What steps are necessary for business owners to gain respect from employees? Being consistent and establishing a self-care routine is the key.
You are the most important part of your cleaning business. It’s important to create a schedule to follow that will enrich your mind, body, and spirit.
Practice routines to reduce stress, relieve pressure at work, and earn respect from others.
Listen: Business Owners to Gain Respect
Watch: Business Owners to Gain Respect
Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer. You can find this and 400 other answered questions in this series on our YouTube channel.
Tips for Business Owners to Gain Respect From Your Employees
What are some tips for business owners to gain respect from your employees when you’re starting in the cleaning business? A house cleaner wrote in with this question. “I have a small business and this is my first time as a boss. So, I’m wondering if you have any tips on what I shouldn’t do, that way my employee won’t be disrespectful towards me.”
Right now as a small business owner getting started you have a chance to create a company culture that will stand the test of time. The very first thing that you need is consistency.
Now, it’s very hard as you’re starting a business to kind of find your footing and to be consistent. But it starts with you. Every morning when you get up, get up at the same time every single day. The very first thing every day you need to do is to take care of yourself. If you take care of yourself, then you can take care of your customers. Then you can take care of your employees, but you can’t take care of either of them unless you take care of you first.
Start By Taking Care of Yourself
Start by taking care of yourself first. And that will build a lot of respect for your employees and with your customers. The very first thing to do is to pick a time. Make it early like 5:00 o’clock in the morning, get up every single day at the same time.
You’re going to exercise every single day at the same time. And make sure that you do something smart for your mind during that time. Either read, listen to a podcast, do something that builds your business smart.
You’re going to work on your mind, you’re going to work on your body, then you’re going to take a shower. You’re going to get your hygiene correct. Brush your teeth, do your hair, your face, your makeup, get dressed, put your uniform on, and be consistent.
Your Employees Will See Your Consistency
So that when your employees show up in the morning, what they see is they have a well put together boss who is consistent every single day. If they’re showing up at your house to pick up their cleaning supplies and you’ve rolled out of bed, that is not going to build respect.
Even if you don’t feel like it, even if you have cramps and you feel miserable and you don’t want to do it. If you get up every single day and you look like you’re put together when they arrive, that’s going to transcend into their business as well.
That’s the feeling they’re going to take with them to a customer’s house. “My boss is put together, this is a real company”, even if you’re working out of your home.
Be Consistent with Employees and Customers
Another tip for small startup business owners is to be consistent with your employees and with your customers.
If you say, “I’m going to be here at a certain time,” make sure that you or your people are on the job at a certain time every single day.
If your customers can come to expect the consistency from you, they’ll tell all their friends. They’ll say “Hey, my house cleaning company is super consistent. I love the way that they always show up on time.”
Always Do the Same Job to Gain Respect
Do the same job. Don’t be winging it and reinventing the job every time. Create a system so that you clean toilets the exact same way every single time. That you clean vanities the exact same way every single time.
You do your dusting process the same exact way every single time. What happens is your employees become comfortable and familiar. Then if they have a bad day or if they don’t feel good, they can still go and do the exact same cleaning job. And that translates into the exact same satisfaction from the customer.
And so, the customers become dependent on that consistency. When you have the consistency that you can depend on from them that your customer’s going to pay on time, that your employee is going to do the job on time. Everyone is working off the same page.
Consistently Pay Your Employees to Gain Respect
The next thing is to pay your employees consistently every single time. And so, if you say payday is on Friday, don’t push it to Saturday. Don’t push it to Monday.
Whatever the situation is if you say they get paid on a certain day, make sure you pay them on a certain day. There are little things like that. But it comes down to consistency because every time you remove the guesswork from your business, you remove the pressure and noise. And this is all the stress and the anxiety and stuff that consumes small business owners. When they’re making special accommodations and the employees come in and they say, “Hey, can you advance me money two days in advance?”
And you’re like, “Well, let me think about that.” Now you have new stress and new pressure. Say, “I’m sorry we’re not a bank. I can only pay you on Friday,” if that’s when payday is. Now they will have to train themselves, there is no advance money. They can’t come in and ask for an advanced loan. They have to make sure that they show up and do their job. If they don’t show up and they don’t do the job, don’t pay them.
Have Rules in Place and Follow Through
Make rules in place and then be consistent in following through. That will generate more reliability with your employees. It will generate more respect and it will be something that your employees and your customers can count on. Become the employer that everyone can count on, including you, so you can count on yourself.
There are lots of bad things that happen as a business owner, lots of bad things, and then life gets in the way. Things happen and life goes all whack a doodle on you sometimes. And the only survival you’re going to have as a business owner is you go back to those systems. Because no matter what happens, you know you’re going to get up every day.
You’re going to work out, you’re going to exercise, you’re going to smarten your mind a little bit. And you’re going to look sharp when your employees arrive, they’re going to look sharp when they arrive, they’re going to go to a consistent job. You’re going to get regular money coming in from the customer, and so, the consistency is where the secret lies as a small business owner. That will generate more respect from everybody that you work with.
Resources
These good karma links connect you to Amazon.com and affiliated sites that offer products or services that relate to today’s show.
The Little Book of Daily Rituals: Simple self-care routines to refresh your mind, body and spirit – https://amzn.to/3b7npYU
Practicing Mindfulness: 75 Essential Meditations to Reduce Stress, Improve Mental Health, and Find Peace – https://amzn.to/35FxgE8
How to win Friends & Influence People – https://amzn.to/2Wctb7x
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones – https://amzn.to/2WdRu4R
Real Leaders Don’t Boss: Inspire, Motivate, and Earn Respect from Employees – https://amzn.to/2SL1mRn
Permissions To Share
You Have Our Permission To Share This Episode
Show Sponsor
Savvy Cleaner Training – House Cleaner Training and Certification
My Cleaning Connection – Your hub for all things cleaning.
HouseCleaning360 – A hub connecting homeowners with house cleaners
Savvy Perks – Employee benefits for your employees.
Turnover Cleaning Tips – for Vacation Rental and Airbnb Hosts
