FAQ’s about SFS

Strategies for Success (SFS) is actually much more than a “seminar”. SFS is a complete training and support program for cleaning and restoration professionals. We offer multiple training and support options. For example…

SFS: Hands-On Operations (2 Days)– Steve Toburen, Director of Training for Jon-Don’s Strategies for Success program. will help you get a handle on your day-to-day operations. Over two intense days Steve will give you the concepts and tools to turn your business into a well-oiled machine that churns out Customer Cheerleaders and profits—even while you’re on vacation! Plus you’ll receive hundreds of pages of written systems and step-by-step guides that will morph your business into a world class operation that will have your customers raving both online and to their friends and neighbors.

NOTE: We cram as much information as possible into your two day SFS: Hands-On Operations program. And everything we share with you is included in your seminar fee. (There is NO “up-selling” in any of our SFS programs.) However, the complete SFS 900 page “Business Infrastructure” Operations Manual (both printed and online) is ONLY available to graduates of our five day SFS: Business Transformation.

Wouldn’t it be great to finally be ahead of the game and know what to do before an issue becomes a problem? “Tune up” your day-to-day operations with Steve’s systems to super-charge your business for explosive (yet controllable) growth AND profit! Click HERE for more information and our upcoming SFS: Hands-On Operations schedule.

SFS: Business Planning (2 Days)- Designed only for graduates of the Strategies for Success™: Business Transformation class (required) this 2-day seminar will guide you through creating a business plan that is specific to your company’s size, customers, services and your dreams. You’ll immerse yourself in a distraction-free environment and be surrounded by other successful business owners allowing you to craft a business plan that is both realistic and achievable.

“Numbers guru” Chuck Violand will help you truly understand your business, giving you the confidence to make informed decisions and answer critical questions about your company’s future. Click HERE for more information and our upcoming SFS: Business Planning schedule.

SFS: Business Transformation (5 Days)- Steve Toburen, Bill Yeadon and Chuck Violand team teach this intensive, five day business building program specifically designed for carpet cleaning, restoration and janitorial company owners and managers. SFS: Business Transformation includes a complete Operations Manual with over 900 pages of written systems and procedures that give SFS members a turn-key Business Infrastructure that they can follow exactly OR customize to fit their own business goals. Plus only SFS: Business Transformation attendees receive a free, bonus “Business on a Flash Drive” with 3,000 more pages of systems, procedures, spreadsheets and manuals.

In addition, SFS members are automatically included in our ongoing support out-reach TIPS program (Techniques, Ideas, Procedures and Systems) plus they receive free, one-on-one online consulting access to SFS instructors Steve Toburen and Bill Yeadon. Click HERE for more information and our upcoming SFS: Business Transformation schedule. 

VAST: Value Added Service for Technicians (1 Day)- Attend any of our SFS programs listed above and you will be “transformed”. We guarantee it! BUT what about your technicians and support staff? That’s right! If you don’t get SFS concepts down into the front lines nothing will change and you will never transform your company! In one fun and fast-paced day Jeff Cutshall teaches your staff (and you) how to implement Value Added Service into their daily routine. Your employees will be energized and everyone (including you) will make more money! CLICK HERE for more information and our upcoming VAST seminar schedule.

Our two-day SFS: Hands-On Operations seminar is $375.00 and additional attendees from the same company are $275.00. And the SFS: Business Planning seminar over two days is $1195.00. (You can bring a second person from your company for no extra charge.) VAST seminars are $169.00 per student or we offer great savings if Jeff comes to your place of business to teach your entire team. Lunch and snacks are provided on all of the above seminars. (Previous attendees of our SFS seminars should check the great news in Note #1 below!)

The full price for the five day SFS: Business Transformation seminar is $1475.00 for the entire five days. ($737.50 for the second person from the same company.) This fee includes all manuals (over 1,100 pages) plus our exclusive 4 GB “Business on a USB Flash Drive” with thousands of more pages of business resources. Your USB Flash Drive will also include Jon-Don’s Next 30 Days “Marketing College in a Box” (A $369.00 value!) PLUS dozens of ready-to-print color post cards for your restoration, commercial or residential services!

SFS: Business Transformation includes continental breakfasts, all lunches, snacks plus dinner and drinks on Wednesday “Social Night”. There is NO high pressure or extra costs to receive additional training or to get to a higher, “more favored level”!

Absolutely! You can take advantage of our SFS: Business Transformation Early Bird Discount! Just register and pay at least 30 days before your five day Business Transformation seminar and you’ll save $200.00 off the $1,475.00 regular price! So don’t procrastinate! Plus additional attendees from your company save big time too! Sign them up at the same time and they attend SFS for HALF price- $737.50! Don’t delay.

We’ve got you covered. All SFS registrations are covered with our famous Jon-Don SFS guarantee: “If you sadly can’t attend your SFS just let us know ASAP and we will cheerfully (but regretfully for you) refund your money- no questions asked!”

