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Going Further Without Going It Alone: The Franchise Advantage With Michelle Spitzer · The Confident Entrepreneur With Jennifer Ann Johnson

• 0:37
  Jennifer Johnson: Most entrepreneurs start as independent business owners, building their own brand and doing things their own way.
• 0:43
  Jennifer Johnson: But there comes a point where some successful independent operators discover that joining an established franchise system could actually accelerate their growth and provide benefits that they couldn't achieve alone.
• 0:55
  Jennifer Johnson: Making the transition from stand up from a standalone business owner to a franchise is a unique journey that requires careful consideration of what you gain versus what you give up.
• 1:06
  Jennifer Johnson: Today I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with Michelle Zaharansky, the owner of MadePro Florida.
• 1:14
  Jennifer Johnson: We're going to explore the decision-making process, challenges, and benefits of transitioning from an independent business to becoming part of a franchise system.
• 1:24
  Jennifer Johnson: So welcome, Michelle.
• 1:25
  Jennifer Johnson: Thank you so much for being here.
• 1:27
  Jennifer Johnson: Thank you for having me.
• 1:29
  Jennifer Johnson: Very excited.
• 1:29
  Jennifer Johnson: I'm excited because I have not had this conversation with anyone before.
• 1:34
  Jennifer Johnson: Okay.
• 1:35
  Jennifer Johnson: And because most people talk about going from, you know, having an independent business to actually franchising it, not from having a standalone business and then going into a franchise.
• 1:48
  Jennifer Johnson: And that's what you did, right?
• 1:49
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, I have a very unique story.
• 1:52
  Jennifer Johnson: So what circumstances, we're gonna jump right in because this is a topic that could take a while.
• 1:58
  Jennifer Johnson: Okay.
• 1:59
  Jennifer Johnson: Um what circumstances or challenges really led you into the path that you were on where you started your own business and then you decided the franchise model was best for you?
• 2:11
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, my journey started back in 1995, quite a long while ago, when I was actually let go from my position at Florida, uh Blue Cross Blue Shield, not Florida Blue Cross Blue Shield, but Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois.
• 2:27
  Jennifer Johnson: Okay.
• 2:27
  Michelle Spitzer: I was an account rep there, and that was a they were going through a transition because that's when they were introducing managed care, which led to the elimination of my position.
• 2:36
  Michelle Spitzer: So I decided to move to Florida to follow my family who had already is already living here at the time, including my brother and the family dog.
• 2:46
  Michelle Spitzer: And so I made my journey to start a new life.
• 2:49
  Michelle Spitzer: And I decided to go back to school because I was on the stop and go college program.
• 2:55
  Michelle Spitzer: So I enrolled at International College, now known as Hodges University, and uh decided to clean houses independently just to make a little extra cash while going to school.
• 3:06
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, lo and behold, um my and the reason why I chose that to clean houses is my brother had a girlfriend that was cleaning houses, and he was saying that she made quite good money doing so.
• 3:17
  Michelle Spitzer: So that's what I decided to do.
• 3:19
  Michelle Spitzer: I actually bought a book called Speed Cleaning 101 to teach myself how to clean because my mom thought I was absolutely crazy because I had the world's messiest bedroom growing up.
• 3:30
  Michelle Spitzer: I was a complete slob.
• 3:32
  Jennifer Johnson: So I was like, You're going to cleaning business?
• 3:37
  Michelle Spitzer: So I bought a book called Speed Cleaning 101, and I read it, and it had diagrams on how to move efficiently and within a home and how to keep yourself on track and stay organized.
• 3:47
  Michelle Spitzer: And I I figured it out.
• 3:49
  Michelle Spitzer: So I put this little back then back in the day, that's when the classified ads in the newspaper were a thing.
• 3:56
  Michelle Spitzer: And so I put a little ad in the in the paper to clean houses, and I started getting some clients.
• 4:02
  Michelle Spitzer: And during my experience of going to school, I had a um the privilege and the honor to have a professor by the name of Dr.
• 4:10
  Michelle Spitzer: Gene Landrum.
• 4:11
  Michelle Spitzer: And he actually was the original founder of the Chuck E.
• 4:15
  Michelle Spitzer: Cheese franchise.
• 4:17
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh my gosh.
• 4:18
  Michelle Spitzer: And he had a very unique method of teaching his students.
• 4:21
  Michelle Spitzer: He did not want you to memorize definitions in a textbook.
