Latest / Cleaning Business Life / CBL Episode # 59 Are you using GREEN Washed Chemicals??

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CBL Episode # 59 Are you using GREEN Washed Chemicals?? · Cleaning Business Life

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: fully believe this guy.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: Recording your progress.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Welcome everybody to Cleaning Business Life and today we are going to talk about green, clean steam.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Go Kimmy, go Kimmy.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Welcome to Cleaning Business Life, you guys.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Yes, we're talking about green and not the money.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: We're not talking about money or the stuff you smoke.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Is that they call it ganja?
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Is that what my husband?
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: says Ganja Cannabis, I think is a new pronoun, or whatever Noun.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Come on, you guys Get your heads out of the clouds, Right, but no, today we're going to just talk about having a green, natural, eco-friendly cleaning company.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: So the question is why do you want to go green?
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: There's lots of reasons.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Shannon and I both have big sensitivities to scents and stuff for our skin and so, like this is right up our alley to try to help other people.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: So if you're listening and you are having a hard time breathing when you're cleaning and you're just not feeling good, you're getting headaches it could be what you're using.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, or rashes, yeah.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: Don't be like well for me.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: I can only speak for myself.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: I don't know what Kim's situation is, but because of my exposure to chemicals long-term counts I now have an acute sensitivity.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: If you sat next to me in a networking event and you had on a lot of perfume, I actually would physically have to get up and move over, not because I was offended, but because I couldn't handle the smell that was coming off of anyone.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: So I don't like scented candles.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: Every time I order from Kim I always request that she not put in the extra scent.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: It does come with a natural scent, which is totally tolerable for me, but it it's just because of I have an acute sensitivity.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: So anything like laundry detergent now we use dryer balls.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: We obviously never have used fabric softener.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: But you don't want to expose yourself long term to these chemicals that they sell the consumers at the stores.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: It really can mess with you and then, when you get older and wiser, hopefully don't do what I did and just make sure that you start off on the right foot and do something natural and green.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: Starting off you guys is not only for yourself, but it's for your cleaning techs, it's for your customers and customers.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: Pets Yep, exactly Because you've got birds, you've got dogs, you've got chickens that come in the house.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: House chickens.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: I would like to know who else is listening.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: Who else has a chicken that roams in their house, like us?
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: There's a couple.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Some of them have actually sent me photos.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: I can't think of their names off the top of my head.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: I'll remember it later because I'll have a tag me in those.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Those are so cute.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: But yeah, there are a couple of house chickens living, living living in houses where they should be yeah.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: So if you've got it's just, it's an all-around just safety and um, it's just being important, just like looking after you know everybody in a whole general um, and it I think also too.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: And then, shannon, you agree this, it kind of sets your company aside, like it sets it apart from all the other companies.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: Well, make sure it's so special.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Righting is so special, right.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Branding is huge.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: I know Kim talks a lot about branding all the time, but, yes, you can set your company apart by being eco-friendly, green, and you can charge an extra premium for it too.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Yes, and it's like people are willing to pay a little extra, especially those crunchy moms and crunchy dads that are, like you know, wanting to be natural.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: And if you guys don't know what crunchy means, it just means like very organic, very natural, and they called it.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: They call them crunchy, but have you heard that term?
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: Shannon, I have.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: We used to be referred to as crunchy when I lived in Lake Tahoe many moons ago.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Crunchy, crunchy, crunchy.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: We always like run around and tease each other.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Yes, I totally am familiar with that.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Or hippy dippy and I you know it's just little nicknames you come along with.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: It's not to mean offense to anybody.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: No, I get called crunchy too, but so today we're going to talk about, like, how to set up your natural cleaning company.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: So, if you're wanting to learn how to switch over and be natural, or if you're just kind of curious as to how you can eliminate some of these toxic products or products that you may even think that are natural, that are not natural they're greenwashed we're going to get into all this today.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: So thank you, guys again for joining us.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: So steps for starting a cleaning business.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: Shannon, what is the first thing?
