Expanding and Diversifying Your Maid Service Business Today

Many years ago a wise and respected colleague in our industry gave me the following piece of advice:

IF YOU DO BUSINESS TODAY, THE WAY YOU DID BUSINESS YESTERDAY, YOU WON'T BE HERE TOMORROW.

These words have become a business mantra for almost everyone who hears them. They simply mean that survival, growth and sustainability, all take thinking outside the box, exploring new ideas for expansion and opening your mind to opportunities that may be closer than you think. Stretch your mind to be all that you can be by growing your business in ways that will bring financial success and satisfaction to your life. If you are a residential cleaning company, adding a commercial division can be a stepping stone to this achievement.

For years the maid service industry has been touted as recession-proof. Is it?? Here's what's really happening today. As people are squeezed to put gas in their vehicles, spendable income is dwindling. Middle and high income executives are feeling the pinch and some may even experience cut backs or suffer lay offs. Dual income families are looking for ways to cut spending. The ability to use a maid service may become compromised. Services to individual homeowners often times suffer when families have to tighten their belts. Service businesses in general can be very threatened when economies are unstable.

So why look to commercial cleaning? How is that any different? To diversify your business means to offer additional goods and services to your existing customer base. To expand your business means to continue to offer the same goods and services, but to market them to a different customer population. In our industry you can do both!

If you are a residential maid service, adding a commercial division, offering window cleaning, carpet cleaning and tile and grout cleaning are natural offshoots of what you already do. If you are a commercial cleaning company, the addition of a residential division can increase cash flow dramatically. Also adding window cleaning and hard surface floor care will help expand and diversify your business for greater income.

The more sources you have for revenue streams, the stronger your company's financial position can become. If one division suffers a set back or loss of revenue, the other sectors can help boost and support the finances of the entire company. You become less dependent on a single source for income. The Cross Concepts of residential and commercial cleaning working hand in hand makes very good sense. If you have a commercial window cleaning crew currently, how much more business could you do if you offered that service to homeowners? If you are a maid service, how much more income can you realize from the addition of office cleaning? In both cases, you are already doing the work. To expand and diversify within your own industry is a natural progression for profitable growth.

Commercial office managers have an obligation to provide a clean and sanitary work environment for their employees. They need you! Residential homeowners have little time or patience to find a window cleaner or carpet cleaner. They need you! You can be the business owner who recognizes opportunity in front of you by exploring all the possibilities. Help your company reach its financial goals and be on the road to the success you deserve. Check out all the ways in your industry to add to your bottom line. Remember, "If you do business today like you did business yesterday, you won't be here tomorrow!"

Watch for the next in the series: Operating Challenges in Running a Maid Service and Commercial Cleaning Division at the Same Time. How Are They Different and How Do You Manage Them?

Written by Sharon Cowan, President and CEO of Maid For Success, a coaching firm dedicated to helping maid services understand the opportunities in commercial cleaning and how to manage both segments. Sharon is a 20 year veteran of the industry who owned a successful residential and commercial cleaning company. She has been an award winner and lecturer for the BSCAI and is a Board Member of the Cleaning for A Reason Foundation. She can be reached at www.maidforsuccess.com.