Amy Boggs, owner of Sparkling Palaces, Portland’s Premier Green House Cleaning Company shares 10 Great Tips for Home.  Yet another professional ARCSI Member taking Home Cleaning to the Next Level!

Christine McDannell, serial entrepreneur with another GREAT IDEA!
Notice the genius of integrating her Green Cleaning Company with Adopt a Christmas Tree!

Enjoy this excerpt from Derek Christian’s recent article at www.arcsi.org

My favorite way to learn about my competition is www.Angieslist.com. Angie’s List is a member’-only service and the cost to join is $35 – $70 a year depending on the market. Members of Angie’s List post reviews on service companies in a variety of areas including ours. Once you’re a member just log in and read all the reviews on your competition. The customers will tell you how much they charge an hour and everything good and bad about the company. It is a great way to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the competition.

I also check the websites of the business brokers. Most businesses are sold by a broker and you can learn a lot by seeing what businesses are being sold. In my area two franchises changed ownership in the last year and both were posted on these sites including their sales, profit margins, and number of employees. While the businesses are not named there is often enough to narrow it down if not flat out identify it. One business was described as “This company with their well known yellow cars has the franchise rights to Warren county.” www.bizbuysell.com and www.sunbeltnetwork.com are the two I use.

Finally I read the employment pages every week to see who is hiring. Seeing your competition advertising for a lot of employees is often a sign of growth. They will also often give away a lot of details. For example one employment ad I read recently said “We need 3rd shift employees for a large new medical complex we have signed.”

This does not need to be a huge and time consuming project. I normally do these activities once a week while watching “Glee” on TV.

Written by:

Derek W. Christian
Owner, My Maid Service, with locations in Cincinnati and Dallas
www.mymaidservice.net

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Tonight was different.  Many evenings before this, from my own office or whenever I walked the halls, I would see this middle-aged man working hard to clean our corporate office.  The Cleaning Service company name was emblazoned across the front and back of his maroon t-shirt, yet this man’s name was no where to be seen.

Many times, almost every time in fact, I had said hello or good evening, and this man had graciously replied. His deep voice possessed the accent of what I thought was sure to be the history of an African nation.

Tonight was different.  I was working later than usual.  I left my office to get a drink from the kitchen.  Along the way, our paths crossed yet again.  This time, for some inexplicable reason, I felt the need, not an urge, but a real need, to stop and say more than just hello.  After the routine greetings, I muttered, almost mumbled, “what is your name?”  The strong yet peaceful soul spelled out, “W-O-N-D-E-R, like Stevie Wonder.” I smiled and asked, “Where are you from originally?”  Wonder replied, “Zimbabwe.”

I shared that my wife and I had been to Zimbabwe and that we dearly loved the people and the beauty of this incredible country.  Wonder’s heart must have filled with joy, based upon the look in his eyes at that moment.  He shared sweet anecdotes of life in Zimbabwe as I listened intently.

Suddenly that warm tingly aha feeling rushed over me, as I said, “You know I have something I’d like to share with you.  My wife and I work with an organization called Acres of Love that provides homes for abandoned and HIV-positive children in South Africa.  When you take a break, please stop by my office, and I’ll share something with you.”

Several minutes had passed, when Wonder’s glow illuminated my office doorway.  I shared the brief story of Acres of Love and showed him the video.  As the video ended, I turned to a Wonder who was silently wiping tears away.  I was done.  What happened next, was the gift of life itself unraveled and placed before me as a banquet of grace and love—one of those moments that makes you wish you could “stay right here, without moving, for a very long time.”

Wonder asked if he could share a story with me.  The “ask” itself was filled with such reverence, respect, and servant heart.  Of course.  I was open, eager to hear every word this man had to say.

Amidst the humble sharing of his family’s story, Wonder explained that one son, in his thirties, was about to graduate from the University of Delaware, and had built a great career with McDonald’s along the way.  Wonder and his wife, had brought this son to America five years ago so he could attend college.  Two years ago Wonder’s wife returned to Zimbabwe to support their other daughter, an accountant age 26, and their other son who now lives in South Africa.  Throughout the viewing of the Acres of Love video, Wonder kept politely, quietly repeating that it was God’s work.

Wonder then gently, even delicately told the story of his daughter and son-in-law, and their baby son, who all had passed away from AIDS eight years ago in Zimbabwe.  Still to this day, no one in the family knows how or who was infected first, and they have let this mystery go in their journey for peace and acceptance of this unbearable loss.

Wonder apologized for his tears, and dutifully said he had to get back to work.  I could tell there was something else he wanted to tell me.  It took very little to urge him on.  The safety, trust and grace of the moment embraced us.  I repeated, “No apologies needed. Thank you for sharing!”