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Registering with your state.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: So your secretary of state will have the entity that you decide to operate under.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: And you want to do this initially because you never know if your neighbor is going to come up with the same name and the person who trademarks it first gets it.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: That's the way it is.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: So don't take that chance and you want to have certain rights over to what you've created.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: We have an instance here in the great state of Arizona.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: All of you guys know my husband is a plumber and the name of his plumbing company is called Stellar Plumbing AZ and there is a Stellar Plumbing that operates down in, I believe, mesa and he doesn't have the same integrity as my husband.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: So it's caused conflict.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: He gets like irate customers who call up and give him a hard time.
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: He's like where is this house?
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: And then they tell him because we don't service Southern Arizona at all.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: And then now it's become like an issue because this guy doesn't operate the same as my husband and so he's getting more and more frequent calls of irate customers because this guy doesn't pick up the phone and my husband does.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: So there's a little bit of a conflict there.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: So make sure that you are registering with your city entity and your state entity.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: If you are not in the great state of Arizona, make sure that you are not responsible for collecting sales tax.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: There's nothing worse than getting a ding at the end of the year and they're like, by the way, you owe this and you should have known better and it's all your fault, right.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: And then I was going to say part of that too, like, if you want to have a green, eco-friendly cleaning company, really think about your name.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: Right, that's going to come up on Google search.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: When I had my cleaning company it was evergreen eco-clean and it picked up the keywords, and so when people saw my name they knew automatically that my company was natural, so I was getting calls for that particular purpose.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Right and it makes it nice and easy, and then there's no thinking about it for sure.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: And then you can go through the process of starting your company.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: You can pick, you know your name, and then you can decide about uniforms whether you're going to do it yourself or have helpers I mean the list goes on.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: And on forms, whether you're going to do it yourself or have helpers, I mean the list goes on and on.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: There's like I probably probably like 250 steps to follow to get it to work just the right way and when we won't have to go.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: I don't have to bore you with all of that stuff here.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: But those are, those are the beginning things.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: And then insurance.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: You know, kim and I always harp on everybody from our soap boxes about having insurance, everybody from our soapboxes about having insurance.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: I actually spoke with someone this morning, right before we hopped on here, and she has insurance at the recommendation of someone who is close to her and her insurance covers her 1099s and it doesn't really.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: It's a gray area.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: So just be really careful.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: If you have 1099s, they carry their own insurance, or if you have w-2s, that you carry insurance on them.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Um, that is the legal um forte of it and then you know, you decide, then you have to.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Obviously you have to have a funnel, and I can go, you know, join on, but we're here to talk about green cleaning.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: So that's just the beginning part of what you need.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Um, after you get your licensing, your insurance and your other permits and sales, I believe, and guiltily enough, this is before you invented my foray into green cleaning.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Was we?
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Before Miss Myers was bought out and I knew any better, I reached out to them and they used to sell to us small potatoes potatoes is what I called us at a wholesale price so you could order a little bit of bulk and not have to order $10,000 with the product.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: And it was at least I felt at the time, this was a long time ago a better alternative than Mr Clean or Swiffer or any of those really crazy chemicals that people are still using today because they don't know any better.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: And it was nice.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: And then Mrs Myers got bought out by Johnson.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: Johnson changed the formula and that was the end of the wholesale buying experience for from a Shannon Miller here, from a big entity, and that was a really long time ago.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: And then things have kind of evolved, they've really gotten better.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: And then the advent of seventh generation, which is kind of was considered the grandfather and it's not really considered the grandfather.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: It's not even green anymore and it's really kind of a sad thing.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: So when you're using nature seven or seventh generation, any of those really look at the labels and try to educate yourself and if you have questions, chemical questions, reach out to Kim.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: She's like a whole back end of information when it comes to chemical knowledge and chemical products, pH balance, estheticity, the whole deal and really look to see if you were offered what you're offering is green, cause we we didn't know any better.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: I thought Mrs Myers was it right, exactly.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: And it's like a lot of those other products you know, and I want to get in the term called greenwashing.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: It's still very new to a lot of people.