Not one cent. Really. Honestly. When you attend a SFS seminar you automatically become a “SFS Member for Life”. That’s it. NO gimmicks, NO strings attached and once again, NO fine print! There is NO sign up fee, NO ongoing charge to belong and no buying level from Jon-Don that you must maintain. (Even though we sincerely appreciate your support of the SFS program through your purchases from Jon-Don!)

At SFS we totally reject the old “you must pay more to learn more” marketing gimmick all too common in our industry. Once you attend the SFS seminar you are part of our Strategies for Success “support family” and we won’t be harping on you for more money- we promise! Maybe that is why Steve Toburen calls SFS the “Solutions/ Freedom/ Success” program!

It is very simple, really. At Jon-Don we learned a long time ago that our growth and success is inextricably tied to the success of our customers. We discovered that the typical cleaner/ restorer or building service contractor is a great, honest and hard working individual. BUT he or she many times needed training and ongoing support in the management, marketing and overall business organization areas. Voila! Jon-Don’s Strategies for Success Program was born way back in 1996! (For more on why and how SFS was created just go to Steve Toburen’s personal message .)

So to cut to the chase here! You might say that SFS is a “loss leader” for Jon-Don. Every time we present a SFS seminar we lose money on it initially! However, we hope to make it back by investing in your success! Since 1996 we’ve presented well over 150 SFS seminars and are currently helping over 5,000 SFS members achieve their definition of success.

Three highly respected instructors each fill a different niche within SFS.

Chuck Violand from Violand Management Associates focuses on selecting and hiring the very best employees and what he wryly refers to as the “dreaded financials”, including a step-by-step program on how to price your work profitably. Chuck also teaches our two day SFS: Business Planning seminar.

Bill Yeadon is Education Coordinator for Jon-Don and teaches an entire day on revolutionary marketing techniques and systems. He also teaches our one day SFS: Hands-On Marketing seminar. Bill has many, many years of experience in all aspects of the cleaning and restoration industry.

Steve Toburen is the Director of Training for the Strategies for Success program and its little brother, the Value Added Service for Technicians seminar. Steve started out in 1969 as the owner/operator of a cleaning and restoration firm and built it into a nationally recognized powerhouse. He then sold his business interests and retired from full time business at the age of 38. Steve teaches the two day SFS: Hands-On Operations seminar. Or he will spend three days with you in SFS: Business Transformation taking you step by step through the concepts and the systems needed to build a dream of a company- one that will run beautifully with you- or without you!

Our Strategies for Success program is built on three basic concepts. 1) The “Desired End Product” of your company should always be a delighted Customer Cheerleader that sings your praises to everyone they meet. 2) 80% of how your customer decides if you did a “good job” (and whether they will become a Cheerleader) is based on their relationship with the person actually doing the work in their home. 3) For your company to have real value, you must “manage the experience” of your customer by programming hundreds of Positive “Moments of Truth” into your “Service Circle.” And finally, at all SFS seminars you receive the Business Infrastructure to make these three concepts a reality in your company!

The beauty of this 3-step approach is it works perfectly in any one of our three main industry sectors- restoration, residential or commercial/janitorial. Or if you are involved in all three (as we suggest) then SFS truly will be a transformational experience for you!

Absolutely. SFS is all about doing it right- especially in your face-to-face relationship and procedures with the home owner. A substantial percentage of our SFS members make a conscious decision to stay small. BUT SFS gives them the concepts and tools to make more money in less time. In fact, it could be argued that without employees an owner-operator carpet cleaner needs SFS principles even more just to maximize their profit potential!

NOTE: If you want to “stay small” (nothing wrong with this!) we recommend starting out with our one day SFS: Hands-On Marketing and two day SFS: Hands-On Operations seminars. HOWEVER…

At some point in time almost every owner-operator realizes his or her business is GROWING (going up) and their body is DECLINING (going downhill)! And this is where our SFS: Business Transformation really shines- helping you build a “real business”. Or in other words- giving you the PERSONAL FREEDOM to have a business that will run with you OR without you. And that is a wonderful place to be!

OR IF YOU ALREADY HAVE EMPLOYEES then you need SFS even more! SFS gives you a ready made but “customizable” business template designed for a restoration or building service contractor or residential cleaner that let’s you “get a handle” on your ever-expanding operation. Just check out these real life SFS Success Stories…

You have probably guessed by now that SFS is NOT a course for technicians or front line workers. In fact, if you are 100% delighted with your business and your life then SFS Training probably isn’t for you either! Complacent people get bored during our five days together and we don’t want this negative attitude dragging down the excited, entrepreneurial spirit we build during SFS! So if you don’t “want more” out of business and life then stay home!

BUT if you and your employees want to build a vibrant, exciting, growing company based on a vision of delivering the very best customer service then by all means we want YOU! And not just YOU ALONE! In fact, we find business owners who attend with their “key people”- spouses, partners, managers, etc. learn and implement infinitely more than if they just attend SFS alone.