We recently connected with Jacob Bailey and have shared our conversation below.

Jacob, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My hero in life and business is Richard Branson, hands down. He has lived a fuller life than most people on the planet while still being there for his family and building one of the most successful brands in the world – and had fun doing it!

A few years ago I received an email that resulted in a wild last-minute red-eye to LA, borderline-harassing a PR woman, meeting Richard Branson in a parking lot, and would ultimately change the course of my business career forever.

The email was announcing the launch of a new Virgin Atlantic route between Manchester and LAX. At the time, I was working for the UK Consulate in San Francisco covering the entire West Coast region.
I was (and still am) the biggest Richard Branson fan on the planet. While I wasn’t going to be able to afford a ticket to Necker Island any time soon, I knew that he usually comes out for these type of events and maybe I could engineer a meeting.

So in the week or so leading up to the event I quickly invited some start up founders to the events that I knew would be happening around the big launch and bought myself a last minute flight to LA and booked a quick airbnb for the night and arrived at LAX 8am the morning of the event with nothing more than a change of underwear and a toothbrush… and a determination to figure out how I would try to meet my business hero.

The day proceeded as these things normally do: business receptions, talks, happy hours, and VIP meet and greets. Needless to say, I wasn’t at the VIP meet and greet. But the big launch party was happening that night and I knew that would be my chance.

I arrived at the venue a few hours early and introduced myself to the PR woman running the show. Fortunately I had a legit reason to be there and she showed me around. I especially took note that there were really only two exits to the venue, and only one of them would be the logical choice to leave from for any VIP departures.

The night progressed with all the usual fanfare. But every 30 minutes or so I made sure to check in with the PR woman and pitched the idea of doing a group photo with the UK government staff and Richard.
As might be expected, the PR woman didn’t think that was as great of an idea as I did and she naturally blew me off. But I persisted.

Finally, I made progress: by the end of the night she took some pity on me and pulled me aside into a quiet corner and explained that there wouldn’t be any group meetings. But she might be able to line up a ‘chance’ meeting just for me.

It turned out that she was Richard’s appointed handler for that evening and she was just about to pull him out and send him back to his hotel for the night. While everyone else in the crowd was bunched up against the door to the green room, she would shortly be leading him through the crowd at high speed to get him out of the building.

But if I stood at the end of this long hallway where no one else was, next to the exit door, she would make sure he was lined up to see me while hurrying down that hallway. From there it would be all on me.

Sure enough, a few minutes later her and a few other PR reps came barreling through the crowd at high speed and down the exit hallway. As promised, she pointed Richard straight at me and got herself out of the way.

This was it! This was my chance to meet my hero. Richard Branson was walking down a hallway, straight at me. I made eye contact, started to call out his name, and then…

Just as I made my move, something distracted him and he turned away to wave at some other fans that had followed him. NO! My chance to meet him was slipping away! The PR folks opened the exit door and started ushering him out with security behind him.

I could feel my chance slipping away. But just then, as Richard was halfway out the door, he turned just slightly and with his body shielding the movement, gave me a wink and a subtle ‘come here’ wave of the finger.

I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t sure if I saw what I thought I saw. I looked at the PR woman who lined it all up and she was smiling. Just as Richard slipped out the door with security blocking anyone else from following, she just yelled ‘GO!’, pushed me out the door, and blocked it from the masses behind.
I couldn’t believe it. It was just Richard and I standing in a parking lot with no crowds or anything.

I didn’t even know what to say. I figured it was such a long shot to even get a group photo with him, I hadn’t ever planned out what I would say if I actually got the chance to meet him.
I couldn’t think of the words. I was dumbstruck. There it was, my shot and I was blowing it!
Somewhat ashamed, all I could think to say was to thank him for all he’s done and inspired, and to ask for a photo with him.

We exchanged a few words – I don’t even remember what was said – took some photos, and he was whisked off into his car and away from the venue.

I still can’t believe that I made it happen – and it goes to show how much is possible when you put determination and effort into making something happen. While I completely blew my shot to talk to my hero, that tenacity and persistence to win I felt is something that I’ve always remembered and carried with me through the rest of my professional life.

Without that experience, while technically a failure, I probably wouldn’t have started the businesses that I did or had the courage to take some of the risks that I’ve taken.

While I haven’t built anything nearly as big or important as Richard, I like to think that the jobs I provide for my team are just as meaningful and impactful for those individuals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into the cleaning industry completely by accident. I was looking for my next project and stumbled upon a group of people online building remote businesses in local services. I had a background in and around the tech industry so the idea of layering technology onto local in-person businesses really appealed to me.

That was about three years ago.

Since then I built up that first business, Summit Maids, to be one of the top residential cleaning businesses in Cleveland, Ohio; moved into the commercial cleaning space, and then acquired my current business, Cleaning Unlimited, to expand our commercial cleaning operations in Northeast Ohio.

Cleaning Unlimited is one of the oldest commercial cleaning businesses in the region, and since taking over we have turned it into one of the most technologically advanced cleaning businesses in the game. We are making waves in the industry by being one of the most customer-friendly commercial cleaning businesses around!

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

I have actually purchased two businesses!

The first was a software business that helped e-commerce businesses migrate to Shopify from other platforms. It was a great experience, but I was in way over my head! I really don’t recommend buying a software business as a non-technical owner unless you have a lot of capital ready to burn on developers. In my case, I was totally bootstrapped and trying to do it on my own. Bad idea. That thing was held together with gum and twine and took everything I had to keep it running. After a very trying few months, I managed to take it from a pile of spaghetti code to a professional organization and sold it onward.

The second business is my current business, Cleaning Unlimited of Ohio. The commercial cleaning business is a great business for people who are systems-oriented and like working with people. I had already built up my own cleaning business into one of the best cleaning companies in Cleveland, so expanding through acquisition was a natural choice when we decided it was time to expand.

The acquisition process… well… it’s a bit like getting a colonoscopy by the DMV. I funded the purchase using a SBA loan which is probably the most paperwork-intense process that a person could ever go through.

On top of that, the due diligence process is a beast! It’s literally going through every piece of the target business with a fine-toothed comb to figure out what the seller is lying to you about. It might or might not be intentional, but I guarantee you that they aren’t telling you the whole story and it’s your job to figure out what was left out.

Once you get through all of that, you’d think that the troubles might be over, yeah?

Sorry to break it to you, but that is just the start. After you finally close the sale you have to integrate the two companies, transition all the new staff onto your payroll and scheduling systems, and of course let the clients know. It won’t be easy. Have a transition plan laid out ahead of time and discuss this with the seller ahead of time. In my case, the seller did a very poor job of transition and this affected several client and employee relationships that we lost.

Looking back, I would still do it all again. Our business doubled overnight in a way that just isn’t possible without an acquisition. But if you don’t know what you’re in for ahead of time it can be one of the most challenging things you’ll ever go through.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

We ALWAYS put the clients first. I will be the first person out there in the field helping to make a situation right if I think that is what the client will need. We make sure that our core value of ‘Doing Right by the Client’ is first and foremost in our minds at all times. Sometimes this means issuing a refund or giving them free cleanings, sometimes it just means dropping in and listening when they want someone to hear about their problems. Whatever it is, we always put the client first and this has helped Cleaning Unlimited be one of the best commercial cleaning companies in Ohio.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cleaningunlimitedservice.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82285164

Image Credits
Self