Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lesley Lewis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lesley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?
I think that depending on or expecting family and friends to support your small business is something that most business owners do at the start of their entrepreneurial journey. It takes time and maturing as a business owner to realize and understand that it is strangers who will support your business and help it to grow. Although, when I first started my cleaning business, I do feel like my community really backed and supported me but there is only so much support that you can expect from the people you know. I think it is eye opening and sometimes very hurtful when the ones you surround yourself with the most don’t support you. I often give the advice to new business owners that the people who support you will be the people you least expect. It’s not going to always be the closest people to you. It could be someone that you have inspired. It could be an associate or a complete stranger. Be grateful. I am so grateful for the many strangers who support me from booking cleaning services with LesleyLola’s Cleaning Service LLC to simply liking a post on my social media. I have about 2400 people who follow me on my Facebook business page and about 2500 who follow me on Instagram-mostly strangers. I am grateful. They interact with my content and book and refer my services. I have built my own community of support, and I love that! I love them. To sum it up-my advice is to not expect much from your friends and family and focus on building and being grateful for the community you build.
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.
I am a mother of two, a wife, an educator and now, a businesswoman. By day, I am a Mathematics Instructional Leadership Specialist-or a math coach. I have been an educator for the past 25 years and have been in this math coaching position for the past 18 years. I love it because I love math, and I am passionate about students and teachers understanding and eventually loving math. I became a cleaning business owner almost three years ago. I love to clean. I actually feel so much better after I clean. I have used cleaning as a way to sooth and calm my nerves for as long as I can remember. I have anxiety and sometimes suffer from depression and cleaning has helped me when I am anxious or depressed. About three years ago, I was sitting at my desk at work and I turned to my friend and said, “I’m starting a cleaning business. I am going to start this weekend”. I created a flyer, applied for an LLC online, posted the flyer on social media and that’s all it took. I didn’t even have any cleaning supplies yet. That Saturday, I had my first client, and my business took off from there. I hired a friend of mine who was out of work at the time. It was great because she didn’t mind going on walkthroughs with me in the beginning. I am so grateful that I had that support. She still works for me to this day. I started out using cleaning products from the Dollar Tree. I opened a business bank account and applied for a couple business credit cards so that I could buy decent vacuums from Lowes. Now, I use professional cleaning products and more efficient machines, and I have 6 employees. I am most proud of the fact that I started a business and am now employing and empowering others. At LesleyLola’s Cleaning Service LLC we do basic and deep residential cleanings and also offer decluttering and organizing services. I recently added a service called Extreme Clean. This service is for clients who need much more than a deep cleaning. These are the most satisfying appointments. The relief and sometimes tears of joy from the clients make it all worth it. I love the fact that we are helping the community and taking a load off of those who need it. For those in the community that can’t afford our services, we offer what I call a Grace & Shine Cleaning. It’s a free cleaning that anyone can apply for. I choose someone every couple of months to receive a free cleaning. I often say that if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have gone to college and that I would have started a business instead. But I can’t deny that my leadership and education background has helped me immensely. There are so many aspects of running a business. My life experiences and career have shaped me into the person I am today and definitely have positively affected me as a businesswoman. I would love to grow as a business-hire more employees and even hire a full-time personal assistant for myself. Ultimately, I’d love the business to be able to run without me.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
At the start of my business, if someone complained I would be so devastated. I would panic and even take it personally. It would really bother me, and I’d beat myself up about it. Complaints still bother me but not to the extreme or extent that they did in the beginning. Now, if I receive a complaint or have a bad experience with a client or employee, I will take it as a sign to tighten up policies, offer more training and look into how to better my practices. I reflect instead of reacting. This mindset has helped me tremendously. The lesson I had to unlearn was that complaints or negative things that occur in my business are opportunities for me to reflect and grow and not a time to get in my feelings and take it personal.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I’ve been an educator for over 20 years. I used my own personal funds to fu my business. I started out with cleaning products from the Dollar Tree until I was able to afford professional cleaning products. This year, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to take more financial risks when it comes to business. I don’t take enough risks, and I know that it is hindering the growth of my business. Being financially risky is a huge mindset shift that I am working on in this new year. It’s scary but necessary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lesleylola.com
- Instagram: @lesleylolascleaning
- Facebook: LesleyLola’s Cleaning Service LLC
