Hey Everyone!

I just got back form the Convention and was exhausted!  What a great time.  All the energy, all the new people, all the staff working hard to make everything flow!  WOW!  Anyway, many of you did not get a chance to talk to me so I thought I would start a blog so we can communicate about anything you'd like to ask me that did not happen at convention.  Also, throughout the year, I'll be blogging about the current thoughts on my business, what's going on up here in Wisconsin, and how I manage multiple territories.  I would like to encourage everyone to ask me whatever you'd like to ask me about!  PLEASE!  I am not creative enough to dream up stuff to talk about.  This is about relaying my experiences to anyone interested.  Take my words as ideas, not rules, and keep in mind Fish is monitoring us...so this is about how I've "advanced" an already fantastic system. Occasionally, I will speak my mind aboput politics, government, and some things near and dear to my heart.  If you don't like what I say, unsubscribe.  If you like what I say, give me feedback!  I look forward providing content on an irregular weekly basis.  If you'd like to reply privately, please do so, my email is espeseth@fishwindowcleaning.com.  Talk to you soon!

Thanks for this, Tony. It's great that you're taking time out of your busy schedule to help your fellow franchisees. Just like at the convention, I'm sure you'll be bombarded with questions!

Tony, I'd also like to thank you for committing to this blog. And, I thought the convention this year was fantastic as well. Maybe you could expound on your experience starting out. It's pretty scary for us newbies, sometimes. What advice would you give? How did you get to the level of success that you have achieved? I would love to hear your experience. Thanks, again for doing this. Paul

Paul, right from the word "Go" I have had a daily dedication to sales. Every day there is someone out there asking for work, street bidding, cold calling, whatever you want to call it. The sales person's position is just as important as the cleaner's. When a cleaner calls in sick, the cleaning still gets done. Either the other pick up some more work, or they work a Saturday, or the Operations Manager, or ultimately myself, the owner steps in to get the work done, right? Well the same thing applies to sales....I hired an Operations Manager after 18 months in business. Instead of cleaning, he ran the staff, the office, and sold the rest of the time. When he slowed his selling and started spending more time in the office, he was let go due to poor sales. The next Manager, my current one still sells as much as he can. As we grew and he got very busy managing staff, I hired a salesman, Tyler, my current salesman. All along the way though, when someone can't be selling our services, someone else must step in and get it done. Growing my business has always had the same importance as getting the work done.....equal importance! Some franchisees stop selling when the going gets rough, cleaners quit, are slow to learn, or whatever....but this stops growth, and you end up stuck in the same sales level. You need to GROW past your staffing problems...if the cleaners quit because they don't make enough money, more sales solves that issue. More sales solves innefficient routes, financial woes, and produce economies of scale on your fixed costs like rent and the phone. When Fish tells you to sell, they mean it. Sales has mostly solved all the problems with the business, therefore an undying, unwavering DAILY dedication to more sales is the key to grow past your startup pains. And remember, I was there too, once!