But we must be diligent, and we must be engaged. Mentally disengaging from your business, what I refer to as “checking out,” can have consequences all its own.

Checking out can happen deliberately such as when an owner starts a new business and leaves his original business to coast along on its own. It can also happen unintentionally such as when he’s pulled away for health or personal reasons. But more often than not, checking out happens very subtly, sometimes almost imperceptibly, over time.

Most of us are familiar with the term “golden handcuffs” as it applies to employees. Typically, it refers to compensation packages, benefits or other perks that are so generous they compel an employee to remain in his job even when he has thoughts of leaving. Rarely do we think about golden handcuffs as they apply to a business owner, but they do exist and are one of the more subtle forms of checking out.

As with so many other conditions we experience in business, golden handcuffs usually appear after our companies have begun to enjoy some measure of success. After all, when there’s little gold in the company treasury, there’s no extra to plate handcuffs.

When an owner is restrained by golden handcuffs, he may not realize it until he looks in the mirror (or at his financial statements) and sees how lethargic and bloated his company has become and how far his company has migrated from the lean, hungry days of its earlier years. When this takes place, the owner is faced with a decision. Does he embark on a training program to get the company back to its more athletic days, or does he settle instead for less-than-peak performance?

For most of us, a fitness program involves work — and frequently some pain — to get our bodies into the leaner, healthier state we were once in. It’s no different when we try to get our businesses back in line. Add to this the fact that it usually takes us longer to get back into shape than it took us to get out of shape, and it can become very difficult to embark on the program in the first place.

We begin to question ourselves about how badly we want to stretch out of our comfort zones and affect change in our businesses. Do we really want to make the tough calls with respect to mediocre performers in our companies? Are we willing to sell off some of the unnecessary assets (executive toys and perks) that bloat our companies and consume our cash? How badly do we want to leave the comfort of our own offices and visit our customers to see how they feel about the service our company is delivering?

While they might make us feel comfortable for a while, over time golden handcuffs exact a heavy toll on us and our companies — one decision at a time, one day at a time. This is why we want to be especially vigilant not to let them restrain our company’s growth and arrest our continued success.

Chuck Violand is the founder and principal of Violand Management Associates (VMA), the largest consulting company in the restoration and cleaning industries. Violand is a recognized industry leader for advising entrepreneurs on the unique challenges they face both personally and professionally. Through VMA, he works with business owners and companies to develop their people and their profits. Violand also serves on the board of directors for the Restoration Industry Association (RIA). To reach him, visit violand.com or call (800)360-3513.

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Unlike property insurance and workers’ compensation, liability insurance varies a great deal. It is not only possible to buy liability insurance that does not fit the needs of your company; it is very likely. How is this possible? You can blame this on the common misunderstanding of pollution exclusions and how they apply to the cleaning and restoration industry.

The most common trap I see comes in the form of the Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy. CGL policies are intended to cover your general liability as a business owner for general incidents while operating your company. Those general incidents could be burning down a house or a customer tripping over your cleaning wand and breaking an ankle.

Furthermore, the CGL policy includes exclusionary wording for pollution-related losses. This exclusionary wording greatly affects insurance coverage of what you do for a living, especially if you are a restoration contractor or perform any water extraction operations. These exclusions are standard in CGL polices and have been for many years. I guarantee, if you were to pick up your CGL policy right now, you would find a pollution exclusion.

The big, bad exclusion

The infamous pollution exclusion is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted exclusion within the CGL policy. It is also the longest standard exclusion in a General Liability policy, totaling over a page in length. The biggest misconception by people is this exclusion only applies to hazardous waste. Never does the exclusion mention that it only applies to hazardous waste. This assumption is something that has been made up and passed along for years. If you were to read the pollution exclusion in your current CGL policy, you would not find the words “hazardous waste,” or even “hazardous” for that matter.

The reality is the pollution exclusion applies to any loss resulting from an irritant or contaminant which results in bodily injury or property damage.

What I learned fairly quickly when I started as an insurance broker is virtually anything could be an irritant or contaminant in the right setting and the right quantity. It is up to the insurance company or the judicial court system to determine what is and isn’t excluded by the pollution exclusion.

