Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about succession, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I have two sons, one with autism. I was looking for an opportunity that was more fun and less stressful, so I knew I wanted to get into the home care business where I knew I could help others and build connections in my community. I also really enjoy being my own boss, and the Home Clean Heroes model fit my wishes.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
The most interesting thing and most fun I have had was in my home health-care business and the parties we used to have and the games we would play. I like to see when my employees and my clients are happy, we play games and it was great team building.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
My favorite quote is, “always sow your upper mind with positive thoughts.” It’s the reason I can survive in business and life.
I have a son with autism and my life can be a little hard, especially when he goes through tantrums or has difficulties. I look at it like, this is a gift that god gave to me and I learn how to be strong, I learn how to be able to overcome challenges in both business and life. So just sowing those positives thoughts and you’re become happier and strongly encouraged.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
There are several reasons, but first and foremost is in the name, “Home Clean Heroes” because we regularly donate and have a relationship with the First Responders Children’s Foundation. A portion our cleanings goes to families and children who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. In fact, in my area, there was a house explosion, and we contacted the foundation and were able to donate to the family who lost a loved one, he was a firefighter. So, we value that relationship and being able to give back.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. What factors did you consider when selecting your franchise, and how did you determine it was the right fit for you?
I really like they’re approach. I went to the headquarters and met everyone members of Home Clean Heroes are friendly and very knowledgeable about what they do. I feel that I can trust them to help me grow my business and it feels like a total team effort to grow my business and the company as a whole.
To add onto that they have a mission. They were the only cleaning company that I spoke with when looking for a franchise that had a specific mission of helping the community which is important to me. When I think about my son with autism and some of the everyday challenges we face, I feel like I can help others with a home care company it’s a way to help and grow with the community together. The Home Clean Heroes mission matches my desire to give back.
Additionally, because Home Clean Heroes is relatively newer in the cleaning industry, I was able to choose whatever territory I liked because there was nobody else around me.
Can you share a significant challenge you faced while establishing your franchise? How did you overcome this obstacle, and what did this experience teach you about running a successful franchise?
One of the biggest challenge’s we’ve faced is finding the balance between hiring employees and getting the leads and customers we expect. As a franchisee we spend a good amount of money on marketing and early on the leads weren’t coming in as quickly as we had hoped. But we already have people we have hired, so finding that balance between how quickly we should hire people to accommodate the amount of business we have was a challenge. However, we’ve been growing over the past several weeks so I think we’re getting much better and a lot of that credit goes to my manager, Eason Li, who’s been able to work with employees really well and manage expectations. Also, we’ve been able to do more local marketing and make a targeted effort, so it’s been getting better. We did a home show that produced a number of leads and that’s made a big difference.
Looking back to when you first started your franchise, what was one aspect that completely took you by surprise? This could be related to the franchising process, customer interactions, or day-to-day management that you hadn’t anticipated.
One aspect that took me by surprise was the how intense the on-site training was. I knew that training comes with starting a franchise, but my the end of that first week my manager and I were sick because we were so tired, but I had also never done that much cleaning and had such a full schedule like that every day. It was a lot.
In hindsight, what advice would you give to potential franchisees about selecting a franchise that aligns with their personal and professional goals?
I would say definitely ask questions and don’t hold back. Also, I would suggest someone to visit what they’ll be investing in. Go on-site to meet with the company members to get a feel because sometimes when you talk on the phone, you’re looking at papers and they tell you everything, but when you meet the people you will be working with on a regular basis, you have to like them. You can find out so much by meeting in person with a company’s members.
How do you balance adhering to the established systems of your franchise with the need to innovate and adapt to your local market? Can you provide an example of a successful adaptation or innovation you implemented in your franchise?
We’re in an area that’s considered one of the wealthier counties in the United States in Loudon County just outside of Washington D.C. The average income is pretty high and in many families there’s two incomes. Housing is expensive, and the pricing is higher on everything so one of the things we have to adjust to in the style of homes and places we clean. A townhouse or a luxury condo can be as big as a single family home in our area, so we kind of have to assess the pricing to be able to allow the customer to decide what’s right for them.
Another factor is that because of the higher cost of living, we have to sometimes pay our employees more than what some other territories around the country do just to support their cost of living and encourage people to join our Home Clean Heroes team as employees. Because of this, we’ve discussed with corporate about implementing a commission-based pay which no other territory does, just so we can keep up with the higher cost of living. It’s something we’re excited to try as we’re able to get more business and customers.
What are your “Five Things I Wish I Knew Before Opening a Franchise”?
1 . I wish I knew more about the marketing and covering certain costs. At the beginning, I thought perhaps some of the franchise fees covered through marketing would take care of more direct-to-mail, or SEO or organic website keywords and how we market that way. But because this is a newer franchise in our area, I’ve had to cover a lot of costs for marketing.
2 . I wish I knew about the ins and outs of how expensive it is to wrap our cars. We have two cars for our business and the wrapping itself and then putting it on the cars was costly and I wish I’d known how much that would be.
3 . The amount of hands-on work that was needed. I already own a business and I’m an entrepreneur so while there’s a structure to follow within a franchisee, we’ve had to do a lot ourselves that was a bit overwhelming at first. It’s a lot of work.
4 . The hiring process was very challenging. I’ve had to hire employees myself and deal with the difficulties, and while corporate provides us with support, I wish I knew how tough the hiring would be. I’m so lucky my manager has been involved he’s been great with the process.
5 . I was so happy and surprised to discover the network involved with my company, I was not expecting that. When I have a problem or a question, I go to a group chat with other franchisees in the company and get an instant answer. Whether it relates to cleaning, dealing with difficult customers, hiring, whatever, they’re extremely helpful and the support you get from your peers has been wonderful. Being able to interact with and feel that reassurance was a big factor as to why I signed on with Home Clean Heroes.
As your franchise has grown, what have been the key drivers of its success? Looking forward, what strategies do you plan to implement to ensure continued growth and sustainability in an ever-evolving market?
Marketing has been a key driver in growing our brand. In Northern Virginia, we’re the only Home Clean Heroes location. Being able to build brand awareness in the area is huge, so marketing and getting the word out has been key. Once that happens referrals are huge, especially in a residential cleaning market.
Moving forward building our team will be big as well. My manager and I will continue to be involved in coaching and help our cleaning specialists feel confident to do a great job and trust that we want what’s best for them and our customers.
Off-topic, but I’m curious. As someone steering the ship, what thoughts or concerns often keep you awake at night? How do those thoughts influence your daily decision-making process?
Right now it’s mostly thoughts about how to grow the business, thinking about what we can do better, what we’re currently doing, is it working, etc. As a business owner I always have to be mindful of our employees and I strive to put them in the best position to succeed as well so those are some of the things that I think about.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Like I said before just try and maintain positive thoughts and have positive actions. It can be contagious.
How can our readers further follow you online?
You can follow us on our website, and my manager is starting to grow our social media presences as well. Just look for Home Clean Heroes of Dulles.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!