Smart Cleaning School

In my last Freedom Report, I humbled myself with the reality of my situation. I'm striving for this New Freedom Vision , but two glaring blind spots were holding me back. Another month has gone by. How is it going? Short answer. Not good! I am going to share my update exactly as it happened and end with a clip from Coach Josh at the end of October with an encouraging word that helps me and wi...

September is in the books. It's time for another business update. Afterward, I'll share a clip from our final coaching call from September to close out the summer. Now that October is here, it's time to crank it down! I have 4 months left to build and delegate my cleaning company before my self-imposed deadline of February 1, 2022.  I'm going to come right out and admit. I did...

There is so much to dig into for this month's update of my personal cleaning company. If you're new to this show, here's the quick version. I've been a solo house and office cleaner for most of my 16 years in business. I have a system that initializes, stabilizes, and optimizes solo cleaning companies to create over $50k profit per year on a few days per week. In fact, I'v...

​July was a crazy month. As a family, we had a ton going on. We had Kid's Camp and Youth Camp at retreat camp centers for 4 of our 5 kids for 5 days each. During one of those camps, Teresa and I slipped away for 4 days to the beach.  I had a 5-day father / son camping trip with my son to the Adirondacks that I do with each son. This was with my 8-year-old Kye.  It was glorious being off the g...

I shared in my last Carfagno Cleaning update, " Stay, Scale or Sell " that the seasons are shifting from Spring to Summer. As promised, I'm departing from my weekly business updates to allow space for other impactful episodes like my interview, " The Cleaning Journey to Nineveh with Josh Melton " . I will continue bringing you updates, but during this Summer season of me e...

I am excited to introduce my friend and YouTube superstar, Cassandra Aarssen to Solo Cleaning School. I invited her to be an expert guest in the SMART Cleaning Tribe that I lead for team cleaning companies needing accountability around goals. Cassandra was a busy mom of two small kids when she started her home organizing business. At the time, she was also running a daycare with 9 children for ext...

In this episode, I spotlight my first solo cleaner. Andrea McCoy runs Peachy Clean in St. George, UT. She is a mom of 6! She explains why she started her solo cleaning business and the various mind shifts she has made over her 3 years in business with my help to increase her hourly rate from $25 to $65! We also talk about the power of keeping your hand on the marketing water pump and setting a goa...

This episode is a clip from an Expert Call I facilitated in the Smart Cleaning Tribe last December with my friend Alonzo Adams of Busy Bee Cleaning Company in West Chester, PA. Alonzo is a serial entrepreneur with one of the best business & financial mindsets I've ever had the opportunity to learn from. His cleaning company is top rated in Southeastern PA. Alonzo has also grown multiple r...

This conversation with Crystal Hamm was wide-ranging in topics, but mainly focused on her past. In the present, Crystal runs a $3 million dollar residential cleaning company. Her team loves her and she loves them. She has build a company in the Raleigh Area that serves people greatly called the Go 2 Girls . I can't endorse this company enough if you live in Wake County, North Carolina. Check...

Vincent is first and foremost, a husband, father, and homeschooler.  Vincent and Elizabeth live in Bradenton, Florida with their 3 sons Andrew, Nolan, and Dylan. They are active in their community and church. Vincent is a friend to many and certainly to me! We go way back. You'll hear that story in this interview. Professionally, Vincent spent 22 years as a nationally-acclaimed & recogniz...

 Liz Trotter has been a leader in the cleaning industry for decades. She is the owner of American Maid in Olympia, WA, a business coach with Mastermind Accountability , where she helps every level of cleaning service grow to reach their dreams! This interview is full of so many nuggets and you will gain so much insight into the power of self-development. Liz is the poster child of the leadership q...

I have been an avid reader for over 20 years. That was not always the case. I used to hate reading. What changed? Did the books change? No. I changed. Every book that I read moved the needle a little bit closer to a winner’s mindset, a success mindset. I used to mock things like that until I understood. In this episode, I speak from the heart about books and what they’ve done for me and what they...