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: Greenwashing is when products claim that they're green, claim that they're natural and they're not.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Or environmentally friendly is another one.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: That's generally.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: And they put on their label, you know safer to use or these things.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: And those are all the things you need to watch out for, because there's hidden things in there so they're green washing.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: So really know your products.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: There's, you know, products that you can get from MLMs, which is the multi-level marketing, but then you have to decide a lot of those multi-level marketings that offer those products.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: You have to pay a monthly amount, so you have to spend, you know a hundred dollars, you know every month, and then you got to buy, like whatever this is just to do.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: You know, get your product.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: So really think about how much money you're spending and putting into that.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: Also, you know the Alaluca, if I recall, does that.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: And they have a product that was big during COVID that you could use, but you couldn't use it with a house that had cats because it had thyme oil in it and thyme oil is actually toxic to kitties.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: So make sure you really understand what your products are and that is it going to be worth you spending 150 bucks every month with them.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: With COVID like, I had someone unfortunately go into my shed on the side of my house and take all of the craning products that we had, so I I scrapped.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: This is before I knew Kim, and so I had to scramble around and try to find products and and I did end up going to through the MLM because I had no other choice.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: But really educate yourself.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: And why don't you explain a little bit, kim, about what greenwashing is for the people who don't know what what that entails?
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: Just again, like the greenwashing is just when you have these products that claim that they're natural and they're not, and they have all these hidden agendas and stuff in it.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: You know you can check out.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: I know another MLM that we were talking, like you said, melaleuca, but also Thieves, and I'm not bashing these companies at all, but you just have to really know what you're, what you're getting into, before you sign up.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: Um, these are the big one.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: And for me, I know that I can't handle the smell of cinnamon 24 seven.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: No.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: So that's why when I do, when I did my release for cozy bliss, it's only out for a short time because even me making it, I just it's too much for me.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: So I like it, but I can only handle a little bit of it.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: But, yeah, I really know your products for greenwashing.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: Method is another one.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: Method claimed for the longest time that they're green, they're natural, they're greenwashing, they're not, they're awful.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: So if you're using these, yeah, if you're using these, I'm sorry you guys.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: You know so Method.
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: I see a lot of stuff out there with Method.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: These, you know so method.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: I see a lot of stuff out there with method, the.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: These are just our personal opinions.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: In case you know, any of the big wigs are out there listening to our petty little podcast.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: Sorry, you guys.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: You can do your own research.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Please do your own research.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: You know, I'm sure our attorneys would just want us to say that, just because we don't want to cause any problems.
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: But yes, exactly, and we've done a lot of our own research too.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: Another one is Simple Green.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: I just am not a big fan of it, so those are just and I was shocked about that one because this is in Huntington Beach.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: I grew up with that product and I was really shocked to learn that the original formula is no longer green or environmentally friendly or it's just water.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Some of the things that you can kind of pinpoint and pick out.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: My dogs decided to come down here and grace me with their presence.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Some of the things that you can kind of pinpoint and kind of pick out is if these products have a smell in it, I call it a scent from synthetic.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: I kind of like that's the way I say it.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: Synthetic scents are usually from a scent, so if it's a weird kind of scent or if it's something that you're still having allergies with or sensitivities, it's probably from the scent.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: The scent is not made with oils, it's made from something that's synthetic and that could be why you're having allergies.
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: So I know somebody had asked me to do like cotton candy or some kind of random other scents and I can't do those with oils.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: So my products are actually made with oils, like 100% high grade organic oils, and so I can't make all these unusual like cut grass.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: That was like one of the scents from I think it was Mrs Myers last year was cut grass and I'm like guys, that's fake scents.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: I'm like I can, it was Mrs Myers last year, was cut grass and I'm like guys, that's fake sense.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: I'm like I can't do that, I can't replicate that because I'm not going to stoop down Like I don't want to do that.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: There's lemongrass, lemongrass you could do lemongrass and get the oils for those.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: And what people don't realize, too, is that those products are a lot cheaper and they can get away with making it cheap because they are using synthetic scents versus a chemical yes, versus a lot of times.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: My cleaner is got natural oils in it.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: So my product is going to cost a lot more because it is natural and I'm using real oils for the aroma and I say aroma it's not a scent because I'm using real aromas, essential oils, so that can really separate the difference.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: So if you see that some of these products that are claiming to be natural and they're super cheap, it's because they're able to get away with that for using synthetic scents.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: So, like again, greenwashing versus not.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: Gotcha, and that makes sense now that you've elaborated a little bit on that, just for the people who didn't know, and I was very curious for sure.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: So yeah, knowing your products and then, so if you're going to be a hundred percent natural, you need to be a hundred percent natural for everything, right?
