ ball games/ family picnics and far too many “date nights” with my wife- I finally did something about it!  I suggest you do the same.

I finally discovered a fascinating concept called “employees”.  I even learned that I could field a water damage call without ever getting my lazy butt up from the sofa!  Yep, I could calm the homeowner down, get the essential information, dispatch a crew and all without missing more than three downs of the football game.  Imagine that!

It is called “delegation” and yes, I realize the above process is a bit more complicated than I just described!  But not really.  Here is what I did:

1. Develop a formal “on-call” program- We trained all our employees both technically and in the Emotional Dynamics of dealing with a traumatized property owner after a water loss. I paid employees who volunteered $50.00 per week (they worked rotating weeks) just to be a) available and b) sober!
2. Then when a call comes in you just follow your “on-call” program, call the one assigned on it and say, “It’s your lucky day!” Then pay your on-call tech double time and a 50.00 trip bonus too. (After 10:00 PM and on weekends we paid triple time with a three hour minimum.)
3. Work it into your billing. Everyone will be happy.

So some tough love here, Ticked.  Suck it up, make the hard decisions about employees and stop being a slave to your business. Get to work!  (Or if you just don’t want to “go big” see my note below.)

Steve

P.S. Remember your on-call employee (or in the worst case scenario- YOU)  doesn’t have to DO the entire job on the Emergency Call-out. Do just enough “Damage Containment” to spike the loss and hit it with a big crew the next day.  (When everyone is on normal pay instead of double or triple time!)

NOTE:  If in your heart of hearts  you want to be a Lone Wolf owner-operator forever (nothing wrong with that but you really need to implement my Lone Wolf Special Report) just develop some “Strategic Partnerships”- capable and honest competitors  (if you have any!) that will cover for you and you for them.

A note from Steve:

Everyone gains from attending our Strategies for Success seminar.  Some excel and a few actually change their lives for the better with the vision they take away from SFS.  (Many of you are in this process right now and that is why Jon-Don provides this web-site.)

Meg Burdick attended our Langhorne, PA SFS seminar back in September of 2009.  In just a few months the Burdicks have made some tremendous changes in what was already a good business.  Even better for all of us, Meg has been kind enough to keep us up to date on her progress.  I’ve asked Meg to periodically up-date us on how she and John are doing “down in the trenches” of the professional carpet cleaning industry.  I think you will find her comments engrossing reading.  Thanks in advance, Meg!

Steve

PS  Wanna stay up-to-date with “Meg’s Story”?  Click HERE to subscribe to an RSS feed that will let you know when we post the next “installment” of “Meg’s Story” and other fresh content.

Hi Chuck, Bill and Steve,

After attending SFS, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and talking with my husband John about what things we should change and roll out.  While to a point I’m anal in tracking certain things, there are other things I know we should be doing and aren’t.  (I should say things I know we should have done a long time ago, but haven’t!)

Strategies for Success was a fantastic seminar, but I’m sure many SFS graduates go home energized and then the momentum wears off (failure to implement) over time.  If only Steve, Chuck and Bill could come home with us and be there to push us forward everyday to help us stay accountable!  That way we wouldn’t get caught up in daily tasks that take us away from (as Steve says) “working on the business instead of in it.”

As happy as we are with our growth and the changes we’ve made over the past couple of years, I know it could have been even better.  So here are some things we have either started doing since attending Strategies for Success plus more that we are planning for 2010.  For example …

I just started working with someone to help us with our ratings on Google etc.  He said he’ll be making recommendations for the changes in the content to help out with the ratings (which includes copy writing and proofing) – so it’s on the radar.  However, we certainly are interested in hearing what else all of you have to say and will incorporate those ideas.

Meg Burdick
Burdick’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning

Steve’s comment:  You’ll be delighted to know, Meg, that Big Billy is rolling out a brand new one day seminar on March 23 at our Tampa Bay location called Dominate your Local Area on Google. Andres Tobar, a young SFS graduate will be teaching the class. Following the recent St. Pete SFS Andres wowed Big Billy with his self-taught knowledge of the web and especially SEO. We immediately asked him to do a workshop on these sorely needed subjects. Andres is willing to share this knowledge and show people how they can do optimize their sites themselves without having to hire an outside firm.

See the full listing of “Meg’s Story” bulletins from the field.

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In this Strategies for Success Special Report, we take a look at how you can best prepare for your financial future and for the future of those that count on you, your family.

The cleaning industry can truly be a wonderful wealth building opportunity.  But you have to do it right and you should NEVER put all your eggs in one basket.

Please put to use the following Special Report in making your personal wealth plans.

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