Tony Evans Biography

    Along with my wife of nearly 30 years I own and operate A New View Exterior Cleaning. We started the company in 2004 making this our 12th year in business. I have been in the cleaning industry in one form or another for over 15 years and was a general contractor for 10 years before that.

    The first thing I realized when we started this business was that education was paramount to success. To that end I got involved with several online forums to glean as much information as possible in an effort to shorten my learning curve and decrease the potential pitfalls of the business. I so appreciated the help I was given that I have made a concerted effort to give back as much as possible by helping educate any who have asked, even those in my own area, thru forums, phone calls, and networking events.

    About 3 years ago I joined the United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners as  felt it was a group that felt the same way I did about educating other contractors for the betterment of the industry as a whole. I've enjoyed learning a great deal about being a businessman, teacher, and servant to the industry from it's leadership over the last few years. Because of that and my desire to continue to give back, I'm running for a At Large position on the Board of Directors in the upcoming election. 

   I've enjoyed the privilege of forming and chairing the Window Cleaning Certification Committee, writing several articles for the newsletter, and doing presentations and training at several UAMCC events. I've also hosted the Midwest Cleaning Event in Iowa for 7 years before joining forces with the Power Wash Store event this last year. 

   I hope to be able to give back even more to the industry as a member of the UAMCC Board of Directors should I be elected so I can continue the path so clearly set by the previous Board.

Avoiding the Do It Yourself Trap!

Now before you get upset because you love a good DIY project let me explain - I'm not talking about modifying your tools or fixing your own equipment. I'm discussing a trap that comes from our own minds. One that originates with our strengths to become our weakness. The belief that we have to do the work ourselves in order to have a successful business.
Yes, the old, I can do it better myself, myth!
I myself have tried for many years to do the bulk of our work myself and I know many others who also operate their business that way. However, after a recent car accident I realize just how dangerous that is for my business. As I slowly recover I find that my productivity isn't what I want it to be and it's slow to return. That begs the question - what if I were hurt worse? How could my business survive if the one person doing a large amount of the work or at the very least the more difficult tasks. In our case that could cost us a large amount of our current customer base. So why would someone keep working that way?

I Love What I Do
Some of the biggest reasons that keep us working solo or with a mate only, are our love of what we do and a strong work ethic. We don't want to be stuck behind a desk when we enjoying working outside. We may even feel that if we aren't working hard in the field we aren't doing our all to build our business. Then there's the feeling that we don't want to train an employee to become our competition. Are those concerns valid?
As we discussed above sometimes our strengths can become our weaknesses. For instance a strong work ethic can make us oblivious to how much time we are spending (often unnecessarily) on our business. After a 10 or 12 hour day do you then go home to do invoices, scheduling, returning calls, or a myriad of other tasks before getting to spend any time with your family or even sleep? Do you realize that by and large most people don't want to be a business owner? Do we really have to be stuck behind a desk all the time if we are the boss?
Only you have the answers for your company in those areas. But maybe you can start small. Delegate some tasks to a trusted friend or family member or even use a company that specializes in things like scheduling appointments or taking phone calls. You may find that extra time is addictive and you'd like to step it up to the next level. How then do we protect ourselves from the trap?

What is the Answer?
For our company the answer is twofold. First, as I posted in a past blog, we are moving the company into more commercial maintenance work. Secondly, I am training others to do this work removing me from the equation if necessary.
I know some will say they simply can't entrust their company's future to others but if you can't, will your company have a future if something happens to you? I'm not saying that you have to restructure your company out of fear but allowing our belief that we are the only person who can do the work is a trap that can be hard to escape.
Why not take some time to think about it. Don't let your great work ethic and love of what you do end up becoming the Do It Yourself Trap!

For more information visit A New View Exterior Cleaning

Why did we change our business?

When we started our business over a decade ago we were all about window cleaning. It was a great job because it offered instant gratification, start with dirty windows and leave the customer A New View from clean windows. Along the way we had requests for services that seemed to fit in nicely with what we were already doing. Really a win/win. The client didn't have to deal with several contractors and we could make more money at each stop.
Until recently we didn't really pursue services other than window cleaning. We just gave clients a price if they asked what it would be to add a house wash or patio cleaning to the windows. But since we joined the United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners a couple years ago we've talked to many contractors that inspired us to market our business as what we truly are - an exterior cleaning business.
Since most of our work was on the exteriors already it just made sense. We still offer interior window cleaning, shower door stain removal, and granite counter top cleaning for those properties that would benefit from those services.
We've already seen a huge increase in our business and look forward to adding many new clients who will also come to appreciate having A New View whether from their windows or while looking back on a freshly washed property from top to bottom.

For more information go to A New View Exterior Cleaning