Podcast appearances and mentions of ken carfagno

In "Keys to Solo Longevity I", I established a few foundational principles. First of all, there is a clear difference in a Ford and a Honda. I prefer my cleaning machine to operate more like a Honda. They last longer and require less maintenance... and I shared this from my experience having owned 4 Fords and 8 Hondas in 30 years. Secondly, we deconstructed the domination and longevity of all-time sports greats Tom Brady, Cal Ripken, Jr., Serena Williams, and Roger Federer. Each of these greats believed very deeply that we will get out of our machines what we put into them. I shared the sleeping, dietary, and exercise training routines of each. Serena valued strength training through HIIT, while her male counterpart in tennis Roger Federer valued 12 hours of sleep per day. Cal valued exercise and strength training more after each birthday, which helped him to become MLB's Iron Man. Tom does everything. He's a cyborg. Can we emulate what these peak performers have done? We can try! In this episode, I will share my own health journey and winning routines. It's my hope that you can make a small change and stay consistent over time so you can reap the rewards of a long solo cleaning career.Step aside Tom Brady and Serena Williams. Here comes Ken Carfagno. My professional solo cleaning career started at 28. At this point, my solo cleaning stats are ranked #1 in the industry. I guess that makes me the G.O.A.T., which means I'll be inducted into the Solo Cleaning Hall of Fame. Oh, you didn't know about that... did you?! Maybe I'll start it. Anyway, I'm still in the field cleaning every week, but no where near what I used to do solo. I'm 45-years-old and have dealt with my share of ups and downs. I've torn both meniscus in my knees, a tendon in my right elbow, and sprained my left wrist. Injury has been difficult. I've dealt with major fatigue, nausea, vertigo, and brain fog in my 8 year battle against Chronic Lyme Disease. I know what chronic symptoms are like and have fought through them. I have woken up at 6am to clean all day after no sleep as we raised 5 babies over the years. They tend to keep you from sleep. I share this to relate to you. I have been there, yet I have been consistent for 17 years. What has set me apart? I believe it's several daily habits.Sleep - I agree with Roger Federer that sleep is vital. Outside of my late cleaning nights or sleepless baby nights, I have disciplined myself to follow the advice in Shawn Stevenson's book "Sleep Smarter". I firmly believe that sleep is the foundation of a great day. I believe it is a keystone or cornerstone habit. It's the one ring that controls the others. I don't always hit this goal. I aim to wind down from the day, cut the screens off, take my nighttime vitamins, and get to sleep by 10:30pm and wake up by 6:30am. That's 8 hours on an ideal night.Water & Vitamins - I drink 2 pints of purified water or around 30 ounces first-thing! This gives my internals a morning bath and gets things moving (if you know what I mean). I also take my morning vitamins including a multivitamin, Omega 3, Vitamin D, NAC, and possibly other supplements that were part of a healing protocol of the time.Bible - I love starting my day with my Creator by listening to the bible while I exercise, get ready, shower. I also enjoy reading the bible or a devotional and praying. This sets my day toward others with gratitude.Read the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website

After Ken Carfagno's wake-up call from an executive who shared that his career success came at the cost of his family life, Ken set out to prove that relationships and treating people like people, not cogs on a wheel, is the key to being a great leader and living life to the fullest.You will learn:1. How to be a great leader and the importance of relationships in the workplace2. What kids learn from their parents and the long-term impact of parenting3. The power of helping others and paying it forward without expecting anything in return.Ken Carfagno is the founder and owner of Smart Cleaning School, and the proud father of Kenny. He is passionate about helping others build strong relationships, and is dedicated to living a life of impact.Kenny is also a guest on this episode sharing the lessons he learned from his entrepreneur parents, especially his father, and how he has started his own business at 17 years old, Outsource Your Podcast.Host your podcast on Buzzsprout using this link, and you will get great service plus a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up for one of their paid plans. BeyondTheRut.com/buzzsprout. Beyond the Rut Podcast and The Shadows Podcast are members of Lima Charlie Network whose mission is to empower others to reach new heights in leadership, self-development, and communication by connecting our audience with a network of podcasters and thought-leaders focused on sharing tools for impactful improvement. Visit LimaCharlieNetwork.com for more information!Support the show

Starting a cleaning business is inexpensive that's why it's one of the fastest-growing industries since the pandemic struck us. We often don't hear about cleaning businesses as much as the popular side hustles that are digital, but for those who are drawn into hands-on side hustles, this one's for you! Listen as we talk and deep dive into setting up your own cleaning business as a side hustle with Ken Carfagno. 

Today's episode was inspired by a few different conversations I've had since we've been in Florida. There have been a lot of people interested in how we were able to come away for a month. So, I want to talk about what makes all of this possible for us and why it's possible for anyone. It's all about choices and decisions. I watched Ken Carfagno and Vincent Pugliese both go away for a month at a time with their families and never dreamed it was possible for me, but then by learning from them, I realized that it could be a reality for us as well. It's possible for anyone depending on the choices and decisions they make. Many of you know that my wife and I paid off our house last summer and we had a year of living expenses in savings. We decided to take around $10,000 and go to Florida. We would still have plenty of money in savings and be able to do something we dreamed of and was important to our family. This kind of freedom is possible for you if you make choices about what is important to you and good decisions on how you use your money. When I talk to people about financial freedom and that journey, so many don't think it's possible for them, but then I see how much they spend on Starbucks, eating out, cigarettes and alcohol—and it's insane. We don't do any of that stuff. We don't spend money on car payments. One of my dreams is to own a Tesla, but I don't want the car payment. That's a choice we have made. When my wife and I talked about buying a Tesla, I realized that the root of it all was that I really wanted a nice radio with Apple CarPlay. So, my wife told me to go spend $500 on a nice radio with Apple CarPlay to put in my car—which is much better than a recurring car payment. I could afford a car payment, but we have two paid off cars—they aren't the nicest cars in the world, but certainly not the worst either. I upgraded my current car instead of getting my dream car. You can have the freedom, but you have to make the choices and decisions that are financially wise and live frugally. Even when we bought our new house, we kept it close to what we sold our old one for. We upgraded, but we didn't need a mansion. We wanted a garage; I wanted an office—but those were choices we made. I'll also tell you that those decisions get a lot easier when you can create a recurring income. If I have a membership that produces one to two thousand dollars a month, I can come to Florida twice with the money generated from the membership—and that membership is growing. Part of making those choices and decisions means that you don't mind investing in building relationships for your business and doing the work needed to be successful. Choices and decisions are a huge thing in our personal lives and our real estate business, so I would encourage you today that freedom is possible. Having success in real estate is possible. You can do anything if you can make some hard choices and decisions. Thank you for listening today. If I can ever help you with anything, let me know. I'll see you on the next episode. Resources Free social media coaching calls are back! To schedule your free social media coaching call go to: https://calendly.com/realestatesurvivalguide/social-media-strategy-for-realtorsPodcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily...

Don't be so busy creating that you stop growing. I often talk about Vincent Pugliese and the Mastermind group that I'm part of. He's really changed my life, and while I was at his retreat we talked about some hard things that really changed the trajectory of everything I'm doing in my business. As a Realtor, I thought that recurring income wasn't a possibility for me, but Vincent taught me otherwise. He taught through Total Life Freedom how to have recurring incomes so that you don't have to have all your work be service based. That week really changed my life and that brings me to the lesson for today. I started listening to Vincent's podcast after that retreat along with Ken Carfagno, Kent Sanders, and John Stange's podcasts. Listening to these shows changed my life—all of them were in the Total Life Freedom Mastermind with me at one point. It affected how I did business, how I interacted with people, how I served people, and how I grew my business. I've spent the last couple of years really devoted to my show and creating content for the membership. What I've learned is that I've gotten too busy creating content—and I don't want you to get so busy creating content or whatever in your business that you stop learning and growing. This is what I learned a few weeks ago when I realized I had been missing out on the podcasts I usually listen to because I had gotten so busy creating content that I had stopped my routine of consuming content and learning from others. It reminded me of the time I was in the ministry—you are pouring into people, but you feel like no one's pouring into you. You can spend so much time leading and teaching others that you never take the time to feed yourselves. You're just too busy. Part of my growth is listening to podcasts that cause me to improve as a dad—be a better person in my faith and with my family. They help me improve my business, become a better Realtor, and be a better leader for my membership community. So, I hope that you can really get the point that you can be so busy creating that you stop consuming—stop learning. Don't be so busy that you are not consuming, learning, and growing yourself. I hope this is helpful for you guys. It's important to keep learning and growing whether that's reading books or listening to podcasts—whatever feeds you. Always keep learning and growing. Thanks for listening and I'll see you on the next podcast. Resources Free social media coaching calls are back! To schedule your free social media coaching call go to: https://calendly.com/realestatesurvivalguide/social-media-strategy-for-realtorsPodcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmailJohn Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener.

Today's episode is all about dreams. We've talked about dreams before on the show and about working hard for our goals, but today I want to encourage you to have a big dream. While doing real estate coaching in the membership I see so many people talk about the dreams they have, but they don't have the goals to get there. I love the quote, “A goal without a dream, without a goal, is just a wish.” So many are just wishing for success. Today we check into our Airbnb here in Florida for a five-week stay and I'm pumped. My in-laws are coming down to visit and we'll check out a few spring training baseball games. We have several family members coming down at different points and we're really excited. But how did this get started? I've mentioned my friends Vincent Pugliese and Ken Carfagno in previous podcasts. I watched Vincent and his wife Elizabeth build a life of freedom where they could travel every day and I told myself I wanted that for my family. I dreamed about it, but I didn't do anything about it. I worked a W2 job where I got maybe three weeks off a year…I would never have been able to spend five weeks in Florida like I am now. I had the dream, but I didn't have any goals to get there. So, I encourage you to dream big, but have big goals to go along with them so that you can make it happen. Remember, a dream without a goal is just a wish. Once I got into mastermind and had some success in real estate, I told my wife that if we could pay off the house, we could book a month in Florida. At first it seemed crazy, but the more success I had the more the dream seemed possible. We worked hard, paid off the house, and booked the Airbnb in Florida. We've dreamed about being here for the past nine months. I love real estate and the opportunities that it's presented to me. I love that I can take time and be with my family. I'm here for five weeks, but I'll still work every day—maybe an hour or so in the morning or evening. I'll still record podcasts and still be interacting with real estate clients. The cool thing I learned from Vincent was total life freedom—time, money, and location freedom. This is one of the reasons I've doubled down on the efforts to grow the membership, because if I'm providing value and the membership is growing like it has been, I can build the membership to the point where it produces a decent income. I would have the freedom to be on a beach in Florida, the mountains in Poconos, or travel the world and go to Italy. I'm able to work anywhere I go. In a span of three months the membership went from making very little money to having a recurring $1,500 a month. That amount hasn't changed my life, but $1,500 a month is $18,000 per year—and I did that in just a few months. Imagine if I continue to double and triple down on growing the membership—imagine multiplying the current amount by 5—then I go from $18,000 a year to $90,000. That sounds impossible until you start. That's why we'll talk more in the next few weeks and months about building things to have multiple streams of income. That dream you have is possible if you have the right goals. I see myself continuing to grow the membership, I'd love to be at $5000 by the end of the year—and that would be $60,000 a year. That would allow me to sell less houses and to be able to pour more into my members and growing the community. I want to encourage you to have a dream and a goal—remember you need to have both. Our dream was to pay off the house and have money to travel to Florida. The goal was to save the money to pay off the house and still have money left over to be able to take a month off. The thing I love most about the business I've created is that I can work from anywhere. I can still talk and work with clients, still rate contracts, and still do my membership calls from the poolside or the beach. I have the freedom to do those things, so let me encourage you—your dream may seem like a long way off, but it's not too far off. Remember, I was...

Last week I was at PodFest, connecting and meeting with people and supporting my friends. When it was time to leave, I had a conversation with someone who didn't feel like they made the connections I did—that the event wasn't valuable. This person was a friend of mine, so we interacted a bit, and I noticed that every time we would go into a session, they would sit in the back. That's why they weren't making connections. I learned from Vincent Pugliese, Ken Carfagno, and John Stange that you only make connections by putting yourself out there and introducing yourself. You have to drag that extroverted side out of you at events. Justin Schenck has an amazing podcast and is considered an influencer. I've had him on the show, and he's been a great encourager. Sunday when things were wrapping up, he invited me to come sit down with group of big influencers he was with, and I was able to meet some amazing people. Being willing to put yourself out there is how you make connections and meet people that will be in your corner and include you—when you don't really have the audience or the relationships to sit with people who are influencers of that level. This friend who hid in the back of the class didn't ask any questions, didn't support the people who were speaking, and therefore didn't make any connections. He didn't have the amazing experience that I had at PodFest this year. I sat in front, asked questions, raised my hand, and introduced myself and my podcast when I was called on. I met so many people that way. At Podcast Movement this past year, my friend Ariel called me out and asked me to talk about my podcast simply because I asked a question. As a result, I connected with a bunch of Realtors and my show grew a lot. However, people who come to the events, sit on the sidelines, and don't try to make connections leave feeling shocked that they didn't build any relationships or get anything out of the event. If you have a platform and you're trying to build it like I'm trying to build mine, let this be a lesson for you. This is a lesson for Realtors as well. Why are you not making connections and meeting people? Are you spending too much time hiding in the back of the class? Of course, you don't want to be that person who comes in like a bull in a China shop—dominating the conversation—there has to be balance, but get out there. Don't sit in the back, staring at your phone. Introduce yourself to the speaker and thank them for their time. Put yourself out there—go out in your community, serve at church, serve for nonprofit organizations, or just go sit at the coffee shop and have conversations with anyone who comes in. Ask to buy them a cup of coffee. There are so many ways to grow your business and if you are continuing to struggle, you are not using the resources available to you. I told my friend that if you hide in the back of the room, the back of the class, you won't make any connections. They didn't like what I had to say, but it was true. I would encourage you in whatever you're building—your podcast, membership, real estate business, or whatever to build relationships. Show up and put yourself out there. If you can do this, you will create success. Thank you so much for listening. Resources Free social media coaching calls are back! To schedule your free social media coaching call go to: https://calendly.com/realestatesurvivalguide/social-media-strategy-for-realtorsPodcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR®...

