Cora Schupp - Cleaning Up in a Dirty Business

I am dedicating this book to Hans Schupp, without whose unflinching loyalty to me this past decade, I would not have been able to walk on many a stormy sea.

I also dedicate this book to my three
beautiful children, Sasha, Chelsea, and
Alexander.

I did the very best I knew how.

I wish to acknowledge George Affleck and Amanda Bates, owners of Curve Communications Group Ltd. for their unwavering support of the writing of this book. I also wish to thank Kerry Slater and Justin Wong for their copy editing and technical guidance, and Trena White of Page Two Strategies for her encouragement and patience through the many writes and rewrites. The whole project has been great fun.

After years of running a janitorial service company, I found myself among the top 5% of female wage earners in Canada, earning $90,000 per year in 2004 (and my husband pulling an equal share) with no post-secondary education. I had contracts with a chain of department stores and 13 grocery superstores. I had over 100 employees working for me and was my own boss. I built my company from scratch and so can you.

How did I get my start? Newly married in a small northern town named Kitimat, BC, in the late 1970s, my husband and I scraped together a down payment on a house by doing janitorial work in the evening. The contractor who built our house also had a janitorial service, so we both worked full-time during the day and rushed to our evening jobs after a quick dinner. We dreamt of moving to the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, where there were better educational opportunities for our children, more social and cultural advantages, and better weather.

After a couple of years, we decided that the only way we could leave Kitimat was to gain some experience owning a small company. We started cleaning apartments that had been vacated, then we moved on to construction cleanup, before finally picking up a couple of small contracts. I was nine months pregnant when I dropped off our first signed contract! It was for cleaning the offices of a natural gas company. I did all the bookkeeping for our small business, which included payroll, taxes, Workers Compensation, etc. Eventually we sold our company for a healthy profit and took the plunge to the Lower Mainland.

We moved to Surrey, BC, in 1986, right before the World Exposition, or EXPO, started. We bought a small existing janitorial company that included an old truck, a buffing machine, some odds and sods of mops and buckets, and two little contracts. Buying this company turned out to be a good investment because we did such a great job that the clients were happy to be our references. Within three months we were grossing $10,000 a month.

From these small beginnings, we took on contracts with the chain stores. We were able to save for our retirement, educate our children, own a lovely home with property, and we still had time to travel.

I decided to write this book in an effort to help those of you who have always dreamed of owning your own business but didnt know where to start. If you use my model for success, you will be well on your way to becoming a business owner. The type of person who had to do everything the hard way, I can save you not only money but also a lot of stress and heartache by sharing my own experiences.

Why a janitorial service? It is one of the few businesses that neither depends on a thriving economy nor suffers the ups and downs of a seasonal or fickle market. It does not require a lot of startup capital or a lot of training. Although janitorial duties are not glamorous, all businesses need to keep clean. Believe me, you will never run out of work.

The ability to set your own hours and work schedule is invaluable. Running a janitorial company doesnt tie you down to a monotonous Monday to Friday, 9 am 5 pm routine. As long as the job is done, most clients dont care what time you come (unless they are locked at certain times). It is never boring because each place is different, and each client has different needs.

You can schedule your clients around your own personal life instead of the other way around. Once your team is trained, you can move forward and take on more clients, which frees you up later in life to do the quoting, ordering, hiring and training, and leave the heavier work for younger folk. That way you can be in control of your retirement.

There is dignity in service, and you are not just the cleaning lady or the janitor but a self-employed tax-paying business owner, creating jobs and contributing to society.

You may be questioning whether you have what it takes to run a successful company, so lets look at a few urban legends out there.

You need an education. You do need to be able to read, write and do math. Computer skills like using spreadsheets and word processing are necessary but can be obtained through short courses at local colleges. Most of your education will be the school of hard knocks, with a degree of Trial and Error 101 thrown in.

Thousands out there are looking for work. You arent thousands; you are only one, but a special and unique individual that no one can replace.

4 out of 5 businesses fail. Yes that is true, but that also means 1 out of 5 does succeed and yours is going to be that one!

You are too old/young. Dont even get me started on this one.

You need connections. What you actually need is to start out small, get a good reputation, and build on it. Success doesnt come overnight, but everyone has the right to make a living and prospective customers respect that. Once your business is growing, connections will come naturally.

A good work ethic is more important than money or education. Constancy is a virtue that is very important in your path to success; those who are grounded, secure, and committed to long-term goals will reach their ultimate vision.

That vision or destination might be a secure retirement, a good lifestyle, enough money for your childrens education, or just self-satisfaction. The goal is different for everyone, but the end results are the same: a well-run, sustainable business that can later be sold or handed down to the next generation.