3 Steps to Become a Cleaning Guru

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2018. If you’re reading this, you’re probably contemplating your new year’s resolutions – promises you make to yourself or others in an attempt to better a part of yourself or your life. Most people who make resolutions each January usually don’t stick to them. In fact, only 8% of people who seriously make a resolution stick to it. There are many reasons people can’t stick to their resolutions, from trying to improve something in too many areas of their lives, or because they get derailed by small failures. Setting overly ambitious and restrictive goals ― like eliminating something from your diet when you haven’t already been making small changes ― is one major cause of failure. While you might initially feel inspired and ready to make big changes, the luster of these resolutions fades quickly when we realize how difficult they are to accomplish or maintain.

Under Pressure

Because of the pressure we’re putting on ourselves to improve every area of our lives, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, and we give up before we ever start – we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. But if you choose to better just one area of your life, say your job, then the bites don’t seem that big, and we can break the changes down into manageable steps. If you have worked in the commercial cleaning industry for any amount of time, you know that things change all the time, and if you don’t change with them, your business or your career won’t last very long. This is true in practically any industry, but it is especially hard for small businesses to compete with these huge, national or international companies, offering their customers everything under the sun. It’s hard to look at your business and make a resolution to change when you already feel dwarfed by what looks bigger or better. But every life coach and leadership expert will tell you:

You are the only person standing in the way of your success

You know your business backwards and forwards – some may even call you an expert in your field. If you want to elevate your cleaning business in 2018, and truly take on the status of Cleaning Guru, then here are 3 practical steps to step up to that challenge:

Step One: Know Thyself

This may sound like some ancient psychological turn of phrase, but more and more statistics are proving that a person’s success is inextricably linked to how well they know themselves – what they need, what their talents are, and where they struggle. Take some time for yourself, especially if you manage other people – the effort you put into truly knowing what makes you who you are and how you work will always pay dividends in the future.

While this is usually developed more intentionally in someone’s personal life, this is excellent advice for your cleaning business as well. You need to know what you’re good at and focus on that. Finding a niche in the cleaning industry will not only settle your work life and give you a more specific purpose, it will help you determine what is best for your employees, how you choose the right jobs out of the constant barrage of options thrown at you, and which clients to cater to the most, or the least, or not at all.

Step Two: Make Friends with Change

Again, this may not be a new concept. Change is inevitable – it’s how we deal with it that will determine our future success. But even though we know that’s true, sometimes even small changes can be difficult. It’s especially frustrating when you work really hard on improving something, only to fail or fall back into an old routine or habit. Having the strength to get up and try again is daunting, but deep down, you know you’re a better person for it, even with what feels like a failure. Thomas Edison was once asked what it felt like to fail 1,000 times when trying to create what we now know as a light bulb. His response was that “I haven’t failed. I just found 1,000 ways how not to make a light bulb.” Moving through life as if every failure is a stumbling block will keep you from ever being content with the changes that come.

Your business is no different – if you’ve tried what feels like 1,000 different ways to build your business up and still haven’t attained the success you want, keep going! Do some research – see what other people in your field are doing to turn leads into clients, or how going green may change your business, or what new products would improve the quality of your work. You can always find good resources if you look for them!

Step Three: Think Outside the Box

Most people aren’t big on change, but even fewer people are successful at going outside their comfort zone or thinking outside their box. Trying to come up with new and different solutions to a problem or changing the way something is done can be exhausting and annoying. If this approach doesn’t come naturally to you, then find some help – whether it be a book, a website, a friend or even a competitor, seek out some guidance. We’re all in this together, right? Sometimes the hardest part about thinking outside the box is letting go of your preconceived notions about ‘getting help’.

‘Outside the box’ is even harder in your business, but if you really think about it, you can pinpoint areas where doing what you’ve always done isn’t working anymore. Try new products, hire different people, attend a conference or training seminar – whatever you choose, get some feedback from your employees or your leaders in your industry. If you’re in the cleaning business, one major change for you could be using a product like commercial cleaning software. This type of software was created to help you take the components of your business that make you stand out (like your employees, your clients, even your organizational or communication skills), and help you continually improve each one.

Take the Next Step to Becoming a Cleaning Guru

If you’re looking to make some changes in your cleaning business this new year, and cleaning software sounds like the best option, then contact us today at Janitorial Manager. We pride ourselves on helping our clients utilize this type of product to better every area of their business. We can give you a free demo and analyze what your business needs in order to relieve some of that pressure and make the right steps for the future!