The recession we’re not going to have!

Dateline: 25.02.2009
Author: John Laws

Enough of this talk about recession. The more the media talks it up the more chance it will happen. They are the ones who bring it about because they make us all concerned and then we start to get cautious and careful and before you know it we are in a recession.

Think about it, except for Queensland and Western Australia - which have been in boom times for a number of years - other states have been doing it a bit tough for the past three or four years. Look at the state governments, politics aside, the only ones that have been able to throw money around have been Queensland and Western Australia.

The clever economists say Australia is well placed to come out of the recession/depression better than most other countries. Anecdotal information we have had indicates that things were bad in Europe and the US last year while we were spending up big. In my view the banks especially have used the downturn to lay staff off which they had intended doing anyway.

The only manufacturing industry really hurting is the motor vehicle people and again it’s mainly the companies headquartered in the US. They were in trouble for some years due to the demands of their pension schemes, which have finally bitten them. Toyota and Honda are still OK because they don’t have those systems in their US manufacturing plants. All car manufacturers are hurting because the US economy is busted by its greedy banks.

Now that’s off my chest lets look at cleaning from the smaller operator’s perspective:

1. Clients will always need cleaning;

2. The better service you supply the better chance you have of retaining your work;

3. Smaller contractors can get closer to the client and read or sniff the wind and react quickly to changing circumstances;

4. Smaller contractors don’t have massive equipment leases or rentals to service and can weather storms more effectively;

5. Look at offering clients an increased service, such as washing coffee cups etc., watering indoor plants, look at providing vending machines in certain locations, pick up and deliver laundry, ironing services, fix leaking taps, replace blown light globes – there is no end of add-on services you can provide.

The successful contractor knows what his client wants and gets it in place before he asks. The odd free service will go a long way in this climate. The small contractor can grow in this market by being active not reactive.
www.cleaningcontractors.com.au

*John Laws (pictured) is executive director of the Australian Cleaning Contractors’ Association

The recession we’re not going to have!