Smart Cleaning School

 These initial episodes were done before the 2020 pandemic. They were important then and I believe they are even more important now.  We need to have  purpose in what we do or we'll never have the passion and commitment to see it through. In this replay episode, I help you identify the Why in your life so you can jump onboard the goals train! Have fun! 

This is our second lesson on goal-setting. The first was "What is Your Why", where we saw the importance of finding what makes you tick and use that to keep you inspired. In this lesson, I want to prove to you why you need to set goals if you want to succeed. In fact, I'll let the well-known Harvard Business Review study tell you why!

• 83% of people do not set goals.
• 14% of people do set goals and succeed 10 times more than the 83% that do not set goals at all.
• 3% of people have goals and write them down. This group succeeds 3 times more than than the goal-setters that do not write them down and 30 times more than the non-goal-setters.

In a separate study of people that set goals and write them down, 40% do not go back and look at their goals! 

This is a remarkable finding. Out of 100 people, only 3 write down their goals and less than 2 (on average) write them down and review them on a regular basis. Furthermore, it is my guess that 1 out of 100 write down their goals, review them on a regular basis, and are held accountable to someone they respect to complete them.

Which of these 100 people would you like to be? If the goal-setters succeed 10 times more than non-goal-setters and the goal writers succeed 30 times more, how much more successful are the 1% that go all-in?!

I want to be a 1%'er. How about you?

Reference: The verse I quoted from the bible is Habakkuk 2:2-3

Then the Lord answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry. 

 These initial episodes were done before the 2020 pandemic. They were important then and I believe they are even more important now.  We need to have  purpose in what we do or we'll never have the passion and commitment to see it through. In this replay episode, I help you identify the Why in your life so you can jump onboard the goals train! Have fun! 

We are starting 2020 with a 4-part podcast series on Goal Setting. Recently, I was asked by Courtney Wisely of Rescue My Maid Service to be an expert on this topic. I did a live training through Zoom to 8 growing cleaning business owners in St. Louis to identify what topics connected the most. Then I refined my presentation to record a 60-minute masterclass on Goals & Accountability for Courtney's Maidivation subscription boxes. Since this content has been received so well by cleaning companies with large teams and growing businesses, I knew it would connect with my solo cleaning family! Surely, you can go to my website and watch my free 60-min masterclass or just listen to all 4 parts of this podcast series.

Why does the Why matter so much? Let's just say it this way. Simon Sinek has built an entire company, platform, and brand on helping people and companies figure out their why. In his book, "Start With Why", Simon shares the concept of the Golden Circle where the WHY is in the center and the How and What flows outward from it. His experience with thousands of individuals and companies show that those that truly start with why, achieve the most success and significance. The ones that just go for the details, tend to lose their way. Without the Why, the How and the What doesn't matter.

I learned a great exercise in San Diego at Social Media Marketing World. It's called the "5 Why's". In this exercise, you peel back the onion until you get to the real & true heart of your why. This is the vulnerable and most cherished part of you. It will create the fuel of inspiration verses the  outside need for motivation, which is more of an air pump. This concept really connected with Courtney's Rescue Retreat attendees. In fact, let me share an example from the retreat.

"Why are you here at this retreat?" RESPONSE: "To get my systems in place."
"Why?" RESPONSE: "To be able to automate my business and get to go back to Mexico for 4 months of  the year.
"Why? RESPONSE: "Well, really to have my business fully run so I can go back to Mexico and start a  family?"
"Why?" RESPONSE: "My 1st marriage didn't work and I want to start again and be a mom."
"Why?" RESPONSE: "I've always wanted to be a mom and raise a family and travel."
As you can see, the responses got deeper and more personal. This woman wants her cleaning business to provide the income and  time freedom so she can live her Why. By the time you get 5 Why's deep, you should have something that is highly emotional to the person and is highly likely to light their own pilot light for inspiration verses outside motivation. The light of inspiration will never go out.

Go to my Resources page to see my recommended book list including "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek. I also referenced my good friend Josh Melton of Athens Cleaning Company in Athens, GA in the Funny Papers. He co-owns this commercial cleaning company and helps other commercial cleaners nationwide get to the 6-figure income mark.

Courtney Wisely is the founder of Magic Maids (Festus, MO), Rescue My Maid Service, and Spotlight Community Theatre (Festus, MO). I have known Courtney for over 4 years including a few years where we were in a mastermind together. Courtney is relentless in her work ethic and service toward others. She has achieved a very high level of success in her community and the cleaning industry. She has achieved her dreams and enjoys freedom with her son and daughter. This interview deconstructs her success from her highly dysfunctional roots in Bellville, IL and every where in between. After this interview, you will absolutely believe that if Courtney can do it, I can do it.

