Speaker 1  00:00

And then introduce you, and then I'll kick us off with our first question. Sound good? Sounds good? Alright. Welcome to the latest edition of the heart of franchising, where we take you behind the brand, to bring you the people, stories and heart behind franchise success. This podcast is brought to you by home franchise concepts, one of the largest home services, franchise systems with a purpose to enhance daily living with every brand in every home every day. I'm Marcy Klein saucer, your podcast host. Today's guest was first introduced to her franchise as a working mother in the psychiatric field while she enjoyed improving the health of the community, she sought more freedom in her work schedule that would allow her to spend additional time raising her children as a busy mother. She knew how useful a cleaning service could be to families with a single parent and those with tight schedules. She believed that with the guidance of a dependable team, her service skills and entrepreneurial spirit could work together to build a more satisfying career. Additionally, she recognized a gap in the cleaning market for customer service oriented companies. Please join me in welcoming crystal. Scott, owner of two maids of Winston, Salem crystal, thanks for being here. Thank you. Marcie, awesome. Well, Crystal, give us a little bit of your backstory on how you first found two maids as a franchise opportunity.

 

Speaker 2  01:29

Well, it's such a weird story, you know, I didn't go looking for it. It just kind of found me. My daughter rode horses competitively, and I had been working all night, and was at the barn watching her practice, and the lady sitting beside of me happened to be a franchise consultant, you know. And so I had my other two kids with me, and I'm like, Come on, we gotta go. We gotta get home. We gotta go to school. You know, I'm tired, you know, all of those things that a typical mom says. And so the lady sitting beside of me, and she was like, Hey, she's like, What do you do? And I told her that I worked in patient psychiatric as a psychotherapist. And she's like, Well, I'm a franchise consultant. She's like, why don't you let me send you some information? And initially I was like, Absolutely not. You know, like I had all of my chaos was organized and I knew what I was doing every day. And, you know, throwing something else into a full time family and a career was just not something that I was interested in. It sounded very overwhelming to me owning a franchise. I was just like, No thanks. And she was like, Well, I'm just going to send you some information. I'm going to email it to you, and if you have any questions, you can let me know. And so she did, and at first I just didn't even look at it, because, again, it seemed like something so out of reach for me, it was just not something that I'd ever thought about doing. And so one night, I was laying in the bed, and I was like, came across the email, and I opened it up, and I thought, Gosh, how wonderful would it be if I had a cleaning service, you know, somebody to do all of the things that I don't want to do, not necessarily that I didn't have time to do, but things that I didn't want to do, that I would rather spend my time doing something else. And so I opened up the email, and I looked at it, and I ended up messaging her, because she had sent me multiple options. And I messaged her with some questions, and it it just took off from there

 

Speaker 1  03:47

that's amazing. You saw yourself as the end user customer of Yeah, roommates, and that resonated with you,

 

Speaker 2  03:55

yes, because I knew that I could never sell something that I wouldn't use myself. Sure, no, and if it had been something, I guess that's why it resonated with me, is because I just knew how helpful it would be, and not only for me, but all of the people that were in my world at the time, you know that were moms that we had kids in sports and just how we always tried to coordinate to make life easier for one another in some way, maybe not everybody at the same time, but, you know, one person one week, and then the next week, etcetera. And I just that just seemed to be like a no brainer at the moment.

 

Speaker 1  04:37

Yeah, that's amazing. Okay, so you are lying in bed. You thought about these things, and you called back this consultant, and you said, Let's do it. Let's go. So talk to me a little bit about how that that opening of the business went for you. What did it feel like, and what were some of the things you did in the opening of your business?

 

Speaker 2  04:59

Well, I. First, I was skeptical because it just seemed like a too good to be true kind of situation, because someone was there to kind of tell me, this is what you need to do now, do this and I'll do this. And it just seemed, you know, kind of, I was very skeptical about it. So as I told you, I think she brought me, you know, four options, and I had narrowed it down to two maids. And so the next step was I went to Birmingham, Alabama to have a home office meeting. And kind of, I guess, they kind of wanted to get to know me, and I kind of wanted to get to know them and see if we were a good fit. And after that, you know, we went through the whole, whole franchise process, you know, of getting, I mean, because the biggest thing is you got to pay for it, you know, you got to find a way to fund it and and finance it, and as a mom, and all the other responsibilities I had that was probably a big concern for me. And again, you know, the folks from home office gave me everything I needed. So I actually applied for an SBA loan, which, you know, was a process as anything is, with the government, but it worked, and it gave me the amount of money that I needed to be able to open my store. And so I think that my visit to home office was like in February, and I opened in August of that year. So I don't know how far you want me to go, but I all, I opened there in August.

 

Speaker 1  06:52

So that's perfect. Let's, let's take it a little bit further. So you opened in August. Talk to me a little bit about kind of what that pre opening support looked like, your training, kind of the onboarding for you to open your doors and then kind of launch your business.

