Ashley Harkrader, Founder of Pretty Clean CLT, shares how her side hustle quickly turned into a full service cleaning business catered to help single & working mothers get back a little more “mommy time”.
Q. What Makes Pretty Clean different from other cleaning businesses?
A. I know what makes my company stand out is the customer service I am able to provide. I take a deeper approach to getting to know my clients. Not only their expectations but what scents do they like (not like), specifics about their homes, certain small things we can do while in the home. I am a mom myself so I know at the end of the day laundry has to be done. I want to be that breath of fresh air for my clients and if that means folding a basket of laundry so she gets an extra hour of mommy time that night, then that’s what we are going to do.
Q. Why should people invest in a cleaning business?
A. I think the biggest advice I could give someone looking to hire a cleaning company is: do it for you!! Life is hard in all kinds aspects and we want to make that easier for you. Let us be the reason you get to come home after work to a clean home. Let us be the reason you can enjoy your time with your kids on the weekend and not clean. Let us be the reason that you believe in cleaning companies and that it can be done- and done right!
Q. What do you think the biggest myth about cleaning companies are?
A. I think the biggest misconception is that all cleaning companies are created equal and that is certainly NOT true. I allowed myself to get caught up on quantity rather than quality and once that happened I lost sight of what I was wanting to achieve from my company. Once I really sat down and created a plan I realized that I was so much more different than your run of the mill companies. I was personable with my clients, invested in their lives, cared about their homes, and respected my employees. Find a company that you can grow with and who will love your home as much as you do.
Q. As many of us know, starting a business isn’t always “pretty”. What challenges did you face earlier in balancing work & motherhood?
A. There were days and nights on cleaning jobs where I was alone, thinking I could never do this, employees that were just no shows, and I would have my daughter with me. She would watch me clean and talk to me as I moved through a home. We would have dance parties in people’s bathroom to keep from crying. I have had client’s feed her dinner before while I was cleaning and we weren’t leaving till the job was done. It becomes such a bigger vision when you have another human being to put before you, and that was what I was doing. I was putting food on our table, clothes on her back, and bills to be paid. As she got older she would clean with me on occasion and earn money to help. This is when I knew that she appreciated what I was building and she understood the blood, sweat, and tears that I was putting into the business to make a better life for us, a better life for her.
Q. What do you think the biggest myth about cleaning companies are?
A. I think the biggest misconception is that all cleaning companies are created equal and that is certainly NOT true. I allowed myself to get caught up on quantity rather than quality and once that happened I lost sight of what I was wanting to achieve from my company. Once I really sat down and created a plan I realized that I was so much more different than your run of the mill companies. I was personable with my clients, invested in their lives, cared about their homes, and respected my employees. Find a company that you can grow with and who will love your home as much as you do.
