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You Can Grow A Cleaning Business Without Losing The Human Touch with Marcus Southern, Southern Royalty Cleaning Service LLC · Epic Entrepreneurs

• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: Hi everyone, welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: Today I'm excited to be joined by Marcus Southern with Southern Royalty Cleaning Service LLC.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: We'll explore the story, challenges, and growth behind this cleaning service business.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: Marcus, how are you doing today?
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning, Cliff.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing good.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: How are you doing today, sir?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: I'm doing great.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: Very, very blessed and happy to have you on.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: And uh yes, if you don't mind, let's go ahead and jump right into it.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, tell us a little bit about what you got going on.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: What's uh Southern Royalty Cleaning Service and what do you provide for the community?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, first and foremost, Southern Royalty, the name.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: My last name is Southern.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: My wife's maiden name is Royal, so I always joke with my customers and say if I ever mess up, she'll take half.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of how that, you know, it's a union between us as far as our cleaning company.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: We've been in business for 11 years, serving the Hampton Roads.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: What sets us apart is really our level of customer service.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, in a world where intimacy and communication is dying, you know, we we seem to thrive in that.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's our niche, you know, and that's also the part of the business that's the most rewarding to us, making sure that our clients are well taken care of.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: And and that's huge, you're right.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: It's it is dying.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's I talk about this kind of all the time that uh we we have more ways to communicate than we ever have in the history of you know in humankind, basically, and uh we do a poorer job now of communicating than ever, I feel.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, instead of you know trying to get better, we kind of continue to cater to that.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know, think about when you're in a hurry and you go to Wendy's, and you know, the the teen the teenagers are looking at you like you're crazy because they want you to go to the kiosk instead of asking them, hey, how may I help you today?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_02: So no, it's true, it's true.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: You get the side eye and all that stuff.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, man, that's I don't mind talking to people, you know, and and they don't want you to talk to them.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: They want you to they want no customer, no human interaction.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: They just want to be on their phones.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, hey, are you even on the clock, my friend?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like at the end of the day, you know, it's really basic.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: People just want to know that they're getting their money's worth, you know.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: We I like to say that we provide that.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: We do the extra.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, our our motto is where you pay for the royal treatment, and the southern hospitality comes for free.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we we go above and beyond not only to service you, but to make sure that we give you excellent customer service as well.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the southern hospitality.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: So nice, nice, love it.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: Now, now you said you and and I believe your wife's name is Amber, correct?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, sir.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_02: So uh tell us a little bit about you guys personally.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you said you guys are married, you know, how long and kind of what do you guys got going on personalized?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll try not to go on a tangent and make the story brief, but we've been married 16 years.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: How we got got to Virginia was really unorthodox.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, our whole business journey has been really faith-based.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I sold carpet at Shaw Industry headquarters.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Fast forward, we wanted to relocate because we were in a small town, and I was currently fighting for a custody battle with my oldest daughter, which I had as a senior in high school.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, we ended up here and just kind of went from the ground up, you know, and uh just been going strong ever since.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: That that that move was, you know, at the time probably one of the most painful parts, but it really strengthened my family, you know.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: And in the meantime, I've uh I have three biological kids and adopted my nieces and nephews too.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we we raised six kids, you know.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of gotta have a strong household for that.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah, no, that's that's awesome.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: Now, you know, you and Amber built Southern Royalty around both excellence and southern hospitality, like kind of kind of like what you spoke about earlier.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: What did you want customers to feel that was missing from the cleaning industry?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: The main thing is that they're being heard, you know.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of franchise companies have a cookie-cutter approach to everything.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really the caveat that grew my business.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want my customers to have to go outside the realm of me to find any extra cleaning services.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we started off with a mop in a bucket and then ended up years later with pressure washing rigs, floor scrubbers, carpet cleaners, etc.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: I just kind of wanted to, you know, be that one-stop hub for all a person's cleaning needs, and that's really what evolved us as a company.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: Now, Marcus, you founded the company in 2015.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: Now, what did the early version of the business look like and when did it begin to feel like a real company, would you say?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: I love this question, Cliff, because I really feel like so many business owners, I mean, unless you got a business degree, right, they fall into the same category.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you start off as a solopreneur, you know, a hustler.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that's essentially what I was.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it was really easy for me to get jobs because I love people.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: But you only have you're only one man and you only have 24 hours in a day.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, probably I want to say three, four years really made the switch, especially having a business coach.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Shannon Ford, Ford Coaching, holding you accountable, you know, because sometimes when you're working so hard in the business, it's hard for you to work on the business.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so that that's really been my my biggest challenge.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you got really got to get out of the mindset, like nobody can do it better than myself.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, if somebody can do it 80% as good as you, then it's up to your leadership to manage that 20% that lacks, you know.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_03: So Okay, okay.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: Now, you guys offer everything from recurring commercial cleaning to floors, soft washing, and post-construction work.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: How did that service mix and develop?
