Beyond the Mop

You've seen some success. You've probably received some inquiries on purchasing your cleaning business. What's next? Well, begin with the end in mind.
Habit Two from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is "Begin With The End In Mind". My greatest mistake was not planning for the sale of the company when I purchased the company. I just bought it. Why would I want to sell it? But you need to plan for that to put the steps into place to when you do sell, it's sellable.
There are a few things you can do to increase the perceived value of your cleaning company:
1) Buyers want to see Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). They want to know that there will be consistent money next month and the month after and 3 years down the road too. If you have 1X contracts, that'll do a disservice to the buyer and could leave you less valuable.
2) Make sure none of your clients control more than 15% of revenue. If 1 client were at 50%, for example, that'll impact the buying decision of the buyer because if that one client leaves, then the business would be worth half as much.
3) The new buyer wants to know they can step into the business without needing to work in it. Buyers typically buy to have passive income as a business owner. They don't want to buy and have to scrub toilets each night.
4) Buyers want to see long-lasting client relationships. If all of your clients came on last month, then the odds of some of all fleeing are higher than ones that have been with the seller for a decade.
5) Buyers want to see systems and processes in place. They want to know that they can slide into their new role without reinventing the wheel. They want stability.
When preparing for a sale, make sure your numbers are clear and concise. Back them up with an internal audit. Begin to have convos with M&A experts. And lastly, hire a broker.
I definitely don't profess to know how to value companies. But if you're looking for numbers, there are a couple of different sources if you're not ready to hire a broker.
1) Look at comps. You can go to BizBuySell. It's definitely not reliable, so take it with a grain of salt.
2) I found one source on the web that says to take 45-50% of annual sales. Another said 2X of net profit. I can't see how these are too reliable when considering other factors and time.
3) CleanLink suggested creating an average business value of 70% of annual revenue, 80% of net sales, and 450% of net income (plus inventory), and then averaging the three together.
4) Another said consider using EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization), and using a multiple (enterprise value) of 1-6X of EBITDA to calculate a price. This latter method is more common in acquisitions. The 1-6X is a range based on factors listed above (e.g. size, client relationships, employee relationships, etc.).
In any case, it's a rough idea. Definitely talk to a professional for better guidance.
Hey, I appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks for listening.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen Covey
My Business on Purpose - business coaching
BizBuySell (again, not fully reliable)
CleanLink article on selling
Universal Janitorial Services, Inc - We've been serving the DC region through janitorial, porter, specialty floor work, and disinfecting for the last 44 years. In fact, our first client 44 years ago we still have today. Our clientele include schools, churches, banks, country clubs, Class A office buildings, government, medical, and so many more.

Have you ever wished your clients would stick around for 1 year, 5 years, or even 10 years? What would it look like to have clients remain with you for 20 or even 40 years? In this episode, we talk about turning your clients into superfans.
A) Your goal should be to offer value so strong, it hurts your prospects or clients to turn you down. There are several things you can do:

1. Refer business to them before they do business with you. When we do our walkthroughs, I'm trying to figure out how I can make them money (e.g. who can I refer to them for their business revenue) or what resources I can provide for them before they even do business with us.
2. Open up your entire network. Maybe you see a need that you can fulfill. On the cleaning level, if I see they're purchasing toilet paper, paper towels, etc. from box stores I'll tell them they can probably save 50% by purchasing from a local supplier. Or as it applies to their business, I'll ask open-ended questions in our walkthrough and I'll dive into a pain point if revealed. If I can solve that pain point through my network, I'll make a referral.
3. Offer a loss leader. We'll offer free services in exchange for a sign contract, like a free deep clean, specialty floor work, etc. Or if they have multiple locations, I'll offer to clean the first at a reduced price and then charge our rate for the remaining. Only do this if you can get a profit on the backend.
4. Provide extra value that others don't provide. In this episode I talk about a school client with junk along their property. I paid 1-800-GOT-JUNK to come out and remove it for them, for free, in exchange for a signed contract. Pain point resolved and new client won.
5. Do a strategic alliance. Sit down with a client or prospect you like, know, and trust, and exchange leads, resources, help, etc. It'll strengthen that bond.

B) Show up to their location and/or call and do a joint walkthrough. It's our goal to do a walkthrough frequently within each location.
C) Treat your client's staff well. Send gift baskets. Or even do something as simple as dropping off bags of candy.
D) Send a quick 1 minute video to update your service, to tell them you appreciate them, etc. I referenced Goat Milk Stuff and their video campaign when you order with them. Super personal and each video is tailored to the order. They use Bonjoro, but you could use something as simple as your phone and your email.
E) Offer to test new equipment or a new service on them, for free. We'll use our clients as a test run on new offerings, solicit their input, and use their testimonial on future projects.
F) Always reach out to your clients before they reach out to you.
G) Get you clients involved in a community project.
Resouces mentioned in this episode:
Superfans by Pat Flynn
My Clean Pivot - I offer tailored, trained coaching in a one-on-one setting through Zoom whereby we'll cover together topics important to you and your business. Let's face it: it's difficult to go at this alone. So if you feel frustrated or you're stuck on a plateau, let My Clean Pivot help get you over that hurdle. For more info, check out www.mycleanpivot.com.
This is episode 7 of 8 planned. If you have any questions you'd like to ask and have answered over the podcast, go to www.speakpipe.com/beyondthemop. If we have enough questions, we'll do a bonus episode at the end.

