Running a cleaning business can feel like juggling flaming torches—overwhelming and precarious. Shannon Miller and Kimberly Gonzalez share how recognizing the signs of burnout saved their sanity and business. From grappling with finances to managing social media, they reveal the critical moments when they realized it was time to delegate tasks. Discover the ins and outs of hiring virtual assistants, the potential hiccups of language barriers, and why acknowledging the need for help can make all the difference.
Imagine balancing the books while trying to sell a high-ticket item like a Kirby vacuum or luxury jewelry—sounds chaotic, right? Shannon and Kimberly recount their own sales experiences to illustrate the importance of honing sales skills and strategically delegating tasks. They argue that hiring a bookkeeper should be your first move before even considering a virtual assistant. Learn how adapting to the natural ebb and flow of business operations can keep you sane and why setting clear expectations for team members is paramount.
Ever wondered how to keep your virtual assistants and sales personnel productive and accountable? This episode is loaded with practical advice, from setting clear sales goals to offering commission-based incentives. Shannon and Kimberly highlight the importance of trust and autonomy in fostering an efficient, responsible team. With personal stories and actionable tips, they make the case for delegating roles such as marketing experts and SEO specialists to free up your time and scale your business. Tune in for a treasure trove of insights on efficient delegation and growth strategies.
Running a cleaning business can feel like juggling flaming torches—overwhelming and precarious. Shannon Miller and Kimberly Gonzalez share how recognizing the signs of burnout saved their sanity and business. From grappling with finances to managing social media, they reveal the critical moments when they realized it was time to delegate tasks. Discover the ins and outs of hiring virtual assistants, the potential hiccups of language barriers, and why acknowledging the need for help can make all the difference.
Imagine balancing the books while trying to sell a high-ticket item like a Kirby vacuum or luxury jewelry—sounds chaotic, right? Shannon and Kimberly recount their own sales experiences to illustrate the importance of honing sales skills and strategically delegating tasks. They argue that hiring a bookkeeper should be your first move before even considering a virtual assistant. Learn how adapting to the natural ebb and flow of business operations can keep you sane and why setting clear expectations for team members is paramount.
Ever wondered how to keep your virtual assistants and sales personnel productive and accountable? This episode is loaded with practical advice, from setting clear sales goals to offering commission-based incentives. Shannon and Kimberly highlight the importance of trust and autonomy in fostering an efficient, responsible team. With personal stories and actionable tips, they make the case for delegating roles such as marketing experts and SEO specialists to free up your time and scale your business. Tune in for a treasure trove of insights on efficient delegation and growth strategies.
To order All-Natural Cleaning Products: www.purevergreen.com See Shannon's latest courses: www.KleanFreaksUnversity.com
Speaker 1:
narrative recording in progress. Welcome everyone to cleaning business life. My name is shannon miller and I am your host, and miss kimberly gonzalez is my wonderful co-host. Kimberly, take it away hi everybody.
Speaker 2:
I hope you guys are having a great week. Are you guys staying nice and cool? Those of us that are not used to the heat are burning up and, yeah, just sweating profusely.
Speaker 2:
So, um, you know what I can sweat when I'm upstairs. I'm like sweating. I'm like Shannon and I have had great conversations before we record to the cloud. We always like to chit chat beforehand. I didn't swallow a bug, I promise, and I just talking about the overwhelming, just amount of stuff that we do.
Speaker 2:
Those of you that don't know Shannon and I, we do a lot of stuff in the background. Our lives are busy between kids and between family and between our businesses, and just everyday life is nuts. Like we were just talking about it and I was telling Shannon. I was like, yeah, shannon, I was taking a shower and I was thinking about you and I'm like not in that way, not in that way you dirty minds, you get out of that gutter. No, I was just thinking about like, wow, I'm like she's doing this, this and this, and I'm like and I know I'm busy I'm like how does she do it all? So I know we all have different systems.
