Smart Cleaning School

 When I started this podcast in late 2019, I never imagined in a million years that I'd be eulogizing my father a year later. If you get a chance, check out the Tribute to My Father from December 17th, 2020. Ken Carfagno, Sr was born in Northeast Philadelphia on May 11th, 1936. He was the youngest of 6. Ken Sr. married Gabriella Corbett on October 20th, 1956. They were 20 years old. Soon after, they had their first of three sons, Ken Carfagno, Jr. That's my dad. 18-year-old Ken Jr married 16-year-old Lynn Driban in August 1976 and Ken Carfagno III was born on March 1st, 1977. Ken Sr became a Pop-Pop at the age of 40. My parents didn't stay married long. I have shared this so many times in this podcast as it's so vital to understand me. My single mom raised me during the week as a kid, while my dad and mostly my Pop-Pop raised me on weekends. The most influential man in my life has always been my Pop-Pop. In latter years, I started calling him my father because he raised me into the man that I am. Thank you for listening to this opening and my genealogy story. I just wanted to give you context to this episode.  

My Pop-Pop had a favorite breakfast diner. It's called the Jem Restaurant in East Norriton, PA. Tony Bello opened this restaurant in 1974 with the sole goal of serving & providing a place for the community to connect. Due to the 1950's theme, it attracted many patrons that are nostalgic from that era. My Pop-Pop definitely found this at the Jem. He LOVED the 50's. As I said, he fell in love with his bride, my Nana in 1951. He went steady with her while they finished school. He worked at her parent's bakery to save up money listening to his favorites of Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford. Pop loved the 50's and he would mosey into the Jem every Saturday morning for years. His routine was the same. He's sit at one of the counter stools with his newspaper and talk to the other old guys that were there. They all knew him. Tony knew him. He'd order the same thing. A decaf coffee and corn muffin. He was so proud of me. I heard stories over the years of how the old guys and Tony at the Jem all knew that Ken's grandson was a Penn State grad, an engineer. He owned a cleaning company. He was married to the best daughter ever. He gave the family the first girl (Christianna) in 3 generations. The only thing he didn't brag about me was how badly I'd beat him in ping-pong.

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I gave this talk at my local Montgomery Country Business Alliance (MCBA) meeting in June on Interpersonal Skills. Here are the notes from that talk!

MCBA Talk on Interpersonal Skills – Ken Carfagno 6/21/22

This is a HUGE topic to cover! I will barely scratch the surface in 30 minutes. Therefore, let me give you a few books to check out on your own. My story: I was a selfish, shy, introverted engineer when I left PA in 2000. Teresa and I joined Amway in 2002 and I started devouring books on business, personal development, people skills, goal-setting. Here are a few of my favorites in the people skills / developing meaningful relationships genre.  

1. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie
2. "Skill with People" by Les Giblin
3. "Art of Dealing with People" by Les Giblin
4. "How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with People" by Les Giblin
5. "The Power of Meeting New People" by Debra Fine
6. "Dynamic People Skills" by Dexter Yager
7. "Personality Plus" by Florence Littauer
8. "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman
9. "Bringing Out the Best in People" by Alan Loy McGinnis
10. "Be a People Person" by John Maxwell
11. "Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lincione
12. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven Covey
13. "The Wealth of Connection" by Vincent Pugliese
14. 
    

2 Rules to Help!

• 2:1 Rule: In an conversation, use the 2:1 Rule. Listen 2 times as much as you talk. This lines up with God's design as we have 2 ears and 1 mouth.
• “93/7 Rule: 93% of communication occurs through nonverbal behavior & tone; only 7% of communication takes place through the use of words.” – John Stoker

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

• Habit #4 Think Win-Win
• Habit #5 Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

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 In "This Moment with Angela Brown", we relive her childhood and early adulthood through the lessons she learned along the way. It's so interesting to see how the traits that make her successful today were forced at various ages. In this episode, we conclude the interview with Angela Brown.  

This portion of the conversation with Angela opens with a question on how she is able to take so much action. She says. "I call it Snag Success. You don't get success without the snags. A snag is the place where you don't know what do to next. I go as fast as I can to get to the next snag. Then I figure out how to get through the snag so I can run to the next one."

