Filthy Rich Cleaners: The Cleaning Business Podcast

Even excellent cleaning companies fail because of these three common mistakes. In this episode, Stephanie shares the costly errors she sees cleaning business owners make "all the time" - mistakes that force you to work harder and spend more money than necessary to attract clients.   Learn exactly what to do instead, from smarter scheduling strategies to leveraging free cleanings, and discover why Google reviews should be your top priority from day one.   What You'll Learn In This Episode: How to take control of your scheduling process The right way to ask about client availability Why Google reviews beat Facebook reviews How to get verified on Google quickly Smart strategies for getting your first reviews Using free cleanings to build momentum Tips for running successful cleaning giveaways Mentioned in this Episode: ZenMaid Google My Business Serene Clean (serene-clean.com) Try ZenMaid free for 14 days! Rather read than listen? Check out the full episode write-up on our blog.

In this powerful episode, host Stephanie Pipkin sits down with Carolyn Arellano, owner of Spotless Cleaning and The Cleaning Business Mentor, for a raw conversation about the mental toughness required to build a successful cleaning business.   Learn how Carolyn transformed from an anxiety-ridden college graduate with crushing debt to a thriving entrepreneur, and learn why the right mindset is your most valuable asset when building your cleaning empire. Both owners share vulnerable stories about their early struggles and the lessons that shaped their success. Key Takeaways: How to develop business confidence when you're starting with zero experience Why having a mentor can save you years of costly mistakes (and how to find the right one) The emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship and how to handle stressful situations Why your business won't grow if you keep reacting emotionally to every challenge How to maintain focus when constant distractions are literally part of your job The importance of persistence when you're tempted to quit Mentioned in this Episode: ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group The Cleaning Business Mentor Spotless Cleaning Service "Think and Grow Rich" book Melissa Maker's cleaning business resources   Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com/ Rather read than listen? Check out the full episode write-up on our blog: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/filthy-rich-cleaners-podcast-episode-19/

In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Drew Larison of Five Door Media to break down why marketing “isn’t working” for many cleaning businesses, and how to fix it.   Stephanie and Drew walk through the “Five Doors” framework: choosing the right platform, creating scroll-stopping content, dialing in targeting, tightening up what happens after the click, and mastering the sales follow-up that actually turns leads into long-term recurring revenue. They also talk CleanCon, what to expect, and why this industry’s trust factor changes everything. 📌 What You’ll Learn — How to tell fast if you’re advertising on the wrong platform — Why video wins right now (and how to start even if you hate being on camera) — The most common creative mistakes that make people scroll past your ads — Targeting tweaks that improve lead quality (income, neighborhoods, service areas) — Why homepages are not landing pages—and what to do instead — How long forms, clunky pages, and too many questions kill conversions — Why “speed to lead” matters (and how follow-up should actually work) — What Clean Con is and why it’s built specifically for residential cleaners Resources Mentioned CleanCon Conference 2026: https://www.mycleancon.com/ Five Door Media: https://www.fivedoormedia.com/ SendJim Direct Mail Marketing: https://sendjim.com/ DOPE Marketing Direct Mail: https://www.dopemarketing.com/ Profit First Book: https://www.amazon.com/Profit-First-Transform-Cash-Eating-Money-Making/dp/073521414X   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/drew-larisons-take-on-google-vs-facebook-ads-for-cleaners/

Free cleanings sound insane... until you use them strategically 👀 In this episode, Stephanie breaks down one of Serene Clean’s “secret weapons”: Giving away free cleanings with guardrails, and how it’s driven real results across the business. She walks through four specific buckets where free cleanings create leverage: 1) Learning your production rates 2) Generating reviews and visibility 3) Building culture through giving 4) Reducing risk (especially when bidding commercial jobs)   📌 What You’ll Learn — How Stephanie used 10 free cleanings before opening Serene Clean (and why it mattered) — Why first-time cleans take longer than you think — and how to track room-by-room timing — The #1 rule: set guardrails (hours + scope) so “free” doesn’t become a disaster — How to turn free cleanings into reviews, social proof, and lead generation — Why Google reviews matter more than Stephanie realized early on — How giveaways drive visibility (and why Stephanie boosts the giveaway video) — How “Cleaning for a Reason” and nomination programs build trust, culture, and retention — A smart way to use free cleaning to reduce risk and collect bidding data for commercial — How free commercial “sample cleans” can help you prove quality and avoid underbidding   Resources Mentioned: — Cleaning for a Reason (nonprofit): https://cleaningforareason.org/ — ZenMaid Booking Forms / ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com/   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/the-free-cleaning-strategy-that-grows-your-business/