Speaker 2:
So today we're going to talk about when you're wearing one too many hats in your business and it's time to get help, and that's when you have to say I'm done, I'm giving up, I'm going gonna get help. Um, we know running a business often requires many hats. Shannon, you know that. We know that. We've just discussed that. From managing the finances to handling the marketing, the customer service operations. The list I'm sure I don't have my list down here. My list is upstairs my list is.
Speaker 1:
It goes on and on. I mean there's like 52 different things you're responsible for getting done, Never ending list.
Speaker 2:
And then people message you and they're like, hey, I need this from you and I'm like, just add that to my list. So there's multiple juggling of all these different responsibilities and it becomes overwhelming. And that's when you decide to delegate. So let's get started. Shannon, what is one of the one of the first signs to recognize when you are overwhelmed. Oh my gosh, it was it's.
Speaker 1:
How many times do we have a conversation about Sarah before I hired her? I mean, I just like I fought it. I didn't. I was like I'm going to do it on my own, I'm going to do it on my own and I'm going to do it on my own. And then I'm going to do, and what happens is because a lot of us in the cleaning industry, we tend to be self-sufficient women, we're strong women and we're like I want to do myself. And then you realize that this particular task let's say, for example, social media Social media can suck you dry and spit you out, especially when you're like, overwhelmed on what content to create, how to create that content, I have to have graphics to go with that content, and then I need to talk about that content. You're like, oh my God, this is overwhelming. So you can hire a VA.
Speaker 1:
I have had the experience with another good friend of mine who hired a VA out of the country. She had some heroin experiences and then some not so harrowing experiences, and my latest update from her is that she still has the same VA. She's had him for two years. I wanna say his name is Charles. I don't remember his name and I forget. We're just gonna go with Charles today and he has been with her for two years, but prior to that she'd had a VA that she tried to delegate work from.
Speaker 1:
And when you hire overseas sometimes there's a language barrier. When you hire overseas sometimes they BS you to convince you that they know all the stuff that they don't know. So then you're paying to train them, which I get, because you're not really paying a higher wage, so it's a dynamic. You're not really paying a higher wage, so it's a dynamic. Or you can hire a full-fledged service provider who provides VA service for you. They answer the phones, they do those types of things.
Speaker 1:
But you have to do a pro and con list. So when I got ready to hire Sarah, I did a list like everybody else. It's good, old-fashioned. Rip out your paper. This is my show notes. It says pros and cons, cons. Boom right there. And you start to look at what is sucking up all of your time I mean, and it's just and what is causing you anxiety. Those are the two key points where you realize that, hey, I probably need to start delegating some of this stuff. And then, if you add in the bookkeeping, and then if you're still doing in-person bids. And oh and, by the way, I have to hire this person, and here's all this paperwork that has to happen, and I have to have them trained, and then I have to get them uniformed, and then I have to follow up with them, and then it's this. It's a never ending of step. One gets done, ok, here's step two, step three, step four, and then you get all the way to twenty seven.
Speaker 2:
You're to 27,. You're like, oh my God, there's still like 50 more steps I have to finish Right. So it's like recognizing those signs, feeling burnout. You know when you're stressed and you're working long hours, like I've been doing. I've been staying up almost till midnight and then I'm up at the crack of dawn and that's when you know you need to start working on stuff declining quality, when you start seeing stuff decline like your, your products or your services, or if you're not getting back to customers.
Speaker 1:
What I see a lot too, and I'm sure you see this is cleaners who haven't learned to manage their time and they say yes to everything. And then they get demanding clients, and then they're working seven days a week, so they're trying to do payroll, and then you get and I'm guilty, I'm guilty, I've done it, kim, I don't know if you've done it, but I've done it and you get so physically exhausted, you become inert and nobody, nothing can get you out of bed. And that's a sad place to be in. Because guess what, if you don't work on your business or you're not working in your business, those clients are going to go. You know, shannon didn't come yesterday. I don't care if she was sick or whatever, I'm going to find somebody else.
