Filthy Rich Cleaners: The Cleaning Business Podcast

Despite what you might assume, cleaning business owners aren’t held back by pricing, marketing, hiring, or retention. They’re actually held back by their mindset. Survival mode. Chaos mode. “I’ll do it myself” mode. And for many, it never stops, even years into their business.
 
In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Amar Ghose, CEO of ZenMaid software and former maid service owner, to break down the exact mindset differences between owners who stay stuck in the field forever and owners who build a business that runs without them. They talk about all things control issues, daily habits, brutal truths, and why you need to accept that your cleaners will never care as much as you do. Hopefully, this episode will help you understand the importance of thinking like a CEO — and how to take the first steps into adopting a CEO mindset.
 
 What You’ll Learn
 — The difference between working in the business vs. working on it
 — Why 10–15 minutes of “CEO time” daily will change everything
 — How to prioritize when everything feels like it’s on fire
 — Why expecting cleaners to care as much as you do is unrealistic
 — How systems create consistency even when humans don’t
 — Why momentum beats “perfect planning” every time
 — The mindset that helps you let go of control without letting go of quality
 — How to tell if something is an actual problem… or just noise
 — Why the business you build should need nothing from you someday
 
Resources Mentioned:
 — ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (free): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind
 — ZenMaid 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/
 
Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/you-need-to-think-like-a-ceo-not-a-cleaner/

Solo or team cleaning? Should you have a company car or should cleaners use their own? Is it better to look for experienced cleaners instead of people with no cleaning background? Decisions, decisions
In this episode, Stephanie digs into three of the biggest operational decisions cleaning business owners have to make — and why there’s no single “right” answer. She shares why she runs Serene Clean almost entirely with solo cleaners, why she’ll probably never own a fleet of wrapped company cars, and how she hires for attitude over experience (and never regrets it).
📌 What You’ll Learn — The real pros and cons of solo vs. team cleaning models — Why efficiency often drops when you put cleaners together — The hidden costs and headaches of managing company vehicles — Why requiring cleaners to have their own cars can improve reliability — How to decide if hiring experienced cleaners helps or hurts your growth — When “experimenting” becomes dangerous as your company scales
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/ 📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/solo-or-team-cleaning-choosing-whats-right-for-your-business/

Most people want to grow their business, but few are willing to become the person required to do it. In this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Misael Avalos talks about how he built his company, TimeMaid Cleaning in Arizona, from nothing after a rock-bottom moment changed everything.
 
They talk about the identity shifts, habits, and core values required to scale a cleaning business, and how Misael went from sleeping on his mom’s couch to cleaning seven days a week, handling every client himself, networking nonstop, and ultimately retiring his mother after 45 years in the field.
 
📌 What You’ll Learn
— Why personal growth is mandatory if you want business growth
— How Misael used "burn the boats” focus to scale from 0 to 24 cleaners
— The role of networking and community when you have no budget
— How your beliefs about yourself quietly limit your revenue
— Why core values must be yours first before they become your team’s
— How to fire fast without losing team morale
— The onboarding elements that keep cleaners long term
 
Resources Mentioned:
— The Cleaning Journey Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cleaning-journey/id1843212838
— The Cleaning Journey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleaningjourney/
— Atomic Habits (book by James Clear): https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
 
🎙️ Listen to the Podcast:
🎧 Spotify: (link)
🎧 Apple Podcasts: (link)
📖 Read the full transcript:
Most people want to grow their business, but few are willing to become the person required to do it. In this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Misael Avalos talks about how he built his company, TimeMaid Cleaning in Arizona, from nothing after a rock-bottom moment changed everything.
 
They talk about the identity shifts, habits, and core values required to scale a cleaning business, and how Misael went from sleeping on his mom’s couch to cleaning seven days a week, handling every client himself, networking nonstop, and ultimately retiring his mother after 45 years in the field.
 
