Today, we’re speaking with Jessica DiCandia.
It is no secret that many people starting their own businesses have A LOT of self-doubt. This is especially true for people just getting started. You might think… well when can I REALLY offer a contract that my clients would willingly sign?
When can my clients stop thinking of me as their “cleaning lady” and start thinking of me as their go-to cleaning COMPANY?
Well, that answer is… right now.
Typically there are two types of people that start a cleaning business.
The entrepreneur that gets their logo, sets up their business’s legal entity, gets an accountant and an office all right away. They might spend three months on this and still have zero clients.
The entrepreneur that just gets to work. People pay them money to clean their places and they go about cleaning them.
Both of these entrepreneurs have issues in different ways. The first one hasn’t started their business, and the second one started their business long before they came to realize they had a business!
The truth is, the moment someone pays you for your services rendered, you have a business. There is nothing wrong with acting like you are a business at this point because you ARE a business!
Your main job for growing this business is focusing on two systems:
System to attracting new clients
System to attracting employees
Resource Alert: Attracting the Right Employees to Your Cleaning Business
Both of these systems should attract people that match your company’s core values and culture.
By the way, you don’t need much to level up your business from looking like a one-man show to looking like a “real” company. (I put quotes around that because if you’re making money, you already are a real company.)
Here are some quick tips that can increase your company’s brand:
Create a legal entity such as an LLC if you don’t have this yet for your company.
Create a website. This can be as simple as using a landing page builder such as ClickFunnels. A website can be part of your system for attracting new clients too and it is easy to set up.
Creating a 1-page landing page that speaks to your niche’s pain, such as stay at home mothers who don’t have enough time to clean. Your headline might be “Spread Too Thin? Learn These 5 Ways to Spend More Time with Your Family”. You give them a free report on things they can do, and your thank you page offers your cleaning services as the next logical step to give them more time with their family.
Get rid of the notion that you need contracts. They are not a big deal unless you are planning on going court with someone or if you are planning on selling the business. Ultimately, someone who stops paying you, you just stop cleaning for them. End of story.
Raise prices. This is important and it can increase your profits dramatically while often halving the amount of work you have to do.
Resource Alert: How to Close More Commercial Cleaning Contracts