Cleaning Up - Home Services Brand Builder Podcast: Recent Episodes
cleaningupsecrets
The Cleaning up podcast is the home services brand podcast where we give away millionaire secrets from the home services industry. We all love hearing the entrepreneurial journey that others take on their path to success and it's unique for everyone. In this podcast, I sit down with home service industry pros and entrepreneurial thought leaders to provide their insights and experiences directly to you so you can grow and scale your own successful business..
Christopher J. Wirth is the Founder and President of No Quit Living, a Speaking, Coaching, and Training Company.
No Quit Living works with individuals, teams, and corporations to help improve accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency. They look to motivate and inspire their clients to never give up on themselves, their goals, and their dreams.
Christopher is the host of the No Quit Living Podcast which has been rated as a top 50 Podcast on iTunes in three different categories: Business, Health, and Self-Help.
Christopher is a sought-after Keynote Speaker. If your need is for a dynamic speaker to motivate, inspire and captivate your audience—look no further!
Christopher began his coaching career as an AAU Basketball Coach, Collegiate Basketball Coach, as well as a High School Basketball Coach.
He lives in Greenwich, CT with his three children—Zachary, Emily, and Mason.
While majoring in advertising at the University of West Florida, John Braun started a cleaning business to practice advertising and find out what REALLY works. His ultimate goal was to start his own advertising agency but felt that it would be hypocritical to tell others how to advertise without putting the theories into practice with his own money.
He didn't want to work for someone else, so he started Premium Carpet Care in Pensacola, Florida, and built it up to be one of the most well-known carpet cleaning firms in the area. After building a successful business through effective advertising he began to help other cleaners build their business using these advertising techniques. This leads him to start Hitman Advertising in 2008, an advertising consulting group that caters to the cleaning industry.
Currently, he writes for CleanInformer Magazine and speaks regularly at industry events, both online and offline, on the subjects of internet marketing and advertising. John drops a ton of advertising gold in this episode that you can use to build your business.
Gigi Butler, entrepreneur and founder of Gigi’s Cupcakes, admits her story of success is full of sweet irony. Gigi opened her first Gigi’s Cupcakes location just off Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee in 2008. Gigi’s Cupcakes is now the largest cupcake franchise in the world.
With an entrepreneurial spirit that needed an outlet at the age of 15, Gigi opened her first business, Gigi’s Cleaning Company, which she continued to grow once she moved from California to Nashville in 1994. She cleaned houses during the day and sang at downtown Nashville honky-tonks at night. After a decade of pursuing a career as an entertainer, the heartaches of the music industry hit home.
Gigi decided to step back and focus on her financial future. While building a sweet empire was never part of her plan, Gigi realized that her culinary and business skills could take her places she never dreamed about. She decided to take a chance on her other passion – baking.
Gigi’s autobiography “The Secret Ingredient: Recipes for Success In Business and Life” was released in December 2018. Gigi shares her personal success story, her hard-won business acumen, and the life-changing inspiration that she’s gained from a challenging life. Each chapter includes a piece of business advice and a delicious sweet and savory recipe. The book is available at gigibutler.com, or on Amazon, or anywhere books are sold!
John DiJulius is redefining customer service in corporate America today. He didn’t read the books on customer service, he wrote them: Secret Service, Hidden Systems That Deliver Unforgettable Customer Service, What’s The Secret? To Being a World Class Customer Service Organization, The Customer Service Revolution, The Best Customer Service Quotes Ever Said, and The Relationship Economy. One of the most captivating and charismatic speakers today, John’s keynotes and workshops are used by world-class service companies to provide unforgettable customer service every day. In his high-energy presentations, he uses powerful visuals as he discusses the 10 commandments of customer service and explains how to improve the service aptitude of employees at all levels.
Not only is John the Owner, President, and Chief Revolution Officer of The DiJulius Group, he is also the Founder, President, and Owner of John Robert’s Spa; Named one of the Top 20 Salons in America with multiple locations (and over 150 employees), which he uses as living laboratories to test his findings and theories.
Zach Thomas is an entrepreneur, published author (order Leader Farming), blogger, business/life coach, public speaker, and most importantly, follower of Christ, husband, and father of seven children.
He was Eagle Scout of the Nation in 1995, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and served his country as an Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer. He has started multiple companies and been featured in Newsweek Magazine and on Good Morning America. He married his high school sweetheart and they home school their seven children on their family farm where he grew up. His varied interests include studying leadership and entrepreneurship, farming, riding his Harley, working on old cars with his sons and dad, camping, and spending time with his family.