Speaker 1:
And then you get fired, right, and then this vicious cycle continues. So you need to have systems in place and you need to decide what is the time suck versus not in time suck? And the number one thing for you when you're in your business is going to be cleaning, because when you're in cleaning you are not making money. So obviously you're going to have to learn how to put systems in place, how to hire, how to look for the right candidate. You know the training process, so those are some of the key elements that are the biggies, for when you start to have anxiety Because you don't want to be the person who works 30 days in a row I'm guilty of that myself, um, and you and you can make yourself sick and no one's going to care that. You're in the hospital, your family is going to be concerned, your business is not going to make it If you're out, if you haven't delegated and put systems in place to make it run, you're going to, it's going to collapse, and then then that that's even more stress, right?
Speaker 2:
And you're trying to pick up all the pieces and redo structures and re have to like start all over. It just is exhausting and you're going to have those little breakdowns as you grow, when you get to certain certain points in your business and you have that growth. That's when having these structures in place so you can be prepared for the next stage of your growth, of your business, Right, and that's when you're talking about go ahead, Go ahead. No, go ahead. I just got to say that was when you know the tips for the delegation. That's when I know when I started seeing you and that's when Sarah came in.
Speaker 2:
I used Sarah when Mark got cancer and I was trying to clean and run care and I couldn't end trying to take care of the family and the kids. It just got overwhelming and Sarah had just started her business and I already talked to Sarah. She said it was okay that we talked about her. I asked permission, but that's when I hired her and she had just started. I was one of her. I think I was her second client, so she's been with me for a long time and I just remember seeing Shannon just struggle. I'm like Shannon, try Sarah, try Sarah. You need to get a VA. No, no, no, I can do it. I'm like try her, You're going to get addicted. Well, guess what? She's addicted now to Sarah.
Speaker 1:
And her business name is Sarah Sidekick, so you can look for her on Facebook or if you message Kim or myself, we're happy to make the connection for you with that. But Sarah does a lot of things. She she's my VA and she does. She handles all of my social media. She writes my blog posts. I obviously approve them and then they get posted. She's getting ready to help us with the podcast. There's a lot of things that Sarah can do. I mean her. It's limitless on the amount of things that she can do and she's great at reminding you. Yes, hey, I haven't seen this. Can you have you seen it? And I'm like, oh my God, I haven't seen this. Can you have you seen it? And I'm like, oh my god, I didn't see any of that. Can you give it to me again? She's, she no complaints. She just will say here it is again for me.
Speaker 2:
I love it when she sends me a runner hey, you haven't done an email in three weeks. You know might want to do. You want to work on some email topics and right, and I love. One thing that I absolutely love about her is that she specializes with people with ADHD, so people with my brain. She literally can decipher what I'm saying, so I'll text her a message and it she'll be like okay, so what I'm understanding from your message is this, this and this, is this correct?
Speaker 1:
I love it. It's awesome for her to be able to read the lines and she's motivated and she's awesome If she wants to learn anything, she will learn anything.
Speaker 2:
Like you, put something in front of her. So when you find a VA, find a VA like her. If you don't use her, if you decide to go another route, find a VA that's willing to learn something new, that's willing to keep you on task for things, Because I love that. It's when you're running a business and you're trying to do all these things, you forget because you're getting pulled away doing something else. Getting pulled away. So have somebody that can, at least you know, grab and pull you back in. You're like, hey, that's choosing the right person, Do you agree?
