The Work You Want

Episode 108

What work do I want? If I’m being cheeky: the kind that pays a lot and requires nothing. But in the real world of commercial cleaning, there are better questions:

• What work am I willing to do right now?
• What work is worth doing for the business you want to build?
• How much grief are you willing to endure to DEVELOP that future business you want?

While you’re thinking about those questions, let me provide some personal context. These are experiences I’ve had. Maybe they’ll help you answer.

What are you willing to do right now?

When I launched DOCs Facility Solutions nearly 13 years ago, we were a company of “one and a half.” I was full-time. My business partner had a day job and worked nights with me. That meant we could only take on what our capacity allowed. All jobs were small, short jobs. The advantage was that we could complete any of them in a few hours. Account frequency varied was a combination of daily a weekly and monthly services.

Working on small accounts

There are advantages to servicing small cleaning accounts. We built momentum by doing what we could, consistently. Small accounts were simple to manage, and they traditionally pay regularly. Part of this is the businesses that hire commercial cleaners are common businesses with common business practices. Their similar values tend to provide consistency. The disadvantage to these is the rate. You probably already know these are low-pay, low-profit.

Working on Larger Accounts

Then came a fork in the road. Thanks to our work ethic and networking, a larger account became available. We would still have to bid it. But the inquiry made it clear our business was preferred. But this larger opportunity came with some complexities. In order to clean this building, we would have to make a choice:

• Hiring and keeping two front-line cleaners, or
• Walking away and staying small

Choosing the work you want

That decision wasn’t really about control; it was about trust. Would we trust employees to make good decisions in the moment? That would require team training. Could we trust ourselves to manage the team, the risk and the payroll as we grew? This can be a painful process. And could we trust our clients to accept that it wouldn’t always be the owner cleaning the toilets? Making this work requires us to think strategically and put that strategy into action.

Where trust intersects with strategy

The work you want probably depends most on the stage of your business:

• Startup: Take work that fits your current capacity and builds your reputation
• Early growth: Add work that justifies your first hires and unlocks leverage
• Established: Focus on higher-margin niches and repeatable systems

Navigating the path to The Work You Want

My experience in the commercial cleaning industry spans decades. I’ve served as a front-line cleaner, shift supervisor, division manager, salesperson and a registered Master Trainer for the ISSA. I’ve operated as a commercial cleaning company owner for over 13 years at the time of this piece. And I’ve now had the pleasure of being a business coach for more than 8 years. My clients and friends in commercial cleaning know it’s a demanding business. Managing and directing a cleaning company takes stamina, knowledge and guts. It also takes excellent resources. When you’re not clear on HOW to grow your company, contact me. I believe we can work together to make that pathway a bright and profitable one.

This Week’s Podcast transcript can be downloaded here for free.