• 4:24
  Michelle Spitzer: He didn't want you to read your textbook.
• 4:26
  Michelle Spitzer: He wanted you to learn from real life examples.
• 4:29
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so one of our very first homework assignments was to write a business plan.
• 4:34
  Michelle Spitzer: So I did.
• 4:35
  Michelle Spitzer: I wrote a business plan.
• 4:37
  Michelle Spitzer: It was completely different than what it ended up being, but I had a plan.
• 4:41
  Michelle Spitzer: And while I'm going through this process, I decide, wow, I might be onto something.
• 4:46
  Michelle Spitzer: Let's go ahead and implement this.
• 4:48
  Michelle Spitzer: And I became Michelle's Classy Cleaning.
• 4:51
  Michelle Spitzer: And I started hiring my first employees.
• 4:54
  Michelle Spitzer: So I had about three or four girls working for me, and um, we were about three years in building up a nice little sized business.
• 5:03
  Michelle Spitzer: And then I was uh sitting in my at my desk and I got this postcard in the mail, and it says, Look who's coming to town, MadePro.
• 5:12
  Michelle Spitzer: Now, I was three months pregnant at the time, and I thought, oh, who's the new competition coming into town?
• 5:21
  Michelle Spitzer: So as my competitive nature took over and I decided to secret shop them.
• 5:27
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh, okay.
• 5:27
  Michelle Spitzer: I wanted to know what they charged, I wanted to know if they provided cleaning supplies, how many people did they send into the home at one time.
• 5:34
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, I just wanted to know everything I could find.
• 5:36
  Michelle Spitzer: So I had my whole list of questions ready to go to pretend to be a possible customer.
• 5:41
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, to my surprise, I was actually talking to one of the original founders of MadePro.
• 5:48
  Jennifer Johnson: Wow.
• 5:49
  Michelle Spitzer: And he really, his name was Mark Koshinsky, and he uh really caught my attention.
• 5:54
  Michelle Spitzer: And I thought, wow, this is this might be an opportunity here.
• 5:58
  Michelle Spitzer: And um he invited me to come up to visit their their home office in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 6:05
  Michelle Spitzer: So I, since I was pregnant, I bought a little black dress because I thought I'd hide the fact that I was pregnant because I didn't want to get turned down if that was going to be a problem.
• 6:14
  Michelle Spitzer: Because who knows what they would think of that.
• 6:17
  Michelle Spitzer: So later I learned it was no secret, they knew the whole time.
• 6:21
  Michelle Spitzer: But when I went to visit, you know, they shared with me how they could um help me establish operations like employee manuals, um marketing, uh, branding, lots of support systems, a software that I could use for scheduling, uh, which was very basic at the time, but I thought, wow, this is really cool.
• 6:43
  Michelle Spitzer: I can get out of my little vanilla envelopes that I would put word document, and that was our work order.
• 6:50
  Michelle Spitzer: Wow.
• 6:50
  Michelle Spitzer: But anyway, they they were able to provide systems that I just knew would take me to that next level to be able to really expedite growth and set me apart from others, you know, in in my industry.
• 7:05
  Michelle Spitzer: So believe it or not, um, to make it legal, since I had an existing company and they were fairly new at franchising at the time, I paid a dollar to make it legal.
• 7:18
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh my gosh.
• 7:19
  Michelle Spitzer: Now keep in mind, I didn't do any due diligence.
• 7:22
  Michelle Spitzer: I didn't go out there and shop the market to see what you know, other companies and franchises were out there.
• 7:27
  Michelle Spitzer: I just went up on sure gut, paid that dollar, and it was the best decision I could have ever made.
• 7:35
  Jennifer Johnson: A dollar to buy into a franchise.
• 7:38
  Michelle Spitzer: Now you can't get that deal today.
• 7:40
  Michelle Spitzer: Disclaimer, disclaimer.
• 7:43
  Michelle Spitzer: But that's you know, we had to make it legal, and then we began transferring all of my customer data over into their Made Soft program.
• 7:50
  Michelle Spitzer: And and I really did, they they work very, very closely with me.
• 7:54
  Michelle Spitzer: The there's two original owners.
• 7:56
  Michelle Spitzer: It was Mark, who I talked to on the phone, and then there was Richard.
• 7:59
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, and Richard would come down to Naples, which was my main office, and work with me every month.