Wonder explained that in his small village in Zimbabwe he knew the exact day that he was supposed to have died.  Just after sunset one evening, just steps outside of his own home, five young men assaulted Wonder, taking his watch, stripping him of anything of value, and then kicking and hitting him repeatedly.  As Wonder felt his body “fall in” from the crush of these boys, he clasped his “important papers” in his shirt pocket, and began to think, “Now is the time I am going to die.”

Wonder said he became calm and resigned to the situation, even relaxing his body as he lay on his back with all five boys on top of him.  He looked up at the boys and said, “Boys I forgive you. I do not blame you.  I understand why you have to do this.  Your anger is to survive.  I understand. I forgive you.”  The boys stopped hitting and kicking him, but still held on strong.  Staring back into the eyes of Wonder, they all looked on.  One boy said, “Can you help us?”  Wonder replied, “Yes I can, take my money, but don’t take me, my children will suffer alone without me.”  At this same moment, one boy drew back his knife, ready to end Wonder’s life.  Another boy, said, “No. The money, not the man. He’s a father!”  And all at once, the boys let go their strong hold on Wonder, backed away and ran off.  Wonder closed his eyes and said a prayer.

After arriving home with a swollen mouth and broken jaw, scrapes and bruises, Wonder hugged his wife and children, and cried himself to sleep.  Later that night, Wonder woke with a stirring image.  He looked out his window toward the cemetery of his village.  He saw a grave site, newly dug, with the soil piled high above ground.  The message Wonder heard, “This grave was for you, but it is now nothing but dirt.”  Wonder said he believes this image was a message confirming his faith and trust.

Wonder promptly stood up, wiped his tears, and thanked me profusely for sitting with him.  I said, “I thank you for the gift of your sharing.  You have touched my heart deeply and I wish you all the best.”  My words failed me. I could not think of adequate language at the moment.  I trust he knew though.”

It’s a wonder what life moments bring in the face of pressing in deeper to understand the love that surrounds our human lives.  It’s a wonder indeed.  Here’s to the man who cleans our offices every night.  What a Wonder he truly is.

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Watch this Video on YouTube

One simple question…do you have this much passion for your business?

Click this Link to View Christine on YouTube

Congratulations Chrissy McDannell, owner of Cleanology in San Diego, and one of our Clean Is Not Enough! Mastermind Members.

Great ideas and great fun Christine!

by Steve Levenstein

The Maid Taxi was a clever concept – until hordes of “Otaku” (fans of costume roleplay) descended upon the service, displacing those genuinely disabled the Maid Taxi’s were designed to serve.

For disabled people in Japan dependent upon caregivers, it must have seemed like a dream come true. Just imagine if you will, a small fleet of wheelchair-accessible minivans decked out in luxury appointments available to pick you up and take you wherever you want to go. Oh, did I mention, the vans were piloted by comely young ladies dressed as French maids?

You’d be forgiven for thinking the Maid Taxi was dreamed up by Hugh Hefner as a way to get around town in his old age – sort of a flightless Playboy jet – but no… it was actually conceived by a Japanese company called KEC Hire Hokuriku with very altruistic motives: assisting the disabled while adding a little extra joy to the experience. All well and good until word got out to a certain sector of Japanese society obsessed with All Things Maid: the Otaku!

From all corners of the country they came to the city of Kanazawa, wrapped in fake bandages covering nonexistent wounds or limping on borrowed crutches… sometimes both. Why the play-acting? Well, for the fun of it, of course, cosplay (costume play) being what it is. Also, KEC Hire Hokuriku specified that the Maid Taxi service was only available to disabled people, quoting Japan’s Road Traffic Law that forbade vehicles designated as being for the disabled from being used by the able-bodied. Even the steep 5700 yen (about $52) per hour fee didn’t dissuade determined Otaku from getting their maid fix.

Maybe it was wear & tear on the minivans; maybe it was wear & tear on the maids – or at least, their frilly outfits – but a mere three months after inaugurating the Maid Taxi service, KEC Hire Hokuriku threw in the towel. It remains to be seen whether another company will now do the obvious: start up another Maid Taxi service catering ONLY to Otaku. The way I figure it, they’d clean up! (via Japundit and Dark Diamond)

Steve Levenstein
Japanese Innovations Writer
InventorSpot.com

by Steve Levenstein

Japan has exported cars and electronics to the West for decades, but it’s only recently that the nation’s dynamic culture, led by Pokemon and other Anime has also made the trip. Their success has led a few enterprising types to try transplanting some of the more offbeat aspects of Japanese culture into foreign soil. Can it work? Your on-the-scene reporter visited the I Maid Café in Toronto, Canada today to find out first hand!

