Mrs. C.B. is leaving tomorrow. I can't believe how much I'm going to miss her and her husband. She's given me a list of things to do around her house - watering plants, etc. We'll be in touch. It's just sad that they're leaving.

I was talking to one of Mr. C.B.'s personal care givers who said that I have all the symptoms of a virus that is going around in the "caregiver world" She said that several of her patients and two of her co-workers have gotten a nasty virus the main symptoms of which are "nausea, vertigo and that flu-like blah feeling". According to her "If you're prone to balance problems & have been hanging around doctors offices, you were probably a sitting duck" Lovely.

She says it takes about 3 weeks to go away. Oh well, I guess knowledge is power.

Yesterday, I took on another client who just wants her bathroom cleaned. She's another pleasant person - how long CAN my good luck last in this regard? She saw my flyer at the bank. I hope that she will see the good job I do on the bathroom and engage me for more services. She said she had two cleaning services in the past: one left a streaky floor in the above mentioned bathroom, the other hit the baseboard molding with a heavy duty vac and took a huge chunk out of it. They left no note, no apology.

When we met for me to estimate the job she was very clear about what she wanted - which is GREAT! I love it when people tell me exactly what they expect. There's nothing worse than having somebody say, "oh whatever is no big deal" and then find out later that it IS a big deal. This lady wants her bathroom detail cleaned, and there are some challenges in there such as brass fixtures which have the tendancy to turn green, and lots of tile with bright white grout everywhere. And she wants that grout to continue to BE bright white. Consequently, I was able to estimate the amount of time it would take me to do the job correctly and give her an appropriate estimate ( which I noticed she felt was a bargain. Hmm)

That steam cleaner was such a good investment. It worked like a charm. It didn't streak that shiney tile floor a bit so I was able to handle the worst "bugaboo" of the job in a snap. It also powered off the verdigris on the copper. Some of the grout still had to be toothbrush cleaned and some of the grout is worn away from aggressive cleaning in the past, but the customer is aware of that.

So.

I put another ad in the free newspaper that gets delivered with the mail to homes in the southern part of the county, where I don't yet have much business, but where incomes are higher. I wonder if I have much competition down there? I suspect I might. The last time, when my dad put an ad in the county paper for me ( it also went in the free papers) all the calls I got were from people who had seen the ad in the free paper. Since ads in the free paper were a LOT cheaper and I'd had sucess with them already, that's what I went with.

And I know somebody saw them because I got calls from two Yellow Pages reps right away trying to sell me space. ( sigh) And I was really horrid to the Yellow Pages reps, too. I don't mean I was nasty or rude...I just turned the call around on them and tried to sell them housekeeping services. They both freaked out and hung up. I guess nobody expects to be pitched in the middle of doing their pitch.

If only I had some $$ to advertise!

Meanwhile, I'm back on card and flyer detail. I did a new flyer with a "fall housekeeping" theme, and am working on a new one with a "holiday clean up - makes a great gift" theme. I am all the way out of my shell ( now there's a scary visual!) in grocery stores and doctor's offices. I wear my apron EVERYWHERE, and have cards in the pockets. I had 250 business cards when I started and I am almost out. I ordered more from Vista Print....but they haven't shown up yet. I've gotten lots of requests for cards even. "Let me pass this on to my neighbor/mother/client"- but no CALLS yet.

I'm starting to know why many businesses fail within their first year. Their founders become obsessed with staring at the phone and go insane.

Of course, when the C.B.'s do leave, I will have more time to put into making connections: going to Chamber of Commerce Events, maybe an SBA class ( though they're notoriously unhelpful in this county) I shouldn't be such a maverick. I can also solicit businesses for cleaning services now that I've got my liability insurance certificate.

My clients are out there. I've just got to connect with 'em.