As a cleaning business owner, you know that there are many considerations to make when it comes to running a successful business. Kerri Anne Kedziora, founder of A Team Accelerator and mentor to hundreds of cleaning entrepreneurs, shares the three key areas every cleaning business owner must know to establish and grow a successful business in this space.
The three key components to cleaning up (pun intended) in the cleaning business are: employee attraction and retention, pricing yourself fairly, and finding and retaining new clients.
Employee Attraction and Retention
It’s no secret that one of the main challenges cleaning business owners face is attracting good employees and retaining them. When running a successful cleaning business, having the right employees is essential. So the first step is attracting the right employees; not finding them-this is a crucial differentiator. “Many cleaning business owners are operating from warm body syndrome. They are so desperate to have people come to work that they are just inviting everybody to join the company inappropriately,” explains Kedziora. To remedy this, Kedziora recommends a three-step interview process. The reason for this is that the more challenging the candidate perceives the job to get, the more they value it if they successfully gain the position.
“When it comes to retention, cleaning business owners spend too much time focusing on giving raises and not enough time focusing on the needs of their employees,” says Kedziora. In her 30+ years of experience, Kedziora has found that people value a reward system more than they do a raise. Her experience is that when you only offer raises, people will only come to work until their bills are paid. If, on the other hand, you offer bonuses, perks, and benefits, you are saying to your employees I care about your well-being.
Creating an attractive work environment where your employees feel valued and respected is important. You should also strive to provide competitive wages and meaningful benefits such as health insurance and paid vacation time. Additionally, creating opportunities for professional development will help encourage employee loyalty – offering continuing education or training programs could go a long way toward increasing job satisfaction and retention.
Pricing Yourself Fairly
As a cleaning business, you must also ensure that your prices are fair and reasonable. You don’t want to charge too much or too little – both scenarios could lead to lost customers. Pricing yourself fairly starts with understanding what your starting wage will be. Research competitors in the area and ensure your prices reflect market value for similar services. Additionally, once you develop a good reputation as a business that attracts and retains great employees, you will find that people want to work with you. You can then increase your rates based on your reputation.
“I teach a simple formula for pricing yourself fairly, and it looks like this: 50:30:20. 50% wages, 30% overhead, and 20% profit. This way, you will never have an issue with underperforming in the financial aspect of your business,” says Kedziora.
Finding and Retaining New Clients
Finally, it’s important to have an effective strategy for finding new clients and ensuring they remain loyal. You can be tech-savvy and have a small amount of money to invest in a complicated marketing strategy to find new clients. Instead, with an understanding of your target audience, you can conduct various organic marketing efforts, such as targeted email marketing, building a presence on social media, flyer outreach, and clustered consults.
“When it comes to retaining clients, the most important thing is that you understand their needs and ensure you deliver, including follow-ups and quality checks,” shares Kedziora. “Letting your clients know that no concern is too small will help them feel safe approaching you with any teething issues they may have when you start working together. In addition, creating checklists for your staff to follow based on each client’s needs goes a long way in ensuring that everything is noticed and the client receives the clean they are looking for.”
By focusing on employee attraction and retention, pricing yourself fairly, and finding and retaining new clients, you can create a strong foundation for the future success of your business. And with the right strategies in place, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals as a cleaning business owner.
