Cleanfax, November/December 2019

FOREWORD Facing the Woes Entrepreneurs always face challenges Lets look at them as puzzles to solve not problems to endure BY AMANDA HOSEY W eve again gathered data on the carpet cleaning industry through our annual Carpet Cleaning Benchmarking Survey Report page 9 ere was a wonderful turnout this year with more than 750 industry professionals donating their valuable time to help us develop a realistic overview of the industry ank you to all of you who took part we appreciate your input And a special thank you to our sponsor Legend Brands for helping spread the word about the survey Now on to insights from the survey Competition Companies continue to struggle to differentiate themselves from low ball companies in the eyes of customers who expect the same quality of service from both ough they will not get that quality their business does often go to these kinds of companies Perhaps it is time for the industry to come together much like the restoration industry is doing to advocate for quality companies and conceptualize ways to elevate perceptions of carpet cleaning and educate them on quality of service Other problems reported are struggling to stand out against a crowded eld a rise in do it yourselfers with 4 CLEANFAX NOV DEC 2019 every big box company selling renting machines and Google rankings Business building employees Mostly the same issues with employees continue to plague companies nding and keeping hard workers With a low unemployment rate it is an employees market with many companies desperate for job seekers Its a tough time to be hiring Labor costs pose another problem as minimum wage requirements continue to increase Even those in areas with lower wages are feeling the e ects with survey respondents reporting a rise in pressure from sta to raise wages and employees continually lost to nearby areas with higher minimum wage Rising costs of running a business are a chief complaint health insurance gas prices and insurance costs An interesting challenge arose in this years survey that I dont believe Ive seen in past surveys though multiple people reported it this year tra c tra c patterns Its a problem not easily solved but one which causes serious issues delaying arrivals and upsetting customers throwing o schedules and limiting job radius Using Google Maps and scheduling software that groups MANAGING EDITOR jobs by location and tra c are helpful but it is a largely unsolvable problem until teleportation becomes reality Many also struggle with the requirements of running a business in the modern world like website maintenance online scheduling social media upkeep the cloud and the minutia of online advertising Speaking of online advertising one respondent succinctly put it Google is a moving target Equipment Many cited problems getting equipment repaired and needed parts quickly is problem is exacerbated in remote areas where distributors are far away ings arent all bad Equipment was an area of positivity from most with glides lighter wands tracking software and powerful truckmounts all reportedly making life easier Rotary extractors and CRBs received the most praise from survey takers I know running a business has its drawbacks Sometimes those drawbacks seem to outweigh the bene ts but I hope next year brings you relief from what ails your companies continued success where youve succeeded before and new avenues for success youve never seen Jeff Cross Editorial Director JeffCross@ issa com 740 973 4236 Amanda Hosey Managing Editor Amandah@ issa com 205 530 4775 Erika Talbot Art Director Erika@ issa com Amanda Martini Hughes Digital Media Coordinator Amanda@ issa com Micah Ogburn Director of Media Sales Micah@ issa com 847 982 3486 Abby Ingraham Senior Account Executive Sales Abby@ issa com 847 982 3484 Scott Beech Account Executive Sales Scott@ issa com 224 534 5062 3300 Dundee Road Northbrook IL 60062 847 982 0800 ISSA com Subscriber Customer Service Cleanfax@ omeda com 8558402131 cleanfax com subscribe