Latest / Cleaning Business Life / Episode #9 - Can we be friends...?

Transcript

Episode #9 - Can we be friends...? · Cleaning Business Life

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, welcome, welcome, welcome to Cleaning Business Life, our infamous podcast with um we have Profit Strategies for Growth.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Shannon Miller and I am CEO and founder of Clean Freaks University.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: And my co-host is Miss Infamous Kimberly Gonzalez.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Kimberly, take it away.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, all of you wonderful people.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Shannon and I are brain dead today.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: So just bear with us.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think Shannon's just getting back from vacation.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we know what happens when you get back from vacation.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: You need another vacation to get caught up.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: And me, it's just been one of those crazy mornings.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna try to keep myself awake.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: I have cut myself off coffee for like down to one day a week.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: So bear with me, y'all, because impressive.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: I know I'm impressed.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll see how we can get through this.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: But our our topic today is can we be friends?
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I am so excited about doing this topic because um I probably would have not gotten where I was.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: And even with my product, um, my products today, I probably would have not gotten where I was.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's so important that you build relationships with other cleaning companies because there's so many benefits to it.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I know, Shannon, you have quite a few um competitors around in your area too, as well.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's yeah, it's and I know when you start a cleaning company, it can be so intimidating.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like I remember just barely starting, and I was like, oh my gosh, there's so many cleaning companies, there's so much competition, and you feel like, oh, they're doing better than me.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And you start comparing, and it's like, nope, nope.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: We gotta learn how to collaborate and be friends.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So Shannon, we can be our own worst enemies in our minds.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: You have to get out of your own way sometimes.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's I was feeling that I was feeling that last week, actually.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, my mind was going other places and I was frustrated.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's you gotta have a positive mindset because and you gotta build relationships and friendships.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Shannon and I have built a friendship and we have like we help each other, like we love to collaborate.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like I'm really good at working with business strategies and cleaning, but that's not where I want to be right now.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, my goal is to focus on helping, you know, cleaning companies and families to have a healthier lifestyle, to to know what kind of products to use when you get into these houses, you know, and so my goal is to support Shannon and her journey.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so when people are asking questions, I try to send them her way because I don't want to do it.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Take it, Shannon.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Take them all.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's um it it really is um our society since COVID.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I know everybody mentions this.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's this time marker that has happened.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's a line in the sand.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it there was a little bit of time when like I when I had Castle Keeper cleaning, it there wasn't a line in the sand.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: It was me, myself, and I.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I've described um how I just went around like this big whale with my mouth open, and I just scooped up everything.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: I was like a whale eating plankton, right?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Everything that got in my path, I scooped up and I ate and swallowed.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's just what it was.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: It was this big machine, the seven-figure machine.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then when COVID happened, I took a step back and I was just like, this isn't how it's gonna be anymore.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so everybody had to pivot, right?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty much.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we got to know each other just before COVID hit, from what I recollect.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: And um how long is that?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: We've been together, we've been together ever since.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: So like my wifey, you're living in my own.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, my gosh, you like my wife too.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: So um, I want to say, gosh, 2019.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's crazy.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't realize it was that long.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it goes by um pretty super duper fast.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then crunchy Kathy as well.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of have a little bit of a relationship with her, um, not as much as I do with you, but it's um because we've become like DFFs almost, right?
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: It happens, and it's all really the economy really is all about collaboration.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it's all about the relationships and the connections you can make.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: That is the currency of today's economy.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have that currency to spend when you need a favor for filling in with your cleaning business, or you need a favor with supplier issues, or you need a favor with um insurance.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: I remember I had I have someone here locally.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't with insurance, but it was for my internet.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: I had business internet with um, it was called cable one at that point.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And they just kept giving me the runaround about why the internet wasn't working.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I finally called the local work because I had met her at a chamber event.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: I knew her quite well.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: We had cleaned her house a couple times.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and she was able to call in and pull her weight around to get me situated.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: If I did not have the established relationship with her, they would have kept giving me the runaround and the runaround and the run around.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: It was getting frustrating, right?
