We were lucky to catch up with Branden-Lee Butler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am Branden-Lee Butler, and I own B Clean Professionals.

I began my journey in the cleaning industry as a side hobby, inspired by a desire to incorporate quality into my work. Despite starting with limited resources and a low credit score, I built my business from the ground up with determination and a mere $800. Over time, I remained focused and committed to my goal of achieving financial growth and being able to empower others by offering employment and sharing my expertise. Through hard work and a positive mindset, I transformed my dream into a reality.

Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
I never thought a hobby would turn into a long career before the pandemic, so I started my cleaning business as a hobby. I enjoyed watching YouTube videos because I enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing things go from dirty to clean. I was a truck driver at the young age of 22, just starting out with three kids, and I didn’t know what to do. I knew that truck driving would be a great way to make money and still be able to spend time raising my children while driving. Three years in, the pandemic soon hit at that time. There was about three weeks. No one knew the outcome of the economy, and America still needed time to adapt. I still had my cleaning business and wouldn’t sit around and wait to get bailed out. They were offering businesses PPP loans, but my business didn’t qualify. Even though I have been in business for three years, I never made over $3000 in a year because, remember, I was doing it as a hobby. Instead of sitting around waiting on a call from my driving employer, I whipped myself into action. My phone rang, and I was asked if I’d done sanitation. I said no, then it rang again literally three seconds later, and I said yes. I hopped online and took a couple of courses on properly sanitizing areas, and that’s when my business began to grow. I was only doing residential work but soon moved into commercial work. And that’s when things got busy.

It only lasted for a few months, but my truck driving job also picked up. As I was an essential employee. All federal guidelines were lifted for driving, and I could work as much as I wanted. I’ve seen this as an opportunity to get ahead. I went from making $4000 a month driving a truck for someone else to $20,000 driving a month, but I knew this would not last. I continuously saved my money to set myself up for the next step ahead in life. I was a renter at that time with a 350 credit score. I knew things had to change; my home was a one-bedroom apartment. I called it a lifeguard shack, and it was such an eyesore. It was purchased by a locally owned restaurant and knocked down just for more parking. I was not mad at the restaurant but took this as motivation. Soon, I wanted to be a business owner where I could buy buildings and knock them down to make more space for income. I learned financial freedom only comes from hard work, so I purchased my first home during the pandemic while rates were low as I continued to clean and sanitize on the side. Soon, I started feeling overworked and exhausted, missing family time and home time away from my kids, trying to grow my business from the ground up. I hadn’t taken a vacation in almost four years at this point in my life, and soon, I knew things would have to change for the better, so I decided to quit my truck driving job and begin cleaning full-time for myself. Over this time, there were a lot of ups and downs, and I reached out to a few local leaders in the area as mentors to find out who manages their books and other things, as no school teaches how to run a business.

Unfortunately, I never heard back from some of those local leaders in the area, so I was alone, learning from my mistakes and taking letdown and discouragement as lessons to better myself. YouTube has always been my friend, but I had to decipher all the information as every piece of information is based on personal experiences and does not always apply to everyone. Constantly being knocked down time after time, I came to a point where I could start hiring people, which was a great move, but I also learned a valuable lesson: “When the cats are away. The mice will play.” I went from nine employees down to two. Numbers looked good, and I figured numbers would double if I hired more people. But that was not the case. They seem to stay the same. At this point, I realize everything is always my fault. I blame myself, and not that I treated my employees well. I talked to them about many things and wanted to set them up for success. My philosophy is to work less, make more, and you can have more time with your family, and self-improve and build on yourself. I was always willing to teach them and set them up for success, but people often take your kindness for weakness. I realized that some people enjoy being treated as employees, not as a team. I learned that people who do not share the same vision for your business or company will only steal from you. This happened to me. I found out people were stealing time and cost more money. I learned you cannot always trust anyone, especially your top employees. If someone always has a chance to steal, nine times out of 10, they will. I knew things were going to have to change. I had to stop what was happening, so I created my employee manual and held a meeting orientation for the first time with nine employees. This feeling was great, but I knew it was time to get serious. All my employees were required to come; it was paid. I pulled out the manuals, and we went over all the rules. I gave everyone a fresh start, though I knew they were stealing from me. We went over the rules twice about stealing. I gave everyone a week, and it continued to happen. This made me sad only because while in orientation, I told them they were not only stealing from me but stealing from my family as well because I’m a small business. This didn’t discourage me but only opened my eyes to set myself up for the next step I knew. I had to find good employees, so I started searching. I paid more but still had the same issue. I learned from a YouTube business seminar that good employees are not found; they are made. So I tried to hire younger people as I thought they would grow within the company, but I soon found out they also just wanted quick money.

