We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dafny Jimenez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dafny below.

Dafny , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

The craziest story about my business is the very fact that it ever came to be! Starting a business is not easy and the fact that it is now a thriving company still feels unbelievable.

It was 2013 (10 years ago!) and I was a professional working in government offices in Mexico and had to leave for personal reasons. When I came to NYC, I worked for other companies that didn’t pay enough and began looking for work on my own. One of my first clients, Rondi, was so happy with the work I did that she started recommending me to her closest friends. she added me to a facebook group in the neighborhood and every time she recommended me to someone I gave her a part of the service.

People began to talk a lot about me and the work that I was doing cleaning people’s homes. I worked alone for a year. I could do three apartments alone in a day. I worked very hard. Eventually an acquaintance, Ivette, began working with me. I paid her $20 an hour. She believed in me and together we did a lot of work and even added a Montessori school to our weekly client load. The owner of the school, Lanny Cheuck, put a lot of confidence and trust in me and was an important person in my life and business.

Ivette and my partner Jorge were an integral part of how I started my business. Jorge and my daughter Nicole supported my work and they didn’t demand too much from me. We were getting more and more work. After a year, Tania joined our team, and the referrals kept coming in. Things were getting so busy and crazy! Tania was not only a good employee but also became my friend. One summer we worked together and worked so hard – up to four jobs a day together. I am very grateful for Tania.

We are currently a team of 12 women, offering residential, commercial and post-construction cleaning. I am extremely proud of the business I’ve built!

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

Cleaning Services by Dafny is a trustworthy and reliable comprehensive home and commercial services company. We offer everything from detailed and thorough home and commercial cleaning and maintenance services, to home improvement including remodeling, renovation, and home improvement projects. We are here to make New York City a cleaner place, one house at a time.

I am a disciplined, determined person and I have always wanted to be better at everything I do. My grandfather always said, “It doesn’t matter what you do but be the best at it and do it well”. I have always kept that in mind.

Honesty, being there, being consistent and learning to speak English has opened doors for me. I don’t speak English like a native but I understand what my clients tell me and I can communicate with people and express myself. Beyond speaking or understanding English, I also had to learn not only to listen, but to truly work to understand the needs of each of my clients.

Being able to build close relationships is an important aspect of any company. Being empathetic with my clients, with my workers and even with myself, has been an important part of building my business. When clients are satisfied, they recommend you to other people. Each referral is a stepping stone to achieving my dream of owning a successful company.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The reputation I have today, has been by word of mouth recommendations. I am characterized by punctuality, being efficient in my work and always giving more than expected. It takes common sense, honesty, humility and discipline to build relationships that lead to word of mouth referrals.

I work so hard to understand the needs of each client, whether it’s a family or a business. I observe and listen to a client’s needs and tailor all of their services accordingly. We aim for every client to have a detailed and consistent service and I strive for everyone to feel satisfied with our work.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The pandemic of 2020 was a big lesson in my life.

Six months before it started, my partner Jorge and I had invested $60,000 dollars in a food truck and we were excited! Jorge always dreamed of opening a food truck. When the pandemic hit, we had to close down. The truck needed a lot of maintenance, and there were insurance payments, garage rental costs – it was all money we didn’t have because we had invested too much in that business without new money coming in.

When we decided to sell it, the only money we had in the bank was 3 thousand dollars and I thought If we were only closed for 6 weeks because of the pandemic, we felt we could manage. We were very tired from working day and night, not sleeping more than 3-4 hours each day as we was working during the night trying to keep both businesses afloat.

When the pandemic arrived, the first weeks seemed like a vacation. We enjoyed the silence, took time to rest, we weren’t receiving calls and messages – it was good for us; we rested a lot. But of course, those 6 weeks turned into months.

Imagine New York, the city that never sleeps, slept for the first time.

We were worried about money in the beginning but also knew that having this time to rest as a family (I was also newly pregnant) was something to appreciate. Unfortunately, in those early days of the pandemic, I had a terrible miscarriage. I went to the hospital and they turned me away – sent me home with medication to go through the process (and pain) in my bathroom. The hospital was full – you can’t picture how bad it was there. It was a nightmare.

I began to recover, and as the pandemic raged on, Jorge and I looked for what else we could do for work. We borrowed $5,000 to buy a steam machine to sanitize places. I took a course, bought protective uniforms and prepared myself to work in various environments. I began to offer premium sanitizing services. I had to charge a lot in order to be able to pay back the loan for the machine and to bring in enough money to pay for food, rent and household expenses for our family.

Working in people’s homes in the early days of the pandemic, proved to be more difficult than expected because clients were afraid to have a cleaner in their home. I started working in doctor’s offices and other essential businesses. Word spread over social media and former clients were recommending me, knowing how professional my work is. Some sent me food and continued to pay me for my services even though they could not have me in their home.

When the city finally started to re-open, I had only $700 in my bank account. I went to Home Depot and bought a 1-step gorilla ladder, some mops and cleaning supplies. I sat in my car in the parking lot and took a picture smiling. I thought to myself “God help me, because I do not know what I will do this time if this all doesn’t bring work”. I felt really lost. This time, the doors opened for my family and for each of the families of my employees. We were welcomed into clients’ homes again and word spread quickly about our services.

We are now a company of 16 people: 12 cleaners and 4 on the construction side of the company. It all started by offering to do odd jobs, hang a lamp, simple jobs that nobody wanted to do. No matter what it was, we did it. We had to make enough money to eat and to support our family. This has been a great life lesson: look for opportunities where other people do not see them. Today, I feel grateful for those opportunities.

Contact Info:

• Website: is in process
• Instagram: @cleaningservicebydafnyjimenez
• Facebook: DAFNY JIMENEZ

Image Credits
katie N. Ward