Happy New Year

January 1st obviously ushers in a New Year. It's a time that many reflect upon
their previous accomplishments and failures. Then we look forward vowing to
correct or not to repeat our failures. We also plot and plan for the time to
come. Each of us has goals and aspirations. We should always strive to achieve
them. If you are not moving forward, then it is inevitable that you will become
stagnate or worse yet begin to move backwards.

So, after all that reflection, we usually come up with New Year Resolutions. They come in a variety of purposes, personal, family, business and community among them.

1. Improve physical well being.
2. Improve mental health.
3. Improve finances.
4. Improve career.
5. Improve knowledge.
6. Volunteer.
7. Spend quality time with family and friends.
8. Be more spiritual.

The following passage was written by Bishop John H. Vincent in 1909. It is appropriate not only on New Years Day but every day of our lives:

"I will this day try to live a simple, sincere and serene life. I will repel promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity and self-seeking. I will cultivate cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity and the habit of silence. I will exercise economy in expenditure, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust and a child-like trust in God."

Thank you for reading Bane's Blog.

The Bane-Clene^® Team

Please read the latest issue of The Clene-Times^® at www.baneclene.com/clenetimes.html.

Happy Holidays

The holidays have been in full swing since early December. Many dates are celebrated or commemorated during this month. Naming a few but certainly not all:

• Kwanzaa A celebration of Family, Community and Culture
  
• HanukkahThe celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights
  
• Milad Un Nabi The Muslim culture commemorates the birth of the Prophet Muhammad
  
• Christmas Day The Christian culture commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ

However even if you don't practice or believe, they all have many points in
common. The one we will focus on is that they all promote "Peace on Earth
and Goodwill to all". Once again, no matter what you practice or don't,
if you have not already done so, take a few moments to reflect on that common
factor.

Thank you for reading Bane's Blog.

The Bane-Clene^® Team

Please read the latest issue of The Clene-Times^® at www.baneclene.com/clenetimes.html.

Justifying Your Price

Being in the service business for more than 5 decades has given us some insight into pricing methods. This topic is discussed in our 3 Day Management School. Inevitably, someone in class says that the section of the country in which they live cannot support a higher-end pricing method. Certainly, you cannot charge the same in a large market as you can in a small market. Your price can be relevant with the cost of living and other factors built into your market.

You must be able to justify your price to your customer. In order to do this, you must first be able to justify your price to yourself. Do you consider yourself a full time professional or do you do this as a part time job?

If you were to walk out to your truck right now, would you be proud of it? Has the truck been washed lately? Are there remnants of last week's lunch or enough trash to warrant a trip to a dumpster? How about your equipment? Think of the professionals that have to clean and maintain their equipment everyday or it won't work the next. Fortunately, our equipment is not that demanding, a weekly routine maintenance will keep it running at top efficiency.

How about the most important element of the business, the technician. Is their uniform neat and clean? If you don't wear uniforms, do you at least dress in appropriate attire? When you look at yourself or your technician, would you let that person into your home or office?

You and your technicians should be knowledgeable and up to date on cleaning and spotting techniques. You should have a general knowledge of the different types of fibers and their particular aspects. Do you have professional looking literature and a business card?

If you can meet all of these criteria and more, you can easily justify your price. Many people choose a cleaning firm on the basis of what it offers, not on what it charges. This desirable market is available to any company that can demonstrate professionalism.

Thank you for reading Bane's Blog.

The Bane-Clene^® Team

Please read the latest issue of The Clene-Times^® at www.baneclene.com/clenetimes.html.

Cut Your Price?

There is one thing that all businesses that fail have in common. Their last official act before they close is to cut their prices and have a big sale

When you consider cutting your price for any reason, consider some of the consequences. Cutting your prices mean you have to generate more sales in order to maintain your gross profit margin.

Another drawback is that people who expect high quality services, do not usually look at a low price as a major consideration in the buying decision. In fact, a lower price may deter a person who is seeking high quality service. The adage "you get what you pay for" comes into play here.

A service cannot be built in advance, stored in a warehouse, mass produced or purchased in quantity and then offered for sale. Services must be constructed one at a time after an order is taken.

Cutting price opens the door to a reputation as a price merchant. In the service industry, there is a market for price merchants. However, when a company publishes extremely low prices, then their quality is usually low quality. The other side of that coin is you have a company that offers high quality at a fair price.

Consider this, a company cannot compete in both the low-price and high-quality markets. It must be one or the other.

Related carpet cleaning business information on the Bane-Clene® web site:

1. Advertising. . . the Essential Element in the Carpet Cleaning Business
2. Advertising the Bane-Clene® Way
3. Bait and Switch in the Carpet Cleaning Business
4. Bane-Clene® Marketing & Advertising for the Carpet Cleaning Industry
5. To Price or Not to Price

Thank you for reading Bane's Blog.

The Bane-Clene^® Team

Please read the latest issue of The Clene-Times^® at www.baneclene.com/clenetimes.html.

Remember Pearl Harbor

That was the battle cry of WW II. President Roosevelt (FDR) said, "Sunday, December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy". Not many are alive who remember that fateful morning when the attack took place on our Pacific Fleet as it lay at anchor. Those who were there will never forget and others will never forget it or where they were when they heard the news.

As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, a thought comes to mind. Will "Remember Pearl Harbor", "Remember the Maine" and "Remember the Alamo" become forgotten or irrelevant. Not because those that were there or were aware of it are gone. But because they have been relegated to the back pages of History books that are routinely ignored by many schools? Will 9/11 and other recent terrorists events someday join them?

Unfortunately there has been a tremendous cost in the loss of lives in these tragic events. Thank God for our brave troops and first responders who have been involved in them. In this land of plenty and freedoms, with all our problems, people still yearn to come to live here. But remember "Freedom is not free".

Thank you for reading Bane's Blog.

The Bane-Clene^® Team

Please read the latest issue of The Clene-Times^® at www.baneclene.com/clenetimes.html.