Speaker 1:
Yes, and I love the fact that she's stateside and that she's not overseas, because there is a little bit of guilt to having overseas VAs because they are literally 24 hours in some cases ahead of us and so these people are working in the middle of the night to accommodate us here in America and I worked graveyard many, many moons ago in Lake Tahoe as a cocktail waitress and graveyard messes with your system eventually, and it does weird things to your body. We're not meant to be up during that time, all of the time. So, and she's really responsive. So finding people that you can delegate to and it really does come down to budget. So what's the first thing you can do after you decided that you are ready to start delegating? You have to look at your finances to make sure that you can afford to delegate. I know a lot of times when we're new in the industry, you come across someone who's like you need to fully automate, you need to fully automate it, you need to fully automate it. And I think, yes, there are certain when you're new, there are certain things that you cannot live without, like a digital calendar system, certain things that you cannot live without, like a digital calendar system, or what's the other thing that I use all of the time that I'm having a brain fart over. You need to have a CRM. So those are the two key things, and I always suggest going low budget first and then you can have. Once you start to get more money, then you can delegate those tasks to that person and they can handle that. But you can't do it unless you know your numbers. So if you don't know your numbers and now you're going to have to wait a little while, you can plan for it, like getting caught up on your bookkeeping.
Speaker 1:
Finding a bookkeeper there are several options for a bookkeeper and or an accountant. You guys have all heard me mention Mason from Checkbooks Awesome, awesome, love him. He is a very eager individual who loves to look at people's books and see the results that he can help them provide. Those are people that you need to delegate to and those that's delegating to you. So that's important too. So, yeah, I guess the very first person I would hire out for would probably not be a VA, it would be a bookkeeper and then slash an accountant and know that there are differences between bookkeepers and accountants Totally different. I know everyone thinks it's all in one and it's inclusive. It's different. We have a podcast on that too.
Speaker 1:
Right, bookkeepers help you manage your book. Accountants look out to make sure that you're getting all your tax benefits and that you don't get a big ouch at the end of the year. You're going oh my God, how do I come with this money? Yeah, that sucks. So, yeah, there's a big difference. So I probably delegate for that first, and then I would look for ways to have a VA and then, depending on the type of service you have, then you're probably going to want a trainer or someone who knows how to train in those moments that you are training, and then maybe you'll have an HR person or a customer service person or a salesperson. A salesperson we were talking about this the other day, kim I don't think it was you I was talking to, but someone else and sales is a skill that is learned by doing, and I always reference the Kirby and the Rainbow Vacuums. Kirby was sold in the 90s door to door at $2,000. That was a big payment plan.
Speaker 2:
You've heard us talking about how my husband was the Kirby guy that got sold on. He ended up buying the Kirby.
Speaker 1:
And those salesmen made commission off of it. I don't remember I've never squirmed out how much commission. I believe they got 500 bucks for every one that they sold. So you have to learn. I can tell you all about selling and things I say, but unless you go out and learn to sell, you're not going to learn how to sell. I don't care how many YouTube videos you try to watch or whatever's on Pinterest or anything, you're not. You're only going to learn how to sell by doing.
Speaker 1:
A lot of my selling came from when I worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I took over the satellite store in South Coast Plaza and they had this beautiful bridal piece that was white topaz and it was white gold. It was absolutely stunning, probably one of the more beautiful pieces they had, and they were $10,000 each and in the 25 years it was in that mall never sold one and, being the cocky individual that I was in my 30s, I went back to my boss and I said how much do I get if I sell one of those? And he laughed he goes. They've never sold one of those. I go, how much do I get?
Speaker 1:
I wasn't looking for commission I was looking for. I was pretty simple, I wanted a reward of some sort and recognition. So, um, I went back to him. I think of my first 30 days I was, I sold one and then I said, well, how much do I get if I sell two more? You know like I believe in the end they, you know, because the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a not for profit, so their budgets a little different. I believe I got a lobster dinner at the end, but I ended up selling like six or seven of those necklaces at $10,000 a pop. And the reason how I did it is because I came from the jewelry industry and I knew how to sell. And how I learned how to sell was by doing Exactly.
Speaker 2:
I mean, it's sales is definitely an art and. I love it.
