BigMop.com was started in late 1999 to help cleaning contractors grow
their business. This was the brainchild of janitorial industry veteran,
Jonathan Williams and technology guru, Kimberly Paternoster.
The initial design of BigMop.com was to procure janitorial contracts through
building managers to reverse auction through a complex Request for Bid system.
In addition to this system, BigMop.com also built a relationship with a leader
in the janitorial supply field. The Request for Bid system did not generate the
level of interest the founders initially expected and the supply business was not
enough to sustain the company.
In the process of building BigMop during the years 1999 and 2000, Jonathan
was introduced to leaders in the industry, including authors and top salespeople.
Jonathan spent 9 months in intensive meetings and educational sessions
to build his knowledge of the industry. By December of 2000, BigMop had
not reached the aggressive goals the owners had set, and it was decided
to put the company into "hibernation" for a short period of time. With BigMop
temporarily hibernating, Jonathan and Kimberly had to find other ways
to generate income and provide for the future of BigMop and their families.
Jonathan decided to go back to what he knew best and started a janitorial company.
He wanted to test the knowledge he had gained during his
time building BigMop.com. The new company was founded in February of 2001 and
provided full service janitorial to health clubs, car dealerships,
multi-tenant buildings, property management companies and other organizations
throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Jonathan Williams and Jay Costa,
former Vice President of Sales for BigMop, were excited to see the new company come together.
This was the time that the Bay Area was being severely affected by the
downturn in the economy. Being the hub to 90% of the technology driven
industries, it was probably the hardest area to start a new company. The
team set their first year goal at $150,000. This may seem
like a large number to most, but the team understood the potential of the
business, and if they followed the systems that had been learned over the
previous years they knew they would succeed.
The company was started with absolutely no financing using the materials that
can be found in the BigMop.com Start Up Kit for a little over $500. They
put this kit on a credit card and set out to establish themselves in the
Bay Area. The first thing necessary was to get the first account. They began
a strenuous telemarketing campaign using the local business journal online.
They kept calling until the first account was found, which took a couple of
days. The first account was a 7 day per week health club facility. They
started the account and quickly trained a subcontractor to complete the work.
Within a couple of weeks the telemarketing started up again and they also
incorporated door to door marketing. Within a few more days they picked
up the headquarters for a property management firm, resulting in a 3 days
per week service. They then trained someone to service this account. They
continued the door to door marketing and telemarketing, focusing on the region
near the first 2 accounts. They quickly gained 4 more 2 to 3 day per week
accounts.
They used a bid type similar to the one found on BigMop.com including
the formulas found in Accu-bid and were able to gain new business by estimating
"right-on" each time. The customers consistently complimented
the team on the bid quality and the pricing being "on budget". They had
found the winning solution. They instituted a quality control system, stayed
on top of service, and quickly established themselves as a high quality service
for a great price. This was done through the streamlined processes and exact bidding
that can be found on BigMop.com. All of this information was learned through
industry veterans and top sales people.
By the end of 2001, the company had grossed $152,000 in their first year.
Quite a feat, considering that they started with a small start up kit.
For 2002, they set the goal at $250,000 and using the same systems they were
able to gross $297,000 for the year. They duplicated exactly what they did
in the beginning and continued to grow. Now they were working 14 to 18 hours
per day and decided they had to outsource the marketing to free them up to
focus on servicing current customers. Jonathan engaged a telemarketing
company to provide lead generation to the company. He agreed on a pay by
performance campaign and paid $145 per appointment generated. Knowing that
he wouldn't have to pay unless it was an actual appointment, he felt secure
in his decision. The lead generation began with 5 appointments per month and
kept the team very busy providing bids. They also asked for referrals from
current clients (these are always the easiest to gain and best to service).
The team decided that 2003 would be a landmark year. They were going to set
a goal for $500,000 and ended the year at $497,000 in gross sales. This
is $3,000 short of the yearly goal, but the team was happy to come very close
to achieving this large number. Realizing the importance of goals, 2004
revenues were slated to be $1,000,000 per year. This is double the 2003 numbers
and will take more work than the previous years. Continuous dedication,
good employees, and continuous training have been the key to success and
this will not change.
BigMop.com continues to be upgraded according to industry trends and all
of this information has been proven in the field, again and again. Jonathan
continues to use the BigMop Bid Generator, Accu-Bid, Lead Generation team
and supplies to operate the janitorial business. Mr. Williams is very passionate
about the industry and both businesses and continues to share his secrets
with the BigMop community. As problems arise, he researches thoroughly, solves
them, and then provides a newsletter or develops a tool to help others in
the industry.
BigMop.com is designed for the growing cleaning contractor in mind, with
real world experience to apply to it. We wish you the best of luck for business
and the future of the industry.
