What happens when you stop running your cleaning company like a cleaning company—and start running it like a business?

In Part 1 of this conversation, Lisa Macqueen shares how she helped transform Clean Corp from a $700,000 business into a multi-million-dollar commercial cleaning company by focusing on marketing, systems, automation, and brand positioning.

Lisa discusses why relying solely on referrals limits growth, how implementing a CRM became one of the biggest turning points for the business, and why creating repeatable systems allowed the company to scale without adding unnecessary overhead.

You'll also hear why your website should do more than list your services—it should build trust, tell your story, and help potential clients immediately understand why your company is different.

In this episode:

• Breaking through the $700K revenue plateau
• Growing to over $2 million
• Why marketing creates predictable growth
• Implementing a CRM that scales with your business
• Building automated operational systems
• Creating a website that converts
• Using branding to stand out in a crowded market
• Why people buy from people

If you're looking to build a cleaning business that can scale beyond referrals and operate like a real company, this episode is full of actionable advice you can apply immediately.

👇 Connect with Lisa Macqueen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamacqueen/

Clean Corp: https://www.cleancorp.com

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In Episode #36 of The Cleaning Journey, Misael Avalos speaks with Marcelo Matos, owner of Prime Cleaning Services in Columbus, Ohio.

Marcelo shares his remarkable journey from immigrating to the United States in 2015 to building a cleaning company that now performs approximately 2,000 cleanings per month with a team of 54 employees and 16 vehicles.

The conversation covers the challenges of losing more than 90% of clients during the pandemic, making the decision to go "all in" on the business, acquiring a larger company while facing significant financial pressure, and working through one of the most demanding periods of entrepreneurship imaginable.

Marcelo also discusses the systems, leadership structure, customer service standards, and operational processes that have helped Prime Cleaning scale while reducing owner dependency.

This episode is packed with lessons on resilience, risk, growth, and what it really takes to build a sustainable cleaning company.

Topics discussed:

• Immigrating to the United States and starting a cleaning business • Surviving COVID-related client loss • Business acquisitions • Cash flow challenges • Scaling operations • Building management teams • Systems and process development • Customer experience and retention • Long-term business growth

Interested in growing your cleaning business?

Book a free 45-minute strategy call:

https://www.misaelavalos.com

If you're serious about building systems that remove you as the bottleneck, you need the right tools. We recommend Jobber to manage scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and client communication all in one place.

Start your 2-week free trial and get 20% off for 6 months here:

https://go.getjobber.com/misael

For YouTube and Spotify:

🎥Subscribe: @misaavalos For more cleaning tips videos!

📲 Instagram: @cleaningjourney

📲 Instagram: @misa.avalos

Jobber: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

🎙️Spotify: The Cleaning Journey Podcast On Spotify

📞1-on-1 Call (45-FREE Minutes to talk about your business, CRAZYY, I know): 👇

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Episode Summary

Finding clients isn't the hardest part of running a cleaning company.

Finding and keeping great cleaners is.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Victoria Westcott shares the hiring systems, employee retention strategies, recurring revenue model, and leadership lessons that helped her build a successful residential cleaning business.

Victoria explains why many cleaning business owners focus on the wrong bottleneck, how to attract and retain experienced cleaners, and why recurring clients create a stronger and more profitable company than constantly chasing one-time jobs. She also discusses the importance of systems, boundaries, and building a business that can grow without creating chaos.

Whether you're starting a cleaning company, managing a maid service, or scaling a residential cleaning business, this episode offers practical insights on hiring, retention, recurring revenue, and sustainable growth.

What You'll Learn

• Victoria's step-by-step hiring process

• How to attract experienced cleaners

• Why hiring should never be emotional

• Employee retention strategies for cleaning businesses

• Daily pay versus traditional payroll

• Building recurring revenue through recurring clients

• Creating healthy client boundaries

• How recurring customers increase profitability

• The difference between growth and chaos

• Why systems matter more than hustle

• Leadership lessons learned from high employee turnover

Guest

Victoria Westcott

Key Topics

• Cleaning business hiring

• Employee retention

• Recruiting cleaners

• Residential cleaning companies

• Maid service growth

• Recurring revenue

• Recurring cleaning clients

• Leadership

• Business systems

• Cleaning company operations

• Scaling a cleaning business

• Team culture

Notable Quotes

"The real problem isn't clients. It's finding cleaners."

