Name of your website?Green Clean Institute
Your name?
Michael Richmond
Your Location (city, etc)
Chicago, IL
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Green Clean Institute offers training and Green Clean Certification for those in the janitorial and building maintenance industry. As the Green evolution continues, there is a growing need for a qualified workforce to learn about Green Practices.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
There are 74,000 janitorial firms employing more than 1,000,000 janitorial workers in America alone. This group has been nearly forgotten until the Green Revolution took place. My background as an educator, trainer, and experience allowed our team to create a federally trademarked course for janitorial workers to obtain a true third party Green Clean certification.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
Our project started in 2005, but the websites came in 2006. We have deployed several websites on similar topics to create a broader impact on the Internet. Green Clean Supply was our first Green website.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
The name was obvious. "Green Clean" is the universal word in the janitorial world. We had no products to promote, and we do not run a janitorial services. We exist as a true third party with a proven credentials for the janitorial industry.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
We are unique in that no other organization has addressed this market yet. The multitude of rules and mandates for Green Clean workplaces and schools is an expanding need for trained workers. Green Clean Industry provides an excellent education and true certification for the janitorial and building maintenance industry.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Green Clean Institute is a company anxious to grow internationally. Our goal is to be the standard of this industry and bring greater value to those who work in the cleaning business. With over one million janitorial workers in the U.S. alone, we have a major task in getting our message out to those that need this certification.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
GCI has been a huge investment of time and money. We spent months in researching and developing the course work. The Green Clean Institute training has 6 courses and about 300 pages if you go through all three levels of certification. The Certified Mold Technician has two modules and nearly 140 pages of material. The Green Germ Control course is designed one module of nearly 60 pages. All of this did not happen in a vacuum, but we are proud to be the leaders in this effort.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
Staffing and advertising! The marketplace is substantial, and they are not easily found in traditional methods. To reach this market, we need to travel to trade shows, get into meeting with decision-makers, and advertise. Our major effort has been in building a saturation campaign on the Internet because we are skilled in that medium. Secondly, the need to reach the people in higher level of government is a urgent need requiring manpower and promotion.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Absolutely! We have great resources with a stand-alone server at a powerful provider source, we have programmers in place, and we can duplicate our process quickly with office help.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
The cost of promotion was not unexpected. It is a challenge because you can have the very best product in the world, but no one knows you are there. We turn the money brought in toward building the program, so that we have kept in the black at an early stage. The desire to grow is always impacted by the revenue available.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Breaking into any market is a challenge. The powers that be are not always ready to see someone else step onto the platform. Therefore, establishing credibility within the industry is a huge factor. You can buy your way in by placing display ads in trade magazines, and attending trade shows, but the process is still time and dedication to the cause.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
First of all, it comes down to design. A search engine friendly website is very important. You need to know what the search engines like and the keywords that must be found on the website. Secondly,we worked diligently with directories, links, and article submission to create a larger exposure that has really helped our Google and Yahoo page ranking.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It is not an instant medium as people think. It takes time to get any kind of good placement on the search engines. The age of your domain is part of the formula, the design helps, and creating links is critical. So, it all takes times if you don't go the PPC route. I know the time frame is months and not days, so the ability to stay the course is very important to us.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
This site as active in early 2006. It is a permanent fixture for us and we only plan to improve our offerings. So, while the content may change, we are here for a very, very long time.
What do you believe is the real impact of your business?
The Green Office, Green Building, and Green School is a lot of rhetoric right now. We are seeing new products introduced which is a good step. The impact of our program is the ability to provide the third critical piece of the puzzle. Rhetoric and product still require a knowledgeable person to do th job. We all want a safe workplace, but it will not be done by amateurs. Green Clean Institute certified is already having an impact on the market, and it will be a major player in the future.
What is your website address?
Green Clean Institute
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