Filthy Rich Cleaners: The Cleaning Business Podcast

Most business owners say they don't have time to read. But Stephanie has built a 7-figure cleaning company, and these books are a big reason why. In this solo episode, Stephanie breaks down every book that has had a lasting impact on her life and her business. From heavy personal reads on trauma, suffering, and purpose, to tactical frameworks on delegation, cash management, sales, and systems, she shares what she took from each one and exactly how she's applied it inside Serene Clean.
 
📌 What You'll Learn — Why Man's Search for Meaning reframes how you handle hard seasons in business — How The Body Keeps the Score helped Stephanie become a more empathetic leader — The 40% rule from David Goggins, and why your real capacity is almost always higher than you think — The three roles every business owner plays (and why the wrong one always wins) — How Profit First's 5-account system kept Serene Clean out of debt for 7 years — The 80-10-10 delegation rule from Buy Back Your Time and how to use it with a VA or EA — Why Thou Shall Prosper changed Stephanie's relationship with money and charging what she's worth — The "pigheaded discipline" concept behind Serene Clean's 500+ five-star reviews — What Deep Work revealed about time blocking and why most owners are busy but not moving forward — Why passion follows mastery, not the other way around
 
Resources Mentioned 📚
— Man's Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl
— The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk
— Can't Hurt Me — David Goggins
— Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable — Tim Grover
— Ikigai — Héctor García & Francesc Miralles
— E-Myth Revisited — Michael Gerber
— Profit First — Mike Michalowicz
— Buy Back Your Time — Dan Martell
— The Ultimate Sales Machine — Chet Holmes
— Thou Shall Prosper — Rabbi Daniel Lapin
— Your Next Five Moves — Patrick Bet-David
— What Should We Do? — Joe Crisara
— Start With Why — Simon Sinek
— Good to Great — Jim Collins
— Deep Work — Cal Newport
— So Good They Can't Ignore You — Cal Newport
— 4,000 Weeks — Oliver Burkeman
— $100M Offers — Alex Hormozi
— $100M Leads — Alex Hormozi
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://www.zenmaid.com/newsletter/

What happens when a corporate sales executive burns out so badly that her brother jokes she might end up on World News Tonight? She moves to Boulder and starts cleaning houses!
 
In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Natalie Mikishko, owner of Majestic Domestics and Clean Conscience Cleaning Service in Boulder, Colorado. Natalie walked away from a career that spanned HR training, grocery purchasing, cabinet sales, and commercial construction, and then built two cleaning companies from scratch — including a $15-a-clean lost leader campaign. She shares the full story of acquiring Clean Conscience in 2022, what she wishes she'd done differently, and how her team of two jumped in to clean when she lost seven staff members in a single month.
 
📌 What You'll Learn — How a Groupon-style newspaper deal at $15 per clean launched Majestic Domestics and created 15-year client relationships — What Natalie would demand before signing any acquisition deal again — Why she transitioned her team from hourly pay to percentage-based pay— How she recovered operationally after losing 7 cleaners in January without canceling on clients — The culture investments (backup company cars, AAA cards, a full office coffee and cocktail bar) that make her team stay
 
Resources Mentioned — ZenMaid scheduling software: https://get.zenmaid.com
— CleanCon conference: https://www.mycleancon.com/
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/

Most cleaning business owners think checklists are unnecessary friction and just another paper to hold onto. But Stephanie thinks they're one of the main reasons she built a million-dollar company, and she's ready to convince you 😉
In this solo episode, Stephanie breaks down every angle of why Serene Clean has used a physical paper checklist at every single residential appointment since the very first free cleans she ever did. She also shares exactly what Serene Clean puts on theirs, including a notes section, an abbreviation key, a safety checklist, and QR codes for reviews.
 
📌 What You'll Learn— Why relying on memory instead of checklists is the #1 source of quality issues in cleaning businesses— How to create consistency across multiple staff members, different trainers, and ongoing turnover— The team accountability system Serene Clean uses, so there's never a "he said, she said" after a complaint— Why the checklist is one of Stephanie's most powerful sales tools— How a personal notes section at the bottom gets cleaning techs more tips— The abbreviation key Serene Clean added so clients always know why a task was skipped— How QR codes on the checklist drive more Google reviews without feeling pushy— When a digital checklist is the right starting point— What a safety checklist looks like and why it matters for client trust
 
Resources Mentioned:Filthy Rich Cleaners Ep. 70 on Client Cancellations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjSQPf4O604
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/

Revenue is down $25,000, yet profit is up 53%. How does that happen? And what does it actually mean for the business? In this solo episode, Stephanie walks through her full Q1 2026 financial and business review for Serene Clean (the same report she presented to her management team that week). She covers the data analysis she did to uncover her insights, why revenue is down but profit is up, and the three hidden costs that a lost commercial account was bleeding from the business for months, and so much more.
 
