So You Think You Can Clean

Define Your Business

2011-02-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

"Are you Residential?"

"or Commercial?"

"Well, I think I would like to do a little of both but I don't want to do big buildings Just small offices
Big Buildings would be
ssssssssssooooooo boring

one desk after another after another Not my idea of fun"

"Ok, so you are a Residential & Small Office

Cleaning Service?
or
Maid Service? "

There's a difference?

"I think potential clients believe there is a difference To them a cleaning service does just that... Comes in to the home to clean Whereas the potential client visualizes A maid service Being more detailed orientated"

Well then I want to be a Maid Service

"Ok then"

"Now, what is going to set you apart from other Maid Services In your area"

"My cute company uniform?"

"uh NO
No one sees the uniform
Until you are hired on
by a potential client"

"Ok, so I can tell them
I am "Green"
Well I'm not really "Green"
That would be silly
And anyways it wouldn't match
The pink and red uniforms
I don't think
Would it?"

"You want to market
yours business
as a

or

"Oh Wow....Another decision to make
Aren't they both the same thing?"

"Technically they can be
But it is all in the eyes of the beholder
and what appeals to them

You don't have to decide right now
We will come back to it
But in the meantime
Let me ask you this

Which one
Sounds better to you?

Which word gives you
positive thoughts?

Which one gives you
a powerful image
of what the word represents?"

2010-05-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

"Wow, that seemed to take, like, FOREVER
and I thought you were going
to be totally bored just watching
but man
You never stopped writing"

"That's a lot of paper you have there!"

"Where do we start?"

"Well....."

"Oh, wait...
Let me put on the coffee
I think I am going to need it"

"Are you all set?"

"Oh shoot, just a minute
Silly me "

"Need to have my lucky pen
and look it's Green
How freaky is that"

"Oh, that's freaky and it goes nicely with your
pink I AM A DIVA furry notebook too"

"I know, it's totally me...so now I'm ready"

"Good"

"Let's start with the products you used today"

"That was a lot of products used to clean with"

"Really?"

"Yes....
I counted 11 different ones used throughout the clean
so let's start talking about the first one you used"

"Here it is"

"and wow, I did a number on this bottle.... It's empty"

"Yes, you ran out halfway through the house and
switched over to your homemade all-purpose"

"That's right, I had to switch over when
I started the diningroom.
I thought the bottle would last longer
Oh well, I will just have to make sure to buy
in bulk when I go to the grocery store"

"Really, ok, so this is a good place as any to start"

"You are going to purchase at your local grocers.....
Why?"

"Well, that's easy...
they carry more products so they have better prices."

"Really?"

"Of course, everyone knows that...
you wouldn't buy your cleaning supplies
at the corner store 'cause
the price would be double of
what you pay at the grocery store"

"Are you going to be a professional cleaning service?"

"Yeah, cute logo, uniforms, stickers on my car...
of course I will be a professional cleaning service"

"Then why are you purchasing your products from a retail store...
Most professional cleaners purchase theirs
from a reputable Janitorial Supply store."

"Let's calculate your cost of product"

"You used one bottle of the Windex to clean 1/2 your home
Taking in consideration, you had already cleaned
the bathrooms and kitchen before running out
it would probably only take another
1/2 bottle to complete the clean"

"It costs roughly $3 for a bottle of Windex Green List
so to complete the home it would cost $4.50
A home this size would take about 4 hours to clean
so that bottle of Windex cost you $1.30 per hour of cleaning"

"That's not bad.....
if I charge $25 an hour that still leaves me
with about $23 an hour"

"Actually $23.70 but remember that is just one product
You used 11

and did you know the product you bought is mostly "

"Water"

"I know that it might cost a little more to get
my products the way I do
but I can't afford to buy
large amounts of concentrates
from the Janitorial Store"

"Not true"

"Under 3 hours pay from one client buys you
72 quarts of the Green Certified Portion Pac glass cleaner
at about 95 cents spray bottle which would
cost you, using 1 1/2 bottles per home, 35 cents an hour"

I'm thinking 35 cents an hour sounds so much better than....
what was it???

"1.30 an hour"

"Hold on....let me write this down"

"Note to myself...
By spending more in the beginning

I save more in the end"

"Not only do you save money
you show your clients how truly
Eco-Friendly your cleaning service is.
By using concentrated instead of
RTU (ready to use) you are
using less plastic bottles
1 bottle compared to the 72
makes a huge statement to your clients."

"Little tip....you might want to write down
in that cute little notebook of yours for later reference

join the Global Cleaning Association
it's a great place to learn from experienced
business owners who volunteer their time to help
people like yourself succesfully grow their businesses. and
here's the bonus of being a part of this community
If you become a Subscribed member you get 15% off of
your cleaning product purchases.

Think about it

That's 9 free spray bottles.

Think your local grocer can match that?

2010-02-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

“Well look at you”

“Don’t you look like you are ready to do some heavy duty cleaning.”

“You like?”