Speaker 1:
And I'm not saying go down to your local car dealer and become a salesman. That's hardcore, that's a different story.
Speaker 2:
Work your way up.
Speaker 1:
I'm going to learn how to sell a chance at so.
Speaker 2:
Sell the a la carte, start with the a la carte and the extras and work your way up Other things to delegate. I think delegating is just for you know, for me, for VA was delegating for Sarah was just breaking down the things that I needed done. So I, like you, I had to write my blogs. I had her do a lot of just miscellaneous things. When I have my wonderful staff, they come and help me. When I have my wonderful staff, they come and help me.
Speaker 2:
I train them on, like filling product labels, stuff so much as simple as cutting leaves, like I have these. Like those of you guys have received my packages, I have packaging tape with my branding on it, so those have to be cut, and so there's so many different little miscellaneous things and those are the things that I need to delegate so I can focus on the main part of my business. So, and I've been short staffed, so I've been having to do all those little things and that's why I'm staying up till midnight. So now I'm training and we're getting new people in, so now I'm delegating all that stuff to them so I can get back on the wagon.
Speaker 1:
Definitely, and it's. It ebbs and flows. No business runs perfect all the time. If it does, or the person tells you it does, they're lying. I've worked for many businesses and I've never seen a smooth running business ever. There are moments in time where there's perpetual chaos, and then there's other times it's smooth sailing and then it goes back to chaos and then it goes smooth sailing. It just depends on the economy. It depends on the ebb and flow of employees coming in and out. It depends on what cycle you are in your business. When you're brand new, it's total chaos every day until you figure out, like I don't want to do this anymore those out lists so before they leave, there's stuff that needs to be done to finish up those things.
Speaker 2:
So having all those stuff and having those clear expectations of what needs to be done in deadlines, so I say this needs to be done by this. This has to be done. So the desk have to be wiped down, everything needs to be wiped down. So, like, those are the clear expectations I put into place when we're done. So having those clear expectations for who's helping you is important. It puts those boundaries in place. It tells you exactly what needs to be done.
Speaker 1:
Right, it's just like you know, if you hire someone and they say they can do a certain task and they can't do it, you, it is your responsibility to follow up with that. Don't assume that they're going to do whatever it is you say. And it's because it gets lost in translation. Sometimes, like I've had this happen with Sarah and poor Sarah's not here to defend herself and I'm not talking bad about Sarah. So, sarah, if you're listening to this, we love you. Sarah. Occasionally I'll say, okay, I want you to make me one of these things. And she'll go okay, well, what exactly do you mean by that? And I'm like in my mind, I'm like, okay, I have this picture in my mind of what I want. And then she's like, well, I need a little more information. Like, just make this thing. Right, I do the same thing with her. She's like she's learned, right, you've broken her in for me. And she's like, well, I need more information. Like, do you want it to look like that? And sometimes she'll make me things.
Speaker 2:
I'm like, no, this and this, and then she goes oh okay, but it's, there's because we're creative, so our minds work a little differently and thank God, my mind goes too fast, so I like how she's able to pick that apart.
Speaker 1:
If you're going to have a VA, follow up with them. Make sure that they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, like, just like having a salesperson answer their phones, right? I've heard many people and I'm not going to name names and you know who I'm talking about because I've spoken to you about it. If you hire someone a VA or a service to answer your phones, they need to know how to sell and there has to be expected goals to selling. So if you get 500 calls in a week, they should be able to close a certain percentage of those 500 calls. Now you guys have all heard me talk about the post I made where I got legitimately 100 phone calls. Did you guys see that post? I got 100 phone calls the other day. 99.99999999% of them were telemarketing calls. I got one one legit call out of that whole thing and I was mad. I'm like there's got to be something that we can do. I mean, what happened to the do not call list, right? So if you're hiring a salesperson to answer the phones because you don't air quote want to deal with it and they're getting so many calls and you need to know how many calls they've gotten per day, how many calls they closed. And then you need to say, okay, they closed this type of sale, they closed this type of sale and it needs to go in a book and they need to be held accountable. They can't just twiddle their thumbs while they're looking on their phone and then maybe answering the call. There's sales expectations and then there has to be a commission. That's given. I know that you've already agreed to whatever per hour, whatever it is you worked out, but to strike a chord with those individuals to motivate them to sell for you, they get a cut of whatever it is they sell. So if it's a one-time thing, it's usually one to three percent, not a lot of commission, depending on the ticket sale. So that could actually move up, depending on if and obviously your second salesperson is going to be your cleaning tech, and then ultimately you if you're still on the phone with them or whoever's answering the phones, and so they all get a small percentage of the total which motivates them to do a better job.
