Episode 728 – Why Community Might Be Just the Thing You’re Missing
Hi Clean Nation! Today on the podcast, Tracey Thompson is talking to Katie Be, owner of Apple Pie Maids. A residential cleaning company Katie started in 2011 in Tallahassee, Florida. Katie started with us back in February and it has been amazing to see her change and grow through this process. She was doing well when she came to us, making good revenue and running a solid business, but she knew there was more to learn and she was ready to take her business to the next level. Listen in and she and Tracey talk about what she’s taken out of being a member of our program, how it has changed and transformed her business, and where she is now. This podcast today is a great reminder that even if your business is profitable and doing well, there is still always room to take it even further, make more money and make your life easier.
Getting Clean on P&L- Profit and Loss
One of the first things Katie realized when she joined our Clean Profit method program is that she wasn’t really clear on what her profit and losses were. She knew she was making money, but because she wasn’t keeping consistent track, she didn’t really know what money was going where. Mike teaches that your income should be split into 50% cost of goods sold, 30% overhead, and 20% profit. This felt intimidating for Katie at first, but once she got really clean on where the money was going, she was able to make sure she wasn’t dipping into her profit to make ends meet when she didn’t anticipate a cost. Instead, she knew what to expect and was able to budget effectively.
Stepping Away from the “Lone Wolf Mentality”
For Katie, something that has made a huge difference is finding a community of like-minded people doing the same thing who are also supportive of one another. Typically, in the US, we are taught to be the ‘lone wolf’ in entrepreneurship. We are taught to figure it out and go at it alone and we silo ourselves. But when we don’t have anyone in our sphere or community or even family to talk to about this stuff, we tend to spin in our heads about things because we can’t talk through it with people. When we build a community of people who are doing the same things as us, we can bounce ideas off of each other and just get general support that can really help us get leverage on the unique challenges we face as the owners of cleaning companies.
What Core Values Can Mean for Your Company
For Katie, she knew that it was important to be on the same page as the people she was trying to hire, but she didn’t really know what that looked like. She found what she was looking for in understanding core values and creating them for her company. Through experience, she has learned that when you’re a young business owner, you read about culture, but you don’t really know what it means. And it means understanding who you are and what you represent. And then making sure that you let that flow through your company.
You Don’t Have to Be in the Field to Own a Successful Cleaning Company
Over the years as Katie has transitioned to a more CEO role in her business, she has realized that it isn’t necessary to be in the field to have a successful cleaning business. Not only that but the more she hands off other roles like scheduling and client acquisition, the more she is freed up to RUN her business. That looks like setting up the systems and processes necessary to allow it to keep growing and expanding.
Final Takeaway
Even if you think you’ve reached your goals in your business, there is always room for learning, growth and improvement.
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.