What happens when a homeschool mom starts cleaning “on the side”… and her corporate-leader husband realizes the numbers actually make sense? 👀 You get Grand Junction Cleaning Services!   In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Anna and Stephen Rodriguez to unpack how a single referral turned into a rapidly scaling cleaning company — complete with W2 employees, multiple revenue streams, five-star reviews, and a clear division of roles that actually works. They talk all things fear, anxiety, hiring mistakes, documentation lessons, customer recovery, fast growth pressure, and what it takes to move from being a great cleaner to running a successful business.   📌 What You’ll Learn — How Anna went from solo cleaner to managing a growing team — The mindset shift required to stop cleaning and start leading — Why Stephen pushed hiring before Anna felt ready — The real risks of hiring too late (and keeping the wrong people too long) — How clearly defined roles save partnerships and marriages — Why reviews matter more than almost anything else in local service businesses — How they scaled to $400K in revenue after hiring their first employee — What most cleaners misunderstand about W2 vs. 1099 — When adding services like carpet and floor care actually makes sense — How stress tolerance grows over time   Resources Mentioned: — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com — Cleaning Business Success (Stephen's coaching + book): https://cleaningbusinesssuccess.com — Grand Junction Cleaning Services: https://grandjunctioncleaningservices.com   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/scaling-a-cleaning-business-as-a-husband-and-wife-team/

In this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Stephanie talks about her business by the numbers in 2025 and how, unfortunately, Serene Clean shrunk by $120,000 in revenue. It wasn’t random. There were system problems, including staffing instability, fragmented availability, and a time-off policy that unknowingly crushed onboarding capacity.   She walks through the exact reports she pulled (ZenMaid, QuickBooks, ClickUp, Gusto), how she used ChatGPT to analyze patterns, and the key metric she wasn’t tracking at all — Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). Then she breaks down the 2026 plan to turn the ship around.   📌 What You’ll Learn — Why revenue decline is often capacity, not demand — The difference between “coverage” and growth capacity — How turnover creates schedule fragmentation that blocks new clients — Why approving PTO based only on “can we cover current cleans?” silently kills growth — The KPI Stephanie missed: MRR gained vs. MRR lost (and why churn alone lies) — The minimum first-time-clean requirement (8–10 labor hours) and why 1–2 hour gaps don’t help — The 2026 targets: 2–3 new recurring residential clients/month + 1 commercial account every 6–8 weeks — Why Stephanie is stepping back into sales + follow-up to convert past clients   Resources Mentioned — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com/ — ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (free to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind — EveryDollar budgeting app (mentioned): https://www.ramseysolutions.com/money/everydollar?srsltid=AfmBOopRMU0IL8EQEUh-rtRGTw6gBgaYuGMVyyA5wqUDuu1D87aVmGiA   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/the-data-and-numbers-behind-serene-cleans-2025/

