We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Kate Jenks, Owner and CEO of Right Touch Residential Cleaning. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kate below.
Alright, Kate thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, it would have been Jane Goodall – the scientist who lived with the chimpanzees. I wanted to live in the wilderness where I could really see the stars, to learn about and save wildlife and wild places. I dedicated myself to studying hard in school for years, and learning hands-on through internships and travelling. I obtained a Ph.D. and my “dream job” as a Conservation Biologist, where someone would pay me to travel and study wildlife. I led projects in the jungles of Thailand and the grassland steppes of Mongolia. I tracked endangered dholes, Przewalski’s horses, and wolves. My lifelong identity was field biologist. And then, on the 29th of November, 2017, I quit my job for a completely different path.
I went from Dr. Kate to owning a cleaning business. Crazy, I know! It felt embarrassing at the beginning, like I was letting down everyone (my teachers, mentors, team members) who helped me with my career. But long, complicated story short: I was burned out and needed a change to be happy. Running a business from home seemed to fit my goals for time and financial independence. I had zero experience.
Do you know the number of businesses that fail? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 30% of small businesses fail in their second year, and 50% of small business fail by the fifth year. Not great odds.
So, how did my risk turn out? Well, fast forward 5 years and Right Touch Residential Cleaning is still in business. We made it through COVID and a terrible labor market. I haven’t reached my profit goals, but we are rebuilding and currently have an incredible team. I have two virtual assistants that basically run the office so I have time to work “on” instead of “in” the business. I am proud of what we built. I don’t regret taking the risk.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
You know what a drag it is to be so tired at the end of the week that you only want to relax, veg out in front of the TV, but the bathroom is so dirty that you can no longer stand it? Or, are you a mom who hates the thought of once again nagging the family to clean? Well, what we do is help people take back their weekends. Instead of spending time cleaning, they can spend their time doing what matters most to them. In fact, one of our recurring clients just said we saved her dignity. Because of her cleanings every 2 weeks, she felt proud of her sparkling home (instead of embarrassed) when her mother-in-law unexpectedly came to visit.
Our business revolves around communication and we build relationships with a personal, neighborly, touch. The values of Right Touch reflect my personal values. This naturally includes a strong desire to provide excellent customer service. My employees are my colleagues, not my subordinates. And of course, I respect them for their hard work and dedication to our team.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz is an incredible book because it offers a plan for business owners to actually reach the goals we had when we first started (time freedom). It is a blueprint to build a business that not only runs but thrives without you. The book helped me actually understand the strategies to be able to be fully unplugged from my business and take space away. Downtime needs to be intentional.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I never expected to be on unemployment. But, that is where I found myself (along with my entire team) for 2 months while my business was deemed non-essential and closed due to our COVID-19 State mandate. We still had to pay rent for our office and ongoing expenses for insurance and software subscriptions without any revenue coming in. Did I tell you it is a house cleaning business?! (You’d think that would be essential, right?) In 2020 I was going into the third year of owning and running the business and I was just starting to feel confident about growth when COVID-19 hit. It was especially hard since I felt like I had to prove myself and show success after quitting my previous job to open a business.
During our closure, I attended multiple conferences and classes to take the time and care to study the science behind pandemics and to learn techniques for our team to safety clean in a COVID-19 world. I decided to purchase personal protective equipment (eye protection, masks, shoe covers, gloves, hand sanitizer) and disinfectant for our employees. These expenses were all unplanned and not in my budget.
Prior to the vaccine becoming available, almost all of my employees contracted COVID at one time or another. As a result, we had to deal with many days of unexpected low staffing. Many clients were lost due to the staff shortage and inability to service the clients. Additionally, I paid multiple employee salaries for the two-week quarantine period without having revenue coming in from them working. The basic expenses of doing business have greatly increased because many of the supplies we use for house cleaning (like spray bottles and gloves) are also used for cleaning in hospitals and other settings related to COVID-19.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.righttouchhousecleaning.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/righttouchcleanshomes
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/right-touch-residential-cleaning-golden-valley