Smart Cleaning School

I am excited to introduce my friend and YouTube superstar, Cassandra Aarssen to Solo Cleaning School. I invited her to be an expert guest in the SMART Cleaning Tribe that I lead for team cleaning companies needing accountability around goals. Cassandra was a busy mom of two small kids when she started her home organizing business. At the time, she was also running a daycare with 9 children for extra money. She saw home organizing as a way to make extra money and possibly get out of the daycare business. It did WAY more than that! Her husband recommended that she record a video with her phone and upload to YouTube. Cassandra has continued this discipline for over 7 years and 750 videos! In this interview, she shares the Clutterbug story. You may be thinking... 'Ken, she isn't a solo cleaner. Why should I care?' For one, she was a solo operator of her home service business like you and I. Secondly, she turned her local brand into a global one that now earns her hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Cassandra had some real power quotes in the interview that I wanted to make sure I took note of!

"I realized you can make something one time and sell it over and over and over again with a book or a concept or a video or a cleaning checklist or an e-book. That's when my eyes really opened up to the magic of the internet and the magic of working smarter, not harder!"

"My advice is to start with one platform and when you can master it, when it seems easy, then add another one."

"It's not about having something perfect. It's about just being consistent."

"You're not going to learn from reading and researching and planning. You're going to learn from doing." 

In this episode, I spotlight my first solo cleaner. Andrea McCoy runs Peachy Clean in St. George, UT. She is a mom of 6! She explains why she started her solo cleaning business and the various mind shifts she has made over her 3 years in business with my help to increase her hourly rate from $25 to $65! We also talk about the power of keeping your hand on the marketing water pump and setting a goal for peace.

This episode is a clip from an Expert Call I facilitated in the Smart Cleaning Tribe last December with my friend Alonzo Adams of Busy Bee Cleaning Company in West Chester, PA. Alonzo is a serial entrepreneur with one of the best business & financial mindsets I've ever had the opportunity to learn from. His cleaning company is top rated in Southeastern PA. Alonzo has also grown multiple revenue streams outside of his cleaning company, which is creating generational wealth for his family. He also just completed his term as the chairman for the Association of Residential Cleaning Services (ARCSI). I invited Alonzo onto a Tribe call to share about ARCSI and it's many benefits. But my true intention was to give Tribe members a dose of millionaire mindset around business, finance, and networking. Alonzo is a master networker. In this clip, I extract the networking portion so you can get a flavor of how the rich become rich.

Here are my notes from the call with Alonzo.

• "Your Network is your Net Worth”
• “It’s not about the How. It’s about the Who”- Dan Sullivan. The Who changed my whole life. I had to change my entire WHO in my life to take me the places that I needed to go. How do I get around the A players in my industry? Alonzo had to invest in his future by buying plane tickets, conference tickets, and connect with people in person. This builds trust.
• In Vegas, Alonzo has connected with a guy in 5 minutes in the hallway that created a 6-figure cleaning contract with Will Smith’s people.
• In Vegas, he asked Derrick Christian, “Who is this room that I don’t know that I should know?” Alonzo met the two people and they are doing financial business together now. Networking is purposeful.
• People miss on networking - It’s not about you. Look to be a resource to others. Show the value of others knowing YOU. Ask this. "Why is it important to know me?" What is you sales pitch that makes you valuable to others. Networking has become more selfish in this decade. Networking takes time and you need to practice. Don’t go to people with agendas. Be interested and be interesting.
• It takes time to craft your elevator pitch. What do you have that’s unique that can help others that makes you stand out. Are you referable?
• You can’t touch and go in networking.  You have to water the relationship to grow it.  Alonzo told the story of the $100k per 1-hour keynote. Always plant seeds.
• At conferences, the power is in the hallways and dinners verses the chairs. Masterminds and businesses have been created from the hallways.
• We need to look at opportunities for networking events when things open up.
• Two groups in 2020. One tried to maintain and others did more than they ever did. Alonzo got around the ones that were doubling and got around them. Put together a plan and don’t deviate! If you’re not planning to succeed in 2021, you’re planning to stay the same. Control your own narrative and your own destiny! The Wannapreneurs were the ones speaking loudly and didn’t make it. They were shallow.
• “Tough times make tough people!” - Alonzo Adams
• Find 3 people that you want to meet that you’ve never met before. Make a commitment to link up with these people. Connect with these people. Who are they and make a commitment to do it. Alonzo does this every year! Look for people who are Approachable, are Purpose Driven, and have a good Mindset. Habits exposes people. Someone who is financially savvy.