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Who has extra time to do those crazy things?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like that's why we keep emphasizing to all of you guys like build relationships, go network, like do networking, join the chambers, because building those relationships is going to save you down the road and you help each other out.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: There, there's a few people that you know have helped me out when I was in a bind, you know, with you know, just having bodies for events.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: And luckily they had used my product, but they also have their own products.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like because we became friends, they were able to jump in and help me.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: And then I was able to jump in and help them.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like building those relationships are so crucial to building a business because you know what, we're gonna be there for each other.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's what it comes down to.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so one of my awesome friends, this is um one of my awesome friends, and I'm not gonna say her name on here because I want to, I don't want to, I want to make sure I respect her privacy until she gives us permission, but she has over a$3 million cleaning company.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I remember um like I remember hearing about her before I became friends with her.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: I I remember hearing about her, and then I went to um, I take the back.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: We I reached out to her.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to remember this because this was so, so long ago.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm like, oh my gosh, my brain.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it was so long ago that like we I reached out to her and we found out that, you know, both of our sons had something in common and we wanted to get to know her.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: They're the same age, and so they started hanging out.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then my friend and I started hanging out and I started like learning things, and I was able to reach out to her for some of the most stressful things, like when I got my first negative review and she assured me that it's okay, it's okay, you're gonna get negative reviews.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so it just it touched my heart knowing that I had built a relationship.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: And then um one of the other things that you know I always talk about for collaborating is is like, and I don't recommend you guys all doing this, but when you do go to um cleaning like cleaning business fundamentals, or if you guys go to the ISSA or if you guys go to these things, really find the people you want to be around.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: I remember Shannon, this is it's and I was actually just talking to my friend about this a few days ago, which is so funny because we were laughing about it.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my friend and another friend, which again, I'll keep that name private until she's ready.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we were we were discussing about it, we were laughing about it because I never went into the classes.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: So when you have the I it's I used to say when you have the the classes, they do group breakouts and you go to the separate classes.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: So in me, I'm like, I don't want to go that.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I went and I hung out with the like one to three million dollar cleaning companies that were all sitting and chatting in a room.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I just plopped myself down in the chair and acted like like I was just a regular, you know, like cleaning business, like I wasn't a newbie.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I learned so much that day, more from just listening to them talk.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I walked away with so much knowledge and I walked away with friendships that I'm still friends with them today.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Friendships are important, especially in business because it can be lonely.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we still are an economy that um everyone works by the hour.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: And until they understand and have their own skin in the game, they're they're just they just don't get it.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's why cleaning businesses get hit up for this.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to do that.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and it can be lonely.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's um when I started Castle Keeper Cleaning, there was no Facebook groups.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: There was nothing, there was, and I mentioned there was only two books on the market.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: One I actually got in a physical bookstore, if you can believe that or not.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: And another one I had uh gotten off the internet, and it was there was nothing in there that I didn't already know, but I needed that, I felt that I needed that knowledge.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I ordered the books.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: I still have one of the books today.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: I do too.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: I still have a bunch of books, like books from like cleaning, and I love it.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: I absolutely love it.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: The dynamic of the communication is so much more available, and um it's it's it's awesome.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm going down this weekend to meet with a business owner in Phoenix, and I'm I've never met her face to face, but we chat all the time on Facebook.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: So you know you just never know the relationships you're gonna cultivate and what opportunities that person can bring you, right?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it's important that you reach out and don't be afraid.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: I um I recommend that you personally, and this is I've mentioned this a couple of times, but just in case you've missed it, the opportunity for you to grow and collaborate is easy to do when you like, for example, if you were to take on a post-construction cleaning job and it's just you and another girl, and you know that the the labor hours are gonna require five people, so you create a community within your community.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I have a messenger group in my area.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: There's 60 small microcleaning companies in my area.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: I have about 15 of those in my little teeny group on Messenger, and it says, I've landed a big job on such and such a date.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Is there anyone available to work?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then that person will go, oh my gosh, you know, because they're they're all small microclean companies.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, Oh yeah, I'm available on the 15th, but great.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is what it pays.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you're interested, please reach out.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: We can discuss privately.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: You never really want to discuss unless you're going to pay everyone the same um price point and in the messenger, because then they're well, why'd she get more money than me?