I noticed there was no longer any pride in work, and things started to change. I constantly question myself: is it me or my training? What can I do to change the situation? After connecting with other local cleaners, I discovered I was not the only person with this issue. It seems that there has been a shift in the local workforce. Quality has started to slack. To overcome this, I’ve decided to do all the work myself and continue only to take what I could handle. Sadly, I’m not the only business struggling with this issue now. As we can see, Walmart, McDonald’s, and Amazon all have the same issues. This used to devastate me, but then I told myself that these three companies I just named are billion-dollar companies. I’m nowhere near that, so what makes my company different?

The turning point
So now I decided I would like to open up a school to teach quality and trade, as well as farming and horseback riding, having people and children get off the video games and get back into nature. Growing up and remembering as a kid, we used to play outside all day, playing tag manhunt, red light-green light, and other fun games. Hopefully, we can get back to how things used to be with the quality of work. I learned it all starts with how you are raised, and connecting with the younger children and putting good values into them is a fantastic start.

If you enjoyed my story, please visit our GoFundMe, as I can use all the help that I can get to continue to live out my vision. And fund this project on my own. There is legal paperwork, and also we must build a building to be able to help start this project.

Project mission statement: To empower young learners with essential agricultural knowledge, horsemanship skills, and practical infrastructure expertise. We believe in getting back to the basics, fostering a deep connection to the land, animals, and sustainable practices. Through hands-on experiences, we aim to cultivate responsible stewards of the environment, equipping them with the ability to grow crops, care for animals, ride horses, and enhance infrastructure. Our commitment is to inspire curiosity, resilience, and a lifelong love for learning among the next generation.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

If you read the backstory, you’ll know that I started my business with only $800. Despite this, I was able to secure large contracts with nationwide customers and rapidly hired employees, with only about $5000 in the bank. I saved every penny and even sold my personal items to make payroll. Most national companies have what’s called a net payment, which can be anywhere from 30 to 90 days. This was something new to me, as I didn’t go to business school or have any education after high school. This is something I had to learn on my own, looking for a mentor along the way and not finding one. I slowly had to rely on myself, my instincts, and a lot of reading and podcasts. At one point, I only had $500 left and needed about $1200 to pay the employees at the end of the week. I saw this coming, so I looked at a plasma donation center. Many would say that’s a bit much, but I personally believed in my business and was willing to do whatever it takes to ensure its success and take care of my employees. This was how much I cared about them and my business.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One important lesson I had to unlearn is that people often judge by appearance. When I first started my business, I only had a car to get around and clean carpets. When I arrived at people’s houses, they would ask me where my van and hoses were, and sometimes they would turn me away. However, some people gave me a chance. I assured them to wait for the final product. Now, I have a van and when I pull up to people’s homes, they express surprise at how well-equipped I look. Little do they know, I’ve been using the same products and equipment since day one – the only difference is I have a van instead of a car. This experience taught me that you can’t always judge based on appearance; sometimes you just have to trust the process

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bcleanprofessionals.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bcleanpros/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bcleanprofessionals6795