Ken graduated and got the perfect corporate job, except it wasn't perfect. He decided that wasn't the life for him. As he moved into entrepenuership, he found Jesus and stepped into being the spiritual leader of his family. He owns a cleaning company that his family works in. And his kids have their own businesses. And they Homeschool! On this episode we talk about: What are the 4 times that you have the most influence in your family? How does Man Training work? Whose lives are you investing in?  What is Enlightened Self-Interest? Connect with Ken at his Smart Cleaning School HERE Join our FREE Community The Journey of a Christian Dad on Facebook HERE Check out Nate Saves the World "The Funniest Dad Joke Kids Story Book" HERE    

Today we have the pleasure of sitting with an outstanding person who has been in the cleaning industry for over 17 years and also has a podcast called Smart Cleaning School Podcast that has been running for over 6 years.We can see how everything has changed before and after this epidemic; we need to develop and grow within the cleaning sector; cleaning is now a thingWe're going to teach the next generation of young guys how to be tomorrow's leaders.Our business is usually a mirror of ourselves, and this is even more true in the cleaning industry, which is a people business.In this Profitable Cleaner Podcast, you will learn:How to have a cleaning company while having an impact on your community, family, and work?How to overcome your demons and impact your business?How can someone evolve as a leader?We highly recommend you connect with Ken Carfagno and Carfagno Commercial CleaningConnect with Ken Carfagno on LinkedInCheck out Carfagno Commercial Cleaning Check out Smart Cleaning School on Apple PodcastIf you're in commercial cleaning and want to increase your sales, become part of our community today and get the best cleaning sales content and data in the industry. Join Our Private Profitable Cleaner FB GroupIf you enjoyed this podcast, you can help us out immensely by sharing it with a colleague and giving us a rating. We appreciate you!

Summary: What happens when you stop chasing the money? This was a question that came up recently on a Total Life Freedom mastermind call. The mastermind is basically a deep dive into our businesses, and there are 8–10 of us in there. On a recent call, I was talking about the community and the membership I've built. A couple other people in the group are also building memberships, which has been really cool. All of us in the mastermind at this point have a podcast, and/or a community. Most of us have both, or we are working on those things. Someone made a comment that I seem happier and calmer than they've ever seen. And then we moved on to a couple other people in the group, and Vincent made the same comment that it seems they too are now happier, calmer, and having more success than they've ever had. Someone said, “This is what happens when you're not chasing money.” It was such a mic-drop moment. Successful in businessWe all have our main thing, right? I'm in real estate. That's what pays the bills. Wendy Norman is an elopement photographer. Jennifer Harshman, who does my show notes, is a writer and book editor. Kent Sanders is a ghostwriter. John VanDerMuelen does Amazon things. Vincent has the community. Matt Pete does videography. Nick Adams has his photography work and the SanCap Guide in Florida. John Stange is a pastor, author, and podcaster. Ken Carfagno and Courtney Wisely both own cleaning companies. We all have different things. We have that main thing paying the bills, and now it just kind of operates. That gives our entrepreneurial brain, our entrepreneurial spirit, room to flow and just go and build something special. I would say when I joined the mastermind a year and a half ago, some of us were still trying to get our income to where we wanted it to be. But now that we've done that, it's just happening, just flowing, and we really have an opportunity to build what we want to build. We're all still helping people. I'm still helping people buy and sell houses. That pays the bills. Working because you love itBut now we're all building something else. We're doing it because we love it. I'm leading a community because I care about Realtors. When I wake up every day, one of the first things I think about is the membership community and how I can serve them, how I can help them. Whatever you're building, whatever you're trying to do, build it to a point where it doesn't come down to the money. Build it to the point where you can really serve people and help people. I am so thankful for how God has blessed us and thankful that real estate pays the bills and we're debt free. Trading time for moneyWhen you are desperate for money, you're willing to trade hours for dollars. When you are not chasing money, you won't exchange time for dollars. You build the things that are authentic to you, and it doesn't matter if you sell one slot to your course or membership or a million, because you're just doing it in an authentic way to serve people, to help people. Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno. Show notes and blog posts are created by http://www.harshmanservices.com/best-podcast-show-notes-service (Jennifer Harshman) and https://my.captivate.fm/RealtorEmails.com (RealtorEmails). John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with the Owner of Carfagnohttps://www.c3xnow.com/ ( Cleaning) and Founder and Host of the https://www.buzzsprout.com/653395 (Smart Cleaning School Podcast), Ken Carfagno.  The Smart Cleaning School Podcast was started with the purpose of finding good individuals in the cleaning industry to send the public to and to give a platform to. The Smart Cleaning School offers training and membership groups for new individuals to help develop a business owner mindset and offer resources. Ken explains that when Covid hit, businesses were crushed. Some residential cleaning businesses Ken was connected to, lost around 90% of their revenue within weeks due to Covid. Ken explains that once the fear and uncertainty subsided, residential cleaning businesses, for the most part, were able to make a significant rebound in their space. However, the commercial cleaning businesses had a different experience with Covid. Some of these businesses fell completely while others grew substantially. Their growth was due to the increased need for proper disinfection practices in all areas such as business offices, government buildings, and many other spaces.  Ken explains that a major aspect of starting a cleaning business is having a business owner's mindset. Communication developed interpersonal skills, and networking are all important skills to have when creating or managing a business as it determines the pull a business has in its area. Ken explains that on the Smart Cleaning School Podcast, he gives an overview of the business aspects of starting a business, specifically in Episode 260, Best Of - How to Start a Solo Cleaning Business. Ken works primarily with two different groups of entrepreneurs. The first group is solo entrepreneurs that would like a part-time side hustle or a way to get out of their current job. The second group is residential or commercial companies that are growing into larger businesses. The Smart Cleaning Tribe is a group that is designed to help individuals set and achieve goals as well as hold them accountable.    Key Points from the Episode: Ken's impact in the world  The impact of Covid on business owners  Fundamentals for starting a cleaning business  Ken's Clientele The Smart Cleaning Tribe  About Ken Carfagno: Ken Carfagno is the host of the Smart Cleaning School Podcast which helps cleaning professionals make the impact they were meant to make. Ken levels up cleaning business owners in growth mindset, leadership, and promotes the thought leaders in the cleaning industry through this podcast. Ken and his wife Teresa have 5 kids that they homeschool in the Philadelphia Area.  Want to learn more? Check out the Carfagno Cleaning website at https://www.c3xnow.com/ (https://www.c3xnow.com/) Check out Carfagno Cleaning on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/carfagnocleaning/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/carfagnocleaning/) Check out the Smart Cleaning School Website at https://www.smartcleaningschool.com/ (https://www.smartcleaningschool.com/) Check out the Smart Cleaning School Podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/653395 (https://www.buzzsprout.com/653395) Check out the Smart Cleaning School Podcast Episode Best Of - How to Start a Solo Cleaning Business at https://www.buzzsprout.com/653395/10082778-best-of-how-to-start-a-solo-cleaning-business (https://www.buzzsprout.com/653395/10082778-best-of-how-to-start-a-solo-cleaning-business) Check out Ken Carfagno on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kencarfagno/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kencarfagno/) Check out Smart Cleaning School on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/smartcleaningschool (https://www.facebook.com/smartcleaningschool) Check out Smart Cleaning School on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/smartcleaningschool (https://www.instagram.com/smartcleaningschool)     Don't forget to...

Summary:  On today's episode, I talk about an exercise I did recently with my friend Ken Carfagno. Ken is a great friend and mentor of mine and part of the Total Life Freedom community. When I asked him to take me through the exercise, I found it to be something that could be helpful for you as well as you try to create success in your real estate business. Determining prioritiesThis episode takes you through the process of writing out your nine things and then paring them down to three. I believe you will find that while many of us focus on business, when we pare down our list to what is really important, we will find the key to success in all areas of our life. When we are trying so hard to grow our business, we are neglecting the things that make us successful—like our rest and health. I hope you can think about this in your business. I hope that you realize that the priority is not business—the priority is taking care of yourself. You will not only be a more successful Realtor and a more successful businessperson, but you'll be more successful in your life. Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno. Show notes and blog posts are created by http://www.harshmanservices.com/best-podcast-show-notes-service (Jennifer Harshman) and https://my.captivate.fm/RealtorEmails.com (RealtorEmails). John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

 When I started this podcast in late 2019, I never imagined in a million years that I'd be eulogizing my father a year later. If you get a chance, check out the Tribute to My Father from December 17th, 2020. Ken Carfagno, Sr was born in Northeast Philadelphia on May 11th, 1936. He was the youngest of 6. Ken Sr. married Gabriella Corbett on October 20th, 1956. They were 20 years old. Soon after, they had their first of three sons, Ken Carfagno, Jr. That's my dad. 18-year-old Ken Jr married 16-year-old Lynn Driban in August 1976 and Ken Carfagno III was born on March 1st, 1977. Ken Sr became a Pop-Pop at the age of 40. My parents didn't stay married long. I have shared this so many times in this podcast as it's so vital to understand me. My single mom raised me during the week as a kid, while my dad and mostly my Pop-Pop raised me on weekends. The most influential man in my life has always been my Pop-Pop. In latter years, I started calling him my father because he raised me into the man that I am. Thank you for listening to this opening and my genealogy story. I just wanted to give you context to this episode.  My Pop-Pop had a favorite breakfast diner. It's called the Jem Restaurant in East Norriton, PA. Tony Bello opened this restaurant in 1974 with the sole goal of serving & providing a place for the community to connect. Due to the 1950's theme, it attracted many patrons that are nostalgic from that era. My Pop-Pop definitely found this at the Jem. He LOVED the 50's. As I said, he fell in love with his bride, my Nana in 1951. He went steady with her while they finished school. He worked at her parent's bakery to save up money listening to his favorites of Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford. Pop loved the 50's and he would mosey into the Jem every Saturday morning for years. His routine was the same. He's sit at one of the counter stools with his newspaper and talk to the other old guys that were there. They all knew him. Tony knew him. He'd order the same thing. A decaf coffee and corn muffin. He was so proud of me. I heard stories over the years of how the old guys and Tony at the Jem all knew that Ken's grandson was a Penn State grad, an engineer. He owned a cleaning company. He was married to the best daughter ever. He gave the family the first girl (Christianna) in 3 generations. The only thing he didn't brag about me was how badly I'd beat him in ping-pong.Read the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website

 I gave this talk at my local Montgomery Country Business Alliance (MCBA) meeting in June on Interpersonal Skills. Here are the notes from that talk!MCBA Talk on Interpersonal Skills – Ken Carfagno 6/21/22This is a HUGE topic to cover! I will barely scratch the surface in 30 minutes. Therefore, let me give you a few books to check out on your own. My story: I was a selfish, shy, introverted engineer when I left PA in 2000. Teresa and I joined Amway in 2002 and I started devouring books on business, personal development, people skills, goal-setting. Here are a few of my favorites in the people skills / developing meaningful relationships genre.  "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie"Skill with People" by Les Giblin"Art of Dealing with People" by Les Giblin"How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with People" by Les Giblin"The Power of Meeting New People" by Debra Fine"Dynamic People Skills" by Dexter Yager"Personality Plus" by Florence Littauer"The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman"Bringing Out the Best in People" by Alan Loy McGinnis"Be a People Person" by John Maxwell"Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lincione"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven Covey"The Wealth of Connection" by Vincent Pugliese2 Rules to Help!2:1 Rule: In an conversation, use the 2:1 Rule. Listen 2 times as much as you talk. This lines up with God's design as we have 2 ears and 1 mouth.“93/7 Rule: 93% of communication occurs through nonverbal behavior & tone; only 7% of communication takes place through the use of words.” – John Stoker7 Habits of Highly Effective PeopleHabit #4 Think Win-WinHabit #5 Seek First to Understand, then to be UnderstoodRead the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website

Who is Who Is Ken Carfagno? You've already met Ken, the host of the Smart Cleaning School podcast, and today he's coming back for a repeat appearance. In this interview, we talk about Ken Carfagno's ISO Model, and how he used it to grow his solo cleaning business to $60,000 only working two days a week. “When I became known and highly referable, and I was the go-to, I became the cleaning specialist. Realtors would say, Ken's the cleaning specialist. And then when someone called me, they already knew that I was the best.” “When you're showing a home, you're going to walk up the driveway. Your buyer's looking at the yard, the garage, the roof. They're looking at the neighborhood, walking up the sidewalk. Are the shrubs cut? You're getting to the front door, looking for the key. Meanwhile, the emotional buyer's looking around the yard. "Little things I would teach the cleaners were hey, there are light fixtures on both sides of the doors. Make sure those are sparkling clean. Yes. The doors should be clean because the people that you're showing homes to, they're emotional and you've got to create a great first impression. And they're looking at that front door for up to a couple seconds while you're jiggling the key. "Now you open the door, and what is the emotional buyer thinking? They're thinking first impression.” Learn all of this and more: What the ISO model is How you can use a cleaner to sell more real estate Why being the cheapest isn't the way to get clients What the peace factor is and how you can use it Whether Ken charges by the hour or the job and why How long his waiting list is The five phases of any business Podcast edited by https://my.captivate.fm/outsourceyourpodcast.com (Kenny Carfagno) Show notes and blog posts created by https://my.captivate.fm/HarshmanServices.com (HarshmanServices.com) and https://my.captivate.fm/RealtorEmails.com (RealtorEmails.com) John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions & ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