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

This conversation with Crystal Hamm was wide-ranging in topics, but mainly focused on her past. In the present, Crystal runs a $3 million dollar residential cleaning company. Her team loves her and she loves them. She has build a company in the Raleigh Area that serves people greatly called the Go 2 Girls. I can't endorse this company enough if you live in Wake County, North Carolina.

Check out this interview with Crystal and listen to her story. She comes from rural America, climbing trees, and sliding into 3rd base for softball. She has come so far from her beginnings as the daughter of a coal miner to an employer of over 60 team members. She has a truly remarkable story. Here are a few quotes that I especially loved...

"That's my mentality. We never stop learning."
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"My self worth was tied to that growth. So I felt that once I hit a million dollars then this small town girl was going to be good enough." 

Vincent is first and foremost, a husband, father, and homeschooler.  Vincent and Elizabeth live in Bradenton, Florida with their 3 sons Andrew, Nolan, and Dylan. They are active in their community and church. Vincent is a friend to many and certainly to me! We go way back. You'll hear that story in this interview. Professionally, Vincent spent 22 years as a nationally-acclaimed & recognized photojournalist and sports photographer. But this career started to bore Vincent. Today, you'll see Vincent speaking on stages, leading masterminds & retreats, and hear him on hundreds of podcasts. He is the founder of Total Life Freedom and author of "Freelance to Freedom" and "The Wealth of Connection". Vincent and I have been close friends for nearly 8 years. I have personally watched him apply EVERY one of the 5 C's from the book he released today. This book is the life that Vincent has lived for decades. This process is different from the churn and burn funnels out there for creating business. Vincent has created a human approach to making business personal. It's called The Wealth of Connection.

There are so many wide-ranging topics that Vincent covered in this interview. Clearly, we talked about our friendship and the influence we've had on each other. We discuss his career arc and how he made the leap into the online business world. The majority of the interview discusses topics from his new book and we end with a bold proclamation of what he wants this book to do for the world. I had a blast doing this interview and I highly encourage you to get this book!

Here's some of my notes from the interview.

• Selfish versus generous goals - driven selfish goal-oriented people will absolutely hit their selfish goals. But, they will be empty. 
• Frank Sinatra and audience of one - one person with one generous act can make all the difference.
• Charisma versus character - They both attract people, but only character lasts for a lifetime. Charisma with no character is like a pig with lipstick.
• Purpose to ask a question and sit in the front row of every event. This is an act of generosity as it validates the speakers platform and fuels the rooms energy. They will be appreciative and it's good for you.
• Curiosity - Tom Brady asking for the phone numbers of the entire team in Tampa and calling each one to connect and learn about them. Freddie Mercury learning about the culture of each concert area that he was performing at to connect with the audiences. Being curious is generous. 
• Hour of giving - Develop the habit of generosity.  
• Read the Room - This was a huge blind spot for me personally
• My Takeaway - "I finally understood that I needed to change my character from one focused on selfish goals to one focused on generous goals. Now, I would have said that I was generous then, but looking back, I wasn't. I simply paid lip service to it. I did what I needed to do to get what I needed to get. Going from selfish goals to generous goals was the cornerstone to turning everything around." - Vincent Pugliese 

 Liz Trotter has been a leader in the cleaning industry for decades. She is the owner of American Maid in Olympia, WA, a business coach with Mastermind Accountability, where she helps every level of cleaning service grow to reach their dreams! This interview is full of so many nuggets and you will gain so much insight into the power of self-development. Liz is the poster child of the leadership quote by Harry Truman, "Readers are Leaders". This interview was so enjoyable because Liz shares her Why all throughout and you can see how her life & career experiences have shaped her into the person and business leader she is today. 

I have been an avid reader for over 20 years. That was not always the case. I used to hate reading. What changed? Did the books change? No. I changed. Every book that I read moved the needle a little bit closer to a winner’s mindset, a success mindset. I used to mock things like that until I understood.

In this episode, I speak from the heart about books and what they’ve done for me and what they can do for you. I share some of my favorite books and even promote the Recommended Book List that I’m releasing any day for my customers in the Solo Elite Membership.

If you’d like to connect with me or get access to my book list, simply go to my website and connect. I have options to email me or schedule a free coaching session. 

Coach Josh and I use Marco Polo to communicate during the week. He allows me to send questions as I have them. He listens and responds when he gets the chance. I'm very grateful to have Josh Melton in my corner as we grow C3 to the next level in 2023, which is to add the second building block and earn over $100,000 income from the cleaning business.  Josh and I had an exchange on November 8th and 9th of 2022 that was so interesting to me. I've never heard it talked about before in the cleaning groups or other podcasts. I had to cover it here.

Cleaning is a business, but a business is not merely a ledger with a list of transactions. It's easy to pull up a profit and loss report and see all of the income and expense transactions. It's easy to see the text and numbers printed on the screen or page and assume you're looking at the cleaning business. I don't believe a business merely consists of transactions. A business is relationships. A cleaning business is a group of humans cleaning for other humans, all of which have personalities, beliefs, families, interests. It's easy to measure a business in transactions. That's what our accountants do. It's not easy to measure the relational strength of our business.

Josh poses an interesting point in his Marco Polo to me. "I believe that you can trust someone that you don't respect. But I don't believe you can respect someone you don't trust." I agree with him. I can think of people right now that I could allow into my house around my family, but I don't respect them. Therefore, respect is greater than trust. How do you earn trust? I've talked about this a ton. On the "Optimizer's Workshop with Dave Reeks", I defined the 3 C's to build trust as a cleaner. You've got to have excellent character and be the type of person that others can trust.  You've got to provide an amazing cleaning service. In other words, you've got to handle the transactions of cleaning with excellence. This includes the cleaning itself and surely the transaction of invoices and payments. You've got to be consistent in your cleaning service and everything you do in dealing with your customers. If you show up with great cleaning and character over a long time, you will develop trust. Another way to build trust is to give it. Others won't trust you if you don't trust them. Trust is mutual. I'm going to add a fourth C. You've got to have compassion for other people and not be selfish. This is so foundational. Show love for your fellow human. 

When you put this all together. Start with compassion and character. Become a great cleaner and cleaning service. Handle your transactions with excellence and trust. Give trust. Do this over time. This will earn your trust from your customers. Keep doing it consistently over time and that trust will turn into something greater. It's respect. When your customers respect you, they will want to do business with you for a long time. Most clients will grow with you as you grow mutual respect. However, some clients will only ever think of you as "just the cleaner". Become a person of trust and respect and you'll attract the right ones 

I absolutely love this mindset and it thrills me to build this type of cleaning business in my community. Everything hinges on relationships, not transactions. I hope you enjoy this interaction between Josh an I on Marco Polo. 

I was in a 4-person mastermind breakout group that I mentioned in "Confidence Creates Success", where we each helped the others grow the next level. One of the members was Matt Peet. Matt has become a good friend and is a conference videographer extraordinaire! He does all the video work for one of my favorite conferences, Podcast Movement. You've got to check out his website, Re-Peet Productions, to get a flavor or how talented he really is.  I'd even recommend you check out his portfolio section and scroll down. The actual wrap-up video from our Total Life Freedom Retreat is on there. It's so good! As we were unpacking his goals to attract other conference venues as clients, I sensed a little apprehension. We challenge each other in these Freedom Zones! I could tell that Matt wanted to grow and gain more clients. I could tell Matt wanted to hit some personal goals. But that's what I heard. He WANTED them. I said this. "Matt, I sense that you really want your goals to happen. That's awesome. Over my lifetime, I've only ever accomplished the goals that I needed to happen. Do you need these yet?" It was a question that got each of us to reflect, including me. Let me share what I mean.

I spent years wanting to succeed in my own business on the side and never accomplished it. I spent years wanting to earn freedom and to travel around the country and never accomplished it. I spent years wanting to get out of debt and never accomplished it. I have wanted a lot of things. That is the problem. I have WANTED to accomplish these things. I didn't succeed in my own business until I NEEDED that business to succeed. That was the cleaning business after I got fired from GE in 2005. I had no choice. I needed cleaning to work otherwise my family was homeless. Air is a need. I need air or I'll die. I need water and food. I need to grow my relationships with my wife and kids. There was a point where I NEEDED to be out of debt so that we could have more money for things we wanted to do. That's when we turned up the heat on this need and accomplished it in July 2020. In 2021, I turned my want to take a month in Florida to a need to take my family for a life-changing month in Florida. We took immediate action on this NEED by renting the house and putting out $6,000 when our business was no where near ready for the trip. We got into alignment with the Lord and the work required to make this NEED happen. We did not rest until the goal was met. Need will always trumps want. How are you looking at your business whether it's a side hustle or full-time gig? Is it a want to succeed or a need to succeed?

Matt Peet is doing great work and has the potential to be the videographer for dozens of conferences across the country. I believe that he'll get there. I really do! But this isn't about Matt or Ken. This podcast is for you. What do you NEED to happen this year? If you'd like to talk this through with me, I'd be glad to help you find your why and needs. Just go to my website and book a free call. 
 

Let's start this Carfagno Cleaning solo business with a WIN! Last week, I got 5 referrals through my local network (listen to Play Powerball with your Business). The lead from my friend and carpet cleaner, James Hardy, converted to a new office cleaning client! Since this new client is a school, I had to jump through a few more hoops. First of all, I needed to go beyond adding them as a 'Certificate Holder' on my general liability policy. I needed to increase my insurance for this additional customer. This is called 'Additionally Insured'. My current policy provides $2 million of coverage per year at $500 in annual premium. This new client cost me an additional $50, which I count as an expense. I also had to coordinate a cleaning time with the school and their weekend janitor to let me into the building. The school is not in the habit of handing out keys to outside contractors. Spoiler alert: I prayed over this situation as I desire to have offices with the flexibility to clean anytime over the weekend. A few days later, the school made an exception for me and gave me a set of keys! Lastly, this new client is a school for autistic children. I know autism and realize that these students will be on the floor a lot, touching things, and likely touching their faces. Thus, disinfecting of the classrooms and floors was vital. They already had a food & skin safe disinfectant and asked me my opinion for the floors. I researched it and immediately determined it was a bad choice. Why? The title of this episode is "Art Trumps Science". Let's talk science first. The pH was slightly alkaline at 9. The floors are VCT (vinyl composition tile). VCT is commonly used in schools and supermarkets. They are also waxed & buffed on a regular basis to keep a beautiful finish and to protect the tile. My friend James Hardy did the job, so we conferred with him and he agreed. This ph 9 disinfectant had just enough alkalinity to eat away at the wax finish, which would dull it and cause James to come back sooner. Therefore, their disinfectant was a wonderful choice for the refrigerators, microwaves, table tops, door knobs, and light switches, but NOT the floors. I connected with my good friend Mark Lineberry at Universal Janitorial and he recommended the perfect solution. It's called MatPro. The school purchased it and now uses my recommendations for disinfecting and protecting their students and staff. This raised my expertise and trust with the school big time. See! Understanding science is vital. It sets you apart from the basic cleaning service!

 Another lead from last week was Mike Thompson of Envoy Mortgage from my MCBA group. Mike is a mortgage advisor. What is that? It means he focuses on what's best for his clients. He coaches and consults them, looking at their lending scenario from a holistic approach. Of course he sells mortgage products too. He's a Go-Giver and his clients ask  him to sell to them as a result of his giving approach. Anyway, Mike got back to my estimate and accepted a biweekly option. There's new client #2 for the week!


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