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: So going back to the you know, my previous statement, it's just really trying to be trying to keep the customer happy, you know, having them not have to go out there and search for multiple vendors to provide a certain get a service that I can provide myself.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's especially worked out in post-construction because you know you have out-of-state or companies coming in bidding on projects.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: So, a good example, we did a Panda Express right near TCC off Princess Ann.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And they were opening up, but they were essentially looking for three different vendors.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: One to do final cleans and initial cleans of the inside project.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted somebody to do windows and they wanted somebody to pressure wash everything, the pavement, the drive-thru, the building itself, etc.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: So well, and instead of them going out and finding three different vendors, three different bids, essentially like nine, because you got to get three bids for each.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: I just gave them a one-stop solution and they went with me.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it's always it, it always works out for us being that company, especially for post-construction guys, because it relieves the stress.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: They should be worried about the project and making sure their guys got all their measurements and stuff right, not something like cleaning, you know.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_02: Now, now Marcus clean, I know cleaning is easy to promise, but hard to deliver consistently.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: What system do you what systems do you keep quality from changing from run crew or one job to the next job?
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I make sure that my leadership is thoroughly trained.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: And another another reason we're so good as far as consistency and quality is because me and my wife are still very involved in the business.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we we teach and lead with that that methodology that we leave from the front.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm never gonna ask my people to do something that I'm not willing to do myself.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I I'll we'll pull up on somebody and just see how the project is going, bring them water, etc., for the team, just depending on how big it is, and just make sure we see it through and give them that support.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: Love that, love that.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: Now, what is your biggest challenge your business is facing right now, would you say?
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think the biggest challenge is probably my biggest opportunity and reward, right?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I I I feel like a lot of business owners can relate to this as people.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely the people, the culture's changing.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and there was one with Scott Danner, wonderful guy, runs Raymond and James Stewart, that they later got bought up by Stewart Partners here in Chesapeake.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: But anywho, they were talking about the difference in managing millennials or the the new the new generation.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: It might be Gen Z.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: I can't keep up with all of it.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, you know, it's it's hard, it can be challenging, and a lot of people, you know, will just throw their hands up in frustration.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: But I really feel like we've we've really done good as far as coaching, to where I individually reach out to all my workers, and it makes me a better leader because you know it forces me to step outside the box to figure out how I can support my my employee.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And you also gotta empathize and realize that we were all at a certain age and mindset being younger.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: So having to, you know, really deep dig deep within to remember that just so I can build that rapport with that that employee is or that team member just makes all the the difference because they feel seen, they feel heard, they feel like their efforts actually matter instead of just being a number, you know?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that's huge.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_02: That's huge.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, feeling like feeling like you're actually like an individual rather just a number is is huge for people, especially, you know, this day and age when I know I hear a lot of a lot from employers or for entrepreneurs that you know it's hard to find good work these days or good workers.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_02: Do you notice that being the case?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's hard to find good employees.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's yes and no.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes and no.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: It just depends on how much effort you're willing to put.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: I believe, you know, I always tell everybody when I I interview them that I'm not looking for the best cleaner.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really looking for somebody that has zeal in life, you know, that wants to show up, has a good attitude, good team player, and a hard worker.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Everything else can be taught, but those certain principles you can't teach.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, when you're an interview, people tell you everything that you want to hear just to get hired, but that consistency, right?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: You see that over time.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really something that you got to determine within a you know first month.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Is that something I'm willing to invest in, or is it something I'm not?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess that's the work right there.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I I've had great cleaners, I can just leave them by themselves, but and they'll they'll make sure the job gets done, and it's great.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: But you put them with a team, now everybody's ready to jump off a bridge, you know.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: Now, what would you say are your biggest frustrations you have with your business right now?