 In "Keys to Solo Longevity I", I established a few foundational principles. First of all, there is a clear difference in a Ford and a Honda. I prefer my cleaning machine to operate more like a Honda. They last longer and require less maintenance... and I shared this from my experience having owned 4 Fords and 8 Hondas in 30 years. Secondly, we deconstructed the domination and longevity of all-time sports greats Tom Brady, Cal Ripken, Jr., Serena Williams, and Roger Federer. Each of these greats believed very deeply that we will get out of our machines what we put into them. I shared the sleeping, dietary, and exercise training routines of each. Serena valued strength training through HIIT, while her male counterpart in tennis Roger Federer valued 12 hours of sleep per day. Cal valued exercise and strength training more after each birthday, which helped him to become MLB's Iron Man. Tom does everything. He's a cyborg. Can we emulate what these peak performers have done? We can try! In this episode, I will share my own health journey and winning routines. It's my hope that you can make a small change and stay consistent over time so you can reap the rewards of a long solo cleaning career. Step aside Tom Brady and Serena Williams. Here comes Ken Carfagno. My professional solo cleaning career started at 28. At this point, my solo cleaning stats are ranked #1 in the industry. I guess that makes me the G.O.A.T., which means I'll be inducted into the Solo Cleaning Hall of Fame. Oh, you didn't know about that... did you?! Maybe I'll start it. Anyway, I'm still in the field cleaning every week, but no where near what I used to do solo. I'm 45-years-old and have dealt with my share of ups and downs. I've torn both meniscus in my knees, a tendon in my right elbow, and sprained my left wrist. Injury has been difficult. I've dealt with major fatigue, nausea, vertigo, and brain fog in my 8 year battle against Chronic Lyme Disease. I know what chronic symptoms are like and have fought through them. I have woken up at 6am to clean all day after no sleep as we raised 5 babies over the years. They tend to keep you from sleep. I share this to relate to you. I have been there, yet I have been consistent for 17 years. What has set me apart? I believe it's several daily habits.Sleep - I agree with Roger Federer that sleep is vital. Outside of my late cleaning nights or sleepless baby nights, I have disciplined myself to follow the advice in Shawn Stevenson's book "Sleep Smarter". I firmly believe that sleep is the foundation of a great day. I believe it is a keystone or cornerstone habit. It's the one ring that controls the others. I don't always hit this goal. I aim to wind down from the day, cut the screens off, take my nighttime vitamins, and get to sleep by 10:30pm and wake up by 6:30am. That's 8 hours on an ideal night.Water & Vitamins - I drink 2 pints of purified water or around 30 ounces first-thing! This gives my internals a morning bath and gets things moving (if you know what I mean). I also take my morning vitamins including a multivitamin, Omega 3, Vitamin D, NAC, and possibly other supplements that were part of a healing protocol of the time. Bible - I love starting my day with my Creator by listening to the bible while I exercise, get ready, shower. I also enjoy reading the bible or a devotional and praying. This sets my day toward others with gratitude. Read the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website

Ken Carfagno is the host of the Smart Cleaning School Podcast which helps cleaning business owners make the impact they were meant to make. New cleaners can tune in to develop their business owner mindset, grow their leadership skills, meet industry leaders, and learn how to set and achieve big goals to win for their families.  We invite you to connect with Ken on his website www.smartcleaningschool.com **  You are invited to connect with Shā about coaching, heart and mind fitness, brainstorming for your business, podcasting and/or Veteran resources. Connect with Shā, today:  https://calendly.com/heysha/connectioncall  ** What if you could use the money inside your retirement account penalty and tax free and use that money to start your own dream business? Our friend, Daniel Blue from Season 5 Episode 5 over at Quest Education is so kind to give you, our listeners, their “How to Grow Your Money Tax Free” online course completely complementary just for listening to today's show.   ** Generous Opportunity from Quest Education**  https://quest-education.mykajabi.com/offers/cgV9tjzT?coupon_code=SHASPARKS ** Love this episode and want to support Shā?  Buy her a cup of coffee   www.buymeacoffee.com/shasparks  

The first in-person PodFest conference (the biggest show in the podcast community), is happening in Orlando this week, and Isar and I are speaking at it.But you missed it. THAT's why we brought you all our learnings on this week's show!While Isar was attending sessions, I was networking with the keynote speakers, exhibitors, and attendees so we can share insights on:- how podcasting is growing faster than ever in importance for business- what the biggest pain points companies are facing when hosting a podcast- who is solving for these problems- where the future of podcasting for businesses is headingDon't miss your chance to get all the learnings you missed from PodFest right after it happened. Come be a part of the show!https://tinyurl.com/B2BCBSeason5Connect with Isar!On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isar-meitis-2a5320/His Website: https://www.theetribe.com/His Company: https://bethestage.live/Connect with other PodFest Attendees who shared their takeaways: *  Vincent Pugliese: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-pugliese-3955321a/    *  Jonathan Oakes:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-oakes-mba-61070228/ *  Melissa Hughes: melissa@melissaleahughes.com*  Daniel Wrenne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielwrenne/* Dustin Heiner: https://masterpassiveincome.com * Ken Carfagno: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kencarfagno/ *  Mike Ham:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ham-ctt/ . greetingsfromthegardenstate@gmail.com, greetingsfromthegardenstate.com * Deejay DuRant: https://linktr.ee/SilverFoxDeeJae, www.silverfoxtalks.com* Douglas Orr: TikTok @realtorr, IG @_realtorr*  Mark Hentemann: Connect with ME!Learn to produce internet talk shows and build your own Relationship Flywheel. Find out more about the Bootcamp HERE.Also, I'd love it if you connected with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.Or shoot me an email at youshould@connectwithpablo.com with the "Heard B2B's Isar Meitis" in subject.This that's a genius email address?  Me too, but I didn't come up with it.  It was the idea of my good friend, and super talented web designer, Nathan Ruff.If you want your website redone, updated, and managed with unlimited updates for just $250/month (CRAZY GOOD DEAL RIGHT??), go to Manage My Website and hookup with one of the smartest, most talented guys I've ever met- THE Nathan Ruff.OH! and subscribe to Category Pirates.  It's the smartest thing ever. If you email them and tell them I sent you, you'll get a free month.Support the show

Who is Ken Carfagno?Christian husband, father, and member of the Total Life Freedom community, Ken is an amazing friend and mentor. He owns Carfagno Commercial Cleaning, and he also runs an amazing podcast, the Smart Cleaning School. Ken also has a community for cleaners. He does a lot of amazing things and knows the real estate industry very well from his cleaning days. Quotations from Ken “I said, John, look at this, look at where you were. I know you're feeling like you're not far along. Zoom out. Look at the trend line. Look where you were a year ago, look at where your life was, what your podcast was, look at where your family was.” “So Realtors out there, I highly encourage you to keep a journal. I mean, John has his in podcast format, as do I keep a journal. Write some notes. What's going on in your life right now? What was happening a year ago? You'll find that you have improved in some way, shape or form, and that will bring encouragement to you.” Find out the following and more: How to manage home life and work What Ken believes about owning a business Why he left his former life as an engineer at GE Key decisions that should be made early on in a marriage Which elements in their family vision are key How he took his family on a month-long vacation to Florida in the winter When a police officer pulled a gun on him while Ken was cleaning Why he moved and built a new business from scratch What prompted him to start a podcast How he inspired John Schuchman ResourcesThe Holy Bible https://desirejesus.com/chapter-a-day (Chapter a Day Bible podcast) https://www.smartcleaningschool.com/podcast (Smart Cleaning School podcast) Dave Ramsey https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About-ebook/dp/B000RO9VJK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OU603O9ZQL1&keywords=e+myth+revisited&qid=1654057180&s=books&sprefix=emyth+revisited%2Cstripbooks%2C91&sr=1-1 (Michael Gerber's book, E-Myth Revisited) Total Life Freedom community https://www.amazon.com/KESOTO-Hardcover-Executive-Writing-Notebook/dp/B09CTK6VNX/ref=sxin_24_ac_d_mf_br?ac_md=4-2-S2Vzb3Rv-ac_d_mf_br_br&content-id=amzn1.sym.4eace93d-f364-47c0-a325-0993823fcc92%3Aamzn1.sym.4eace93d-f364-47c0-a325-0993823fcc92&crid=204ASOHO70WDF&cv_ct_cx=journal+and+pen+set&keywords=journal+and+pen+set&pd_rd_i=B09CTK6VNX&pd_rd_r=89497e8b-0e3e-4d10-b82d-4ad979497a06&pd_rd_w=XpTbt&pd_rd_wg=65omf&pf_rd_p=4eace93d-f364-47c0-a325-0993823fcc92&pf_rd_r=4D9BVQVWWGDGNBZVYXTK&psc=1&qid=1654056812&sprefix=journal+and+pen+set%2Caps%2C102&sr=1-3-4c1442dc-e644-4a05-a0d0-ff1b45d55b2f (Journal) https://www.amazon.com/KESOTO-Hardcover-Executive-Writing-Notebook/dp/B09CTK6VNX/ref=sxin_24_ac_d_mf_br?ac_md=4-2-S2Vzb3Rv-ac_d_mf_br_br&content-id=amzn1.sym.4eace93d-f364-47c0-a325-0993823fcc92%3Aamzn1.sym.4eace93d-f364-47c0-a325-0993823fcc92&crid=204ASOHO70WDF&cv_ct_cx=journal+and+pen+set&keywords=journal+and+pen+set&pd_rd_i=B09CTK6VNX&pd_rd_r=89497e8b-0e3e-4d10-b82d-4ad979497a06&pd_rd_w=XpTbt&pd_rd_wg=65omf&pf_rd_p=4eace93d-f364-47c0-a325-0993823fcc92&pf_rd_r=4D9BVQVWWGDGNBZVYXTK&psc=1&qid=1654056812&sprefix=journal+and+pen+set%2Caps%2C102&sr=1-3-4c1442dc-e644-4a05-a0d0-ff1b45d55b2f (and pen set)

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Guest host, Ken Carfagno, leads a conversation with Jerry Dugan to share his own ruts in life, and the inspiration behind Beyond the Rut podcast. Why this Episode?It started as a dare from a guest I met at Podcast Movement 2021. Ken Carfagno asked me in mid-interview, “Hey! Have you ever shared your story with your own audience?” That's when it was decided that this milestone episode needed to be one where the microphones were turned.Hopefully, no one listens to Beyond the Rut and thinks this host has it all together. There is a large reason why this show has interviewed others who have found success in their lives. The past six years have been a learning and growth season for those involved in the show.Jerry has shared his story on other podcasts, but never really with Rutter Nation, except maybe for this episode about The Happiness Advantage recorded years ago. The truth is that even though Jerry learned from the ruts of others, like his parents, he still faced his own. It was one that he couldn't take on by himself being married with children. A partnership was involved, and navigating out of it meant a married couple growing and guiding each other through major mindset shifts.As you listen to this episode, remember that the driver behind our message at Beyond the Rut is to live a life worth living without compromising your faith, family, and health. That sometimes means taking a longer route in a world that is all about hacking the shortcuts.See the full show notes at BeyondTheRut.com/300.Beyond the Rut is a proud member of the Lima Charlie Network empowering others to reach new heights in leadership, self-development, and communication. You can learn more at LimaCharlieNetwork.com. Beyond the Rut Podcast and The Shadows Podcast are members of Lima Charlie Network whose mission is to empower others to reach new heights in leadership, self-development, and communication by connecting our audience with a network of podcasters and thought-leaders focused on sharing tools for impactful improvement. Visit LimaCharlieNetwork.com for more information!Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/beyondtherut)

 In "Building My New Cleaning Network I", I shared my marketing strategy from the summer of 2018 after moving back to the Philadelphia Area. I was scrappy and willing to knock on doors to say, "Hi, my name is Ken Carfagno." My friend Kevin Lacombe did the same thing in his new solo cleaning business when I was coaching him in late 2018. I knocked on 13 doors in the same town where my first new office was located. It worked! I had a few interested companies and one hired me! We then moved our family to another part of the suburbs and wanted to attract new clients. I followed the same strategy of knocking on doors, except I added a personalized piece to my information drop-offs and follow up process that I got from my friend Gustavo Fernandez. He showed me a few ways to stand out and I implemented them. In the month of May 2019, I knocked on 25 doors and generated a few interested prospects. Again, one hired me.  I would have continued this guerilla marketing approach each month to add one new customer each month. But it didn't sit right with me. I realized that I needed to serve the community and create a name for myself. Thus, I poured into my newest customer and became friends with his family. We started meeting for breakfast to connect, pray, and mastermind together. That's Mr. Dennis Gehman of Gehman Design Remodeling in Harleysville, PA. I've mentioned his name a dozen times on this podcast because he was that much of a help to me! We still meet for breakfast to connect, pray, and mastermind. This process taught me a huge lesson. I wanted to change my approach from cold door-knocking to attracting warm leads. The only way to do that was through service.  Read the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website

Entrepreneur Ken Carfagno shares his story of leaving his dream job as an engineer to start a cleaning business and find freedom.Ken CarfagnoKen Carfagno was overwhelmed and alone in his cleaning business, working 5-6 days per week and never seeing his family. He lost hope because he started my cleaning company to have MORE time with his family. This was no different than leaving his promising career as a leader at General Electric years prior.Ken needed a major change!His solution was contrary to the typical model. Instead of scaling, Ken optimized his solo cleaning company to a 2-day per week schedule without employees, while maintaining a $60,000 income for his family.Knowing there were others like Ken, he started the Solo Cleaning School!See the full show notes at BeyondTheRut.com/299.Beyond the Rut is a proud member of the Lima Charlie Network empowering others to reach new heights in leadership, self-development, and communication. You can learn more at LimaCharlieNetwork.com. Beyond the Rut Podcast and The Shadows Podcast are members of Lima Charlie Network whose mission is to empower others to reach new heights in leadership, self-development, and communication by connecting our audience with a network of podcasters and thought-leaders focused on sharing tools for impactful improvement. Visit LimaCharlieNetwork.com for more information!Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/beyondtherut)

One of the most difficult things for us to do as writers is get into a state of creative flow. Yet, it's also one of the most important things we can do. Without a state of flow, it is hard to make meaningful progress in our writing. We constantly have to deal with fits and starts, instead of enjoying steady progress. My guest today is the amazing Ken Carfagno. Ken is a successful cleaning business owner, and is the host of the Smart Cleaning School Podcast, which helps cleaning business owners take their business to the next level. Ken is also the author of the fantastic young adult novel, Arctic Land. Ken wrote this book a few years ago for his kids, and he is working on a sequel. I asked Ken to share his process for writing this book. In this conversation, you will learn a lot about great habits. This is almost like a masterclass in using great habits to start—and FINISH—a book project. I took a bunch of notes from this conversation, and I know you will, too! You can check out Ken's novel, listen to his podcast, and connect with him through the links below: https://dadnamics/arcticland Smart Cleaning School Podcast Connect with Ken on LinkedIn Connect with Ken on Facebook *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.  Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more! Connect with Kent:  https://DailyWriterLife.com  Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders  Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kent-sanders  Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders  

One of the most difficult things for us to do as writers is get into a state of creative flow. Yet, it's also one of the most important things we can do. Without a state of flow, it is hard to make meaningful progress in our writing. We constantly have to deal with fits and starts, instead of enjoying steady progress. My guest today is the amazing Ken Carfagno. Ken is a successful cleaning business owner, and is the host of the Smart Cleaning School Podcast, which helps cleaning business owners take their business to the next level. Ken is also the author of the fantastic young adult novel, Arctic Land. Ken wrote this book a few years ago for his kids, and he is working on a sequel. I asked Ken to share his process for writing this book. In this conversation, you will learn a lot about great habits. This is almost like a masterclass in using great habits to start—and FINISH—a book project. I took a bunch of notes from this conversation, and I know you will, too! You can check out Ken's novel, listen to his podcast, and connect with him through the links below: https://dadnamics/arcticland Smart Cleaning School Podcast Connect with Ken on LinkedIn Connect with Ken on Facebook ***     Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!     Connect with Kent:     https://DailyWriterLife.com     Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders     Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders     LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kent-sanders     Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders    

