Have you ever played an instrument? I've been playing the guitar for a few years as a hobby. I'm no Santana, Van Halen, or Hendrix, but I can play the basic chords to play the majority of songs. I don't know about your instrument, but mine falls out of tune as the weather changes. I have picked up the guitar on many occasions to play a favorite song and it was off. Personally, I can tell by the G chord. If that chord is off at all, the whole song is off. Let me take this further. I enjoy singing with the songs as I'm the rhythm guitarist for the family worship band. I know pretty much NOTHING about musical theory, but I do know this. My voice is perfect for the key of G. How do I know this? My son and other musical scholars told me. When my guitar is out of tune, I have so much trouble matching my voice key to the music. Have you ever experienced this?
Let me relate this to your solo cleaning business now. I shared an important mindset episode called "Excellence Vs. Perfection". In this episode, I helped many cleaners break their perfectionist habits. Perfectionism is doing the best job you can to make you happy. Excellence is doing the best job to make your client happy. At first, you may think they are the same. That's not the case. Perfectionism is a disorder and falls under the OCD category. I would know. Check out my episode, "My Lifelong Struggle with Tourette Syndrome" so you know I understand. A perfectionist is cleaning to satisfy the itch they have to make the house look perfect. You can never accomplish it and many solo cleaners spend 5 - 8 hours cleaning a 3-hour house. This does not make the client happy. No one wants you in their house that long. If they pay by the hour, they are mad. And if they pay by the job, they feel guilty you're still there. The pursuit of perfection is never achieved. It's selfish in nature to scratch the itch. Excellence is another story. You have the client in their proper place. Your goal is to provide the best service tailored to their specific needs.
Do you remember the guitar story? It's difficult to sing and play a song when the guitar is out of tune. Once you figure out what key to play and the guitar is tuned, your song sounds great. Likewise, once you figure out the song that client likes, you can tune your cleaning system to that client. The outcome is called excellence. They are so happy with you because you "get them". When they make requests, you do them, and continue doing them, they trust you more! They feel heard! This is exactly how I optimize my solo business. I have to figure out which type of music each client likes and then tune my instrument to play it better and better every time.
Over 15 years, I have created a cleaning system that plays great for most clients. However, I am always ready to fine-tune my cleaning system to play a slightly different key for a slightly different type of client. This process is constant as I strive to get faster while playing an awesome song! Come join me in 2021 as I optimize my second solo cleaning business with this strategy!