About Derek Christian

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So far Derek Christian has created 152 blog entries.

How to prepare for the back-to-school surge

Why you should start recruiting now, even if it doesn’t look like you need more cleaners. For most of our home cleaning businesses there are two big surges in demand. The first is the annual Spring cleaning surge. The second one is back-to-school season.  Once the kids go back to school and the family gets [...]

By |2020-09-22T12:38:23-05:00August 3rd, 2016|Sponsored Articles|

Angie’s List brings the hammer down

Additional changes to angieslist.com will fundamentally alter your relationship with the company. - by Derek Christian Angie's List continues to make very large changes as they move to more of an advertiser supported model. We have included the text of an email (below) that was sent to us by a reader. Other readers have reported [...]

By |2020-09-28T14:15:55-05:00August 2nd, 2016|Sales and Marketing, Technology|

What’s the best way to pay your employees?

The pros and cons of hourly vs commission, plus compensation plans in between - by Derek Christian One of the most common questions we hear from cleaning services, especially startups, is “What is the best way to pay your employees?” There are basically two options, hourly and commission rate, with some variations of the [...]

By |2020-09-25T14:06:44-05:00July 26th, 2016|Staff Management, Start Your Cleaning Business|

How my dad taught me to be a leader – by Derek Christian

While I look up to him for his success, I am even more proud of how he did it. My dad, George Christian, passed away 13 years ago this October. I feel a need to tell you all about him. I am not sure why. Maybe because I think it will help you understand me or at [...]

By |2024-02-12T20:22:04-05:00July 18th, 2016|Leadership, Leadership Habits|

3 things to train your employees so they avoid an explosive situation

Make sure your cleaning techs are familiar with precautions for homes with natural gas. I was reading in one of the Facebook Groups about someone that had a client cancel service today because they came home to find the house filled with gas. The cleaners had accidentally left the one of the stove’s gas [...]

By |2020-10-05T15:01:40-05:00June 30th, 2016|Sponsored Articles|

An attendance policy that actually works!

Get a handle on call-outs with a policy that's simple, fair & effective. A common topic we see on our message boards is attendance policies. A lot of people are always looking for advice on this subject. I am going to share mine in a moment, but there are two things you need to [...]

By |2020-10-06T13:57:54-05:00June 30th, 2016|Sponsored Articles|

Guerrilla Marketing: How to rake in leads at summer events

Quick, inexpensive guerrilla marketing tactics for your cleaning business It's summertime, which here in Cincinnati means it is summer festival time. Every weekend in Cincinnati, somewhere there is festival of some kind. It’s the same in most of your cities as well. Having a booth at these festivals can be a great way to [...]

By |2020-10-06T14:19:44-05:00June 30th, 2016|Sponsored Articles|

3 ways to keep your employees healthier and happier in hot weather

Beat the heat with this “summer heat employee manual”We are having another record breaking summer for temperatures. As a good employer, you need to think about what this means for your employees. 1. Air Conditioning Many of our clients have programmable thermostats that turn up the temperature during the day when they are not home. This is [...]

By |2016-06-28T14:30:53-05:00June 28th, 2016|Sponsored Articles|

How to keep clients on the schedule during summer vacations

Avoid those pesky summer skips, cancels, and reschedules with these 3 easy tips.It is summer. That means it is summer vacation time! Yeah! Oh wait. I did not mean your vacation. I’m sorry, I meant your clients are going on vacation. Which means skips, cancels, and reschedules, oh my. Nothing can suck the joy out of summer as quickly as [...]

By |2016-06-24T19:46:13-05:00June 24th, 2016|Sponsored Articles|

How to start a cleaning business for under $500

7 key purchases for starting your own residential cleaning businessOne of the great things about the cleaning industry is you can get started for very little money. After several years of meeting with hundreds of cleaning business owners, I have noticed that those that start with the least money are usually more successful in the long [...]

By |2016-06-15T20:17:17-05:00June 15th, 2016|Finance, Start Your Cleaning Business|
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