• 8:05
  Michelle Spitzer: And we would make a planning notebook, which I still have today that I can refer back to, where we were at listening, let's try this and see if this will work, let's not do this anymore, that didn't work.
• 8:17
  Michelle Spitzer: And so we would make this these lists every time it came down uh for me to implement and execute.
• 8:22
  Michelle Spitzer: And really, I quickly grew very, very fast and and quickly became the number one largest revenue producing made pro franchisee, um, and still maintain top three uh status.
• 8:35
  Michelle Spitzer: There's about currently there's about 270 some uh made pro owners.
• 8:43
  Michelle Spitzer: So and we're we're up there in the top, the top.
• 8:45
  Jennifer Johnson: You're one of the OG, one of the OGs, I call it.
• 8:48
  Jennifer Johnson: You're you know, I guess, right?
• 8:51
  Michelle Spitzer: Right, right.
• 8:51
  Michelle Spitzer: So I I kind of grew up with them from the very beginning, considering I was their very ninth franchisee.
• 8:57
  Michelle Spitzer: And uh feel like together, growing up together, we established a lot of the best practices that everyone's using today.
• 9:04
  Jennifer Johnson: And here you are 30 years later, if I did the math right.
• 9:07
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah, something like that.
• 9:09
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, 20, yeah, well, yeah, 27, because I was three months pregnant, so I go by how old my daughter is.
• 9:16
  Jennifer Johnson: Ah, wow.
• 9:17
  Michelle Spitzer: She's getting ready to turn 27, so probably 26, 27 years.
• 11:47
  Michelle Spitzer: As May Pro.
• 11:48
  Jennifer Johnson: Now in the industry, yes, probably about 30.
• 11:51
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh, right, because of in the industry, I was thinking in the industry, got it.
• 11:54
  Jennifer Johnson: Well, that is pretty wild.
• 11:57
  Jennifer Johnson: So, what what steps or or how do you evaluate whether that move to from an independent business to a franchise is the because again, it's going not the typical way that someone would go about it, right?
• 12:13
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 12:14
  Jennifer Johnson: How as if you were advising a business, what what suggestions would you give them to what to look at to know if that's the right decision?
• 12:24
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, I just followed the instructions.
• 12:28
  Jennifer Johnson: Richard said, do this, I did this.
• 12:31
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 12:32
  Jennifer Johnson: But before before you decide, you like as you were making that decision, I know you said it was a gut decision, and you just went, you felt it that it was the right thing to do.
• 12:40
  Jennifer Johnson: But leading up to that, how how did you evaluate that that was the best solution for you?
• 12:47
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, I was operating without any employee manuals.
• 12:50
  Michelle Spitzer: I was operating really without any marketing knowledge uh in advertising.
• 12:56
  Michelle Spitzer: I was really just kind of making things up as I went, did a pretty good job, but I made lots of mistakes along the way too.
• 13:02
  Michelle Spitzer: Don't get me wrong.
• 13:03
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, but uh I just knew that they were going to be able to provide me all of those systems and tools and most importantly that support.
• 13:12
  Michelle Spitzer: So if I ran into a problem, I had someone to call and get advice.
• 13:17
  Michelle Spitzer: The coaching was, you know, is invaluable.
• 13:21
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so those are some of the reasons why I chose um to go with the Made Pro.
• 13:27
  Michelle Spitzer: Because I just I knew that those are the things, the tools that I needed to take that business to that next level.
• 13:34
  Jennifer Johnson: So as an entrepreneur, you said, you know, your competitive nature, you went and you shopped the the competit you shopped Made Pro before you actually even decided to join them kind of thing.
• 13:47
  Jennifer Johnson: And it's totally something I would do because I've shopped people before.
• 13:51
  Jennifer Johnson: That's what you do, right?
• 13:52
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah.
• 13:53
  Jennifer Johnson: But with that, there's also that emotional connection to your business.
• 13:59
  Jennifer Johnson: We all have an emotional connection to your business when you are an entrepreneur, just what it is.
• 14:05
  Jennifer Johnson: If someone's out there going, no, I don't, that's not true.
• 14:08
  Jennifer Johnson: Usually there is always a connection.
• 14:11
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, there definitely is a connection.
• 14:13
  Jennifer Johnson: How was there a feeling of losing your identity or a feeling of of loss, or were you gaining more than you were losing?
• 14:22
  Jennifer Johnson: Like, how did the emotions come into all of this?
