- Quality comes from good training, not from genetics. No one is born with a "cleaning gene". When hiring, stop looking for people who "clean good". Hire job candidates that you believe are teachable and have a verifiable job history. Try to hire people you can train to follow your system and policies. Just because someone is a "good cleaner" doesn't mean they'll make a good employee. A good employee can be trained to follow your program, your rules, and your methods. The end result will be quality and consistency long term.
- Recognize that speed doesn't come from hurrying. Rushing will only cause breakage, and mistakes. When your staff rushes they miss things, especially in the dusting. Speed should come from following a proven method and developing a routine. Speed comes from learning and using a system of cleaning that works every time, in every house. Speed Cleaning For The Pros teaches this systematized method of cleaning.
- Speed comes from familiarity. First time cleans will always take longer than maintenance cleans. That's why you should charge more for the first visit. You are dealing with build up. Layers of dirt and grime that take extra time to remove. In a maintenance cleaning you have the advantage of establishing a routine, and maintaining areas before they get out of hand. Forget "rotation" cleaning. The Speed Cleaning method teaches you to clean everything, every time. This achieves a perfect maintenance cleaning.
- Require that your staff wear and use the Speed Cleaning Apron. This one single tool alone can shave 30 minutes to an hour off of most jobs. That adds up house after house, after house. Time is money in the home cleaning business
Cleaning Up In Texas
Business Help For Residential Cleaning Services
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Speed Cleaning Conference In Dallas
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Speed Cleaning Saves Time For Other Things
Friday, April 22, 2011
Interview: Debbie Sardone, Author of Barternomics
Interview: Debbie Sardone, Author of Barternomics
By sue on Apr 22, 2011 with Comments 0
Website URL:
http://thebarternomicsbook.com
Social Media Links:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/barternomics
What is your book about?
What inspired you to write your book?
I wanted to share my story of how barter rescued my failing business when tough economic times threatened to undermine all that I’d worked for. Barter paid for my marketing, printing, the CPA, employee perks and more when there was no other way possible.
How did you come to do what you’re doing today?
I’ve owned one of the largest maid services in the country for nearly 30 years, but success did not come easy. Starting the business out of the trunk of my car I quickly graduated from the school of hard knocks. We now gross over a million dollars in annual sales and have more than 40 employees.
Can you describe a typical day in your life?
As an absentee owner, I spend my days working from home as a full time business consultant (to other maid service owners). I also have the privilege of speaking at conferences and holding my own seminars and conferences (on how to grow your residential cleaning business). But I’m most proud of the nonprofit I started 5 years ago that has gained unprecedented attention nation wide and has been mentioned on Oprah, ABC, NBC, CBS, & Fox News. At the Cleaning For A Reason foundation, we recruit maid services all over the country to give away free housecleaning to women battling cancer. In less than 5 years we’ve recruited over 850 cleaning companies in all 50 states. Over 4,000 women have received our help, totaling over 1 MM in donated services!
These are my businesses, all still in operation:
www.cleaningforareason.org
www.themaidcoach.com
www.bucketsandbows.com
www.thecleanteam.com
What do you most enjoy about what you do?
I love helping others in business and in life, sharing and teaching what I learned the hard way. I love solving problems, creating systems, and inspiring others to believe they can achieve.
Are there any people and/or books that have inspired you along your journey?
Many, too many to do justice, but here goes:
People:
My father-in-law Ron Sardone
Oprah Winfrey
Benjamin Franklin
Books:
E-Myth
Good To Great
Blue Ocean Strategy
Developing The Leader Within
Get Booked!
Leap! (of course!)
Can you share some business tips for our readers?
Marketing is 100 times more important than you think
Perfectionism in business is dysfunction, not quality
Never solve the same problem twice, create a system for it
Read good books on business continually
Working hard does not guarantee your success, but working smart will
Can you share something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
Even though I work long hours with so many businesses, I love sailing with my husband of 33 years, and we both have a motorcycle!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Spring Has Sprung Tips To Cut Cleaning Time By Half
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Smart Women Maid Rich Club
Smart Women Maid Rich Club Still Accepting Applications - ONLY 13 SPOTS LEFT!