Starting a cleaning business sounds simple — until pricing mistakes, unreliable cleaners, scope creep, and money stress hit you all at once 🥴 In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Sidi, a 25-year-old cleaning business owner out of Philadelphia, to unpack what it really looks like to start and grow a cleaning company from scratch. He shares the wins, mistakes, and mindset shifts that shaped his first two years in business, and dives into things like pricing confidence, sales scripts, flat-rate estimating, recruiting cleaners, running 1099 teams, why charging less “just to get the job” almost always backfires, and more!   📌 What You’ll Learn: — How Sidi's sales experience translated directly to closing cleaning jobs — Why most new owners underprice and how to stop doing it — Flat-rate pricing vs. hourly, and how Sidi estimates first-time cleans — The real cost of “giving discounts” and loose money boundaries — Why cleaners make or break your business — Lessons learned from trying to run a cleaning company remotely — How confidence closes higher-paying clients — The importance of systems, scripts, and call recordings Resources Mentioned: — ZenMaid Scheduling Software:  https://get.zenmaid.com — OpenPhone (now Quo) (call recording system): https://www.openphone.com/perks/zenmaid?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=partnerstack&utm_content=community_experts&utm_campaign=c92107ec7cc9&pscd=get.openphone.com&ps_partner_key=YzkyMTA3ZWM3Y2M5&fbclid=IwY2xjawMr03ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBleUtsVnZtUjlJa2h5ZWpwAR7Gp8p4NVVF-Y8WODTTXb-NJi57ltYrsQs-pyFmuaRR4gMrj6TGYWpL1zlA_Q_aem_Ey2JG_AkBSk_SI8w5kDOBA&ps_xid=iGpmmTBqEJNW4d&gsxid=iGpmmTBqEJNW4d&gspk=YzkyMTA3ZWM3Y2M5 — Cleaning Entrepreneur Academy: https://www.skool.com/cleaningacademy/about — Sidi's TikTok (cleaning business content): https://tiktok.com/@sidi.inspires   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/sidi-thiam-on-sales-skills-and-pricing-confidence/

What happens when a college grad with zero cleaning experience decides to launch a residential cleaning company in one of the most competitive markets in the USA? You get Mighty Maids — now one of the highest-rated cleaning companies in San Diego!   In this episode, Stephanie sits down with owner Victor Migos, who built his business from the ground up after being inspired by watching his mom clean homes to support their family. Eight years later, he’s running 19 employees, two service areas, and a residential-first model that consistently delivers 5-star experiences.   Victor breaks down how he hires, trains, routes, handles walk-through surprises, manages upset customers, and develops his team, all while maintaining the personal touch that sets Mighty Maids apart ✨   📌 What You’ll Learn — How Victor built Mighty Maids without ever doing the cleaning himself — Why he runs teams of two in his business — How to evaluate attitude vs. skill during training (and spot bad hires fast) — What actually creates a “unique client experience” in residential cleaning — The mystery-shopping strategy Victor used to out-serve competitors — How to handle pricing mismatches when homes don’t match the client’s description — Why emotional detachment is a leadership superpower in customer disputes — The logistics challenges of a big city and how Mighty Maids overcame them — How to create loyal employees who refer their friends and family — Why your "why" matters more than chasing bigger revenue numbers   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 🎧 Spotify: (link) 🎧 Apple Podcasts: (link) 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/how-victors-residential-first-model-achieved-600-5-star-reviews/

It's our 100th episode! 🥳 Oh, and it's also the holidays! So, we thought there'd be no better way to celebrate both things than by ringing in Episode 100 with a full breakdown of Serene Clean’s 2025 Naughty and Nice List 🎅   Lawsuits, staffing meltdowns, wild client situations, turnover chaos, and more — 2025 was a chaotic year for Serene Clean, and Stephanie gives a full rundown based on the year's memorable events. She walks through the biggest lessons, the hardest hits, the surprising victories, and the systems that saved Serene Clean from spiraling, all while wearing her Santa suit and sipping wine (and also having remnants of the flu)!   Whether you're new here or have been around since our first episode, THANK YOU! Filthy Rich Cleaners would be nothing without you, and we're so proud to hit 100 episodes 🙌   📌 What You’ll Learn — Serene Clean's official Naughty and Nice list breakdown, including: — A discrimination lawsuit — What actually happens when you underbid a large commercial job — The revenue-killing mistake Stephanie made with bookkeeping — How turnover spiraled this year — Why lockboxes, Slack, and OpenPhone were game-changing upgrades — The cleaner stories you truly couldn’t make up — How the training overhaul led to Serene Clean’s lowest complaint rate ever — The power of giveaways, hiring videos, and strategic Indeed boosting — What Stephanie is taking into 2026 after the hardest operational year to date   Resources Mentioned: — Serene Clean Training Bundle: https://sereneclean.com/consulting-services — Stephanie’s Maid Summit Training Program Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9GOeByDuUM&t=1s — Filthy Rich Cleaners episode with the bank story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvGvFf9ypqk   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/the-official-2025-naughty-and-nice-list/