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: The things that consistently make ownership harder than it should be.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't mind exposing my chinks and my armor.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Analytically, you have to run your business different versus when you were only making a hundred thousand versus you making four hundred thousand.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that evolution is is key.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I stress to people, you know, the importance of having a financial coach or a business coach, because they can help you look outside the picture, you know, and and accountability is key, because I don't know about you, but as I get older, I forget more things than I remember, right?
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: So to have somebody like, remember what you said.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, you're right.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so that that's definitely been a challenge for us because you know, if if your numbers aren't right or analytically, your systems, your processes, etc.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: aren't right, then you could essentially, even though you're making more money, you could be profiting less because you haven't thought about the whole picture.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's really been the challenge.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's it's getting better, but you know, business is a lifelong journey anyway.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Marcus, about how many hours a week are you working in and out of the business right now, would you say I would say a good uh it's just really hard when you really start finding your lane in business, it starts meshing into like purpose, right?
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, the business meetings, the the networking meetings don't feel as much like work, you know, because good example, my B and I meeting um at Chesapeake Riverview.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great place, ran by Jay and Red Jay and Erica Redmond.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, it started off as you know, I was as I was building my culture, I would rent out a room to do employee parties there, and it essentially I got the contract, and then I joined the B and I group in there, and then there's so many people I I heard Phil on your previous uh podcast, you know, you'd build relationships with, you know, and just referring business just seems effortless.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: So going back to your question, I don't really, I can't really answer that question because I guess it just it just flows so seamlessly.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: I would say like 2025, maybe, maybe, but it might be more.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes when everybody's in bed, I'm on the computer trying to figure out systems and processes, you know.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: Or you got an idea that you want to get out, right?
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: You got to get it out right then and there.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because like you said, you you might forget.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_02: Now, what would you say is your greatest strength as a business owner, in your honest opinion?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: People and stewardship, just wanting to be able to serve, you know.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: I always tell my employees just to give them an insight to me, you know.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: My my favorite contract, and I mean, thank God I got my wife to keep me on track, right?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because uh like little Joe's, he said I give them away, but my wife wouldn't let me.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: My biggest jobs is or my my greatest jobs are not the two million dollar jobs that we're gonna make, you know, 60, 70% profit margin, right?
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's that job where it's an older, elderly couple, or maybe just you know, people trying to transition into a different part of their lives.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, we're probably not making hardly anything, but to be able to take that off of their plate and just hoping that I I invested a little bit back in humankind to where I can get that back when I get older.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we had a great company, they were a great couple that was transitioning to go into a senior assisted living home, you know, teacher, ex-military, been serving community their whole life.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: And they got us, I was referred to them by Stacy Williams, the great realtor in uh in the Hampton Roads.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, yes, we we did the cleaning, and that was the great part because you know, she had been essentially cleaning herself, but over time, you know, physically, you can't do the certain things that you did when you were in your 40s or whatever.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, that southern hospitality comes in because while I was visiting, making sure my you know my team members are great and they needed help moving, you know.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't I didn't want nothing extra.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like, hey, put me to work, you know, and my workers see that too.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like, put me to work.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: What you need help with, I'm gonna help you, you know.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that was the most rewarding job to me because I got to not only, you know, go above and beyond on the cleaner aspect, but I got to help them outside, you know.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know about you, but you know, I don't know if you have kids, but I would hope that my kids are there to assist me, or that there's somebody younger that believes in the same values of life that is willing to assist me too when I get to that stage in my life.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, on this next question, I want you to be as candid, as honest as you can, but um, and it's just gonna take a little bit of vulnerability from you, but you know, what is one leadership or business skill you you know you still need to improve on?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's a good one, Cliff.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Probably trust.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: Trust.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: A little quick tidbit about my background.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm only child.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: I had a lot of time to myself, but you know, life as you get raised, certain ideologies are instilled in your head.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: And one of those ideology, like we talked about previously, is you can do everything yourself.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and I I still I'm getting better.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm definitely as we grow, I trust my team, and I'm getting better at the trusting part.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: But it's definitely something that, you know, is always a work in progress.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that that's my that's my cryptonite, as you would as you could say.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: So now digging into that a little bit more.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: So does it I know you said you're an only child and everything.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: Is there anything like is there kind of a reason why that happened?