Only 13 spots left. Is this going to be your year to really make huge changes? Will you be running your business next year while you flit off for a 3 week vacation? When I ran my cleaning business I used to take 6-12 weeks of vacation a year, and revealing the tools that I used to do so is just one of the benefits of being a club member. I have heard about the cruise, will you be doing another one? In May of 2010 Renee O'Brien and myself hosted the first ever Smart Women Maid Rich cruise and professional conference, and it was phenomenal ! Since then people have wanted to know when will there be another Smart Women Maid Rich cruise and conference, and until recently we were unsure ...but it is official that there will be another cruise and club members have first dibs. Not only will they have a guaranteed spot, but also for club members who are cruise alumni (those that went last year) they will get registration for the next cruise absolutely FREE, and those that did not get to attend last year will get registration for the conference at half price (of course cruise and travel fees will still apply, but WOW what a savings). Holy Smokes! What do I get for joining? To get the complete list go to www.SmartWomenMaidRich.com , but here are a few. Two monthly amazing interactive sessions per month for a whole year $2500 value Free Smart Women Maid Rich Professional Skills Conference 10-session DVD set valued at $597 Complete set of Coffee Talk Audio series $297 value Discount and/or FREE registration for the next cruise $500ish value Official Smart Women Maid Rich Club card entitling you to some special industry discounts
Is it a Good Value? Absolutely! It is the best value around. I can't believe that we were able to offer you well over $4000 in value for a fraction of that price. The DVD series alone is half of the cost of the course. And, if you just pick up one idea that brings you JUST ONE new recurring customer you will make back more than the value of the club for the whole year. What is the price and do you have payment plan options? There are many payment options. Please go towww.SmartWomenMaidRich.com for more information. And, a quick hint that there is one payment option that was revealed only in the "Double Your Business Formula" sneak peek call so go listen to the end to read about monthly payments here: Double Your Business Formula. Who can join? I heard that you are limiting membership to one business per state? Any woman owner (or manager) of a cleaning business can join. Because we want this to be a close nit club that we have time to be thinking about each and every member we need to limit the size, and so we are only accepting businesses one per state. If you go to apply and the website says that your state is taken, please go ahead and continue to apply since we have a waiting list and our goal is to limit the size, but there may be some situations where exceptions can be made. We have only 13 spots left! Are you still accepting applications but not for much longer for the Smart Women Maid Rich Club! The first official meeting is Wednesday March16th 4:00 pm Central / 5:00 pm Eastern. You must be a club member to attend. Here is what you need to know. To sign up go to www.SmartWomenMaidRich.com To listen to the sneak peak call "Double Your Business Formula" be sure you listen all the way to the end! Sign up today!! |
BONUS ADDED: Next Level Think Tank
I am adding another bonus to the Smart Women Maid Rich Club. For those looking for "next level" strategies I will be offering at least 4 special 2 hour clinics for club members on topics like "Franchising Game Plan", "Managing Your Managers and Developing Leaders", "Adding on New Profit Centers", "Accumulating Money for Your Next Big Venture", and "Extracting Maximum Profit from Your Sales". To sign up go to www.SmartWomenMaidRich.com Don't be left out!
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Free Teleseminar for Cleaning Business Owners
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Free-Seminar-On-Wednesday-at-4-00-CDT---5-00-EST-For-All.html?soid=1101653092401&aid=6uUnpFyGe84
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Free Seminar From Smart Women Maid Rich
Two BIG Announcements Today! Free Seminar & The Clean Team News:
#1 Debbie Sardone and husband Steve Sardone are the proud new owners of The Clean Team Catalog and the Speed Cleaning brand! Watch for exciting details about specials, new products, and services! The Clean Team Catalog and all the amazing products are MOVING TO TEXAS! March 1, 2011 will be our first day in business in Texas. There could be a few glitches with the transition, but we've been working hard to make the transition seamless and hopefully you won't notice a thing!
Steve and I have been in California training and packing the truck to move our first load of inventory to Lewisville Texas. All toll free numbers and website will be the same, but watch for our GOING INTO BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENT & SALE coming soon!
#2 Back By Popular Demand From
Smart Women Maid Rich
You have heard the rumors, you wished you were there…AND maybe you were one of the lucky ones to be there. In May 2010 the Smart Women Maid Rich Professional conference and cruise was a slam dunk success with attendees coming back and making some of the biggest changes ever in their business. Many told us that this was the best, most focused, business training and conference that they had ever been to…and “when do we get to do it again?”
Last spring for the first time ever Debbie Sardone and Renee O’Brien teamed up to deliver one of the most unique and powerful conferences. The women that came knocked our socks off!!! They were dedicated, creative, inspiring and eager to take their place as women leaders in the cleaning industry. The VIPS, Cindi Bermudez, Liz Trotter, Lanette Richmond, Deanna Hains and Carrie Kiser were outstanding!...And, their stories of success moving beyond words. Sharon Cowan, our mystery guest speaker was also impressive, and all together Renee and I would like to give them a big “thank you” for giving such a kaleidoscope of examples of successful women.
