| All business owners face road blocks throughout the | | | | employees work history, find out why they left |
| life of their business. It's how they deal with and | | | | previous jobs and how they interacted with |
| overcome these road blocks that will determine their | | | | co-workers and supervisors. If possible, have another |
| level of success. The following are 8 common road | | | | person conduct a second interview if the applicant |
| blocks that cleaning businesses face. | | | | appears to be a good fit for the position. Check |
| 1. Not Having a Business Plan | | | | references, and conduct a criminal history check if |
| Take time to write a business plan. This forces you | | | | applicable. |
| to take a serious look at all areas of your business | | | | Once the decision has been made to hire a new |
| and plan for what lies ahead. Some of the things you | | | | employee, conduct a detailed orientation, discussing |
| should be addressing in your plan are: | | | | the company policies and procedures. From there the |
| *location (home-based, lease an office, and timeline | | | | employee should be fully trained on their job |
| on any transition plan); | | | | responsibilities. They should be taken on a tour of the |
| *who are your customers and how will you find | | | | building(s) they are to clean, and should never be left |
| them; | | | | to do the job without adequate supervision and |
| *who is your competition and how will you deal with | | | | training during the first week. |
| them; | | | | 6. Lack of Employee Training |
| *how many employees will you have and how will | | | | The best thing an employer can do in any industry is |
| you handle hiring and training; | | | | to invest in training programs for their employees. |
| *management team and advisory team; | | | | Consistent training of each employee is extremely |
| *exit plan; | | | | important; otherwise you're likely to wonder why one |
| *financial plan (cover 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years | | | | employee does a great job, and another is seriously |
| forecast of sales, expenses, cash flow, and balance | | | | lacking in the ability to clean properly. The answer |
| statement); | | | | usually comes back to inconsistent training. |
| Your business plan is a living document that should be | | | | Invest in a standardized training program. Make sure |
| looked at and updated on a yearly basis. | | | | each supervisor is thoroughly trained in the program |
| 2. Not Having a Marketing Plan | | | | and is taught how to train each employee. The |
| Your marketing plan will actually be developed in your | | | | training program should be broken down into sections: |
| business plan, however a separate, more detailed | | | | trashing, dusting, restroom cleaning, vacuuming, |
| marketing plan should include a timeline on all | | | | mopping, etc. After each employee is trained on a |
| marketing activities. Some things to consider when | | | | section, have them sign off, demonstrating that they |
| developing your plan is: | | | | have been trained and understand the procedures. By |
| *who is your target market? (office buildings, schools, | | | | following each step consistently, it's less likely that an |
| retail, industrial, medical) | | | | employee will come back and say, "I was never told |
| *what services will you provide? (general cleaning, | | | | to do that!" |
| window washing, carpet cleaning, hard floor care, | | | | Follow-up and review is equally important. Go back |
| construction clean-up) | | | | after 30, 60, and 90 days and review each section |
| *what is your market area? | | | | with the employee. Repetition will help them to retain |
| *what is your marketing budget? | | | | what they've been trained to do. |
| *what methods of marketing and advertising will you | | | | Your training should not stop there - have ongoing |
| implement? | | | | training for all employees throughout the year on |
| *what is the timeline for each activity? | | | | various trouble areas and also on safety issues. Also |
| 3. Under Capitalized | | | | consider offering an employee newsletter that |
| Most cleaning companies start on a shoe-string | | | | addresses training. |
| budget, but if you're serious about growing your | | | | 7. Lack of Industry Knowledge |
| business, you'll need to have money to invest in your | | | | Many new business owners started their business |
| business. Start by researching start-up costs for a | | | | because they have worked in the industry previously. |
| cleaning business. Some things that need to be | | | | This is usually true of owners of cleaning companies. |
| considered are equipment, vehicle expenses, | | | | Some were supervisors for another company, and |
| insurance, office supplies, bookkeeping costs, | | | | some might even have worked for a time as a |
| advertising costs, business cards and marketing | | | | part-time custodian and decided that owning this |
| materials. If you're going to hire employees, there are | | | | type of business would be easy enough to do. |
| many additional costs associated with this. This list is | | | | Now that you are a cleaning business owner, it's time |
| not all inclusive - there are many more expenses that | | | | to dig deeper into the industry and learn as much as |
| must be considered. | | | | possible in order to be one step ahead of the |
| You'll need to have additional funds in your checking | | | | competition, and to stay on top of industry trends. |
| account to make sure all the day-to-day expenses | | | | Some of the things you can do to learn more about |
| are being paid in a timely manner, and that you have | | | | the industry is to subscribe to trade magazines and |
| funds to cover emergencies. | | | | read them religiously, join membership groups ( would |
| 4. Growing Too Fast | | | | be a great start), do research on the Internet, and |
| Most cleaning companies are ready to take on any | | | | get to know other people in the industry. There is no |
| job available just to have money coming into the | | | | need to reinvent the wheel when you can learn from |
| business. If you're having a lot of success adding | | | | others who are willing to share their success stories |
| accounts, it becomes exciting watching the income | | | | with you. |
| grow each month. Proceed with caution however, as | | | | 8. Not Knowing the Competition |
| the result oftentimes is neglect of existing accounts. | | | | Many business owners start their business without |
| Before you know it, you'll start losing accounts | | | | giving a second thought to who their competition is |
| because of a loss of quality service. | | | | and what they're up to. Some of the things you |
| It's much easier to keep existing customers than it is | | | | should be aware of are: |
| to find new customers, so be sure to take care of | | | | *who are they and how long have they been in |
| these existing customers, and think of ways to sell | | | | business? |
| additional services to them. Control your growth at a | | | | *are they independent or a franchise? |
| slow and steady pace; you're much more likely to | | | | *what is their target market and are they in direct |
| become successful this way. At the same time you'll | | | | competition with you? |
| build a solid reputation for offering quality service that | | | | *what are their strengths and weaknesses? |
| will result in a large referral business. | | | | Knowing some of these things can give you an edge |
| 5. Inadequate Hiring Practices | | | | when going up against them in a bid situation. Also |
| In the cleaning industry it's all too common for small | | | | keep in mind that you don't always have to look at |
| business owners to quickly hire "warm bodies" just to | | | | other cleaning companies as competition. Consider |
| fill an opening. And then the new employee is thrown | | | | becoming referral partners with companies who do |
| into the job without the proper training and left to | | | | not directly compete with you on bidding contracts. |
| fend for themselves. No wonder employee turnover | | | | For example, if you specialize in cleaning office |
| rates are so high! | | | | buildings and another cleaning company specializes in |
| It's never a good practice to hire someone just to fill | | | | medical facilities, you're each likely to get leads on |
| an opening. Implement a structured interviewing | | | | other jobs that could be referred to each other's |
| process, and ask targeted questions designed to get | | | | specialy. Remember, being independent doesn't mean |
| the employee talking about how they would handle | | | | going it alone. |
| different situations. Find out more about the | | | | |