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: Did some employees in the past give you a reason to kind of do that, or or is it just kind of built into your personality, would you say?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, as you start developing leadership, and I always tell people I probably did it backwards because I you know talked to other big business owners and they developed their leadership first, but I never wanted to develop leadership where the team members was like, well, you you didn't start why I started.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: And essentially that's how I am as a business owner.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we started out physically doing the work, and then we essentially evolved into CEO, CFO.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: But just you know, with that being said, you have to let people in, and that's the trust aspect that is hard.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I've been burnt in the past, you know, always tell people trust but verify, trust but verify, right?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's so valuable because you can trust people, but complacency, just basic, you know, temptations of the flesh coming to play, pride, et cetera, et cetera.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not trusting but verifying, if you're not going there and having these sit downs and these coaching sessions, this communication, then over time it could be something that, you know, could be something that could be crippling, you know, or hurt you, you know, hurt your trust.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, that's why I said the people has been the greatest challenge, but also the greatest reward because not only when I see growth in my people, I see growth in myself.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because I had to, you know, reach out or learn something new in order to build a rapport with this person and make sure that they're performing.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: Now, Marcus, recurring commercial accounts can stabilize a service company.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_02: What have you learned about winning and keeping those relationships?
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Once again, communication is just really a pillar in business.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: I learned in the past, you know, sometimes we treat things like air fryers or crock pots and we set them and forget them.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's something a horror story I hear from multiple customers.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they started off good, but over time it's like they're just changing the trash, you know.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I always just try to check in with my clients, make sure everything's going good.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: I check in with my leadership to make sure there's going everything is going good.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: I try to set up multiple layers.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: That way I know quality control is is great, you know.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_02: Now, where do most of your customers come from today?
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_02: Is it word of mouth or lead generation?
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, Cliff.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we're a little unorthodox, you know.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, first and foremost, they come from God, right?
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because nothing's possible without Him.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Which is why it probably is so unorthodox.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: We are mainly referral business.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: I don't just dump money in Google, LSA, which is something that we're, you know, looking into no meta ads, it's strictly.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: Word of mouth, you know.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like to think that our 11 years invested in business in the Hampton Roads is really paying off.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, people we're not just a cleaning company, we're a company that you could trust, you know.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: So now, when a qualified lead comes in, you know, say they're they're ready to go, everything sounds great.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: How confident are you that it becomes an actual customer?
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I have a wonderful executive assistant, Jay.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all, y'all uh communicate it back and forth through email, but having somebody that is always ready to communicate and then having that final piece as me, the CEO giving you a call to make sure that all your requests are met is definitely key.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very confident.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Without being, you know, cocky or anything, but nine times out of ten, if a client goes through all those processes and then we finish up with me talking and closing a deal, then you know I feel confident that we're gonna close it.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_02: So tell us a little bit about the team supporting your business today.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: So right now I'm essentially looking for a field operations manager and multiple ladies and assistant leagues, probably around 11 regular team members.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we're just growing a cliff, we're just growing, you know.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody gave me a blueprint to this, and essentially, as a an opportunity arises for me to kind of delegate a part of myself.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: I created, we we hired for it, you know.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: I give a lot of shout outs to Dan Martell.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: He buy he writes Buy Back Your Time, and I listen to a lot of his podcasts as well.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: And with business owners, you know, we just gotta business.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's possible for business to thrive by itself.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: We just have to go above and beyond and look inside and say, hey, what 10 cent work can I give away to buy back more time to do more income producing or you know, high priority things that only me can handle, you know.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: So I love that, love that, love that.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: So now we're gonna head into the this or that portion.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_02: So basically how this works is I'm gonna give you two things.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna give you this or that, and I want you to choose one of them and then kind of just explain why you chose that.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_02: Give us a little kind of a paragraph on why you chose it.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's a good way to kind of show your personality a little bit.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of these are personal kind of things, so we'll get to know a little bit more about you.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, some of them are business, but most of them are personal.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, all right.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: So first thing on this or that early bird or night owl and why?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_02: Both.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Both.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: I always joke with well, I always joke with people because they're like, you know, they're like, I wake up before they said an early bird gets up and gets the worm, but I wake up before that bird, you know.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, life kind of dies down, you know, with kids and wives, and you know, I'm very active in my church.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, the night kind of gives me time to catch up on clerical work.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: I probably don't get the initial eight hours like I'm supposed to.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm guilty of it, but uh I utilize both, you know.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I'm with you right there.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_02: I unfortunately I don't get eight hours of sleep like I'm supposed to either.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, man, I know that's a thing, but yeah, I just I don't know.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_02: I just can't seem to lay down for that long.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: We got stuff to do, Cliff.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_02: You know, now taking a little nap during the day, I could do that, you know, to kind of catch up a little bit.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: But uh yeah, yeah, I love I love my naps.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh coffee or tea?
