Smart Cleaning School

We are starting 2020 with a 4-part podcast series on Goal Setting. Recently, I was asked by Courtney Wisely of Rescue My Maid Service to be an expert on this topic. I did a live training through Zoom to 8 growing cleaning business owners in St. Louis to identify what topics connected the most. Then I refined my presentation to record a 60-minute masterclass on Goals & Accountability for Courtn...

This is the last business update on my new solo cleaning business for 2019. What a way to go out! Andrea Szlavik of A2Z Realtor Pa assures Ken that he is not a cleaner who happens to do business. He is a business person that happens to clean. This is a big difference. Let's dive into this week in my business! We had a business showcase presentation from Laney Landis this week at MCBA. She is...

John Maxwell is internationally acclaimed and sought after for his gifting in the instruction of leadership development. He has spawned thousands of leaders through his system. I may never physically meet him in person, but his books and talks have mentored me for over a decade. There is one specific annual exercise that I would like to wrap up 2019 and I hope you'll join me. Check out John&a...

This goes back to my introduction episode and going into more mindset on honoring what you currently do and have. Every seed sown comes up. The message here is simple for you to ponder during Christmastime... what are you sowing into the ground with your current job or business? What about your relationships? Every action you take will leave a ripple in the pond of your community. Which ripple are...

I don't have any new clients yet, but you will absolutely start to see the seeds being planted and my expectation of future harvest. This episode starts with my meeting with Indian Valley Chamber President, Steven Hunsberger. Steven loved my approach to meeting the other members. Although I had no intention of joining the chamber right away, Steven uttered these words. " Ken, you'd...

After 20 years of working in the medical field, Ronita was offered an opportunity to work part time as a solo cleaner. The position was commission based, so she started earning part time close to her full time job income. This built her dream that she could leave corporate America to start her own solo cleaning business, Divine Commercial Cleaning Services . Within a few years, Ronita felt like sh...

This episode continues to follow Ken's path to building a brand new solo cleaning company. If you haven't heard the two introductory episodes, check out Building " My New Cleaning Network I and II ". Teresa and I attended the Total Life Freedom Mastermind Retreat in early October 2019 in Gatlinburg, TN. We left our scarcity mindset in Tennessee, resolving to become the givers w...

Many have asked me, " Ken, how did you sell you're solo cleaning business. " They want to hear the steps and the numbers. In this episode, I share the emotional rollercoaster of selling our business. If you are a solo cleaner and you've considered selling, make sure to listen. It wasn't about the steps or the numbers. That was a necessary part, but it wasn't the main...

"You have to master your own lane." - Roland Downs Roland knows that his wife Dina is extremely professional and understands the language of business. In his follow up with accounts that he's cleaned and helped grow, he gets feedback that the gym owner didn't think he was legit as a cleaner. Dina gave the image of a business person and secured the account. That'a Dina&apos...

This is the craziest time of the year for the solo cleaner as EVERYBODY wants their house cleaned after Thanksgiving and before Christmas! Please allow me to help you declutter your scattered brains with one of the best remedies... HUMOR ! Do you remember the "Funny Papers" in the Sunday newspaper? I remember my grandfather reading his comics after church every Sunday. I didn't get...

Have you ever shopped at the discount racks? This episode is a companion to Blueberry Pie in helping you to understand pricing. Study this and apply it! Teresa needed new jeans, so she went to Kohl's and shopped at the discount racks first because she didn't have much money to spend.. She's looking for a discount and she finds nothing that fits! Some are too short, too long, too tig...

The first lesson of Blueberry Pie covers the 3 types of Buyers: Those that want your product or service and value it enough to pay what it's worth. Those that want your product or service and do not value it enough to pay what it's worth. Those that don't want nor value your product or service. The sooner you can learn to accept this and focus on finding Buyer #1's, the sooner...

Two years ago, my friend in the cleaning coaching world, Debbie Sardone, referred Marcia Davidson to me. Marcia was not ready to scale her business and needed my help in making her solo company extremely profitable. Marcia struggled as a single mom for the entire time, trying to hold onto $15/hour temp jobs to pay the bills. She desperately wanted to grow her solo cleaning business, but circumstan...

On October 2, 2014, I sat in the back of the Rose Theatre in New York City for the Business Gets Personal Conference . Seth Godin stepped to the stage to do his opening keynote and shared the story of the 5th Annual Solvay Conference in October 1927. Physicists such as Marie Curie, Niels Bohr, Max Plank, and Albert Einstein attended and were relatively unknown. Of the 29 in attendance, 17 went on...

This episode highlights how important trust is to your clients. I connected in-person with each of my former NY house cleaning clients before selling my business. I am still amazed at their feedback and by far, the biggest take away was how critical the Trust Factor was in each of their decisions to hire & keep me for all of those years. Shawn - We met while I was cleaning for Alicia from &quo...

In this episode, Beth Lane of Lavender Fields Cleaning Service joined Solo Cleaning School. She has been working in this amazing profession for 21 years and has a world of experience that she graciously shares with us today. She uncovers several key points for new solo cleaning moms to use as they grow their business. How Not to Run a Business - Beth shadowed a friend for 3 days and with her banki...

I recently connected with Whitney Bonds of " Tried & True Mom Jobs " who helps moms venture out into the workforce to help their families. It's an awesome mission. Whitney or Max as she goes by, asked me to write up a concise blog for her on " How to Start Your Own Cleaning Business ". She wanted to bring this content and example to her large blog audience of moms to s...

In Sept 2019, I started phase II of my new marketing mindset that I learned from Steve Hanson of the Janitorial Store. In this episode, I share how one new client turned into a friend and gateway to local business networking meetings and building the momentum needed to grow my new solo cleaning company to our next goal. There is power in connecting in-person at meetings and then online with Linked...

The Solo Cleaning School draws on the lessons I learned in my first solo cleaning company, which I shared in my " Introduction to the Solo Cleaning School " episode. I hope you had a chance to listen and understand my heart for starting this podcast. If you want the short version, here it is. We started Carfagno Cleaning in 2005 in Upstate New York and sold it in 2018 to move back to Phi...

Kevin LaCombe shared a simple marketing strategy, "Hi, My Name Is..." . It worked big time for Kevin & Cherie in their first month in business. They added two small commercial clients on the same day to add $35,000 in annual revenue and earning close to $90/hour doing it! All they did was share their business with the people they already knew. I call this the A & B lists in our S...

We explore the cons of solo cleaning in this episode so you know it's not all rainbows and unicorns. If you truly evaluate this business with the pros and cons in proper perspective, you can make an informed decision whether this is the right business for you and your family. Cons of Solo Cleaning Physically Demanding & Exhausting - In the beginning, it's hard to clean a house. 3-4 h...

Solo Cleaning has amazing potential for any mom looking for a business. In this episode, we examine the pros that make solo cleaning stand out.  Money - A new solo cleaner can set up a part business earning $400-$500/week part time. As they progress through my ISO Model Signature Solution, they can increase their part time income to $1,000/week, increase to full time and earn double that, or trans...

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...

We dive deep into Ken's vision for the Solo Cleaning School of moms helping moms helping moms. Ken starts with his first Funny Papers edition called "Seran Wrap", followed by an explanation of each mom group. The first group are the moms that are looking for something and solo cleaning could be their vehicle. The second are the current solo cleaning moms that need a strategy and eac...

Ken introduces himself and Solo Cleaning School. He shares his personal journey through solo cleaning and dives into the vision of moms helping moms helping moms through this amazing business vehicle.