📌 What You'll Learn
— How Serene Clean brought in less revenue in Q1 2026 but made 53% more profit than the same quarter last year
— The three hidden costs one bad commercial account was silently creating (overtime, training, and call-out chaos)
— Why Stephanie is adding a dedicated training line item in Gusto, and how you can do it too, regardless of your payroll software
— How to calculate the true cost of a failed hire, including what most owners never think to track
— Why call-out hours dropped by 355 compared to Q1 of last year
— How 46% of first-time cleans converted to recurring clients in Q1
— Why Serene Clean went from lead-constrained to capacity-constrained in a single quarter
— The MRR goal Stephanie set for 2026, how she broke it into a monthly action plan, and whether they're on track
— How price increases across 98 clients added $22,573 in revenue from the same customer base
— How to use AI (specifically Claude) to analyze payroll data, appointment history, and sales reports together
 
Resources Mentioned
— Filthy Rich Cleaners Ep. 103 — Stephanie's full 2025 year-end financial review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-GpAnCO2nM
— ZenMaid (cleaning business scheduling software): https://get.zenmaid.com
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/

She left nursing, started cleaning for friends as therapy, and accidentally built an 18-year cleaning empire in one of the wildest cities in America. LaShanda Brown has seen (and cleaned) everything 👀
In this episode, Stephanie sits down with LaShanda, owner of Sweeping Hands Cleaning Service in New Orleans, Louisiana, to talk about how she transitioned from a decade-long nursing career into cleaning, grew her business entirely on word of mouth, and built a 60% vacation-rental-focused operation complete with her own property management company. They talk about the wildest horror stories LaShanda has experienced, as well as advice on things like logistics, flat-rate pricing, and schedule routing through Mardi Gras parades.
📌 What You'll Learn — How LaShanda went from nursing to owning an 18-year residential and vacation rental cleaning business — Why word of mouth has been her only growth strategy — How to price vacation rental cleanings with a flat rate that accounts for worst-case guests — The off-site laundry system Sweeping Hands uses to run high-volume STR clients (color-coded bags, two shifts, property-specific labels) — How to set expectations with first-time Airbnb owners so you stay in control of the scope — Scheduling strategies for turnovers in a city full of parades, street closures, and unpredictable events — Why she won't hire couples but does hire family members — The pivotal COVID moment that led her to lock herself in an Airbnb for 5 days and finally build her ClickUp system — How business coaches helped transform parts of her business — Why knowing what you keep (not just what you make) is what ultimately builds wealth
Resources Mentioned— Sweeping Hands Cleaning Service Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweepinghandscleaning/ — ZenMaid cleaning business scheduling software: https://get.zenmaid.com/ — ClickUp: https://clickup.com/ — RingCentral: https://www.ringcentral.com/ — CleanCon (Austin, Texas in September): https://www.mycleancon.com/austin 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/ ✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/ 

Every cleaning business owner Kala Pomeroy has ever spoken with, from brand-new solo operators to teams of 50, has one thing in common: the fear that they're doing it wrong.
 
In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Kala, a 10-year cleaning business owner in Southeast Texas and full-time ZenMaid Customer Success Specialist. Kala shares her own journey from solo cleaner to remote business operator, including how she landed her ZenMaid job after a homeless man broke into her hotel room the night before her interview. Stephanie and Kala talk through the mental patterns holding cleaning business owners back and how to build systems without losing your mind.
 
📌 What You'll Learn — Why pricing anxiety shows up at every stage of business, from solo operators to 50-person teams — How analysis paralysis is costing you more time than imperfect action ever would — The difference between what should be automated and what should stay human in your cleaning business — Why you need to map out a process on paper before you ever touch a single software tool — How to stop comparing yourself to bigger businesses and start running your own race — Why cleaning is not unskilled labor and why you should be proud of what you do!
Resources Mentioned — ZenMaid Pricing Calculator: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/how-much-to-charge-house-cleaning-2026/— ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/

Happy 7 years in business to Serene Clean! 🥳 In this episode, Stephanie talks about 7 lessons she's learned — one for each year — owning and operating Serene Clean. From 2019 to now, Serene Clean is a $1.5 million company that she runs remotely from Savannah, Georgia, and Stephanie covers these 7 important lessons she picked up over the years:
 
Always be hiring
Raise your prices before you're ready
Difficult clients cost much more than the business they bring in
Your values are the decision maker, even when you're not in the room
The vacation test — you can let go and delegate more than you think
You're going to keep having mindset-shifting moments, so don't be scared of the change
Community is what keeps you from quitting
 
Resources Mentioned — Episode 42: Group Interviews for Your Cleaning Business: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzpln5-Z0-A— Thou Shall Prosper by Daniel Lapin: https://www.amazon.com/Thou-Shall-Prosper-Commandments-Making/dp/0470485884— Profit First by Mike Michalowicz: https://www.amazon.com/Profit-First-Transform-Cash-Eating-Money-Making/dp/073521414X— ZenMaid Mastermind (free to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/
📖 Read the full transcript:

