I understand your business. The staff complain that they are over. worked, under paid, and many don’t show up for scheduled shifts. Customers are up your butt complaining about the most trivial thing, complaining about what prices you charge, can I have this ready in a half an hour (and its 15 minutes until closing time) and then leaving a bad review after you busted your (_!_) bending over backwards going out of your way to make them happy. The pant press broke down for the third time this week, your cleaning machine is growling because you have barely enough solvent in the tank to run a load, and you are hoping that your supplier doesn’t stop by today looking for that check to settle a bill that is already 60 days late, likely going to 120 days if you can keep dodging your guy. And then you get home after another grueling 12 to 18 hour day and your spouse if on your case because you are barely making ends meet after supplies, wages, rent and other expenses.
Am I hitting pretty close to home with you? Does it feel like I’m standing just outside your door?
Well, it’s not like I have super vision and can see through walls and over the horizon into your plant. It might come as a surprise to you, but the reason why I know what it’s like inside your business is because I’ve been in your shoes. Yeah, really.
I don’t mind telling you, I’ve been there, I’ve had the sheriff show up and tape the nasty note on the door advising me I had 30 days to pay the rent. I’ve had to work every position in the plant because I had to do all the work to make ends meet. I know what it’s like to work 120 hours a week and still not have a dime to take home to make my contribution to the family household income. I know exactly how soul crushing it is to be an owner of a dry cleaning business that sucks.
I hope you don’t think any less of me for being brutally honest. I’m hoping that maybe, just maybe, I can be an inspiration for a few of you, and you go on to become wildly successful. And if you do, I hope you remember the dark days as opportunities, and cause for positive change, and you too can wear your scars (financial, physical and emotional) proudly, like I do.
If your dry cleaning business is frustrating you, burning you out, feels like struggle with promoting and advertising, hiring, covering payroll, equipment constantly breaking down, and it feels like your business is taking more and more of your time away from your family, and worse, this business is not putting anything back into your pockets, well, this article is just for you.
In my last article, I mentioned Big Red Flags, and it caught the attention of some folks. So, let’s put a few questions out here….
1) Do you have trouble making payroll?
2) Do you wish you could hire fantastic employees?
3) Do you seem to be spending a lot of time in the plant, holding hands, training and retraining employees, feel like you need to be there baby-sitting your staff?
4) Do you spend money with few or little results?
If you answered ‘Yes’ to even one of these questions….well, we need to talk, your business could be in trouble. While your business might not fold tomorrow, it’s on its way. But it’s not too late, now is the time to make a change (or changes).
It all starts with you. You have to take a stand, right here and now, and make a commitment that you just aren’t going to settle for second best from yourself, your business and your customers and your staff. Once you make that decision, things are going to start to change for you. Every path to freedom I’ve ever encountered began with stopping bad practices and embracing the struggle for change.
Yes, it is indeed a struggle. I never said this was going to be easy. Easy is for quitters. Easy is selling out for bottom dollar and going to work for someone else in their dry cleaning business that sucks.
But, you don’t have to struggle alone. There is all kinds of people out there willing to help you in your business, and many of these people are willing to help you, for FREE!
A little disclosure: I discovered this amazing way of getting (and giving) help years ago. In fact, I generate some of my income from my own private version of this assistance…..but, let’s focus on the free support, because, well, EVERYBODY has budget for free!
If you have a Facebook account, log into Facebook now. If you don’t have a facebook account, create one, it’s free too, and all it’s going to cost you is a little bit of time. Now, once you have logged in, go to this group, and join it: https://www.facebook.com/groups/586607208192001/. Go ahead, JOIN! Like I said, it’s FREE!. Once you have joined, post your most pressing business problem. Don’t be shy, DO IT!
Watch what happens. Folks just like you (plant owners), folks just like me (Professionals in our own fields), are more than likely to respond back to your question with all kinds of advice to help you solve your problem. There are a lot of very smart people in this free group, and the width and breadth of the answers might over whelm you….but….you will get answers.
Now, it’s entirely up to you. Do you ACT on the advice you’ve been given? I’ve seen all kinds of great questions receive a bunch of great answers, and the cleaner who needed help did nothing. But, YOU aren’t that type of cleaner now, are you? Go ahead, prove me wrong!
It was that one decision to stop doing what I was doing the way I was doing it, and decided to set myself on the path of improvement. The incremental improvements I made took hold, and it literally changed my life, bringing me to where I am today. And, I give back to all those who helped me become who I am today by giving back through this free online community. Maybe I can help you?