He is the Owner/Operator of a Chick-fil-A franchise in Rockmart, Georgia where he is very involved in his community. Zach is a graduate of Lead Polk and a member of the board of directors for the Polk County Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on Congressman Tom Graves’ Service Academy Selection Board for District GA-14.
He serves as the President of the board of Life Impact, Inc., a non-profit ministry, where he volunteers his time to coach Christian Vetpreneurs (Military Veteran Entrepreneurs). To sponsor a Veteran submit your request to Life Impact.
Being an entrepreneur, building a company, and turning a profit isn’t easy. This is why Craig Handley believes to make it through and turn your business around, you need to create a culture of awesomeness.
He is proud that his company, ListenTrust, was built with a culture that honors personal values, giving back, and allows everyone to pursue their own dreams. His inspiring book Hired to Quit, Inspired to Stay can help you do the same Craig draws upon the trials they faced in order to encourage other leaders to create their own ideal enterprises. With valuable lessons and indispensable advice, the book shows you not only how to establish a culture that inspires employees and customers, but how to survive—and enjoy—the bumpy business ride.
In this episode learn the way to build a company that fulfills your heart’s purpose so you can live your dreams—and take others along with you.
Michael Kaplan was a financial partner in ZeroRez, a Minnesota-based carpet cleaning company. We talk about what it took and what it was like to scale a 300-thousand-dollar business up to 18 million.
Michael talks about the mistakes he and his partners made with money and hiring almost costing his business. He also leveraged an economic downturn and the existing radio budget to work in the business’s favor. Hear how out of all things, a radio campaign changed things seemingly overnight.
Michael Kaplan is now a private equity and angel investor who was part owner and president of the wildly successful carpet cleaning franchise called Zerorez. He is now associated with Red Hook Investments and is actively finding new ways to help small service companies grow.
Michael grew up in Minneapolis, moved to Maine (undergrad) then to Atlanta (for barbeque and bourbon) then to Boston (pondering a Jimmy John’s franchise) then to Minneapolis (law school), where help to turn around the troubled carpet cleaning business.
Over the last few years, he's been focused on investing in small home service companies, by purchasing a minority interest in their company, providing capital and expertise along the way, and guiding the business to success. He also loves to buy distressed or "stuck" companies, within the home service space in order to unlock their value.
Jeanne Bliss guides companies to the achievement of business growth through leadership bravery and elevated business practices. She is known globally for transforming the business to earn customer-driven growth. A 5-time Chief Customer Officer and coach to over 20,000 leaders, her practices are field-tested and proven. Bliss' 5-Competencies for customer-driven growth have been adopted around the world, and her 4 best-selling books on customer experience and leadership are the guidebooks of the CX Profession. Jeanne Bliss has delivered over 1,500 transformative keynotes globally, has coached over 20,000 leaders on leading to elevate their company in the marketplace, with sustainable growth. Jeanne Bliss is the cofounder of the customer experience professionals association and is fondly known as the “godmother” of customer experience.
Tim David is the author of Magic Words – The Science and Secrets Behind Seven Words that Motivate, Engage, and Influence and FLIP - The Four Levels of Influencing People. An ex-professional magician, he now teaches leaders and sales professionals the magic of words at work and in life.
His frustration with what's happening to the quality of human connection in our modern world leads him to ask, Can more connection really increase the bottom line and improve the quality of our lives at the same time? Will better human connections really make us better leaders, better salespeople, and better co-workers? With over ten years of speaking, mentoring, writing, and most importantly real-world, in-the-trenches business experience, Tim can unequivocally answer, “YES!”
Listen as Tim and Ron discuss in detail how magic connects people and improves a business as a whole.
For ten years Scott was a multi-unit, award-winning franchise owner with Edible Arrangements. His operation won international recognition: "Best Customer Service" and "Manager of the Year," out of more than 1000 locations worldwide. Today he's a sought-after international speaker, consultant, and franchise coach, with clients that include McDonald's, Great Clips, GNC, RE/MAX, Smoothie King, Global Franchise Group, and countless other companies in all 50 U.S. states and throughout the world. He's also a VIP Contributing Writer for Entrepreneur.com. Going beyond numbers and profits, Scott delves into the human side of the business to help organizations boost performance and make a memorable impact on the lives of customers and employees. Scott Greenberg designs game-changing steps to grow businesses, build high-performing teams, and create unforgettable customer experiences.
Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization. Founded in 1985, the organization now has over 8,400 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Last year alone, BNI generated 9.1 million referrals resulting in $13.1 billion dollars worth of business for its members.
In this episode, Ron and Ivan discuss that a critical component in networking is to start viewing your relationships with key clients and contacts as a partnership and cultivate them as such.
The man who created the world's leading experiential concierge firm, that makes once-in-a-lifetime events happen for the rich and famous, reveals to the rest of us his trade secrets for making things happen.
Steve Sims’s day job is to make the impossible possible. With his help and expertise, his clients’ fantasies and wildest dreams come true. Getting married by the Pope in the Vatican, being serenaded by Andrea Bocelli, and connecting with powerful business moguls like Elon Musk & Sir Elton John are just a few of the many projects he has worked on. He rarely reveals how he accomplishes the feats that make his clients so happy. But now for the first time, Steve shares his practical tips, techniques, and strategies to help readers break down any obstacle and turn their dreams into reality.
As a child, David Rendall was told that he was a “very bad boy on the edge of too far gone” because he couldn’t sit still, be quiet, and do what he was told. Years later he used those so-called “negative traits” to his favor and became one of the world’s most memorable and entertaining keynote speakers on the topics of leadership and management.
Author of the best-selling book The Freak Factor, Rendall specializes in helping executives, entrepreneurs, and general audiences unlock potential in themselves and others by concentrating on what makes them unique. Unlike other thought leaders, Rendall focuses on finding and developing the hidden strengths in characteristics that may have been labeled by others as “problematic.” He prompts audiences to reflect on what it means to “be yourself” as he demonstrates just how often we cave into the pressure to conform, leading us to pursue mediocrity rather than flaunting our rarities – which may just be our most valuable assets.
Rendall’s clients have come from numerous industries and include Ralph Lauren, State Farm, the Australian Government, Microsoft, and the U.S. Air Force. He has spoken on every inhabited continent and was a professor of management prior to starting his own firm, the Freak Factory. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, a Masters in Counseling Psychology, and is a former stand-up comedian.
In this episode, Ron and Pete discuss what Pete learned as a former Disney leader. He now works with organizations that want to develop employees into managers, and managers into leaders. His 13+ years at Disney and 12+ years in local government provide over 25 years of experience in leadership development and organizational culture. Managers are trained to spend time balancing budgets, organizing workflow, and delivering results. Very few have time to stop and focus on the small details. But the details are usually the difference between a mediocre manager and a successful leader. Through a fascinating lesson from a simple roach, Pete will share essential traits that leaders can emulate every day to improve their people, their products, and their property.
Quint Studer is a lifelong student of leadership. He is a businessman, a visionary, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to many. He has worked with individuals at all levels of leadership and across a variety of industries to help them become better leaders and create high-performing organizations. Along the way, he has discovered and refined many high-impact leadership behaviors and tactics that he is eager to share. He knows leadership is not easy and wants to simplify it for others. He has a gift for translating complex business strategies into simple, doable leader behaviors that allow organizations to achieve long-term success and profitability.
Kristina Geier left her corporate America job in San Francisco four years ago to start a residential cleaning service called Berry Clean. Everyone told her that it was a mistake. You can't build in business in California! You can't leave a great Silicon Valley job to clean houses! You're too smart for this...you graduated from an Ivy League school! But she opened a cleaning business anyway and proved everyone wrong by building a $1.2M business in less than three years of operations. Kristina knew nothing about the residential cleaning industry but she's here today to tell us all of her insider secrets to how you can also build your own $1M residential cleaning business!
Pete Havel fixes broken workplaces.
And he makes good workplaces better. He is a keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant on workplace culture and organizational leadership.
Pete is a former lobbyist and political consultant who proudly served some of America’s leading pro-business advocacy organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, and Associated Builders and Contractors. He’s also been a senior executive for top strategic communications firms.
His transformational moment and emergence into fixing workplace cultures began with taking the wrong turn into a toxic workplace and his subsequent book The Arsonist in the Office.Pete now works with companies ranging from Fortune 500 firms to law enforcement agencies to Fortune 500 companies to nonprofits.
He provides clients the tools and techniques they need to solve problems that create financial, legal, and reputational risk, reduce employee satisfaction and lower productivity levels.
