The Business Side of Trauma By Don M. McNulty March 22, 2011 Print / Reprints / Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on linkedin | Share More PLEASE GO TO; http://www.janiservu.com/ for similar articles!! Advantage Cleaning Services Does Green Cleaning In Corning, N.Y. 14836!! To say you are going to start a business and be successful has little to do with competition — it has everything to do with you. Many people say the bio-cleaning (trauma and crime scene cleaning) industry is saturated, but this is said by those people who do not understand the workings of capitalism and who lack any real business acumen. In 1986, I wanted to start a janitorial company, so I went to a friend''s father who owned several large and successful businesses to ask him to be my first client. As it turned out, he not only became my first customer, but my mentor as well. During that first discussion, as he was asking me questions and giving advice, I stated that I wasn''t sure I could get the thing off the ground because there was so much competition. His reply to me would be one I would give to any of you reading this, and that is: "Name a profession that doesn''t have competition and I will show you an industry that isn''t making money. Every industry that makes money has a lot of competition, but if you build a business of integrity, and learn what it takes to operate that business, there is always room for those guys." Everyone thinks business should be easy and that we should never struggle. Would business be easy if you had no competition? Yes, but people desiring a successful business always follow money, and neither you nor anyone else will be able to stop it. The risks Is a new venture easy to start? Usually not. Are risks high? Yes, very high, but they are high in whatever you choose. More than 80 percent of all business start-ups fail within the first two years, and 80 percent of the remaining 20 percent fail before their fifth anniversary. What most people don''t know are the final statistics, which show that in just over half of those remaining businesses, the owner will decide to quit before the 10th year. The basic statistics are against you from the start. Plan to plan In the November 2008 issue of Cleanfax magazine, I wrote an article on the mechanics behind building a bio-cleaning business… the opportunities available, the necessary tools and equipment, the training and much more. Visit www.cleanfax.com and enter "bio-cleaning" in the search function to read that article. With those details from that article in mind, you then need to realize that the bio-cleaning industry is like most businesses — they require someone with tenacity and drive to put together a business plan and take it from start-up to operation. You will need to be someone who lives for a challenge and has a compassion for people in distress. The bio-cleaning industry can be lucrative, but it takes a special "stomach" and psychology to handle the tasks involved. Add to this that any business industry that you care to name needs owners that are more than technicians. Just because you can go into a scene and properly handle the task doesn''t mean you have what it takes to run a business. It takes both the skills of being a good technician and being a good manager/owner to make it all work. A good business plan is important. Business sense When was the last time you, as an owner/manager, attended a class or a seminar that taught you how to properly read your profit and loss statement or what your balance sheet is really telling you about your business? When was the last time you picked up a book that taught you how to be a better person and/or business owner? Most owners will tell you that finding, hiring and developing good employees is nearly impossible, yet we see other companies doing it all the time. It is a rare person indeed that puts together a business that is really more than a glorified job. Your business should never be your baby. You should have a close emotional attachment to it, but remember it is a product that you are building to sell. It should grow to have systems and management in place; it should be something that doesn''t require your presence in order to operate once you have reached your goal of full operation. Your job is to grow your business to that level and, if you do this and you decide not to sell it, all that means is that you have decided to buy it. But it also means that when you finally do decide to sell, you have something of worth, other than just equipment. If you have little or no business experience, or just need some aid in certain areas, visit the Small Business Technology and Development Center in your area. It''s free of charge and they will provide you with a counselor/mentor to help guide you through the start-up-phase, as well as be there for on-going operations as you grow until you outgrow them. Call them and make an appointment today and they will show you what you need to do to get started with your research. This next and final point is very important: You need to find out if this is something you would really like to do. You need to follow what your research and your heart is telling you and act with your innate courage to follow the results. If the idea of bio-cleaning is not for you, or if the business model does not suit you or your situation, then you need to acknowledge that fact and move on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don M. McNulty is founder and president of Bio Cleaning Services of America Inc. www.biocleaningservices.com. He currently trains and certifies technicians through the Basic Bio Technician Course. Feel free to contact McNulty through his website.