The Laundry List Blog

Moving Across the Stepping Stones Feb 19, 2023

 

One of the most powerful concepts I learned in Alcoholics Anonymous was the idea of “taking one day at a time.” This August will be 10 years without a sip of alcohol, and it has easily been the best decade of my life. While I know I will never drink alcohol again, and I...

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How to be Perceived as a Specialist Feb 09, 2023

 Common sense tells us that specialists make more money than generalists. If you go to your family doctor (generalist) and she tells you that she has some concerns about your heart, your doctor will likely refer you to a heart specialist. Is there any question who makes more money –...

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Relationship Equity (my single most important email of this year) Jan 31, 2023

 

Your ability to create relationship equity is the #1 way to make your life easier and make yourself more successful. 

Let me explain.....

I like to think of Relationship Equity like a bank account. Deposits increase the balance of the account. And withdrawals decrease the balance of...

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Thinking Time Jan 25, 2023

The more I have worked with business owners with all different levels of business sales, business profit, and income, it has become clear that there is a golden thread across owners with more success. They intentionally set aside more time to think. There is actual white space on their calendar,...

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Do You Have A Cabana? Jan 10, 2023

Over the holiday break, my wife and I took our daughters to Maui. With our daughters now at the ages of 5 and 8, we thought they were ready for the long flight over the Pacific Ocean. And they did great. We went whale watching one day, and got within 50 feet of a whale with its new born baby. We...

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Give Yourself A Gift Dec 21, 2022

There is no shortage of ideas. After all, there are great ideas, good ideas, and bad ideas. As entrepreneurs, we have them flying around our heads at all times. And on top of that, there are also those bright, shiny objects that fly by, distracting us from what we know we should be doing. 

...

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Work yourself out of a JOB! Dec 13, 2022

As a reminder from my article last week, four steps comprise the journey of business ownership:

Step 1 – You are a technician working in your business. You are doing the work of a team member and are trading your time for relatively low financial results. 

Step 2 – You are a ...

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Do You Own Your Business? Or Does It Own You? Dec 06, 2022

There are five steps that comprise the journey of business ownership:

Step 1 – You are a technician working in your business. You are doing the work of a team member and are trading your time for relatively low financial results. 

Step 2 – You are a manager working in your...

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Focus on the Experience Nov 29, 2022

Amazon, along with other big retailers, have leveled the playing field by commoditizing prices for products (and some services). If you want to buy a pocket calendar for next year, you get on Amazon, and it spits out all of the options, delivery timeframes, and prices for what you are looking...

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Marketing Lessons From the Chicago WDF Conference Nov 22, 2022

 

Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend and speak at the Wash-Dry-Fold (WDF) conference on the north side of Chicago. The collaboration was amazing and it started with both Coin Laundry Association (CLA) and DLI joining forces to help make this conference a success. Almost 200 were in...

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Wanting What You Want Nov 08, 2022

I saw this story earlier, and it moved me, so I wanted to share it with you:

 

A boat was docked in a tiny fishing village. A tourist complimented the local fisherman on the quality of their fish and..... asked how long it took to catch them?

 

“Not very long,” the fisherman...

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Stay Focused on Results Nov 01, 2022

Did you know that 20% of your efforts equal 80% of your results?

And conversely, 80% of your efforts only equal 20% of your results?

Knowing this, you MUST understand what activities add up to the few things that can create dramatic results for you and your company.

You need to spend your time on...

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What’s In It For Them? Oct 25, 2022

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. It takes drive, patience, leadership, optimism, and the ability to shift economic resources from an area of lower into a higher productivity and greater yield.

 

The only way to do this is to see yourself as a value creator. And to create more...

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Primary Purpose of Your Marketing Oct 18, 2022

 

Most drycleaners are unclear about the purpose of their marketing. If you ask a bunch of drycleaners why they do marketing, you might get answers like this:

  • “For better brand awareness”
  • “To get our name out there”
  • “To keep up with our competitors”
  • ...
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Having Trouble With Hiring? Oct 11, 2022

Over the past year, in this Monday marketing column, I have laid out the sequence of the Client Journey. We Attract, Acquire, Appreciate, and Ascend our clients. And we keep an ever-vigilant eye out to retain clients that have become out of pattern or lost. These 4 A’s, along with the...

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Marketing is not that difficult Oct 04, 2022

At times, we make certain things out to be more difficult than they really are. This can create anxiety, fear, and even paralyze us from taking action. Let’s make a commitment to not do that with marketing.

 

To keep things simple, at a minimum you need just a few marketing systems if...

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The Money Pyramid – Advanced Sep 27, 2022

Last week, we talked about The Money Pyramid, and how it applies to the target clients we intentionally go after.

 

This week, let’s look at it from a little different angle.

 

Where is your company on The Money Pyramid?

Where are you on The Money Pyramid?

Where do you want to be?...

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The Money Pyramid Sep 20, 2022

I first learned about The Money Pyramid from one of my mentors, Dan Kennedy.

He proved that, on average, if you line up 100 people, clients, or companies, you will see the following segmentation:

1% are rich
4% are prosperous
15% are making a good living
60% are struggling financially (living...

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Are You Playing to Win? Sep 14, 2022

Are you playing to win, or are you playing not to lose?

Most people who have a scarcity mindset are playing not to lose. They are trying to hold on to what they have, they believe opportunities and resources are limited, and to grow, they have to take something away from someone who already has...

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Capturing Client Data Points Aug 30, 2022

You could have the very best marketing ideas.

The very best offers. The most exciting company news.

But if you don't have your clients' data points, you won't be able to communicate the offers and news to your clients.

I am a firm believer in delivering a similar message across many marketing...

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