Q&A with Mike Merrick, President of Fish Window Cleaning

After I finished college, I managed a Savings and Loan for seven years. Praying about a job change, I decided I wanted a career where I had more control over my day, my week, and my future. Running a business seemed the answer.

After looking at several possibilities, an H & R Block, a bookkeeping business, a coin operated laundry service, etc.; I bought this business from a man who at that time had a few regular accounts in the St. Louis area. He was doing $13,000 in glass cleaning, on a part time basis, which was more money than I was making at the Savings and Loan.

Thinking back, I was very naïve about the business. Once you really learn it, cleaning glass is the easy part. My background in business didn't teach me anything about being in business for myself. Learning to run and manage the business end is what was difficult. The challenge was learning the financial ratios, the ins and outs of sales and bidding, scheduling techniques, routing, billing, hiring, retaining employees, collecting, and the inside secrets that I have discovered the hard way through the years.

For instance, there is a frustrating inefficiency in the time it takes to schedule jobs if you don't know some of the tricks of the trade. It took me years to discover the way to do it. Once I did, scheduling time shortened dramatically, and profits rose, accordingly.

I believe I am to treat people in a way that they are always receiving full value for their money. I want to treat them in a manner that they want to be treated. I definitely attempt to practice and teach that the customer is always right, even when they are not!

Many service businesses, including cleaning businesses, can be very good. In our specific business, the amount of money a worker can gross per hour and consequently net per hour is much higher than in most cleaning businesses or other janitorial businesses, etc. I am confident that this is true in any market.

Another huge advantage is that our work is Monday through Friday, daytime work. This is very unusual for this industry. In twenty years, I could count on my fingers the number of times I've had to work on Saturday. I don't work on Sunday. If my guys ever do, it's strictly their option.

You are carrying a minimum inventory and not one that results in loss. In some respects, the business always remains a shoe string operation. You don't need thousands of dollars of depreciating or obsolete equipment. In fact, with good care, equipment nearly lasts forever. In comparison to most other businesses, the start-up, equipment, and inventory costs are very low.

We have a proven system. Every area of the business can be duplicated by the franchisee. The bugs have been worked out through the years. If you follow the system, you'll do well.

In retail, you've got to wait for the customer to come to you. In this business, you can go to your customer. Unlike a man I was talking to recently, who purchased a Mr. Good-Cents sandwich shop. His customer base is within a mile radius or two. If a Subway goes in across the street, he's sunk. My range of business activity is wide open. That is a definite plus.

The advantages go on. There are no serious national window cleaning companies that target our niche market. Usually there are a couple of serious companies in each city. But mainly, you're competing against guys that pick up a bucket and hit the street. They are not insured. They don't have a reputation. They come and go. They fail to run the business wisely. Therefore, even though we are a relatively small business, we are a major player in our metro area.

You've got to want to be a business owner. It's not always a picnic. Ultimately, every aspect of the business rises or falls with you because you are your company's leader. If you're one who hits your comfort zone early, this business is not for you. You can't wait for the phone to ring. You've got to get out and get the work. It's there, everywhere. But you've got to go out and sell it.

You've got to steadily work on dollar volume. How many jobs will we do today? How many new customers will we get today? Getting the jobs done is critical. I tell my guys, "It's time to rock n roll."

One misconception is that everyone immediately thinks that we do high-rise businesses downtown. Wrong!

Secondly, the misconception is that because the business is easy to get into, it must be easy to make money. Having a business and running and growing an effective business can be very, very different. The easy part is cleaning the glass. But there is so much more.

Another is, "I can run this from home." You need an office to recruit, retain, and interface with your employees. They're the people who really make your money for you. Let them know it's a real business by making it a real business.

The one other big misconception is how the business grows at start-up. I've had people say, "I'll start as a one-man-show and hire my first employee later." Again, not if you're serious about growth. We show the franchise owner how to grow so fast that they need their first window cleaning employee from day one!

I've thought about that extensively. And I like to keep things simple. Here are Mike Merrick's top five qualities for a franchisee:

Goal oriented person. Practically, we want to find franchisees that have a higher comfort level. Someone who easily reaches their comfort level will grow the business until they've got a decent income - it's not hard - and then they'll level off. We want to find franchisees willing to take the business to the next level. The opportunity is waiting.

Truly service centered. This has been a part of my philosophy from the beginning. It is not lip service to me. It is based in my values from the start of the day to the end. I insist the customer is king. If a customer isn't pleased, we ask "what will it take to make you happy?"

Sales drive. Once the goal is set and the commitment to service is there, this is a business driven by a determination to hit the street and sell. If you do, you will shine big. The work is there. The money is there. If you don't regularly sell, you will flop. There is no substitute.

The ability to manage employees. If you can't handle employees, you shouldn't do this business.

Personality. The customer buys your personality while paying for your service. The clean windows consistently come second to the window cleaner. If you aren't seen as a likeable person, this opportunity may not be for you.

Organized. Our system teaches every aspect of doing this business well. It just needs to be followed. This business can be a disaster to the person lacking organization, intent on doing their own thing.

I can probably boil it down to two words: Attitude and Aptitude. You need the right attitude, every single day. It's the "I will succeed" attitude that drives every successful business owner of every business - not just the window cleaning business. By "aptitude", I mean you need to have some inherent skills or the ability to learn them.

One other thing. When someone buys a Fish Window Cleaning franchise, one of the most valuable tools they get is 30 years of my mistakes. If you're buying our experience, make sure you use it.

If you are not selling, you will be moving backward. If you do sell, there is no ceiling for this business. In any decent size market in this country, if you had the job of cleaning all the glass within a one-mile radius of your business on a regular basis, you could not get it all done!

While about 75% of our revenue comes from our repeat commercial clients, we still do around 25% of our business on the residential side. Often, the managers and owners of the businesses we service ask us to clean the windows on their homes. Newer homes are glass monsters. They have 2-3 times the amount of glass they used to. Shopping centers are sprouting up everywhere. They all have glass. It is not cost effective for a business to clean its own glass. When they do, the quality is poor.

The service industry will continue to grow. While manufacturing and much industry has moved overseas, the glass in your city is not going anywhere. All the technological advances will not take care of dirty windows!

How much do you want to make and what will the business owner put into it? With our knowledge and training, your return is directly related to your effort. There is no ceiling. It is a very profitable business, unquestionably. I can show you the financial ratios. They work out, in any city, anywhere.

For me, making a go of it in the early years was more related to my ignorance in running this type of business -- bidding properly, prioritizing my time, scheduling, hiring people, keeping the books, keeping up with the IRS, and all the issues of management. Incidentally, that's why buying a franchise is such an economical way to go.

I might add, I was never afraid to go out and be the salesman. I believe my success, in part, is due to this. In the first couple of years, you have to focus your time on growth and development.

Everything we do is focused on enabling and effecting the positive growth of the franchise owners. We don't sell products to our franchise owners to make money. When we negotiate pricing with our vendors, the franchise owners see the savings. Our income is from royalties. That forces us into a position of being interested and motivated to do everything possible to help the franchise owner grow his business. We will go the extra mile because our success financially and as a franchise system is based on the franchisees' success. We won't forget that for a minute.

Of course, we can't do the business for someone, but we desperately want and need to see the franchisee succeed. We'll help him in every detail of his operation with a special concentration on building a customer base, bidding, and how to get the work done profitably.

I really do want to see the franchisee succeed, because I want to see my franchise creation succeed. Franchising this business has been in my heart for years, and I'm going to see it through. Any one who knows me very well would not dare question that.