How This Mom Founder Built a -2.4M Cleaning and Organizing Business - Kelly Jedele

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the Beyond the Story Podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now Sebastian Bro. Kelly, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Thank you, Sebastian. So good to be here. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

It's good to have you here. Thanks for taking some time out of your day to hang out with me for a few minutes. You and I connected through the great Dan Martell's Elite Coaching program.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

He's a wonder to be had. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

He sure is. Hard to argue with Ripped Rich and Rare.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Yeah, that's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

And like we were saying before we started recording here, uh a hug with a slap in the back of the head.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Yes, very much. I have had that personally directed at me, and it was intense. I cried.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Well, yeah, I know. He he's real good at me. He's he's made me cry too. But then again, you know, I'm a crier. Don't at me, people. Don't at me. Okay, I'm in touch with my emotions. Very rare these days. So you and I started chatting on Instagram after one of the calls, and uh, you're telling me about your business. We're chatting back and forth, and told you what I did. And I said, Well, let's get you on the podcast. I'd love to tell your story. That's exactly what I do on the show. I tell people's stories. I always love to go back to the beginning of the story for context for our listeners to help them really better understand where this all started. Now, Kelly, the beginning of the story is always different for everybody. So you decide what the beginning is there. But bring us back to where it all began and what really brought you into what is now an extremely successful business that you're running.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Yeah, thank you. My my business started in 2009. I I got fired in the I was in medical sales, and the my new boss just didn't like me and things were changing and made me go away. And at the time, I was like, you know, I could continue doing that, get a different job, or I could start something else. My daughter was going into first grade and I really wanted that time freedom and decided to to change a 40-hour work week to an 80-hour work week so I could have that flexibility of time. Um, and I just love it. I love what I do. I love supporting women and giving them just the empowerment to make choices for their life and not have to choose between, you know, business and family and themselves.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Cool. So let's talk about the business. What does it do? Who do you serve? How does it work?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Yeah, I'm in Austin, Texas. I own a residential cleaning company and we do cleaning and organizing. So we'll um organize someone's house and we'll clean it, do deep cleanings. And we also do like our main but bread and butter is maintenance cleaning. So every other week or weekly, once a month, um, just keep those houses clean while people are living their lives.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

So important.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

So very yeah, it used to be a luxury and it's more and more now a necessity for families.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Well, it may help you maintain the chaos.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

It does. I mean, with a with a clean home, your your brain can really process more information and you just feel like you're more on top of everything. And because this day and age, people are just blowing and going all the time. Families are busy, people are busy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

Tell me about it. I'm not as busy as I should be, but uh I got well, not everybody.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Not everybody.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

I totally, I totally get all that. So you started this in 2009. Why'd you decide to do it?

SPEAKER_01 3:29

I um I really wanted to have my own business, and I was looking at opportunities of things that would um be continuous, like an income stream. That's what I wanted. I had done Mary Kay in the past, and they were always like, you know, consumable product, something that is recurring, is something that's good. And so I um was raised by a mother that was a domestic goddess. And so I had a lot of business skills, I had a lot of um sales skills from my Mary Kay days, and just domestic skills from being raised by my beautiful mother. So I just wrote, I got a business card, made put all the things, made my own card, put all the things that I wanted to do on the back and started handing it out like a good little salesperson canvassing all of downtown Austin and neighborhoods, coffee shops and networking communities, and got into a bunch of networking groups and um really just got it off the ground very, very quickly. It I within three months of starting the business, I had enough business where I needed to hire an employee. So I was very, very happy with the success of it.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Did you have to clean the houses when you first started?