The requests have been coming in for the group to continue and go to the next level, but if you know Renee and myself, you know that we wanted to wait until we could really do it right…and deliver far more than asked for. So, Renee and I have cleared our calendars (easier said than done) and have something even bigger planned for you! This Friday, we are going to give you a sneak peak of what we have planned, and YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS IT. Register now for our sneak peak event “Double Your Business Formula” and you will…
- Hear a complete session that will be a glimpse of the type of high quality, business impacting content that you can expect from the Smart Women Maid Rich brand. Smart Women Maid Rich is about YOU, YOUR BRAND, AND YOUR SUCCESS.
- Find out about the next Smart Women Maid Rich live fun business event, and how you might even be able to go for FREE.
- How you can be invited to be part of Debbie and Renee’s exclusive club and develop a real bond with people that are becoming the leaders in the cleaning industry.
- Get your hands on the newly released 13-part Complete DVD course with workbooks, Powerpoints and even added bonus audios for listening on the go…AND how you may be able to get this $597 value for FREE.
- Learn how you can be a card carrying member of the most valuable professional club of your career, for women only and exclusively for the cleaning industry!
Register for our FREE sneak peak event now.
“Double Your Business Formula”
Register for Free Seminar
2011 is your year! Tired of just reaching for survival? Do you want a real game plan for doubling your business in just 5 easy steps? Increase your salary, eliminate your cash flow headaches, and have enough money to attract great staff through this simple game plan. No pie in the sky theory, just concrete steps taught by my friend Renee, a 20 year seasoned veteran. Register now for this FREE tele-seminar. Seats will be limited to 75. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Friday, February, 18th 4:00 pm CDT / 5:00 pm Eastern Time
Register Now for Free
Everyone is welcome to this sneak peak event…women, men, alumni, non-alumni. The information is relevant for every cleaning business no matter how large or small. REGISTER NOW it's this Friday!Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Victoria Snee to Speak At Cleaning For A Reason Conference
Radio/TV broadcaster Victoria Snee has done countless interviews with celebrities and their make-up artists, and now she's sharing their secrets to becoming camera ready (along with personal stories about the stars themselves, including Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lopez) with you.
She's just finished a tell-all book that will help us all go from drab to fab and be ready for Prime Time!
Julie Ziglar Speaks to Cleaning For A Reason
I am thrilled to announce that Julie Ziglar will be our keynote speaker at the Cleaning For A Reason Edu-Sational Event in January! Every maid service is invited, whether you are a Cleaning For A Reason Partner or not, to participate in our first every Best Practices conference. It's January 21, 22 2011 all day Friday, all day Saturday, and a special Appreciation banquet Saturday night to honor and recognize the special people that make up our organization. We have top notch speakers lined up for both days. You'll be inspired and instructed and leave with a greater advantage to go home and grow and promote your business. Don't miss out on this spectacular event, come to Dallas, Texas and learn how to take your business to another level. Early registration means you save money and have a chance to win a free Hoover vacuum!
http://cleaningforareason.org/conference
Monday, December 6, 2010
Entrepreneurship And Mentoring
"Debbie, Weekends are good for reflection and this weekend made me realize something that I have known, but I can now put into words better. I enjoy starting and growing businesses. I wouldn't say I am a serial entrepreneur, but that would be okay to be there some day. We do have plans to start a 2nd biz in the Twin Cities soon. Plans are still in the works.
So, the reason for my email is this... You are the best and closet serial entrepreneur I know. One of the best things that I know in growing in life, period, is having a mentor, or a coach. I am not asking for a commitment on your part and I would bog you down with emails or phone calls.
I am just asking for a solid place to turn to or advice about how to answer all of these questions and "feelings" about wanting to start another business.
Here's the 1st one...
What books or courses or do you recommend specificity on serial entrepreneurship?
What podcasts/ speakers do you recommend specificity on serial entrepreneurship?
What websites you recommend specificity on serial entrepreneurship?
Obviously, I have more questions than answers and I don't want to take all your time. Thank you for all you do and being a great friend."
AND MY ANSWER:
wow, it's good to see you are realizing that we all need a mentor, at each and every stage of business. I have two that I tap into regularly. Those who go it alone and do not have someone who is more successful than they are at business to bounce off ideas and rein in thinking, usually end up wasting time, money, shooting in the dark. So, I am glad you are thinking in this direction.
It's hard to answer your specific questions, so I'll do my best. Most of the books I read do not provide NEW information that I can honestly say "wow, I never thought of that before, I am so glad I learned that". A few books that have provided that type of info was:
1. "The E-Myth" (I read several years ago, learned a new way to approach my business and set out to make changes in my business)
2. Some of the Leadership books by John Maxwell have taught me new insights I didn't have
3. The 4-Hour Work Week had some new ideas I didn't have
but, for the most part, most of the business books we read tend to reinforce what we already know, or inspire us to put into action things we intended to do but never have done. I still read them, and love them. I pull out my Brian Tracy books often and refer to them about Time Management, especially when I'm feeling overwhelmed and not keeping up. Do I learn something new? Rarely. But I need the guideance, reminders.