• 14:26
  Michelle Spitzer: I was actually very excited, I was very excited.
• 14:29
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, the the people that I had the opportunity to work with are phenomenal.
• 14:34
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, it felt it felt right.
• 14:36
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, I I felt like I was gaining so much more than just losing the name Michelle's Classy Cleaning.
• 14:42
  Michelle Spitzer: I was gaining the opportunity to build an empire and an opportunity which I now own five different locations, servicing all of Southwest Florida and the Fort Lauderdale area.
• 14:54
  Michelle Spitzer: So I I just it just was exciting.
• 14:56
  Michelle Spitzer: It was a new journey that was gonna lead to many, many other opportunities down the road.
• 15:03
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so yeah, was I a little nervous?
• 15:05
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah, of course.
• 15:06
  Michelle Spitzer: Everyone's a little nervous when you're starting something new.
• 15:09
  Michelle Spitzer: And and when you get that nervous feeling, that's probably means you're doing the right thing because you're growing.
• 15:16
  Jennifer Johnson: I couldn't agree more.
• 15:17
  Jennifer Johnson: Every time you get that nervous feeling, you know, oh, I'm I'm up to something good here.
• 15:24
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, exactly.
• 15:26
  Jennifer Johnson: So I know this was a long time ago that you made the transition.
• 15:30
  Jennifer Johnson: Do you remember what that actual process looked like?
• 15:35
  Jennifer Johnson: Was it easy?
• 15:35
  Jennifer Johnson: Was it hard?
• 15:37
  Jennifer Johnson: Um, you know, I know it's probably different today than it was back then, but what do you remember much about the process?
• 15:45
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, I remember the first step was taking all of my customer data information and putting it into the software program that they were running at the time, which was I think it was called MadeSoft or something like that.
• 15:57
  Michelle Spitzer: But um, it was proprietary to Made Pro.
• 16:00
  Michelle Spitzer: It's our own software.
• 16:02
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, but that was step number one is inputting all the data.
• 16:05
  Michelle Spitzer: And that took a while because we had a lot of customer data that was all on paper, now being put into the computer.
• 16:13
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 16:13
  Michelle Spitzer: So that was step number one.
• 16:14
  Michelle Spitzer: Then step number two, I had to notify my current clients that we're now becoming MadePro.
• 16:20
  Michelle Spitzer: And I was a little nervous about that because I was afraid I might lose some customers that they didn't we're gonna come back to that because they didn't like that transition, uh-huh, but uh it went smooth.
• 16:30
  Michelle Spitzer: I if I remember correctly, I think I just sent out a letter to all of our clients letting them know of the name change.
• 16:36
  Michelle Spitzer: And um, you know, our clients were very supportive.
• 16:39
  Michelle Spitzer: They really were.
• 16:40
  Michelle Spitzer: I didn't lose anybody.
• 16:41
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, you know, I think uh I actually I think I still have some of those early on customers today that have been with me through this entire journey.
• 16:51
  Jennifer Johnson: So you you were able, it was a bumpy, was it a bumpy road, or were you able to smoothly?
• 16:56
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah, it was really a smooth transition.
• 16:58
  Michelle Spitzer: The hardest part was honestly just putting all the data into the computer.
• 17:02
  Michelle Spitzer: That was the hardest part.
• 17:03
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, and then of course, I had all of the support.
• 17:06
  Michelle Spitzer: I had Richard coming down once a month, and we were making our action items list of what to try next and what to do, and we started implementing some marketing, and uh, so that was a first, and so that really got our name out there, and we're able to start branding ourselves for the first time.
• 17:25
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so overall, it really was a fairly smooth process.
• 17:31
  Jennifer Johnson: What about your employees?
• 17:33
  Jennifer Johnson: Because you mentioned your customers and the transition to that, and I know you did you said that you had a few employees when you did this.
• 17:39
  Jennifer Johnson: Was there any worry on their part or were they scared or nervous about something?
• 17:44
  Jennifer Johnson: As you No, no, I don't I think they no, I don't think they were nervous.
• 17:48
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, I think they they all stayed with me.
• 17:50
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, I don't remember who all they were at this point, what their names are at this point, but that was a long time ago.
• 17:57
  Michelle Spitzer: But uh no, I don't think there were there really was any worry.
• 18:01
  Michelle Spitzer: Um you always think about, you know.
• 18:04
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah.
