Those of you who have read my blog in the past realize one thing. I believe that we as cleaners are an under recognized bunch. I often mention the story from my youth of when I was 19. Young and foolish I guess, I mentioned to my grandfather that I didn’t want to be a salesman. His career of 58 years was all spent in sales in one capacity. So I am sure when I heard this from him that he might have just been a tiny bit offended.
In what was definitely a teenage moment I said to him. My father has told me that if I want to take over his business some day that I will have to learn to sell. By learning to sell he meant doing so for 10 or 12 years before I started to learn the intricacies of management. In my infinite wisdom I countered with. I always wanted to own my own business or be a professional.
Immediately I knew that I had ruffled feathers by his response. “Chris, what do you mean by professional? Are you saying that you want to be a lawyer?” Yes I said. Or a Chemical Engineer or maybe an Architect. “Chris you have it all wrong!” He told me. “No matter who you are, no matter what you do, as soon as you receive a paycheque for your work efforts. YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL” A little surprised but clueless nonetheless the conversation faded off into his aches and pains.
A few years later as I was training a group of cleaners I heard a voice say, “If we are expected to do this we are going to have to get paid a lot better. What do they think we are doctors and nurses?”
The moral of the story: If you like what you do. You will make more than just great money as any professional should. You will make yourself and those around you incredibly happy.