Here is a great example of this. There was a recent incident where the cheese powder from boxed macaroni and cheese was released from the intended containment. The costs to clean up the multiple tons of cheese powder fell under the environmental liability policy and was excluded on the CGL policy. It could be up for debate, but I would not think a food item such as cheese powder would be categorized as “hazardous waste.”

Now let us apply an example to restoration professionals: If you were to accidentally blow asbestos fibers throughout the jobsite, the pollution exclusion on your General Liability policy would trigger automatically, and you would be left with no insurance. Virtually every CGL policy and judicial court system in the United States applies the pollution exclusion on asbestos and lead cases.

For carpet cleaners, imagine you have to file a claim because a customer is upset over the smell of the cleaning solution you used to clean the carpet, and you find your claim is denied. Unfortunately, I have seen this scenario firsthand with one of my insureds. The occupants of the office building claimed the smell of the organic cleaning solution made them ill. Luckily, the cleaning company was properly insured, so their claim was covered; however, it was paid out of a coverage line you would least expect.

The CGL policy denied the claim due to the pollution exclusion. At that time, we filed a claim on the Contractors Environmental Liability policy the insured had in place. Because the released vapor affected the indoor air quality and caused bodily injury to the customer, we were able to get the claim paid for, minus the cost to the replace the carpet.

The bigger, badder exclusion

The second trap to touch on is the separate fungi and bacteria exclusion also found on the CGL policy. This exclusion is much more of an issue than the pollution exclusion. Insurers refer to this as the “you can’t be in the business” exclusion when applied to cleaning and restoration contractors. Carriers will add this fungi and bacteria exclusion in addition to the pollution exclusion in order to ensure the CGL policy will not respond to bacteria claims that cause bodily injury and property damage — and to eliminate any possibility for debate.

One of the many takeaways from the IICRC S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration is Category 3 water is grossly contaminated with bacteria and other pollutants. Some state court systems have been successful in deeming bacteria a pollutant; however, it is not the same in every state. If your state court systems haven’t deemed bacteria a pollutant yet, it doesn’t mean you have security on Category 3 water jobs.

In operation, fungi and bacteria exclusions are a variation of the pollution exclusion and apply specifically to losses that are associated with mold, fungi and bacteria. The exclusions for fungus and bacteria are by far the most onerous pollution exclusions ever conceived in the insurance industry.

If a loss involves a bit of Category 3 water, the entire loss is likely excluded through the effects of universal fungi and bacteria exclusions in liability policies. The term “loss” in the CGL policy includes defense costs. By default, “mold exclusions” apply to Category 3 water as well, and there is more Category 3 water in the built environment than there is mold.

The actual exclusions for fungi and bacteria in CGL insurance policies do vary, but the exclusions for these contaminants usually have common elements. Those elements include application to fungi, mold and bacteria, as they are often found living together. The exclusion will have an anti-concurrent causation section that eliminates coverage for some other covered causes of loss, like Category 1 water if it was the proximate cause of the loss — that is, the fungi/ bacteria was in fact ensuing damage arising from an otherwise covered loss. The “covered, proximate cause of loss and ensuing damages” argument is totally neutralized by the anti-concurrent causation language that is common in fungi and bacteria exclusions.

There usually will be two parts of the exclusion endorsement. Part A of the exclusion addresses damages associated with actual or perceived exposure to fungi, mold and bacteria. Part B of the exclusion eliminates all insurance coverage in the policy, including the duty to defend any loss arising from an operation that has any involvement whatsoever in remediating or accessing fungi, mold or bacteria.

By definition, this would include Category 3 water. The exclusions never limit their scope to any particular species or measurable amount of fungi, mold or bacteria; therefore, a microscopic speck of any species of these materials technically triggers the full effect of the exclusion on the entire claim.

