October 20, 2024

Ep72 Clean Up with Franchising, with Damien Boehm, CEO Urban Clean - Franchise Books

Feature

Episode#72

Commercial cleaning has certain key features that make it significantly more scalable than residential cleaning according to Damien Boehm, founder of commercial cleaning franchise, Urban Clean.

Damien’s book, Clean Up With Franchising, focuses on his experiences in the industry and the steps to building your own highly profitable commercial cleaning business.

In Episode#72 - The key areas discussed in this podcast around commercial cleaning are;

The Urban Clean model: A commercial cleaning business serving offices, medical centers, gyms, and schools. Damien explains why they focus only on commercial spaces: commercial cleaning is contractual and necessary, while residential cleaning is more discretionary.

Franchise Growth and Strategy: The initial challenges in selling his franchise model when Urban Clean was just starting, with no franchisees to vouch for the brand. He shifted his approach from selling to educating potential franchisees on how to run a commercial cleaning business. This educational focus was key to his recruitment strategy and led to the development of his book.

Book's Purpose: The book, Clean Up with Franchising, is a way to share his knowledge about running a successful commercial cleaning business, distilling his experiences to offer insights and guidance for potential franchisees. It emphasises education over sales tactics.

Early Career and Lessons Learned: Before entering the cleaning business, Damien worked in property development. However, financial challenges and liquidation of the construction business partners forced him to reevaluate his career, leading him back into cleaning with a more strategic and growth-oriented mindset.

Marketing and Sales Strategy: While traditional methods like telemarketing and SEO are commonly used in commercial cleaning, Damien, after doing all of these, found better success in direct, door-to-door marketing. He emphasises making interactions pleasant distractions rather than disruptive sales pitches. This approach has been highly effective, with most businesses agreeing to proposals when approached correctly (90%).

Franchise Model Success: The Urban Clean and others focused on commercial cleaning, business's potential for growth, highlighting that commercial cleaning is a recurring revenue model, with clients requiring regular services. He shares that many franchisees, including master franchise owners, have become highly successful, with some earning substantial incomes.

Challenges and Misconceptions: Acknowledging that commercial cleaning is often viewed as unappealing or "unsexy" compared to other businesses like cafes, but Damien emphasises its financial stability, resilience, and lucrative potential. He also points out that while cleaning is part of the business, success largely hinges on strong relationships with clients and managing cleaning teams effectively.

Damien’s journey, as shared in the interview, is about overcoming early obstacles, refining strategies, and building a stable, scalable franchise model in an industry often overlooked for its financial opportunities. His book encapsulates this journey, aiming to help others succeed in the commercial cleaning business.

0:00 Introduction

0:55 Explanation of what Urban Clean does: a commercial cleaning franchise

1:06 Why Only Commercial Cleaning and not residential as well

2:11 Motivation Behind the Book

2:50 Early credibility challenge faced with no franchisees for others to meet

4:22 Changing the angle of the conversation, making education an integral part of franchise recruitment

5:00 Start of Damien’s business journey, cleaning to property

6:22 When the property business went bad

7:04 Launch back into commercial cleaning

7:57 Approach to business in relationships and not everything having to be digital

9:42 Breakthrough when they realised they are offering a free proposal for cleaning

11:15 Making cold call face-to-face a social experience to make the difference