"Recurring revenue creates stability."

"Systems matter more than hustle."

We recommend Jobber to manage scheduling, quoting, invoicing, client communication, and recurring services all in one place.

🚀 Start your free trial and get 20% off for 6 months:

https://go.getjobber.com/misael

Connect With The Cleaning Journey

🎥 Subscribe: @misaavalos

📲 Instagram: @cleaningjourney

📲 Instagram: @misa.avalos

🎙️ Spotify: The Cleaning Journey Podcast

📞 Free 45-Minute Discovery Call:

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Episode Summary

In this episode of The Cleaning Journey Podcast, Victoria Westcott explains why she believes the traditional cleaning company sales process is outdated and how modern cleaning businesses can grow faster through online booking, transparent pricing, automation, and customer-focused systems.

Victoria shares her approach to running a residential cleaning business that prioritizes customer convenience, recurring clients, and operational efficiency. She discusses how online booking can improve conversions, why today's customers expect instant pricing, and how cleaning business owners can build systems that scale without adding unnecessary complexity.

Whether you own a house cleaning company, maid service, residential cleaning business, or home service company, this episode offers practical insights on attracting better clients, improving the customer experience, and creating a more efficient business.

What You'll Learn

• Why customers expect transparent pricing
• The benefits of online booking for cleaning businesses
• How automation improves customer experience
• Building scalable systems for a cleaning company
• How to attract and retain ideal clients
• Why simplifying the buying process increases conversions

Guest

Victoria Westcott

Key Topics

• Cleaning business growth
• Online booking systems
• Transparent pricing
• Customer experience
• Residential cleaning companies
• Cleaning company systems
• Client acquisition
• Business automation
• Recurring cleaning clients
• Service business operations

Notable Quotes

"Customers want their problem solved."

"Online booking changes everything."

"Focus on your ideal customer."

Victoria's Cleaning Company - https://www.instagram.com/oakbayclean/

If you're serious about building systems that remove you as the bottleneck, you need the right tools. We recommend Jobber to manage scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and client communication all in one place.

Start your 2-week free trial and get 20% off for 6 months here:

https://go.getjobber.com/misael

For YouTube and Spotify:

🎥Subscribe: @misaavalos For more cleaning tips videos!

📲 Instagram: @cleaningjourney

📲 Instagram: @misa.avalos

Jobber: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

🎙️Spotify: The Cleaning Journey Podcast On Spotify

📞1-on-1 Call (45-FREE Minutes to talk about your business, CRAZYY, I know): 👇

https://scheduler.zoom.us/misael-avalos/free-discovery-call

Want to be in the podcast? Please fill out this form, and we will contact you. Your journey matters! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10RsS2J2CzQjW8ttbljx2LfebK9sMtmSz9AG0ipMAlx8/edit

Misael Avalos sits down with Shania Gladwell, founder of Beskar Cleaning, to discuss the early years of building a cleaning company during COVID and the reality of scaling too quickly.

Shania shares how she went from working in government recruitment to managing more than 80 employees while raising a newborn and trying to keep her business afloat during one of the most chaotic periods in recent history.

This episode covers:

✅ Early growth in the cleaning industry ✅ Wearing every hat in the business ✅ Cleaning while hiring and training staff ✅ The mental toll of scaling too fast ✅ Burnout and becoming the operational bottleneck ✅ Virtual assistants and delegation ✅ Instant quoting systems and automation ✅ Why systems create freedom ✅ Leadership lessons from staying on the tools

If you're currently overwhelmed in your cleaning business or struggling to remove yourself from operations, this episode will give you practical systems and mindset shifts to scale more sustainably.

🎧 Part 2 dives deeper into recurring revenue, luxury clients, hiring systems, retention, and building a premium scalable brand.

