Getting the first cleaning account will be the hardest. Each one after that will come easier.

When you decide to start your own business it’s easy to have boatloads of enthusiasm in the beginning.

You have so much to do and keeping busy checking each item off your to-do list eats up a lot of your time. You don’t have much time to get discouraged.

But once you get to the point where you are ready to get that first account, the reality of the task hits you in the face. You are marketing the business and spending money in the process. At some point you NEED MONEY COMING IN.

Trust me when I say, “I feel your pain”. I’ve been right where you are, wondering when that first job will call. What gets even more frustrating than that is when you do get a few calls, but you don’t land those accounts. You put a bid in, but they choose someone else.

That can take the air out of your balloon as they say. But you can’t let these situations sink your ship. They are nothing more than a test of your “WILL TO SUCCEED”. The best way to get through this “test” is to simply think “long-term”.

Don’t get too tied up into thinking I need to land this first account “this week, or “next week”. Just tell yourself I’m not quitting until I land that first job. And let me tell you, when you get that first job you will be so inflated with pride you will not think of quitting again.

That is how I got through the tough times in the beginning. I just wanted the taste of one job. I was hungry and nothing was going to satisfy my appetite other than someone saying YOUR HIRED TOM. Another thing I can say with certainty is “one job leads to more jobs”.

This is true because after you land your first paying job YOU NOW KNOW you can do this. You also get infused with enthusiasm and that leads you to do more of the things that got your hired. This goes on and on for as long as you own the business. You learn, get better, get jobs faster.

So it’s obvious my lesson for today goes out to all the newcomers to the business. Just be patient, think long-term and remember that every successful business owner had to go through the EXACT SAME THING you are going through now. We all started with ZERO ACCOUNTS and went from there. YOU WILL TOO!