What if we told you that the easiest way to improve your marketing...is to stop trying to market to everyone 🤔 In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Katie Pearse of Glisten Academy, a nearly 20-year cleaning industry veteran who’s built multiple commercial and residential operations across Canada and the US.   Katie shares how her company exploded from a weekend side hustle into a multi-city business, and why the best marketing strategy is to sell to the version of you who would hire your own company. They get into the real psychology of residential clients and how checklists, proactive communication, and clear positioning are what actually let you charge premium prices. Katie also opens up about a hard lesson in fraud, and tips to prevent it in your own business.   📌 What You’ll Learn — Why the best way to sell cleaning is to “sell to yourself” — How to communicate that you understand your ideal client (not just claim you do) — The invisible nature of cleaning — and how checklists make clients feel real value — How proactive communication reduces client stress and cancellations — Differentiation ideas that don’t require rebranding your whole company — What it really takes to scale into multiple locations and industries — The risks of gatekeeping owner access — and why clients need a direct line — A real fraud story that shows why systems matter more than trust alone   Resources Mentioned: — Glisten Academy (Courses + Staff Training Programs): https://www.glistenacademy.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoravYMVGG2QPfsRtIVi4KGH0Er-7qIxCZN9cRLortLDmBx-DBBD — Discount Code: FILTHY50 — 50% off any Glisten Academy course — Contact Katie: katie@glistenacademy.com   — Glisten Academy on TikTok/Instagram: @glistencleaningacademy — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com/   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/the-be-your-customer-marketing-strategy-and-why-it-works-with-katie-pearse/

Fear of growth is one of the most universal problems for business owners — and it shows up everywhere. "If I hire, everything will fall apart!" "I want more clients, but it might make things more chaotic." Sound familiar?   In this episode, Stephanie breaks down the patterns she saw in four consulting calls last week — owners stuck because of fear, lack of systems, burnout, people-pleasing, and a complete misunderstanding of what real growth actually requires. She shares the exact concepts she taught these owners, so you can apply them too.   📌 What You’ll Learn — Why fear of growth appears at every revenue level — How to understand the real reason things feel overwhelming — Growth as a dial — How to hire with buffers instead of panic — When part-timers outperform full-timers for controlled scaling — Why systems must always continue to evolve — Must-have protections like client guidelines + employee docs — How to fix manual chaos in operations — Marketing that works with your mental capacity — When to pause growth without losing momentum — The mindset shift that finally lets you trust yourself as a leader   Resources Mentioned — Chelsea Withers’ episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cphw5tKzdF8 — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com — Signrequest for e-signatures: https://signrequest.com/index.html#/ — QuickBooks for bookkeeping: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/ — Wave for bookkeeping: https://www.waveapps.com/ — OpenPhone (now “Quo”) for business lines: https://www.quo.com/ (plus ZenMaid discount link: https://www.quo.com/perks/zenmaid?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=partnerstack&utm_content=community_experts&utm_campaign=c92107ec7cc9&pscd=get.openphone.com&ps_partner_key=YzkyMTA3ZWM3Y2M5&fbclid=IwY2xjawMr03ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBleUtsVnZtUjlJa2h5ZWpwAR7Gp8p4NVVF-Y8WODTTXb-NJi57ltYrsQs-pyFmuaRR4gMrj6TGYWpL1zlA_Q_aem_Ey2JG_AkBSk_SI8w5kDOBA&ps_xid=iGpmmTBqEJNW4d&gsxid=iGpmmTBqEJNW4d&gspk=YzkyMTA3ZWM3Y2M5 ) — Extreme Ownership (book): https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250067057   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 🎧 Spotify: (link) 🎧 Apple Podcasts: (link) 📖 Read the full transcript: (link)

