Rubber Duck Cleaning Company
There's a sour smell coming from the air. It would make anyone from the city scrunch their noise in disgust but looking over at Jasynda in the driver's seat of the white Toyota, she pays no attention to the cow manure that infests the air. She pops her trunk and goes straight to her blue bag, cleaning products filled in each compartment cubby.
"Follow me this way." she points her head towards the direction of the front door.
She opens the large white door and is greeted with hardwood floors and tan walls. There's a staircase on her left with a brown railing held up with white rails. (Figure 1)
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| Figure 1 |
"Hello, I'm starting upstairs." She nods towards the scruffy middle-aged man working in the kitchen. He is wearing an old T-shirt with his company logo barely visible towards the right side of his chest. He pairs this with some dark blue jeans with tan work boots. His dirty and calloused hand gripped the handle of his drill.
"Okay I shouldn't be here much longer, so I'll be out of the way for you." He smiles with just his lips. The respect between the two seems very evident, like they are familiar with each other and have worked together yet separate before.
Stepping around the wire that's plugged into the extension cord in the wall for his tool, Jasynda walks up the hardwood stairs, wood creaking with each step.
"I start wherever they're not working if they're still here. They help with most fixers that Jon does. I clean, they fix. We stay out of each other's ways and do our jobs." She half-whispers.
Jasynda walks into the farthest room in the long hallway of the upstairs. She sets everything down and pulls out a bright green dust rag and a bottle filled with cleaner. She gets to work on the windowsills, scrubbing each crevice and around the trim. This is just one property she had this week, which she picked up from one of the property owners she works for, Jon. There's sun spilling into the room, and the clock on the wall shows a little after 4pm. She typically works in the afternoon until later at night for properties like these. It's easier after the workers in the house go home and for her to clean up the mess afterwards. She will work on the weekends occasionally for this same reason. She picks up the rusty nail on the windowsill and sets it in a pile.
"I don't mind doing flips," she looks around the room. "There's usually just a bunch of construction dust and some leftover items like these nails. They typically go better than a deep clean booking, or even some move out/in cleanings" she states.
Jasynda has a well scheduled cleaning week. She cleans various businesses on Mondays and Wednesdays throughout the day and attends school Tuesday and Thursday. She leaves her nights during the week and weekends for cleanings like this, properties that she only cleans one or two times. She started her business in February 2023 on her own and immediately started advertising. She used social media, business cards, and told everyone in Hamburg about her business. Through word of mouth, her website, Facebook, and Instagram she gained clients easily in the first couple of months.
"I took on too many cleanings during the beginning of starting this business. It was just me and I am a full-time college student and had another job too. I ended up quitting that job and am focusing on this company and college. I will hire 1-2 college kids in the summer to give them some cash, and I'll then work at a country club. This gives me a break from my cleanings, so I don't get too burnt out, and helps some college kids out. I've met some of my clients at the country club too." She explains.
She finishes wiping everything and starts sweeping the floor. She puts it all into a pile and vacuums it up. She continues this with each room, polishing each finished hard wood floor.
"Do you need me to carry anything out to your car before I go?" The man from before stood in the doorway of the kitchen. (Figure 2)
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| Figure 2 |
She explains how in the beginning of her business, she started with the common cleaning products that you have in your household; some dust and glass cleaner, a vacuum, and a mop. Since then, she's come across products she enjoys better than others. She's learned what works well and what does not. She's added some stainless-steel cleaner for fridges, stoves, and ovens. She has found a love for the brand "The Pink Stuff" with harder cleanings that have many stains, especially on walls. She has even invested in a high-quality vacuum that includes a steamer, which she had to obtain steamer insurance for. Jasynda stays away from bleach-based products, as she is nervous to dabble into trying certain ones just in case. She plans to keep her business going and hopes to make it a career.
"I enjoy more-so the business aspect of it. Talking to clients and making them happy and satisfied is what I prefer. Behind-the-scenes is more my thing, so I am hoping to find a full-time employee or two once I grow the company even more after college." She tells, shoving some dirty rags into a garbage bag to keep them separate from the clean ones.
She's looking to be more passive in the cleaning part of her business. She has a high cleaning standard and what she thinks is acceptable, so it's hard to find someone who gives it their 100% in each cleaning like she does. For now, she's sticking with her clients that she has and is doing all of them herself. She took a leap with her business and became overwhelmed with the attention it has gotten so far. Jasynda will graduate next winter and is excited to see what she can do with her new company.
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