[Mrs Nicholls]

Hi guys

i havent been here for a while, hope eveyone is ok, and business hasnt been hit too hard.

I have been thinking, we have lost a lot of customers, had to lay off staff because of this and its all becoming too much of a headache, and so i am thinking about calling it quits. It seems 2008 isnt a good year to be doing cleaning business, for us anyway.

I just wanted to ask, when would you decide enough is enough? i just want to get a bit of perspective on this one.

Thank you
Lisa xx

[rob fryer]

Lisa can you work on your own and look after your core customers, ring the ones you have lost ask them why ,try to win them back regardless, end conversation on a good note.
It is tight out there try to cut costs where you can and keep cold calling and networking,target people that a down turn wont affect, the rich etc good look.

[Happyeater]

The answer is when you've lost the heart to go on, I suppose. Go through your options, look at the financial aspects and then make an informed decision.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

[steve_doyle]

agree with both above,

I would bite the bullet and ask why you lost the business from the customers, I would also use it as an opportunity to trim the fat and get rid of all the staff or clients you dont want and look to start again on your own or +1 with your core customers.

In light of some previous posts you have made, think of it as an opportunity to have everything as you want it with no involvement from others and build it up again. You really do need to find out what is losing you custom tho' and you could change co name if you need/want to or if you feel a fresh start is required.

ultimately you need to want to do it aswell,  customers will not get the service they want if you dont really have your heart in it and you will lose them.

steve

[Ian Gourlay]

Quiters never win but it all depends on your mindset.

So if you feel you cannot learn how to find customers and keep them at a reasonable profit Quit and move on to new pastures at least you have tried.


But ask yourself have you exploited all the opportunties available to you or perhaps they do not interest you, after all if you are working in the business  it is hard work.

[mark dew]

Hiya Lisa, in your previous posts you seemed to have alot of conflict with your "business partner" and some employees.
I enjoyed your posts but they sometimes made me want to come and shake you and excuse the innuendo but, give you some balls!! 

Your partner wanted to tag along for the ride and your employees wanted to do their thing rather than yours. You have learnt so much from these experiences. Is giving up what you really want to do?

I think a lesson learnt here that we can all take note of is that you can't carry anyone in business. Unless it is someone else's.

If you enjoyed what you did (apart from the conflicts) then i reckon you should use this as a chance to go it alone for the time being. Take note of what happened previously and progress from there.
One thing for sure, good friends do not become good business partners.
Do your own thing, make your own decisions and pocket the profits made by yourself.

This is a great opportunity to do things this time around that you hoped  would happen before.

Whatever you decide, the best of luck to you. Will miss you if you don't come on here anymore. It isn't often i pop over from the window cleaning side, but i always look out for your posts.

Good luck 
mark

[Fox]

Hi Lisa

I haven't been on for a while either but my reasons are working hard to grow and trying to organise my wedding!

We all have times when we feel enough is enough, believe me when I tell you I am pretty much a hardened business woman and have grown a thick skin over the years but there are still times when I feel like crawling under my desk and hiding from the world!  Anyone who tells you different is just saving face!

My advice is try to ride it out for a few weeks and see how it goes, the time you should give up is when you have tried everything but you still can't make a profit.  You have had alot of sound advice from people on here so please listen to it and remember we will help with support where we can.

Like some of the others I have often read your posts while laughing out loud or thinking 'bless, be strong girl!' and you and I aren't in the same market so haven't always seen eye to eye but head down and charge with all your strength through this difficult period and you just may be glad you came out the other side stronger and wiser.

Fox

[turneylogan]

Lisa,

I too, know where you're coming from, and have followed your posts.

My big issue with the cleaning business was getting reliable staff, retaining, recruitment, supervising, sickness, maternity, customer satisfaction etc. New business was the easy bit.

In the end it was getting me down, so I downsized from 3 teams to one retaining the most profitable customers. Even after a year of this, I still had issues and sold the customer base to a member of staff.

This staff member turns over £60k per annum on 42 weekly domestic customers and her son does the cleaning with her.

The points I am making are this...

1) I didn't realise how much the business was getting me down until I sold it.

2) If you like cleaning yourself, then do it with one other and charge decent rates (we charged per room but it was effectively £24.95 per hour)
and do a really good job.

3) I could only do it because I had a different business to run with.

If new business is an issue, then we found leafleting to work really well.

Undoubtedly, people are cutting back, and the cleaning budget is often the first to go, but there are always those who need cleaners and are still affluent. It's just a question of finding them.

If however, you are losing customers due to quality of service (and you need to be honest with yourself with this) and it's because your desire and energy is reduced, then why not downsize, clean on your own or with someone else, offer a sterling service and charge for it.

I have to say it is a great relief not to wake up to the text message 'Can't come in today - fallen over cat.'