As the owner of a Commercial Cleaning Company it was absolutely necessary to get my firm certified. While sitting at the negotation table of securing a school contract, the Administrator stated there is a movement to "Go Green" in the immediate future. After I had infomred him I was already Green Institute Certified, the deal was sealed and I had secured a $204,000 annual contract. If you are an owner like myself, you NEED to get Green Clean Certified, anything else will only substantiate that you are NOT serious about succeeding in this business.

LEEDs has effectively marketed the Green Building concept, but does their point system provide the only medium for a Green Building?  The expense and diffuculty of getting a LEEDs certification is not attainable by many businesses.  In a more fundamental view, Green Clean is about the health issues of people, pets, and living things that we influence by our actions.  Green Clean Institute offers a great alternative to the LEEDs program by focusing on something that LEEDs undervalues.  The janitorial program in a building is a powerful influence on the healthy environment

If there is one area that I know, it is marketing!  The advice I am offering is classic advice that is rarely understood.  You know that the stock market tells you to "Buy Low and Sell High."  Well, the best bargains are found when everyone else is getting out in a downturn!  It is difficult to be contrary to a trend, but millions upon millions are made when the weak scatter and the strong gather.  The same is true for real estate.  Believe it or not, this down trend in real estate is a buyer's dream come true.  Homes are selling for 10%, 20%, 30

As a janitorial service, we find that the race to add Green Products to the janitorial closet is the primary claim for a Green janitorial business.  This begs the question, "What happens when all the other firms eventually add Green products to their janitor carts as well?"  We have long asserted that "Green does not come in a bottle," and it is misleading and dishonest to say that your firm is Green because of the inclusion of one or more Green products.  After everyone equalizes out on products, which firms will be the ones that have the su

It has been said that perception is everything, and reality will convince even the skeptic.  As a truly Green Janitorial service, you will want to create the percept that your are a full Green Clean Certified firm, but do not neglect the reality of the operation of a Green Clean service.  Our Green Clean training is a great way to develop a solid foundation on the subject and prove that you understand how Green cleaning works.  The part that we expect will follow is that you will transition to a firm that uses Green products and Green practices. 

Okay!  There is a quiet hysteria going on that you must understand in your janitorial business.  I have friends in the health care, sports and gym facilities, daycare, chiropractors, and therapy business who are getting very nervous each time they approach the next patient or guest.  One touch is all it takes to become the next person infected by MRSA, and there is often no way to tell if the person knowing or secretly has MRSA.  People can carry it in their nose or ears for more than a year and have no symptoms.  If they scratched their nose 20 minutes before conta

With the rash of Green programs, it might help to realize that there might be a difference between Green Clean and Cleaning Green.  They sound alike, but they have come to infer two different approaches to the Green process.  Green Clean is a kind of self-appointed title that basically says, "We've included some Green products."  Janitorial services are playing games with the public because adding Green items to the cleaning cart is not the full expectations of the Green Office program.

Now that you are facing Tax Season, there is some good news about getting the training you need to be Green Clean certified. This training expense is definitely "Business Related" and a classic tax deductible expense.  There is always the need to present this to your accountant, but it is typically an expense that you can write off against your income.  If there is any hesitancy to about paying the modest price to get Green Clean certified, it is a positive factor on your tax bill while upgrading the credentials of your janitorial service.

Here's a great idea!  The Green Janitor (www.greenjanitor.net) will list your firm in this great website if you can meet their Ten Green Compliance items.  From a marketing aspect, it is great PR and can give your firm a Green Image on yet another level.  Right now, you cannot be too Green, and this gives you a great way to make your firm even more visibly Green.

New York was first, and Illinois is now the second state to create statewide laws requiring Green Clean products and practices.  If you can read the handwritting on the wall, this is a trend that other states will follow and the value of a certifiably Green Clean firm is increasingly important.  This trend is not ust for schools.  Much of this cam about after Executive Order 13101 came into place start Dec 6, 2006 and has only increased month by month.  It started with an awareness of Green products into the cleaning carts but will eventually require that t