 This statement will resonate with many of you. Do you have customers right now that you know are sucking the profits right out of your business? If you don't resonate, you will soon! I've been doing this solo cleaning ISO Model journey for 16 years as you already know. I would like to share 4 types or categories of clients to keep a pulse in your business. Group 1 - The low-paying, high drama clients are easy to spot and optimize out of your business.Group 2 - Meanwhile, the high-paying, low-drama clients are easy to spot and clone in your optimizing efforts.Group 3 - But there are two other categories that are harder to spot, but they rub you wrong just the same. One is the high-paying, high-drama client. You make great money and have the ability to speed up easily. However, they cancel often, forget to pay, ask for a lot of extras, communicate frequently. This causes you to expend emotional energy on these clients more than you should. It's hard to give these up, but you must in order to optimize.Group 4 - The other type hard to recognize is the low-paying, low-drama. They are the easiest clients. They pay on time, only communicate when there is an adjustment or a question, easy to satisfy. However, they don't pay much and if you try to keep these clients as an optimizer, you have to significantly increase their price. That's a hard thing to do. Are you resonating now?As I've shared in previous Carfagno Cleaning updates, I just crossed from Stabilizer to Optimizer in my solo cleaning business. This is exciting as I can now go 100% toward my 2021 SMART goal of a $6,000 profit per month business cleaning two days per week! As I've stated of the 4 types of clients, there have been 2 of the 15 clients I have that fit the latter categories. One is a housecleaning client that is low-paying and high-drama. I did not get rid of this client as a Stabilizer as I needed every dollar for my family. However, I'll be doing price increases in mid-to-late 2021 and this client will be one of the ones getting a large increase. I'll make sure to have a house on the waiting list that is high-paying and low-drama ready to replace them. The other client is a commercial client. It's a much tougher one as it's a low-drama, high-impact client. I'm cleaning for autistic kids in a school setting. But it's also low-paying. I've done all I can to optimize and speed up this job to no avail. It was one of the first offices in my Stabilizer growth in 2020 and I underpriced it. Had I priced it correctly, I would not have gotten the job. No matter. I was able to earn $500 per month for over 6 months. I've known that a substantial price increase was coming to this client and it was sad. To compound this matter, I got some great news. I've shared that my company has gotten into the jet stream of the local veterinary hospital tribe. I've been hired by two and submitted a third proposal last week. The doctor replied to my proposal this week with this. "Thank you for the detailed proposal. I'd like to start with Option 2 as soon as possible." Option 2 is for $975 per month and it's biweekly. This great news immediately sparked calendar controversy. Adding this office every other week would overwork me and my two kids legally and physically for our weekly Saturday office cleaning schedule. Something had to give. I was either going to put this client on the waiting list and find a way to fit them, eliminate another office client, or hire someone to help. At this point in time with my goals, I came up with the best solution. I would fire my $500 per month low-paying, low-drama client. Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

Before you listen to this article, please check out my Carfagno Cleaning article, "Home Trends that Intersect with Cleaning". I credit my friend Mary Ann Alig of Fox & Roach Berkshire Hathaway Realtors for the content that drove this article and this podcast episode. Mary Ann shared 8 home trends that realtors are seeing for this new decade. Trends like these tend to change every decade and currently include barn vs pocket doors, white interiors, shiplap, matching furniture, accent walls, rose gold, open concept, and multigenerational homes. In my article, I showed how these trends affect cleaning professionals. I also hint to all business owners how important it is to know your industry trends so you can stay ahead of them.There is one trend that I'd like to dig into on this podcast. It's the rise of the multigenerational home. Fast Company in a 2019 article states, But for complex reasons that still puzzle researchers, multigenerational households are now on the rise once more. As many as 41% of Americans buying a home are considering accommodating an elderly parent or an adult child, according to a survey conducted by John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Living with your parents (or your adult children) has plenty of potential benefits–everyone tends to save money, it can potentially benefit health outcomes, and you get to spend more time together." Did you hear me? 41% of Americans are considering this in the 2020's. That's more than a trend. It's a paradigm shift. I want all cleaners out there, regardless of your business model to hear me. If you don't get in front of this shift and ensure your company is a leader in multigenerational house cleaning, you could be out of business in 10 years! It's crazy! Now, I'd like to talk to the solo cleaners that are actually doing the sales and cleaning. How do you position yourself to acquire clients like this? It's simple really. When you clean for one generation like a millennial couple or retirees, you must earn their trust to stay there long term. When you clean for two generations like a family with kids, you need an even greater trust factor. And if you follow where I'm going here, you need even more trust to clean for 3 generations under the same roof. The answer is trust building. The better you are at trust building, the more completely you can serve 3 generations under the same roof. This leads to more money per client and referrals to others just like them. Imagine this. You have a client like I do. Andy is the dad. His adult children live with him and his father Don lives with him. I have invested time during cleaning visits to get to know all 3 generations. Don has even become a friend and mentor to me locally. I do a great job at their home and have earned a lot of trust. Do you think Andy will refer me? And by the way, he owns a local restaurant and knows a lot of people. Yes, he will. I am positioned nicely to reap a harvest with multigenerational homes because I clean them now with good reputation. I can share that on my website and with new prospective clients. I urge you to do the same.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

I shared in my last business update that I increased the monthly service price of one of my commercial clients by $350 per month. Plus, I was on the verge of adding a new house and veterinary hospital as clients. The estimate with Melissa went well. She never had a house cleaning service before, so I eased her into it. I had her read articles from my website and was able to direct some of her questions to other articles I've written. This really increased my credibility before I even showed up at her home. During the estimate, I also pointed out things I liked in the house that I genuinely liked. I can't go into detail, but one thing was a wedding anniversary gift her husband bought for her. It was in their bedroom and I asked the husband for the website. He was pleased to oblige. I shared what we do for anniversaries and the honeymoon retreat location we go. He was thankful in return. That gesture between me and them build trust, but it was genuine. It wasn't mechanical. Look for opportunities to do that in your business. Make your estimate more than mechanical, but relational. At the end of the estimate I went through my availability and how the proposal process will go with the options I'll put together. She was very impressed. This customer found me through the marketing machine I've built through Facebook, Google My Business, my website, and in-person networking.I also completed the proposal for a new veterinary hospital. It was super difficult to create this proposal as the client wanted many details covered in the hospital that I don't normally do in the recurring service. Therefore, we worked out a list of these details and I balanced them evenly between 4 rotating visits and offered prices for weekly, biweekly, and monthly cleaning. She was very thankful with my detailed proposal and options.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

The original "Pros of Solo Cleaning" was so popular that I ran a 'Best Of' replay recently. I covered 10 pros that are very persuasive if you're evaluating a cleaning business for yourself. Here are the 10 pros listed out. Check out the original podcast for the details of each pro.Money - A new solo cleaner can set up a part business earning $400-$500/week part time. As they progress through my ISO Model Signature Solution, they can increase their part time income to $1,000/week, increase to full time and earn double that, or transition to hiring employees. The part time money potential is amazing if you do it right.Flexibility - You can schedule jobs when it works for you. You're the boss. If you want days, clean houses. Nights or weekends, clean small offices.Low Startup - For under $1,000, you can get your DBA, make your business liability deposit, and invest in your basic equipment & supplies.Tax Advantages - Your cleaning expenses are tax deductible. You can even write off your mileage and home office. If this is a side business to the family or you're only source of income, the tax advantages alone can make it worthLearning - Once you get the hang of cleaning and your system, you can listen while you clean. It's up to you what you put in. I recommend audiobooks on business, finance, and personal growth and podcasts on the same.Service to Others - You get all of these advantages as you serve moms that NEED your help. It feels great to help people.Easy to Learn - You can do something you already do (cleaning your house) for money.Burns Calories -  did you know that a 3-hour house or office cleaning burn 600 calories? Think about it if you clean three houses a day that's 1,800 calories you are burning per day. I used to eat 4000 calories a day, pigged out and never gained weight. As a optimized and had more time in my office I started gaining weight.It's Therapy - Many find the act of cleaning something dirty very calming and therapuetic.You are Needed - There are tons of Alicia & Emily's wanting to hire you! - It's always needed, listen to Moms Helping Moms Helping Moms and listen to Alicia & Emily's story.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

Do you remember "Back to the Future" starring Michael J. Fox? Marty McFly ran in his panic from the Libyans and got Doc Brown's Delorian to 88 miles per hour in the parking lot. He escaped 1985 and entered 1955. The whole movie focused on saving his 1985 family from perishing by helping his mom fall in love with his dorky, bullied dad. Marty also had to figure out how to get back to 1985. It was a fun movie that was super popular in the 80's and still is today. In one scene, Marty visits the 1955 version of Doc Brown at his house. Doc Brown was paranoid and thought Marty was crazy-talking a time machine until he described the Flux Capacitor. Marty yelled through the door that he was in the bathroom, bumped his head, and that's how he got the idea of the Flux Capacitor, the last piece of the invention to take him back in time. Doc Brown came out of the room, showed Marty the drawing he made of the Flux Capacitor, and believed him. The Flux Capacitor is a made up, science fiction device that gave the time machine the ability to travel through time. All the time machine needed was radioactive fuel or Plutonium. Plus, it needed to reach 88 miles per hour and in 1985, Doc Brown found a Delorian and modified it with Plutonium intake and the Flux Capacitor. One of my favorite lines in the movies is when Doc Brown sees the VHS video from 1985 and hears himself describe. "No, no, no, no. this sucker's electrical. But I need a nuclear reaction to generate the 1.21 Gigawatts of electrical energy. The Flux Capacitor stores..." The 1955 Doc Brown then freaks out. "1.21 Gigawatts! 1.21 Gigawatts! Great Scott." The scene is amazing as the two must create the power that the Plutonium nuclear reaction created in 1985. They decide to use lightning from the clock tower and the rest is history... or future... I guess.That was a fun movie analogy, but it's so profoundly true for my ISO Model. My ISO Model is the Flux Capacitor in your solo business vehicle. The Flux Capacitor allowed Doc Brown and Marty to go where ever they wanted to go in time. So does the ISO Model. If you hook it up right in your vehicle and power it with 1.21 Gigawatts of internal motivation, goals, and perseverance, your business will go where ever you want it to. But the Flux Capacitor isn't just a black box. We know it works for Doc Brown in the movie and the science is legit (in the movie). The point is that the Flux Capacitor does work and it does take you where you want to go if you hook it up right and feed it 1.21 Gigawatts. The ISO Model is the same. You have to hook it up right in your business, understand it, and utilize it. Here's how the ISO Model works...Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

This episode released 1 year ago and has been one of my most popular and mindset-changing episodes ever. This one really sets solo cleaners free and it is just as relevant as it was last year. I'll be releasing follow-up episodes in the future to help you even more with this overcoming mindset.

This message is short and sweet. I teach often and have created my own solo cleaning business niche of presentation cleaning and first impressions. That's what I do. Yes, I clean. But what I do is create peace of mind through presentation cleaning. What does that mean and why is it worth so much? I'm glad you asked. We are all emotional creatures and make our decisions as such. I've shared on previous podcasts that the busy mom doesn't have time to clean, yet dirt and clutter cause her stress and anxiety. My cleaning niche goes beyond basic cleaning and science. Check out the podcast, "Art Trumps Science". I add the art of first impressions to remove the stress and anxiety. This provides my clients with peace of mind. Similarly, I clean the first impression areas in offices to impress their clients, prospects, and staff every time they come into the office. This also has a value. What if a financial company loses a several million dollar client because their office "image" didn't match the website? My presentation cleaning investment can earn that client and easily pay for cleaning for the entire year! That's the point.Now that you understand that your cleaning itself can go beyond science, I want you to see that you have a part to play before you ever clean at all. You need to be congruent and have integrity. If you're a presentation cleaner, everything about your cleaning business MUST be presentation level. Just about every Saturday morning, my kids and I are cleaning out our totes and I'm constantly cleaning and disinfecting my vacuum cleaning and gear. At this point, my kids could answer WHY in a second. "Dad, you've told us that presentation starts with you and all the stuff we bring in here." I couldn't have said it better. I went on to explain to them and now to you. When you enter a home of office, you have to leave your equipment somewhere. What happens when you're vacuuming and the client sees your cleaning tote? Or, what if you're cleaning a bathroom and they see your rags or vacuum equipment. Would they be grossed out and wonder how you can clean anything if you can't keep your own gear clean? This is a wake-up call for many of you!That goes beyond your gear. What about your personal appearance? Do you look professional? Do you smell or have bad breath? Is your hair neat and clean. What about your vehicle? Is it clean and presentable. Is trash falling out when you open it? Would you be embarrassed if your clients saw the inside of your car?  Do you arrive with glaring music and flicking cigarette butts out the window? Do you ask where the client would like you to park? Is your social media presentable? People DO look at everything these days and every detail builds trust. You can't just presentation clean. You must be a person of presentation as presentation starts with you. If you take this advice to heart, you too can earn $100 per hour cleaning like I have in presentation cleaning.Go to the Solo Cleaning School  tab of website, access the free resources such as the "Solo Cleaning Quickstart Guide" and "How to Earn $100 Per Hour Cleaning Houses" Masterclass, and sign up for a free coaching call with Ken to ask your questions. Plus, you can access the ISO Model Course and more for $50 per month in the Solo Cleaning School Elite Membership.

