[Neil Jones]

I currently have a cleaner who works for me doing domestic and commercial cleaning and I'm looking at taking on another. I'm considering using this person for admin work as well though. Such as sending mail shots, letters, calling potential commercial customers and inputting data etc. The two main reasons for this are, to bump up her hours because I can't take on anymore cleaning work until she starts, and because I'm too busy, I'm working six days and by the time I'm home and sorted for the next day it's late and I'm not getting everything done.
What's are people's experience of this? I think I have a suitable person who is experienced with admin work etc but am I going about it the right way?

Thoughts please?

Neil

[Hilton]

Get two part timers and job share, cuts your tax and they pay less tax.

Its easier to get experienced people as well as they will usually be mothers who have worked previously but now wanting to return to work but want hours to work around children.

If they are part time and end up up the duff again you will not have the problem of paying maternity leave either.

[Neil Jones]

Yea that's what I'm planning on doing. My current cleaner is on under 15 hrs per week and so will the new cleaner/admin. Holiday pay is the only downside when it comes around.
Just can't work out whether having an admin person will help the business, has it worked for anyone else?

[B Bailey]

Even if you get someone parttime, it will help you big time.
My wife left her job to do my admin fulltime, and it takes away all the pressure and I'm not stopping every 5 minutes to answer my phone.
I don't know how to do any of the admin now.

[Neil Jones]

I think maybe that's the answer I was looking for. Trying to get the future mrs jones to do it though would be harder than doing it myself.
The lady I'm going to see Thur is very experience in admin work so it would be good, but she also has to do some cleaning which she may not enjoy as much :-(

[Hilton]

Thats what I was talking about, administration, split the time between the two.

[Max Campbell]

We've taken on a technician to allow us more time in the office - office time can be more than admin - it can be doing the stuff that really grows the business. Not saying it's the only right  way, but worth thinking about.

[Neil Jones]

Very Cryptic Max. I've considered another technician and me spending more time in the office (or my case, my home) but I actually don't mind being out on the tools and I find admin etc boring.

[Griffus]

How much admin can there be for just you + 1?

Could your problem be maybe more about time management?

As far as extra hours for your employee goes and you can see clear benefits then why not? Sounds like winners all around.

[clive ware]

Max.
How do your regular customers feel about an employee rather than you cleaning their carpets?
I would like to go down that route!

[Shaun_Ashmore]

My plan is to cherry pick my customers to a point where I just do 1 job a day with a decent value job ticket then go back home to do all the jobs the wife has left for me.......NO WAY I'm in this for the long haul nobody leaves a good man down

Shaun

[Neil Jones]

Same question as Clive.

Griffus, i've left everyday between 6.30-8 this week and the earliest i've been home is 7pm, which was tonight. I'm working 8am until 12-1am tomo, and most of the day Saturday. I've just booked someone in today for the 11th July and my next completely free day is the 25th July (6 day week).
I am not contacting past clients at all anymore and I have no time to push the commercial side of the business. I need someone who can do this and print off invoices etc. I've done an hour tonight but I could do with eating something really and it's a bit late for me to ring potential commercial customers now  

Maybe i'm going about it the wrong way and I should hire a technician but I'm hoping people have done it this way.

Eventually I don't want to be on the tools and have technicians but that is a dream at the minute, maybe I should get a truck mount.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Neil how much you charging?

Supply and demand means that you have to put your prices up, even if you put another man on the road how much do you think he will cost you? It's quite surprising and frightening basic £7 an hour plus  van costs easily cost you £20 k with vehicle costs been there done that.

When you actually work it out with depreciation or replacement of van and machinery and other things you could up it to £25k.

Adding 10% onto your prices and then offering 10% reduction on multi rooms would be better.

Shaun

[Andrew Briscoe]

If you are that busy with domestic work, why employ someone to get you commercial work, that you havnt time to do.

I would put your prices up a bit, or

Employ a bucket boy to fetch and carry and lug hoses around. save a few hours a day if you get your system right

wouldnt of thought a few invoices would take more than 10 mins a day to print off

Andrew

[Neil Jones]

Shaun I knew that would come up. I've had three people turn me down this week due to the cost, I was more expensive than others. I've got a house to do tomorrow, three bed semi detached, empty, extra's are a conservatory carpet, £311.something.

I do agree though I could raise the price on some regulars, although it isn't all carpet cleaning, a mix of pressure washing, and a few valets, but the valets are cherry picked and are weekly.

[Neil Jones]

Andrew a bucket boy is what I have on Saturdays, I might extend this to during the week.

[Neil Jones]

Not just invoices literally. Sending mail shots, creating news letters, contacting commercial clients, dealing with the other two cleaners and sorting there stuff out for the day/week. Believe me i'm not trying to sound like a Billy Big b******s, i'm asking a genuine question of how people have done it in the past. It's not through lack of effort either, this week I have literally been at the point of dropping with the amount of people i've had to see, jobs to do, and stuff to sort out.
All the non-essential things, i.e generating more work or contacting old customers has not even entered my mind and next week is looking just as manic.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I think you know the answer to the carpet cleaning side a bucket boy will increase your productivity by 25% but he'll not want to work those kind of hours regularly, personally I would look at seeing which of your services you make the most money from and drop the least or sub it out the idea is to become cash rich and time rich no point of having one of each.

£311 for an empty house carpets is good how long does it take you?

Shaun

[Neil Jones]

Not just that either but I keep getting asked to quote some site cleans all over the country and I want to attend the first few so need a bit of time for that, once I get these regular and have a team who know what they are doing I can send them off, I couldn't believe it when I saw what the current cleaning company was charging.

[Neil Jones]

I've considered dropping some of the valeting but I've dropped loads over the last few years and I just don't take anymore on and haven't for well over three years, I litterally only have the £30.00 weekly valets on my books now which is a doddle. I see your point about cash rich and time rich and that's what i'm trying to work towards but I am also quite ambitious and really want to drive the business forward.

It's a large three bed semi, with some poorly fitted carpets that are old and good quality 80/20. I'm getting there at 6-7pm  I'm hoping 4 hours.