So what does a “you can’t be in the business” exclusion look like? A common exclusion for use in CGL insurance policies will read:

This insurance does not apply to:

a. “Bodily injury” or “property damage” which would not have occurred, in whole or in part, but for the actual, alleged or threatened inhalation of, ingestion of, contact with, exposure to, existence of, or presence of, any “fungi” or bacteria on or within a building or structure, including its contents, regardless of whether any other cause, event, material or product contributed concurrently or in any sequence to such injury or damage.

b. Any loss, cost or expenses arising out of the testing for, abating, monitoring, cleaning up, removing, containing, treating, detoxifying, neutralizing, remediating or disposing of, or in any way responding to or assessing the effects of, “fungi” or bacteria by any insured or by any other person or entity.

Right about now you are probably thinking your insurance carrier is lying, cheating and deceiving you. Chances are your insurance carrier’s underwriter and your insurance agent have never been trained on the extent of the various pollution and fungi exclusions.

Help abounds

The degree of the pollution exclusions should not be taken lightly. They are traps set to kill your business if you aren’t ready for them. The insurance coverage gaps for losses associated with Category 3 water must be filled using the same risk management tools and environmental insurance products created for fungi/mold risks in 2003.

Utilizing insurance agents who have experience assisting various contractors with insurance solutions will help. Most importantly utilizing a wholesale insurance broker who specializes in your industry could be the determining factor for keeping your company doors open when you have a loss on your hands. My suggestion would be to pick your wholesale insurance broker first and then the insurance agent who has experience assisting contractors with their insurance needs.

The good news is there are many wholesale insurance brokers eager to help you and your insurance agent avoid the traps of pollution exclusions. If you are properly utilizing the services of your insurance agent and wholesale insurance broker, the chances of an uncovered claim due to an environmental condition is greatly reduced, ensuring the longevity of your company.

Kari Dybdahl, BA, has over nine years of experience in the environmental insurance industry assisting clients from carpet cleaners to municipalities. Dybdahl recently was named number three in Insurance Business America’s Top Insurance Producers list, along with being recognized with Elite Women in Business, Young Gun in Insurance and Hot 100 awards. Her true passion is assisting carpet cleaners and restoration contractors place comprehensive insurance to protect the longevity of their businesses for years to come. Dybdahl’s daily tasks include placing compliant insurance for Crawford Contractor Connection members, ICRA members, Alacrity members, various third-party network members, independent contractors and several more. She also designs memberand franchise-specific insurance programs alongside Dave Dybdahl. Reach Dybdahl’s team at (608) 824-1192 or reach her directly at kari@armr.net.

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A marketing plan should represent that unifying point of focus, but why is it that so many marketing plans end up on a shelf gathering dust, never to be read again?

In my opinion, it is because such plans are typically written by the owner and/or the marketing executive in isolation from the rest of the team. In many cases, the plan is not even shared with the rest of the team once it is written! It’s pretty hard to get “buy in” on something people aren’t even aware of.

Set the planning in motion

There are many, many guides to writing marketing plans that explain which sections should be included, what should be covered and so on. And all this is important because going through the exercise of creating a formal marketing plan causes you to really think about every aspect of the marketing environment, draw some conclusions and make decisions about how the company will operate.

This set of decisions is, in essence, the set of assumptions that the company will base its operations upon. You may be completely right, partially right or somewhat wrong (only time will tell), but the planning process forces you to make decisions and choices and moves you from stasis to action.

Once you are in action based on your plan, assuming that you make no catastrophic miscalculations, there are no “mistakes” — only feedback that tells you what to do differently. This is why companies who consistently utilize planning find themselves in alignment, measuring their metrics to see how close their assumptions were to reality, and adjusting those assumptions and marketing activities based on real-world feedback.

A marketing plan written five years ago and never looked at again was a waste of time. Marketing planning feeds marketing action and measurement on an ongoing basis. It is an ongoing process, not an event, and should be a constant undercurrent of the company’s operations.

Another way to think about the marketing plan is that it is fundamentally the articulation of a vision for the company followed by a set of goals to achieve that vision and then a set of activities to achieve those goals.

Vision is a function of leadership. Leadership may be a singular owner, a group of partners or an executive committee, but someone or some group must wear the mantle of leadership and point the organization in a specific direction. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

And while this may sound simplistic, it is extremely common for business owners to lack vision and, therefore, direction for their companies. They become so bogged down working in the business and trying to make a living that their vision can become simply opportunistic — looking for the big score, the large loss, or the really busy winter that generates additional profits or simply maintains the status quo.