Speaker 1:
Like with the cleaning techs, for a long time I split the extra upcharge with the ovens and the refrigerators, so it was a 50-50 cut. I charged $95 to clean refrigerators. They got 45 of it. It's just on top of their hourly or whatever it is per job payment. That's because they cleaned it. It makes sure, when you give them the extra money, that you don't have any issues with quality at the end, because they're getting paid 45 bucks on top of whatever it is you have promised to give them. So make sure that when you hire a salesperson, that you are holding them accountable to task and that they know what they're talking about. I can't tell you how many times I've called someone's business and the person doesn't speak good English, which is unfortunate because we are still an English speaking country and they don't know what the hell we're talking about.
Speaker 2:
Have a script. I always say have a script written out. They need to know the script, they need to practice it. They can practice it with you. But getting in the routine, they need to know like those expectations are. Like what Shannon said know exactly like this is how much I need you to sell today. This is what your goal is for this and have it. So this is your like. It's important to have all those clear expectations.
Speaker 1:
And you're tracking. You're tracking it every day Because if you have someone that you're paying all of this money to and they're not closing any deals, what's the point?
Speaker 2:
You're losing money.
Speaker 1:
Right, because they're not. The cleaning techs bring you money. Your office extra staff are not. They're an expense. They're not bringing you in money unless they're closing a deal. So I hope that kind of makes sense with how that dynamic works. But you have to set expectations. I've spoken to several who are like I have this VA and I spend a thousand dollars a month. I'm like what are they doing for the thousand bucks?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:
I don't know. You don't know any. They cost me a thousand bucks. Well, they said they're doing this. Mike, have you seen any proof? I want to see if I'm shelling out a grand. You need to show me what you've done. Show me that. Yep, so you know something. It has to be something, and if they're not being able to produce and it's time, don't be worried that you're being ruthless. It's a vendor to vendor agreement. You're, you're hired to perform a certain task. You either perform the certain task or I find someone else who can perform that task.
Speaker 2:
Yep, exactly. Um, trust your team. So, like, delegation requires trust. So, just when you, when I have to leave, to go to meetings, I have to trust that my staff is going to do a good job, that they're going to be responsible, they're going to have good customer service.
Speaker 2:
Um, for me, I can train them a certain way, but if they have a better way to doing it, then I'm all for it. If it works better for them because we learn different ways, they're able to learn and do something better from their way, then I'm all for it. Like, I encourage it. I'm not going to be one of those stickler bosses that will be like, no, you need to do it this way and this way. Only I could show them. But if they have a better system that works better for them, I'm all for it. They can go for it. I do not like to micromanage. I want them to grow. I want them to learn and take ownership of just the tasks that they do. I want them to be proud of the decisions and Definitely, and providing an opportunity for growth is also awesome.
Speaker 1:
It's a great opportunity. Not everyone is willing to provide opportunities for growth. Cleaning, like you know, I had one person come up to me and go. I don't know the difference between a bidet and a toilet. I'm like well, you might want to. You know there's certain fixtures in the bathroom you might want to figure out.
Speaker 2:
Learn.