We discussed overcoming fear. She said this. "It's about them, them, them, them, them. They don't care about me. They just want a solution. The fear is lessened when you can realize it's not about you. People just don't really care about you that much."

Angela shares her early housecleaning business and how she was able to grow so fast. She applied everything she learned up until that point and even went back to community college. She grew across North and into South Carolina. Other cleaning companies found her and asked for help. She started flying to other cities on weekends to train cleaners around the country and 31 other countries. Her schedule was mind-blowing to build her local cleaning business and building her team during the week. Then she boarded a place to another location somewhere in the world to train other cleaning company owners. There are so many "coaches" in the cleaning industry. They achieve something and then say they are a coach. Angela has trained companies in 31 countries for years. She is a coach because of her experience and success. The reality is that few are true coaches and others are guides. 

Angela wraps up this episode with a touching story about helping a troubled teen. It lead her to sell her 25-year house cleaning business. She needed to work from home and saw the opportunity on the internet and YouTube. She wrote a book, "How to Start Your Own House Cleaning Company" and gave it away for free for a year. This bought her the time to take her years of training and move it online. That is the Genesis story to the wildly popular, "Angela Brown Cleaning" YouTube Channel with over a quarter million subscribers as of this podcast release and her podcast, blogs, and online memberships and courses through Savvy Cleaner. 

Check out my interview with the T-Bag Company Founder, entitled "Respectful, Reliable, Responsible with Damon Washington". You can purchase any of the T-Bag products at a 10% discount through the Smart Cleaning School Resources Page at smartcleaningschool.com/resources. 

 Angela Brown is a 25-year veteran of house cleaning, #1 YouTuber and podcaster with her show "Ask a House Cleaner", and a guru in our industry. I have been friends with Angela for 5 years. In fact, she was the first person to really challenge me to start a podcast in late 2016. Angela is highly respected in the residential cleaning world and is helping thousands to grow their house cleaning businesses. In this double interview, we dive into so many topics that make Angela... Angela. You will see that she is just like you. She just persevered through every adversity over and over again with an insatiable desire for learning. I love this quote early on in part 1 of the interview. 

"I was taught how to learn and I never stopped learning. When most people go through school, there comes a graduation time and for some reason they give themselves permission to stop learning. For me, it wasn't about being humble. It was more about me being aware that my learning never stops. No one was ever coming to graduate me... ever. So everyday, I say. How can I do it better? How can I look at yesterday and do it better?" This is what sets Angela apart.

Angela grew up in a family of 19 kids in Utah. She is the 4th oldest of 7 girls and 12 boys. Large families was all that Angela knew. It wasn't weird or different until she moved east to find families with 2 kids. Growing up in such a large family on a farm taught every Brown the meaning of hard work. It's the defining characteristic that Angela took from her childhood.

This Moment Concept - We have all been raised with a certain set of beliefs, characteristics, hardships, and privileges. Then we arrive at a moment in time with others that have another set of beliefs, etc. Now that we're here, what can we learn from each other in order to enhance our own lives and make other's lives better? 

Angela was brought up in a patriotic family that truly understood and appreciated the Land of Opportunity. She realized that she already lived in this country and didn't have to earn her way to America. She was already there and could go pursue this opportunity with her hard work ethic. This was taught in her homeschool and she read many immigrant stories.

She moved to Charlotte, North Carolina at 17 to become a nanny. But her integrity and care for families forced her to leave this job. This opened up many hardships and opportunities. Curiosity, hard work, honesty, vulnerability were traits that transformed an 18-year-old homeless girl into a Toastmasters, National Speakers Association, bartering, cleaning, and Success Magazine inner circle influencer. Brian Tracey was a huge mentor through his tapes and books. She tells a great pay-it-forward story about meeting him in person. 

