Maximizing Business Profits For Commercial Cleaning Businesses
Maximizing profit should be a primary goal of every small business owner. To do this you need to understand key profitability drivers and how decrease costs and improve your business. It's not unusual for small businesses to fold after just a few short years. In fact, when a business has made it for five years, it's considered longevity. So, let’s begin to make sure your business survives and thrives!
Understanding Your Costs
In most commercial cleaning businesses labor will be your single largest cost. Therefore it is most important to control labor costs above all else. This can be accomplished by ensuring your time spent cleaning a particular account is finely tuned for the scope of work. If a facility can be properly cleaned in 3 hours then don’t tell your staff 4 is OK. If your staff pushes back on your cleaning time estimate then don’t agree with them. Show them how it can be done in the time you allocate. Even 20- 30 minutes of extra labor cost at an account can have a large impact on the account’s profitability. And please, please, please make sure your staff isn’t STEALING FROM YOU by leaving an account earlier than the time you designate. Proper use of a time tracking program or employee clock in and out software can minimize labor costs (save money here). And if one employee is better at a particular task than another, assign said task to the employee that is better at it and find another task for other employees. In this fashion, you can maximize the profit margin and reduce the time it takes to accomplish the cleaning.
Ensure Proper Training
To reduce employee turnover, employ proper training methods so that employees are properly trained on their jobs. Nothing is more frustrating for a new employee than to be handed a piece of equipment and not understand how it works. Train the employee and you'll find that you have a happier and more productive employee. If they already know how to operate the equipment, allow them to show you so that you know they understand the process and procedure. A properly trained employee is going to reduce the risk of damage to the property and injury to themselves or others. Take the time to go through an orientation and train employees on all of the equipment and chemicals that they will be using. Learn more about proper employee training Find, Supervise, Train
Keep in mind that not everyone learns at the same pace so make sure that there is plenty of one-on-one time with each employee to ensure that they get the concepts. Allow plenty of time for questions and make sure that the employee fully understands their job before allowing them to work on their own. This is one great way of maximizing business profits.
Quality Products
Using quality products that will work on many tasks in lieu of a different product for each and every task can save a lot of money on the cleaning supplies and chemicals. There's no reason to have many different products when one or two quality products can clean everything. Many companies get caught up in such methodology and it can rack up the bills.
Find a few good quality products that are reasonably priced and focus on that in lieu of so many different chemicals. You'll have a better return on investment, cleaner facilities and you'll save a lot of time in changing out the various products. Make sure that all chemicals have their MSDS sheets in a binder or folder so that if there are any questions the information is right there and readily available for employees to check. If certification is required for a chemical, make sure that several employees are certified on how to use it and when. This will prevent accidents in the workplace and potential injury or death.
Keep Equipment In Peak Form
A business is only as good as its equipment. Your equipment is the livelihood of your business. You'll want to keep it in top form and running properly to ensure that your business runs smoothly. Properly maintained equipment is going to perform better and last longer than equipment that is haphazardly maintained. Change belts as needed. Oil proper areas of the equipment and ensure that all of the proper settings are used for the task at hand.
Have a regular routine maintenance schedule for all equipment. Be it a floor buffer, a back-pack vacuum cleaner or some other item, all equipment should be maintained periodically to prolong its life and ensure that it's running properly and to its full potential. Only use the products that are designed for that equipment don't scrimp here. Using the wrong product can seriously damage the equipment and result in the need to replace the equipment. Avoid this by only using the proper chemicals in your equipment.
If you're trying to find ways of maximizing business profits you'll want to consider the above strategies to help your business grow and gain a good return on investment. Businesses around the world follow strategies to ensure that their equipment and staff are all functioning at peak performance by having routine maintenance on their equipment and by having periodic training sessions for their employees.
Whenever new equipment is purchased there should be a training session before it's used. The same should be for new chemicals and other products in the cleaning industry. Never assume that just because it says floor wax that it's going to be the same as a previous product. If it's a new brand, read the label and ensure that it works the same.
Keep in mind that if your goal is maximizing business profits you're going to have to understand the business yourself. You can't expect employees to do something that you don't understand. Focus on learning every aspect of your business and how it works so that when you're asked about it, you can readily explain what it is and why its done that way. Employees and customers alike will respect you more when you take the time to do this.
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