My area is just too saturated with cleaning companies to grow that large. (70 companies with 250K population) Plus I don't need the headaches this point in my life.
First of all how many of those 70 companies are real companies?
I bet most are just some broken down unit with a guy that has no idea what he is doing
I would guess 5-7 of them are apartment cleaners who operate by a different model
Maybe 10 are serious competitors.
We have 340 carpet cleaner listed in our city of 1.4 million. By your standard I could never be successful.
We have maybe 25 good companies. 10-12 that we need to even worry about. Several are on this board or lurk. I know you are out their. LOL
It does not matter where you are or how many people call themselves carpet cleaners.
The reason companies get larger is because those leading it enjoy leading. They don't see the problems as headaches. They are challenged by the day to day operations of a larger team. It brings them energy.
I just got done with our staff meeting and I went away pumped. We initiated some new procedures. We had a tech lead our team through prepping for a presentation at the State Fair this Saturday. Our night crew lead guy gave us a update on some new cleaning procedure at a major account. I went over some new driving regulations. We had two trucks in the last 6 weeks scraped up. Headaches to some or the challenges to running a growing business. My thought are how do I become a better leader, How do I train people better so these things don't happen as frequently? Those challenges' to leaders are invigorating not headaches.
I get tired of hearing people talk about the management process as a headache. Sure some days are better then other but if you are a true leader with skills to motivate a larger team you get pumped up thinking about how to make your team better. Not what a headache your employees and company has become. The old adage speed of the leader, speed of the team still applies. Maybe if someone is sitting out there and always describing the present or the past as a problem /headache they should reassess who is really causing the problems, poor followers or poor leaders.
If guys are on this board and they want to grow the first place to start is with leadership skills.
If they are constantly talking bad about their team they are doomed.
If they refer to their employees negatively they will fail. It's like the guy who comes to a dinner party and bad mouths his wife the whole time. Most sane people stand there and say what an idiot you married her and she's that bad. What usually happens to those couples? They don't last.
If you see your company as a bunch of problems and your employees as lacking who's to blame? You are! You hired them. You trained them. You set up the systems.
People who are leaders, are change agents. Leaders of movements are driven till their last breath to make the organizations and businesses they lead move forward not backward.
Look at Zig Zigler, Papa Nick, Warren Buffet these guys are certainly successful both in quality of life and financially. The could sit back and say I'll just speak 2-3 times a year, Ill just have one little supply store in south Chicago, Ill just run one little bank in Omaha. No these guys have, are leading and will lead till their final breath. They will spend the last moments of their lives trying to make their message, organization or corporation grow larger, get better, be more efficient.
Guys who are looking to grow their business to the next truck or to a fleet of trucks can't, won't and don't make excuses for how hard it is or was. They don't look at their physical location as a handicap. If you have the right systems, message and product the number of competitors does not matter. You can not change what everyone else does you can only control what you do. Real leaders don't see the obstacle they see the opportunities.
There are tons of board members and lurkers looking to hear positive enforcement of what can be done not what can't be done. You will never hear some of the top speakers and leader on this board or in our industry saying it can't be done or referring to their present or past team as headaches.
Let's put some positive stuff out their to help those that are still growing, still dreaming and still developing new skills.
Let's not show them we can put the old nag in the barn the race is over. I for one want to with balance and a schedule of my choosing die on the track helping to make my organization or another better.
Ps Bigger is always better if you are a leader! Other wise there is nothing to do with your skills and gifts.
