I'm from Michoacan, Mexico, but I've been living in the US since 2004.
Since I arrived to The United States I held many different jobs: I've been a landscaper, a dishwasher, a cook, a chef, a construction worker, & even a car salesman. You name it, I've probably done it. But in 2015, I decided to start a cleaning business with my wife Sandra....
How I went from working as a car salesman, to restaurant owner, to bankruptcy, to running a 7 figure cleaning business.
Wanna hear a story that has its ups & downs, but ultimately leads to massive success? Then buckle up & listen closely. This is the tale of how I went from being in a total financial disaster, to filing for bankruptcy, & then to generating $7 million in total sales in just a few years.
It all started back in 2015 when I was working as a car salesman at a Ford dealer. My wife, got a job in a cleaning company, one day she tells me just how much money they were making. She suggested starting our own cleaning business, & at first, I didn't take her seriously. However, deep down, I had always dreamt of financial freedom & providing a better life for my family.
The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of starting a cleaning company… And so we did & called it Bumble Bee Cleaning Service
I have to tell you...starting a cleaning business was not that easy. We had no experience in the industry, no business manuals, no idea where this was going to go & I had no clue what I was doing! Lots of bad things happened to my wife due to lack of knowledge.
After a year of operating the cleaning business, I received a piece of mail from Labor & Industries stating that I owed them $12,800 because I had misclassified the employees as subcontractors. I was devastated, & my dreams of running a successful cleaning business were about to go up in smoke. Luckily, my brother Fernando came to my rescue & lent me the money I needed to pay...
I wasn't about to give up that easily, determined to turn things around, I started educating myself regarding the labor laws, I learned about payroll taxes, & workers compensation, with this newfound knowledge, my cleaning business started taking off.
By the end of 2016, the cleaning business was doing very well, & I decided to invest in a Mexican restaurant & a grocery store thinking it would 3X our income. It seemed like a great idea at first, but was I so wrong: We ended up losing all our savings, maxing out my credit cards, & working 7 days a week in 3 business, stress was through the roof, & the money just wasn't coming in...
After 2 years of struggling, I had to close the restaurant & the store, got sued for illegally streaming a boxing fight in the restaurant, got behind on taxes & got the IRS involved, & lawsuits from creditors & landlords started pouring in, It was a nightmare & I had no other option but to file for Bankruptcy.
I was able to get rid of all the credit debt. However I still had a $80K IRS debt I couldn't take to bankruptcy…
But even in the midst of all that chaos, I refused to give up & at that very instant I drew a line in the sand & decided to change my life forever. I scoured the Internet for hours, took many online courses, looked for mentors who could help me turn things around.
I started learning using budgets, I began hiring Virtual Assistants to keep the cost of operation low, I started systematizing my business by creating steps for everything, so that the Virtual Assistants could operate the business without me, we also developed a video training system for the cleaners.
Thanks to the cleaning business, I bounced back in just under a year, I was able to pay back $80K to the IRS. I now work only 4 hours per week, I have control over my time, I have quality time with my family, get to travel whenever I want, knowing that the business keeps running without me.
Remember, despite my success today, I'm really no different than you.
What's the moral of the story? Anybody can start a successful cleaning business if you’re ambitious & willing to put in the work & it doesn’t matter what your background is, where you come from, your IQ or your education level. Is about having an "I can do it" mentality and your ability to take action.
And what's the best lifehack? Invest in yourself! Look for experts, people who are already where you want to be, you will cut the time to learn & it will be the best investment you can make.
So that, my friends, is how I was able to start a cleaning company, a restaurant, a grocery store, to file for bankruptcy & pay back the IRS $80K & come back & make $7+ Millions in sales with my cleaning business.
If you are that person who is struggling & feel stuck, I want you to know that if I can do it, you can do it too!
Take full responsibility, no 50% or 80%, but 100% & you will succeed. Only then, you will get the results you desire & live the life you want.
What started out as a simple idea to create a cleaning company, evolved into a multitude of different opportunities.
The Inception of the idea to produce online training videos for cleaners was just the tip of the iceberg.
People started approaching me for a personal coaching program, & sought our guidance to execute our business model in their cleaning business.
After numerous requests, I decided to take the plunge. Thus, the 7Figure Cleaners coaching program was born.
I never envisioned extending my knowledge & offer one-on-one coaching, but my sincere objective has always been to assist entrepreneurs in reaching their potential & attaining the perks of being a business owner.
I actively search for methods to optimize my cleaning business & also learning new business management skills & marketing strategies.
In my opinion, "Self development & discipline triumphs every time," & it is a philosophy that I live & work by.
Thanks for reading my story, your support through our online courses, coaching program, and software subscriptions help us to continue to innovate & bring better training & better content to the industry.
That's all for now - I'll catch you on the next one!
Cristobal Mondragon - Bumble Bee Cleaning Services