 

Speaker 2  07:08

So once I had my the financing part under control, I went back to Birmingham in July for a week training, a new owner training, and it it's kind of interesting, because the folks that I went to my training with, I feel like, are still my friends. They're still the people that you reach out to that you you know, we have an issue. You're calling them because they're like, I call them my pledge class, you know, because it's like we kind of all entered at the same time, and we all learned at the same time. And so again, after that, well, there is where I kind of got a lot of information about how to run the day to day business, what I needed to do in order to get started. And so, you know, they gave me this list of everything, you know, insurance companies, you know, where to buy, the supplies, what you know, just everything you can possibly imagine. It was on a sheet of paper. And so it was literally just checking the boxes. So and I reached out to galactic, who set up my payroll, you know, and then from there, I did the credit card processing, you know, and on down the list. And so it was. It was very simple in that aspect. It was more, rather than difficult. It was just a task, you know. It was very simplified in that the people that you were calling knew why you were calling. They were ready for you to call. And so everything went really smooth. And then I, you know, I found an office, and again, the franchise had given me access to career plug, and I put an ad on there that they helped me write and did some interviews for some employees. My franchise rep at the time, Kathy came down. She spent a week with me, helping me, you know, get everything set up and organizing like my caddies. She went out with my teams to, you know, to train them on the system, because even though I had been through the training, it wasn't something that I was prepared to do. So she went out with us. We did the training for the four staff that I had hired. And then from there, it literally just took off, you know, it, it's crazy when I think about it now, because I'm sure at the moment, I was just really over overwhelmed, you know, with thinking that there was so much stuff that I had to do, but I really didn't, you know, it was just. Checking off the boxes and, you know, taking care of the people that were working for me. And in exchange, you know, they were taking care of me. Yeah, you had

 

Speaker 1  10:11

the home office team at two maids walking you through the process and making sure you followed the system, right? And yes, they take care of your team.

 

Speaker 2  10:21

Yes, they definitely were there to to guide me, you know? I mean sometimes, I mean, just like with anything, sometimes you feel like you're all alone, but you're not. You just have to ask somebody to help you, you know, and I know that there are times when, when I started that I felt like I didn't even know what the question was I had. I just knew I needed help, you know. And so I if I would call my rep, or I would call my one of my pledge class people, and I would be like, hey, what happens when you do this, you know? And everybody's kind of in the same boat, and they're like, oh, okay, well, here's what I did, you know? And so you just have to brainstorm like that. I feel like I had the best relationship, you know, with my rep. She was, you know, just super helpful. She never made me feel like I I couldn't call her like today I call her mom because I feel like she always gives me the stupidest answers, you know, like I know the answer, but I call her and I ask her, and she tells me, and I'm like, Okay, thanks, Mom, you know, because it's like, you just sometimes you just need that validation, and they're always there to give it to you if you reach out. Sure you have to, but you

 

Speaker 1  11:36

can, yeah, I love that. Is there any specific tool that the home office team gave you that made the biggest difference in your business, either starting out or even today, Crystal,

 

Speaker 2  11:49

so I opened in 2018 so we've come a long way as a brand since 2018 um. I think that for me, personally, one of the most useful tools is the CRM, you know, all of your lead. I mean, because there was a day that, you know, I had to manually write down every lead on a piece of paper and with the phone number, with check boxes of if you've called them or whatever. And then you manually send out reminders through, you know, typing out emails and text messages and the reviews, you know, so that CRM has been so useful, because you can actually track your leads when they come in, and the steps and the process of where you are on following up with those leads. It's also a great place to keep notes, you know, because as you grow, you have additional people working for you. You can't remember everything. You don't know every customer's name. So it's just, it's a great tool to actually keep you focused, so that you don't get overwhelmed with all of the information that comes in on a daily basis. Yeah, and that's, I would say that's probably the most useful thing for me.

 

Speaker 1  13:03

Yeah, and certainly, as a business, teammates has certainly evolved, and that's an amazing tool for owners of teammates to make sure that they're leaning into all of the benefits and uses of the CRM system for teammates. How has your role as an owner evolved. You opened in 2018 but how is your owner your role, rather as an owner evolved since you opened your doors.

