Chemical-Free Cleaning? Now this is truly green cleaning,

In a press release dated September 22nd, our friend and president of Charleston, South Carolina- based Modern Cleaning, Tom Stewart announced a revolutionary new cleaning methodology that is completely chemical free. That's right, totally chemical free cleaning. You can't get any greener than that!

Before you raise your eyebrows in doubt, it might help to know that this chemical-free system was successfully tested in over 5,000 Charleston homes before this announcement.

Modern Cleaning offers training materials and consulting services that will allow schools, hotels, and cleaning contractors to train staff on how to clean chemical free and enlighten all stakeholders of the benefits of being cleaner, safer, and greener.


"What we're doing goes far beyond house cleaning, because we're not just selling cleaning equipment. We are changing a paradigm, " says Stewart. "One day kids will be asking 'why did we ever clean with chemicals?', and the fact remains today that we clean the same way that we have for decades. Our aim here at Modern Cleaning is to help lead the evolution of the way that we clean."

This sounds to me like an exciting and ground-breaking innovation that everyone involved in the professional cleaning industry needs to investigate and at least be aware of. Tom's site is under construction, but you can get an excellent overview of what Modern Cleaning and its products are all about at http://www.moderncleaning.com/WhyChemicalFree.aspx .


Tom Stewart is the founder and president of Castle Keepers, one of America's largest and most successful residential cleaning services. Castle Keepers is the only home cleaning service in the world to achieve the Cleaning Industry Management Standard Certification (CIMS) through ISSA. For more information on the CIMS and its criteria for certification, please visit http://www.castle-keepers.com/CIMS .

The Arizona Law. What’s the big fuss about?

I find all the fuss the present U.S. administration is making over Arizona’s stance on illegal aliens is rather bemusing. The fact of the matter is, the Federal Government has had stricter laws dating back to 1986 on the responsibility employers have of checking the eligibility of job applicants to work in the United States.


When we began compiling information for our training materials on operating a residential cleaning business back in 1995, we included a segment on Federal and State legal employment issues. One of those issues was IRCA, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This Act shifted the burden of compliance with INS law to employers. Unlike other laws, this one even applies to employers with as few as one employee. Failure to comply with this law can result in stiff penalties.


Here, in part are excerpts from the current HANDBOOK FOR EMPLOYERS regarding the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9).


"In 1986, Congress reformed U S immigration laws These reforms, the result of a bipartisan effort, preserved the tradition of legal immigration while seeking to close the door to illegal entry The employer sanctions provi¬sions, found in section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), were added by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) These pro¬visions further changed with the passage of the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 Employment


Employment is often the magnet that attracts individu¬als to reside in the United States illegally The purpose of the employer sanctions law is to remove this magnet by requiring employers to hire only individuals who may legally work here: citizens and nationals of the United States, lawful permanent residents, and aliens authorized to work To comply with the law, you must verify the identity and employment authorization of each person you hire, complete and retain a Form I-9 for each em¬ployee, and refrain from discriminating against individu¬als on the basis of national origin or citizenship (See Part Four for more information on unlawful discrimination ) Form I-9 helps employers to verify individuals who are authorized to work in the United States You should com¬plete a Form I-9 for every new employee you hire after November 6, 1986


Employers must retain completed Forms I-9 for all employees for 3 years after the date they hire an employee, or 1 year after the date employment is terminated, whichever is later. These forms can be retained in paper, microfilm, microfiche, or electronically.


The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created an executive department combining numerous federal agencies with a mission dedicated to homeland security On March 1, 2003, the authorities of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) were transferred to three new agencies in the U S Department of Homeland Security (DHS): U S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U S Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) The two DHS immigration components most involved with the matters discussed in this Handbook are USCIS and ICE USCIS is responsible for most documentation of alien employment authorization, for Form I-9 itself, and for the E-Verify employment eligibility verification program ICE is responsible for enforcement of the penalty provisions of section 274A of the INA, and for other immigration enforcement within the United States


Hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized aliens


If DHS determines that you have knowingly hired un¬authorized aliens (or are continuing to employ aliens knowing that they are or have become unauthorized to work in the United States), it may order you to cease and desist from such activity and pay a civil money penalty as follows:


1. First Offense: Not less than $375 and not more than $3,200 for each unauthorized alien;


2. Second offense: Not less than $3,200 and not more than $6,500 for each unauthorized alien; or


3. Subsequent Offenses: Not less than $4,300 and not more than $16,000 for each unauthorized alien.


DHS will consider you to have knowingly hired an unauthorized alien if, after November 6, 1986, you use a contract, subcontract or exchange, entered into, renegotiated or extended, to obtain the labor of an alien and know the alien is not authorized to work in the United States. You will be subject to the penalties set forth above.