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely coffee.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely coffee.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I gotta give her a shout out because I drink her coffee.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah, Jen and Mike Martinez.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: They actually Halloween H A L U A N.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: They give half their proceeds to suicide, soldier suicide.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: I know I'm messing it up, but I mean not only do they have a great cause, but when their coffee comes in your front door before you even open the box, you smell the coffee and you're like, man, this is gonna be some strong stuff.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, because I need my caffeine.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: Like you said, you gotta get up before that first worm, so you gotta that's right.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_02: Beach or mountains?
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely mountains.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely mountains.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Coming from Georgia, you know, when I came to Virginia, I was like, you gotta pay to stay outside.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: What is this?
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, the mountains because, you know, and it's even better when I don't have cell phone service.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: It it gives you that that moment to be still, you know, when the beach is okay, but there's a lot of people, a lot of distractions.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, when you go camping, and you know, especially I love it for my teenage kids because it's like, ha, you don't have no service, and you have to be engaged, you know.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it it gives you opportunity, like I said, you being still, but also being appreciative to like what you got, what you're working for.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that's something that I guess I should have said that as a challenge too, to get so caught up and like get bigger, get this evolved.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: But it's like, how many times do you sit back and look and be like, man, this is beautiful, what I built.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this is why I'm working.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the mountains definitely gives me the opportunity to really reflect my beautiful wife, my kids, my life, you know, the people that I influence.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it gives me that much more strength to keep going, you know.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_02: I love that answer.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: Vacuum or pressure washer?
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh definitely love pressure washing just because I'm a results person, and vacuuming is okay because the lines, right?
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: But when you pressure wash, especially somebody that, you know, hasn't kind of neglected their house or hasn't had the time, whatever the case may be, that that the result, the evidence that you see, the result is just is tremendous.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: Spotless house or spotless car.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want anybody to judge me on this one.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um my car is, you know, that's work.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: I probably neglect it.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like the hairdresser, everybody else has great hair, but their hair doesn't look that great.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I definitely value, you know, uh a spotless home because that's your place of solitude, your place of peace.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and uh I I I love being able to be a father and raise kids, but I'm also counting down the days where once I leave the house clean, it's gonna I come back and it's gonna be clean, you know.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yep.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody's ever messing up.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Cliff, your time's coming, brother.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I gotta do that for what, 18 years, however many long, however long they'll be around.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, that's right.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: Now, do you prefer phone call or text message when it comes when it comes to business or in and also this is a two-part phone call or text message for business, phone call or text message for personal?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love this question, Cliff, because I explain this all the time.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to get in touch with me, call me.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you want me to remember something, text me.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_02: All right, barbecue or steak.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely love barbecuing, even though it's you know time consuming, it's just the results are a lot better, you know.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Sitting out there all day.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: We have a big smoker here, and you know, a lot of times we get together as neighbors for like 4th of July on bigger holidays, and you know, you bust out some 20-pound Boston butt or something like that, or brisket, you know, just the result, you know, because you've been waiting all day, mouth watering and stuff.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of those things, like you know, if you try to rush it though, you know, the results are not gonna come out.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it keeps you dedicated to it, you know.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_02: So definitely agree.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_02: Agree, agree.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_02: Shark tank or undercover boss?