I have been a huge fan of the Tim Ferriss Show lately because I love the long-from interviews with world-class performers as Tim dissects how they accomplished what they've accomplished. I LOVED a recent interview with Kelly Slater. If you've never heard of Kelly Slater, he's an 11-time world surfing champion and highly regarded as the GOAT in the sport. I listened to Kelly's interview and was mesmerized by his mindset, attention to detail in his craft and his health, and most importantly, the simplicity of life he lives. I have two life lessons to share from Kelly that really impacted mine.Tim was asking about Kelly's goals. Kelly response was awesome. He shared how nice it is to be in a position where he can mentor the young guys in the sport as he loves the sport and wants to be an ambassador. He stressed how vital it is for him to "always stay humble because when you're humble, you're teachable. When you're teachable, you can continue growing." He said the best way to learn is by teaching. Kelly went on to say. "If you think you know something, go teach it. That's when you will really know it." There is SO much wisdom in Kelly's words that I want to repeat it. Are you humble? Are you teachable? Are you learning and growing? Are you taking what you know and teaching it to others? This is the process of becoming the best in the world. I am not the best at this, but I am doing my best to teach you all what I know through this learning vehicle called a podcast. I find it amazing that I am constantly learning more by teaching it to you!In a latter question, Tim Ferriss asked Kelly about money and houses. Kelly stated that he is the middle child, but was forced to become the family leader because other members of his family had emotional and other issues. Kelly has made gobs of money over the years. Wikipedia reports his career surfing earnings over $4M! He shared his love for traveling and the many homes he's purchased in multiple countries over the years. Tim asked Kelly what his happy ending looks like. I love Kelly's answer as it reminds me of the "Mexican Fisherman". I'll paraphrase. The happy ending comes when all the lessons are learned. Kelly has done it all, spent a lot of money, but it never lead to happiness. He joked that what he'd love to do is simply buy a simple van and travel around to his surfing events in it, keeping a simple life of competitive surfing and helping others in his sport. He has learned so much in his 49 years and wants to stay humble, stay teachable, stay learning, and stay teaching. Over a lifetime, he'll collect a book of lessons and that's how he defined a "happy ending". This is beautiful.This episode is a self-check. Are you humble, teachable, learning, and teaching others? If you are not, these podcasts are a waste of your time. If you are not, you'll never grow your cleaning business beyond where it is now. Sure, it may grow short-term, but it will crumble in the long-term. I urge you to ask those that know you best if they think you're humble and teachable. This is the 2nd window from "The Four Windows". Once you know and get honest with yourself, make the decision to get better. Go and learn the lessons you need to learn to lead toward your happy ending. Then teach it to others and be a difference maker.Would you like to figure out what makes you tick and how to create an action plan for 2021 that will enable you to WIN?! Check out the "2021 Smart Goals Workshop" and access your free goals worksheet.

The business week started out great. I recently upgraded one of my commercial cleaning clients by $350 per month. When I got the call at the Airsoft field about another veterinary hospital, I was thrilled. Yes, that's right. The Airsoft field. Here's a short bonus funny papers. My oldest son, Kenny, just 16 recently and we decided to do a birthday party for him. It involved 7 of his teenage friends, Airsoft guns, gear, a 3-hour battle at the Airsoft field, games at home, food (lots of it), cake, and presents. Due to shutdowns in December, we had to move his party to late January. It was well worth the wait. I decided to sacrifice my Honda Pilot over Teresa's family van. I took 4 of Kenny's friends directly from church to the Airsoft field. We met the other 3 there. I helped them get set up and left in the hands of the field referrees to play for 3 hours. I then went to the car to chill out, stay warm, watch from the parking lot, and get some work done on my laptop. While I was waiting, I got a call from a local veterinarian looking for cleaning. She told me that she used to work with Ruth at another hospital I clean. Ruth saw her post on the veterinary private group and proudly referred me. The first takeaway is that I am worthy of being referred. My work and customer service are excellent, which is why I was referred. Are you doing likewise at every house and office you clean? The call lasted for 20 minutes as we learned about each other's background. I learned that she had recently opened a new hospital after working for others for years and she invested heavily into cleaning using her staff (but they needed a break). She learned that I also cleaned for another vet. We worked out a few scenarios of how I could help. I even gave examples of how much I currently charge for other vets and how much it may cost her. She invited me for an estimate a few days later. That estimate went outstanding. We're working on a rotational cleaning schedule that I'll quote her several options for next week. Back to the teenagers... After the call, I realized something vital. My Pilot was equipped to seat 8, but not 8 with Airsoft guns and gear and certainly not 7 teenagers and me! I underestimated the choice of using my Pilot. I called Teresa for an audible. She drove over the field to drop off some gear that Kenny forgot and took most of the gear off my hands. The boys were so stoked after playing for 3 hours and ready for mass quantities of chili, candy, and cake. They were also filthy and muddy. This is where the sacrifice came in. My car still has mud marks all over the back seats, carpet, and vinyl trim. It's everywhere! The ride to our house was hilarious as myself and 7 high school boys cramped into my Pilot. We all joked it was like one of those clown cars in the circus. The rest of the day was great. I knew teenagers could eat, but even I was surprised when they ate an entire pot of homemade chili and like 3 bags of corn chips. My wife had designed "Minute-to-Win-it" games with ping-pong balls, dice, straws, candy, and other dollar store items for the boys to challenge each other. I was MC and scorekeeper. They needed one more player, so one kind teen allowed my 9-year-old son Kolby to be his teammate. Guess what?! Bryce and Kolby won! The night ended with cake, presents, man-hunt outside, and stupid YouTube videos The last boy was picked up at 8:30! Teresa and I were exhausted, but my son was happy and I got a new potential big client! The combination of this client and the increased one ends my commercial cleaning goal before I start optimizing.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

Teresa and I went on a honeymoon retreat in the Amish Country, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was so quaint and beautiful. The rolling country hills with farms, horse and buggy, small antique shops, and farmer's markets were such a breath of fresh air to our normal busy and chaotic life. We planned multiple day trips from our wonderful bed and breakfast called the Barn at Strasburg. Sight & Sound's Esther was on the list for sure. We've been eager to see one of these captivating representations of the biblical account. We booked that. We found many covered bridges that we arranged on a map to visit. We even found a working Amish farm to visit. We checked out the pictures and reviews on Google and decided to make a few hours of it! We were excited to see the Amish make butter, see the schoolroom, the farm. The pictures and stories online really painted a story of what the place would be like. We were excited to see it! But, oh man... the TRUE story did NOT match the pictures. The pictures showed the house and the farm and the covered bridge out front. You go into the house for a 45-minute tour and then walk around the farm or get a tour of the countryside with a bus. We went to visit and followed the GPS. "Teresa, why is the GPS taking us to Target?" Teresa was perplexed as we drove into the Target parking lot. She spotted a few of the buses. "There. I see some Amish Farm buses parked. It must be close." We drove closer to Target and then it hit us like a ton of bricks. This Amish Paradise (shout out to Weird Al) was right in front of us. It looked exactly like the pictures on Google and the website. It was quaint, beautiful, and very Amish, except for one small detail. IT WAS IN THE TARGET PARKING LOT, 40 FEET FROM TARGET! That's right. You heard me. The Amish Farm was as advertised, but apparently, Target moved in right next door. The covered bridge was off to the side of the Target parking lot. We stopped the car and looked at the Amish Farm. We looked at the Target. We looked at the farm. We looked at Target. "Teresa, we can't go here. This is ridiculous!" As we left, we noticed one more irony. Here's this Amish Farm with home-cooked country food that is next to a Target. And across the street was a Cracker Barrel. You can't make this stuff up. On the whole, we were both very disappointed with the Amish Farm and didn't do the tour. They lost our business because they were dishonest. There was NO hint of Target in their pictures. Somehow, they got the right angles to miss the gigantic Target building 40 feet away! I learned a lesson from this experience. The story did not match the pictures. How does your story, your true story of what you offer in your solo cleaning business match the pictures you are putting online? Do they line up? This is called integrity and excellence. Are your customers getting discouraged when they hire you because the story doesn't match the pictures? If so, you better fix that quick.Would you like to schedule a free call with me? I leave 1 30-min slot open per week to connect with listeners! Go to the bottom of the Elite Membership registration page to schedule a time!

Let's journey together into an update of my own solo cleaning business. 2020 was a great year. I started at $29,000 in total cleaning revenue, which was the beginning of the Stabilizer Phase of my ISO Model. After hitting multiple 60-day SMART goals, I ended the year at $80,000! That's a $51,000 increase in 1 year! Our profit tripled to just under $5,000 per month on 2 cleaning days per week. As you follow my podcast this year, I'll be showing you how I take this $80,000 Stabilizer business, cross the Optimizer threshold, and convert it to a $90,000 revenue, $6,000 per month profit on 2 days per week solo cleaning business. This is my SMART goal for 2021. This Optimizer business will be worth over $100,000, which means I could sell it again like I did in 2018! Please do not take that as a brag. I'm excited and grateful. This has been a journey. If you're new to my podcast, make sure you check out my 2020 catalog of podcast episodes as they take you on the $51,000 increase journey. I have a few business updates and wins to share with you. My goal is that you gain understanding and belief that you can do it too. 1-time leads started coming in early this real estate season. I did a handful of 1-time jobs for realtors in 2020 and really impressed them. I've built my reputation and now my name is on multiple realtor's preferred vendor list. My friend Jim Hardy of the Carpet Guys called me on Thursday. He was doing upholstery work for a post-construction project in a house. The homeowner needed a cleaner too and Jim thought of me. I arranged to meet the owner on Monday, gave a quote the same day, and booked it for $350 next week. Lon called me on Friday to have me do an estimate for an empty office condo. He dropped off the key and I did the estimate on Saturday. I sent the quote out on Monday and Lon checked with the office owner. Unfortunately, they said no to the $475 price tag. Dianne called me on Tuesday and I did a phone ballpark estimate for her. She is selling to retire in Florida. I asked questions on the house layout and her goals then worked out a $350 - $700 ballpark price. She booked me for two weeks. This job will likely go for $550. I just added $900 in 1-time cleaning in 5 days. The cool part about 1-time cleaning is that I don't need it! It's all bonus cash that goes directly to savings. I am earning over $7,000 per month in recurring revenue that pays all of my business and family expenses. Many cleaning companies have some recurring and mostly 1-time. I don't like my business like that. It's stressful and you're always looking for work. I like it being automatic. And quite frankly, that's why cleaning is such an awesome business!Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

I still remember the car ride to Gatlinburg, TN with my wife when she told me this story. I had no idea that one story about shopping at the discount racks would turn into a podcast episode that has helped solo cleaners understand their value in the marketplace.

In my first full year as a solo cleaner, I worked a lot but we had no money. You've heard my story on this podcast a dozen times! We just lost our car to repossession. We had $170,000 in debt and no house! We earned under $2000/mo, lived in a ghetto, had bill collectors calling every day. We lived 5 hours from our closest family and we were new parents. In December 2006, we had no idea how we'd pay for our rent, let alone get a Christmas gift for our 2-year-old Kenny! That's why I'd like to introduce my dear friend Sean Rogers. We were in the Amway business together. After a Nite Owl (business mastermind session after hours at TGIF), Sean gave me a hug and followed it up with the Italian handshake. He had slipped me a $100 bill and said, "Get your son a Christmas present." I was in tears. How did he know we had nothing and couldn't even afford the air we were breathing? My guess is that Sean is a Christian and he was being obedient to what God told him. Teresa was in tears as well when I showed her in the car. It was a miracle. We'd be able to get Kenny the Imaginarium Train Set he wanted, thanks to a friend that was a giver and was well-off financially. The impact of that $100 bill was huge. $1,000 wouldn't do it today. That simple gesture of $100 gave us so much hope in our future and resolve to pay it forward.If I met you on the street and gave you $100, would you cry? Would it change your month, year, or decade? For some, no. But for many others out there, big time. I want to challenge you to grow your business to the point where you can give outrageously. I want you to earn so much that you can give hundreds away and not impact you one bit. But to the ones you gave the cash, their lives were filled with hope. Why else would you be building your business? We are put on this earth to help and love our fellow man. Let's all learn from Sean Rogers and do likewise. Grow your business and pay it forward!My step-dad's awning company is All Seasons Awnings & Fabric Structures (Marmora, NJ).Are you new to cleaning or considering your own solo cleaning business? Make sure to check out my free Solo Cleaning Quickstart Guide on the homepage!

In this episode, I have an important lesson to share from a new friend of mine in the digital marketing space on the power of Facebook and Google. Eric Laylon is a consultant with ReachLocal. He understands the online landscape more than almost anyone that I know. He's a new member of the MCBA networking group and had a chance to share a presentation on his work. I asked many questions as I wanted to understand a little more of the trends he's seeing in 2021. Google drives 85% of all online traffic and still dominates the online search landscape. Bing is #2 because Comcast uses them as a default, but they use Google ad platforms. Google will continue to dominate. If you're not visible on Google, you're not visible.Google My Business is a free way to create SEO for your business through images, reviews, articles, and deals. Ads are an excellent paid option to generate leads.Eric says you should be investing 3-5% of revenue into marketing for average returns. 8% is aggressive and 3% is slow growth. Invest 60-70% of this marketing budget on digital. This is what the large companies are doing in 2021!Facebook is similar to google. They have 223 million users in the United States alone out of 331 million people. That's 67% of the US is on Facebook. A business page is free and allows you to create interest for your product or service for free. Ads (like Google) are an excellent paid option as well.Thank you Eric for teaching and sharing the trends and stats for 2021! My takeaway is simple. If you ever want to be found in your cleaning business, you have to be on Facebook and Google as they represent 67% of the country and 85% of all online searches. And you can access both for free through a Facebook business page, personal page, Google my business profile.That was quick and to the point! Let's dive more into my own solo cleaning business. I have used digital marketing to grow my solo cleaning company in 2020. I tried everything, but focused on Facebook and Google My Business digitally while attending local networking to round out my marketing strategy. I didn't use any paid advertising and grew my company by $60,000 in revenue in 2020. Going forward, I plan to continue. I did get an idea this past week that I had originally planned in 2019 and never did it. I am the only cleaner in a 300 - 400 member chamber of commerce. Many members know who I am now since I've been helpful in leading webinars for the chamber, but I figured that the majority do not know me. I could cold call them and try to fleece them for business. I don't operate like that. Here's what I'm going to do. I'll make a list of the members that have an office that is a good fit for my office cleaning company. These are buildings under 5,000 - 6,000 square feet that need cleaning weekly or less. Once I have the list completed, I'll send emails with personal videos to the owners or contacts through the chamber to say hi and introduce myself. From there, I'll see who has any interest in connecting more with me. I'll schedule Zoom calls or breakfast meetings with the ones who want to know me. Then I'll add these new friends to my twice-monthly newsletter. I am guessing that 150 of the members fit into my demographic out of 400. Out of the 150, I wouldn't be surprised if I can connect and add 30 to my newsletter. Who knows from there. Those 30 could be 10 clients at $500 - $800/month in the future, which is over $60,000 of annual revenue! Either way, I make new friends. Win-win.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

