Mobile credit card processing for a carpet cleaner?

The facts are in- your customers will buy more when they can pay with a credit card. Plus you get virtually instant payment instead of having to bill the client. But how can you process credit cards without a fixed terminal? Steve borrows some great resources from an old friend …

Why carpet cleaners should ask “stupid questions” …

Carpet cleaning business owners can do well by taking a lesson from small children. Kids are by nature inquisitive and take in enormous amounts of information (also called “learning”) by asking questions. Sadly, as we grow older we lose this essential “growth trait”. Chuck Violand weighs in on why and how you should rekindle your curiosity and start asking some so-called “stupid questions” …

How I promoted my carpet cleaning business at my BNI group by ripping Steve Toburen’s stuff off!

They say “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. If so, SFS member Dave Pastor very “sincerely” likes our SFS Director of Training. Read how Dave blew away his local BNI group by sharing a few key SFS ideas. Then learn how you can use these same concepts in your company. (Even without attending SFS!)

Are you “sailing against the cash-flow wind” as a professional carpet cleaner?

As Chuck reflects on how the typical carpet cleaning or restoration business is much like a boat he focuses on your business wind- MONEY! No money? Then as a business you are “dead in the water”. A simple concept? Yes. But at times agonizingly difficult to implement. Read on for Chuck’s meditations …

What percentage of your carpet cleaning business is “repeat”? Are you sure? Really?

All of us brag about our “imagined percentages” of repeat clients. Comments like this are common at every SFS seminar: “Yeah, over 90% of my clients are repeat business.” But honestly, have you ever put a magnifying glass on this claim? (Steve confesses he was guilty of this empty bragging too!) One very capable SFS member did and here is what they found out …

What pitfalls are there in buying a carpet cleaning business?

One wanna-be entrepreneur asks Steve what to watch out for in buying a carpet cleaning business. Steve’s answers may surprise and shock you. If so, they may be just the wake up call you need to successfully sell your company in the future …

10 Questions Every Cleaning and Restoration Business Should Ask!

Check out these 10 questions that just may keep you from joining the 80% of start-up businesses that fail within their first decade. Then share with your fellow board members other vital questions that have kept you safe, sane and profitable …

Exploiting Chaos

Chaos sounds horrible. It brings to mind historic events such as the fall of Saigon or 9/11 and the horrors that ensued. But chaos can also lead to opportunity. In fact there is a Chinese symbol that stands for danger but also means opportunity. Which one will you choose?

Weekly Financial Flash Report

In the “good ole days” (pre-recession) you could get by with casually checking the nice big number at the end of your monthly Profit and Loss statement and then pop a cold one! Not anymore. You now need to focus like a hawk on your WEEKLY financials. This Flash Report form will help …

Do I see a contradiction here?

OK, Steve, now you have me interested. On one hand a few days ago you said only give your Cheerleaders Value Added Service PLUS a hand written thank you note. But I also note you promote giving a “kickback” with the Jon-Don “Free Spotter for Life” program with Jon-Don’s Spot-Out program. Is it because you are raking in big bucks on your Spot-Out commissions????

“Marketing decisions are so much easier when we have hard numbers”- Meg’s Story (Part 7)

Meg and John Burdick find that making emotionally detached decisions can be difficult when you have built relationships with your vendors. Find out what carpet cleaning marketing strategies they decided to keep after analyzing their performance over time.

Hiring a business consultant for her carpet cleaning business Meg’s Story (Part 3)

Meg and John Burdick have already built an exceptional business. Now they are looking to the future and recognize they need more outside help. So they are taking a scary step of bringing in a local consultant. Read on and ask if you too need more outside help and/or accountability in your life …