• 18:05
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah.
• 18:05
  Michelle Spitzer: No, I just I just jumped in full, full throttle.
• 18:10
  Jennifer Johnson: That's wonderful.
• 18:11
  Jennifer Johnson: So thinking back again, um, and and going forward, because you know, being part of a franchise, like you said, it gives you that support that you wouldn't have.
• 18:22
  Jennifer Johnson: You'd have to figure all this out on your own.
• 18:24
  Jennifer Johnson: But what are the biggest advantages that you've experienced after you joined and continuing to this day?
• 18:33
  Michelle Spitzer: Oh, well, I have to say, Made pro is very technology oriented.
• 18:37
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, with everything from their software uh to we have uh a MadePro Go app that all the pros use that GPS track their start and stop times and their location, and um they're coming out with some new AI technology.
• 18:55
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, all those kind of things, those types of tools that are top of, you know, especially AI.
• 19:02
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, that's gonna be a game changer big time.
• 19:05
  Michelle Spitzer: That they're just rolling that out now.
• 19:06
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, that will help automate automate our our our business to a level that's never been before.
• 19:13
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, you know, so those sort of the biggest advantages is being able to, I wouldn't be able to do that on my own.
• 19:18
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 19:19
  Michelle Spitzer: And it would be financially prohibitive to do things like that with technology on my own.
• 19:26
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so uh that's one of the biggest advantages with my franchise, is they are very technology driven.
• 19:34
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, and we have top key software that we use to operate our business with dashboards, and it's all intertwined to even handle payroll to customer service, to scheduling, um, to marketing, to doing email blasts.
• 19:51
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, the technology behind our operating software is top-notch.
• 19:56
  Michelle Spitzer: And those are things that are a huge advantage over your little small, you know, mom and pop companies and and so forth.
• 20:05
  Jennifer Johnson: Because you'd have to sew all this stuff together to get what you have.
• 20:08
  Jennifer Johnson: You know, pick this and pick that, and that's very time consuming.
• 20:12
  Jennifer Johnson: And uh look at how much time you saved.
• 20:14
  Jennifer Johnson: You mentioned AI.
• 20:16
  Jennifer Johnson: Something interesting that I heard a while back was um, and I'm I'm wondering if they're going to use it in terms of estimating jobs for you.
• 20:23
  Michelle Spitzer: Because Yes, actually, book and buy is gonna be part of it, where Mia's, that's what they're calling our Mia, uh, will actually take them through the whole process in a conversational way, as if they're really speaking to a real person and no one will ever know it's AI.
• 20:37
  Michelle Spitzer: Where it leads them all the way through uh the estimate process to giving them an email with the different options for scheduling to actually booking the appointment for you.
• 20:48
  Jennifer Johnson: And that's amazing because I'm sure by the time this episode airs, that will probably be out and you know, it'll it'll be gangbusters, I am sure.
• 20:56
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah, it's definitely gonna be a game changer.
• 20:59
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah, it's amazing.
• 21:01
  Jennifer Johnson: Did you experience any experience during this process of doing the switchover?
• 21:06
  Jennifer Johnson: And even, you know, to this day, anything unexpected, uh, any unexpected challenges that came up besides, you know, I know you're like, oh my gosh, putting all those names in and everything was crazy.
• 21:18
  Jennifer Johnson: But besides that, was there anything unexpected, good or bad that came out of doing this switchover?
• 21:26
  Michelle Spitzer: Uh trying to think back.
• 21:28
  Michelle Spitzer: I could no, it really honestly was a positive experience for me.
• 21:32
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, yeah, I was going to have to pay royalties, which I didn't have to pay before, but in my opinion, those royalties were worth every penny because of all the things that I was gaining by being a part of the Maypro family.
• 21:47
  Michelle Spitzer: So, but I think that I mean, and that was expected.
• 21:50
  Michelle Spitzer: It wasn't unexpected.
• 21:51
  Michelle Spitzer: I knew I was going to be paying royalties.
• 21:53
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 21:53
  Michelle Spitzer: And uh and I was a revenue source from them for day one because I already had an existing block of business, right?
• 21:59
  Michelle Spitzer: Which is why I got such a great deal.
• 22:03
  Jennifer Johnson: Don't respect this now, people.
• 22:05
  Jennifer Johnson: It's not gonna happen.