One of my favorite books about entrepreneurialism is the biography of Benjamin Franklin. I love that book. There are so many examples of businesses he started (first fire department, library, printing press, business networking group, etc.). I get so encouraged because he launched these successful businesses and made a fortune during some of the most economically depressed times ever!
As far as mentoring and getting specific, technical answers to business delimmas and ideas, I think that is best done live and not so much with books. I think you find someone who knows more than you do on that topic, and you discuss the business regularly. I have a non-profit coach that can answer every quesiton I have about building and operating a non-profit. He's on the Board of Lance Armstrong foundation, and he's just smart! The problem-solving calls are an enormous benefit to me, that no book could substitute for.
Online podcasts? Well, I've only used those for sermons in the past. I have not tapped into great business podcasts. I have taken advantage of some online internet marketing courses, since my coaching business is an online business. Those have been FABULOUS for my consulting business and I've learned a lot! Those sources come from:
Yanik Silver, Mike Filsaime, Armand Moran, David Newman, etc. I have subscribed to Mike Filsaime's internet marketing monthly magazine, and a few courses online. All vaulable if you have an internet business. Not all applicable for a maid service.
Here's what I believe when it comes to "serial entrepreneurs". They're a dime a dozen. We all know people who keep starting businesses. The reality is, they keep QUITTING businesses. So, don't fall into the trap of becoming a "Jack of all trades and master of none", make your businesses sound and profitable and then start another one. I still own all four of my businesses and ALL of them make money without my daily involvement (including my consulting business). I have good friends who have sold successful, profitable businesses for a good profit. A good mentor is WHERE you want to be or HAS been where you want to be.
P.S. Here are some of my favorite books (in no particular order):
The E-Myth Revisted
Pour Your Heart Into It
See You At The Top
Good To Great
4-Hour Work Week
The Tipping Point
Blue Ocean Strategies
Selling The Invisible
Raving Fans
10 Clowns Don't Make A Circus
Eat That Frog
Guerrilla Marketing Excellence
Why She Buys
Pain Killer Marketing
The Magic of Thinking Big
Profits Aren't Everything, They're The Only Thing
The Sales Advantage
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
The Tipping Point
Developing The Leader Within You
These are just a few I've read in the last 3 years! Hope this helps!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Cleaning For A Reason Milestones & ISSA
The next milestone, or tipping point was the ISSA show this year in Orlando, Florida. We hosted a Cleaning For A Reason Appreciation Reception at the Double Tree Hotel for nearly 100 Partners and guests. The evening was spectacular. We heard heart-warming stories from 5 prominent C4R Partners: Teresa Ward, Shirley Perlinsky, Lanette Richmond, Liz Trotter, and JoAnn Dipierro. Several sponsors donated great prizes and folks left with free vacuums, books, business training materials and products! Our GENEROUS sponsors made the entire evening spectacular and free to all attendees. Thank you to Jean Hanson of MyHousecleaningbiz.com, Debbie Richter of RF Monolithics, and Mike Julo of DirectMopSales.com. Direct Mops also provided a $25 Gift Certificate to every guest!
Lastly, and this is really exciting, the ISSA show was a tipping point on the tradeshow floor. Out-going ISSA President, Bob Stahurski accepted our offer to join the Cleaning For A Reason Board of Directors. He will be added to our Board in December. Bob was so impressed with Cleaning For A Reason, that he brought incoming ISSA President, David Holzman over to meet us. David was immediately enthusiastic and wore the "Ask Me" pin on his lapel all day. He also had it on the next day while introducing the keynote speaker, Prime Minister Tony Blair. David shared the Cleaning For A Reason story with Tony Blair at the executive breakfast that morning and presented him with the "Ask Me About Cleaning For A Reason" pin as well as a black C4R logo shirt! David Holzman and Bob Stahurski are two powerful, well-respected men in our industry and they are very excited about Cleaning For A Reason!
We made great contacts at the ISSA Show this year, and now we are working feverishly on our upcoming MAID SERVICE Best Practices Conference, which is January 21, 22, 2011. If you haven’t registered for this amazing event, you don’t want to be left out. We think it will be largest event of this kind in the history of the residential cleaning industry. We’ve lined up top speakers, maid service specific topics, lots of surprises, and tons of value and benefit! Don’t miss out, the early registration is extremely low cost: http://ping.fm/5Nmie
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Hoover Vacuums Sponsors Cleaning For A Reason
Big announcement! Exciting times! Hoover Sponsors Cleaning For A Reason.
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