But what kinds of people are attracted to such a situation? It is clear that businesses do not grow without talented people who are inspired, engaged, committed and excited about the work they do.

A popular belief is that most people leave a job because of pay. But a Gallup poll of over one million employed American workers suggests otherwise. People quit bosses, not jobs. This poll makes it clear that the number one reason people quit is due to bad bosses, the negative environment they create and the way they treat their employees.

So what do good people want? While good, competitive pay is important, the business owner must realize he or she needs to create an environment which supports employee involvement, meaningful work and professional development.

This means you create a culture where ownership and management see their people as the company’s most important asset. In short, you have to love your people because you won’t get “there” without them. Your people must know leadership truly values them and seeks to give them opportunities to maximize their potential.

Owners who really understand the value of their people know it is not just the formal opportunities they present their team, but also that they treat them with a sense of high expectations coupled with high appreciation and common decency. Always treating your people with dignity, even when they simply aren’t qualified to continue as part of the team and must have their future “freed up,” sends a powerful message to your people about the type of culture at your company.

Good people also crave leadership. People want to be engaged in meaningful work; people want to make a difference in the world, and they generally want to be a part of something they see as good and important. This means leadership must articulate the vision of who the company is, what core values the company embodies and where the company is going. Leaders need to communicate clear direction and priorities, set high expectations, and then give people the tools, processes and training to live up to those expectations.

Keep your company vision in mind when brainstorming to create a marketing plan. [Image courtesy of Rawpixel Ltd/iStockPhoto]

Benefits of team marketing

This is why marketing planning that involves as much of your team as possible can be so impactful in getting your company to “punch with the whole body” and make an impact on the marketplace.

Yes, you have to slow down the process. Yes, you have to do some teaching to get people who are not familiar with the marketing planning process to understand the steps that need to be taken. But you will more than make up for these drawbacks when the team really understands your vision and is part of goal setting and making the decisions about which activities will take place to accomplish those goals.

Involving your team this way engages your people in very important aspects of running the business and challenges them to solve problems and participate in determining how the company is run, which builds trust and makes employees feel valued.

Involving your team in planning also responds to people’s need to do meaningful work. Understanding the goals and being a part of building a business, of creating or manifesting a dream in the real world, is engaging and exciting even if most of the time they estimate rebuild projects or pay bills. Employees begin to see their role in the context of the bigger picture and the plan, and, instead of drudgery or just doing “a job,” they are part of a grand enterprise.

Involving your team in the planning process also helps meet people’s need for ongoing learning and professional development. People tasked with planning responsibilities will often surprise you with their effort, knowledge and contributions once they are given some basic ground rules to follow and permission to participate.

Be sure to offer them the necessary training and coaching to become more effective at the planning process and involve them in the monthly or quarterly plan reviews so they can see the fruits of their labors, for good and bad. Let them take responsibility both ways so they can learn what they need to do better as a team as well as individually.

When planning is approached this way, there often is an amazing, synergistic effect: The entire team — from ownership to the front lines — understands what the company stands for and where it is going, is bought in on the plan to achieve the stated goals, and takes far more individual responsibility as a part of a team that is trying to accomplish great things.

In summary, the words of Margaret Mead are apropos, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Timothy Miller is the president of , a marketing strategy, sales training, recruiting, and operations and management consultancy, which specializes exclusively in working with restoration contractors, helping them drive the growth of their businesses without relying on programs, weather or good luck. For a free white paper on the Six Secrets of Restoration Business Success, email at info@goBDA.com or call (847) 386-6556.

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The better a company’s equipment, the easier it will be to succeed. But this equipment also comes with a price tag that must be taken into account. Finding the right balance is critical.

One of the most important decisions an owner must make is deciding how much can be spent on equipment. Many items make up the expense list when launching a cleaning business, such as office expenses, insurance, marketing materials and education. By far, the two largest are the initial cost of getting customers and paying personal bills while the company is getting established.

