What can 46 years in the cleaning industry teach you about building a business that actually lasts?
In this episode of The Cleaning Journey, Misa sits down with Kevin Kluth, who started doing janitorial work at just 18 years old in 1980. What began with a few office-cleaning accounts eventually grew into carpet cleaning, specialized rug washing, a team of employees, and more than four decades of lessons about business, leadership, training, and growth.
Kevin shares why one of his biggest lessons was learning to stop doing everything himself, how he trained employees to serve clients without him, and why cleaning business owners should build a company that could eventually operate — or even be sold — without depending entirely on the owner.
They also get into:
• How Kevin landed his first cleaning accounts through referrals
• Why he transitioned from janitorial work into carpet cleaning
• Why he chose rug washing over restoration work
• The slow-season promotion he's used for more than a decade
• Why hiring a bookkeeper or accountant is worth the money
• How to train technicians you can actually trust
• Why owners who stay on every job need to charge accordingly
• The importance of professional training and certification
• Why social media isn't a replacement for real education
• Building systems that allow the business to run without you
• Creating a company someone would actually want to buy
• Why there are nearly unlimited niches inside the cleaning industry
• What Kevin would tell an owner who's only one or two years into the journey
After more than four decades in the industry, Kevin's message is simple: keep learning, surround yourself with people who are better than you at what they do, build systems, and don't spend your entire career trapped inside the technician role.
If you're building a cleaning business and wondering what it takes to stay in the game for the long haul, this episode is for you.
Subscribe to The Cleaning Journey for more conversations with cleaning business owners and industry leaders sharing the real lessons behind building, growing, and leading a cleaning company.
#CleaningBusiness #Entrepreneurship #CarpetCleaning #BusinessGrowth #TheCleaningJourney
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