Today is a very sad day for me. My Nana passed away 1 year ago on February 22nd, 2020 and my Pop-Pop passed away 3 months ago on November 22nd, 2020. They were married for 63 years and raised me to be the man that I am today. I miss them tremendously. If you are interested, check out the podcast episodes where I read the eulogies for each of my grandparents. My Nana - It Was All a Blur, My Pop-Pop - Tribute to My Father. I don't want to make this episode about me and the grieving I'm still doing. I wanted to share an important mindset shift that I hope you hear loud and clear. Have you ever been on a vacation to a gorgeous, picturesque location? Of course you have. Do you take pictures? Let me give you some examples and see if you relate. Teresa and I took our kids to the Philadelphia Zoo a number of times. When we browse the pictures a few weeks later, there are countless pictures of elephants, eagles, and giraffes, yet only a few with my kids in it. Worse yet. There's barely any of Teresa or I as we're the picture takers. We've gone to the beach, the mountains, the amusement parks, and the museums. We were in the moment with our family and excited to be at this location. So I took tons of pictures of the scenery and the rides and shells. Sure, I took a bunch with the kids too. But there weren't many of Teresa or I. As I think back, we had other important people with us on many of these trips. My mom and dad, Teresa's mom, my sisters, my grandparents, dear friends to name a few. But where are the pictures with THEM in it? Oh, there's one out of 50. I took my Nana and Pop-Pop to an Independent Living Facility for a tour in December 2018. In fact, it was my Nana's dream to live in this particular one, so I took her. I have videos of every possible room combination as my goal was to get footage to show Nana and Pop after. I focused on the rooms, not the people in the rooms. We had Christmas with many family members a few weeks later. I have pictures and videos of the kids tearing up the presents, but hardly anything of the most special people sitting on the couches and chairs watching it. Among those people were my dad, my Nana & Pop, my uncle, Teresa's mom, and us. I could go on and on. You get the point. After my Nana died a year ago, I was searching for recent pictures and videos of her to hold on to her memory. I had little. Really, I just had the videos from the tour and Christmas. I'm so thankful that I did a pan of the room in each case because I got footage of my cherished and missed grandparents. But the video was from 14 months prior! I had nothing at all for 2019! Why?! Here's why! We live in the moment with the people we love the most. When we capture images, we have an incorrect mindset to capture the moment by capturing what we've looked at. Another way to put it is this. We're capturing the main object of the moment, like the opening of Christmas gifts. We're not capturing the moment with the people. I want to impress upon you how fragile life is. It can vanish in a vapor. Those that you love are not always going to be here. Yes, take pictures and videos of amazing views. But focus instead on the amazing people with you. Capture them. You won't regret it. What if you lose one of your family members or dear friends like I have and you don't have the images to go back to? Live in the moment with the people you love and focus your camera on the people. It's always the people! I promise you that!Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

This is an article I wrote for my solo cleaning company, Carfagno Cleaning. I encourage you to check out my cleaning website for ideas on how you could build An Optimizer's Website. Would you like to schedule a free call with me? I leave 1 30-min slot open per week to connect with listeners! Go to the bottom of the Elite Membership registration page to schedule a time!

I'm not sharing as many of my own solo cleaning business updates as my own personal goals are beginning to shift. I am following my own ISO Model System. I am almost through the Stabilizer Phase of the plan, which focuses on growth and earning enough profit and experience to remove ALL financial stress from your family. In 2021, I'll be optimizing my company to $6,000 per month profit on 2 cleaning days per week without employees. Here are a few updates from the past week. One of my new 2020 clients hired me to replace an amateur cleaner during the pandemic for peace of mind and optics with their staff and clients. They hired me at $800 per month with the intention of dropping to my 3rd proposal price option of $650 per month. Well, they just dropped it for January as they still don't have their full staff back in the office. Plus, I spent the second half of 2020 deep cleaning, disinfecting, and maintaining this office. They are very happy and I am glad to drop the price to serve the company and owner! It builds trust and I'm more concerned with the long-term. In "How to Do a COVID Clean", I shared my strategy for cleaning a house or office after a positive test. Well, that was put to the test recently. One of my clients (a vet hospital) had a positive test of a vet tech. I changed my cleaning for that week and focused on deep cleaning & disinfecting the high-touch points around the hospital. They were very thankful that I offer this service. I only charged them $100 extra as well.Before I get to the meat of this episode, here are a few more updates. I met with my good friend and client, Dennis Gehman for breakfast this week. Dennis is the founder and owner of Gehman Design Remodeling in Harleysville, PA. Dennis is a Master Builder (like a real one, not the Lego Movie) and his company is a home design & remodeling leader in Montgomery & Bucks Counties of Pennsylvania. It's always great to connect with Dennis. He is like a dad to me and always has wise counsel on being a better dad, leader, and business owner. I so appreciate our time together. I also checked in with Matt & Laura this week. They were the perfect new house cleaning client from "An Optimizer's Website". However, I found out sad news from Matt this week and pray that things will get better with their family. In the meantime, they cannot add cleaning to their to-do list. I added Matt to my newsletter so he could stay informed on cleaning tips I send out twice per month.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

I love listener questions! Here's one I got a few weeks ago that was a perfect excuse to teach on the topic of affiliations."Hi Ken, I listen to your podcast religiously! I got "legit" (DBA, EIN, sales tax ID, etc) at the end of last year, and fully launched at the beginning of January. I previously was a manager for Pizza Hut in my area for 15 years. I started working there when I was 17. When covid started the franchise in my area completely folded. I began working for a janitorial company and was getting a lot of positive feedback. I have a one-year-old son and needed something flexible to work opposite of my husband. I had toyed with the idea of starting a business for a long time (I have a business degree). I just got my solo cleaning business up and running. Your tips have been instrumental! What are your thoughts about joining the BBB? Someone from my local chapter just cold-called me asking me to join."Kelly DeYoung, True Integrity Cleaning, Akron, NY (Buffalo Area)There are countless affiliations you can join for business credibility and trust. I am not putting down anyone. I'm merely sharing from my own experiences. I am listing several into 2 categories: Industry and LocalIndustryAssociation of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI), a division of ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association) - I was privileged to host the chair of ARCSI as an expert in the SMART Cleaning Tribe. Alonzo Adams (Busy Bee Cleaning Services, West Chester, PA) has an incredible business owner & millionaire mindset. He attributes so much of his industry success to the association with our industry's professional organization for house cleaners. ARCSI has certification courses for cleaning, disinfecting, and many others. They also provide amazing networking opportunities with other cleaning service owners so you can find your community and grow together. ARCSI is a recognized and highly respected organization that adds a ton of credibility to any house cleaner. If you're primarily in office or janitorial cleaning, ISSA is the organization to join. ARCSI is a division of ISSA. I was so green starting my business and also prideful and ignorant. I didn't need help, nor did I know about ARCSI. After having Alonzo on the Tribe, I will be joining in 2021. Solo Cleaning School Elite - I created this affiliation and offer advanced training and community for new cleaning startups and solo operators. Solo cleaners tend to go-it-alone. This school pulls together like-minded solos that would like to optimize their profits on fewer workdays through the ISO Model that I created and demonstrated in 2 of my own solo cleaning companies.SMART Cleaning Tribe - As I mentioned with ARCSI, cleaning owners need to find their Tribe. I built this cleaning family for the owners desiring community, masterminding, and accountability around their personal and business goals. There are many other training and mastermind communities available to cleaning service owners. The SMART Cleaning Tribe is the ONLY one focusing on the SMART goal. We grow together, celebrating our goals every month.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

Do you struggle with selling and not charging enough? Do you believe you offer something special to the world? Listen to this "Best Of" episode called "Blueberry Pie". This is one of my favorite episodes of this podcast. I've used this mindset to teach multiple solo cleaners the value they can offer.

This is a story that will cost a cleaning supplier a lot of money. First of all, I hope you all know me by now. I am not vindictive. I did not have a bad experience with the company I'm going to mention. However, I chose to do my 3-stars out of 5 review to the world because it will illustrate a vital lesson on the lifetime value of a client. I purchased my Mosquito Carbon Lite vacuum cleaner from my friend Joshua Burnstein, owner of Sawgrass Cleaning Solutions, Boynton Beach, FL. Joshua is a authorized distributor for Mosquito, which he does as a side hustle. I now use him exclusively to take care of my vacuum needs. But I almost didn't and here's what happened.My Mosquito has a uniquely designed tapered hose to maximize power and flow for my 160 cfm motor! That's nerd talk, but it means my vacuum really sucks! All of my hoses start to wear down after 2 years. They tear between the ribs and I have to cut a piece off to keep it working. This particular hose has been cut a dozen times to the point where it's barely long enough to vacuum with. I put off ordering a new part from Josh as he told me the replacement part is $100 with shipping! When I could wait no longer, I did a Google search to see if I could get the part cheaper anywhere else. There were a few at $100 and one at $45, which ranked high on Google SEO. It seemed like a reputable supplier, Salamone Supplies out of Menomonee Falls, WI. I researched the company and found the part I needed on the website for a great price. I told Josh and he was highly suspicious as he knew the part wholesaled for $80 on the low side. He wished me good luck. I apologized for jumping ship as I had to try. I ordered the part. To the credit of the company, they contacted me via email and was kind and cordial in their replies. They received the order, but soon realized that they had the two parts mixed up on their website. The part I ordered for $45 had the part number and picture correct for the part I needed, but they had the wrong price listed. They emailed me to let me know of the mistake and asked if I'd like to receive the $45 incorrect part or the part I needed for their price of $90 + shipping. Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

There are so many questions that clients and prospects have asked me over the years. As a consultant in the cleaning industry, I get asked even more. My cleaning company website has an in-depth Learning Library that I'm very proud of. Several of these articles are FAQs that I've pulled to the home page of my website. From time to time, I'll bring you one of these articles. Today is such a time as I wanted to mentally equip you, the solo cleaner, with how to answer the naysayers that believe solo cleaning is not possible, not worth it, or not professional. Here's a link to my article, "How Can You Possibly Clean Alone, Ken?". For the purposes of this podcast, I'm going to read it! There are 6 misconceptions that I highlight in this article and I encourage you to remember them as you connect with potential clients. As a side note, I added a 7th misconception for this podcast for solo cleaners directly.Solo Cleaners are not real businesses!Solo Cleaners take too long! I don't want to pay them extra for the same work!Solo Cleaners aren't as efficient as teams!Solo Cleaners have to limit their clients and I might lose them!Solo Cleaners can get sick or injured and I'll lose them!Solo Cleaners don't have systems and are unreliable!Solo Cleaners don't make much money! Since this one is not on my article. Let me clarify. This is true for the solo cleaner who doesn't realize their value. If you are charging $20 per hour or inherited clients from a friend at $50 per cleaning, you are not making much money and it's hard to imagine earning what I earn. If this is you, I encourage you to listen to every single episode of this podcast! To everyone else, I want you to realize that most of the 7-figure cleaning company owners started out as solo cleaners. I have a friend Hannah who earned over a $100,000 per year cleaning solo in her 20's and a college student. Then she hired and grew a team, so she could achieve bigger goals. Go back and listen to a recent episode I did, "Mission 20/20 Complete [Kenny add link]" to hear the results of my own solo cleaning business and how much income I earn. I am totally transparent and share my numbers in hopes of helping you. If you would like optimize your solo cleaning company like I've done twice, I encourage you to check out my Solo Cleaning School Elite Membership where I provide independent course work to train you in my ISO Model. You also get access to me through twice monthly Q&A's and access to like-minded, growing solo cleaners in our community.I referenced a listener of this podcast in the Funny Papers. Tonsha Hokanson is the owner of the brand new company, In a Jiffy Cleaning, LLC serving the Twin Cities, MN. They are doing outstanding work for their clients and in my estimation (having connected personally with the owners), they do it right. I highly recommend reaching out via email: inajiffyclean@gmail.com

Right off the bat, let me make this statement. There is not one way to properly do a COVID-19 clean and disinfect, but there is science that governs us to follow protocols and procedures to ensure best results. There are so many companies out there doing COVID disinfection. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell which are tried and true with years of disinfection and training from the ones that saw an opportunity in 2020 and short-cutted the system to make money. I would first like to give a shout out to a good friend who has become an expert in disinfection in the Washington D.C. area. Mark Lineberry of Universal Janitorial Services has an incredible article on COVID & Reopening Your Facilities (Guide)and another on properly doing Electostatic Disinfection Services. It will show you just how much training it takes to do this right and I HIGHLY recommend that you begin learning this science so you can help more families and businesses in your community. As you know, I've become a local expert in Philly on the same topic as I've been called to share to various audiences my "9 Mistakes in Disinfecting". I don't use a delivery system like fogging or UV or electrostatic spraying. These require a lot of training and expertise that I don't have. They also require a large equipment investment. I have companies that I refer when clients request this. My clients understand that I do "High Touch Point Disinfecting". The philosophy is simple. 80% of the pathogens lie on 20% of the surfaces. I don't need to kill 100% of the pathogens with a complicated delivery system. I kill 80% by hyper-focusing on the surfaces where pathogens are most likely to settle. A few weeks ago, I got an email from a weekly office client that one of their employees tested positive for COVID-19. They suspected it on Monday and everyone left the office to work from home. The positive test came in on Wednesday to confirm. The office remained closed until the following Monday. The office manager wanted my company to substitute a regular cleaning with a COVID clean. This was not the first time, so they knew I would do a good job. Here's the steps I took:I found out which employee desk it was and where that employee spent time on her day in the office. I determined that her office, the owner's office, copy machines, and restrooms were all compromised.I added the other high touch points like light switches, door knobs, common counter tops, break areas, and file cabinet handles. This gave me a map of WHERE to disinfect. I already knew WHAT to disinfect. It's corona virus and the EPA has a list of registered disinfectants (COVID-19 EPA list). I already have one of these chemicals in my cleaning tote.Assess WHEN to disinfect. My friend Mark in his above-referenced article recommends a 7-day period to allow the pathogens to die-off from surfaces. Reports differ as I've seen 5 days. Nevertheless, this office was vacated on Monday afternoon and I was there on Saturday night. That's 5.5 days, which I deemed safe to go in.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

I have two related funny stories to the theme of this podcast. Have you ever seen the "Polar Express" movie during Christmas? Most of you have. Toward the end, when the main characters are lost in North Pole, they stumble in the elf operations room. There are a number of videos playing of kids and a red buzzer goes off. One kid is shown on the Naughty List as he repeats the phrase, "I didn't do it. I didn't do it. I didn't do it." After the movie, my own kids were repeating that phrase including my 3-year-old and if you have kids, so are they. This innocence is cute as a kid, but not as an adult leading a business. My Uncle Bob told me a story about a friend. This guy is a jack of all trades. He does lawns, gutter cleaning, moving, tree service, power washing, whatever. He just goes wherever the money is. But this Jack is uninsured and thus, unprofessional! He takes on a lot of risk. If he is guilty of any damage, the homeowner better hope he doesn't pull the Polar Express line. My uncle told me that a neighbor of his called Jack over to remove an oak tree. When he asked him if he had insurance, Jack lied and said he did. He successfully removed the oak tree, but he didn't put the tree where it was supposed to go. A professional would survey the yard and take vital measurements first. Jack did not and the cry of TIMBER lead to the sound of an oak tree smashing into the roof of the house! It was a miscalculation for Jack. Thankfully, no one was injured. But the house was severely damaged. My uncle told me me how this will play out. When the homeowner hires someone knowingly that doesn't have insurance they take the risk and hope that their own insurance will cover damages if something happens. Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't. Sometimes it covers partial, but never the whole thing. In this case, if it turns out the contractor lied about having insurance. The homeowner can file a lawsuit, but the guy has no money and he won't get anything anyway. The homeowner is screwed either way. What's the lesson here? It's pretty obvious. Don't be Jack. Don't hire Jack. Let him keep rolling down the hill with Jill.For the main part of this episode, I want to share a short story that happened on the way to work with my kids. As I drove to work, a headache was pounding and I said out loud without realizing it. "I meant to bring the Advil with me, but I forgot." As soon as I said it, my brain kicked this thought. "A lot of good meaning to do it brought me. My head still hurts!" I realized how true that statement is for so many. So many people are meaning to do things, but never do them. in other words, "I meant to do it" is a way to justify their intent but never having to do the action. It's a form of making an excuse. I won't accept that type of life. I got home from work that day and immediately put the Advil in my work bag. I removed the excuse for the future. Unless people start changing their 'meants' into 'dos', they'll be feeling a lot of pain at some point too. And by that time, Advil won't cure it!

