The TRUSTED owner operator.

[Mikey P]

Many here are 2 percenters with a few being 1%.

You have the utmost trust from your CLIENTS.

You are allowed into every crevice of their castle, unattended.

So with that earned trust, why wouldn't you want to "milk" these clients for everything they got?

I know, I know, Milk is such an ugly term, but by that I mean offer services that they would trust you to perform?

I have clients that would gladly pay me to clean their pool, water their plants, walk their dog, do meal prep, clean their rain gutters, sweep their chimneys, pick their weeds and clean out the cat box but I draw the line at grout and caulking repair through out the house, cleaning of all flooring and upholstery types, in home rug washing* and the occasional HVAC filter swap and if your're a real cool granny who keeps me hydrated I'll flip your mattress.


What services will you do besides low life carpet cleaning?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I've transplanted rose bushes.

 

[Cleanworks]

You start doing those things and you're not a carpet cleaner anymore, you're a handyman and will be paid accordingly.

 

[Mikey P]

you sound like a guy who only knows how to clean carpet.

 

[Cleanworks]

I

you sound like a guy who only knows how to clean carpet.

Am a carpet specialist.

 

[Mikey P]

Good luck with that...

 

[Cleanworks]

Good luck with that...

What do you charge for walking the dog?

 

[Mikey P]

$100 an hour

 

[Mikey P]

My American to Canadian reading comprehension course starts at 200 an hour for a one-on-one

 

[Cleanworks]

My American to Canadian reading comprehension course starts at 200 an hour for a one-on-one

I figured if you mention it, you thinking about doing it. There are still a lot of carpets out there. It's easy to get distracted doing other services but every other service you may offer requires knowledge, equipment and chemistry. Why not look for more opportunities doing what you're good at?

 

[Mikey P]

I'll need your credit card to proceed with this conversation

 

[Jim Pemberton]

This is all about how many people that someone wants within their circle of trust.

While I think Mikey's exaggerated some of the services to make the point, there is something to be said for his model in this more fearful and distrustful world.

In my case, as a card carrying misanthrope, the less people I have to even talk to in a day outside of my business, the happier I am.

I wouldn't tend to think a carpet cleaner could also be my electrician, house painter, lawn mower, and plumber, but if he could, I'd like it.

 

[Mikey P]

Besides the common household maid what other he service industry is trusted so much?


To not take advantage of this trust would be foolish.

 

[hogjowl]

I like being really good at what I do.
I don’t want to screw that up.

 

[Mikey P]

Nap?

 

[hogjowl]

Amen

 

[Nomad74]

I’ll test drive Jeep Gladiators

 

[Lee Stockwell]

My first business cards out of high school were "Handyman Janitorial Service", an informal partnership with a window cleaner. I did grocery store floors and shampooed a few carpets, Ken did windows. The idea was that we would refer each other work.

Took a year for me to wise up. Ken was borrowing MY equipment to bid against me on MY accounts.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

My first business cards out of high school were "Handyman Janitorial Service", an informal partnership with a window cleaner. I did grocery store floors and shampooed a few carpets, Ken did windows. The idea was that we would refer each other work.

Took a year for me to wise up. Ken was borrowing MY equipment to bid against me on MY accounts.

When I was about 16 a cynical old man (probably 40...which is ancient to a teenager) told me this:

"Kid, your friends will get you when your relatives are through with you..."

I've done ok with the relatives side of it, but otherwise, I'd say he was spot on.

 

[FB7777]

My first business cards out of high school were "Handyman Janitorial Service", an informal partnership with a window cleaner. I did grocery store floors and shampooed a few carpets, Ken did windows. The idea was that we would refer each other work.

Took a year for me to wise up. Ken was borrowing MY equipment to bid against me on MY accounts.

I worked for a guy named Ken for 3 months before I started my biz in 1988

I had a full time job and then met him at 5pm M-F for a 3-4 hour shift

guy drank before , during and on the way back to our first job site to drop me off

figured I couldn’t fail if this dope could make a living

 

[Lyman]

50 % of my mrs piffs leave the door open or give me the code. I do exactly what we talked about. They leave a blank check written out to me to fill out. In a small town, trust, I have found out is more important then price or scammers.

 

[Fat Mike]

50 % of my mrs piffs leave the door open or give me the code. I do exactly what we talked about. They leave a blank check written out to me to fill out. In a small town, trust, I have found out is more important then price or scammers.

Trust is huge. rarely do we get a project that we don’t have a key and code for.

 

[Dolly Llama]

What services will you do besides low life carpet cleaning?

Ultrasonic blind cleaning
Used mattress sanitizing
Com drop ceiling spray cleaning
Kirby salesman
Fuller Brush man
Schwans bakery and Texas meAt sales
Amway distributor


..LTA.

 

[BIG WOOD]

Many here are 2 percenters with a few being 1%.

You have the utmost trust from your CLIENTS.

You are allowed into every crevice of their castle, unattended.

So with that earned trust, why wouldn't you want to "milk" these clients for everything they got?

I know, I know, Milk is such an ugly term, but by that I mean offer services that they would trust you to perform?

I have clients that would gladly pay me to clean their pool, water their plants, walk their dog, do meal prep, clean their rain gutters, sweep their chimneys, pick their weeds and clean out the cat box but I draw the line at grout and caulking repair through out the house, cleaning of all flooring and upholstery types, in home rug washing* and the occasional HVAC filter swap and if your're a real cool granny who keeps me hydrated I'll flip your mattress.


What services will you do besides low life carpet cleaning?

The main answer to that question is, I don't have time. Since I'm the 1-2%er in my town, everyone wants to have me clean their carpet. I don't have time to walk their dog or even caulk their shower. I see where you see it as profit. You do maybe 4jobs/week, so you have time

 

[steve_64]

I declined this request from one of our better customers. They don't want to pay me $100 hour to do this. I just billed them $730 for a rug deck and vynil curtains.

Bidding pressure wash for 2100 sq ft now for them also.
Their house is on the beach of lake Michigan. We have done the Windows before btw.

 

[Fat Mike]

I think I wanna be a butcher

 

[Dolly Llama]

Matt..eatin' smArt pilz

diversification is good...but get too far off the beaten path and there's comes point almost need a another truck for the "non cleaning related" tools/gear/supplies to do a professional job efficiently
or the YUGE PITA of unloading/loading gear to transform from cleaning wagon to vid cam and lawn sprinkler installer


..L.T.A.

 

[hogjowl]

I strayed off the path for 8 years.
it was 8 wasted years.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

My 7 commercial accounts, I pretty much do that, but I still have to draw the line. But when Maintenance is in your name, that’s what you get

 

[sassyotto]

dang, I dont even clean tile (ok maybe 2 a year if its a move in). Just dont have the time. Too busy cleaning carpet.

When people ask, I refer to another cleaner.

Add another service? sure, just put another 6 hours in each day and id do it.

I like what I do, why screw it up?