 This is the first-ever podcast swap on the Smart Cleaning School. I was recently interviewed by my good friend John Stange in front of his Platform Launchers live audience.  In this interview, John wanted me to teach the benefits and synergy of running a local service-based business along with growing a platform.  Let me briefly tell you about John Stange. He is a pastor in the Philadelphia area that has developed over 10 income streams outside of his pastor's income. He is a platform builder. John's first platform is called DesireJesus.com, where he has been blogging, selling books and ads while helping Christians grow closer to Jesus for years. John also started the Daily Audio Bible Podcast in 2016, which has just surpassed 8 million downloads. I remember meeting John in person for the first time. We met at Five Guys. As he strolled up to the storefront, I heard his voice and instantly thought, 'this guy has a voice for radio'. 8 million others apparently agree. John has been able to reach the masses with his 2021 book, "Dwell on These Things", that I promoted in the self-titled podcast. John has been so successful in developing his own platforms that he chose to start Platform Launchers to help others do the same. I highly recommend his membership if you're a cleaner wanting to do something else to help others. I hope you enjoy this podcast from Platform Builders and John Stange. John has given me permission to share it. 

Make sure to check out Platform Launchers if you have ever thought about starting something on the side to help others. 

 After 12 years of solo cleaning, I ventured into the world of online coaching and courses in this amazing industry. Andrea McCoy was my second one-to-one coaching client. We talked for an hour every week for over a year as she was getting her business started. I interviewed her in the summer of 2019 as I was preparing to launch this podcast. Andrea definitely edified me as a coach, but that's not why I aired her interview as the 3rd episode of this podcast in October 2019. I loved her Why and her message. Andrea just wanted a business that would provide peace of mind for her large family. Peachy Clean out of St. George, UT has provided that for her over these last several years. I wanted to re-share this episode to newer listeners. Andrea's interview is still ranked in the Top 10 of all Smart Cleaning School podcast episodes in total downloads.

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. 

 In "Keys to Solo Longevity I", I established a few foundational principles. First of all, there is a clear difference in a Ford and a Honda. I prefer my cleaning machine to operate more like a Honda. They last longer and require less maintenance... and I shared this from my experience having owned 4 Fords and 8 Hondas in 30 years. Secondly, we deconstructed the domination and longevity of all-time sports greats Tom Brady, Cal Ripken, Jr., Serena Williams, and Roger Federer. Each of these greats believed very deeply that we will get out of our machines what we put into them. I shared the sleeping, dietary, and exercise training routines of each. Serena valued strength training through HIIT, while her male counterpart in tennis Roger Federer valued 12 hours of sleep per day. Cal valued exercise and strength training more after each birthday, which helped him to become MLB's Iron Man. Tom does everything. He's a cyborg. Can we emulate what these peak performers have done? We can try! In this episode, I will share my own health journey and winning routines. It's my hope that you can make a small change and stay consistent over time so you can reap the rewards of a long solo cleaning career. 

Step aside Tom Brady and Serena Williams. Here comes Ken Carfagno. My professional solo cleaning career started at 28. At this point, my solo cleaning stats are ranked #1 in the industry. I guess that makes me the G.O.A.T., which means I'll be inducted into the Solo Cleaning Hall of Fame. Oh, you didn't know about that... did you?! Maybe I'll start it. Anyway, I'm still in the field cleaning every week, but no where near what I used to do solo. I'm 45-years-old and have dealt with my share of ups and downs. I've torn both meniscus in my knees, a tendon in my right elbow, and sprained my left wrist. Injury has been difficult. I've dealt with major fatigue, nausea, vertigo, and brain fog in my 8 year battle against Chronic Lyme Disease. I know what chronic symptoms are like and have fought through them. I have woken up at 6am to clean all day after no sleep as we raised 5 babies over the years. They tend to keep you from sleep. I share this to relate to you. I have been there, yet I have been consistent for 17 years. What has set me apart? I believe it's several daily habits.