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: What to know?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I usually base it on a percentage of the job, and then they, if they get, you know, accolades or whatever, I'll give them a bonus.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: But the these are ways to work around the employee shortage, is what I'm my whole long dissertation was.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're having an employee shortage issue.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: There's someone calling on my phone.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let me um close that off.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I apologize, I thought I put it on airplane mode, but it's we're all feeling the pinch from the economy when COVID happened.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it eliminated a lot of jobs.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so and a lot of people didn't come back in the workforce, right?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I remember that because that's circumstances to that.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: They either, you know, decided to retire early or they were defunded or they didn't make it through COVID.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of reasons why that happened.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not an economic analyst, I'm just watching the patterns.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, and we're getting ready to have another big shift in our economy, in case you're not aware, the central bank digital currency, um, which I don't know if I necessarily agree with, and we won't get into the politics of that, is coming online sometime this month, is what they say.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna actually shave off, and then the advent of AI.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: So that's gonna shave off more jobs in the economy.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: And at first, my first notion was, oh my God, that's gonna be awesome because now we'll have more cleaners, right?
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm starting to realize that may that may or may not be the case.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: So extending those relationships in your messenger group, reach out to other cleaners, say, hey, I saw that you cleaned.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: I have a small little messenger group when big jobs come up.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Would you like to be part of it?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: They'll either say yay or nay.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it just depends on their mindset.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Some of them are like, no way, I'm not working with you, right?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And others are like, Oh, yeah, yeah, that'd be awesome, right?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, I know one of the things too, just a word of advice, and Shannon, you'll probably agree with me.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: Don't ask for something right away.
• 11:46
  unknown: Right.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Build that relationship, build that friendship because you don't want to just go and be like, I need help cleaning or blah, blah, blah.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: You want to build that relationship again.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: That comes back to building that relationship.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Don't ask them for something right away.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: Take them out for lunch, treat them for lunch.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: If you can treat them, if they're in your area, get to know them, build that relationship before you start asking for you know something.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: And that's just that's always been my thing is I want to know who they are.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: I want to know who they are as a person.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: If we're gonna work well together, because what happens if you get into a job and you ask for something and something falls and breaks through and just like ahow breaks loose, kind of a thing.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that really happens.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: It does.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I've seen it, and I've seen it more than once, but it's better to get to know that person, you know, build that relationship because that's where that trust is gonna come in.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: I know Shannon trusts me that you know that I'm gonna send people her way, which I do because I don't want to deal with people right now.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't want to mean that in a bad way.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: I should say that back.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: Scratch it.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to mean that in a bad way, you guys.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: I love all of you.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just saying that's Shannon's like expertise in area, and I just am not ready to like take that on.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: I do business coaching for the businesses in my area.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: I just don't do the business coaching for cleaning companies because cleaning companies is a whole nother ball game.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: There, I said it.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't mean to be rude, y'all.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't mean to be rude.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's the coffee, it's not working.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: I need my coffee.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely, it's it's hard to coffee is a big withdrawal item too.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: It takes a while.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, it creating um and collaborating with your immediate area um is always helpful.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I also have a messenger group for the Tucson area, and then I have for Phoenix, and and it's growing.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's you know, first it was just two people, now it's like four people, and it just it takes time to you know to really develop those relationships.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, I agree with Kim.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: You should go out to coffee um or lunch and really get to know them if you have time.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, like here locally, we're gonna get together and we're gonna talk about short-term rentals because I want to offer a masterclass.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I know all about short-term rentals, but it's always nice to have insight from people.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't do strs full time, it is not my bread and butter.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'll pick it up as a favor for someone, but it's not my thing, right?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't get excited.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't make me go, woohoo! But these girls, some of them, that's their that's their main business.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's their bread and butter.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So they're excited for it.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I can pick up nuggets, we're all gonna go out to lunch.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm hoping to have someplace kid-friendly because I have a seven and eight-year-old, and some of them have children as well.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then that way I can get some juicy tippets to really offer, you know, my audience some more nuggets, right?