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely love shark tank.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: I like to think of myself as innovative and I I love constructive criticism.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: So to be able to go up there publicly and take that based on you know an idea that I proposed, I love that.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Undercover boss, that's a little eh.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't like that culture anyways, you know.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: I try to control the culture of my company, you know, definitely emphasizing no drama, right?
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: And fraternizing, but I just feel like undercover boss kind of takes me back to the days where I was working at like Texas Roadhouse or something, you know.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_02: Netflix or YouTube?
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: YouTube.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I have a PhD in YouTube university.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um shout out to YouTube, they need to sponsor me.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: We learn so much from YouTube, you know.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I try to limit entertainment TV, you know, because there's just so much going on, and you know, like dead scrolling and watching movies can really like pull you in, and the next thing you look, it's like three hours later.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, YouTube is something that you can even if you're listening to an audio book, you know, you can multitask and keep it going.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm real big on utilizing YouTube for work music.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I like you eat Asian food, like Chinese food, cliff.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: You eat something, yes.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: Do you eat Asian food?
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, Chinese food.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_02: I love Chinese food, yeah.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_02: I love actually all Asian food, yeah.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_02: Vietnamese, yeah.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_02: I do all of it, fud, all that stuff, yeah.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: Me too, because I don't have Japanese.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: But so that that music that plays in the background, that's essentially what I listen to on YouTube while I'm working.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: Real traditional ancient Asian music.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, okay.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_02: So does it like put you in like a zone or something?
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: What is that?
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: What does it do for you?
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: It just it just keeps me focused.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I learned when you listen to like secular music or any kind of music with words, you know, you the part comes up in the hook and it kind of takes you away from your work, and then you come back and you're like, wait a minute, what was I doing?
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: But having like instrumental, you know, tranquil music.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: I like the healing bowls, those are pretty cool.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: It just kind of keeps you focused, especially when you're in denial for being ADHD or whatever that acronym.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yep, yep, yep.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: Let's see here.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: Cats or dogs, definitely dogs.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Cats, you can't trust them.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: Dogs, you know, if they poop or pee, it's on the floor, you know.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: Cat, it might be in your washer, it might be on top of your cabinet.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like that.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Dogs are limited, they're simple.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're like, they're like me.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like yeah, yeah.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_02: That's true.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_02: And then and then you gotta keep the cat litter, and then your house smells a certain way.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_02: And with dogs, like you say, you can wipe it up, or you can take them outside and just have all that stuff stay outside rather than be inside your house.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and going into the houses that we clean, you know, it's not particularly my favorite to go in a house with cats versus dog, you know.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Dog, okay, we gotta pay close attention to baseboards and the floor, you know.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: But cat, it's like, okay, let me look on the very top of the cabinet because he might be chilling up there.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've had a couple properties where, you know, heaven forbid, right?
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody was, you know, in the hospital or something, and they had cats, three or four cats.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now you're walking into the house and they looking at you like, what you doing?
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like almost like a gang.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's no limitations to where what part of the house they done touched, because they done touched everything, they done climbed on everything.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, sorry, I went on a tangent, but yes, definitely dogs.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like dogs.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_02: Summer or winter?
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely winter.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: Sagittarius, December 1st.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I even like camping in winter just because there's no bugs.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, you can always put more clothes on, but you you know, you can't.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's not the same for when it's hot.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thank you.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for saying that.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_02: Man, I get so many people love summer.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, man, you like swamp butt, you like uh you like your underarms, you know, being all wet and stuff, and and wet, and then all the bugs, all the hornets, yellow jackets, you know, mosquitoes, all this stuff.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_02: And wintertime is so quiet, it's so peaceful, and everything's you know hibernating, the bears are gone, everything's gone.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's just great.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know, it's peaceful.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: Campfires, all that good stuff.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: I get you.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I yeah, I prefer that too.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody wants this summer, and I'm like, man, I don't know how you guys like just being hot all the time.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, me and my wife, just to you know, touch on that a little bit more, you know, our greatest time to go drive the strip, the ocean front, mainly kill double hills, because we like it down there too, is the winter.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you don't have to worry about bumper to bumper traffic.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, oh, I can't believe this store is here.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, maybe when season we'll come down here and come check them out, you know, or look at the reviews and stuff.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: But you can't do that when it's full-blown tourist season, you know, like you people cutting you off, dumb people walking across the road.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like it just takes away from the beauty of where you're at, you know.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: Good thing is winter season here, everybody goes to Florida.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's kind of because I used to live in Florida actually.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_02: So Florida in the winter actually is crazy tourist season because everybody's escaping all the other cool places to get further south, right?