New owners often focus most of their attention and funds on what is needed to provide the service and forget about the other sizable expenses that must be accounted for.

Why we buy the good stuff

Single-truck business owners are the primary labor source for getting the work done. Quite naturally, they desire the best equipment. Who would want equipment that was slow, unreliable and embarrassing?

Confidence: Having the best builds pride of ownership. Business owners must do many things outside of their comfort zone, so it is nice to regain some confidence in knowing you have the best equipment.

Marketing edge: Featuring state-of-the-art equipment often gives companies a boost to stand out from competitors when advertising. Having more powerful, professional-looking machinery can sometimes provide the edge that is needed.

Referrals: Consumers often don’t understand that the skill of the cleaner is the key component to getting the best results. Instead they often find it easier to credit the equipment used in the process. It is easy for them to refer a company that has the latest and most powerful equipment.

More money in less time: Efficiency is often the byproduct of more powerful equipment. Of course, it is always nice to complete work faster and easier, but increasing production speed is vitally important for companies who’ve established full work schedules.

Reliability: The more fully booked a company is, the more costly it is to have unscheduled repairs. Newer equipment generally has fewer breakdowns. Lacking confidence that your vehicle or machinery will start and work properly is a frustrating way to run a business.

Why it can be wise to wait

The simple reason all cleaners do not have the newest and most powerful equipment is that these highly desired tools cost a lot of money.

It would be great if all startups had an unlimited supply of investment funds. If that were the case, they could launch with all of the best, most expensive equipment. Unfortunately most begin with limited money, and if that gets used up before the company produces enough revenue to pay all of the bills, the business fails.

Finding the right investment balance

I have often seen owners spend most of their investment funds on great equipment only to end up with little left for all of the other startup needs. I have dealt with some who have so little remaining, they cannot afford a modest website, let alone start a marketing campaign which includes advertising expenses.

Though the benefits of costly equipment are many, the survival of the business trumps all other considerations. Survival requires sacrifice. It won’t do you any good to have the greatest tools if you don’t have any customers on which to use them or fall behind on the rent for your home.

Many successful owners started by using portable or used equipment. This may not have been the easiest or fastest way to get the job done, but in the beginning, time is generally an abundant asset. By keeping a watchful eye on the books, they were able to make their investment money last. As the business gained momentum, the owners were then able to increase the quality of equipment used.

Bear in mind that there is more to succeeding in the cleaning business than just cleaning. Running a business and getting customers are costly expenses as critical as the equipment. Discipline must dictate purchase decisions in order to keep the big picture of success in mind.

If you can afford the best equipment from the beginning, by all means, go for it. But if you have limited investment funds, you will need to find the appropriate purchasing balance for your situation.

Steve Marsh is a 40-year veteran of the carpet cleaning industry, an instructor and a Senior Carpet Inspector. He helps home-service companies quickly establish profitable clienteles and then progress on to serve higher quality customers. To help companies achieve these goals he created the step-by-step programs��Single Truck Success��and Be Competition Free. For more information, visit��.

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IICRC’s Journal of Cleaning, Restoration & Inspection will host a first-of-its-kind Restoration Technical Conference & Symposium, jointly sponsored by the Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) on April 10-11 in Atlanta.

��The Experience heads to Atlanta

ATLANTA — THE EXPERIENCE Conference & Exhibition is set for April 19-21 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis hotel.

There is a pre-conference floor covering industry tour on Monday, April 18. This includes a trip to Dalton, GA, to tour Shaw Industries’ Residential Carpet Mills, Shaw Technical Services and J&J Commercial Carpet Mills. Preregistration is required, and space is limited.

The Experience event features classroom education plus live, handson demonstrations by the industry’s best. This conference features: Dr. Gene Cole, Robert Allen, III, Scott Mims, Michelle Prince, Mike Paillio-tet, Bruce DeLoatch, Jim Pemberton, Rachel Adams, Chuck Boutall, Beth Berry, Ruth Travis, Lew Migliore, Jeff Bishop, Jeff Cross, Sonny Ahuja, Bob Merkt and more Exhibition hours:

• Tuesday, April 19: 4-7 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 20: 1:30- 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, April 21: 12-3 p.m. Visit

or call (888) 881-1001, extension 12, to sign up.

