How ActionCOACH Took Urban Clean, a Janitorial Franchise, Growth to New Heights

Entrepreneurs often marvel at a breakthrough moment, yet many, like Urban Clean founder Damian Boehm, experience steady evolution toward success. Damian had grown his janitorial franchise into a 150‑plus location network through grit and determination. Still, despite early wins, he found himself entrenched in operational “busy work,” unable to scale without sacrificing personal time or diluting service quality. When he partnered with ActionCOACH and business coach Bill Stack, Damian gained the mindset, systems, and accountability needed to transform Urban Clean into a self‑sustaining, high‑performance enterprise freeing him to focus on strategic growth rather than firefighting daily tasks.

From Real Estate to Commercial Cleaning

Originally a residential and light‑commercial real estate developer in Brisbane, Damian craved steady, predictable income streams. He recognized that project‑to‑project lumpiness in property deals could be smoothed by a service business with recurring contracts. After launching a small cleaning division in the late 2000s, he quickly realized the potential: commercial cleaning could deliver reliable cash flow, while his real estate side struggled with overhead and vacancy risk. When his property ventures stumbled, Damian shifted full‑time into cleaning and soon discovered that winning contracts was only half the battle—delivering consistent quality and growing without burnout presented an entirely new challenge.

Early Entrepreneurial Growing Pains

At first, Urban Clean’s growth rested entirely on Damian’s 24/7 availability. He juggled client calls, staff scheduling, dispatch, and invoicing, often at the expense of his health and family life. Though revenue climbed, so did turnover: rushed hiring produced frequent cultural mismatches, and ad‑hoc pricing strategies left profit margins vulnerable. Damian recognized that his technical acumen and work ethic alone wouldn’t sustain the business. He needed structured processes, a strong leadership team, and clear financial controls but lacked the outside perspective to implement them effectively.

Discovering ActionCOACH and Bill Stack’s Guidance

In 2012, Damian attended a local lunch‑and‑learn where ActionCOACH introduced its Six‑Step coaching framework. Intrigued, he arranged a discovery call with Bill Stack, a coach whose warm but challenging style reminded Damian that coaching was not a quick fix but Bill insisted on embedding new habits and building Damian’s capabilities alongside his team. “Bill never told me what to do; he asked the right questions and held me accountable,” Damian recalls. “Instead of fixing problems for me, he taught me how to diagnose issues and lead my company to solutions.” That distinction between consulting and coaching proved crucial in sparking Urban Clean’s turnaround.

(Bill Stack, ActionCOACH, Queensland, AU) 

Embedding ActionCOACH Planning and Measurement

Bill began by reshaping Damian’s mindset and embedding a coaching discipline into Urban Clean’s DNA. He guided Damian to adopt short, focused planning cycles, setting clear quarterly priorities and breaking them into weekly action items. Under Bill’s direction, each week became a structured opportunity to dissect performance against specific KPIs: customer acquisition rates, staff retention figures, margin targets, and franchisee satisfaction scores. Damian would present progress during their coaching call, and Bill would probe with incisive questions: “What drove that swing in retention this week?” or “Why did that contract underperform?” This relentless focus on data and inquiry sharpened Damian’s diagnostic skills, empowering him to lead with both urgency and insight.

Through Bill’s guided exercises, Damian also clarified Urban Clean’s core values: reliable service, honest partnerships, and a people‑first culture. Bill emphasized that values are only as strong as leaders’ willingness to enforce them. He worked directly with Damian to co‑develop new interview scripts and a concise personality‑alignment tool, ensuring hires not only met technical requirements but also embodied Urban Clean’s ethos. Within months, turnover dropped by over 30%, as Bill’s systemized approach replaced gut‑feel hiring with discipline and consistency.

Cultivating Leadership and Delegation

Beyond planning and measurement, Bill insisted on delegation and leadership development as the keystone of Urban Clean’s scalability. Recognizing that Damian’s default response was to “do it himself,” Bill challenged him to appoint and coach regional managers until they could own daily decisions—and host their own score‑card meetings. Bill’s coaching drills impatiently persistent yet supportive ensured Damian learned to release tasks without fear. Week by week, Damian practiced handing over operational responsibilities, creating a leadership bench that thrived on accountability.

Financial acumen received a similar treatment. Bill walked Damian through monthly profit‑planning sessions, teaching him to dissect the P&L holistically: identifying hidden cost leaks, evaluating contract profitability, and reallocating resources to high‑margin accounts. Bill insisted on a visual profit dashboard, which Damian now reviews weekly with his finance team. This transparent framework transformed budgeting from an annual spreadsheet exercise into a living management tool, allowing Damian to reinvest confidently in strategic growth areas.

By embedding Bill’s coaching principles—mindset, measurement, and mentorship—into every layer of Urban Clean, Damian built a resilient, scalable operation that continues to thrive under his strategic stewardship.

Tangible Impacts on Revenue, Culture, and Personal Freedom

Within 12 months of full coaching adoption, Urban Clean’s growth accelerated: annual turnover climbed from AUD 4 million to over AUD 7 million, driven by higher‑value contracts and improved client referrals. Employee surveys showed morale up 25%, as staff felt clearer about roles and performance expectations. Damian’s most celebrated personal outcome: the ability to take a two‑week family holiday, unplugged and without worrying about client emergencies or staffing breakdowns. “That freedom proved the coaching worked,” he reflects. “I knew Urban Clean could thrive without me micromanaging every detail.”

(Damian Boehm with the Urban Clean Managment team in Las Vegas)

Strengthening a People‑Centric Franchise Model

Empowered by results, Damian began franchising Urban Clean using the same ActionCOACH techniques. He designed a streamlined onboarding program—complete with operations manuals, sales playbooks, and a mentorship track led by his Regional Directors—mirroring the systematic approach Bill had modelled. Today, over 150 franchise partners worldwide rely on these proven processes, benefiting from Damian’s coaching‑infused culture and the blueprint he perfected with ActionCOACH.

Continuing the Journey with Ongoing Coaching

Even as Urban Clean scaled, Damian maintained his weekly calls with Bill Stack. “Every growth phase brings fresh hurdles,” he notes. When expanding into New Zealand or introducing eco‑friendly cleaning lines, Damian again leaned on Bill’s objective perspective to assess risks and adapt the franchise model. “Bill’s consistency is our secret weapon,” Damian says. “He challenges my assumptions and ensures we don’t slip back into old habits.”

Coaching as the Catalyst for Sustainable Success

Damian’s story illustrates how domain expertise—no matter how deep—can only carry an entrepreneur so far. ActionCOACH and Bill Stack gave him the frameworks and accountability to turn a hands‑on cleaning operation into a thriving, multi‑continent franchise. By focusing on mindset, systematic execution, and disciplined leadership, Damian broke free from operational overdrive, built a robust financial foundation, and cultivated a people‑first culture that powers Urban Clean’s continued success.

“Bill didn’t just solve my problems—he taught me how to solve them myself. That shift reshaped everything.” — Damian Boehm, Founder & CEO, Urban Clean

For any entrepreneur feeling trapped in day‑to‑day firefighting, Damian’s journey underscores the value of expert coaching. ActionCOACH doesn’t hand you fish—it teaches you how to fish sustainably. With the right coach, you can unlock strategic clarity, build high‑performing teams, and achieve the ultimate reward: a business that runs brilliantly, whether you’re at the helm or on vacation. If you are ready to take the next steps to your entrepreneurial success, request a free discovery call today and see how ActionCOACH can take your business to new heights.