How to Start and Grow Your Own Cleaning Business
 

The Cleaning Business ─ My Road to Riches!
By Amanda Yeung Collucci,
Owner of Clean 4 Me, Markham, Ontario, Canada

It has been over a year since I started Clean 4 Me. I started the business with a part-time team in the basement of my home. While my revenues barely broke $110,000 in that first year, my second year is on schedule for $300,000. In fact, I believe that Clean 4 Me will be tracking at more than $40,000 per month by the end of 2008. Clean 4 Me has been a tremendous success within such a short period of time. Like many other businesses, other then the hard work put in by the business owner, it is extremely important to build the business from a solid foundation and an excellent business coach!

Career Background
Before starting Clean 4 Me, I worked at IBM and held various leadership roles. I was in sales, sales operations, and finance. Being a Chinese Canadian, immigrating to Canada 16 years ago and arriving in Canada with limited English skills (both written and oral communication), it is hard to believe the level of success I’ve achieve today!

I still remember my first job in Canada as a waitress in a restaurant. I got fired after my first day of work! Now, when I look back, that was one of the best experience I have ever had (off course, back then it was a horrible experience!). My job at IBM was very comfortable and provided a very comfortable income. As I got more comfortable with that successful career, a part of me inside was dying! I moved through all career paths and climbing that corporate ladder. But something inside of me felt empty, I craved for more. Perhaps the entrepreneurial side of me was talking louder and louder. I believed in controlling my own destiny and refused to lay my future in other people’s hands. At the end of the day, I am responsible for my own results! I started the search. Searching for the right opportunity; the right business! After 2 years of researching, I found House Cleaning Biz 101.

Why I Chose the Residential Cleaning Business
When I deliver inspirational speeches and share my business success at numerous entrepreneurial events, one of the most frequent asked question was, “Why did you choose the House Cleaning Business?” My answer always was, “I found a great mentor who was in the business for many years. A serial entrepreneur started many businesses, expended, franchised and sold them. He is someone who loves helping other people to become successful and enjoys mentoring other entrepreneurs. It is because I found Gary Goranson that I chose to start my own cleaning business (coupled with the fact that the house cleaning business is a strong growth industry)

Having worked at a large corporation, I understand that other then your own talents and hard work, you need a mentor. Someone who has walked the path, been at the top of Mount Everest and made it back down ALIVE. I had a preset criteria that, whatever industry I chose, I wanted a coach, a business mentor who could help me to jump start my business. The House Cleaning Biz 101 course on CD which, coupled with Gary’s one-on-one coaching, provides the perfect combination, in my opinion.

How My Mentor Has Helped Me Succeed
Gary’s coaching helped me in many ways:
1. Set goals
2. Writing business plan and reviewing it
3. Hold me accountable for the business result
4. Handling staff issues (both hiring and retention)
5. Stay focused and not get derailed
6. Handling difficult customer situations
7. Effective presentation and closing the sale!
8. Exit strategy
9. Stay profitable (know your numbers!)
10. Sounding Board (a shoulder to cry on)
11. How to survive in recession economy
12. …the list goes on…

We all understand the importance of goal setting. Without knowing industry performance averages, what being realistic and what is stretching, it is difficult to pick a number out of the blue. When I first started Clean 4 Me, Gary helped me to understand what I need to build my revenue level in order to start to see money for myself (no one likes to work for free, right?). I hesitated to move into a commercial office after 2 months of operations (like everybody who fear of failure), but Gary encouraged me to do so. Now Clean 4 Me is in a commercial location, playing in the big league’s game, attracting and retaining better employees. It is also because of that, I am pushing myself to build a larger business. After all, running my own business in the home basement is very comfortable, I mean…very comfortable: Low overhead, no utility bills, no extra phone lines, no commitment to a lease. However, comfort KILLS!! It kills your ambition for growth! Gary saw that before I did. Fortunately, I listened to him. I moved out of my home basement and within a couple of months, my sales were growing at 500%! Moving into a commercial location was one of the best decisions I made for the business – I committed to my business! The old saying…”listen to the wise old man”, that’s not far from the truth!

Finding Solutions to Ongoing Challenges
As Clean 4 Me grows, it comes with the growing pains too! Once we broadened our customer base, we encountered unforeseen challenges. What did I do? Turn to the “Wise old man” again! Gary helps me walk through difficult situations, listens and offers different perspectives. What I found is that Gary offers words of wisdom about building your business, managing your business and growing your business. His coaching is not just applicable to the cleaning industry, but it applies to ANY business in ANY industry. Equipped with the knowledge learned from Gary, I have also started my second business (a training business called www.freedom4lifetraining.com) and I am writing my first book – that is the level of benefit I am getting from Gary’s coaching.

I am grateful for finding Gary as my business mentor and business coach. Without him, it would take me years to achieve the level of success I am enjoying now. I choose to take the short cut – have Gary there to guide me. I choose to learn from the expert and enjoy early success. I choose to challenge myself everyday and continue to grow.

Everyone has a choice, what is yours?

Amanda Yeung Collucci
 

PERSONAL ONE ON ONE MENTORING/CONSULTING/COACHING & ADVICE FROM GARY GORANSON AVAILABLE TO HOUSECLEANING BIZ 101 CUSTOMERS.

 

Since 1991
2500 Quantum Lakes Drive, Suite 203
Boynton Beach, Florida 33426
561-732-2128
contact us by email
We do not sell or rent our customer lists.
We ensure your privacy.

© 2003 - 2007 WorkEnders, Inc.