Jonathan Berger was living in his car and driving for Uber when the idea for Cleanzilla began. Now he runs 400+ recurring clients across New York City and just came back from six months in Southeast Asia.
In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Jonathan, co-founder and co-owner of Cleanzilla in New York City, to learn more about his origin story. From dropping out of high school, living in his car, and meeting his wife Anna, Jonathan has since built a multi-six-figure residential cleaning business across Manhattan and Queens. He breaks down the NYC logistics of running a cleaning business with solo cleaners, subway systems, and 600–1,500 sq ft apartments, how he cut ad spend from $8,000 to $1,500 per month while keeping 15–20 inbound leads per day, and how he and Anna built the systems to step away from the business for months at a time.
📌 What You'll Learn— How Cleanzilla scaled from Google Calendar to a fully remote operations setup with ZenMaid, Notion, and Quo— Why Jonathan dropped from $8K/month in Google Ads to $1,500/month in SEO but maintained the same lead volume— The "Pizzeria Effect:" how to stand out when you have five competitors on every block— How to structure a team that runs without you— What running a cleaning business in NYC actually looks like, including solo cleaners, metro cards, condensed supply kits, and apartment-only routing— How Jonathan and Anna built word-of-mouth hiring by treating their team like family— The honest truth about running a business with your spouse
Resources Mentioned— ZenMaid (scheduling and CRM software): https://get.zenmaid.com/— CBF / Cleaning Business Fundamentals by Debbie Sardone: https://debbiesardone.com/— CBF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cleaningbusinessprofits/— Quo, formerly OpenPhone, affiliate link: https://www.openphone.com/perks/zenmaid?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=partnerstack&utm_content=community_experts&utm_campaign=c92107ec7cc9&pscd=get.openphone.com&ps_partner_key=YzkyMTA3ZWM3Y2M5&fbclid=IwY2xjawMr03ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBleUtsVnZtUjlJa2h5ZWpwAR7Gp8p4NVVF-Y8WODTTXb-NJi57ltYrsQs-pyFmuaRR4gMrj6TGYWpL1zlA_Q_aem_Ey2JG_AkBSk_SI8w5kDOBA&ps_xid=iGpmmTBqEJNW4d&gsxid=iGpmmTBqEJNW4d&gspk=YzkyMTA3ZWM3Y2M5 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/

Personable content that shows you (and your brand's) personality might be what your marketing strategy is missing! In this episode — recorded live from CleanCon in Indianapolis — Stephanie sits down with Nicole Somerstein, ZenMaid's Content Marketing Manager, to talk about why personable content can elevate your brand and build trust with cleaning clients. Nicole brings a marketer's eye to an industry she's come to love, and together, they break down why authenticity wins — while also sprinkling in some life advice ✨ And yes, Nicole is the one who wrote this podcast description.
📌 What You'll Learn — Why your most imperfect, unplanned content often performs best — Why cleaning businesses need an About Us page with a real face and a real story — The difference between selling content and awareness content, and why you need both — How to stop competing against other owners' timelines and focus on your own race — Why getting on video is one of the highest-trust moves a cleaning business can make
Resources Mentioned:CleanCon conference — https://www.mycleancon.com/Drew Larson's episode — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NIBCsJQWkcZenMaid Software — https://get.zenmaid.com/
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter: https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/

Welcome back to Filthy Rich Cleaners! In this episode, Stephanie sits down for round two with Sean Parry, one of the leading automation, marketing, and SEO experts in the cleaning industry. Sean returns to break down the “black box” of local SEO and share practical, actionable strategies for cleaning business owners who want to generate more leads from Google. He dives into why ranking in the Google Maps top three is critical, and explains the website structure, Google Business Profile optimization, and consistency strategies that help cleaners rank higher and convert better.
📌 What You’ll Learn — Why the Google Maps top 3 drives the majority of local clicks — How Google Maps SEO can influence ChatGPT recommendations, too — The website foundation of service pages + location pages — What to put on your homepage “above the fold” so humans (and Google) trust you — A realistic content target — Why Google rewards consistency over big content dumps — How real photos + proper image titles/alt text strengthen local signals — The balance between SEO content and conversion-focused design — Google Business Profile optimizations — Backlinks explained — Why “gray hat” SEO can tank your rankings — The power of going hyperlocal first to win proximity-based rankings
Resources Mentioned:— Project83 (Sean’s Marketing Agency): https://www.project83.co/ 
— Sean Parry's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@sean_parry
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com 📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/ ✉️ Subscribe to ZenMaid's Weekly Newsletter:https://zenmaid.lpages.co/newsletter-sign-up/  📖 Read the full transcript: https://zenmaid.com/magazine/sean-parry-on-google-maps-seo-for-cleaners/