SPEAKER_01 4:37

I did. I did not have capital. Um, I started with no no money. And so I I I was my first employee and I cleaned houses for about two years. And then round about that two-year mark, the employees that I had hired, I was working alongside of, and they were like, Can you please not be here? You're just really in the way. Because I would just stand there in the house on the phone and I'm, you know, booking jobs and you know, getting things lined up, and then I'd sit down and take my laptop and do payroll, and they're just like they just kick me out. Stop it. So I hired staff um and had an office manager, and then I was doing sales alongside of that, and I'm just yeah, rocking rolling from there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

That was probably a cool transition for you. We're like, wow, I don't have to do the dirty work anymore.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Change management is a real thing. I will tell you that. That trying to get your clients used to the fact that you, you know, it's like I do it, you do it, I do it, we do it, you do it. You know, that whole transition into that. Um, I knew that I didn't want to clean forever. Um physical labor and physical working wasn't something I had had desired to do. My ego also was like, I want to clean houses. Um, turns out it's a very good job. Pays really well. So yeah, I'm I'm very happy to be on this side of it though. I haven't cleaned in probably seven or eight years.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Do you clean your own house?

SPEAKER_01 5:56

No.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

I would certainly hope not.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

No, I mean, sometimes I do because I mean, my goodness, like the satisfaction of before and after, it's like a very the very few things in life that you actually get that immediate satisfaction, like cleaning or you know, organizing something. So there are times when I'll, you know, sweep the floor or you know, whatever, clean a mirror, but definitely not the whole house.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Yeah, I lost that fulfillment feeling of let's clean the house. I'm gonna feel great after. But yeah, when I get home from playing golf and my housekeeper had just left, now I'm feeling it.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Yeah, yeah, it's satisfaction for those, everyone involved.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Do you go evaluate the house before you take the job on? Because there is a there's some shit shows out there.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

We have a um questionnaire that they fill out, a form online, and we have a online, we have a phone call, um, a live phone call. It's about 10 minutes before every first-time client to evaluate their needs. And through that phone call, with the questions that we have, we can determine how the house is. And um we have only been off a handful of times over the years with that. So, but not in person. People are too busy these days to do that in-person meeting beforehand. And they're and the the sure number, we clean 50 houses a day. So it's it at this point we're not able to keep up with in-person if we wanted to at that point.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Wow, that's a lot of houses.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

It is. I'm so I'm so surprised.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

And do you guys service all of Austin? Because Austin's a big place.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

We don't. No, we don't. Because Austin is growing, like the the metropolis of Austin, like it grows out. We're on the southwest corner of Austin. So we go just north of the river, north of downtown. Um, and then we go, there's these little towns just south and west of Austin. Dripping Springs is one of them, and then Kyle and Butta. And so we're kind of in that southwest corner of Austin. Um, if you pay us enough, we'll we'll drive for a one-off um into different areas for travel fees. Um, but really the the traffic in Austin really keeps us kind of as close. And actually, we have enough work, you know, to keep all 20 teams busy, you know, in that hub. I mean, we could probably double just in that area because of the amount of homes uh and and desire for the the service.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

So 20 teams, wow, and how many people on a team?

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Two. So 45 employees.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

Wowza. So how did you scale that? How did how did how did that all start to work out? Where did it kind of just unfold naturally and then you continue to rinse and repeat the process? Or because to get to that is is is huge.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Yeah, so 16 years. And so we um we added teams very, very organically over the years. I didn't want the wheels to come off the bus. I was learning business and I was learning growth and leadership as we were going. I was also raising my daughter. So um my daughter's very busy in musical theater, and so she was singing, dancing, acting in shows and all this in Austin, Texas, and around the surrounding area. And so um I was just a busy human and a mom. And I didn't want to be that busy. So I I really organically grew the company so that it would be strong foundation and people would know, like, and trust me, the staff, and just the whole idea of the brand. And it really has um lasted over time through COVID and all of the hardships that we've had in the last few years as well. And I'm very proud of that.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

So you and I were talking, uh, well, congrats on all the success, by the way. So you and I were talking um on Instagram when we connected after the elite call on there. And um, you know, I something that pertained to, you know, you got a great, very successful business. Friends, we're talking a multi-million dollar brand. You can imagine cloning closing 50 or cleaning 50 houses a day with a team of 45. Wild success with this. But I always like to ask people, what's next? And we started to chat a little bit about that, but I was like, save it for the podcast, Kelly, because I want to know kind of where your head and thought process is, because there's never, you know, in this day and age, or if you're a you know, a driven entrepreneur like yourself, there's always more. There's always something next, and there's always something we desire. What does that look like for you right now?