• 22:07
  Jennifer Johnson: Um how has your business performance changed since I know this has been many years ago, but uh you know, being able to be in that that franchise um system, I would assume has helped you grow your business perhaps faster than if you were to do this on your own.
• 22:28
  Michelle Spitzer: Oh, definitely, for sure, faster.
• 22:30
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, don't get me wrong, it we've had our ups, we've had our downs.
• 22:34
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, it it you just have that's one of the things that I one of my things of advice is that as an entrepreneur and a business owner, you've got to be flexible and you've got to be willing to make changes depending on what's going on.
• 22:46
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, as an example, I think one of the hardest years ever was back in 2008 when we had that really great that big recession.
• 22:54
  Michelle Spitzer: And like the world stopped.
• 22:56
  Michelle Spitzer: The world literally stopped.
• 22:59
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, construction stopped, people stopped buying, customers were canceling their services left and right.
• 23:05
  Michelle Spitzer: I was having to uh reduce my employees' hourly wages, not just once, but twice in order to ride that wave.
• 23:13
  Michelle Spitzer: And it was scary.
• 23:15
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, you know, but we made it.
• 23:17
  Michelle Spitzer: And I didn't lose any employees because they didn't have anywhere else to go anyway.
• 23:20
  Michelle Spitzer: So that was a tough year.
• 23:22
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah, that was a tough year.
• 23:24
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, and then not to say, you know, then we had COVID.
• 23:27
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, that was a game changer.
• 23:29
  Michelle Spitzer: We had to pivot completely on how we had to uh pivot on how we handled dispatch in the morning.
• 23:35
  Michelle Spitzer: It became drive-through dispatch out in the back alley.
• 23:38
  Michelle Spitzer: Um it was, you know, we had to educate our clients on what we were doing uh to keep them safe so they would let us come in their homes.
• 23:47
  Michelle Spitzer: We came up with contactless cleaning procedures, and we even had that listed on our website, madepro.com forward slash COVID.
• 23:55
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, we had to pivot big time during that period of time.
• 23:59
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, but we we rode that wave, we made it.
• 24:01
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, then after that, there was labor shortages.
• 24:04
  Michelle Spitzer: We couldn't get enough employees.
• 24:06
  Michelle Spitzer: We were rescheduling clients left and right like crazy because we just didn't have the staff to sustain the need.
• 24:13
  Michelle Spitzer: But we rode that wave out too.
• 24:16
  Michelle Spitzer: Now we need more houses to clean.
• 24:18
  Michelle Spitzer: Our employees are begging for more hours, so you know it's waves, and that's why you have to pivot, you have to adapt, you have to adjust, um, because life is not stagnant, right?
• 24:32
  Michelle Spitzer: And your business is not stagnant.
• 24:34
  Jennifer Johnson: You have to be able to just go with the flow.
• 24:39
  Jennifer Johnson: I think about how invaluable it probably was for you to be part of a franchise during the COVID times when none of us knew what to do.
• 24:47
  Michelle Spitzer: And oh yeah, we're getting some direction.
• 24:49
  Michelle Spitzer: We had support, they helped us educate our customers.
• 24:52
  Michelle Spitzer: They came up with the madepro.com forward slash COVID website, which showed everything what we were doing to keep our clients and our community safe.
• 25:01
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so they were a big part of that whole education process.
• 25:06
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 25:07
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so yeah, the support was invaluable.
• 25:10
  Michelle Spitzer: During all of those pivotal times, being able to have that support, you know, just really helped you work through those challenges.
• 25:19
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 25:19
  Jennifer Johnson: I'm I'm guessing I know the answer to this next quite next question, but I'm gonna ask it anyway.
• 25:24
  Jennifer Johnson: Looking back, is there anything that you would do differently?
• 25:30
  Michelle Spitzer: Hmm.
• 25:30
  Michelle Spitzer: Who is there anything I would do differently?
• 25:35
  Michelle Spitzer: Uh maybe, maybe uh oh gosh, that's a that's a hard question.
• 25:44
  Michelle Spitzer: Because everything, I mean even if I know I made a mistake, because I know I've made lots of mistakes, they were all learning opportunities.
• 25:51
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, they were all opportunities to grow.
• 25:54
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, you know, just yeah, you just have to.
• 25:58
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah.
• 25:59
  Michelle Spitzer: I'm sure I've made mistakes.
• 26:01
  Michelle Spitzer: I'm just not thinking of anyone in particular at this moment in time, but I know I've made a ton of them, but they're really learning opportunities.