📺 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@ShaniaGladwell

📱 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@venturementors?lang=en

📘 Free eBook — Uncompromising Success https://www.venturementors.com.au/resources/uncompromising-success

🧼 Beskar Cleaning https://www.facebook.com/beskarcleaning

🤖 Cornerstone AI https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572908942078

📈 Venture Mentors https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567442694090

🛠️ Beskar Tiling https://www.facebook.com/BeskarTiling

👤 Shania Gladwell https://www.facebook.com/shania.gladwell/

Start your 2-week free trial and get 20% off for 6 months here: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

For YouTube and Spotify:

🎥Subscribe: ‪@misaavalos‬ For more cleaning tips videos!

📲 Instagram: @cleaningjourney 📲 Instagram: @misa.avalos

Jobber: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

🎙️Spotify: The Cleaning Journey Podcast On Spotify

📞1-on-1 Call (45-FREE Minutes to talk about your business, CRAZYY, I know): 👇 https://scheduler.zoom.us/misael-avalos/free-discovery-call

Want to be in the podcast? Please fill out this form, and we will contact you. Your journey matters! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10RsS2J2CzQjW8ttbljx2LfebK9sMtmSz9AG0ipMAlx8/edit

Shania Gladwell is the founder of Beskar Investments Group which includes Beskar Cleaning across 19 locations in Australia, Beskar Tiling, Cornerstone AI, and Venture Mentors.

She helps service-based business owners scale through automation systems, leadership, hiring infrastructure, smart websites, CRM systems, and strategic growth consulting.

Starting in the cleaning industry before expanding Australia-wide, Shania built and scaled her company into an award-winning business before transitioning into helping entrepreneurs globally create businesses that run without constant owner involvement.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Misael Avalos sits down again with Shania Gladwell, founder of Beskar Cleaning, to dive deeper into the systems and strategies that helped her build a premium recurring cleaning company operating across multiple locations in Australia.

This episode focuses on recurring revenue, premium clients, hiring systems, automation, retention, and building a business that runs without the owner being involved in every task.

Shania shares how she transitioned from everyday residential cleaning into luxury recurring services while building stronger systems, better client retention, and long-term operational freedom.

In this episode, we discuss:

✅ Turning one-time customers into recurring clients ✅ Builder partnerships and referral systems ✅ Email automations and follow-up campaigns ✅ Selling recurring cleaning the right way ✅ Why wealthy customers buy differently ✅ How to attract premium luxury clients ✅ Networking and referral strategies ✅ Maintaining quality while scaling ✅ Leadership development and employee education ✅ Staff retention systems that actually work ✅ Building a sellable business asset ✅ Long-term entrepreneurial mindset

If you want to build a recurring cleaning business with stronger systems, better clients, and long-term scalability, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply immediately.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔗 CONNECT WITH SHANIA GLADWELL ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

📺 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@ShaniaGladwell

📱 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@venturementors?lang=en

📘 Free eBook — Uncompromising Success https://www.venturementors.com.au/resources/uncompromising-success

🧼 Beskar Cleaning https://www.facebook.com/beskarcleaning

🤖 Cornerstone AI https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572908942078

📈 Venture Mentors https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567442694090

🛠️ Beskar Tiling https://www.facebook.com/BeskarTiling

👤 Shania Gladwell https://www.facebook.com/shania.gladwell/

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 💼 JOBBER — FREE TRIAL + 20% OFF ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

If you're serious about building systems that remove you as the bottleneck, you need the right tools.

We recommend Jobber to manage scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and client communication all in one place.

Start your 2-week free trial and get 20% off for 6 months here: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎙️ THE CLEANING JOURNEY ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🎥 Subscribe: ‪@misaavalos‬ for more cleaning business content

📲 Instagram: @cleaningjourney 📲 Instagram: @misa.avalos

🎙️ Spotify: The Cleaning Journey Podcast

📞 1-on-1 Call (45 FREE Minutes to talk about your business 👇) https://scheduler.zoom.us/misael-avalos/free-discovery-call

Want to be on the podcast? Your journey matters. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10RsS2J2CzQjW8ttbljx2LfebK9sMtmSz9AG0ipMAlx8/edit

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🧠 ABOUT SHANIA GLADWELL ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Shania Gladwell is the founder of Beskar Investments Group, which includes Beskar Cleaning across 19 locations in Australia, Beskar Tiling, Cornerstone AI, and Venture Mentors.

