We recently connected with Kemberli Clark and have shared our conversation below.
Kemberli, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Multi-Essentials Cleaning mission is to change atmospheres! What that means is it’s more than just conducting a simple cleaning service, but we care about our clients mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing. Our mission is to make a change in every environment we enter into, whether residential or commercial. We provide services for cancer treatment patience, elderly, productive family builders, and busy career chasers. We provide a sense of safety, trust, cleanliness, and peace of mind. I see the work we do as a ministry!
With our society being in a mental health crisis, it has to be the forefront of how we handle our clients and how we can aide in lower this issue. According to studies, clutter and an unclean area makes you distracted and limits your brain’s ability to process information. This leads to stress! According to researchers at UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives and Families, clutter has a profound effect on our self-esteem, and our moods. Our mission is to change the trajectory of our clients mental and spiritual life by the services we provide and the spirit in which we do it in.
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.
My name is Kemberli Clark and I’m the owner of Multi-Essential Cleaning Service in Southeast Texas. I started this business in November of 2018, as a side job to make ends meet. I was facing one of the hardest trials of my life, divorce. I was instructed by my mentors and Pastors to find something that I can have liberty to do and not be strained with time. When cleaning was suggested, I thought “really?”, but needless to say I began cleaning outside of my full-time job to make ends meet. What I found was a burden to help others, I enjoyed the relief I offered my few clients and took advantage to learn and grow as much as I could. I welcomed constructive criticism each visit!
As the years progressed, I began to make promotional videos to share the work I was doing and was told that my side hustle seemed more than a hustle but a business. I wasn’t too convinced because I never wanted to own or run my own business because it seemed unreliable and heavy on the responsibility. None of which I desired at the time. Fast forward to 2020 and as we all know life as we knew it changed. I was working full-time at a well-known refinery, with good benefits, great pay and promising future and it all went down the drain once the pandemic began. I was laid off. Interestingly a peace came over me that could not be explained. In the midst of not knowing my next moves, I trusted my God with my future in a way I never had before. As I began to pray for direction, I began to feel led to push forward full-time with my cleaning service and since then have never looked back!
I have learned through many trials and have experienced the highs and lows of business. It has not been easy but to see the work of my hands produce a greater good for my workers, my clients, and my community has been the reward that keeps me going. I have learned to stay teachable, pliable, remain integral, and that business has no emotions. (That was a hard one to learn!) Through my experience thus far, I’ve been able to develop strong customer service skills and team building skills. As a leader I am the example and am Soley responsible for bringing my team to their best! Through biblical principles that I have implemented in my company core values and culture has given me favor with my clients. They understand that I will never do anything in their property or home that will get me in trouble with my God. This has granted me mercy when missing the mark and even in times of things being damaged.
What sets MEC apart from other cleaning companies is that we do not compare ourselves to anyone. What is for our competitors is for them and what’s for MEC is for MEC. Our mission is different, not better. We offer something other cleaning services can’t offer and vice versa.
What makes me the proudest of this business is the fact that we have maintained our integrity and authenticity since the beginning. We’ve aged with class and have grown, not been set back. Every hardship as a valuable lesson, preparing us for the next height! Endurance is everything to me and I see that we have possessed these almost 6 years.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I personally had to unlearn the idea that asking for what I need is a nuisance to others.
Growing up was hard. My parents did the best they could but many days we went without basic necessities. I remember feeling like asking for what I needed was a burden or that I would cause greater problems. So, I created a habit of settling. This followed me all the way into business where I would under charge my clients because I didn’t want to bother them for what I was due. I would allow them to bargain my prices just to gain a sell. After receiving the short end of the stick enough and seeing the truth for what it is, I had to do some soul searching and self-examining of why I was allowing this. After truly dealing with the root and allowing the Lord to do some heart healing I understood that asking for what I need is a part of life. It’s either yes or no, take it or leave it. I grew to understand my worth and charge accordingly. I am continually growing in this area, but I am far from where I started, and I am proud of myself for it.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
My humble beginnings were on a wing and a prayer for the most part! When I went full-time entrepreneur in 2020, after being laid off from my career as a data analyst for a fortune 500 refinery company in Texas, I used my unemployment to fund and start up my business. I created a website, bought supplies, business cards you name it, all to start my company. The timing was divine because I essentially was getting paid to start my business!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.multiessentialscleaning.com
- Instagram: @cmultiessentials
- Facebook: MultiEssentials19
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kemberli-clark-34aa6a30
- Yelp: Multi-Essentials Cleaning and More
- Other: You can also Google us at Multi-Essentials Cleaning
Image Credits
Kemberli Clark