Happy Birthday,CBT! Our First Year in Review

CBT celebrates its first year of delivering the best news and business information to cleaning business owners.

[EasyDNNnewsToken:Left Justify Embed 300 x 250]As we release the thirteenth issue of Cleaning Business Today, we reflect on the wonders of our first year of bringing you breaking news, unique insights, hidden issues, videos and downloads of business tools, and controversial ideas and projections for the future.

As you read this article, take a moment first to look at the screen. It’s different from last month and the 11 previous months. For our anniversary, we’ve upgraded our digital magazine to a sleek new format so that you can more easily:
 – Search the entire issue for any word or phrase
 – Make the page bigger by double-tapping or double-clicking on the screen
 – Flip pages any way you like on your phone/tablet – tap the ? to personalize your settings
 – Bookmark specific articles
 – Share and print an individual article
 – Watch videos without changing webpages or apps
 – Skim the entire issue on Slide Show mode – without ever tapping the screen or clicking your mouse

Why? Because clearly cleaning business owners and industry leaders crave this new focus on the whole business:
 – 600 average views per article
 – 30,000 page views/month
 – 2,200 unique visitors/month
 – 3,750 total visitors/month

Cleaning business owners are spending a lot of time in the magazine, using the Search Bar to find articles on the topics that challenge them most as they work hard to grow their businesses. 

MOST READ / MOST POPULAR

Future of the Industry
Our first feature article, “Future of the Industry” remains our most read article. When we break down the average monthly views for every article we have ever published, this one is at the top. What’s truly revealing is that the expectations for the industry and its development are materializing right before our eyes!

Runner Up: May Extra: Cleaner’s Corner (free download)
Third Place: Midnight Adventures in Business Ownership

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

In our first year, Cleaning Business Today published over 330 original articles and news commentary and featured more than 60 contributors from within and outside of the cleaning industry. 

Don Aslett, The Last Word Columnist
As our original Last Word columnist, Don Aslett used his unique perspective to reflect on the theme of each issue and offer motivation for all of us to continue working toward a unified, professionalized and respected industry.

Other Favorites Columnists: 
Gary Goranson, Leadership, HouseCleaningBiz101.com
Cherylanne Skolnicki, The Big Picture, Nourish
Rebecca Spath, The Big Picture, Breathing Room Therapies

MOST TALKED ABOUT

House Cleaning Marketplace Gains $38M for New Developments
Join the Discussion on LinkedIn 

Dealing with Theft
Join the Discussion on LinkedIn 

Do Traditional Small Cleaning Businesses Face Extinction?
Join the Discussion on Facebook

MOST POPULAR NEWS RELEASES

Oreck Bankruptcy in May 2013
Not long after launching that first issue, we were able to break our first story with Oreck’s announcement of the bankruptcy filing of their consumer division. We’ve been privileged to continue breaking some of the most sensational stories of 2013 and into 2014.

Runner Up: Two Maids and A Mop Franchises
Third Place: XCharge Credit Card Processing Users to Pay $199 for Class Action Settlement Services

MOST DOWNLOADED

Scheduling Software Comparison Chart
In June 2013, CBT led the Information Technology issue with an unprecedented feature comparison of eight of the most commonly used customer management, scheduling, and field services systems in the cleaning industry. This article and its downloadable chart have become the single most viewed items we’ve ever published, and that’s why we’re repeating and expanding the comparison again for the June 2014 IT issue.

Runner Up: Cleaning Chore List for Kids
Third Place: Calculate Pay or Play Costs to Your Cleaning Business
Fourth Place: Pet Hair Removal

MOST WATCHED VIDEO

Calculating Employee Turnover Rate
Hands down, measuring employee turnover – or how quickly your employees leave and you have to get new ones – is our hottest KPI and video article. Publisher Tom Stewart narrates you through a spreadsheet showing you how to calculate the rate; especially when paired with the companion video on The Cost of Employee Turnover, knowing and using this metric is a huge bonus in helping you keep costs down.

Runner Up: Understanding the Basic Science of the pH Scale and What it Means for Your Cleaning Supplies

Third Place: Hydrogen Peroxide: New Uses for an Old Household Favorite

THE TEAM

Tom Stewart and his wife, Janice Stewart, are co-owners of Castle-Keepers, the 1st company to achieve CIMS certification. Tom is a nationally-recognized leader & innovator in the house cleaning industry. He is co-founder and Publisher of Cleaning Business Today.

Derek Christian is founder and owner of My Maid Service, Cincinnati’s largest, independent professional cleaning company. Prior to that, he spent twelve years at P&G working on household cleaning products. Derek is co-founder and Editor in Chief of Cleaning Business Today.

CeCe Mikell is Editorial Director for Cleaning Business Today, coming to the cleaning industry from a 15-year career as a college professor of communication and business. She also works with several cleaning business owners on business development projects.

Austin Walker is Production Manager for Cleaning Business Today. He has over three decades of experience in television and corporate video production, including four years with CNN and seven years in managment at an ABC affiliate.