• 26:07
  Michelle Spitzer: Sure.
• 26:08
  Jennifer Johnson: What advice would you give to other independent business owners who are considering the fact that, you know what, there's a franchise that fits my business and I want to do something similar.
• 26:19
  Jennifer Johnson: What advice would you give to them?
• 26:22
  Michelle Spitzer: Oh, what advice?
• 26:24
  Michelle Spitzer: Uh be passionate.
• 26:26
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, if you're gonna do something, do something that you're passionate about.
• 26:31
  Michelle Spitzer: And let me give you an example of what I mean by that.
• 26:35
  Michelle Spitzer: And I'm gonna try not to choke up because my business is a whole lot more than just a cleaning company, scrubbing floors, cleaning toilets, that's no fun.
• 26:45
  Michelle Spitzer: What we really are about is making a difference in the quality of people's lives, and I have the opportunity to see that every day where we might help an elderly person live in their home unassistedly just a little bit longer.
• 27:01
  Michelle Spitzer: We might brighten the day of someone who's lonely.
• 27:05
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah, we might help just take a little bit of that stress off a working mom who has 101 million things to do and is just completely stressed.
• 27:16
  Michelle Spitzer: Help her take some stress off so that she can be a better mom and a better wife.
• 27:21
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, I can go on and on and on.
• 27:24
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, we might help someone who's suffering from a terrible disease, you know, and let them focus on healing and let us take care of those because a clean house makes you feel better anyway.
• 27:37
  Jennifer Johnson: It does.
• 27:37
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so it it there's just countless of things that we do that I get to see.
• 27:43
  Michelle Spitzer: We might be able to give someone an opportunity of employment that changed their life.
• 27:49
  Michelle Spitzer: Right.
• 27:49
  Michelle Spitzer: And um, so yeah, I find something that you're passionate about, serve a higher purpose than just what that business is, and use it as your your mission statement, your purpose.
• 28:04
  Jennifer Johnson: That's beautiful.
• 28:05
  Jennifer Johnson: You know, to me it all comes back to it's not just cleaning, it's connection.
• 28:09
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh, yes, definitely.
• 28:11
  Jennifer Johnson: That's what it that's what it seems like to me.
• 28:13
  Jennifer Johnson: We're in my favorite part of our podcast.
• 28:17
  Jennifer Johnson: I ask every single guest that's on my podcast the final four.
• 28:22
  Jennifer Johnson: There are four questions.
• 28:24
  Jennifer Johnson: Okay, and I have only had one answer that's been answered the same um a couple of times.
• 28:31
  Jennifer Johnson: So there's that.
• 28:33
  Jennifer Johnson: My first is what's your favorite book and what was that, what was it that made it stick with you?
• 28:39
  Michelle Spitzer: Mary Kay Ash's Bibliography.
• 28:42
  Michelle Spitzer: It inspired me because she she was one of those inspirational women uh that led with her heart.
• 28:52
  Michelle Spitzer: Um she she always imagined with every person that she met that they were wearing a pendant around their neck, and that pendant says, I am important.
• 29:03
  Michelle Spitzer: So that she always had that in her mind every time she connected with someone, that that person that she was talking to was the most important person that she's ever met.
• 29:14
  Michelle Spitzer: Wow, and that's how she ran her life, that's how she ran her business, that's how she built her empire.
• 29:20
  Michelle Spitzer: So to me, Mary Kay, her whole story, um, her success journey really inspired me.
• 29:28
  Michelle Spitzer: And that was probably my most favorite book that was a game changer, really.
• 29:33
  Jennifer Johnson: I have been on my list.
• 29:34
  Jennifer Johnson: I've never read it.
• 29:35
  Michelle Spitzer: Yeah, Mary Kay Ash's bibliography.
• 29:37
  Jennifer Johnson: I'm gonna put that on my list.
• 29:39
  Jennifer Johnson: Do you have a favorite quote or piece of advice that you find yourself coming back to time and time again?
• 29:45
  Michelle Spitzer: Oh, favorite quote or piece of advice.
• 29:48
  Michelle Spitzer: Never give up.
• 29:50
  Michelle Spitzer: Yes, you know, just continue to push yourself, um, overcome those obstacles, don't give up.
• 30:03
  Michelle Spitzer: The most important is to have just be a normal, everyday person with an extraordinary amount of determination.