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, I wouldn't get that if I didn't have the relationship with them.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll have to keep you in mind because my parents live in Tucson.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: So if I ever want to like surprise my mom for our house cleaning, then I can like totally reach out to you for all the connections because I don't really know a whole lot of things.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Having boots on the ground in other areas, that's the biggest part about running something remotely is having boots on the ground and having and establishing those relationships.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, people talk about it all the time.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've listened to a lot of people's pitches and the product that they're coming up with.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, wow, that sounds awesome.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: But in reality, it there's some effort involved.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: You just can't have them fill out a form and have them show up and hope for the best.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Keep my fingers crossed.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's a human element to the cleaning industry, and I don't know if they'll ever iron that piece of it out.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Well, so like I know one of the things too, I was gonna, you're talking about how you collaborate with different people.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: So one of my um dear friends, she's just not in the cleaning industry anymore.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um she decided to retire from it, like you said, like different people, like where when COVID happened.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: But before COVID, um, we were again having the employee issues, and there was a time where like we would like switch employees.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes my employees would go and help her when she was in um a bind.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I had, you know, we had open, we had we were completely covered, like everybody showed up to work that day and we had extras, had my floaters there.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so I would send my employees to go help her, you know, and vice versa.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: If if she had her floaters and she had plenty of employees, she would send them to me when I was really shorthanded, like if a bunch of my employees were sick.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: And there was even a time where we ended up cleaning together, which was so much fun.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: We got so many pictures, like we had a blast, and you know, it was just fun because we're like the two business owners.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: I know we're like two business owners who like we're fully booked and like we're here and we're cleaning it.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got our like cute little pictures of us holding, you know, the toilet brush, you know, and just like cleaning with our gloves, and it was cute.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: And that's you know, that's where it comes down to play.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: You guys need to collaborate and work together and build those relationships because we were there for each other and we needed it.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: We needed it so much for each other, and it saved our business.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: We still got money.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, it it was a win-win for both of us.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, as far as like professional development and networking, um, I can recall two times that I randomly showed up to a chamber event.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: I hadn't been in months, and I had reconnected with someone who was a builder who wasn't always in the area, and he's like, I remember you, you're the cleaning lady.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Oh yeah, and then I was like trying to recollect, I have no clue because I talk to thousands of people every single week.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh yeah, it's good to see you, Bob, Steve, Mike, whatever your name is.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, where's your name tag?
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: I need your name tag.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, where's your name tag?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like looking really quick, trying to be polite, but in a card, I forgot your card.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: I have your card, and then you look at it.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: The do's and don'ts of networking.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then he's like, Um, I have um this job coming up.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Would you be interested in it?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like, not I'm getting five other bids, but would you like this job?
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, Well, that's cool.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: What is it?
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then we chat started chatting.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, Yeah, I can fit that in next week.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: He goes, Well, what do you think it is?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: I go, based on what you're told me, I blurted out a price right then and there.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: And one job was five thousand dollars and another job was seven thousand dollars.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was a one-day job.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: It took like eight people each time.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you can break out the labor hours on that for those of you who know.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a nice profit.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: All I all because I had chatted with him about I think housekeeping for his second home up here.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: So you just never know when the opportunities um for networking are going to bring you those profits.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: And it's, I don't know.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: I've always believed that you're gonna have good competitors and you're gonna have bad competitors, Shannon.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, like if you've ever run into that, but I've got some people who have been not so nice to me and nasty.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, oh well.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it I talk about like having a good name for yourself, you know, when you go out to these places, like what you did.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: You had a good name.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: He knew your name, he knew that the value you brought to the table, you know, and he trusted you.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that was good because you had a good name for yourself.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: So always keep a good name, even with your competitors.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: So don't ever speak harsh of them or bad of them.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Always just trust.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: I I believe that to be true too.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing worse than having you beat up your competitors.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I do business differently.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know what?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: We all can't walk on water.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: If we could, we'd be doing something else.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: So you guys my simple reminder to all of you if you can walk on water, fine.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you can't walk on water, keep your pie hole shut.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly, because you guys want a good name for yourself and it it shows it shows that you're higher standards than them, and people are gonna come back to you.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, if this cleaning company is a trunk cleaner, I think that's what they call them, right, Shannon?
