Polishing Profits Podcast

Polishing Profits Podcast The podcast that helps cleaning business 🧼 owners grow their businesses, increase their profits, and

10/30/2025

Stop buying expensive perks and start connecting. Seriously.

Your profitable cleaning business doesn't need another unused ping-pong table. It needs you to be present.

It takes zero budget to remember an employee's favorite drink (a Monster and Doritos for Jose) or to do ten pushups when they beat your rag toss challenge. These moments are where trust is built and where your team decides to stay.

Culture isn't a program; it's the owner walking the talk. It's the daily conversations and the willingness to look silly for the team. This is the small business tip that separates high-turnover companies from high-performing teams.

What's the funniest thing you've done to connect with your team recently? 👇

10/26/2025

The 1.5 Rule: Can You Afford Growth?

Dreaming of that $100,000 monthly contract? The reality is the size of the contract is determined by the cash you have available.

Here's the 1.5 Rule for a profitable cleaning business: You need to have the equivalent of 1.5 months of the new contract's operating costs in liquid working capital. The first check often gets delayed (30, 45, or more days), and you need cash to cover payroll and supplies in the meantime.

If you don't have $150,000 in the bank (or readily available from reliable sources) for that $100,000 contract, you're playing with fire. Your working capital defines the size of the accounts you can pursue. Don't risk financial failure through over-ambitious growth.

Are you financially prepared for your dream contract?

10/24/2025

Cash Flow: The One Rule to Survive a Cleaning Business

The most crucial lesson we share on Polishing Profits, one that resonates with major business leaders like Kevin O'Leary, is the number one rule: never run out of cash. Many cleaning business owners confuse profit with cash on hand.

The danger lies in the Accounts Receivable (AR) cycle. That's why if you anticipate a shortage, you must have a financial safety net (a line of credit, for instance) already in place. This working capital planning is what allows you to pay payroll and vendors while waiting for client payments. If you want a profitable cleaning business that's bulletproof, plan your net! Subscribe for more financial management tips.

Does your business feel like a constant cycle of threats and costly mistakes? 📉 Most business owners believe growth is a...
10/22/2025

Does your business feel like a constant cycle of threats and costly mistakes? 📉 Most business owners believe growth is about luck, when in reality, it's about avoiding disaster.

We're launching our new series: The Pit and the Pendulum.

This series isn't about the daily headaches. It's about the strategic threats (the "pendulums") and the fatal errors (the "pits") that sink the profitability and scalability of a small business.

It's time to stop reacting. Learn how to anticipate the dangers you don't see coming.

Tune into the first episode and turn fear into foresight.

10/20/2025

The Owner Who Pawns His Tools
If you've been there, you know the terrifying desperation of dry cash flow. Seeing your trunk full of equipment (your working capital) while thinking about the pawn shop, or racing down the road waiting on the mail truck to deposit checks before 2 p.m.

This is the harsh reality of financial failure experienced by many profitable cleaning business owners. The priority is always to pay the people first, but often it comes at the expense of your own stability. If you're in this situation, you need a system change. Don't let your business push you to the brink!

Have you ever had to pull extreme financial stunts just to meet payroll?

10/17/2025

Winning a Client: Got $6,000 Cash Ready?
Winning an $8k-$9k commercial account is thrilling, but are you ready for the cash flow punch? A client of Sharon's was excited about a school contract until she faced the harsh reality: she'd need $5,000 to $6,000 in ready cash to cover the initial payroll.

Insurance companies don't wait, and neither do your employees. This is a common pitfall for owners moving from residential to commercial: failing to plan for the necessary working capital before the first check arrives. If you're not good with the numbers, don't ignore it: get help. Ignoring this is a sure path to financial failure.

Do you know the actual working capital cost for your next big account?

10/15/2025

The Golden Rule: Don't Run Out
The simplest, yet hardest, financial lesson we can give you is this: don't run out of cash. Many otherwise profitable cleaning business owners fail not due to lack of clients, but due to poor cash flow management.

We've seen owners with great paper profits run dry when it came time to meet payroll or buy supplies. Cash flow is the oxygen of your business. If your reserves are dwindling, that's a signal to take drastic action now. Control your finances before your finances control you.

What system do you use to monitor your cash flow on a daily basis?

10/13/2025

Business Horror: Avoid These Pitfalls
We're back with the new series you've been waiting for! After a well-deserved break (Ed on the beach, Sharon fighting alligators!), Polishing Profits returns with "The Pit and the Pendulum," where we uncover the horrors and terrors of running a business.

Most cleaning business owners face the same mistakes that stall growth. In this episode, we kick off by discussing the "Pitfalls," those common failures that steal your profitability and keep you stuck. We want you to avoid them, not fall into them.

What's the biggest "horror" or obstacle you're currently facing in your business?

10/11/2025

Owner, Get Up and Learn from Failure
The final responsibility rests with you. As a cleaning business owner, you can't point fingers at "those people" or "those factors" when things go wrong. You own your business, and only you have the power to take control and fix it.

Failure is inevitable, but defeat is not. It's just like the schoolyard: if you stay down, you lost. If you get up, you have a shot. The key to profitability and growth is to use every mistake as a learning opportunity and create a plan to ensure it never happens again. Don't stay down!

What is the most important lesson you've learned after a major setback in your cleaning business?

success

10/07/2025

Skipping Training Costs You Double
If you think skipping training saves you time, ask yourself how much it's really costing you. The single worst decision in cleaning service delivery is to skip employee training. The host learned the hard way when 30% of new staff walked out on the first night.

For serious cleaning business owners, the solution is to invest: budget 150% of the scheduled staff during the first week on large accounts. Why? Because the true cost of failing to train devours your profit in the form of overtime, turnover, and service failures. Stop cutting corners.

How much is lack of training costing your business in overtime right now?

10/05/2025

The Lie of Fake Profitability

Showing strong profitability on paper but having zero cash to pay the bills is the deadly trap for many cleaning business owners. Financial failure isn't always losing a client; it's the mismatch between your bottom line and your cash flow.

Ignoring your working capital can lead to catastrophic results. Our host shares the painful lesson of taking on $1.5 million in debt by failing to address personnel and operational issues in time. Don't wait for your line of credit to be the only way to meet payroll.

Are you measuring your cash flow as rigorously as your profit line?

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