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: Yes, if you want to claim that you're going to be an organic, like not organic, but if you're going to be a natural cleaning company, then people trust that you're going to use everything natural.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: So in your bag you should not be carrying Clorox wipes, right, it'd be natural.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: So really know what's in your bag, know what you have is natural, because if you go into these houses and you start cleaning and you're not using something natural and your customer calls you out and they have an allergy to something, they can come back at you.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: Right, you told me you were 100% natural and what you're using is not natural and they can come back at you If they have an allergy to something, if they break out and they don't have an EpiPen and you're using.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: You just have to really be careful, and so if you're choosing to be 100% natural, you really need to stick to it.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so you know it would be natural cloths, natural sponges.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: If you use a sponge um, I think, it's a gray area with the brushes um the nylon and you could say, you know, with exception of nylon toilet brushes like those are okay, I think, but I think think it's the, the products that you use in the house.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: yeah, you know, versus you know things that they're going to smell, things you're going to put on surfaces.
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: Um, because a lot of times you're like, let's say, for instance, this is my good example, I look, and we both have little, you have littles.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: I don't have littles anymore, but I work with so many families whatever you're spraying let's say you're spraying something, shannon, on the window, like the glass sliding door let's say you're using ammonia or using Windex or whatever you're wanting to use.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: What are those little kids doing?
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: Those little toddlers are learning to pull themselves up and what are they're doing?
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: You're touching all that stuff.
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: And then where do their hands go?
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: Right on the glass.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: It's just like their hands go on the glass, but then they touch their mouth.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: They go right in their mouth, because kids put everything in their mouth.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Injusting it definitely.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: Same thing with the stainless steel cleaner.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: What are you using on the fridge?
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: What are the kids doing?
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: They're touching the fridge and they touch their mouth.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: It's scary.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: Love your families.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: And we love your families.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: We talk about chemical washes for the floors all the time.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: They did that because I don't want to say homeowners.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: Homeowners are not educated.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: They are educated, but when it comes to certain nuances in our industry, they are uneducated.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: So oftentimes when we take on a new house with the deep cleaning, we're also having to pull off all of the Bona or the Swiffer chemical.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Their dogs have been walking across it, their kids have been walking across it, they've been walking across it barefoot, and then it becomes like a build-up sticky issue and they can't figure out what it is and then they blame it on another cleaner.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: They don't understand because they're, they're just they're, they're just mopping another layer, and then they're mopping another layer and they're mopping another layer and eventually it has to be pulled off.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: And, um, sometimes it has to be pulled off by hand, depending on what your floors are made of, the material, and it's it's labor intensive.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: It's bucket after bucket after bucket after bucket.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: I mean, some houses can take like 200 or 300 buckets of just fresh water trying to pull it all off.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: And there's a technique to it, for sure, and we won't talk about it here, but that's something to consider as well.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: If you did the floors with Kim's product and I've seen the results.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: It's phenomenal, it really is.
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: So being 100% natural is key.
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: And then, what are some common hurdles for transitioning from green cleaning, from your regular chemicals, to green cleaning?
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Is there a notification that you have to give your clients?
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: Is there just a general announcement or there are going to be your hardcore general announcement or there are going to be your hardcore?
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: You need to use bleach and I just tell people we don't use bleach ever, just because it's just a volatile product.
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: No one wants to inhale it.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: It can burn you.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: I mean it can ruin your car.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: There's all kinds of things about that.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: What kind of transitions can you suggest for our audience today on how to transition?
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: Transitions.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: Can you suggest for our audience today on how to transition?