 

Speaker 2  13:29

You know, I started out as an owner operator, so I, you know, I just didn't want someone else to know how to run my business more than I did, and I didn't want to walk in one day and someone was sick and I didn't know what to do, so I started out day to day in the office, you know, and it was just me. And then, I guess, a couple of years in, I hired a part time manager, and she was there. I mean, I don't know, maybe I was just micromanaging, you know? I mean, I kind of led her into that, and I did that for, I don't know, probably a year and a half to today. I mean, I don't have to go to work, do I still go, Yes, and I go because I love my employees, and I feel like that. They need to see me as a person, as a human, and not someone that just signs a check. And I feel like it keeps them loyal. It makes them see me as a human and as a person and so and which I have found makes them work harder. You know, they want everybody wants someone to be proud of them. And so I go in every morning for a morning meeting, you know, I don't stay all day. I mean, I might stay. I mean, I still pick my kid up from school every day, you know. So I don't have all of the responsibilities day to day, but I'm always access. I'm accessible to my employees. I'm accessible to my customers. I never want someone to feel like I'm out of reach. You know, I think it keeps people honest. And, you know, we're a team in my office, and I might be the leader of that team, but I still have to show up every day, and I do, and I show up for them, and I show up, you know, for myself, it makes me when I look at it, I'm like, wow, you know, like we're doing really good. I've never been one to look at how much money I made this month or how much profit. You know, that's not my focus. I feel like that. If you take care of your employees and your customers, everything else will come. It'll fall in place. So I'm just not one that does all the spreadsheets and you know all that, that's just not me. I'm more about the people.

 

Speaker 1  15:50

There you go. I love that. You have to be about the people. What's been your most pivotal challenge in your business, and how did it shape your business?

 

Speaker 2  15:59

Crystal. I I think that one of the biggest challenges I had is delegating out to other people, like, I don't have to do everything, you know, it's if it's somebody else does it and they mess up, you know, it's okay, you know, we'll fix it. And I think that when I first started, I felt like nobody was going to care about this business as much as I did. You know, it was mine. I was invested in it, and I needed to do all of these things. Well, I'm here to tell you that that you get burned out really, really quick, you know, when you take that perspective and and so delegating out listening to my employees and what they need and what they want, and and customers as well, and then allowing other people to take charge of some of those things that really aren't that important, you know. And so I think that I'm really type A so I like things to be done a certain way, but letting some of those things go and just, you know, let's just follow the system and do what we're supposed to do. So that's probably been a huge challenge for me, but I think I do pretty good at it now.

 

Speaker 1  17:17

Yeah, I definitely think it's a learned skill. I hear that often from franchise owners that they have to learn delegation, and once they do, it definitely has a huge impact on their business. Thanks for sharing that you told me in your prep information that you sent in that you're a member of the pink jacket group. What is that and what does it mean to be part of that group?

 

Speaker 2  17:45

What is it? Well, I don't, I can't really tell you all the criteria to it, because I don't know what it is, but it's a million dollar club. So you once you do a million dollars in sales, and you contribute and give back to the franchise, then you are selected by a board to be a part of that team. I think there are seven people, seven or eight maybe on it, and so I became a member last year. So it was, it's pretty it's an honor. You know, not everybody gets to do that. I was real shocked. I didn't expect it, because I never really look at my business from that perspective. I think I just do what I do, you know, and if it helps someone, then great. And if it don't, we'll try harder tomorrow.

 

Speaker 1  18:41

I love that. Well, I will say I'm having a attended three home franchise concepts convention and sat in on a two maids awards dinner. It's really special, and it does give you goosebumps being in the audience to see the members of the pink jacket group and those wearing the pink jackets to get up on stage and just I can see how the pride coming from that group. So congratulations, and look forward to seeing you at the convention next month in your pink jacket. So that's amazing. Let's shift gears a little bit and talk a little bit about some of the leading indicators that you watch in your business to know that your business is healthy. For those that are considering two maids, what's important to your business in terms of, obviously, you look at top line revenue, but what are some of the other economic indicators that you look at to know that your your business is healthy?

 

Speaker 2  19:37

Um, you know, I think the number of reoccurring cleans, you know that I'm having, I think that more than an overall revenue I look at I know how that each one of my teams has to be cleaning three houses or four houses a day, you know? And if they're not, then we have a problem. A lot of. Turnover. I don't have a lot of turnover in my office, but when you do, there's an issue. You know, when you got to figure out what that is, the culture within your office is super important. You know, we look, I look at the reviews and the ratings that come in every day, that's huge. It gives us a little bit of insight into the customer's perspective. Because, you know, at the end of the day, that's all that really matters. But listening to the employees, you just overall, being observant to the whole picture, you know, not just one thing. And so I think that's why don't focus on, you know, I know how much money is supposed to be in my bank account, and if it goes below that, and then we got a problem, you know? But I think those are probably, I'm not sure if that answers your question, but I think those are probably the main things that I look at, is the reviews and the feedback that we get from the customers and the staff.

 

Speaker 1  21:07

Yeah, no, no, that's really, that's really helpful and a great answer. How do you build a strong culture in your business? How do you work on culture?