Coach Josh and I use Marco Polo to communicate during the week. He allows me to send questions as I have them. He listens and responds when he gets the chance. I'm very grateful to have Josh Melton in my corner as we grow C3 to the next level in 2023, which is to add the second building block and earn over $100,000 income from the cleaning business.  Josh and I had an exchange on November 8th...

I was in a 4-person mastermind breakout group that I mentioned in " Confidence Creates Success ", where we each helped the others grow the next level. One of the members was Matt Peet. Matt has become a good friend and is a conference videographer extraordinaire! He does all the video work for one of my favorite conferences, Podcast Movement. You've got to check out his website, Re-...

Let's start this Carfagno Cleaning solo business with a WIN! Last week, I got 5 referrals through my local network (listen to Play Powerball with your Business ). The lead from my friend and carpet cleaner, James Hardy, converted to a new office cleaning client! Since this new client is a school, I had to jump through a few more hoops. First of all, I needed to go beyond adding them as a &apo...

In part 1 of this 2-hour interview, " Conspiracies in the Cleaning Industry with Ed Selkow " , Ed shared an incredible 50-year career in our industry. He shares so many great stories and lessons that will help you in your business. Ed also shared some incredible criminal stories that I called " conspiracies " that are a must listen! In this episode, we dive into the second half...

I sat down with cleaning industry legend Ed Selkow for a 2-hour interview. We covered so much ground that I had to break it into 2 parts. In this first part, you'll learn about Ed's 50 years in the cleaning industry which includes owning 4 janitorial companies and working as an employee for a few of the largest janitorial firms in the country. He weaves in great stories and lessons that...

 Before you listen to this article, please check out my Carfagno Cleaning article, " Home Trends that Intersect with Cleaning ". I credit my friend Mary Ann Alig of Fox & Roach Berkshire Hathaway Realtors for the content that drove this article and this podcast episode. Mary Ann shared 8 home trends that realtors are seeing for this new decade. Trends like these tend to change every...

I was in Dallas with my son for a podcasting conference in August. It was a blast, especially hanging out with my son. We stayed at the downtown Sheraton, which afforded us the ability to walk the city a bit. I also had the opportunity to connect in person with two former guests of the Smart Cleaning School. I went to lunch with Greg Shepard from " Sail Around the World ". We had a blast...

I discussed the Presidential Election in the last episode and how important it is for us as cleaning service providers to focus on building trust with our clients right now. There is turmoil. There is fear. There is change happening. Let’s not add to it by changing our service, our schedule, or our prices. This podcast just celebrated its 5th anniversary! It’s hard to believe that I’ve been a podc...

This podcast episode was released just 4 weeks prior to the 2024 Presidential Election. You might be asking. “Why does that matter Ken?” I hope you do. I have been around this industry for nearly 20 years and have talked to many industry leaders. We need to be wise and discerning of the mindsets and emotional meters of our clientele. We need to recognize trends and historical data. Here is a simpl...

I had an opportunity to coach a young man last week. He is operating as a solo commercial cleaner and doing quite well. He's got a great attitude. He's growing. However, he is getting close to a full schedule. That is scary for most solo cleaners. Do you know why? Once their schedule is full, they can't clean anymore. This is the point of panic for most. They think that they have to...

It’s imperative to know your numbers and coordinates, so you always know where your business is on the map of your dreams. In a recent Solo Elite Membership Call, I explained a few vital signs that solo business owners need to track to ensure their business remains healthy and vibrant. Afterward, I dive into a topic which is infrequently discussed in our industry. What is your cancellation rate? H...

There is a prevailing mindset in the cleaning industry that the only way to be successful is to scale with a team. This is simply not true. Have you ever heard of the Optimized Solo Cleaner? I am the voice in the industry shouting out that scaling is amazing, but there is another way. In a recent Solo Elite Membership Call, I encouraged the members that they are on the right path. They don’t have...

I have noticed a lot of interest recently by residential cleaning companies to seek more commercial opportunities. I have been in the industry for nearly 2 decades and have cleaned both the entire time. I know residential and I know commercial. I also stay connected with the top influencers in both residential and commercial cleaning. This gives me a unique voice to speak about what I see as the b...