We were lucky to catch up with Sergio Pelayo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sergio, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I moved to the United States before I was even old enough to legally be considered an adult. Like many immigrants, I started from the bottom. I worked in factories for years, drove Uber, took whatever jobs I could find and simply focused on surviving and building a future.

My entry into the janitorial industry happened during one of the lowest moments of my life. I lost a stable job I had for years because of layoffs, and I remember feeling completely defeated. A friend saw how discouraged I was and helped me get a job as a janitor where he worked.

Without realizing it at the time, what felt like a personal disaster became the beginning of something that would completely change my life.

People always ask me if I love cleaning, and honestly, nobody loves cleaning. It’s exhausting work. You finish physically drained. But what I fell in love with was the transformation. Taking a place that was dirty, neglected or in terrible condition and turning it into something clean, comfortable and alive again. Seeing people walk into a place and say, “Wow, this looks amazing,” or “Good job,” after putting real effort into something with your own hands — that feeling stayed with me.

I started cleaning toilets, houses and commercial buildings. I truly came from the bottom of the industry.

Over time, I started my own cleaning company. Some ventures worked, others failed. I came dangerously close to bankruptcy multiple times. Eventually, I realized something important: the biggest thing holding me back was comfort. Life had become stable and predictable, and deep down I knew I needed to force myself into discomfort if I wanted to grow further.

After nearly 15 years living in the United States with my wife and children, I made one of the craziest decisions of my life. I told my wife, “We’re leaving.” She asked me where, and honestly, I didn’t know yet.

At the time, I had already started Es My Cleaning Business, but I hadn’t fully committed to it. I sold my cleaning company, closed other ventures and decided to start over in a completely different way.

One day I opened a map of Mexico, looked all the way down to the southeast because I wanted something unfamiliar, and landed on Yucatán. I had never been there before. I didn’t know a single person. No contacts, no family, no network, nothing. I researched it online for a few hours and made a decision that same day.

I bought a plane ticket and told my wife, “You and the kids stay here for now. I’m going to open the path first.”

I still remember arriving in Mérida with my luggage. The moment I stepped outside the airport, I felt the heat and humidity hit me all at once. It felt completely different from anything I was used to. That night I checked into a small hotel that honestly looked much better in the photos than it did in real life.

Later that evening, I walked outside hungry and found a hot dog stand. The food was already there and fully prepared, but when I tried to order, the vendor told me he couldn’t sell yet because he “hadn’t started selling yet.” I remember standing there confused, thinking, “But everything is already ready.” As small as that moment sounds, it impacted me deeply because it showed me how much opportunity still exists when people are willing to move faster, think differently and operate with urgency.

I went to an Oxxo instead, bought a sandwich and a drink, went back to the hotel, took a shower and completely broke down.

Not out of sadness — out of shock.

I remember asking myself, “What the hell did I just do?”

For the first time in years, I truly felt outside my comfort zone. I had left behind certainty, routine and stability. I questioned everything. But after letting all that frustration out, I calmed myself down and made a decision: keep going.

Years later, that decision changed my life completely.

Today I operate businesses across the United States and Spanish operations in multiple states throughout Mexico. My software business is now entering the market and gaining strong momentum with investor support and growing traction.

Looking back, I’ve realized something important: when most people start, they don’t actually build a business — they build a self-employment position for themselves. Real businesses require systems, leadership, structure, capital and sacrifice. But when you start from nothing, hope is often the only thing you have.

And sometimes, hope is enough to take the first step.

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 originally entered the janitorial and cleaning industry after losing a stable job I had for years due to layoffs. At the time, I felt completely lost and discouraged. A friend saw how defeated I was and helped me get a job as a janitor where he worked. What started as a difficult moment in my life unexpectedly became the foundation of everything I’ve built since then.

I started from the very bottom — cleaning toilets, houses, commercial buildings and doing physical labor for long hours. Over time, I began understanding the operational side of service businesses at a much deeper level. Eventually, that experience evolved into helping other business owners improve operations, organization, staffing and growth.

Today, through Es My Cleaning Business, I work with and support hundreds of service-based companies across the United States. Over the past decade, I’ve advised and worked alongside thousands of entrepreneurs within the industry, helping businesses improve operational structure, staffing systems, communication and scalability. Collectively, the businesses we support and work with represent well over $100 million in combined business operations.

As the industry evolved, so did my vision.

I realized that operational support alone was no longer enough. Technology and artificial intelligence are changing every industry rapidly, especially service industries. That realization pushed me into an area I never imagined I would enter: software and technology development.

Today, FlowNect represents the technology side of that vision. While Es My Cleaning Business focuses on operational support and business infrastructure, FlowNect focuses on building technology systems designed to help service companies operate more efficiently, stay organized and adapt to the future of the industry.

Ironically, one of the reasons I pushed myself so hard into technology came from a moment years ago that stayed with me permanently.