Here are some quotables from the interview:

"Why give validation to someone that is failing at life about what my future is going to be like. That's insane!"

I asked. "You had a horrible childhood. If you could go back and change anything. If you had an eraser, would you?" Courtney responds. "No. I would be someone different person and I love who I am."

Courtney's favorite book series outside of "Harry Potter" is "Runaways (Orphan Series)" by V.C. Andrews. These books gave the young Courtney the hope and encouragement she needed to escape her childhood. Her favorite professional book is "The Four-Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferriss. This taught Courtney how to work to live vs how to live to work. She lives this life today.

She found her life mentors at Cold Stone Creamery, where Courtney spend most of her 20's. They allowed her to be creating and perform within the Cold Stone culture. This also moved her family to Missouri.

"People are inspired by honesty and inspired by people that actually live their truths and don't care what others think. That's what people want to do, but are too scared to do."

One of the biggest lessons that Courtney learned between doing free Rescue Retreats to charging for her services. "A very important lesson to learn as an entrepreneur. People are going to pay if they actually want to take things seriously."

"I didn't try to force a team together. I let it naturally happen."

"I built what I wanted, so that I could live my dream of living musical theatre."

Thank you Courtney Wisely for your willingness to share your story in such a honest, transparent way. You have done here exactly what you said in the interview. Your honesty has inspired me and definitely many that are listening to this right now.  Stay tuned for Courtney's upcoming book called "Relentless". 

 Let's wrap up this 2-part interview with my wife Teresa. She is the secret sauce and secret weapon in our family to keeping us healthy. I am excited to share her knowledge, so your families can benefit too.

Resources mentioned by Ken & Teresa:

• Podcast - "The Model Health Show" by Shawn Stevenson
• Podcast - "The Genius Life" by Max Lugavere
• Blog - "The Wellness Mama"
• Article - "The Proper Way to Make Elderberry Syrup" by the Franklin Institute of Wellness
• Courses & Blogs - "Cold Care" by Learning Herbs

Check out my interview with the CBF Founder, entitled "A Buffalo Charges the Storm with Debbie Sardone". Debbie is offering free consultations to listeners of this show through the Smart Cleaning School Resources Page  at smartcleaningschool.com/resources to see if CBF could be the right solution for you. 

 My wife Teresa has been a mom for 18 years. She has always had an interest in wellness and specifically, natural remedies. I have always supported her in this approach. Over these last 8 years, I have seen her transform into a mom that knows how to treat her children and husband. She has been the secret weapon in our family to keeping us healthy. She is not a medical professional, so any advice she shares in these back-to-back episodes is general advise to our family. You should absolutely do your own research and consult with your doctor before any changes. Teresa has also learned and was mentored by medical professionals in the areas of integrative medicine, homeopathics, and naturopathics over the years. She reads books and listens to podcasts on wellness topics all the time. It is her hobby and she has helped every member of her family be healthier.

I first shared my wife's knowledge in the episode, "Healthy Home Boundaries with Teresa Carfagno II" She touched on health topics and healthy eating for your family.  At the same time, my friend Dave Reeks in our Solo Elite Mastermind asked me to do an episode on solo cleaning longevity. I released a double. Here's the link to episode 1 and 2 of "Keys to Solo Longevity". These episodes focus on a multi-channeled approach toward caring for your cleaning machine to last a long time. Since we've only touched on the health topic and it was currently cold & flu season, I wanted to bring my wife back for a follow up. Our interview on natural remedies to boost your immune system and help to heal you of viruses went 40 minutes so I divided it into a double as well.  I hope you find these 2 episodes helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. 