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: My biggest thing is just educating yourself.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: So when you are very like, when you're educating yourself through this process, you're able to educate your clients, educating your staff of why you're wanting to do it.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: So education is huge.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: Obviously, letting your clients know that you know this is what you're choosing to do.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: Obviously, letting your clients know that you know this is what you're choosing to do, and that is the big.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: And then learning the products, really learning the products, retraining your staff on how to use it is going to be another thing to do and it's just, it's a little it's.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: It takes time.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: It takes time.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: It's not going to happen overnight.
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: You know it takes time.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: I've talked with many companies that have reached out to me.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: You know cleaning companies and they want to make the switch, and so I work with them and talk to them of how to do that and some of that to why.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: Why are we switching?
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: Because your health is important to us, your family and your pets are important to us.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: Because we are learning that this is a safer option.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: Because you matter.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Definitely, and we obviously have all seen the horrific TikTok videos.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: I hate to even mention them, but I'm just waiting for the news to come out of a chemical burn because they threw 52 items inside a toilet because they thought it'd be cool to fill it with.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: The sink bubbled out and they ruined the floor and burned them.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: I'm just waiting for that to happen.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: But um, it's.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: If you just have one product that you know for sure is true natural, then you don't have to worry about putting 52 chemicals on a toilet.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: I don't know why anyone would want to do that, except for views and likes on their tiktok.
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: But um, we need more tiktoks that are going to educate people like with natural products and why that's what we need definitely.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: Um, maybe you can have a contest with that, who knows right oh um, just something just flew into my little brain there.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, just education a big part.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: And then, you know, training your employees a lot of.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: And, as I mentioned, a lot of people misuse chemicals the way they're supposed to be used.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: I can't tell you how many times you've heard me on my soapbox about the toilet bowl cleaner.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: Me too, I'm like on shower, it's just a no-no.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: I'll have my heart on it every time I see it.
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: Or, um, the other one, I saw.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: I know the other one I saw was somebody was recommending this person to use toilet bowl cleaner on their grout for their floors.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: Right, I'm just like no, no, do not.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: Toilet belongs in toilets.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Um stains the grout too, too, by the way, because the grout is porous, so you have blue.
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: You'll have white tile with blue stains and then you're removing a seal possibly, so who knows, right eating it?
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: Um, so yeah, just that's like really knowing your products and, um, those are just some of the biggest things is really educating and taking that plunge and really educating yourself, your customers and your staff.
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: And when you do switch to natural, it's actually easier to clean with.
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: A lot of people are like switching to clean natural cleaning products Doesn't do a good job.
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: No, it's learning how to use them and knowing how to you know, clean with them and using those practices.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: And I know a big.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: Another big hurdle is the cost.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: But I know that you've broken down the math.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: You have the big leaders.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: So if you portion it out and you follow the directions, with distilled water versus regular water, it ends up being pretty economical per bottle.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: It's what is it?
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: 50 cents, it's like 50 cents a bottle.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: And if you think about it because I'm guilty of doing this myself and I know we've talked about it in the past, but when I was new and I was not knowing what I was doing, I hooked it right down to that.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: We don't even have the dollar stores anymore because they're all closing, but you could go right down to the dollar store and buy whatever chemical they had and that would like get you by.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: So you're harming yourself, you're ingesting it because your skin is your largest organ and if you break down the cost per ounce, it's actually higher price than if you used pure evergreen and you're getting a natural product which actually shines and is good.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: It doesn't hurt anybody.
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: It replaces everything and that's what a lot I think you and I, when we first started talking we we talked about that.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: I remember that that first episode like we talked about this was way before we had a podcast and we did a live and we actually had everybody tell us all the products they used and we broke them down Like it replaces the stainless steel, it replaces floor cleaner, toilet cleaner, bathroom cleaner, shower cleaner, like everything.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: So if you think about all those products you're trying to carry in that bag, my back would be broken by then and versus having like four products and I I talk about that in the group a lot like having four products.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: You don't need to have all those products, which is going to take so much time and training your employees on versus four products.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: So it saves money and it saves time and training and it actually I've heard so many stories that it cuts down cleaning time.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: So, these people, if you're charging flat rate and you're using my product Pure Evergreen and you're using the four products that I was talking about, you're actually cutting your time back and you're making more money.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: Right, and that ends up being a good thing if you really look at the cost.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: More money, right, and that ends up being a good thing if you really look at the cost.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: And there's also green practices in action.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: Do you have any case studies for your product up on the website?
