Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Silas Ansera. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Silas thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Growth is exciting, but from what we’ve seen across thousands of conversations with entrepreneurs it’s also dangerous if costs aren’t watched closely – sometimes costs can grow out of control outpacing revenue growth and putting the viability of the entire business at risk. How have you managed to keep costs under control?
As a business owner we all want to see growth within our companies but how you manage costs to grow will be substantial to revenue growth and overall growth within your company. For myself personally, I have always been one to look for the best deals. I will shop multiple stores within reason of course to get the most for my buck and I’d like to think that played a positive role in managing my own company financially. My advice would be to narrow down your product. What do you need to accomplish your end goal with little amount of product. This will be huge in keeping revenue high. I personally make an excel document and track how much I go through each month on average, cost, date, ect. so I can keep track of my spending vs revenue. From there, take the the time to shop around for local or wholesale deals. Once you get an idea of where your main savings are coming from you start to see a pattern in their advertisement and gain a list of companies that you can regularly but quickly check. I also advise having a stalk pile of these items when certain sales hit. You’ll know if it’s a deal that can’t be passed on by looking back at past purchases tracked in your excel sheets. Before I hired on my first employee, I saw amazing deals on vacuums for an example. At the time, I did not need extras nor had in mind hiring six months into starting my company but decided to grab a few “just incase”. Few months down the road one of my vacuums broke and I also hired my first employee. With my stock pile I was able to save a large sum of money by having them in my stock pile. By tracking, over time you will notice what and how much of an item you’ll need in your overhead. This will differ based on needs company to company. Staying organized and researching your products will be your best friend in maintaining low costs but high revenue.
Silas, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Initially, I wanted to work in the psychology/social work profession. I graduated from St. Kate’s to pursue this career goal. I enjoyed working in the field but wasn’t as passionate as I thought. I kept at it because I didn’t know what else I would do, nor did I want to “waste” my four-year degree. Shortly after starting a new position in this field, we went into lockdown, and I also found out I was pregnant with my first son. Being home increased my obsession with cleaning and organizing more than it had already been. Cleaning has been a relaxing outlet for me for as long as I can remember. At this point, there was no interest in starting a company, nor had it come to mind. Fast forward to being three months postpartum, I found out I was pregnant again with another baby boy. Irish twins, they call it. Crazy, I know; I was shocked! In July 2021, I left case management / social work to stay home with my 7-month-old son, expecting my second in November. Come January of 2022, I wanted to do something that would bring income and flexibility as a mom of two. It was and still is very important to me to be present in watching my boys grow up. I then realized why not turn something I love into a business. That’s when I took my love for cleaning and created Soulful Bliss specializing in bi-weekly and monthly cleans. What sets Soulful Bliss apart from other companies is that we are a non judgement company and show compassion in every stage within cleaning relationship and outside of cleaning. We bring bliss to families who are in their busy season of life and take away the tasks that seem daunting. By choosing Soulful Bliss you will get dependability, thorough work, friendship, and someone will who go the extra mile.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Networking and social media. When I first decided to start my company, I posted on my personal Facebook and local group pages. Friends and family shared this post and that’s when my referrals started rolling in. Shortly after, I created a business Facebook page. My clients started leaving reviews on my page and recommending my services to others within these pages and from there my reputation was built. Word of mouth, having your clients share their experiences with your work will be your best friend in marketing your company.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Within my first year of starting my company, I tore my dominant shoulder. This was a setback as you can imagine because my work load needed to decrease drastically. At this time, I was working over 50 hours a week and had no idea how I would be able to accommodate all the clients that I had taken on. I either needed to tell many clients that I could no longer take them causing a set back in my new business or I needed to quickly think about hiring another person to take on my hours so I could focus on therapy. That’s when I decided why not go for it and see what happens. I was able to hire on my first employee and focus on countless hours of PT while keeping a low maintenance cleaning schedule. This allowed my clients to be taken care of while staying in a positive growth pattern in my new and growing business and also allowed myself to take the time to focus on my countless hours of PT that where a head of me. Learning how to be a boss while also navigating a new business was challenging but in the end created a strong leg to stand on for the future of my company.
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