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, their winter season is ridiculous.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_02: That's like when everybody's there, all the snowbirds and all that good stuff.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I didn't care for that.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_02: So had to move.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_02: Sunrise or sunset?
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely sunrise.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you a reminder that you're here for a reason and you got a job and you got a purpose.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, at sunset, it's a little tricky.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, okay, am I gonna get to wake up?
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it's how I look at it.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: But when I wake up and I see that sunrise, I'm like, all right, baby, we in here.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_02: Morning or night shower?
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: Both.
• 37:41
  unknown: Oh, okay.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna lie.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: Morning is like, all right, refresher, let's go into it.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: And nighttime is like, all right, let me wash all this stuff off of me.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing a lot, you know.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, and get to bed.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: Cook at home or eat out.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely cook at home.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm so guilty of being one of those guys that goes to the restaurants, like, this is really good, and then YouTube it while I'm eating it.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then I go home and I cook it myself.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: And let me tell you why, Cliff.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because my thing is, you know, it's like, and I'm I'm not trying to, you know, take it to a negative connotation, right?
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: But when you go out, right, it's like you're playing restaurant roulette, right?
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm real big being a local service provider, locally owned, family owned, you know, reputation is big for me.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: But when you go out here, like I said, it's restaurant roulette, right?
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes the food is great, but then you know, customer service is really lacking, or you know, it's the opposite, whatever, whatever, the price, you know, especially having a big family.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: So we like to, you know, budget.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes we ball out of control, as I say, right?
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, most of the time we're trying to look for something economical, right?
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: But at the house, I can make whatever I want to, you know, for a fraction of the cost, you know.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of me going out there and spending$50 for this sirloin, I can spend, you know, maybe 70 bucks, and then we all eat sirloins, and I can make it great.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't have to worry about somebody messing up my day or my night because you got a bad attitude, you want to bring problems to your job.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, so yeah, definitely home.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_00: I love cooking at home.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and plus, plus you know what's in it.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_02: You know that you wash your hands because you know some people don't wash their hands after they use the bathroom.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just saying.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you like, I don't know if you watch the news like me, but I mean, lettuce is might get you, the eggs might get you, you don't know.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, definitely, definitely make it at home.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_02: I I agree, I'm with you on that.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_02: We we cook a lot at home myself, so I'm with you on that.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_02: I like cooking.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_02: I actually enjoy it.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_02: For me, the part that I enjoy the most about cooking is you know the reaction of whoever you're feeding, right?
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_02: And they eat it and then you're like, then they're like, oh man, this is so good.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, oh, perfect, all that work was worth it.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you can you can change it up too, you know.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: We're in the age of YouTube.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want Chinese food, you just look it up.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: If we want Italian, I grow my own vegetables in the backyard.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you know how basil, I don't know if you have any experience, but basil is quick to take over your yard.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I make a lot of pest though just from scratch, you know.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_02: You know, nice, nice, nice.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we have a little bit of a garden.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_02: We don't have a big enough yard yet, but uh I am looking at moving.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_02: And uh when I move, my next house is gonna have some acreage.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_02: I definitely want to do a big garden and all that stuff.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_02: That's my goal.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: Same here, brother.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: Same year.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, appreciate you getting through that this or that.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_02: That was great.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_02: That was great to uh to kind of pick your brain a little bit and learn more about your personal side.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, kind of following up here, what is next for Southern Royal Realty Cleaning Service?