Most new cleaning business owners think they need years of experience and a spotless (hah, get it?) strategy before they can grow. But Chelsea Withers, Owner of Mindful Methods Cleaning, proves all of that wrong. A stay-at-home mom battling postpartum depression, she started cleaning out of necessity. With no industry background, she still built a fast-growing company by focusing on deeply systemized operations in two years.   In this episode, Stephanie and Chelsea talk about how your prior experience matters far less than the systems you build, the way you think, and your ability to take action before you feel ready.   📌 What You’ll Learn — Why systems, not experience, determine whether your business grows or not — How ADHD became Chelsea’s unexpected advantage in building SOPs — The real reason her first hire exposed every gap in her business — Why taking extreme ownership accelerates success — How to avoid perfectionism and take action before you “feel ready” — What a strong customer journey actually looks like in the early stages — How Chelsea uses Slack, ZenMaid, Wave, and simple forms to streamline operations — Why hiring for values beats hiring for experience every time — How building systems now unlocks long-term scale and freedom   Resources Mentioned: — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com — ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (free): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind — Extreme Ownership Book: https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250067057 — Wave (invoicing + bookkeeping): https://www.waveapps.com/ — Slack (team communication): https://slack.com/   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/why-your-systems-determine-your-success-not-your-experience/

Lots of service-based businesses skip team meetings because they feel “unnecessary” or like wasted labor hours. Stephanie did too until she realized the silent damage it was causing, including teams that didn't mesh well together, inconsistent quality, scattered communication, and a culture that never fully gelled 😬 In this episode, she breaks down the exact system Serene Clean has used for years to keep 40+ cleaners aligned and informed, even with multiple locations and Stephanie as a remote owner. 📌 What You’ll Learn  — When to start holding meetings (hint: earlier than you think) — How to run meetings for solo-cleaner companies, team-based companies, and multi-location setups — A full breakdown of Serene Clean’s agenda (KPIs, wins, QC notes, reminders, housekeeping, connection time)  — How to make meetings work for different availabilities, locations, and schedules  — The exact cadence that keeps cleaners consistent  — The KPIs you should be sharing (that don't create anxiety in your staff)  — Why cleaners drift when you don’t hold consistent meetings 🙌 Free Resource: Team Meeting Agenda Template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ko80z5SaurwA9nx1WN6J5Cj32xmqCb1MuDUsOvPZINs/edit?usp=sharing   Additional Resources Mentioned: — ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind   — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com   — Slack (for team communication): https://slack.com/  👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/yes-your-team-needs-weekly-meetings-and-heres-why/

Despite what you might assume, cleaning business owners aren’t held back by pricing, marketing, hiring, or retention. They’re actually held back by their mindset. Survival mode. Chaos mode. “I’ll do it myself” mode. And for many, it never stops, even years into their business.   In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Amar Ghose, CEO of ZenMaid software and former maid service owner, to break down the exact mindset differences between owners who stay stuck in the field forever and owners who build a business that runs without them. They talk about all things control issues, daily habits, brutal truths, and why you need to accept that your cleaners will never care as much as you do. Hopefully, this episode will help you understand the importance of thinking like a CEO — and how to take the first steps into adopting a CEO mindset.    What You’ll Learn  — The difference between working in the business vs. working on it  — Why 10–15 minutes of “CEO time” daily will change everything  — How to prioritize when everything feels like it’s on fire  — Why expecting cleaners to care as much as you do is unrealistic  — How systems create consistency even when humans don’t  — Why momentum beats “perfect planning” every time  — The mindset that helps you let go of control without letting go of quality  — How to tell if something is an actual problem… or just noise  — Why the business you build should need nothing from you someday   Resources Mentioned:  — ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (free): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind  — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com    Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com  Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/you-need-to-think-like-a-ceo-not-a-cleaner/