Brant Menswar is a core values activist, former rock star, one of the country’s “Top 10" motivational speakers, and a self-professed coffee snob. His books and podcast (Thoughts That Rock) expand on the ground-breaking work around values-based leadership. He has helped to change what’s possible for industry-leading organizations like Netflix, Verizon, Anthem, SunTrust, Microsoft, ESPN, Hilton, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and dozens more. Passionate and engaging, Brant encourages audiences to discover their Black Sheep Values® and move forward with deliberate intention. His interactive and entertaining way of defining what matters most compels audiences to dig deeper into their lives and start living on purpose.
In this episode, Brant shares his life-changing story that propelled him to discover his Black Sheep Values® and why you should discover yours now rather than later. They also discuss exactly why this should be a priority for franchise owners everywhere.
As the MJ of the Hotel Industry, Bruce Jordan is always ready to make the game-winning shot! Going beyond the traditional ineffective old methods that continuously permeating throughout the hotel industry. He teaches other hotels how to get the same successful results on his YouTube Channel “Hotel Guest Management” on his show Hotel Management Do’s and Don’ts and True Hotel Leaders.
As a content creator, his show receives thousands of views every month on YouTube and Facebook. He is the guy that people hate when he is right, but will never say “I told you so” (I told you so)! Nothing can stop Bruce Jordan from doing what he does best!
Unfortunately, his skills and abilities are a gift and a curse. A gift for the owners and management companies that need to increase their hotels' revenue/reviews and a curse for employees that want to make excuses to stick to the cause of the "Little to No Results" effect.
Joe Chiellini started a small residential lawn service in Tampa 25 years ago with just two employees and one lawnmower. Today, his tiny lawn service has grown into a 150+ employee business with more than $14M in annual revenues. He's a legend inside the consumer services industry and most known for his innovative culture-building initiatives. Joe believes that anyone can build a great business if they have a servant leader mindset. This is especially true for our blue-collar workforce. Today's podcast will provide you with ready-to-go ideas that can be implemented inside your own business today. Take some notes and enjoy this phenomenal interview!
Jason Phillips is a leader in the home improvement industry. Hailing from Plano, TX, he is CEO and President of Phillips Home Improvements, and renewing homes is his passion. While his career began humbly, Jason quickly saw opportunities to improve the customer service and quality of workmanship that homeowners were receiving industry-wide and resolved to provide a better experience. A WOW experience.
Early on, he decided he could help others earn better livings and enjoy a more life-giving work culture if he were boss. So he started his painting business, poising his company to create WIN-WIN situations for homeowners, team members, and vendors alike. With carefully timed additions of roofing, gutters, siding, and replacement windows over the past 21 years, Jason continues to create WIN-WIN situations.
Take a listen as Ron & Jason talk about the nitty-gritty of starting a business, and even though Jason is in the home improvement business that is not his focus.
John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar's Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies.
John's unique approach to relationships led him to become the #1 salesman for a $250 Million direct sales company by the time he was 23 (out of 1.5 Million reps). He now speaks widely about strategic gifting and relationship building and helps CEOs and sales teams drive referrals and open doors to elusive decision-makers.
Chad E. Foster is a motivational keynote speaker, sales/finance leader, and inspirational change agent who works at Red Hat/IBM. He was the first blind executive to graduate from Harvard Business School’s Program for Leadership Development. Despite going blind while attending college in his early twenties, Chad started at Accenture and has built a career in the technology industry where he has directed financial strategies and decisions resulting in more than $45 billion in contracts. He speaks to corporate audiences and professional athletes to help them develop resilience in the face of uncertainty. He has been featured with NBC, Forbes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today, Thrive Global, Chief Executive Mag and continues to inspire audiences across the world with his personal story.
Listen in as Ron and Chad dive deep into what it takes to overcome challenges, and hear why it's important to choose the right story to believe.
Over the past several years Tom and his team have helped 1000’s of home improvement contractors earn the respect & dignity equal to the value that they bring to their clients. They understand the challenges that are faced when running a business. For over 5 years, he has been training contractors to sell VIRTUALLY to their prospects, and nobody teaches this better than Tom's team. They teach businesses to connect with prospects in ways their competitors never will, allowing them to stand out and sell more. Helping contractors has led to Tom building a podcast and movement called The Contractor Fight.
The Contractor Fight leads groups of home Improvement contractors who are taking back control of their businesses & fattening their wallets. Tom is one of the most sought-after contractor coaches & consultants in the United States.