She helps service-based business owners scale through automation systems, leadership, hiring infrastructure, smart websites, CRM systems, and strategic growth consulting.

Starting in the cleaning industry before expanding Australia-wide, Shania built and scaled her company into an award-winning business before transitioning into helping entrepreneurs globally create businesses that run without constant owner involvement.

#cleaningbusiness #recurringrevenue #luxuryclients #entrepreneurship #businesssystems #automation #leadership #premiumclients #servicebusiness #cleaningjourney

How do you schedule 150+ homes per day without chaos?

In Part 2 of this episode, Holly Moore breaks down the systems, scheduling strategies, hiring mindset, and company culture that helped her scale Maids & More into a massive residential cleaning operation.

In This Episode We Cover: • Why most cleaning companies schedule the wrong way • How map-based scheduling changed everything • The software Holly built to run 150+ cleanings per day • Why sales should drive hiring — NOT the other way around • Handling call-outs and last-minute schedule changes at scale • Employee retention systems that actually work • Building culture inside a growing company • Review strategies that increase retention and motivate employees

Guest: Holly Moore Founder of Maids & More Founder of The Cleaning Software Founder of MyCleanCon

Follow Holly & The Cleaning Software: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553738314858

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecleaningsoftware/

Recommended Software: If you're serious about building systems that remove you as the bottleneck, we recommend Jobber to manage scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and client communication all in one place.

Start your 2-week free trial + get 20% off for 6 months: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

Follow The Cleaning Journey: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleaningjourney/

Misael Avalos: https://www.instagram.com/misa.avalos/

Free 45-Minute Business Call: https://scheduler.zoom.us/misael-avalos/free-discovery-call

Want To Be Featured On The Podcast? https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10RsS2J2CzQjW8ttbljx2LfebK9sMtmSz9AG0ipMAlx8/edit

What if saying no to clients is actually the thing that helps you scale?

In this episode of The Cleaning Journey, Holly Moore breaks down the mindset and systems that took her from a chaotic $300K operation to building a multi-million dollar residential cleaning company with 150+ employees and 150+ homes serviced per day.

Starting with just $1,200 from a school teacher's bonus, Holly built Maids and More into a powerhouse — and eventually stepped away as CEO after creating the systems, culture, and infrastructure needed to scale without her.

This is Part 1 of her story, and it starts with a lesson most cleaning business owners ignore: stop taking every client.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why taking every client is killing your growth • The early chaos of running a $300K cleaning business • How Holly scaled to 150+ employees and 150+ daily cleanings • The systems and scheduling structure that made growth possible • The mindset shift from operator to CEO • What it really takes to build a business that can run without you

Holly Moore is the founder of Maids and More, as well as Taggle Cleaning Software and MyClecon. Her journey is a masterclass in building systems, creating culture, and scaling a cleaning business the right way.

If you're stuck in the day-to-day, overwhelmed with growth, or trying to build something bigger than yourself — this episode will change how you think about scaling.

Recommended Software for Cleaning Businesses

If you're serious about building systems that remove you as the bottleneck, you need the right tools.

We recommend Jobber to manage scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and client communication all in one place.

Start your 2-week free trial and get 20% off for 6 months here: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

Subscribe & Connect

Subscribe to The Cleaning Journey Podcast for weekly conversations with cleaning business owners building profitable, systemized companies.

Instagram: @cleaningjourney Instagram: @misa.avalos

Book a free 45-minute discovery call: https://scheduler.zoom.us/misael-avalos/free-discovery-call

Interested in being featured on the podcast? Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10RsS2J2CzQjW8ttbljx2LfebK9sMtmSz9AG0ipMAlx8/edit

What does it really look like to walk away from corporate careers and step into one of the most emotionally demanding industries out there?