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, trunk cleaner, trunk slammer.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's not a favorite phase of mine.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it just means that they don't have any permanence in the industry and they typically don't have insurance.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: But once I get my claws into them, then it's all different because I'm like, you need to have insurance.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean you're my pretty.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: Let me transform you to have insurance.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: But no, like, you know, it's you want to be known in the community as somebody that upholds their standards and that has people can speak highly of you.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's so important.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: So, and I like I'm a firm believer in that.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a firm believer in that for any any talk, any industry, it should be like that.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, don't be tempted to let them have it because of whatever slight you felt, you know, five meetings ago.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: I have an individual here who doesn't like me and it's totally okay.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you've got to kill him with kindness, right?
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I actually know that she is uncomfortable being around me, and I will intentionally sit next to her to see if she will actually get up and move.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: And nine times out of ten, she will get up and move.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I have I might have to do that today.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: I might have to do that today.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like it was fun chatting.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that people work on issues, right?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I actually think I might do that because that's some good advice there, Shannon, because I do struggle.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: There is this gal that um, you know, I struggle with.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: She did me wrong and did me dirty last year, and it really hurt me because those of you guys that know me, my heart is just very full, and I love to love up on others and I love to just help others, and she did me wrong, and she won't even talk to me, she won't look at me like we see each other events, and she won't even make eye contact with me.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: She will walk around me.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: So there's an event tonight, and I'm gonna see her, and I think I'm gonna do what you said to do.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna purposely go up to her and kill her with kindness, and I'm gonna try that, and then I will give you guys an update next podcast.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: I will give you guys an update.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely put your hand out there and say, Oh my god, whatever her Susan, it's it's so good to see you and shake her hand.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: If she refuses to shake your hand, um, there could be a lot of reasons for that, but just constantly like I'm in your face, I'm in your space.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta, you gotta I'm here, I'm here.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: We all hang around the same people.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's my face is right here.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna try that.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna show her extra love tonight.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Find contact.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Say, you know, I love that dress.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Where did you get it?
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's totally cute.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you can go that route as well.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, again, it's all about collaboration.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't let her bother you.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: And um, it it takes time for people.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: She probably is embarrassed by the blunder she made.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, like with this individual that I um will not name.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't know what I did to offend her, except for I'm probably more confident than a lot of people in the room.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that's taken years and years and years and years of grooming.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was actually handicapped as a child and didn't know I was handicapped.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: I went to school and the other kids told me I was.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: My parents were like, whatever.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was also the kid that if you looked at me, looked at me the wrong way, you could make me cry.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: So you can't nobody goes, What?
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've come a long ways from like, you know, if you looked at me the wrong way, I would have a full-on meltdown in the corner because you looked at me the wrong way and you hurt my feelings.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I used to be really sensitive myself, but I didn't realize those two things until someone told me.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know I was handicapped until someone said, Oh, I don't like your wobbly legs.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, What do you mean?
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: I work, I walk just fine.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you just you just never know.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: Those are I consider those lessons.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: So don't I wouldn't let her, you know, just be as nice as you possibly can.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because then it makes her look like, why is she being mean to this person?