Speaker 1:
Right, if your VA doesn't know what a bidet is, then maybe you need to get a vocabulary glossary or show them a video of what a bidet is. And we all know that we need to close especially the sit down bidets, or the I call them, the spread your legs. I know people sit on them. This is just the stuff that goes on in my mind. And then when you flash, some of the bidets don't just flash, they actually squirt up. So there's a, there's a learning curve to those right, cause they can squirt up and if you're not paying attention, all of that ickiness could land on you, right? And then there's the you know the advent of the 2020 with the add-on bidets.
Speaker 1:
I hate those things. They're gross. They are like little accumulators of germs because no one can ever get the little pull-down thing. The disperser of the water is so gracefully called to try to get her toilet brush in there. So you're going up and down like this and they're like what are you doing? You're like I'm just trying to get all this stuff out of here and it's everywhere.
Speaker 1:
You've got to keep your mouth closed, cause then that could end in your mouth, right, that'd be even gross, grosser than the other.
Speaker 2:
I apologize for anybody that might be taking a lunch break and eating right now. The standover bidet has totally ruined your lunch breakfast dinner.
Speaker 1:
I believe that they're only popular here in America. The other bidets are the traditional bidets that are offered all throughout Europe and then if you go to third world countries, there is no bidet option. There's just little how do I say this nicely? There's just little areas that you uh go at and it's close to the floor. There are no toilets.
Speaker 2:
So there was like a $10,000 toilet at Costco that he saw. I'm like that's insane.
Speaker 1:
Have you seen the solid gold toilet? I mean, only us could talk about toilet things and get excited. But yes, there is a solid gold toilet.
Speaker 2:
No, I saw the chicken one. The ones that you sent me, that were chickens, those I got excited for. I got excited over the gold one.
Speaker 1:
The chicken ones. And then I saw it was an AI image. It was a horse. It had a mirror underneath. I'm like this is so not practical and no one wants see the bottom of the horse. What is the point of that? But in any case, there are different types of bidets depending on if you're here in America or if you're overseas. So if you're overseas and you want to give us a comment, give us a shout out. I'm always curious to learn about new fixtures in the European countries, because it's always interesting, because it's not the same throughout the world. There's plumbing issues or septic issues. There's all kinds of funny things that we deal with and thankfully, most of us no longer have to go and dig a hole unless we're camping right. Cover your hole. That's always the big thing. You want to make sure you dig deep and you're like bring the shovel deeper and deeper.
Speaker 2:
Bring the mosquito repellent.
Speaker 1:
You're going to have lots of bites of bites, right, it's just like crazy, crazy stuff. So yeah, that's a little off topic. I apologize if that was a little graphic, but um, that's the. The standover bidet is what I call them. Do I face forward? Do I face backward? Oh my god, I'm sorry, that's. That was perfect. Yeah, I'm from that field. I face backward. Oh my God, I'm sorry that was perfect. Yeah, I'm from that field. I didn't mean to go that far.
Speaker 2:
That's why you guys love us, because we go off topic and we have stories and we're not your typical podcasters, definitely.
Speaker 1:
So setting clear expectations is key. Holding them accountable Make sure that you're checking. Hey, I'm going to give you a grand and then they don't care. You're not holding them accountable. Okay, she's paid me a grand. What's what's going on, right?
Speaker 1:
So, I think we've covered all of it. So who do you delegate? What do you delegate? I don't. So far I've only stepped off the curb with Sarah. It's me and her. I might consider something in later in the year or with next year's budget, but I don't know. I haven't decided. So what are some of the things that you could delegate for a cleaning business?