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: We're working on it.
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: I'm trying to get it EWG certified, but it's crazy because you actually have to pay for that and it is.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: I think it was like $15,000 or something and I'm like I don't have that.
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: I'm a small little company.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: I owned a cleaning company and I saw a need and after two years of doing this, I used my own blood, sweat and money.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: I didn't have a loan.
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: I didn't go and do this.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: I literally saved up money.
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: So I can have a better option for us in the cleaning industry.
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: So I'm a small little company.
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: I'm not no big company yet, but I don't want to change my practices.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Case studies are on the agenda.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: I know we've mentioned them before, but they are on the agenda.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: So maybe one day in the near future, when Kim has some free time, she can get those case studies up or have someone get them up for her.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: And then there is also the L E E D certification, which is also a big thing, and I would imagine, kim, your product does cover those specifications the specificities of becoming L?
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: E, becoming LED certified.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can Google search it.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: It's LED certification and it means that you are only using certain products in a building, and special buildings, like at colleges that are all green dorms, get special funding for being all green.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: So like they use less electricity because their solar panels adjust according to where the sun sits in the horizon, it opens up windows and doors automatically, so it's like a living and breathing building, so to speak.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: So it's amazing to me, and it is not cheap to be LEED certified, but it is a great certification to have.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: Should you be interested in all?
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: But it is a great certification to have.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Should you be interested in all the nerdiness that comes along with that I've actually considered doing it a couple of times.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: I just don't have the time.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: But that's like definitely a goal for me, shannon, is to get more certifications.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: But, like I said, I'm not a huge company.
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: I'm just, like you know, working on all this stuff and it's a lot of money, so eventually I'll get to that point.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: But I know in my heart, you know, I want what's best for my clients and I want what's best for all of you guys out there.
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: Um, so that's why I did, that's why I made this.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: So Very cool.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: Well, um, this is kind of just the starting point for you to start a green cleaning company.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Obviously, if you want, step by step, you could join the Start a Cleaning Business Club.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: It's right now still by the time this is actually released, the price will have increased for it.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: But it's listed right on my website, cleanfreaksuniversitycom, and there are about almost a hundred people in there and we have like monthly trainings.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: There's a ton Everyone's like.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: I can't believe this is what you're charging.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: It was an intro price and at the end of April that price is going to weigh in.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: A new.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: A new, appropriate price will be there.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: So if that is something you're interested in, we can probably have a segment on green cleaning inside there.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: I'm writing myself a note so I don't forget, um, but if you have nothing else to contribute, we can say farewell of war see you later.
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Bye-bye I did this whole thing hi, everybody stay green.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Before we go entirely, my little list.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: My nine-year-old is taking sign language and she was showing me what the sign is for chocolate milk.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: It's this and this.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Oh close, chocolate.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: Uh, is it?
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: Is it chocolate Chocolate?
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: So?
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: put your hand like your palm, and then those that were watching.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: You put your palm like this and you put the C chocolate, chocolate milk.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: Cause we were going like this.
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: And she goes no, no, yeah, this is the sign for this and she goes no, no, yeah, this is a sign for chocolate, and then vanilla, this is a sign for vanilla.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: I thought I was going to tell.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: I told her I'm like I'm going to tell Kim today.
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: And she's like okay, yeah, I would tell her like vanilla, chocolate and then strawberry.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: For those of you who don't know, you'll have to watch the video.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: But yes, it's.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I have to teach her this one Strawberry or a strawberry?
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: No, she said wolves.
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: She's like oh, she'll have to get on with me for FaceTime.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: Very fun.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: All right, you guys.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: Thank you guys.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning in.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: Bye, bye.