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Green Cleaning
Jaclyn Stanley has been an NASE Member for one year. She and her husband, Aaron, own Stanley’s Tile & Office Cleaning Inc. in Lafayette, Ind. Their Web site is www.angelfire.com/in4/stanleytile.
Tell us about Stanley’s Tile & Office Cleaning.
We are a cleaning/janitorial service. We target business and property owners. We have scrubbing and buffing machines for commercial tile floors, and we strip and wax floors. Being in a college town, we figured that move-out cleaning should be added also. So last year we started cleaning apartments after people moved out. We have even started interior painting every once in a while.
Why did you and Aaron start the business?
Aaron had worked as a maintenance man for a local property owner, and it was just a dead-end job. We talked about trying to start some sort of business so that we could control the hours that we worked. Aaron had cleaning experience from a previous job. So he asked how I would feel about trying to start our own cleaning business. I was apprehensive because we had just had a baby and I wasn’t working. Plus, Aaron was leaving the comfort of a steady paycheck. But thankfully, almost six years later we’re still going strong!
Have you made any changes at your business because of the rocky economy?
When businesses crunch their budgets, one thing they cut is nonessential services, such as their cleaning crew. We decided to use eco-friendly chemicals to make us more attractive to potential and current customers. The green movement is huge right now, and as far as we know, we are the only cleaning service in our area that offers 100-percent green chemicals. One of our clients is a larger company, and they were thrilled that we switched as they are very big on minimizing their environmental impact.
How does the NASE help your business?
Anytime I can save even a couple of dollars, I’m going to. I’ve taken advantage of Member Rewards to book a hotel room. We’ve also used Motor Plan roadside assistance when we locked keys in our car! We use DHL for our shipping needs, and they have discounts for NASE Members. I also have access to health insurance through the NASE, and it really came in handy when I had surgery earlier this year. Being able to say that we are connected to the NASE helps show that we are a reputable company.
What’s the greatest reward you get from your work?
We have three daughters, and I feel it’s important for them to see me working alongside their father and to show them that women can achieve great success in the business world if they just try. Hopefully, this will empower them to achieve successful careers of their own someday!
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