Failing to comply with Form I-9 requirements


If you fail to properly complete, retain, and/or make available for inspection Forms I-9 as required by law, you may face civil money penalties in an amount of not less than $110 and not more than $1,100 for each violation.


In determining the amount of the penalty, DHS consid¬ers:


1. The size of the business of the employer being charged;


2.The good faith of the employer;


3.The seriousness of the violation;


4.Whether or not the individual was an unauthorized alien; and


5.The history of previous violations of the employer.


To get copy of the Employer’s Handbook on this issue and download a copy of the I-9, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/m-274.pdf

Again, I ask you:  What's all the fuss about now?  Arizona might consider suing the Federal Government for interference with its right to enforce it's own long-standing laws.

An Inspirational Video 1 - The Law Of Attraction

When I hear, “All my business comes from referrals,” it sends up a red flag.

There is no argument to the fact that a referral from an existing client is about the best advertising you can get. The problem is that, when I hear the above statement from someone in the residential cleaning business, it tells me two things:

1. They have a very small customer base; and, 
2. They’re not growing very quickly

Think about it. How often does the topic of house cleaners come up at cocktail parties or around the water cooler at work? How many people scream from the rooftops about how terrific their cleaning service is? How many of your clients actively bird-dog for you in their neighborhoods? Well . . . .?

Oh, yes, I am a great believer in generating business from referrals. I built a very large business on doing just that, without any additional marketing activity. This program was the vehicle that helped produce thousands of sales per month for my organization. But it didn’t happen passively. It was because of a very aggressive referral program which rewarded current customers for actively referring friends, relatives, coworkers and neighbors.

However, when I hear owners – almost always owners who are out there cleaning homes themselves – say, “All my business comes from referrals,” I know those referrals generally come far and few between. Perhaps a neighbor saw the car pull up like clockwork every second Tuesday and noticed one or more people taking cleaning equipment and supplies into the client’s home; then decided to ask the client who was doing the cleaning and how satisfied they are. Or, a coworker was asking around the office if anyone could recommend a good house cleaner. These are what I call “accidental referrals.”

I suppose if a person lives long enough and remained fit enough over the years to continue cleaning homes themselves, they could eventually grow a decent size client base through accidental referrals. As a practical matter, “it ain’t gonna happen.” This may be fine for people content to act as self-employed house cleaners, but certainly not for anyone who wants to build a serious business and achieve critical mass as soon as possible.

Don’t be Passive about Seeking Referrals

If we’re willing to invest in adverting media to attract clients – and $150 to attract a new client is not out of line, does it not stand to reason we can afford to reward our clients for sending new business our way? In fact, it’s pretty safe to say that a referral from an existing client is pretty much presold before you even visit to come up with a price for the referred prospect. But don’t wait for this to happen passively.

Create a formal “Referral Reward Program” and aggressively promote it to existing clients. Put it in writing. Explain that their team still has openings and explain what areas or neighborhoods you can accept new clients in. If they refer someone not in an area that their team serves during any week, tell the client you have other teams equally as good who would be happy to accommodate people your client refers. Then, consider giving your client some “$50 OFF FIRST TIME CLEANING” coupons to hand out on your behalf. Have a “Offer good until…” date on the coupon. Now, you can reward your client for each successful referral in one of two ways:

(a) Offer a $100 cash reward for each new client referred; or,

(b) Offer one or two free cleanings for each new client referred.

Remember, if the average client represents $3,000/year in revenues, this equates to an average of 5% of revenues – a more than reasonable client acquisition fee. To be successful, a paid referral program needs to be lucrative enough to encourage clients to go out of their way to dig up some new business for you. And unlike other forms of conventional media (other than, say, Croupon.com or LivingSocial.com), you don’t pay money up front to generate the new business.

• Note: My suggestion of giving a $50 off discount coupon sounds contradictory to my stated position on using discounts to attract new clients. However, this scenario is a little different. Your client may be more open to solicit new customers on your behalf by offering their friends a special deal they would not otherwise receive.   Just make sure it is significant enough to be considered of value to both your client and to the person to whom they give the certificate.

In the meantime, don’t wait for passive referrals from your clients. For that matter, even an aggressive paid referral program should take place in tandem with neighborhood door hanger campaigns or whatever other form of advertising works for you. That is … if you do want to grow a substantial, successful and profitable residential cleaning business.