The slow road to a successful cleaning business

03Apr08

One common question/complaint I’ll often hear from readers is:

“This is taking so long to get customers. Isn’t there a faster way to get this business off the ground?”

Well, yes… there is… But believe it or not, most people are better off taking the slow road to the big leagues.

Really, it’s a question of maturity. Once you’ve decided to really dedicate yourself to this business, you’ll need to be good at many things: negotiation, organization, hiring, sales, advertising, etc… This is a lot to take on all of a sudden.

In fact, many of the fastest growing companies I’ve seen over the years have closed shop within 6 months of opening. They grew too fast and got a bad reputation.

Sure, generating cash flow is important. But in the beginning, you’re much better off focusing on giving 110% to your first few clients. Perfect your quality before you focus on quantity.

Really, slow growth can be a blessing in disguise. In your first few accounts, I can almost guarantee that you’re going to make some very embarrassing mistakes. Don’t sweat it, it happens to everyone. You should just be grateful that you don’t yet have a name to defend. These mistakes could’ve cost you much more if you well-known in the community.

With experience, your game will tighten up, and expanding your business will seem easy and effortless. Eventually, you won’t even need to seek out leads anymore. If you’re keeping your customers happy, your business will soon operate exclusively through word of mouth.

Of course, it can take years to get to that stage. So for now, just be happy with your select customers. And keep doing everything to exceed their expectations. You’re planting seeds of wealth that will bear fruit later on.

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