 Before I even begin, let me first share the context of this episode. There are so many people struggling financially in America, which used to include us. I did not come from money. I have never made a lot of money. I am not currently a millionaire. "Ken, why are you teaching this topic?" In a matter of speaking, I am teaching it through my podcast. But the real credit goes to my friend Greg Shepard of Dallas Maids. His interview called "Sail Around the World" was a powerful example of how to think and solve problems in your business. Several months ago, I had the opportunity to hang out with Greg in Dallas for a few hours. Greg is a millionaire, many times over. He is very modest, so I clearly won't share his numbers. I will, however, share his mindset on money and becoming a millionaire. It was the simplest and most believable path I've ever heard to attaining wealth. His mindset is not unique. In fact, most money guides and gurus teach it already. Greg taught me 3 simple steps that every single person can take (no matter where they are from) to attain wealth during their lifetime. And that's the key  word... "lifetime". Wealth can be overnight and fast, but not usually. The prevailing mindset now on wealth now is that it's lucky and immediate... right place, right time. It's the lottery mentality. Greg taught me a powerful lesson that day in Dallas. I started implementing it and teaching it to my kids. Now I want to share it with you. This will rock you with its simplicity.  

What do you need to create wealth? Let's reference the late, Napoleon HIll. You need to "Think and Grow Rich". There is a mental mindset you need to have on work, time, and money that allows you to conceive ideas that you can take action on. You need to believe that it is possible because without belief, you won't take the level of action required to convert an idea into wealth. You also won't be able to attract committed people to your vision that will help you accomplish it. John Maxwell says this. "A leader that lacks confidence has a team that lacks commitment." A strong mental mindset will produce the ideas. Strong ideas with action will build your belief. Results from your action will increase your belief. Increased belief produces confidence. This is where we need to get to. Now, I'll tie this back to my favorite quote in "Think and Grow Rich". "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." I love this quote... always have since the first time I read it in 2002. Now that you have a basic premise of what it takes to create wealth, I'll share Greg's very simple and practical advice that he has followed in his life.

Read the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website

 Another solo cleaner took advantage of the free coaching calls that I offer on my website. Claudia Adriazola of CMA Cleaning and Organizing in Onalaska, WI has a big goal to build her cleaning company with systems and a team to provide her with time and money freedom. However, her current solo business is a mess right now. She cannot optimize her solo business because she has no scheduling foundation. That's when I asked permission to record her coaching call so I could teach the four-week rotating schedule. She accepted. This is the lesson that I cannot believe I missed in 300+ episodes. It is so vital and foundational.  

Every cleaning company builds a customer base on a schedule. The schedule cannot be monthly. It has to be a fully recurring schedule and the calendar is 52 weeks. First divide the calendar into 4-week blocks. This produces 13 time blocks in every year that are identical. Otherwise, you end up doing what Claudia did. She allowed customers to pick the frequency of cleaning that made sense to them. Claudia had to learn that she is running the business and offering the service. She will have to stop all tri-weekly cleanings and move these customers to biweekly or monthly, which is every 4th week. She will have to stop monthly clients as-is and move them to every 4th week. This will allow her and you to build a repeatable schedule that you can absolutely optimize and scale to achieve the future goals that you have!

In this free coaching call, I also give Claudia 5 steps to completely transform her business with a fully automated schedule, working the same hours she is now, and to increase her income by $1,500 per month. I was thankful that Claudia allowed me to hit record as this was a lesson that should have been taught in the first 10 episodes. It's never too late!

Are you a new or struggling solo cleaner wanting to create financial peace from your solo cleaning business? The Smart Cleaning School has resources for you! Check out the ISO Model Course and the Solo Elite Membership on the Smart Cleaning School Solos Page at www.smartcleaningschool.com/elite . 

 This original episode was a free coaching call from a podcast listener. Shasta had grown her initial business with low-paying customers on an hourly rate. She couldn't figure out how to transform that business into one that produced a livable income and time for herself to rest. I quickly saw her block. She had a scarcity mindset of thinking that there were no new customers out there. She thought her only option was squeezing her current bag of lemons until the skin started breaking. I explained to Shasta that there is no more juice in there and that she needs a brand new bag of lemons. This scarcity mindset is prevalent in new cleaning owners and especially the solos out there. 

This will be short and sweet. One of my favorite books is "The Go-Giver" by Bob Burg. Here's the excerpt. "In a brutally competitive world where everyone seems to be fighting to earn more and achieve greater success, 'The Go-Giver' offers an alternative set of business success principles built on giving and adding value to others."  This is a must read for all business owners. I have made it a must read for my kids as we teach them the value of entrepreneurship and service. They go hand-in-hand. You can't be an entrepreneur without serving others. About 2 years ago, I had a chance to be on a Total Life Freedom Community Call with Bob Burg. What a treat. He was so full of wisdom on building relationships in business. But it was this one-liner that moved me the most.

"If you sell on price, you are a commodity. If you sell on value, you are a resource."  