Maid cafes have sprung up all over Japan since the first one opened in 1998, catering mainly to so-called “otaku” (fans of costume roleplay for example) who feel more comfortable dealing with a subservient maid then with other people in social settings. Imagine how surprised I was to discover that here in Toronto, Canada, just a few minutes away by car, is an actual maid café!

As for the food, it was quite tasty, accented by the glass of cool Mint Coffee my wife & I shared. The service, while decent, didn’t really differ from that of any other normal café. I’m not sure what we expected and it might be too much to ask that we be greeted with the “Welcome, Master and Mistress” emoted by staff at Japanese maid cafes. As well, neither foot rubs nor complementary ear cleaning were in the offing – maybe I’ve overly researched the topic of maid cafes!

Then again, what percentage of I Maid Café’s clientele really expects the full-on Japanese theme café experience? Considering the lack of local competition, I Maid Café does a good job of bringing a little Japanese weirdness to far-away Toronto. (images via I Maid Café)

Steve Levenstein
Japanese Innovations Writer
InventorSpot.com

Twitter crashed.  Google News was unavailable for some for an hour.  The internet practically choked on the news of Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, dead after a cardiac arrest at his home.  Farrah Fawcett passed away on the same day.  Ed McMahon expired just two days prior.  While these iconic celebrities’ deaths are cause for great sadness, grief, loss and celebration of their lives and contributions,  there is an even bigger takeaway for all of us.

How have we lived…how well are we living ourselves right now?

At our current death rate in the United States (8.27 deaths/1000 population), yesterday on the same day we lost Farrah and Michael, another 8,154 other people died,  in the United States alone.  That’s 8,154 grandparents, great grandparents, moms and dads, brothers and sisters, children and grand children–each with an individual story and a network of family and friends that grieve their loss.

So while the news of Farrah Fawcett’s passing overshadows the loss of 83 year old Nina Pinsky in Paintsville, Kentucky, it all gets glossed over by the video of a Sheriff’s helicopter taking Michael Jackson’s body to the coroner’s office for an autopsy.  Yet this media coverage pales in comparison to the news stories running in the minds of every grieving loved one of any of the 8,156 people who died yesterday, and today, and tomorrow, and every day of the year.

So how am I living?

When my time is up, what will the “news coverage” say about me?  What will be my legacy?

I met Ed McMahon as one of my guests while I was working at the Grand Floridian Beach Resort at Walt Disney World.  I grew up with Farrah’s famous swimsuit poster in my room.  And my ITunes account has Dirty Diana on my favorites list still to this day.  I cherish each of these fine performers for their gifts and contributions to their craft and to the world.

Yet more than anything, I thank them all for the gift of invitation to reflect upon how I want to spend the rest of my life…how I want to make a difference in the world…how I want to remembered, when my day comes.

A few power strategies for Low-Cost Marketing:

1. Instead of putting flyers on windshields of cars in parking lots, perhaps do the proven strategy (Jack George gets credit here) of putting a vinyl wrapped company car in the busy parking lot with business cards or flyers with a compelling offer in plastic holders attached to the back window of the car. Staples and OfficeMax sell the plastic card holders with suction cups. Be sure to answer your phone the day after, especially if its Saturday and Sunday or have MyPerceptionist answer your phone for you.

2. Babies R’ Us–one Saturday per month they have 6 foot tables available for local businesses to promote their services to their shoppers–huge opportunity to market to women from all different angles–grandmothers, new mothers, sisters of new moms, moms of all ages, people buying gifts for baby showers…hint hint, offer gift cards as a baby shower gift as part of your fish bowl give away drawing.

3. One of my most successful proven guerilla marketing techniques is to partner with your best/high quality, larger or largest dry cleaner in your immediate area. You can now offer to pay for the dry cleaner bags (and have your logo and compelling offer printed on the bags) and then give them to the dry cleaner to put on their customers’ clothes. Genius idea. If you can’t afford the printed bags, provide colored sheets of paper with two-sided promotions printed in black ink, and ask the dry cleaner to staple one to every bag of finished clothes. Offer to barter by cleaning the owner’s home for instance.

4. Walk the neighborhoods of your existing customers, (with testimonials in hand) and offer “immediate in-home estimates.” Make sure you have a great leave behind flyer or brochure, especially with a refrigerator magnet to leave with every homeowner, even if they say “No thank you.”

I could write for hours on this, but these are a few truly proven, massive return on investment, strategies to use.

Just think of it this way, “I have to raise $10,000 in new cash business in 48 hours or something terrible will happen to me (you fill in the blank)…what would you do to make it happen?”

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