There's a dirty little secret hanging over the cleaning trade that nobody talks about, but every professional cleaner runs into. And unfortunately, if you buy one of the books on how to start your own cleaning business, they won't tell you about this issue and probably don't even know it exists. Why don't they know it exists? Because the book was more than likely written by a business professional and not a cleaning professional.
To share the responsibility, I'll be honest and reveal that even the professional cleaners don't talk about this issue. And I can't figure out why; are they in denial, do they decide to just ignore it or are they resolved to keeping their place in society?
What's the dirty little secret that nobody talks about? The issue is that most of the customers that pay people to clean their house think you are cleaning because you can't do anything else and automatically think you will work for pennies.
OK - I said it. Now it's out there because I think this is an important issue that people should know before they start a cleaning business. And it's also important for the people that are currently cleaning to acknowledge that it exists and know there is a way around the issue.
And once you know about it, you shouldn't let it deter you from building your business; just know how to handle the issue for success.
I know a lot about this issue because I started my own house cleaning business and grew it into a company with teams of employees. And I didn't just start the business and immediately hire the employees to do the cleaning. I started the business and did the cleaning myself.
I had been self employed in the computer industry doing software design and development consulting for large corporations. This is a stress-filled career because you're on-call 24/7, must fix software problems immediately, and you have project deadlines to meet. After doing this for 18 years, I was burnt out and needed a change.
I started the house cleaning business because I always had my house cleaned by professionals. And I wasn't happy with the quality of the work. I definitely knew what customers wanted and knew I could build my business based on that.
With my business and technical background, I had no problem preparing the advertising and bidding on jobs. In fact, I landed 98% of the job I estimated. When I showed up to do the cleaning, I got a whole different reaction from my new client than when we met for the estimate.
Suddenly, they thought I needed supervision while cleaning. They also thought they could ask and get more work done for the original quote I gave them. And imagine my surprise when they started telling me what I was going to clean on their next appointment!
I had always treated the people cleaning for me with professional respect. So it took me a while and a few customers to figure out what was going on and why. Obviously, other cleaners working alone would fall into thistrap and the customer got their way.
I snapped out of my obvious surprised stupor, dug in my heels and ran my business as I had planned it. I learned that when I estimated a job, the customer had to decide if they wanted what my business offered and I also had to decide if I wanted to clean for this prospect.
I used professional, custom business forms that I designed and always required new customers to sign a Service Agreement. It was up to me to decide if I wanted to bend my rule, not up to the customer to demand that I bend it.
And you know what happened? My business kept growing, the referrals kept coming in and this dirty little secret no longer affected me.
I truly believe that every house cleaner can earn a full-time income and enjoy the cleaning trade by knowing what to expect before they get into a business they may not be fully prepared for.
Download Dirty Little Secret
It can happen to anyone!! Young, old; rich, poor; Protestant, Catholic, atheist; it knows not the boundary of neighborhood good or bad; white, black, yellow, brown, green-it knows not the difference of color although it prefers African Americans who are poor; male or female it makes no difference although it prefers females between the age of 16-24. Eighty five to ninety percent of the victims are female who more than likely know their attacker.
It is estimated that it causes 25% of workplace problems like absenteeism, lower productivity, and excessive medical benefits use to the tune of more than $5.8 billion annually. Seventy eight percent of all Human Resource Directors recognize it as a substantial employee problem. It costs corporate America $1.8 billion in lost productivity. Eight million man days of paid work and 5.6 million man days of household work are lost annually.
It is the largest cause of injury to middle aged women but it happens to men as well. It is estimated that between 3.3 million and 10 million children see it annually. Twenty two percent of middle class divorces are caused by it.
It affects every fabric of our society-it knows no limits. It is also estimated that nearly 50 percent of all suspected cases go unreported.
But I guess domestic violence in America is really not that important or cost enough in economic or social terms or you would hear more about it. I mean after all is said and done ninety percent of family violence defendants are never prosecuted.
One out of three women report some form of physical or sexual abuse in their lives most often a member of her own family. Maybe that's not enough. Every year four to six million cases of physical violence occur in intimate relationships. Maybe that's not enough. And remember only fifty percent of cases are reported.
Police respond differently to domestic violence calls than to other calls. Women in jail for a killing in a domestic disturbance get sentenced an average of 15 years while men get an average of 2-6 years. In 1990 there were 3800 animal shelters and 1500 shelters for battered women.
Why is there such a double standard or no standard? Indeed it is a very complicated issue that we are not going to solve today right here and now. But the laws on domestic violence need to change, society's view of the problem has to change, and until that happens domestic violence as we know it will continue to flourish and grow.
In the meantime women would be well advised to be prepared and consider what to do in an emergency. There are a multitude of resources on the local, state and federal level available, but in the end it is going to fall on your shoulders to arm yourself with the tools for self defense or survival. Check out
Those tools might include developing some knowledge of warning signs; learning some techniques on self defense; carrying some non-lethal self defense weapons; developing a workplace and personal safety plan. Don't rely on someone else. You are the one that will make a difference!
Both Gail Metcalf & Jack Krohn are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Gail Metcalf has sinced written about articles on various topics from Online Marketing, Home Appliances and Home. . Gail Metcalf's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
Jack Krohn has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family Concerns, Home Management and Dieting. Jack Krohn is a veteran of the food industry who lives in Colorado. His current business-Security Solutions- specializes in home security and self defense products and security cameras for home and business use.
Best Way To Roast Turkey Also make sure that you review your business goals regularly and revise them to assure that they still fit in the direction your home based business is moving