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_02: Where do you see your cleaning services industry heading and kind of where do you see your company in the next few years?
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: A couple mixed questions mixed reactions to that.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you watch Homaglow or seen the commercials for Homa Glow, but essentially what I see happening is them essentially doing it like they did the taxi industry, opening it up and advertising to people like they're working for themselves, but they don't know all the little details about running a business, right?
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's essentially what Homoglow is they give you like a sign-in thing and then you sign up as a 1099.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_00: As far as us, I just always see us being a staple, you know, as we get bigger, doing more community, more philanthropy stuff, because that's the one thing that really can't not be cocky, right?
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: That I just I don't feel like anybody's delivering like us is that genuine customer service.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're here for you, we got you, you know.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because everybody wants to turn it into, you know, it's hard to say, like in a transactional journey, right?
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like bum boom, let me get your money.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_00: Here's your service for my cookie cutter thing, whatever.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: But we're we're just not like that.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we never will be, no matter how big we get.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_02: Nice, nice.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_02: Now, if there was one thing you could change about your business in the next 90 days, what would it be and why?
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_02: Let's say by Halloween.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I cliff, there's there's really nothing that would change in the next 90 days because it's not about my time, it's God's time, and I know he's always on time, and we on track, you know.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I see where we're going, I see where we've been, and we we're right on top.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_03: So Okay, okay.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Marcus, you know, one last thing I want because you know, we we do have a fairly large entrepreneurial uh audience here that listens to the podcast.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm sure you know picking your brain was great.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure some people learned some good stuff from here from this conversation.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_02: But, you know, let's say if a business owner or small business owner is listening to the podcast episode with you today, Marcus, and let's say they're just they're having just a rough goal of 2026, right?
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_02: Just not profitable.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they had to fire.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_02: Unfortunately, they had to let some people go because they're not able to afford to pay them anymore, they don't have the work for them anymore, they're just feeling stuck or overwhelmed.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_02: What's a piece of advice you'd give to that business owner today?
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: Two things, Cliff.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_00: Going back to my previous statement, it's never about your time, it's about God's time.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: He's always on time.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you how many times that I wasn't able to pay myself, but I made sure that I paid my people, that I prayed that we would get somewhere financially, financial clarity, etc.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then right when I was ready to throw in that towel, he showed up like he always does.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: So faith is big, right?
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_00: Also, you know, I would say to that is your net worth is determined by your network.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, far too many people think about uh your network as being one-dimensional, but you know, that's that's the blessing of B ⁇ for me because it didn't just come with business referrals, it came with mentors, you know.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: It came with people that give you uh an ear when you're going through some things because far too many people try to trail their own or blaze their own trail, but there's people that's done what you're doing, and they can tell you the roadblocks and mistakes to shortcut you.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: Why wouldn't you take advantage of that?
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, kind of like when you got kids too.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's like watching the movies like, okay, I see what you're about to do, and you try to tell them, but they so bent on doing it their way, you know.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely put yourself in the chamber of commerce, definitely, you know, put yourself in the B and I, especially here in Hampton Rose.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: We got some great BI chapters everywhere in the seven cities, some new ones being, you know, opened up in Suffolk, etc.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, yeah, man, just the people that you surround yourself with is everything, you know.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: I try not to hang out with negative people, you know, because they put limitations on your dreams, you know.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like when I first got to Virginia, you know, I had a lot of friends that were unemployed and probably doing the wrong things in life.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, fast forward, my friend circle looks way different, full of business owners, full of God-fearing people, you know, good families, you know, like it's everything.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Marcus, hey, man, thank you for coming on again and for joining us and sharing your real behind the story, you know, of Southern Royalty uh cleaning service.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, to everyone listening, be sure to connect with our guests using the information shared today and follow Epic Entrepreneurs on all of our social media for more conversation with people building businesses and communities every day.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_02: So, Marcus, any last words for the listening audience before we go to sign off?
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: No, Cliff, it's been a pleasure.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate you having me on.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, you've been great.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_02: And again, we'll have all of your social media here in the tag as well for the description on Apple Music and Spotify.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, this is Cliff McCray with Action Coach Business Growth Partners.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_02: We'll see you next time.