Restoration Strategies plans May event

CHICAGO — Restoration Strategies, a marketing and management workshop for disaster restoration contractors, will hold its next session, May 12-13, in Chicago.

The two-day event is strictly for restoration contractors. The goal is to help business owners or managers get more jobs, work with insurance adjusters and agents, implement an insurance marketing plan to increase profits and learn specific online strategies to get the attention of both the insurance industry and customers.

To sign up, visit www.TotallyBookedUniversity. com or call (740) 973-4236.

The IICRC welcomes new president

LAS VEGAS — News comes from the IICRC naming Richard Greene the organization’s new president.

Greene has more than 20 years of executive management experience leading local, state and national trade associations. Prior to joining the IICRC, Greene served as theCEO of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA).

Greene earned a Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives. After graduating from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), Greene earned his MBA from Utah State University.

“I am honored to have been chosen to lead the Institute,” Greene said. “The IICRC is a solid organization with the ability to lift the industry into the future, ultimately providing consumers with the best possible services. I am very much looking forward to our success together.”

The post March 2016 FYI: Industry news and updates appeared first on Cleanfax.

“I can’t believe how little they charge for cleaning.”

“I saw one of their estimates. It was about three cents per square foot. How can I compete with that?”

Perhaps you have had similar sentiments or have made outright statements about the pricing practices of your competition. When a competitor of yours charges a fraction of what you charge, you have to wonder how and why they do it.

A few reasons come to mind:

1. Their cost of doing business is much lower than yours, and when they charge less, they are still making money.
2. They are desperate, just want more jobs and — most likely — will soon be out of business.

Speaking to point #1, controlling costs is a smart business move. We all work hard to reduce expenses, and it’s nice when we pay less for typical costs of running a company. Yet, when you are able to keep your costs of doing business low, don’t succumb to the knee-jerk reaction of lowering your prices just to get more jobs and keep busy.

As to point #2, this is a typical move by new companies who come into the industry but are soon heading out. You have seen start-up companies come and go; it happens all the time, and, yes, they do take a few of your customers. There’s not much you can do to compete with them on price. What you can compete on is quality.

If you think pricing is the most important way to get more customers and jobs, I challenge you to rethink your pricing strategy. The very best customers, the ones you covet, do care about price, but more importantly, they care about quality.

Each one of us looks at price as the first step to purchasing a product or service. We are human, after all.

As a consumer, what you really want is quality — and a little convenience doesn’t hurt — at a fair price. So, do your company a favor and give that to your customers. You will find price doesn’t really matter… well, not too much.

Jeff Cross is the executive editor of Cleanfax and is an industry trainer and consultant. He can be reached via email at JCross@Cleanfax.com.

The post March 2016 Foreword: Way Too Cheap appeared first on Cleanfax.

Photo of the Month Contest

The photo contest winner this month is Ryan Szemacs with Noble Carpet Cleaners of Las Vegas. His com­pany will receive a chemical prize package from Solu­tions by Steam Pros worth $500.

Ryan describes this particular job: “This is a client’s re­cently purchased house. The previous owners neglected to clean the tile or grout. We used a heavy, citrus-based degreaser along with a high-alkaline, powder tile and grout cleaner. We let it sit for 20 minutes and used a Brush Pro with tile brushes to scrub the floor. We then used our four-jet tile wand at about 900 psi to clean and extract the floor. The results speak for themselves. Our client was very happy, and along with that came another five-star Yelp review.”

For an opportunity to win a chemical prize package from Solutions by Steam Pros (worth $500), send your images and a brief 100-word de­scription on how you obtained your results to Jeff Cross, executive edi­tor, at jcross@Cleanfax.com or 193 Purple Finch Loop, Pataskala, OH, 43062. Contest rules available by request.

Cleanfax Online Poll

On average, are your prices:

Higher than most of your competitors ……………………….. 51%

Similar to your competitors ………………………………………. 35%

The highest of anyone around …………………………………….. 9%

�� Known as the lowest in your area ………………………………… 5%

Facebook Focus

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