We recently connected with Katie Sportel and have shared our conversation below.
Katie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
I was a stay-at-home mom for over 10 years, spending the majority of my days with our three children. I wasn’t sure what God had in store for me as our kids entered school full-time and honestly felt like I didn’t have a lot to offer in terms of earning money for our family.
I slowly entered the working world when our youngest child entered school. During the school hours, I was a part-time personal assistant for a family and juggled a variety of tasks including meal prep, house cleaning, running errands and planning trips. I loved the work and it allowed me the flexibility to still be involved with our kids/at school–this was important to our family.
I remained in my personal assistant work and cleaned a house here and there, still working very part-time! When COVID came and school closed, I was able to be home with our 3 kids and my work outside of our home stopped. I was thankful to be able to devote my time to our family during that unknown time.
As things opened up again in 2021, I started to clean a couple of houses with a friend, Jill, and continued my personal assistant work. I figured I should make a business name and create a logo simply to look legit as I collected payment and filed my taxes etc.
A friend encouraged me to have a website—I didn’t think this was necessary at all! I wasn’t looking to have a lot of clients and I didn’t want my schedule to be any more full. Clearly, God had bigger plans for this little endeavor than I ever did!:)
Throughout the summer and into the fall it became a true team effort in creating what is now my home etc.
I found people who were really good at what they did, and this saved me a lot of time and made things look much more professional that I ever could have!
1. A friend helped me create a name and logo. A color scheme was created which has stuck with us!
2. I came around to the idea of having a website and had my sister-in-law create that for me.
3. A friend who is a photographer took professional pictures of me for the website, this ended up being really important in creating our brand and she has now taken pictures of our team several times!
4. I created a bank account and did behind the scenes work for insurance, creating an LLC and gaining bank cards etc.
5. My friend and fellow team member, Jill, insisted we had an IG presence, also something I had no interest in, so she started that using pictures our friend had taken.
At this point, it was me and Jill cleaning a couple of houses and me working with 1 family.
We officially became mi home etc. in September of 2021 and it was exciting to embark on this adventure. At this time I did not have a big dream or huge goals for what I wanted this business to be but I was hopeful I did wonder if other people would want extra hands around their home with work like I was doing as a personal assistant.
I truly took one step at a time learning what came next and finding others to join our team. Word spread throughout our small town (Holland, MI) and we gained a couple of more clients as we moved into the fall. I also hired on one more team member who was willing to work with a client or two!
From here the first year zipped by. I joined a local organization that assists new entrepreneurs and connects them with a business coach and local networks. This weekly commitment was instrumental in helping me figure out next steps, create systems, how to hire, who my ideal clients would be, setting goals etc.
Throughout our first year, we went from 2 team members to 10! We assisted over 30 families on a regular basis and had a waitlist with clients wanting our assistance in their homes. It was shocking, overwhelming and humbling all at the same time! I praise God for an amazing team to work alongside as well as top-notch clients we love!
This fall we jumped into year two. We continue to look at how to grow as a business, how to hire, where to expand etc. I am finding it exciting and life-giving to do this work and cannot wait to see what God has in store for our team.
Katie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Are you running from work to after school activities and don’t know what’s for dinner? Do you waste time searching for items in your messy closet or pantry? Does your dirty house exhaust you and limit you from inviting others in? Well, you’re not alone! No one has time to do it all!
I’m Katie, owner of Mi home Etc.=we are an energized team that tackles your to-do lists and brings refreshment to your home so you have time to do what you enjoy!
As a working mom and then a stay-at-home mom, I could have really used an extra set of hands. But now that my kids are older, I’ve enjoyed using my expertise and our great team to help lighten other people’s loads.
Mi home etc. launched in September of 2021. We are busy cleaning, organizing and meal-prepping for clients!
Our team of 10 assists over 40 clients on a recurring basis as well as one-time jobs as they arise. We currently have a waitlist in the Holland and Grand Rapids areas.
What makes us different from other cleaning, organizing and home help companies is that we provide clients with a high-end, detailed, deep, and thorough house cleaning.
We are reliable, timely and great communicators before, during and after projects. We care about lightening your load and can customize our services so you have time to do what you enjoy!
Clients appreciate our team and the refreshment we bring to their homes. One client, Kate said:
“don’t give in to the lie that you can do it all–to live your most full life you need assistance and help from a village–and in this case that should be Katie and her crew at mi home etc.”
Clients learn about us, at www.mihomeetc.com as well as on instagram where we share pictures and stories about what we are working on!
I am most proud of our amazing team. They are women who love what they do, care deeply for their clients and bring refreshment to homes everyday! It’s a joy and privilege to work with them!
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
As our business was just getting going I reached out to some local social media influencers and offered them our services for free in exchange for them to highlight us on social media.
This allowed us to reach an audience we never would have otherwise been able to connect with and ended up being a lot of fun! Some of these influencers are now regular clients:) an added and unexpected bonus!
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Our team is our biggest strength! I cannot say enough good things about them!
I strive to make our team feel valued, appreciated and known through time spent together, gifts, notes and simply inquiring about their families and what they do outside of work!
Letting my team know how much I appreciate them and how much their clients enjoy their help is a huge priority to me.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Allison Christians Photography