I remember sitting around with people I thought were friends at the time, talking about dreams and goals like many young people do. I mentioned that one day I wanted to build a company, have employees and generate my first $100,000 in business. One person laughed at me and said, “You’re not smart enough for that. People like us don’t get to do those things.”

At first, that comment discouraged me deeply.

But over time, I learned something important about myself: I may get discouraged like anyone else, but I’m extremely persistent. When people doubt me, criticize me or underestimate me, I use that negativity as fuel to push myself even harder.

One of the things I’m most proud of today is successfully entering the technology space without coming from a programming or engineering background. I’m not a software engineer, and I never imagined I would eventually build technology companies or lead software development projects. But I learned that vision, persistence and adaptability can sometimes matter just as much as technical expertise.

I’ve even pushed myself creatively outside of business. One example is The Cleaning Mystery, a short horror series I created inspired by the cleaning industry. On the surface, it may seem completely different from operations or technology, but for me it represented something deeper — proving to myself that people are capable of creating far more than they believe if they’re willing to stay persistent and work for it.

More than dominating an industry, my goal is to create impact, inspire growth and help people adapt to the future instead of being replaced by it.

I truly believe artificial intelligence and technology are going to transform the workforce completely. We have two choices: either allow technology to replace us, or build technology that empowers people, supports businesses and helps our communities evolve alongside it.

That’s the future I want to help build.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

This happened more times than I’d like to admit.

I think many business owners, especially in service industries, will relate to this. There were periods where my wife and I were running operations together, payroll was coming up, bills were due, employees needed to get paid, and the money simply wasn’t in the account yet.

What made it even more stressful was that technically the business was making money. We had accounts receivable in place, invoices out and clients that owed us money, but we didn’t have the actual cash flow available at that moment. At the time, I didn’t fully understand accounting, cash flow management, operational expenses or how dangerous that gap between receivables and liquidity could become.

I remember nights where we were still making calls close to midnight trying to follow up on payments from clients because payroll was due the next morning. Those moments are mentally exhausting because when you have employees depending on you, the pressure feels very different. It’s not just about your own survival anymore — other families depend on you doing your job correctly.

There were moments where we honestly thought, “I don’t know how we’re going to make this happen.”

And then, more than once, right when we were about to lose hope, an email notification would come in late at night saying a wire or payment had finally cleared. Sometimes it was $10,000, sometimes $15,000, just enough to stabilize payroll and keep operations moving.

Those moments taught me lessons I still carry today.

First, cash flow matters more than revenue. A business can look successful on paper and still struggle operationally if cash flow is poorly managed.

Second, pressure changes you. Those difficult moments forced me to learn accounting, bookkeeping, finance and operational management at a much deeper level. Today I’ve completed multiple finance and accounting programs, including professional bookkeeping and forensic accounting training, because I never wanted to feel financially blind again as an operator.

And lastly, those moments taught me persistence. Entrepreneurship is stressful, and there are moments where everything feels like it’s falling apart. But I’ve learned that when you stay calm, stay persistent and keep pushing forward, solutions eventually appear. Sometimes they arrive at the last possible moment — but they arrive.

And if they don’t arrive on their own, you go out and create them yourself.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

Definitely. I strongly believe every business should have multiple revenue streams. Relying too heavily on a single source of income is like putting all your eggs in one basket — if something goes wrong, the business becomes extremely vulnerable.

That philosophy has shaped the way I build companies and systems today.

On the business side, I operate multiple ventures, but even within each company we intentionally create different service layers and revenue channels that support one another.

For example, through Es My Cleaning Business, we don’t focus on just one service. The company operates across multiple operational areas including virtual reception services, administrative support, marketing solutions, bookkeeping support, coaching and operational consulting for service-based businesses. Each area creates its own revenue stream, but they also strengthen each other operationally. In many cases, one service naturally leads clients into another service within the ecosystem.

That diversification has been extremely important for long-term stability and scalability.

On the technology side, FlowNect was designed with the same philosophy in mind. Instead of building a single-purpose software, we created an operational ecosystem for service businesses. The platform includes CRM systems, invoicing, quotes, internal organizational tools, employee connectivity, payroll support integrations through our Time Shift system and integrated VoIP telecommunications through Flow Mobile.

We also integrated website and marketing functionality directly into the ecosystem so businesses can manage multiple operational areas from one centralized platform instead of relying on disconnected systems.

Now, with artificial intelligence becoming a major part of business operations, we’re also integrating AI-driven tools designed to help businesses maximize efficiency, automate repetitive tasks and better utilize their resources.

For me, multiple revenue streams are not just about making more money. They’re about building resilience, creating synergy between services and making sure the business can continue adapting as industries and technology evolve.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.flownect.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emcbgroup/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EMCBGroup/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergiopelayo/
• Twitter: https://x.com/EsMyCleaning
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@esmycleaningbusiness
• Other: https://www.esmycleaningbusiness.com/
  https://www.youtube.com/@TheCleaningMystery

Image Credits

All photos courtesy of Sergio Pelayo