Participate in the Success of Your Business

A few days ago, I stumbled across a newsgroup and a thread that discussed the crime scene cleanup industry.  Someone had written that the crime scene cleanup industry was over-saturated, no one could make any money and everyone was going out of business.  It was unclear as to whether or not this was an owner of a crime scene cleanup business or not, but I would tend to believe he was and his business was not doing well.

As the owner of several businesses, I know how hard it is to be a small business owner.  But, I also know how easy it can be once you get the hang of it.  Over the past fifteen years, I have had the opportunity to speak with a wide range of new business owners.  Time and time again, I’m asked the same question, “how do I succeed”.  Time and time again my response is, “participate in the success of your business”.  If you are a small business owner, the success or failure of your business is your responsibility and yours alone.  You must know your business as if it were an intimate part of your body.  You must love your business as much as you wish others to love your business.  And, you must nurture your business as if it were your only child.

As I look at all of the crime scene cleanup companies, both old and new, scattered across the county and in every imaginable nook and cranny of the internet, I see a common theme.  Those that survive can be found more often than those who fail.  It’s a common business principle I suppose.  If a potential client can’t find you, how will you be able to provide them with a service.  If you’re not providing a service, how can you stay in business.  Not withstanding all of the other aspects of managing a successful business, advertising and name recognition is an absolute must.  Whether your advertising budget is $100,000 a year or $10,000 a year, your business must be seen.

Going through several online directories such as: YellowPages.com, CleanupDirectory.com, YellowBook.com, Local.com, etc. I tend to find the same companies listed and generally they are listed near the top of the search results.  Some of these companies include: A1 Bi0-Clean Service, Caldecon, Bio-Trauma 911, Inc., Crime Scene Steri-Clean, Critical Incident Response, Fagala Biohazard Specialists LLC, Crime Scene Cleaners, Inc., Operation Cleanup, Stera Clean, BioHelp, TraumaClean, BioRecovery CorporationBiotrauma.com.  There are undoubtedly hundreds more crime scene cleanup companies out there, but these listed companies seem to be the ones that can be found when services are needed.

If you own a crime scene cleanup company and business is not good, start participating in the success of your business.  Take time to see if you can be found.  Take time to learn why you aren’t getting called upon to provide the services your business offers.  If you find that you can’t afford a $1,000 per month listing in YellowPages.com, choose a $10 listing with CleanupDirectory.com.  Find ten or fifteen other sites where you can either list your site for free or pay a small membership fee for a listing.  Look at other aspects of your business as well.  How can a client contact you?  Does a client get to speak with a real person, voicemail, an answering machine or an answering service?  Are you priced too high to be competitive?  Is your service area too small?

If you are a new business owner with little to no experience in the crime scene cleanup industry, a book was just released that may be able to help you.  Visit www.keybusinessideas.com/learn-a-business and take a look at “Crime & Trauma Scene Cleanup for Business Owners”.  You may find this book to have some of the answers you’ve been searching for.