This hit the nail on the head to all of the questions I've ever been asked. "Ken, how did you charge over $100 per hour cleaning houses?" This same question popped up so many different ways as I shared my story on social media and inside online cleaning groups. Many were in disbelief that I ever earned that much. To me, it was a simple process that I call the ISO Model. I have known that trust is at the core of this upward price trend. I have known that I needed to become the community specialist for cleaning. I had to be different and set apart from the masses to charge what I charged. This one quote from Bob Burg helped me take what I knew and put it into an easier teaching format. Let's try this out!

What is a commodity? Let's define it from Webster. 

"An economic good: such as a product of agriculture or mining, an article of commerce especially when delivered for shipment, a mass-produced unspecialized product."

Typically, a commodity is something  that everybody needs and uses. There are many who sell them and compete for thin margins. How many cleaners out there are treating their business like a commodity? They are selling or offering their cleaning service as the low-cost option. They are assuming that every cleaner is the same, offering the same, doing the same thing. Therefore, they need to sell on having the lowest price. This is a model that does win in cleaning, especially in commercial cleaning. It's the Walmart Model. Sell on price and create a ton of volume to make money.

There is another option. What is a resource? Webster says this. 

"A source of supply or support : an available means, a natural source of wealth or revenue, a natural feature or phenomenon that enhances the quality of human life, computable wealth, a source of information or expertise, something to which one has recourse in difficulty, a possibility of relief or recovery, a means of spending one's leisure time, an ability to meet and handle a situation."

Read the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website

This episode is a follow up to "The Messy Middle" There was a place in between your initial goal to start your cleaning business and the place that you defined as success where things got messy. It got really hard to stay motivated. You weren't sure if you made the right decision. Your doubts and fears and condemnation crept in to try to steal your dream. This is the messy middle. I shared this truth about setting big goals and starting something new. "It always gets messier after you start!" I want to turn your attention to another destructive habit that can steal your dream. It's called anger. This will not apply to many of you, but for the ones that it does, please listen. I have personally listened to a lot of podcasts and many on cleaning and entrepreneurship. I have never heard one on anger. 

I was in the Messy Middle in our first New York solo cleaning business from 2007 - 2015 and from 2019 - 2020 in our second Pennsylvania solo business. I know what that feels like. If you've never heard me speak or share my story before, here's the nutshell. It took me a long time to develop my ISO Model for solo cleaners. In fact, it was the 8 years in the Messy New York Middle that I figured most of it out. This ISO Model allowed me to duplicate our first solo business in a fraction of the time. I want to dive into my 8 years in the valley, the mess, the pit. I was working so hard, going where ever I had to go to clean and make money. I was cleaning around the clock on many days. I injured myself by tearing tendons, meniscus, and even contracted Lyme Disease. I was often tired. I was often filled with doubt. I was often sad. And I was often very angry. Thankfully, I was walking with Jesus through this time to help me keep my peace. But even I'm no where close to perfect. I would lose my cool and freak out. I'd be late leaving the house and miss my shower. I'd have a foot of snow and ice on my car at 7am and 5 below. I'd get stuck in morning rush hour traffic and be even later to my first house. I'd trudge through the snow into the house. I'd bump into a piece of furniture with my cleaning gear or smack my knee or hip against a sharp wooden door or railing. I'd set down my gear and spill it all over the customer's floor because the duffle bad was torn from use in 3 places. I'd be vacuuming and suck up a carpet fiber that wrapped around the beater bar until the vacuum seized. I'd suck up a penny and seize it too. I'd crack my head on the shower metal or on a low doorway. I'd turn on the shower while cleaning and get soaked in the middle of winter. I'd break something in a house by accident. I'd be cleaning with spray bottles in each pant pocket when one would unscrew and dump a whole 32-oz bottle of cleaner on the customer's floor. All of these things seemed to happen to me when I was already struggling and mad. They would take me from mad to angry and many time angry to wrathful. I would literally leave the house and start screaming outside. I may even take my seized vacuum piece and either smash it on the ground or toss it in the bushes. Yes, it's dumb, but haven't you ever been angry?! It's irrational. I'm irrational when it happens. I would waste time, lose money, and lose belief that I was doing the right thing. Meanwhile, my friends from high school and college were all growing in their jobs, buying nice cars, having kids, buying them nice things, and living in nice houses. And we were driving old beaters and living in rented houses. I'd question myself all the time. I was angry again and again and again. Over the years, I learned my triggers and managed my emotions better. It wasn't easy, but I did it.

Read the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website