Steve Boyce Named Chief Operations Officer for Steamatic, Inc.

Fort Worth, Texas, Feb. 9, 2011 – Steamatic, the industry leader in cleaning and restoration services in more than 270 franchise territories in the United States and in 25 countries around the world, recently named Steve Boyce as the organization’s new Chief Operations Officer. The announcement was made by Bill Sims, president of Steamatic, Inc.

Boyce has owned and operated his own multi-truck cleaning, restoration and home inspection company, and has served as National Sales Manager for the industry’s leading chemical manufacturer. He has consulted with major franchises, distributors and manufacturers, and has been a litigation consultant and expert witness.

“Not only does Steve bring many years of experience, he offers Steamatic and our franchise partners unique experience and insight into customer service, operations and many other areas,” says Sims. “For example, in just a short time, he has increased our emphasis on customer service, product information and other operations-related matters that helps brand the Steamatic name.”

Boyce spent a year with a specialty “dot.com,” where he trained chemical engineers in sales and market development, and another seven years as Vice President of Commercial and Restoration Services for a large franchise company.

Involved in the cleaning, restoration and construction industry for more than 30 years, Boyce is an Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) Master Cleaner, Master Restorer and Senior Inspector, and has taught more than 400 IICRC certification classes in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and England. Over the years, he has taught water damage, fire and smoke damage, odor control, carpet cleaning, commercial maintenance, upholstery cleaning, carpet repair and re-installation to 8,000+ students.

For more information on Steamatic, including franchise opportunities, please contact Jarrod Sims at 817-332-1575 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

About Steamatic
Steamatic offers cleaning and restoration services through more than 270 franchise territories in the United States and in 25 countries around the world. Steamatic’s highly trained and certified technicians work with insurance agents and adjusters, and directly with the public. Restoration services include fire and smoke, water mitigation, mold remediation, and contents recovery; commercial and residential services include carpet cleaning, hard surface cleaning, HVAC and air duct cleaning, and furniture, area rug and drapery cleaning. Steamatic’s mission statement is: “Steamatic is committed to making our world a safer and cleaner environment for present and future generations.” In 2011, the company celebrates 43 years of franchising.

Develop a Road Map for Franchise Growth

By Jarrod Sims, Steamatic Franchise Development

Regardless of the size, geographic location or scope of services, a franchise is really just a small business that competes for customers and attention in a certain local area or region.  The bottom line is to grow the business, yet many franchise owners get bogged down with day-to-day operational issues and concerns that never seem to get addressed in a timely or effective manner.

Franchises that operate quite well recognize their strengths, but also have a sharp eye on what it takes to consistently improve their companies. What do they do that’s different than the competition? They plan.
After a certain amount of time, many franchise owners are complacent with the services and products they offer. Instead of finding ways to add value, they are content with the status quo. Yet, the biggest area of concern for franchisees is their lack of continuously adding value through new services, updated products and additional customer support.

Franchise owners must think about growth on a 24/7 basis by developing strategies that address short- and long-term goals, how the company is going to achieve those goals, and how the strategies will be measured or evaluated.
All of this should fit on one page – no one wants to read more than a simple document. Most importantly, the strategies should be realistic and attainable. There’s nothing more detrimental to morale than trying to achieve a goal that is unachievable.
This exercise is really nothing more than determining the problem and creating a solution. Without consciously realizing it, we do this every day in our companies when there is a customer problem or a scheduling issue.
To plan for growth, try coming up with just a few goals, then figure out the strategy and evaluation.

Here’s an example:
• Goal: Grow sales in XYZ product line 10% by 2nd Quarter 2011.
• Strategy: Promote through a marketing campaign to current customers and prospects.
• Evaluation: Did the marketing campaign enable 10% by 2nd Quarter 2011?

Of course, there’s much more to the “Strategy” element that must be planned out in detail. The owner must know the elements of the campaign, how much money the campaign costs and the cost/benefit associated with the outcome of 10% growth.

In addition, you’ll want to make sure you involve any staff directly affected by your plans. This ensures accountability, but also achieves buy-in to what you’re proposing. Getting a nod from staff ensures they will help meet your goals.
While the example might seem really basic, many franchise owners really never stop to do this kind of planning! Instead, they think about growing their companies very late in the game. This only adds to their frustration because of the lack of time to carry out a well-planned campaign.

Advance planning contributes to bottom-line profits and produce results. Best of all, planning offers a roadmap to know where you going and how you’ll get there.

Jarrod Sims is head of Franchise Development for Steamatic. Contact him at 817-332-1575 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Cleaning for Health

Here is an article on how infections and viruses are a major problem in healthcare facilities. Steamatic franchisees are highly trained specialist in cleaning to prevent the spread of germs, infections, viruses and bacteria in our homes/offices as well as healthcare related businesses.

Hospital infections kill 48,000, cost billions

AFP/File- Healthcare workers at a hospital. Nearly 50,000 US medical patients die every year of blood poisoning .Tue Feb 23, 5:56 am ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) “Nearly 50,000 US medical patients die every year of blood poisoning or pneumonia they picked up in hospital, a study has shown.

Hospital-acquired sepsis and pneumonia in 2006 claimed 48,000 lives, led to 2.3 million extra patient-days in hospital and cost 8.1 billion dollars, according to the study, led by researchers from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy at Washington-based Resources for the Future.

Together, the two hospital-acquired infections—also called nosocomial infections—account for about one-third of the 1.7 million infections US patients pick up every year while in hospital, the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday shows.

They are also responsible for nearly half of the 99,000 deaths a year from hospital-acquired infections reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The study found that patients who underwent invasive surgery during their initial hospitalization were more likely to pick up a secondary infection while in hospital, and elective surgery patients were at even higher risk of nosocomial infection.