Why It's Important to Connect with Other Professionals in the Service Industry

Perry Phillips, Jr. is the publisher of Home Cleaner Magazine, a publication exclusively for the owners and managers of professional home cleaning companies. He is also the founder and executive director of the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI), the only non-profit association for the home cleaning industry.

I love the home cleaning industry; it is made up of the nicest people one could ever want to meet and work and become friends with. In my unique position in the industry I have the opportunity to talk with many cleaning service owners from across the United States and all over the world. On a typical day, I speak directly with no less than five to ten service owners. This serves more than one purpose for me.

First off on a personal level, I love it; this is the part that has always kept me going through the years when many wondered why I was on this crazy mission. Years ago, especially in the first years of starting ARCSI, it would get pretty lonely and isolated, I bet sometimes you feel the same way in your cleaning business. I soon realized that if I was having a particularly bad or trying day, all it took was a brief conversation with an eager cleaning service owner or two to set me back on my way. It is the people that have fueled my passion for making industry-wide changes for professional house cleaning businesses.

Second, talking with owners of home cleaning businesses and hearing directly from them about what is going on in their business allows me to keep a pulse on the industry. I am able to take what I hear from the many cleaning service owners I speak with and gauge what is going on industry-wide. Many times a good idea for an article turns into a great idea when I talk with several service owners all facing the same issue.

So why am I sharing all of this with you now? Because you can do the same thing! Pick up the phone and call your colleagues in the industry. You may not be writing the next great article for a publication but you can connect, learn, and grow from building and cultivating your own relationships with fellow owners of maid services. This can be good for you even if you are not already in business yet, maybe you are just starting a professional house cleaning business. It is never too early to start making valuable connections.

Perhaps you strike up a new friendship with a service owner that may not be your direct competitor but just outside your service area. You know they are out there. Just look in the yellow pages, pick up the phone and call them. Make a lunch date, have regular phone calls and keep each other in the loop.

Another great idea to build a strong relationship and have some fun along the way is to take advantage of relationships you build in organizations like Myhousecleaningbiz.com and ARCSI. Plan a "working vacation". Go visit a new place you've wanted to visit and schedule some time with maid service owners in the area. Spend time talking and take a tour of their operation, seeing firsthand how others do business.

Other service business owners will love to hear your ideas. You will find that this type of networking will be the most valuable investment of your time and without a doubt be very empowering and fuel your own enthusiasm for your home cleaning business!

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