Episode 532 – Bob & Terri’s Filthy Little Secret to Locking in Clean Profit
Bob and Terri bought their cleaning company 12 years ago knowing they needed to totally remodel the business…
What they didn’t realize was there was something toxic lurking under the surface that took them completely by surprise…
Debt, employee deceit, cheating, and defrauding the company
In this episode, Mike interviews this couple who are currently in the Clean Profit Elite Program.
Bob & Terri’s Background:
Bob & Terri purchased a janitorial company 12 years ago from Terri’s parents so that her parents could retire. The company has been around for about 31 years total. A fun story is that Terri actually hired Bob when she was 16 to work in the company, which is how they became good friends before dating.
Why They Came to Grow My Cleaning Company:
Bob & Terri grew to like and know Mike through the podcast. When they first came to Grow My Cleaning Company, they were looking to improve proficiency. Even though they owned an established company, it had been run on old-school methods. They realized they needed to get rid of ghost employees and people stealing. They came to Mike for automation, customer acquisition and employee hiring.
The Real Secret to Profit:
Mike: Once you get to 30-40 employees, you’re not competing for clients as much anymore. The real secret to profitability becomes our ability to get the best talent that is excited and onboard them to get the result we promise our clients
How the Stealing Affected Them Emotionally and Financially:
When they purchased the company, they couldn’t cash paychecks or pay suppliers. It was a tough undertaking to purchase with all the debt. It was also sad because Terri’s parents treated everyone so well.
How Bob & Terri Fixed the Financial Bleeding:
They quickly found out that some employees were up to no good when they took over. Bob caught a crew “cleaning” a school with the lights off one night and fired them all immediately.
He ended up cleaning the school himself. When the other employees and people in the community heard this through the grapevine, they immediately contacted Bob & Terri to see how they could help. This is how they found out who the good, loyal employees were that they could trust.
It took them about three years to weed out problems. Ghost employees were a huge problem. They couldn’t figure out why they were bleeding money. Terri passed out checks instead of giving them to supervisors. People were paying relatives that had quit months ago.
Terri's "Aha!" Moments & Importance of Core Values:
Terri wishes they would have had found the Clean Profit Program 12 years ago because they would have saved so much time and money. She’s had so many “Aha!” moments where things start to click into place for her. Terri thinks the biggest thing for her was realizing how Core Values work. She says they have strong values and realizing that some of the employees and even accounts they had didn’t match up to their Core Values was a lightbulb moment. They realized that’s why there were problems and so much struggle. In Terri’s words: “You can’t teach integrity.”
The Hardest Part of the Clean Profit Method Program:
Bob explains that the concept of finding a niche is still a struggle for them. They understand the concept but have a lot of “what if’s” around it. They’re honest with themselves with it and haven’t given up on exploring this concept.
The Most Value They’ve Received from the Program:
Bob: Just never give up. Never beat yourself so bad that you can’t get off the floor. Be humble enough to learn from your own mistakes. You just gotta push through it sometimes. Don’t get too caught up in “Analysis Paralysis.”Terri: Ditto 😉 We’ve seen so much that we need to change. It’s out of our comfort zone, but so necessary to change if we want to grow.
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