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Well, that the the little girl that I have used that have gone back and therapized for years and years. And I I I witnessed my biological mother having to choose between work and her family. And she chose work. And so that really broke me as a person and as a little girl. And so now it's like my life's passion to help mom founders not have to choose between work, themselves, and their families. Like it's there is a way to do it, and I am proof of that. I I have chosen to raise my daughter, own a business, a successful business, take care of myself, work out, you know, do all the things. And so I want to make sure that I am I am the one that's able to help and support these women. I want to do that by community and by systems, teaching them systems, to really, you know, prioritize what is important in their life so they can have it all. I really love that that piece. And that's where I want to go forward in my life, whether that's speaking, I would love to do more speaking, coaching, and just supporting mom founders. Podcasting, yes, Sebastian, podcasting, absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Well, that's great. I love that. It looks like you have a clear path on what's next, but it looks like it also is kind of unfolded as time has progressed. It's like, hey, what does my journey look like? What have I been able to create? And I can't be the only one that wants to do something like this. My natural next step, you know?

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Yeah. And I think so many times, and maybe it's my generation, but women are we are taught that we have to choose. You know, you have to focus on one thing or the other. Like there's there's not a um a true, like you can have it all kind of mentality with a lot of women, or at least that's not the way that I felt. I felt like there was a choice in there. And um, and I I really think that you can do, you know, you can do the little bit of volunteering, you can do the little bit of um, you know, all the things and and really be successful um at those things. And the minutes really matter. That's the thing that's so important to me, too, to remind myself. Like I may not have as much time as another mom, you know, to take care of the class, you know, cupcakes or whatever, but I can still show up and be there because I'm in charge of my own schedule. So that really matters to my daughter when I show up and I see her little face and you know, those things. So she's grown up now, but I still show up for her.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Yeah, yeah. Same, same, same here. I remember that as well, too. Like, I remember the first time I went back to my sales job in there. I'm like, I gotta go get my daughter. They're like, We all have kids, you got to figure it out, you can't leave. And I was like, later, dude, never went back, never had a job again. And um, I remember that I knew if I was gonna create financial stress, I was gonna do it and I was gonna control my schedule, you know. And back then, that was the early 2000s. They're like, You're gonna quit your job. You know, it was very rare back then, but it was one of the greatest gifts I have. And look back and be like, I haven't had a job in 25 years.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Yeah. And and I've seen other dads talk about this too. So it's not just moms. I mean, I've seen that dads have had to make this choice in their life with friendships and you know, travel and whatever it is. Um, it's important to know that, you know, it's it's not just women, but you know, that's just my passion because of my story.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I love your story. I love what you've done and what you've created here. It's so incredibly inspiring. It's great to be connected with you too. Um, I love the elite community. You too. Great human beings in the elite community. So great.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

The community is awesome.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Yeah, it really, really is. So I'm really grateful for both Dan and the community's created. So um any final thoughts for our listeners?

SPEAKER_01 13:51

It's it's just I really enjoy watching you and your podcasting. And I'm I'm excited to see where the elite community can can take both of us and where you know where we're headed next. Um, I'm I'm I'm excited to see that. And it's fun to to be a part of something that is growing and you know builds us up. That's that's what I want to be pushed out of my comfort zone.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Yes. Well, Dan's real good at that.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

He is. He is.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

Hey, thanks again, Kelly. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to hang out with me for a few minutes. I'm sure our listeners uh do as well. Keep doing what you're doing. It's clearly uh work that matters uh and what you're on to and will continue to be on to next, I'm sure it's full of impact and fulfillment with that work as well. So keep it up.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Thank you so much, Sebastian. Nice to talk to you.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Likewise. Until next time, friends. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story Podcast. Be sure to appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Be sure to appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios.