The Self Maid Podcast

In this episode, I discuss one of the biggest mindset shifts I've made as a business owner: understanding that the customer isn't always right, but they're never wrong from their perspective.

I share why reacting emotionally to complaints, criticism, and conflict can damage relationships, cloud judgment, and lead to poor decisions. Instead, I explain how taking the time to listen, gather facts, and understand both sides of a situation has helped me become a better leader and build a stronger business.

We dive into the importance of responding instead of reacting, why empathy doesn't mean agreement, and how systems and processes can help remove emotion from difficult conversations. I also share my approach to handling customer complaints, staff issues, and conflict in a way that protects the customer, the team, and the business.

If you've ever felt defensive when receiving criticism, frustrated by complaints, or struggled to separate your emotions from your business decisions, this episode is for you.

Because sometimes the difference between a good leader and a great leader is simply taking the time to understand before being understood.

Learn how I built a $10M cleaning business that runs without me in the Self Maid Academy and Mastermind: selfmaid.co

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
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For years I thought delegating meant handing someone my step-by-step process and making sure they followed it to the letter. Turns out that's not delegating at all. It's just remote-controlling people, and it kept me stuck as the bottleneck in my own business.

In this episode I break down the shift that changed everything for me: managing outcomes instead of inputs. I stopped obsessing over how the work gets done and started caring about whether it got done, to the standard, every time. That's when I could actually let go.

I get into frameworks versus SOPs and why a framework someone owns will always beat a perfect process they resent. I use a simple example to make it land. Losing weight comes down to calories in versus calories out. That's the framework. Give someone that principle and a few boundaries, then let them run it their own way, and you get a far better result than forcing them into a rigid plan that fights their strengths.

Then I bring it home to the cleaning business. I talk through how I give my cleaners, supervisors, schedulers and managers the outcome and the standard, set the edges of the sandbox, and let them figure out the rest. It's the only way I've found to build a business that runs without me, where my people get real autonomy and I get real freedom.

If you're still lost in the weeds perfecting every process, this one's for you.

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

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Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
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Back in 2020, when I couldn't get a job, I knew I wanted to start a business. I didn't know what business to start. It was around that time when I learned about the concept of a litmus test from my OG mentor, Mal Emery. The litmus test is the cornerstone for how I ideated and launched my business back then, and it's how I make a lot of important decisions today. If you haven't adopted a framework like this into your life or your business, definitely check this one out; it's super valuable.

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
TikTok link @jason.cleans (click me)

Hey folks! I'm in Sydney for some TV filming, and my good friend Hunter Collingwood (owner of a window cleaning business in Sunshine Coast) has joined me for a brief chat. Tune in!

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
TikTok link @jason.cleans (click me)

I was on The Morning Show on Channel 7 again last week!

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
TikTok link @jason.cleans (click me)

Business is tough.

All the years where you’re working harder than ever, sacrificing constantly, doubting yourself, and wondering if any of it is actually paying off yet... while everyone around you seems to be progressing faster in “normal” life.

In this episode, I break down why entrepreneurship operates on delayed gratification, why comparison destroys so many business owners, and how learning to survive the uncomfortable middle is often what separates the people who eventually win from the people who quit too early.

Because most people don’t fail from lack of potential.

They fail because they couldn’t tolerate the gap between starting and winning long enough.

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
TikTok link @jason.cleans (click me)

Most business owners overcomplicate growth, but the biggest shift I’ve had is simple: stop judging individual outcomes and start understanding the math behind them.

In this episode, I break down how I went from getting frustrated over bad hires, no-show leads, and “wasted” time… to seeing all of it as part of a predictable system. Once you understand your conversion rates and cost per outcome, everything changes. You stop reacting emotionally and start making decisions like an operator.

I walk through real examples from hiring and lead generation, showing how what looks like failure in the moment is often just the price you pay to land the right employee or the right client. When you zoom out, the numbers tell a completely different story.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re wasting money, time, or effort in your business, this episode will recalibrate how you think about it, and help you execute with a lot more confidence.

You’re not wasting time or money... you’re buying results.

Learn how I built a $10M cleaning business that runs without me in the Self Maid Academy and Mastermind: selfmaid.co

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
TikTok link @jason.cleans (click me)

If your business still relies on you to function, this is the framework that helps you change that.

In this episode, I break down the DILO (Day in the Life Of) Audit — and how to use it to systematically build a management team that can run your business without you.

We go into how to:

•  Break down your role into transferable tasks 
•  Identify what should be delegated, automated, or removed 
•  Turn real work into SOPs and structured responsibilities 
•  Create clear pathways for team members to step into leadership roles 
•  Build a management layer that takes ownership of operations 

If you want to step back, scale up, and create a team that runs the day-to-day without you, this is where it starts.

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
TikTok link @jason.cleans (click me)

In this episode, I break down a decision that most business owners avoid... raising prices and letting clients go, right in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

With more clients cancelling, pushing back on quotes, and being more price-sensitive than ever, it would seem like the worst possible time to increase prices. But we did it anyway.

I talk through why being in demand is actually a signal that you’re underpriced, how we identified and culled our bottom 10% of clients, and the real impact that had on profitability, operations, and team morale.

I also go into the numbers behind how small price increases can dramatically shift your margins, and why not all revenue is worth keeping.

Plus a few life and business updates along the way.

If you’ve been feeling the pressure of the current market and wondering whether to hold, discount, or push forward, this episode will give you a different perspective.

Learn how I built a $10M cleaning business that runs without me in the Self Maid Academy and Mastermind: selfmaid.co

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
TikTok link @jason.cleans (click me)

In this episode, I break down a mistake I see a lot of business owners make...

Trying to build perfect systems way too early!

When you’re growing, everything is changing. Your team is evolving, your service is improving, and your operations are constantly shifting. So when you invest hours building detailed SOPs and rigid processes, you’re often just setting yourself up to rebuild them again and again.

Instead, I talk about the power of frameworks.

Frameworks give your team direction without boxing them in. They create standards, not scripts. And most importantly, they allow people to think, adapt, and grow into their roles, which is exactly what you need if you want to scale.

I also walk through practical examples from my own business, showing the difference between a framework and a step-by-step process, and when each approach actually makes sense.

If you feel like you’re constantly rewriting systems or your team relies too heavily on being told what to do, this episode will shift how you think about building your business.

Join my coaching program to start/grow your cleaning business to $10K/mo and beyond: https://www.skool.com/selfmaidacademy

Follow Jason on social media to stay up to date.
Instagram link @jasoncleans (click me)
TikTok link @jason.cleans (click me)