Solo or team cleaning? Should you have a company car or should cleaners use their own? Is it better to look for experienced cleaners instead of people with no cleaning background? Decisions, decisions In this episode, Stephanie digs into three of the biggest operational decisions cleaning business owners have to make — and why there’s no single “right” answer. She shares why she runs Serene Clean almost entirely with solo cleaners, why she’ll probably never own a fleet of wrapped company cars, and how she hires for attitude over experience (and never regrets it). 📌 What You’ll Learn  — The real pros and cons of solo vs. team cleaning models  — Why efficiency often drops when you put cleaners together  — The hidden costs and headaches of managing company vehicles  — Why requiring cleaners to have their own cars can improve reliability  — How to decide if hiring experienced cleaners helps or hurts your growth  — When “experimenting” becomes dangerous as your company scales 👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/solo-or-team-cleaning-choosing-whats-right-for-your-business/

Most people want to grow their business, but few are willing to become the person required to do it. In this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Misael Avalos talks about how he built his company, TimeMaid Cleaning in Arizona, from nothing after a rock-bottom moment changed everything.   They talk about the identity shifts, habits, and core values required to scale a cleaning business, and how Misael went from sleeping on his mom’s couch to cleaning seven days a week, handling every client himself, networking nonstop, and ultimately retiring his mother after 45 years in the field.   📌 What You’ll Learn — Why personal growth is mandatory if you want business growth — How Misael used "burn the boats” focus to scale from 0 to 24 cleaners — The role of networking and community when you have no budget — How your beliefs about yourself quietly limit your revenue — Why core values must be yours first before they become your team’s — How to fire fast without losing team morale — The onboarding elements that keep cleaners long term   Resources Mentioned: — The Cleaning Journey Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cleaning-journey/id1843212838 — The Cleaning Journey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleaningjourney/ — Atomic Habits (book by James Clear): https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 🎧 Spotify: (link) 🎧 Apple Podcasts: (link) 📖 Read the full transcript: Most people want to grow their business, but few are willing to become the person required to do it. In this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Misael Avalos talks about how he built his company, TimeMaid Cleaning in Arizona, from nothing after a rock-bottom moment changed everything.   They talk about the identity shifts, habits, and core values required to scale a cleaning business, and how Misael went from sleeping on his mom’s couch to cleaning seven days a week, handling every client himself, networking nonstop, and ultimately retiring his mother after 45 years in the field.   📌 What You’ll Learn — Why personal growth is mandatory if you want business growth — How Misael used "burn the boats” focus to scale from 0 to 24 cleaners — The role of networking and community when you have no budget — How your beliefs about yourself quietly limit your revenue — Why core values must be yours first before they become your team’s — How to fire fast without losing team morale — The onboarding elements that keep cleaners long term   Resources Mentioned: — The Cleaning Journey Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cleaning-journey/id1843212838 — The Cleaning Journey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleaningjourney/ — Atomic Habits (book by James Clear): https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/couch-surfing-to-ceo-building-a-million-dollar-cleaning-company-with-misael-avalos/

Cleaning business owners who choose their pricing model and pay structure on gut instinct tend to pay for it later 😬 That's why in this episode, Stephanie breaks down all the major decisions you must make as a cleaning business owner in terms of how to charge clients and pay cleaners. She talks about the pros and cons of charging hourly, flat rate, by square foot, or using a hybrid model, as well as whether to pay cleaners hourly, via a percentage, or per job.   📌 What You’ll Learn: — The truth about hourly pricing (and why Serene Clean still uses it at scale) — Why charging a flat rate can explode profits and chaos at the same time — The reason square-foot pricing falls apart in residential and commercial — How to correctly run limited-hour cleans without confusing clients or techs — How to protect your profit when clients ask for extras — The hidden dangers of changing pay structures once you have staff — How to plan your services + packages — What production rates actually tell you and why your pricing depends on them   Resources Mentioned: — Stephanie’s Production Rate Audit Spreadsheet and Resources: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/ — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com/ — ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/how-to-set-your-pricing-staff-pay-and-packages/

