Episode 709 – How to Shift Your Mindset From ‘Self-Employed’ to ‘Business Owner’
Welcome to the podcast Cleaning Nation! Today we have a guy who works in a more niche space of cleaning-specifically cleaning floors for businesses. Henry Johnson started Squeakin’ Soles Floor Care Solutions back in 2018. Now he’s growing and wants to know how to get out of doing the cleaning and how to get his contracts back since many of his clients are subcontractors. Listen in to learn the solutions to these super common problems and more!
The Benefit of Leaving Your Old Job Benefits
It can be scary to leave an employer because of the safety that lies there. But more so than the steady salary, it can feel even more nerve-wracking to leave the benefits behind… Until you remember that your salary will be capped as long as you stay working for someone else. Maybe you’ll make 50k a year with full benefits, but when you work for yourself, you might be making 300k a year. All of the sudden, having to pay for your benefits out of pocket doesn’t seem so bad. Not only that, but you’ll be able to choose the exact benefits you want. Win-win!
The 50%, 30%, 20% Rule
In order to make a viable business, the business should always follow the 50%, 30%, 20% rule. This means that 50% of the money that’s made show be going towards labor costs, 30% should be going towards the business-marketing, uniforms, insurance, training, etc. and 20% should be profit. When you are hiring subcontractors who are already taking about 25% of the bid, there goes your profit. It can be a tricky business, knowing what comes first, the chicken or the egg, but you have to set things up this way if you really want a viable company, rather than a side hustle. So it’s a matter of bidding higher, learning how to bid correctly, and then getting the clients directly.
How to Get Out From Under Sub Contractors
Believe it or not, this is actually more of a mindset shift than anything. Instead of thinking “I’m the floor guy”, it needs to be, I’m the guy who owns a business where we clean floors. Otherwise, you haven’t become a business owner, you just have a job where you work for yourself. The difference being, if you are a business owner, you don’t have to be in the business doing the job and your business will still run. You can be at the beach if you are a business owner, If you work for yourself, you have to be there doing the thing or you aren’t making any money. So step one is the mindshift away from “I am the one preforming the actual service”.
Always Move To Recurring Models When Possible
Just as a food for thought, for Henry here on the podcast and for anyone out there listening, if you have a service that is less frequent like upholstery or flooring that needs to be done every 6 months, I would encourage you to move to a recurrent model if possible. Because remember, even if you don’t know the business of weekly cleaning, you don’t have to know it, you just have to hire a team that does. That’s what moves you into the position of business owner, and that model can be much more lucrative.
Final Takeaway:
To become the business owner, not someone who works for themselves is a mindset shift, and a necessary one to move your business to the next level.
Want to know more about these tools and what you can do to get out of your own way and improve your mindset? Go to growmycleaningcompany.com to listen to our FREE webinar or growmycleaningcompany.com/talk and book a call with one of our coaches. They will get you set up with all the tools, systems, and more to build the business you’ve always wanted.