Speaker 2:
owner. I know for delegating. Obviously a VA has been huge. Putting a marketing person is you can delegate the marketing somebody to do your website that can do all the SEO. That's a nice delegation that they can monitor all the backend of your SEO. They can monitor what the new things that come up, like Shannon and I just had to shell out a ton of money to have the what is it DMARC done. So having those delegated is going to take that stuff off your plate, cause you try to do everything like the website and the SEO and the keyword searches and the Google uh platforms of analytics and you know there's just you can find people to do that. So as your budget grows and your business grows, delegate that stuff off. It'll free off time. Um, once you get a training man, have Shannon like take Shannon's courses, because when you take those courses and you learn and then you can delegate and give those to your training staff like videos and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:
Definitely, um, I think, the bookkeeper, accountant, a CRM, um, those probably could be utilized by one individual if they were savvy enough. If not, keep them separate. You don't want your books to be convoluted by other tasks. I typically only want my books looked at from you know the two sets of eyes so that it doesn't get polluted with other things. So marketing, and marketing is such a broad spectrum of so much in the marketing.
Speaker 1:
I mean advertising, way back in the day, when we just did print ads and you had an ad agency. It was way simpler. You just had to have way more money and you would just go Okay, I got 50 grand, what can you do? And they're like oh my God, we could do all these things. Now everybody does a lot of DIY, but there's 17 different items that you have to manage that go along with that marketing. And then there's new stuff that comes out and then the algorithm changes and then then this happens and then that happens, and then a social media platform goes down. You're like oh, so many followers, right? Or you can check off something because of whatever. Like I still cannot be verified on Facebook, can't get the check because of something that I did not do. Whatever, I'm just going to make a little profile picture and I'm going to put my own blue check mark right there.
Speaker 2:
I haven't even done that yet.
Speaker 1:
Right, I've tried. I've tried to be verified like four times and it keeps telling me that I am in violation of something. So I don't know what happened or what's going on. But when you try to talk to Facebook, it's nothing.
Speaker 2:
So it's fine.
Speaker 1:
I'll just make my own blue check. So when you look at my picture, it will have a blue check and it'll say verified on it.
Speaker 2:
I'm waiting to see that one. I know a big thing is delegating somebody to do, like I do, a lot of the you know. Oh my gosh, my brain fart the graphic design for certain things. Delegating somebody else to do that, you know, take that off your plate. You know it'll free up that time so you're able to focus on other things. So delegation is huge. So we will have Sarah's information. I already got permission from her. I asked her graciously. I said Sarah, are we allowed to put your information down if anybody wants to hire you? And she said yes, so we could put Sarah's information down. If you guys have questions, reach out to us. Shannon and I love to answer questions.
Speaker 1:
Definitely so. We hope that this helps you from not wearing too many hats. I know, initially it's just part of the sweat equity that comes along with it. There are a few people that never have to do that, but those are few and far between. Most of us are DIYers and it's kind of a learning as you go. So don't punish yourself too much by trying to keep up with every little thing it's. You just get to a certain gross amount in your business and you're like, okay, I need to start delegating this. Usually it's after you hit the a hundred K mark, um, when you're not making enough money, that it becomes problematic.
Speaker 1:
You've all heard Kim mentioned how she saved up 10 grand to hire her first couple of people. You can go that method or you can bootstrap it. It is doable, but there's more finesse and more rock throwing, so to speak, that's involved in bootstrapping. It's not for the faint of heart, that is for sure. And yes, we are actively looking for sponsors of the show. If that is something that you're interested in, please email us at cleaningbusinesslife at gmailcom. We do not have a website yet. We're still working on that. Maybe next year and as we get sponsors, we can grow Right.
Speaker 1:
So we would love to hear from you. If you're interested and it's cleaning related, we're not really interested. If you have a grasshopper service, we would, unless it's like a grasshopper service. Unless it's like a grasshopper, yes, cleaning related, please. You know, Scrub Daddy, any of those guys without you know, signing your life away would be awesome as well. In any case, we look forward to your questions. Hit us up with an email. Like us on Facebook, share our program. We love, love, love hearing from you. Hit us up with an email. Like us on Facebook, share our program. We love, love, love hearing from you. You guys take care.