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna try it tonight.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna work on that.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: So y'all have you guys are all gonna hold me accountable.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna do this tonight because it's hard.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's it's hard, you know.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, but yeah, be friends with your guys' um competitors, you know, learn about them because it's a win-win for each other.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: You guys can support each other, you can help each other out.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's super important.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and there's a lot of things that you can do for free to support another fellow cleaning business owner.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one of them is in at the beginning of the month.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's usually the first day of the month.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, it's a like for a like day or put your business page up here.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And we just go through and we usually get four or five hundred businesses that will go through and list their businesses.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's to help prime, you know, prime the pump for collaboration.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you if you see something that's interesting, there's a couple people in the maids network on Facebook, our group, that have really interesting and usual names.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: I've reached out, like the tidiness project.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: She would be someone I'd be interested in speaking to a little further.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: I've reached out a couple times, haven't gotten a response.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know if she didn't get it.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Intent, intent.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you're listening, reach out to us.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a lot of things that you should do.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or a lot of things like for my birthday this year, I had, I don't know how it was overwhelming.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: How many people like reached out?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: Some people gave me videos and messenger, some people, you know, saying happy birthday and audio.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh my gosh, I had no idea.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was those extra little efforts that made my day so much more special, right?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um just reaching out and saying, Hey, I'm just checking in.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: I know of a cleaning business owner, I'm not gonna name her name.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: She has two grandbaby twins, and one of them has been in another hospital for the last week.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: They're six months old.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I reached out to her and I said, you know, I know you're busy, and I just want you to know you're my thoughts and prayers.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And if you need anything, reach out.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it didn't take me any extra effort.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: I love this person as an individual.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: She has a great heart, and I just wanted her to know I was there in case she needed it.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that it doesn't take that much effort, or you can go, and I know that this is a little unethical in some aspects, but sometimes we need a little extra with the review process.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: I know you're not supposed to say, can you please give me a review and it's not authentic, but sometimes we need an extra ump.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you could give a review, you could give a review on Facebook, you could have a mention, you could do a nice rep.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so many things that you can do to help another fellow cleaning business owner out that are absolutely free, right?
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: Just even encouragement on the group instead of like putting somebody down in the group or just, you know, there's there's all different you have, you know, newbies, and then you've got semi-seasoned and seasoned.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: We're supposed to be there for each other, you guys, and help build each other up and not tear each other down.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm appreciative of the people that post pictures.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like I love it.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there was a post a few days ago, I think it was.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: I've been off and on Facebook for the last couple of days, but there was a Facebook post of somebody posting, you know, pictures of the house that they did that they used my cleaning product.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: I never asked her to post pictures, you know, they posted it.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: But you know what?
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: I walked away when I saw that and it just made my heart so full and it made me happy because when you are able to share stuff like that or encourage people, is encouraging me, knowing that I'm doing the right thing.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: When you're encouraging somebody else, it's telling them that they're on the right path.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: Shannon, I'm always in awe of you.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like I always am in awe of just the amount of superwoman powers you have and how you are able to like combat so many things.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't, I have ADHD and I feel like my brain's already hurting just thinking of all the things you're doing right now.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: But exactly, we need our super capes.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, I'm just I think back like you help so many people and you do it with a loving heart, you know.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: And when people use please and thank you, it goes such a long ways, such a long ways, you guys.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: So if you guys are asking questions for anybody, if it's for Shannon, me, or anybody, please use the word please and thank you because it goes a long ways and it touches our hearts.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: So that's like my little tidbit, just for anybody.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what I like to see uh with the reviews for your product is the notes, the handwritten notes seem to carry more weight than the actual testimonials.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: They love, love, love those handwritten notes.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: So if you um she this is what I've been doing today already.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: She will actually right now, because she's still small, can't guarantee as she gets larger, she'll continue to do it.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: But right now, if you order her product, she will give you a handwritten thank you note.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: The good, like the good old days of Nordstroms.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: And Nordstroms used to be known for it.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: It was a um a postcard that they used to give you um when you worked at Nordies, and it one pages said, Welcome to Nordstrom's.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: And the second part of the postcard would be like make the best decisions, you know, for the client, blah, blah, blah.