Do you feel stuck in finding new prospects? Are you wanting to know other ways to pull in cleaning leads aside from Bark, Angi List, Yelp, Thumbtack, and others? Definitely check out this episode.
Always keep your pipeline open. You always need that influx of potential clients. Without prospects in your pipeline, you're out of business.
Each prospect needs a touch point. A touch point is something they see or experience through your business that gets them to know you and your brand. These include the basics like phone calls, emails, mail, door-to-door, ads, and more.
Jeb Blount wrote Fanatical Prospecting. He says this...

• It takes 1-3 touch points to reengage an inactive customer.
• It takes 1-5 touch points to engage a prospect who is in the buying window and knows you and your brand.
• It takes 3-10 touch points if they're highly familiar with your brand and are not in the buying window.
• It takes 5-12 touch points to engage a warm inbound lead.
• It takes 5-20 touch points to engage a prospect that has soe familiarity of you and your brand.
• It takes 20-25 touch points to engage a cold prospect who doesn't know you and your brand.

The more you reach out, the more likely they'll ask for a walkthrough and/or proposal.

Below is a link to the list:
60 Ways You Can Market and Advertise Your Cleaning Business
Other resources:
Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount
Apogee Mastermind application. Napoleon Hill defined the mastermind principle as "two or more minds working actively together in perfect harmony toward a common definite object." At Apogee, we meet in small groups each week to act as a peer group or a board of advisors to help both you and your business grow. We pool together resources and help each other through challenges, pitfalls, and wins. We're also planning on a live meetup in the near future, all included in the price of membership. I've been masterminding for years now and it's certainly changed my business for the better.
I teamed up with SpeakPipe. If you have any questions and would like to be featured on the show, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/BeyondTheMop and click "Start Recording". Record up to a 90-second question and you'll be featured on the podcast along with the answer(s) to your question(s). I'll put all of these together and will release them at a later date.

Have you had challenges in hiring during "The Great Resignation"? Has this had a negative impact on your cleaning business?
Fast Company Magazine says two-thirds left due to a lack of engagement and a lack of overall well-being. HRM cites that it costs $4129/employee on average to train and hire them.
Hire before you need to hire.
Our job ad sources are mentioned below, along with others like FB, LinkedIn, local FB community groups, your own website, and even local colleges.
What goes in our ad?
1) Write based on emotion. Figure out your ideal employee.
2) Focus on a winning headline
3) Your first paragraph should have a company summary.
4) Talk about what the applicant will gain through their experience working with you.
5) Describe your company's benefits (e.g. "Enjoy holiday weekends with 6 paid holidays per year").
6) Cover the requirements in 4 areas: experience, education, skill, and personal characteristics.
7) Place a clear Call to Action (CTA). What do you want them to do next?
Hire before you need to hire. Place ads before you need to. Continuously collect applications and follow up regularly. We have no less than 50 qualified candidates at the ready at any given time. If someone quits tomorrow, we am ready.
Lastly, interview. We do a 3-step interview: a) 5 minutes to prequalify them, b) a 10-20 minute interview going over details, and c) a 3rd interview to tie up loose ends and to make an offer.
Resources mentioned:
Canva.com
Question Behind The Question, by John G Miller
Fast Company - on well-being and engagement
Human Resource Management - $4129 to hire on average
Indeed.com
Ziprecruiter
Craigslist
Google For Jobs
PostJobFree
Mike Michalowicz's Job Ad from Clockwork
Universal Janitorial Services, Inc. has been serving the DC area for the last 44 years by providing janitorial, porter, disinfecting, and specialty floor work for schools, places of worship, office buildings, banks, and so many more. We utilize a 3-step quality control process to make sure your facility is clean, thereby improving your productivity and your ROI. Give us a call at 703-385-1232 today.
I teamed up with SpeakPipe. If you have any questions and would like to be featured on the show, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/BeyondTheMop and click "Start Recording". Record up to a 90-second question and you'll be featured on the podcast along with the answer(s) to your question(s). I'll put all of these together and will release them at a later date.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thanks for being a part of Beyond The Mop. You're an integral part of the show. Thanks for listening!
I teamed up with SpeakPipe. If you have any questions and would like to be featured on the show, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/BeyondTheMop and click "Start Recording". Record up to a 90-second question and you'll be featured on the podcast along with the answer(s) to your question(s). I'll put all of these together and will release them at a later date.
You all are awesome!