In this episode, I'd like to share a few updates from my solo cleaning business. It is true that I stopped striving for my goals in late 2020. But I didn't stop marketing. My "Optimizer's Website", strong "Google My Business" profile, and participation in local networking and chamber events. Recently, I had a couple find me on Google that lead to my website and a phone call. They had their questions answered on my website and the rest over the phone, so they scheduled an in-person estimate. After the estimate, I sent out a proposal my typical menu of customized house cleaning options. Matt and Laura had a few days to digest the menu, so Matt called me to negotiate as any good sales guy would. I explained what my options were so he understood them. One of my monthly cleaning options was of interest but it was about $20 too high above their budget. Ultimately, he asked if I was willing to negotiate, which means could I lower my price to get him as a client? My answer was simple and it never changes. This is not hard for me and it should not be for you either. "I don't lower my prices or my quality, but I can definitely lower the scope or the frequency of my options and provide another option which hits your budget." This would be a win for him as it hits their price. It would be a win to me because I still will earn my same hourly rate because I don't compromise on my prices. Matt's feedback to me was awesome. "We loved your menu of options and how you customized a plan just for us. We also like that you don't do contracts and we can switch between options as we decide what works best." This is a young family with growing and changing needs . They don't want to be locked into something, they want to grow with a cleaning service. This is a great example of why I advocate and coach to always create a menu to give options. if you only give one price, it can only be yes or no. Many in the industry fight me and say this is not scalable. I disagree. If you have good enough systems and can train your employees, you can definitely scale. The biggest benefits for me is that it allows me to win a higher percentage of clients and spend less on marketing. Plus, it allows me to service the customer better as I optimize my business. They feel listened to, respected, and it allows you to build trust ultra quick. Add on to this, my initial cleaning strategy of staggering over three visits. That's another way to customize and new clients love it because it allows them to get the product without the upfront fee. We shall see if Matt becomes one of my final clients before starting my waiting list.

It's a new calendar year. 2020 was so difficult for many families and so many are exploring other options for income. In this new "Best Of" series, I bring you an older episode that truly connected with my audience. "How to Start Your Solo Cleaning Business" is still one of my most downloaded episodes to date. Everything that I taught in this episode is valid in 2021 and beyond. The only addition would be for you to take cleaning science seriously. I did a wildly popular talk in my area called the "9 Mistakes in Disinfecting". It turned into webinars, YouTube videos, and a podcast. I encourage you to become an expert in cleaning science so you can disinfect like a pro and increase your stock as a cleaner in your area. It will set you apart big time.

I was listening to the Tim Ferriss Podcast recently as he interviewed the one and only Seth Godin. Between comments, Tim uttered the metaphor of the duck does all of its work under the surface. I literally had to pause the episode and write out this one! In my last episode, Mission 20/20 Accomplished [Kenny add link], I painted a picture of team cleaning companies growing through insurmountable odds and I shared my success in 2020. I don't want anyone to think that we had it easy or growing our cleaning businesses come easy to us. Let's learn from the duck and then come back with the goal of encouraging you and giving you truth!The duck appears to always be in control as it glides across the water. It is cool, calm, and collect without a care in the world. Yet, it gets to where it's trying to go. It does change direction and sometimes glides in circles, but it always gets to where it's trying to go. It's easy to see the duck from the side of the lake and say. "Why can't my life be as easy as the duck? They just find the pond or lake that suits them and simply glide across the surface, stick their head under water for a bite to eat, and chill!" Or what if you're thinking this. "I'm watching and listening to Ken build his second solo cleaning business and it seems like he's a duck. He just magically with total calm gets to his destination. He tripled his profits in 2020 during a pandemic. I guess Ken is just a duck!"You were sitting on the side of the pond looking across the water at the duck. It does look easy from that perspective. My son recently bought the GoPro camera and he can stick it under water and capture incredible video. If your lens is looking at the duck, you see what you see. But if you take a GoPro and point it under the water at the same duck, you will see a different image. You won't recognize the duck. It is far from cool, calm, and collect. You see a duck's bottom and a flurry of webbed feet. That creature looks like he is fighting for his life. His legs are kicking and paddling like crazy. Sometimes the leg paddles forward, sometimes backward, and sometimes stops. But most the time it's swirling and kicking and paddling like crazy. If your perspective of the duck was from the GoPro lens, you would think that life is so hard for the duck. How can ducks even survive at all!? How will he ever get to where he's going?The lens from the side of the pond is the lens that others see you from, while the lens underwater is the one that you see you through. It goes back to the episode I did on "The Four Windows". The lens from the side of the pond is the first window and the underwater lens is the second window. Let's bring this back to my business growth success in 2020. You've been listening to my podcast and watching me from the side of the pond. I've tried to be vulnerable and transparent so you could get a look from underwater, but it's hard. I am living it and I know just how hard I've been kicking this year. Nothing has come easy. My little webbed feet have been fluttering away for 10 months, many times having no idea which way my legs were taking me. I relied on my faith and worked like it was up to me and prayed like it was up to God. I've been in mastermind and coaching environments where I've been beaten and bruised. My webbed feet have hurt all along the way, yet you've seen me glide from $30,000 to $80,000 in revenue in 10 months of a pandemic, riots, wild fires, political unrest, family issues, illness, and deaths in the family. Are you starting to see yet?Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

2020 started with such promise to many. Unfortunately, it ended much differently. This episode is not a co-miserating-let-you-off-the-hook-if-you-did-nothing-about-it episode! This is an episode to fire up the winners. With all the doom and gloom in the media of pandemics, failing economy, and people's livelihoods being destroyed, do you know that there are scores of absolute winners that crushed it in business in 2020 despite the doom and gloom? It's true. In fact, billionaire Mark Cuban predicted it early in the pandemic when he said that many new corporations will be birthed during this time. He also said that the entrepreneur who can pivot toward the future will always thrive. I've paraphrased Mark, but it's so true. I challenge you to search for entrepreneurs who have crushed it in 2020 and learn why and how they did it. Many had their backs pressed against the wall and had no direction but ahead. That's a winner. I facilitate and lead the SMART Cleaning Tribe. This is a group of cleaning business owners growing with employees toward 7-figures and I keep them focused and accountable to their WHY, BHAG, SMART goals. On a mastermind & accountability call recently, we were discussing 2020. They all had SMART goals to double their revenues in 2020. One of the members did. Carrie Cottrell from Cleaning by Carrie out of Galion, OH more than doubled her company well past the quarter million mark. Carrie is crushing it. I've watched her all year. She provides a high quality service at an affordable price. Her product is solid. Plus, Carrie is in a rural, small-town area and she has networked like crazy. She has put herself out there on local news interviews, the chamber, local networking groups, and posting on Facebook every single day something of value to others! It seems that everybody knows Carrie in Galion, OH. She may as well be the only cleaning company there because it certainly seems like it. I'm so proud of Carrie! Jenn Jubrey (Maid Spotless Cleaning, Albany, NY) had to shut down completely by order of the state for nearly 3 months. Yet, she still managed to grow enough just to hit the same revenue as 2019 and position herself to pass $500k in 2021! Her accountability buddy is doing the same thing. Michelle Allegrezza (Sparkling Homes Cleaning, Albertville, MN) lost a large percentage of her clients and staff in 2020 due to the pandemic and she personally dealt with severe illness and family crisis. Like Carrie and Jenn, Michelle is a winner. She dug in big time and went back into the field to personally clean solo again until she had her new hires trained to replace her. Check this out. She finished the year 11% down in revenue from 2019, but was extremely wise with the money that did come in to become a 100% debt-free company! How many business owners can say this in 2020? Michelle and Jenn are racing to $500k and I love stoking the fire of competition! Hannah Brees (Shine & Sparkle Cleaning, Dallas, OR) had wild fires and a pandemic nearly take out her business. Heck, the Oregon wildfires were within miles of her house. She grew her revenue in 2020 while losing more than half of her team and also having to clean solo again for a short time! Way to go Hannah!Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

Want to find success in your real estate career? Stop making excuses and START thinking "How Can I?". By saying "How Can I?" and thinking outside the box you can go above and beyond for your clients and make your business more successful! Thank you for joining me for the Real Estate Survival Guide, the show that teaches Realtors how to survive and thrive in their real estate career. I am so excited to have you join me along the journey! To find out more about what I am working on, check out https://therealestatesurvivalguide.com (https://therealestatesurvivalguide.com) Here is the link to Ken Carfagno's episode referenced during today's show! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/solo-cleaning-school/id1482690769?i=1000495725913 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/solo-cleaning-school/id1482690769?i=1000495725913) Check out Ken's website to learn more about Ken and the work he does! https://www.solocleaningschool.com (https://www.solocleaningschool.com)   John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR® in Lancaster, PA with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty and a part of the Andrew Welk Group. The opinions shared on this show represent the opinions & values of John Schuchman and do not necessarily represent the opinions & values of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. The opinions &ideas shared in this podcast do not guarantee or promise any results of success to the listener. 

2020 has been a year none of us will ever forget. Is that not the understatement of the year!? We had a global pandemic, government shutdowns, trillions in stimulus, panic, fear, riots, election chaos, and it's still not over. None of this even scratches the surface of how I'll remember 2020. For me, it's the permanent end of my childhood and the time for me to prove out the legacy left to me. What does that even mean... "the end of my childhood"? In 2020, both of my grandparents on my father's side passed away. On the surface, this may seem extraordinary that I still have grandparents living... and it is. It's so much deeper. Ken Sr and Gabriella Carfagno were my Nana & Pop-Pop for 43 years. In reality, they are the true mother and father in my life. I spent every weekend with them growing up. They are the ones I sought approval and affirmation, especially my Pop. Their loss ends my extended childhood, where I still had a father to go to for counsel. Pop was the patriarch of the Carfagno Family and now he's gone. I'm now left to stand on my own and become the new patriarch, but I don't stand from the ground. I stand upon his shoulders. This episode is a short departure from cleaning as I want you all to pause and reflect on what you have already. What are you grateful for? Your family? Your health? Your business, where ever it is? Here's the text of the eulogy I gave at my Pop-Pop's funeral:I would like to thank my dad, Ken Jr, my uncles Bob and David, and my brother Dominic for allowing me the honor to remember our father and Pop-Pop today. Ken Carfagno, Sr was always larger than life to us. We have always felt that Pop was the greatest man that ever walked this earth except for Jesus himself. I am so grateful that I got to spend every weekend with Nana and Pop-Pop growing up. They made me who I am.Ken was the youngest of five children from Jerry and Concetta Carfagno. Nana Concetta ran out of Italian names, so she named her 5th after the 1930's singer & actor Kenny Baker who she thought was very handsome. Who knew that name would carry on 4+ generations? Ken married his high school sweetheart, Gabriella Corbett on October 20th, 1956 after going steady for over 4 years. They raised 3 boys and half the neighborhood on both Anchor Street and Harvard Road! Nana and Pop were inseparable for over 63 years of marriage. None of us could ever say one's name without mentioning the other. They were Mom and Dad, Nana and Pop. That's how interconnected their souls were. When Nana passed away this February, a huge piece of Pop died with her. Although we're grieving, we know they're together again.Pop was only 40 when I was born. He was young, full of energy, joy, and life. Nana and Pop raised me as their 4th son (even though I was a grandson). Pop taught me humility, gratitude, how to be a man, how to live a righteous life, how to keep God at the center of your life and make church-going & prayer a discipline. He taught me how to be faithful to one woman your whole life, how to love, how to honor, how to live, how to share wisdom with those you love, how to provide for your family, and how to invest in your future. He was the only man to truly recognize my potential and creativity and he fanned that flame throughout my life. When I met Teresa in 1998, he did the same for her and over time built a very special relationship. Nana and Pop never treated her as an "in-law". She was truly their daughter.Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

Ken Carfagno, owner of Montgomery County Carfagno Cleaning and founder of Solo Cleaning School, talks about how he finds joy in cleaning as well as in lifting up other cleaners in his industry.For more information on the Main Line Makers podcast, visit https://www.emilybrunnerphotography.com/main-line-makers-podcastMain Line Makers is produced, hosted and sponsored by Main Line resident, mom and photographer Emily Brunner

Ken is a high-energy former engineer, now running a cleaning company. SMART goal-setting was Ken’s catalyst for shrinking his work week by 2 days without sacrificing income. Now, he re-invests his time into coaching, helping Dads connect with their kids, and spending more time with his own family of six.