 

Speaker 2  21:16

You know, I think sometimes I just feel like people ask me that question a lot, and in my brain, I'm like, we have it or you don't, you know, but that's not a fair answer, because I don't think that's true. I think that I don't look at my employees as my employees or my subordinates. I look at us as a team. And if they fail, I fail, if I fail, they fail. So, you know, it's about holding each other accountable. You know, every team needs a leader. That doesn't mean that the leader is better than everyone else. It just means that someone needs to take charge. And so if I need to go help my employees clean, I'm going early on. When I started this business, I cleaned way too many houses. Okay, you know, but that's part of it, is being a part of a team and caring about the staff. You know, my kids tell me all the time, they're like, well, they're just too close. You're too close to them. And I don't really see it as that, but you know, I know them. I know their kids. I know you know, it's about being a person, and I think that's what makes people relate to you. I mean, because we've all been at jobs that you might make a lot of money, but you hate the people you work with. You're not staying Okay. We've all been at crappy jobs where we loved our co workers, and we stayed longer than we should have. So to me, building a culture is actually caring about your staff, listening to them, being observant, and making them feel like you're proud of them, you're glad they came to work today. You know, recognizing if they're having a bad day, and not always. I mean, most of my employees are single moms, and so I think that those are the most informative years of our kids life. So if your kid has a program at school, go, you know, we'll cover it. We'll figure it out. We'll move a house, you know, or graduation, or whatever it is, because I think that's important. And I think that when you can relate to your staff, you know they're more likely to stay and be loyal to you. And that's what you're looking for in this industry, is loyalty. You want your customers to be loyal, and you want your employees to be loyal, and you can't, can't give what you don't get, so I don't do anything. I don't think I, you know, I couldn't write it down to tell you what I do. I just, I'm just part of their team. Yeah, I

 

Speaker 1  23:52

think, I think you do many things, but all of the things you just talked about all wrapped together, I'm sure make a very amazing culture in your business. Tell me about your work with Cleaning for a Reason and the Findlay projects, because I know you do a lot to give back to your community.

 

Speaker 2  24:09

You know Cleaning for a Reason was one of the deciding factors when I purchased two maids, my mother in law at the time had breast cancer, and she was very prideful and didn't want people to come into her house. And I felt like what a gift it would have been had we had that service. At the time, it was for breast cancer patients. Now it has evolved, and it's for anyone that's dealing with cancer. So we provide two free hours of cleaning services. Well actually a total of four. So they get two cleanings. They're two hours each free of charge. So they go through that process, and it has, it has really changed. Changed our perspective, and I say our because my team, too, you never really understand. You know, we clean houses and some are clean and some are dirty and some are nasty, okay? And sometimes you don't know why they're so dirty, but when you hear somebody else's story of what they've been through, I feel like it's a great way to give back, and there's just a sense of humility that comes with it, that everybody needs at some point or another. The Finley project is, you know, it's a project that we do free cleanings for someone that has lost a child, and that is, you know, unimaginable, you know, for me, and to be able to go into somebody's house and help them through such a difficult time, but at the same time being sensitive to their needs, you know, And what they've gone through. It's just the little things, you know, sometimes you don't really realize how much washing someone's dishes makes a difference in their day when they can't even get off the couch, you know. So it has been great, and we've had parents that you know, have came back and have shared their stories with us. Now, we had one little boy who had leukemia, and he, you know, he was not expected to make it, and he did, and his mom sent us a Christmas card, you know. So it's just the little things. It's a little way to give back to someone who needs that, because you really never know when you're going to be in that situation, and we're kind of, we're in a helping industry, you know, we're here to help make people's lives a little bit better every day.

 

Speaker 1  26:48

I think that's amazing. Well, thank you for all you do for your community, and in giving back through both of those amazing causes is commendable. So thank you to your and your team. Alright, well, I'm going to wrap us up. I like to end each podcast with this question. Give me your best answer. It doesn't have to be too, too long of thought, what's at the heart of franchising for you? Crystal, I

 

27:14

don't even know what that means. What's that mean at

 

Speaker 1  27:17

the heart it means to you? What does franchising mean to you and your business. What's the heart of a franchising for you, the heart of your business? What does it

 

Speaker 2  27:27

mean consistency? You know, everybody's doing the same. You know, we all have a system. We all follow it. You know, we all have the same common goals at the end of the day, some more than others, in different directions. But franchising, to me, is about having a team that you can rely on and that's consistent, and that you know, you know, is going to support you at the end of the day, positive or negative,

 

Speaker 1  28:03

I love that Well, thank you. And thank you crystal for joining me today.

 

Speaker 2  28:08

You're welcome. Thank you for having me. Yes.

 

Speaker 1  28:11

And thank you to our listeners. I hope you've learned a thing or two about the heart of franchising with two mates. To learn more about two maids, or any of our home franchise concepts, Family of Brands. Please visit home, franchise concepts.com. I hope you'll listen next time when we talk to another guest and get to the heart of franchise success. See you next time on the heart of franchising you.