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: And you could do anything as long as it was up to the they gave you the resources.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: So you could send thank you cards at their expense, you could deliver, you could hand deliver, they would reimburse you for hand delivering.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if this is true.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's been many years since I worked at Nordies, but those used to be the elements that were behind the Nordstrom's name.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: So the handwritten notes really do carry a lot of weight.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, she loves the testimonials, the shout-outs, all that stuff, but pictures.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love pictures.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's the handwritten notes that get the most mileage.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: We got, I think there was one day I got like 24 orders.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was somebody that posted in multiple cleaning groups of some pictures, and I got 24 orders in one day.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: And let me tell you guys, I literally sat down for four hours and I wrote notes.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's a long time to be working on notes.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's a long time that I could have been working on something else.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I truly love everybody that invests in me and my time and just invest in my product.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like it really touches my heart.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: So my goal is to invest back into you guys and find out about your day.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'll talk about everything and anything.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: And the pictures are always different.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: And this last week we actually had to show cute Shannon.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: We had guests, we had guest colorers.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: So my um, my friend Amy that comes over, my friend Amy that comes over twice a week to help us, she brought her nieces over and they they saw me working on it and they're like, Can we help?
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, sure.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: So if you guys were lucky enough to get the guest colorers, you guys are very lucky because that was such a fun day to see them color.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, go a long way.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: Please, thank you.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate the little things in life.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Shannon, I guess.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: Do you I want to throw it out there?
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: If you guys have things that you want us to talk about, reach out to us in the group chat, reach out to us, email.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: What is a good email address that they can email us at?
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: Business Life um at gmail.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: So C-L-E-A-N-I-N-G businesslife at gmail.com.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's um we're also um starting to take a rouster.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna start to schedule up for the rest of the year.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: So if you think that you might be an awesome sauce guest, by all means reach out via email and um we'll see if you're a good fit for what we're looking for.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we have been looking um and reaching out to other people who we thought might be interesting for you guys out there um to talk about because it's always interesting.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times when we get into the podcast industry, everyone only wants to talk to the superstars.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the superstars are great.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: I totally love them and appreciate them, but I also want to talk about the little guys, what's important to the little guys and what your impact they're making on the industry.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's not always about the superstars.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: And as a society, or any society, I guess, um, always looks to the the ones at the top of the echelon when it's actually, you know, the lower in the middle that actually make it work.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're superstars and they're the less than the one percent, but there's the rest of us growing.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's all about growing and finding out like who we are.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: We want to get to know you.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's Chad and I truly have a love for people and we want to get to know like all walks of life.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: So if you guys want to join us in our talks, reach out to us.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, definitely.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: And and there will be uh, you know, at some point when this gets bigger, we'll have a website and all that other stuff.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: But right now we're still small.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: Rigorous.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: So share, share, and share.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, share in the groups.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, where else can they share?
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: Share in the group, share in your personal page, um, subscribe email if you're on my email list.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: I do send out here's the latest episode of blah blah blah blah.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I do too for Pure Evergreen.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: I've been sending them out in my newsletters so people can get them.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's also on my blog pages.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, um, I think that we've covered all of the collaboration.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's always good to do a simple, hey, I'm thinking of you.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, everyone really does appreciate it and uh more memorable.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you don't have to leave a thank you note to your clients at your homes.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but there are touches that people do um that make things nice.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you use Kimmy's product, obviously that that smell is there lingering, that fresh smell is awesome.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I also like to leave um something too, Shannon.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: I've been doing is I've been leaving like stickers.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes I'll drop some stickers that I designed and they get free gifts.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I give them free gifts.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: I try to do free if I can.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: So, but thank you guys for joining us.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm running on no coffee, so I'm apologize if I'm super tired.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: Cleaning Business Life is sponsored by Clean Freaks University.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's Cleaning with a K.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: And my signature program, the Structure Scale and Profit Cleaning Business Academy.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you need help with your business, please reach out.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: Take care.