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

Michelle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

Corporate America has tried on numerous occasions to break into the home services industry, specifically home cleaning. We have watched a handful of large national brands come and go (not including the national franchises). The premise always seems to be the same – cheap service on demand. At the surface, this is of course attractive to consumers, but we believe what has made us successful in our industry, is treating employees and customers with respect and dignity. At the end of the day, a cheap service is a cheap service, for both the practitioner and the customer. Running a local service company like a commodity will not make for a great or prosperous work environment, and customers will feel like a cog in a big machine. Personalized touches and taking the time to hire great people to serve wonderful customers is something that can never be done at the quick and cheap scale that Corporate America seeks out. While so much of the world is rapidly changing with new technologies and ways of work, we love that small local businesses can not yet be easily replicated by corporate giants. The best way for success in this industry is to put people first.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

After graduating with my Masters of Public Health from Colorado School of Public Health, I was inspired to build a business that does good for the employees. My husband and business partner, Evan, has his Masters in Geology from CSU, and also cares deeply about the environment and treating people well. We set out to create a business with a strong and positive workplace culture, who always puts employees first. Cleaning is a physical job and very hard work, so we allow our team to choose a schedule that best fit their needs. We encourage self care, work life balance, and support inclusion in the workplace. We provide empathy and respect to our team and promote open communication.

Additionally, we chose house cleaning as our service because first and foremost we both value a clean and clutter free space. We recognize the positive impact that a clean home has on everybody, and want to be able to offer a high quality service to those in the community who can not or do not want to clean their home.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

We have read numerous books and listened to countless business podcasts, but the most impactful book for us has been the classic “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It”. While this answer may not be very original, as this book is often cited by small business owners in all industries, it was very helpful to us. Breaking down the real reasons why we started our business, and understanding the different aspects and personalities required for a successful business were key in helping us to understand the bigger picture. The book is also very good at explaining why autonomy in roles is so important, and the trust needed among your team, as well as having structured and well thought out systems to make sure that the business keeps progressing forward, even if you have changes in staffing. Another great book about managing a team of employees is the “Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink. The book talks a lot about what motivates people to work hard, and it turn, how to manage people so they can reach their full potential. The big takeaway is that everybody, no matter the industry, loves and appreciates autonomy. Micromanaging people is almost a guaranteed way to make someone unhappy and unmotivated in their role.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing a growing team can be tough, but also rewarding and exciting. Everyone is different, and expecting everyone to act and work the same way is very shortsighted. The biggest lessons that we have learned is to make sure to give people enough trust and autonomy to do their job well. Micromanaging, or trying to be so rigid in structure, will likely not lead to high job satisfaction among team members. Remembering that there are many ways to do something to get to the same end goal, is a huge mindset shift that can pay dividends. Another key is to make sure to be flexible. Hiccups will happen, people will be sick, or there will be a family emergency. Remembering that business is built on people, and people come first. While giving the best service we can to our clients is what we strive for, family and people still come first. Treating your team with respect and trust, and giving them ownership in their role, is a great way to ensure high morale in a company.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mulberrymaids.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/mulberrymaids
• Facebook: facebook.com/mulberrymaidsllc
• Yelp: yelp.com/biz/mulberry-maids-fort-collins