| Name |
Melody Andrews-Alicea |
| Name of your business: |
Refreshingly Clean |
| When did you open your business? |
2008 |
| What services do you offer? |
We offer cleanings from top to bottom to general surface cleanings and everything in between for residential and commercial properties, power washing, outside clean-ups, gutter cleaning, pet care, away form home service, window cleaning, grout cleaning and caulking services. |
| Why did you start the business? |
I started this business because after having a child I needed some income that would help out our family at the time with not a lot of hours a week. I quickly realized that I was very good at what I was doing and a few people passed my name around. I started advertising a small amount and then got one client from that which referred me to a few other people and the ball just kept rolling. I became better as time went on and learned new tricks and so I figured I have a knack for cleaning and making people happy I should continue on. |
| How many people are in your company? |
Myself and 2 employees |
| What has been the biggest surprise, good or bad, since you started? |
The biggest surprise was how quickly all of a sudden you can pick up business but then however you can also lose it too depending on how quickly the economy may change or there is a change in the home owner's life that may cause them to cut services back or completely. |
| What is the toughest part of running your business? |
I feel the toughest part at this point in my business is finding mature and dependable employees. I am very picky and do not settle so maybe this is why! I do not have a high turnover rate however every time I need to think about hiring another employee or a replacement I cringe. |
| What is the best part of running your business? |
The best part of running my business is just that. I am running my business and am my own boss. I also enjoy very much my client's happiness with coming home to a beautiful clean home. That makes me feel good at the end of the day and is worth some of the negatives. |
| Is there anything that you would have done differently? |
I would have sunk more money into the business much earlier then I did with advertising and just some little things that I have recently done to draw attention to me. |
| What is the most important thing you will be adding, doing, changing in the next year for your business? |
I think the most important thing that I will be maybe thinking about adding is a car detailing service. I still need to do some research on this but it is a venture that we may look into. |
| Where do you see your business in 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years? |
I see my business in 2 years still thriving and myself not working more then a day or two each week. I would like to step back very soon, at least this is the goal. |
| What advice could you give others and please don't hold back! |
My advice to others would be to never get discouraged, whether it be from a client, an employee or really just anyone. You control your mind and your business. There are times in the first 3 years I may have lost a client for their personal financial reasons and being I was starting out it would discourage me and I felt like giving up. Now if that happens I think ok, no biggie I will replace them in time because I am a good company and it shows. I have not gotten a lot of complaints or concerns over the last 6 years but when I did I would get bummed but now I just kill them with my great people skills, fix what is wrong and move on. It will happen and no one is perfect even though we would like to think we are sometimes! |
| How do you use MyHouseCleaningBiz.com to help you with your business? |
I use it to look at the forums, forms and discussions. It is really a great resource |
| School - high school, college, technical school: |
High School grad and a child care degree at a technical school |
| What are some of your prior jobs or businesses? |
Preschool teacher for about 13 years and then this. |
| Is there a specific person or event in your life that made you decide to go into business for yourself? |
My kids and my husband. I know I needed to have some flexibility for my kids while helping my husband. My son is Autistic so there are many days I am glad I have that flexibility. |
| Web Site: |
http://refreshinglyclean.org |
| Email Address: |
[email protected] |
| Your Social Network links (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc): |
https://www.facebook.com/refreshinglyclean |
