Starting Strong: Max From The Softwash Company
Max from The Softwash Company was recently at the Released office with his team to do a fantastic job of washing the building and windows. While he was there, we cornered him (with consent) for a quick interview.
It’s always a pleasure to showcase our wonderful clients on the blog, telling their unique stories of business ownership. There’s always something to learn from others’ experiences, and although Max is fairly new to business ownership, he has some insight that we think our other clients—and anyone in the trades world—will enjoy.
The journey to Softwash
With no idea what he wanted to do after finishing high school, Max studied sports science and then psychology at university to graduate with a degree in social science. Unfortunately, he says, there are no jobs in psychology unless you’re a fully-qualified psychologist, and postgraduate study was not in the cards for him. Instead, he worked a few jobs here and there, went overseas, had his first foray into the cleaning industry, went overseas again, and gained experience both on the tools and in sales for big and small cleaning firms.
Max had always wanted to work for himself. This was cemented when he realised while selling cleaning services that people weren’t buying from the brand; they were buying from him. If he personally was selling something, he wanted to be able to back it up and follow through with quality.
Buying The Softwash Company was a considered decision but a quick one! Max’s partner pointed out the TradeMe listing and they called within 30 minutes of it being posted. It was a Goldilocks proposition: not too big, not too small. Max had been tossing up whether it would be better to start something from scratch or buy a business, and this ticked a lot of boxes. It was established enough that he could earn from day one, but small enough that he wasn’t paying for a huge reputation.
That was almost a year ago, and business ownership has been a great ride for Max so far.
Challenges and learning curves
We asked Max what he’d found difficult so far, and as a follow-on from that, what lessons he’d learnt. The main theme was simply this:
“As a small business owner, you’ve gotta do everything.”
The general operations of a business Max felt he had under control, along with the work on the tools. However, there were suddenly other areas for him to consider. Marketing was chief amongst these, as well as maintaining a website. In fact, he said that one of his first hurdles was being completely unaware of how to log in to the back end of the site to make changes.
He also learnt a fairly universal lesson: everything costs more than you think it’s going to.
Max told us how he learnt to view outsourcing as an investment. Additionally, he spoke of letting go of expectations. The cleaning industry carries some degree of stigma, and leaving this behind has brought him freedom.
Making his mark
One of the curlier questions we asked Max was this: how has The Softwash Company evolved under your leadership? The main evolution has been his approach to sales and product focus. Max has dialled in to recurring work to create sustainable profit. Entire house washing can be a one-and-done type of job, but Max aims to use these “big” services to secure recurring revenue such as window washing, which might be done once a year or once every six months, depending on the client. They offer maintenance plans for this type of regular work.
Adding window cleaning to house washing as a package is another new approach. The company has had business from people who just had their house washed, causing their windows to become dirty. Providing these together in a convenient duo capitalises on this, filling a gap in the market and taking advantage of what other businesses are not doing.
Working with Released
When asked about working with Released, Max spoke on how he essentially “inherited” our services from the previous owners.
““That’s the beauty of buying a business instead of starting from scratch. I didn’t know that a service like this existed, or my impression of it was that it was an offshore thing.””
Outsourcing is often a ‘spend money to make money’ situation, and he has found it to be a worthy investment.
The Released team can complete tasks in the background to make sure it all runs smoothly; jobs as small as putting receipts into Xero that can easily slip off the radar of a busy business owner. This ensures that his books and admin are tidy and minimises costly or time-consuming errors and oversights.
Having people to handle customer calls is good for the reputation of The Softwash Company. Being able to send an invoice on the day a service is completed demonstrates promptness and commitment. Sarah his VA is able to have conversations that he would avoid, make phone calls he’s putting off, staying ahead of issues.
Having extra team members visible to customers over phone and email gives the impression the business is a lot bigger than it is: there’s someone answering the phone straight away, service is prompt and patient, and everything is done quickly. This adds professionalism and makes a good first impression. Meanwhile, Max can focus on delivering quality service in-person and be present with customers.
Being part of the wider Released network is valuable. We celebrate our clients on social media, on our blog, in our newsletters, creating a positive environment.
Above all, Max has found that Released gives him time back to engage in income-earning activities as he focuses on the growth of the company. One of the biggest selling points of Released is that it is NZ-based and Auckland-based. This local knowledge is so helpful for customer service and scheduling; the results would not be the same with an overseas contractor.
Max’s advice for fellow business owners
Although he’s relatively new on the scene, Max has some great advice for others getting started. First up is this: if that’s your dream, just start! It’s easy to plan, procrastinate, and get hung up on the details. However, you’ll have to pull the trigger sometime, so when the opportunity arises, put your qualms aside and just do it.
Similarly, he spoke about limiting beliefs. Don’t pigeonhole yourself, and don’t let your own insecurities hold you back from what you can achieve.
Max said from his experience on both sides of the equation that trying to do everything yourself as a business owner is a fool’s game. You need to learn to trust your team and your contractors.
"I think when you’re small, there’s a real thought of ‘I have to do everything myself’... you’ll stay self-employed forever but never have a business.”
There was also a word of encouragement! Max said that even during the first few weeks of owning the company, he had never been so tired yet so at peace with where he was at in life. He was and has been very happy with his decision, and the timing has worked out very well.
What’s next for Max and The Softwash Company?
Since buying the business, Max has brought on another staff member and another vehicle, expanding the potential for work and earning. With training in place, they will be able to schedule two jobs at the same time.
The next step is simply rinse and repeat; Auckland is big enough to keep growing. Max says he’s not concerning himself with competition, as it hasn’t got in his way so far! He’s on track for slow but steady growth, and is happy to keep doing what he’s doing and take the future as it comes.
If you’re dreaming of a clean house and windows, get in touch with Max and his team at
The Softwash Company!