1. Sleep - I agree with Roger Federer that sleep is vital. Outside of my late cleaning nights or sleepless baby nights, I have disciplined myself to follow the advice in Shawn Stevenson's book "Sleep Smarter". I firmly believe that sleep is the foundation of a great day. I believe it is a keystone or cornerstone habit. It's the one ring that controls the others. I don't always hit this goal. I aim to wind down from the day, cut the screens off, take my nighttime vitamins, and get to sleep by 10:30pm and wake up by 6:30am. That's 8 hours on an ideal night.
2. Water & Vitamins - I drink 2 pints of purified water or around 30 ounces first-thing! This gives my internals a morning bath and gets things moving (if you know what I mean). I also take my morning vitamins including a multivitamin, Omega 3, Vitamin D, NAC, and possibly other supplements that were part of a healing protocol of the time. 
3. Bible - I love starting my day with my Creator by listening to the bible while I exercise, get ready, shower. I also enjoy reading the bible or a devotional and praying. This sets my day toward others with gratitude. 

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This 2-part podcast was inspired by a Solo Cleaning School Elite member, Dave Reeks. Dave started implementing the ISO Model in early 2022, operating The Finest Clean in South Wales, Australia. I am so proud of his diligence and commitment. Dave has grown from an Initializer to the Stabilizer phase of the ISO Model in 6 months. I recently did an Optimizer's Workshop with him to help him hit his next goal. He is a male solo cleaner like I was and growing quickly with almost 20 house cleaning customers in a short time. Dave recognized the need to keep his body operating at peak performance and wondered if I had any tips for other solo cleaners. Thank you Dave for this question! Yes! I do. I was a solo cleaner from age 28 to 44. There have been seasons of physical domination when I could stay up all night and clean and clean and clean. I have also struggled with fatigue, injury, and chronic disease. Regardless of the season, I had no choice but to keep going... and I did. In this initial episode, we will deconstruct the habits of multiple peak performers from professional sports to learn from them. Then in the second episode, I also will share several keys to solo longevity that I have learned along the way from my triumphs and struggles.  I believe this will help all cleaning companies as we all have people cleaning, whether it is us or a team we've hired.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor. I am sharing what I've personally done for cleaning longevity. See your doctor before making any major changes to your routine. Baseline your level of health now and set goals on where you'd like to go. Use this podcast as a guide.

Let's start with an analogy that takes me down vehicle memory lane. The joke in high school was that Ford stood for "fix or repair daily" and "fails on race day". My friends with Hondas boasted on their longevity and reliability. Hondas were the gold standard. My cars from age 16 to now have been in this order: Honda, Ford, Ford, Mitsubishi, Honda, Honda, Honda, Honda, Ford, Honda, Ford. Isn't that funny. I've owned 6 Hondas and 4 Fords. I won't go over every detail on our cars as that is probably boring. I will just say this. All of my cars have been great. I have so many memories from each. But I do generally agree after owning 4 Fords and 8 Hondas (my wife owned 2 Honda Odysseys) that the Hondas are way more reliable and spend less time in the shop. Sure there were some duds. We had an Odyssey that lasted 2 years and needed a new engine at 150,000 miles. We own a Ford Fiesta with 100,000 miles and a Honda Pilot with 140,000 miles and both are running great. But there is not doubt that our Hondas have been cheaper to operate and lasted a lot longer as 5 of the 8 were over 200,000 miles when we got rid of them.


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This is part 4 with Teresa Carfagno. We have already covered three other great topics, such as "Living with an Entrepreneur", Work / Life Balance and Healthy Eating Habits for our Kids in "Healthy Home Boundaries I & II" In this final part, we will help all of the families out there curious about the pros and cons of homeschooling your kids. Teresa has helped over 10 families start homeschools over the past 10 + years and has earned the nickname, The Homeschool Whisperer. If you've ever considered homeschooling and would like some solid information to start your research, this episode will help.

 In the last episode (part 2 of this series), Teresa shared useful lessons from the Carfagnos in the area of Work / Life Balance or what we call the family business and the busyness of the family. In this episode, Teresa concludes her thoughts on this topic and dives into the tender topic of keeping our children healthy. There is no right way to do this. But this episode reflects how we have raised healthy kids. Hopefully, this will educate, inform, and give you confidence in your home!

Check out my interview with the T-Bag Company Founder, entitled "Respectful, Reliable, Responsible with Damon Washington". You can purchase any of the T-Bag products at a 10% discount through the Smart Cleaning School Resources Page.