Her name was Carole Smith. A close family friend who 30-odd years ago bravely (and foolishly) offered to let me practice my profession on her shag carpets with my new portable carpet extractor.

Carpet cleaning can and should be a great life, as a happy, fulfilled and wealthy entrepreneur mans the helm of a thriving business. Or it can be a miserable existence with a sour, negative person slaving away at a job they dislike with customers they despise. Weird.

Technology is great. I’m sure you are aware of some of the fantastic advances made in the whole odor-control area. But don’t let all this slick, whiz-bang technology lead you astray from one central principle of indoor air quality.

"Amazing things happen when you make people feel valued as individuals, when you dignify their suggestions and their ideas, when you show your respect for them by allowing them to exercise their own wisdom and judgment and discretion."
- Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines

I always loved the physical act of cleaning carpets. The power of the machine, the almost sensuous glide of the wand over the carpet and the gratification of putting on a show for the homeowner were all incredible, and it didn't hurt that I was making more money than I had ever believed possible. Carpet cleaning was my "dream job" and I lived, breathed, ate and slept it for 20 years.

For thousands of years the world has been divided by language. Wars have been fought, lives have been lost, families have been divided solely because of lack of communication. This is true even when all parties involved are speaking the same language.

I saw the light almost 30 years ago. And as often happens with paradigm shifts, it appeared with little fanfare. I had finished cleaning a large residence, and the homeowner handed me the check. I expected this. But I was unprepared for the list of names and phone numbers accompanying it.

I'm always amazed at the hoops cleaners jump through to avoid selling themselves to potential customers. Call it what you will: fear of rejection, intimidation or laziness. The fact is most of us would rather be beaten with a lead pipe than make a "sales call."

There are many diversification opportunities; just find them.

"The optimist sees the doughnut, but the pessimist sees the hole."
-McLandburgh Wilson

Diversifying lets you become more valuable to customers, and to pay employees better. So consider this ...