“I found this really cute pink spray bottle
That I just had to have
And then I thought to myself
In my business we are all going to wear pink
But when I got home
I realized the bucket I bought was red
And I didn’t know what to do

I had a realllllllly hard time with this Do I scrap the bucket and try to find one that is pink And what happens if I can’t find a pink one Then I am going to have to get rid of the pink spray bottle And try to find a red one"

So I seen this red apron Tried it with my pink outfit And Wow It just worked”

“Hmmmmm”

“So what have you got in those bottles?”

“Well in the yellow one I have Windex Glass Cleaner You know, the one that has the Greenlist Label on it”

“Is it a new product?”

“Well it says it is the original formula So it must have been “green” all along And we just didn’t know it Go figure”

“Yeah…go figure Windex “Green”

“What’s in the clear one with the pink sprayer?”
“It’s a bathroom cleaner”

This lady came over and showed me all of these Cool things from this company called Melaleuca Cute bottle huh And did you know I can get 6 spray bottles from this one little bottle See, I’m thinking about my business costs already And I haven’t even started my business yet.”

"How much money did you have to spend to save on your business costs?"

"Huh?"

"Did she tell you, you had to purchase so much To get this deal."

"Yeah"

"And that you will have to continue purchasing This much every month "

"She did mention something like that"

“Hmmmm”

“The kitchen cleaner from there too?”

Yep that’s the pink bottle…and the toilet bowl cleaner, the degreaser, The furniture polisher, the floor cleaner and the disinfectant.

“Wow, all of that in that little ole apron?”

"Nah, couldn’t fit it all…I tried but It was a real bitch every time
I tried to Bend or actually move."

"I bet"

"Oh…oh….I almost forgot"

"The pink bottle in my hand Holds the Magic"

"The Magic?"

"Oh yeah"

"I found this recipe on line
It’s an all-purpose cleaner
And it’s all natural
Ingredients right from my home
Well, not quite
Cause I had to go out and get the Borax…
Do you know how hard it is to find
They keep it right on the top shelf
Man I don’t know how many times
I went down that cleaning aisle, looking
Before I thought to look up.

And I didn’t have Natural Dish soap
So I had to buy some

I’m glad I bought this one because
It already comes scented
So I didn’t have to buy any Essential Oils
Another savings for the business"

"Right?"

"Hmmmm"

"So, are you ready to be dazzled?"

"Sure"

Is there anything you need before we get started.
I see you got pen and paper ready

That’s great
I have no problem sharing my cleaning techniques
With you

Wow…there’s a lot of paper there"

"Uh huh"

So You Really Want To.........

2010-02-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

“.......Start a cleaning business?”

“Yes”

“And you want to use products that are eco-friendly?”

“Yes”

“Okay”

“What have you done so far?”

“What do you mean?”

“What have you done to fulfil your dream of owning a cleaning business?”

“Oh That”

“Well, I have timed myself and I can clean my house

in a little over 2 hours

So I figure people will hire me because of how fast I can clean

I can save them money”

“Really”

“2 hours huh?”

“Yep”

“And you cleaned it all”

“Uh huh”

“How big is your house?”

“Pretty big so I was really excited when

I seen how long it took”

“I bet”

“Hey, you want to come over

And I can show you how I do it?”

“Oh, I think I would love to see how you do it”

“Well, I’ll wait a few weeks and not clean

So you can see how good I really am at this”

“I can hardly wait”

“Oh this is going to be so much fun”

The New Wave of Residential Cleaners/Maids......

2009-08-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

You know who you are

You have lost your job

Or your man has lost his

The bills are piling up
Or maybe you just want a little bit of extra spending money

You think to yourself

WHAT CAN I DO?????

I have no money to buy one of those "stay at home and get rich" packages

If I apply for one of those jobs in the paper

I will have to work weekends and nights

I DON'T WANT THAT

And as you are wiping the kitchen counter

It comes to you

I CAN CLEAN

"Can you really?"

"Yes I can!!!!!"

"I've done some research online

Checked out some websites

On "How To Start a Cleaning Business"

and I have read some books on

because I heard that's where the money is"

"I'm ready"

"Ok. so when's the last time you cleaned your oven?"

"When was the last time you scrubbed the inside of your oven?"

"I don't do that"

"No?"

"Silly, I push a button and it cleans itself

Doesn't everyone have one of these?"

"No they don't"

"How do you clean your shower?"

"Oh, that's easy, I have one of those

shower sprayer thingys...

You know the commercial

It's like having a bunch of maids in your tub

Scrubbing away all the yuckies

I will get all of my clients to put one in"

"Really"

"Yep"

"Your Floors?"

"Piece of cake....My Swiffer Wet Jet"

"Hmmm and you are going to be a "Green" service?"

"Well maybe not for everything...

It really doesn't matter does it?

As long as I am using some

"Green" products

It should count for something..right!

"We'll talk about this one later"

"How much are you going to charge?

How long will it take you to clean a home?

What will you actually be doing for the client?

Are you legal or are you going for the cash deals?

What products will you use to clean with?

What tools are you going to use?

How will you advertise?

What will set you apart from the

100's of others

In your area that have the same idea?

Why would someone want to hire you ?