He got his start in the contractor coaching/consulting business after successfully building a Chicago painting business from scratch into a multi-million dollar enterprise in three years. He did this, he says, through a truly solid client experience process.
Listen to Tom and Ron break down how to run a successful business and how everything starts with your mindset.
Mike Michalowicz is the entrepreneur behind three multi-million dollar companies and is the author of Profit First, Clockwork, The Pumpkin Plan, and his newest book, Fix This Next. Mike is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and regularly travels the globe as an entrepreneurial advocate. He is an active partner in multiple companies, including an American manufacturer, a business growth consultancy, an augmented reality tech firm, and a certification organization for accountants, bookkeepers, and business coaches. In this episode, Mike and Ron go deep into the business of entrepreneurship and the harsh reality of what it takes to survive and succeed.
On this episode of the Cleaning Up Podcast, we have Ellen Rohr. Ellen was a Plumber’s Wife now she is the Business Makeover Expert® Ellen got involved in her husband’s company after his partner died unexpectedly. It seemed like lots of money was moving through the company, but at the end of the month, there was never any money left. Thankfully, Ellen found terrific mentors, savvy contractors who taught her how to keep score in business, how to put a simple business plan together, and how to make money.
She started Bare Bones Biz, a venture capital and consulting company in 1995 to help folks of all ages turn their big ideas into successful businesses. Ellen is also a successful franchisor, helping launch a plumbing franchise to 47 locations and $40 million in sales in under 2 years. Ellen is currently the president of Zoom Drain and Sewer, LLC. She takes ordinarily dry-as-dust business basics and makes them simple and fun.
Ellen is also the author of four business basics books: Where Did the Money Go?, How Much Should I Charge?, The Bare Bones Biz Plan, and The Weekend Biz Plan.
In this episode, Joey shares his expert advice on improving customer retention, as well as the 8 stages a customer goes through from his book, Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days. Listen to learn why focusing on existing customers is so important and how to turn them into your biggest fan in just a few months. For almost twenty years, Joey has helped organizations retain their best customers and turn them into raving fans via his entertaining and actionable keynotes, workshops, and consulting projects. He has a long history of energizing and motivating audiences to enhance their customers’ experiences. He is an award-winning speaker (yes – they do have speaking contests) at both national and international conferences – competing against New York Times bestselling authors, business leaders, and internet sensations/celebrities.
2 Wall Street Journal bestseller, Never Lose a Customer Again.
Joseph P. Sheehan was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He is a 2nd Generation Pest Management Professional (PMP) the President of Colony Pest Management, Inc. which has been in business for 18 years, and the founder of Synergy Scents K9 Scent Detection, in business for 10 years. He is past President of the Professional Pest Management Association of New York City and was influential in the merging of the three New York Associations in 2012. Joseph is an active Regional Board Member for the NYPMA and holds a BA in Psychology from SUNY Old Westbury. Joseph and his Father, Edward Sheehan host the Colony Confidential Podcast, a training, and education resource to give back to the Pest Management Industry. Joseph is a big believer in giving back and over the past years has created annual fundraising events to promote awareness and generate donations for cancer research, NYC youth arts and sports programs Sponsoring the Daily News Golden Gloves and The Emerald Guild Scholarship Fund over the past 9 years and is one of the School of Visual Arts’ Corporate Partners for the Arts. Joseph currently serves as a Trustee for the Suny Old Westbury College Foundation.
In this episode, Ron and Mark discuss the book The Dream Manager by Matthew Kellly and how that lead mark to become a certified dream manager and changing 1,000's people's lives. Mark brings 20 years of direct experience leading & coaching people to become better versions of themselves (with the hair to prove it). He specializes in fostering engaged cultures and infusing energy & action into key initiatives for select clients.
Mark is the husband of Jennie and the father of Sam (14), Daniel (10), & Rocky (15 in dog years). He enjoys running, coffee, family travels, breakfast sandwiches, and a cold beer.
In this first episode, we sit down and talk with John Lee Dumas. John is the founder and host of Entrepreneurs on Fire, an award-winning podcast where he interviews entrepreneurs seven days a week. John Lee Dumas knows this very well. On his award-winning podcast Entrepreneurs On Fire, which has over 100,000,000 listens, he’s interviewed more than 2,700 of the world’s most successful leaders in business. In his new book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, he takes what he’s learned from those 2,700 interviews and lays out a proven 17-step roadmap to help his readers achieve financial security, freedom, and fulfillment.