Even the grittiest, hardest-working owners get burned by fuzzy pricing, weak boundaries, bad hires, and saying “I’ll figure it out later" 😅 In this follow-up episode with Cheryl Hajjar, Founder of Sisters Who Scale, Stephanie and Cheryl talk through the most common (and expensive) mistakes cleaning business owners make. In fact, these mistakes are ones both of them learned the hard way and now consult cleaning business owners on!   📌 What You’ll Learn : — Why “I’ll do anything while I’m here” destroys margins and confuses clients — The pricing math that keeps wages under control without underpaying your team — W2 vs 1099 in real life — what’s legal, what’s risky, and why “contractors” backfire in residential — How to stop desperation hires and interview for reliability (not just charisma) — Onboarding that reduces turnover — hybrid teams, clear roles, and quality control — GPS, time theft, and schedule optimization — protect your payroll and routes — Bookkeeping basics you can’t skip — owner draws, separate accounts, weekly P&L — Ads vs scrappy growth — when to spend, when to build brand and reviews first — Client communication that prevents scope creep and last-minute chaos — The mindset shift from cleaner to CEO — detach, lead, and document   Resources Mentioned: — Sisters Who Scale (Cheryl Hajjar): https://sisterswhoscale.com — Sisters Who Scale Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sisterswhoscale — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com/   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/the-biggest-mistakes-cleaning-owners-make-and-how-to-stop-them-with-cheryl-hajjar/

Even the best-run service companies face constant problems, and that’s normal! Every problem in your business falls into one of three buckets — Supply (staffing), Demand (leads/sales), or Operations (everything else) — and in this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Stephanie talks about how she's learned to quickly diagnose issues and move forward without the overwhelm.   📌 What You’ll Learn: — The 3-bucket framework to categorize every problem: Supply, Demand, Operations — How to use the “If we had 50 employees tomorrow, what would break?” thought experiment — When you should mitigate vs. eradicate a recurring problem — Practical ways to avoid analysis paralysis when making your first W-2 hire — Where to look first if quality slips during growth (training, QC, SOPs, delegation) — Simple workload wins: automation (reminders, follow-ups) and eliminating time sinks (e.g., unnecessary in-person walkthroughs) — Planning for the inevitable (like call-outs or schedule gaps) so they’re speed bumps, not crises   Resources Mentioned: — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com — ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (free): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind — ChatGPT (for step-by-step state hiring setup prompts): https://chatgpt.com/   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: (link)

In this episode, Stephanie is joined by Paige Collins, founder of All Spruced Up Cleaning Co., who went from being a dental hygienist during COVID to running a thriving residential and commercial cleaning business with 15 employees.   Paige shares all about her rapid growth, how she balances business and motherhood, her top tips for employee retention, and why flexibility and compassion have become her company’s superpowers. She and Stephanie also discuss building training systems for multiple employees, the right way to price commercial jobs, and what it's like hitting that first million in revenue.   📌 What You’ll Learn — How Paige grew her cleaning company from zero to 15 staff in under five years — The truth about hiring “out of desperation” and what to do instead — Why flexibility for working moms can actually boost retention — How to price and bid for commercial cleaning without overcomplicating it — Creative ways to use ZenMaid to systematize your business — What a “done early” checklist is — and how it helps with quality control — How Paige plans to scale to $1M and launch her nonprofit cleaning initiative   Resources Mentioned: — ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com/ — ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (free to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind — Profit First by Mike Michalowicz — OpenPhone (now Quo) – the business phone system Paige uses: https://www.openphone.com/perks/zenmaid?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=partnerstack&utm_content=community_experts&utm_campaign=c92107ec7cc9&pscd=get.openphone.com&ps_partner_key=YzkyMTA3ZWM3Y2M5&fbclid=IwY2xjawMr03ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBleUtsVnZtUjlJa2h5ZWpwAR7Gp8p4NVVF-Y8WODTTXb-NJi57ltYrsQs-pyFmuaRR4gMrj6TGYWpL1zlA_Q_aem_Ey2JG_AkBSk_SI8w5kDOBA&ps_xid=iGpmmTBqEJNW4d&gsxid=iGpmmTBqEJNW4d&gspk=YzkyMTA3ZWM3Y2M5   👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/   🎙️ Listen to the Podcast: 📖 Read the full transcript: (link)