In this episode of The Cleaning Journey, Katie and Kyle Wilson share how they went from successful corporate roles to becoming co-owners of a Spaulding Decon franchise in Tampa, Florida — a crime scene and biohazard cleaning business that demands both operational precision and deep human empathy.

After three years of researching business acquisition, building a detailed "buy box," and reviewing hundreds of opportunities, they found the right fit — a business aligned with their core values of resilience, connection, and growth beyond comfort.

But nothing could have prepared them for what came next.

In this episode, we cover:

• How to build a buy box and evaluate acquisition opportunities • The difference between SDE vs. EBITDA (and why it matters) • What the first 90 days of ownership actually look like • Taking over existing systems and setting culture with a small team • The emotional reality of crime scene and biohazard cleaning • Their first job — an unattended death discovered six weeks later • Why surrounding yourself with the right people is critical when buying a business

Katie brings a strong background in operational leadership and team scaling, having grown an organization from 2 to 30+ employees across multiple departments. Kyle's experience in large-scale logistics and project management now shapes his accountability-first approach to operations.

Together, they offer a rare perspective on both the mechanics of buying a business and the human side of service work — from supporting grieving families to delivering real relief in difficult moments.

At the core of their mission is a simple but powerful message: Check on your neighbor.

Recommended Tool for Cleaning Business Owners

If you're serious about building systems that remove you as the bottleneck, you need the right tools.

We recommend Jobber to manage scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and client communication all in one place.

Start your 2-week free trial and get 20% off for 6 months here: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

Subscribe & Connect

🎥 YouTube: @misaavalos 📲 Instagram: @cleaningjourney 📲 Instagram: @misa.avalos

🎙️ Listen on Spotify: The Cleaning Journey Podcast

📞 Book a free 45-minute discovery call: https://scheduler.zoom.us/misael-avalos/free-discovery-call

Want to be featured on the podcast? Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10RsS2J2CzQjW8ttbljx2LfebK9sMtmSz9AG0ipMAlx8/edit

What if starting a cleaning business from scratch isn't the fastest way to grow?

In this episode of The Cleaning Journey, Justin Ducharme breaks down exactly how he bought a cleaning business for under $100K, moved from Canada to San Diego on an E2 investor visa, and scaled it from just $5K/month to over $100K/month in recurring revenue — in only 8 months.

This is a real, behind-the-scenes look at what happens when you skip the startup phase and step directly into ownership.

If you've ever considered buying a cleaning business, growing your recurring revenue, or building a more scalable operation, this episode gives you a clear blueprint.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why buying a cleaning business can be faster than starting from scratch • How Justin used an E2 visa to acquire a business in the U.S. • The pricing strategy (hourly vs flat rate) that increases close rates • The simple one-question text script that closes jobs without a call • How to turn one-time customers into recurring clients • Why real video content outperforms AI-generated content for local services

Justin Ducharme is the co-owner of WHB Cleaning in San Diego, CA. After running a car dealership in Canada for four years, he transitioned into the cleaning industry by acquiring an existing company and rapidly scaling it to six figures monthly. His journey was featured on Entrepreneur.com in 2024.

Whether you're thinking about buying a cleaning business, improving your sales process, or building a more predictable recurring revenue model, this episode is packed with actionable insights you can apply immediately.

Recommended Tool for Cleaning Business Owners

If you're serious about building systems that remove you as the bottleneck, you need the right tools.

We recommend Jobber to manage scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and client communication all in one place.

Start your 2-week free trial and get 20% off for 6 months here: https://go.getjobber.com/misael

Subscribe & Connect

🎥 YouTube: @misaavalos 📲 Instagram: @cleaningjourney 📲 Instagram: @misa.avalos

🎙️ Listen on Spotify: The Cleaning Journey Podcast

📞 Book a free 45-minute discovery call: https://scheduler.zoom.us/misael-avalos/free-discovery-call

Want to be featured on the podcast? Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10RsS2J2CzQjW8ttbljx2LfebK9sMtmSz9AG0ipMAlx8/edit