We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashely Matuska Kidder. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Ashley, appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

As a small residential cleaning company, it is no surprise that cleaning homes can be very physically demanding. While this type of work is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling it can be difficult to keep team members for 3+ years as is just too taxing on the body.

I was told to read the book The Dream Manager and it helped us tremendously with retention and overall purpose in our mission. The book tells the story of a commercial cleaning company (but really this applies to every industry) that had terrible turnover which eats not only at your bottom line but the overall morale of the team.

One of the managers realized that most of their team members had big dreams for themselves but no resources or accountability to help them make those dreams a reality.

He began meeting with each of the team members 1 on 1 to help them visualize their dream and take actionable steps to achieve them. In turn, the team members felt purpose and hope. The internal clients (employees) began recruiting new team members because of the newfound appreciation they had for the company they worked for and the impact the Dream Program had on their personal lives.

Even the small act of writing down our goals and talking about what needs to happen to achieve them can make such an inspiring impact on one’s life. Even if the team member doesn’t stay with us for 3+ years the experience they had while working with us is impactful and rewarding all around.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I began cleaning homes about 9 years ago as a means to supplement my income. I found out very quickly that if you are reliable and truly provide a quality experience, then the word will spread very quickly, and you will find yourself busier than you can manage.

Many Denver cleaning services were not practicing eco-conscious methods of cleaning and the supplies they were using were toxic not only to the clients but to the cleaners as well. I found this to be a niche that was under-served and fine tuned our services to be truly ‘green’.

Before I had my son Alive, I cleaned on my own for a few years. Becoming a mother opened my eyes. Now I understand how precious quality time is.

My son is now 6.5 years old (he would be mad if I did not specify the .5 😅) and we currently employe 12 team members and service over 100 clients in the Denver area.

I am most proud of our culture and put much of my focus on creating truly empowering careers.

We don’t just clean homes, we give people TIME to do the things they love. We create the space for them to show up and be their best selves in a healthy environment.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

GOLDEN NUGGET 1:

Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I stumbled upon the vast world of Facebook groups for Cleaning Business Owners (Search your business/industry on Facebook and join them all. I am serious. Open a new tab and join them all, NOW!)

It was amazing! People who understood my struggles were offering FREE support and resources for anything I needed.

Through these folks and the software I use, I found conferences. The ones I love provide a ton of value and I always leave with a new friend (or 4) to whom I can reach out at any time of day or night for support.

In fact, I still use these groups to this day and, even better, I am able to offer support to others based on my own experience.

GOLDEN NUGGET 2:

Within the niche communities, I quickly noticed who the ‘big fish’ were and reached out to them directly. I offered to pay them for their expertise just to pick their brains a little and get their insight on whatever I was struggling with at the time.

No one ever accepted money or a gift in exchange for their time. They simply wanted to help.

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was related to online reviews. If your clients are leaving reviews, then they must be happy, and business will come.

At the end of the day, I was not re-inventing any wheels by starting and running a cleaning company. There are plenty of fish in the sea and many of my cleaning business friends are my DIRECT COMPETITORS.

Any advice for managing a team?

I learned over time that even if you make yourself very accessible and open to feedback people still have a hard time coming forward with their concerns.

I set up an anonymous survey that everyone fills out regularly. The survey asks straightforward questions to find small issues or annoyances early on before they become bigger problems.

Then whenever we do have a bigger problem to tackle, I invite everyone on the team to be a part of creating the solution. This allows them a chance to express their frustration with their peers, I then have the opportunity to explain how things work on the backend. In turn, everyone helps to find a solution that ensures team and company-wide success.

Also, I highly recommend everyone read the book ‘The Dream Manager’. It has done wonders to build our culture around personal growth. We found a deeper purpose for my team so they are not just working every day but thriving every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dashingmaids.com
• Instagram: @dashingmaidsdenver
• Facebook: @dashingmaidsdenver
• Youtube: dashingmaids