Are you afraid if you raise your cleaning prices that you will scare away customers? What if I told you that could be a good thing?   Cleaning industry expert Ken Carfagno discusses how he was able to earn $100 an hour while working only 2 days a week.   He did it all with systems and they changed his life and his cleaning business!   In his presentation, Ken explains: - How you can get better cleaning clients that are hassle-free and high paying - How these clients can lead you to other great, high-paying cleaning clients - How to use scarcity to set your home cleaning businesses apart from others - How to use systems to rocket your hourly rate   Don't hesitate, watch this now so that you too can increase your profits and decrease the time you spend sweating for your home cleaning company.   Ken Carfagno is the founder of Smart Cleaning Biz, a company dedicated to helping Maid Service owners achieve freedom from there business without sacrificing annual income.   Read the blog post at: www.zenmaid.com/magazine/branding-to-grow-your-maid-service/   This talk was just one of 44 expert talks shown in the Maid Summit - the first & online virtual conference for Maid Services. Watch the other talks here: https://maidsummit.com

"Teach your kids about your cleaning business if you want them to have a work ethic." Ken Carfagno of Carfagno Cleaning and host of the Solo Cleaning School podcast drops by the #AskaHouseCleaner show today. Family values start with you leading by example. You can host family cleaning projects that teach kids to clean. As a homeschooling parent, this dadpreneur says to include a "clean up" time every day. Today’s sponsors are #SavvyCleaner - training for house cleaners and maids. And My Cleaning Connection - a hub with tips for family cleaning and other fun #cleaning stuff. *** LEARN MORE ABOUT KEN CARFAGNO *** https://smartcleaningbiz.com – cleaning biz https://bit.ly/SmartCleaningBiz - Smart Cleaning Biz YouTube *** MOST REQUESTED LIST OF CLEANING STUFF I USE *** https://www.Amazon.com/shop/AngelaBrown *** MORE VIDEOS ON THIS TOPIC *** How to Get Your Kids to Clean Up After Themselves | Parenting A to Z - Kelly Bourne - https://youtu.be/2iVVhiII2zA Teaching my Kids How to Clean - 8 Passengers - https://youtu.be/n-XFwVmzKfk How to Teach Kids to Clean - Clean Your Room It’s Fun! - Angela Brown - https://youtu.be/ok_r-mody8w How to Get Kids to Start Cleaning! - Clean My Space - https://youtu.be/q_Gm8-5bo-4 5 Tricks to Get Kids to Clean Up - WhatsUpMoms - https://youtu.be/yWSFdGPp-ms *** GOOD KARMA RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE *** We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life - https://amzn.to/35hLQ40 Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More Than Grades, Trophies, or "Fat Envelopes - https://amzn.to/2LUF7FB 40 Things to Teach Your Children Before You Die: The Simple American Truths About Life, Family & Faith - https://amzn.to/2obpsJb How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success - https://amzn.to/33drffG The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed - https://amzn.to/31XuCXB *** CONNECT WITH ANGELA ON SOCIAL MEDIA *** LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savvycleaner/ Facebook: https://Facebook.com/SavvyCleaner Twitter: https://Twitter.com/SavvyCleane Instagram: https://Instagram.com/SavvyCleaner Pinterest: https://Pinterest.com/SavvyCleaner *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** HOUSE CLEANING TIPS VAULT *** (DELIVERED VIA EMAIL) - https://savvycleaner.com/tips *** FREE EBOOK – HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING COMPANY *** http://amzn.to/2xUAF3Z *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRBO.Airbnb.Cleaning/ *** LOOKING FOR WAY TO GET MORE CLEANING LEADS *** https://housecleaning360.com *** WHAT IS ASK A HOUSE CLEANER? *** Ask a House Cleaner is a daily show where you get to ask your house cleaning questions and we provide answers. Learn how to clean. How to start a cleaning business. Marketing and Advertising tips for your cleaning service. How to find top quality house cleaners, housekeepers, and maids. Employee motivation tactics. Strategies to boost your cleaning clientele. Cleaning company expansion help. Time-saving Hacks for DIY cleaners and more. Hosted by Angela Brown, 25-year house cleaning expert and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry read this: https://savvycleaner.com/product-review *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com HOUSECLEANING360.COM – Connecting House Cleaners with Homeowners – https://housecleaning360.com SAVVY PERKS – Employee Benefits for Small Business Owners – https://savvyperks.com VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING – Cleaning tips and strategies for your short-term rental https://TurnoverCleaningTips.com

A homeschooling Dad tackles cleaning in today's #AskaHouseCleaner. Ken Carfagno, President of Carfagno Cleaning is a Dadpreneur who does house cleaning at home, and for a job. He believes kids cleaning and doing family cleaning projects strengthen family values. He also coaches those cleaning solo as well as those homeschooling. His message promotes single dad cleaning, single mom cleaning and kids can clean too. Today's sponsors are #SavvyCleaner (training and certification for house cleaners and maids.) And HouseCleaning360 (a place where homeowners can search and find house cleaners or maids.) #Dadpreneur *** LEARN MORE ABOUT KEN CARFAGNO *** www.smartcleaningbiz.com – Cleaning Biz http://bit.ly/KenCarfagno - YouTube Dadnamics *** MOST REQUESTED LIST OF STUFF I USE *** https://amazon.com/shop/AngelaBrown *** MORE VIDEOS ON THIS TOPIC *** Homeschool Mom Cleaning Tips - How I Keep My House Clean. - Grace and Grit - https://youtu.be/KNfKl5iKwm4 Homeschool MOM Cleaning Routine | Before & After KITCHEN Cabinet Organization - Jamerrill Stewart - https://youtu.be/OiufwXJNImE Nighttime Clean W/Me - Cleaning Routine & Motivation - TheFallCoFamily - https://youtu.be/momzVtCZqWc Chore Cards {Mom Hack} || Keeping our home clean while homeschooling - MonsonSchoolHouse - https://youtu.be/9rTzOpRiKfw Tip Tuesday: Running a Homeschool Household - Erica Arndt - https://youtu.be/fW3aKDrxlPs *** RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE *** We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life - https://amzn.to/35hLQ40 Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More Than Grades, Trophies, or "Fat Envelopes - https://amzn.to/2LUF7FB 40 Things to Teach Your Children Before You Die: The Simple American Truths About Life, Family & Faith - https://amzn.to/2obpsJb How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success - https://amzn.to/33drffG The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed - https://amzn.to/31XuCXB *** OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY THIS SHOW *** ITUNES - http://apple.co/2xhxnoj STITCHER - http://bit.ly/2fcm5JM SOUNDCLOUD - http://bit.ly/2xpRgLH GOOGLE PLAY - http://bit.ly/2fdkQd7 YOUTUBE - https://goo.gl/UCs92v *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** HOUSE CLEANING TIPS VAULT *** (DELIVERED VIA EMAIL) - https://savvycleaner.com/tips *** FREE EBOOK – HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING COMPANY *** http://amzn.to/2xUAF3Z *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRBO.Airbnb.Cleaning/ *** LOOKING FOR WAY TO GET MORE CLEANING LEADS *** https://housecleaning360.com *** FOLLOW ANGELA BROWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA *** https://Facebook.com/SavvyCleaner https://Twitter.com/SavvyCleaner https://Instagram.com/SavvyCleaner https://Pinterest.com/SavvyCleaner https://Linkedin.com/in/SavvyCleaner *** WHAT IS ASK A HOUSE CLEANER? *** Ask a House Cleaner is a daily show where you get to ask your house cleaning questions and we provide answers. Learn how to clean. How to start a cleaning business. Marketing and Advertising tips for your cleaning service. How to find top quality house cleaners, housekeepers, and maids. Employee motivation tactics. Strategies to boost your cleaning clientele. Cleaning company expansion help. Time-saving Hacks for DIY cleaners and more. Hosted by Angela Brown, 25-year house cleaning expert and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry reach out to our promotional department info[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com HOUSECLEANING360.COM – Connecting House Cleaners with Homeowners – https://housecleaning360.com SAVVY PERKS – Employee Benefits for Small Business Owners – https://savvyperks.com VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING – Cleaning tips and strategies for your short-term rental https://TurnoverCleaningTips.com

Ken Carfagno, founder of Carfagno Cleaning Inc. is on the podcast today. Ken and Rich met at Podcast Movement 2019 and after hearing Ken’s story, Rich asked him to be on the show. Ken is a cleaning specialist with over 14 years of experience. Carfagno Cleaning serves houses & professional office buildings. Ken’s wife Teresa founded the company, and after Ken got fired from his engineer job at General Electric, he began helping his wife clean. Ken currently cleans the offices for Gehman Design Remodeling, EJS Medical Billing, and the Pennridge Animal Hospital in Pennsylvania. He also coaches cleaning owners nationally through the SMART Cleaning Biz platform. Ken’s regarded nationally as a cleaning industry leader through the coaching he offers to other cleaning service owners.  Ken’s journey to cleaning success was a 10 year struggle that started with him being fired from General Electric and having to climb out of six figures worth of debt. In this episode you’ll hear Ken’s story and learn why you need to be grateful for the job that you have and give it 100% everyday even when you’re focusing on your side hustle. Highlights: Management training at GE MLM – Multi Level Marketing as a side hustle Sacrificing a family and personal life for corporate success Short term thinking vs. long term thinking on the job – The Ripple Effect Being approach by HR and a security guard when being fired The importance of keeping track of all your finances in business and your personal life Being harassed by debt collection companies “Planting positive seeds” The Takeaway: If you’re in a job you don’t like, it’s still a gift. Don’t take it for granted and sow bad seeds into the ground.  Bad seeds don’t bear good fruit Resources: Paybal.co/learn - We help millennials make money, save money and get out of debt.   Paychecks & Balances Website: https://paychecksandbalances.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paybalances/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paychecksandbalances/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PayBalances       Ken Carfagno Podcast: Solo Cleaning School (on iTunes, Stitcher as of Thursday) Website: www.smartcleaningbiz.com   Facebook: www.facebook.com/kencarfagno

Become a fearless father presents: The recording of the interview with Dadpreneur Ken Carfagno, founder of Dadnamics and Smart Cleaning Biz. 0:00 - How to make difficult decisions that effect everyone in the family? .:.. - Who is Ken Carfagno? In this interview Klaas van Oosterhout had with Ken Carfagno, they talked about: * The 4 must times to spend with your children for busy dads; * Ask questions; * Which books to read; * Homeschooling; * And much more. Links mentioned by Ken Carfagno: https://www.smartcleaningbiz.com/resources https://dadnamics.com/ https://www.facebook.com/smartcleaningbiz/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/becomeafearlessfather/ Music: https://www.bensound.com

In Episode 71 Ken Carfagno joins me in discussing how to be effective at networking while being an introvert. You can learn more about Ken on his website SmartCleaningBiz.com

Ken Carfagno joins the podcast and shares his powerful story of how porn and sexual addiction captured him at a very young age and literally shaped much of his life for nearly two decades. He describes the process he has gone through as he has dealt with acceptance, shame, guilt and now freedom from this addiction and what life on the other side looks like for him today.   Visit us at CodeOfCharacter.com! 

Ken is a high-energy former engineer, now running a cleaning company. SMART goal-setting was Ken's catalyst for shrinking his work week by 2 days without sacrificing income. Now, he re-invests his time into coaching, helping Dads connect with their kids, and spending more time with his own family of six. The Mastery Journal: Master productivity, discipline and focus in 100 days! Sponsors: Constant Contact: See how you can be a marketer: sign up for a free trial today at ConstantContact.com/podcast! City National Bank: Looking for financial resources to help get your business to that next level? Visit CNB.com/fire! City National Bank member FDIC.

How do you teach Bible-based business and entrepreneurship principles to your children? (Comment at www.TheologyofBusiness.com) Ken Carfagno is passionate about helping his kids to become like Jesus, and he sees business as a great context for this discipleship process to happen. Along his journey from artist to engineer to entrepreneur, Ken became a dad. And like many new dads, his kids inspired a long-forgotten gift. Ken could make up stories and draw his kids into them. This sparked a dream that lead to Dadnamics, the infusion of creativity, adventure, and silliness into dad time. And it led to the Arctic Land experience. Ken is married and has three boys and one girl. He also owns and operates Carfagno Cleaning, Inc, a family-owned residential cleaning company in the Capital District of NY. He has held this position for 10 years. Theology of Business is the show that helps marketplace Christians to partner with God in business to transform the marketplace and make an impact in eternity. If you want to learn more about how to do business for the glory of God, this show is for you. This is a podcast by Christian business leaders for Christian business leaders. | Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Nonprofit | Church | Author | Startups | Marketplace | Ministry | Business as Mission | Faith and Work | Faith | Success | Leadership | www.TheologyofBusiness.com  

How do you teach Bible-based business and entrepreneurship principles to your children? (Comment at www.TheologyofBusiness.com) Ken Carfagno is passionate about helping his kids to become like Jesus, and he sees business as a great context for this discipleship process to happen. Along his journey from artist to engineer to entrepreneur, Ken became a dad. And like many new dads, his kids inspired a long-forgotten gift. Ken could make up stories and draw his kids into them. This sparked a dream that lead to Dadnamics, the infusion of creativity, adventure, and silliness into dad time. And it led to the Arctic Land experience. Ken is married and has three boys and one girl. He also owns and operates Carfagno Cleaning, Inc, a family-owned residential cleaning company in the Capital District of NY. He has held this position for 10 years. Theology of Business is the show that helps marketplace Christians to partner with God in business to transform the marketplace and make an impact in eternity. If you want to learn more about how to do business for the glory of God, this show is for you. This is a podcast by Christian business leaders for Christian business leaders. | Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Nonprofit | Church | Author | Startups | Marketplace | Ministry | Business as Mission | Faith and Work | Faith | Success | Leadership | www.TheologyofBusiness.com  

How do you teach Bible-based business and entrepreneurship principles to your children? (Comment at www.TheologyofBusiness.com) Ken Carfagno is passionate about helping his kids to become like Jesus, and he sees business as a great context for this discipleship process to happen. Along his journey from artist to engineer to entrepreneur, Ken became a dad. And like many new dads, his kids inspired a long-forgotten gift. Ken could make up stories and draw his kids into them. This sparked a dream that lead to Dadnamics, the infusion of creativity, adventure, and silliness into dad time. And it led to the Arctic Land experience. Ken is married and has three boys and one girl. He also owns and operates Carfagno Cleaning, Inc, a family-owned residential cleaning company in the Capital District of NY. He has held this position for 10 years. Theology of Business is the show that helps marketplace Christians to partner with God in business to transform the marketplace and make an impact in eternity. If you want to learn more about how to do business for the glory of God, this show is for you. This is a podcast by Christian business leaders for Christian business leaders. | Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Nonprofit | Church | Author | Startups | Marketplace | Ministry | Business as Mission | Faith and Work | Faith | Success | Leadership | www.TheologyofBusiness.com