TOMORROW’S CLEANING YEARBOOK
2010 - Out of the abyss?
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM INDUSTRY EXPERT PETER HOLT –
THE CLEANING INDUSTRY IN 2010, WHAT IS OUR FUTURE?
Gazing into my Hi-Def. crystal ball trying to contractors now know what buildings are still The plan that is
predict how our industry might look by the end being used and the financial viability of their shared with the
of 2010 is a really tough call. Given the speed of owners. Retail seems to have bottomed and shareholders and
daily news change almost anything can happen. there is some evidence that a few are even banks will, almost
There was a three-month bull run on the world
seeing an upturn. The stock market is higher certainly, be
stock markets when you might have thought
than we had dared to hope after the lows of last conservative, but I
the boom times are back. Dubai and now
autumn. Currency rates have stabilised and suspect there will
Greece are now in deep trouble and then they
interest rates and inflation remain low. also be the “upside”
say the risk of double dip recession is even At any other times all this would be the basis
version, might
Peter Holt, Consult Holt
higher; the Pound is even weaker but exports of a boom economy and it certainly isn’t that.
cost a bit more
still don’t improve. The successful 2010 players will be those who
and might well might have more risk, but it is
So here’s the dilemma; the government
have the ability and the nerve to plan sensibly,
the one that starts to build back.
doesn’t know, the financial pundits don’t seem
seek single-digit growth and have the controls The key question for me is how low can we go,
to know, neither does the press. The banks
in place to manage their costs in line with their but how will we react to unplanned success?
might know but they are only looking at their
sales. If that sounds like the obvious, it is, but How quickly will be able to ramp up our
own bonuses, but as a business person, you
many businesses did not take the time to take service and supply levels when are needed?
have no option but to achieve your business
a realistic and strategic view.
Thank goodness 2009 is now behind us and
plan that you have set in stone for all of 2010. There are some factors that may give some only a positive and realistic view will take us
If all that is not enough, we will soon have the crumbs of optimism. The ever –increasing forward through 2010. If we don’t plan for
uncertainty of government change and the risk pressure from the environmental lobby, which success, we know we will fail.
of a hung parliament. is becoming more and more mainstream by
Consultholt Limited was formed a year ago by
Received wisdom tell you to be highly
the day, should encourage innovation in our
Peter Holt who has been successfully
conservative, plan for low or even zero growth,
industry. Anything that helps us understand the
managing companies in the cleaning sector for
protect your margins and cut your staffing and
concept of value over price will assist us all in
over forty years. Consultholt Limited
business expenses to the bone. We ended up
securing our long-tem future.
specializes in mentoring business owners and
doing this in a reactive way in 2009 and became The level of re-infection in our medial and care managers in strategic planning and personal
a self-fulfilling prophecy that saw the deepest facilities has reached a point of public goal setting. Through involvement in trade
downturn our industry has seen in modern concern. The solutions to this critical problem associations and a long experience in leading
times. So is there any cause for optimism? can only be opportunity for the cleaning sales, Peter Holt also offers a close network of
We need to have some positive belief to make
industry. contacts that can be leveraged to assist other
better things happen in 2010. Cautious Capital purchases have been delayed for the past
businesses.
optimism is the way to go. I am not advocating 18 months and so much now has to be replaced. Contact Peter at peter@consultholt.com .
blind-faith, but more a considered view that That offering labour-saving, high productivity
requires some risk, but one that, if successful equipment will see better sales in 2010.
will see the beginnings of an upturn.
There is still risk, but the better businesses will
There is some evidence that most of the have identified those key areas and will
downsizing has now happened. Building Service manage them in the context of their operations.
6
| TOMORROW’S CLEANING YEARBOOK 2010 | The future of our cleaning industry
FEATURE
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