• 30:11
  Michelle Spitzer: That's my advice.
• 30:13
  Jennifer Johnson: That is phenomenal.
• 30:14
  Jennifer Johnson: I love that.
• 30:15
  Jennifer Johnson: That is perfect.
• 30:17
  Jennifer Johnson: What's one habit or practice that has changed your life?
• 30:23
  Jennifer Johnson: Balance.
• 30:25
  Jennifer Johnson: No.
• 30:27
  Michelle Spitzer: How do you define that?
• 30:28
  Michelle Spitzer: Well, you know, I've been I I really am very fortunate.
• 30:31
  Michelle Spitzer: I have a great management team.
• 30:33
  Michelle Spitzer: I mean, between all five of my branch locations, my branch managers have been with me forever.
• 30:40
  Michelle Spitzer: As a matter of fact, every single one of them used to be a cleaner at one time, and then they were promoted to be managed management.
• 30:46
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so because they handle all of the day-to-day operations from hiring, employee retention, daily dispatch, quality control, you know, all of those day-to-day things, that allows me to have a lot of flexibility.
• 31:02
  Michelle Spitzer: As a matter of fact, I'm at a hotel right now.
• 31:05
  Michelle Spitzer: I've been on a three-day vacation for my birthday weekend.
• 31:09
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, but I didn't, I could leave and not worry about my business because I have an amazing team that's handling all of that for me.
• 31:16
  Michelle Spitzer: And I travel a lot with my new husband.
• 31:19
  Michelle Spitzer: We travel a lot.
• 31:21
  Michelle Spitzer: We go all kinds of different places and have a lot of fun.
• 31:25
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, I my because our operating system is all cloud-based, I can take my iPad or my laptop with me and check in at any time, um, wherever I am in the world.
• 31:36
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so yeah, balance.
• 31:38
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, having balance, you can't be a hundred percent just work, work, work, work, work all the time because something else is gonna collapse in your life.
• 31:46
  Michelle Spitzer: And you have to have time, make time for your relationships and your family and and and kids and all of that.
• 31:53
  Michelle Spitzer: And you have to also balance yourself out with having some fun.
• 31:57
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 31:57
  Michelle Spitzer: You know, I love to go boating, I have a boat, uh I like to play golf, and again, I like to travel.
• 32:03
  Michelle Spitzer: So you got to have that nice grounded balance, otherwise, something will break.
• 32:09
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 32:10
  Jennifer Johnson: That is great advice.
• 32:11
  Jennifer Johnson: My last question: if you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?
• 32:16
  Jennifer Johnson: And you know what?
• 32:17
  Jennifer Johnson: That's a really easy answer for me.
• 32:20
  Michelle Spitzer: That would be have to be with my husband.
• 32:23
  Michelle Spitzer: We just got married in July.
• 32:25
  Michelle Spitzer: After being with you, we've been together for 10 years, so we finally proposed.
• 32:30
  Michelle Spitzer: I said yes, of course.
• 32:32
  Michelle Spitzer: Um, so I'd have to say with my husband.
• 32:36
  Jennifer Johnson: That is so wonderful.
• 32:38
  Jennifer Johnson: I love that you it's it's my Eddie, that's what you call.
• 32:41
  Jennifer Johnson: Yes, I love it.
• 32:43
  Jennifer Johnson: That is so awesome.
• 32:44
  Jennifer Johnson: He's my Eddie forever.
• 32:45
  Jennifer Johnson: That is wonderful.
• 32:47
  Jennifer Johnson: I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation today, Michelle.
• 32:51
  Jennifer Johnson: If our audience wants to learn more about your business, or maybe they want to hire you, how can they reach you?
• 32:57
  Michelle Spitzer: Oh, easy.
• 32:58
  Michelle Spitzer: Go online at babecrow.com.
• 33:00
  Michelle Spitzer: It's that easy.
• 33:01
  Michelle Spitzer: Wow.
• 33:01
  Michelle Spitzer: Just reach out to us online.
• 33:03
  Jennifer Johnson: It's that simple.
• 33:03
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh my gosh.
• 33:04
  Jennifer Johnson: It's that simple.
• 33:05
  Jennifer Johnson: Thank you so much, Michelle, and thank you to all of my listeners.
• 33:10
  Michelle Spitzer: All right, thank you very much.
• 33:11
  Michelle Spitzer: I enjoyed being here.