Biggest Regrets as a Cleaning Business Owner

This topic is heavy, especially coming from a day of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. "Regret" and "Gratitude" cannot coexist. So if you say you regret something, you're void of gratitude. Let that sink in for a minute.

You came here to read about my regrets as a cleaning business owner. Maybe you're here because you too have regrets. Or maybe the headline was controversial enough to incite curiosity. Whatever the reason, it was on my heart to talk about regret. If my wife were peering over my shoulder as I type this she'd laugh, or say "I told you so" so I type this with humility.

She has called me out more times than I can count after hearing me say, "I regret [fill in the blank]. "Why regret?" she retorts labeling the word as a hurtful word. "You made the decision, so live with it." Easier said than done when the mess of your own doing or the mess of someone else's doing falls at your feet. Maybe it's my personality type, especially as an introvert, it lives rent-free in my own head a little too long. 

Regret impacts your health. It affects your autoimmune response. It increases your blood pressure. It affects our hormones. It impacts sleep. Then why regret? We regret because we wish we made different choices. But what if those alternative choices would have led to other levels of regret? I'm getting too deep here. Let me press pause....

For a long time I regretted being in the cleaning business. But had I picked a different path, like law or sales in a different industry isn't there a possibility I'd "regret" being on that path too?

I regretted working with certain clients over the years. But aren't my past negative experiences with them helping to guide my work ethic and moral compass in the future? Should that really be a regret?

We lacked a solid QA program and there was a time where there was a revolving door of clients. I truly regretted it. It felt I let them down. But if I didn't go through that, would I even consider that to be a future USP within our company?

We hired a #3 to be our future COO. We did our due diligence. In the end, this trusted #3 told all of our clients that he has his own cleaning company and attempted, and failed, to persuade them to come sign with him. I regretted even knowing his name. If I didn't go through that, would our hiring process be as solid as it is now?

There was embezzlement within our company, in tune of 6-figures, and that led to paralysis and not knowing how to handle the situation. That ultimately cost us a ton of money, and it was our inaction through a lack of systems and processes mainly on my end that crippled our company. I regretted all of it. But had I not gone through that experience, would we even be better off than before? Or worse?

Regret comes at various levels. I watched a video of people sharing their regrets and the videos were in order, by incremental age, from age 5 to age 70. It's a stark contrast in the level of regret as the age progresses. In one segment, the person said that he wouldn't be who he is without that experience, so was it really even a regret?

To cure regret there are a lot of things you can try. I'm being a hypocrite here because I'm not regret-free. But I'm working on it. I've recently re-started (probably for the 10th time) journaling. Remember how I started with "Regret and gratitude cannot coexist"? Well, if that's true, if I started a gratitude journal that should fix it, right? Other steps you can take: Ask if the regret is justified. Forgive yourself. Reframe it in your mind. Be compassionate towards yourself. Share these feelings with those you like, know and trust. 

So, if you feel regret, take these steps to help reduce that regret. And join me going forward in keeping a gratitude journal. There are so many great things out there that I cannot see....because of regret. 

Next on Deck: Business Terms You Should Be Knowledgable About (Coming 12-11-2024)