📌 What You’ll Learn
— Why personal growth is mandatory if you want business growth
— How Misael used "burn the boats” focus to scale from 0 to 24 cleaners
— The role of networking and community when you have no budget
— How your beliefs about yourself quietly limit your revenue
— Why core values must be yours first before they become your team’s
— How to fire fast without losing team morale
— The onboarding elements that keep cleaners long term
 
Resources Mentioned:
— The Cleaning Journey Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cleaning-journey/id1843212838
— The Cleaning Journey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleaningjourney/
— Atomic Habits (book by James Clear): https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
 
📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/couch-surfing-to-ceo-building-a-million-dollar-cleaning-company-with-misael-avalos/

Cleaning business owners who choose their pricing model and pay structure on gut instinct tend to pay for it later 😬 That's why in this episode, Stephanie breaks down all the major decisions you must make as a cleaning business owner in terms of how to charge clients and pay cleaners. She talks about the pros and cons of charging hourly, flat rate, by square foot, or using a hybrid model, as well as whether to pay cleaners hourly, via a percentage, or per job.
 
📌 What You’ll Learn:
— The truth about hourly pricing (and why Serene Clean still uses it at scale)
— Why charging a flat rate can explode profits and chaos at the same time
— The reason square-foot pricing falls apart in residential and commercial
— How to correctly run limited-hour cleans without confusing clients or techs
— How to protect your profit when clients ask for extras
— The hidden dangers of changing pay structures once you have staff
— How to plan your services + packages
— What production rates actually tell you and why your pricing depends on them
 
Resources Mentioned:
— Stephanie’s Production Rate Audit Spreadsheet and Resources: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
— ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com/
— 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/
 
📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/how-to-set-your-pricing-staff-pay-and-packages/

Even the grittiest, hardest-working owners get burned by fuzzy pricing, weak boundaries, bad hires, and saying “I’ll figure it out later" 😅 In this follow-up episode with Cheryl Hajjar, Founder of Sisters Who Scale, Stephanie and Cheryl talk through the most common (and expensive) mistakes cleaning business owners make. In fact, these mistakes are ones both of them learned the hard way and now consult cleaning business owners on!
 
📌 What You’ll Learn :
— Why “I’ll do anything while I’m here” destroys margins and confuses clients
— The pricing math that keeps wages under control without underpaying your team
— W2 vs 1099 in real life — what’s legal, what’s risky, and why “contractors” backfire in residential
— How to stop desperation hires and interview for reliability (not just charisma)
— Onboarding that reduces turnover — hybrid teams, clear roles, and quality control
— GPS, time theft, and schedule optimization — protect your payroll and routes
— Bookkeeping basics you can’t skip — owner draws, separate accounts, weekly P&L
— Ads vs scrappy growth — when to spend, when to build brand and reviews first
— Client communication that prevents scope creep and last-minute chaos
— The mindset shift from cleaner to CEO — detach, lead, and document
 
Resources Mentioned:
— Sisters Who Scale (Cheryl Hajjar): https://sisterswhoscale.com
— Sisters Who Scale Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sisterswhoscale
— ZenMaid 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/
 
📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/the-biggest-mistakes-cleaning-owners-make-and-how-to-stop-them-with-cheryl-hajjar/

Even the best-run service companies face constant problems, and that’s normal! Every problem in your business falls into one of three buckets — Supply (staffing), Demand (leads/sales), or Operations (everything else) — and in this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Stephanie talks about how she's learned to quickly diagnose issues and move forward without the overwhelm.
 
📌 What You’ll Learn:
— The 3-bucket framework to categorize every problem: Supply, Demand, Operations
— How to use the “If we had 50 employees tomorrow, what would break?” thought experiment
— When you should mitigate vs. eradicate a recurring problem
— Practical ways to avoid analysis paralysis when making your first W-2 hire
— Where to look first if quality slips during growth (training, QC, SOPs, delegation)
— Simple workload wins: automation (reminders, follow-ups) and eliminating time sinks (e.g., unnecessary in-person walkthroughs)
— Planning for the inevitable (like call-outs or schedule gaps) so they’re speed bumps, not crises
 
Resources Mentioned:
— ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com
— ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (free): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind
— ChatGPT (for step-by-step state hiring setup prompts): https://chatgpt.com/
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
 
🎙️ Listen to the Podcast:
📖 Read the full transcript: (link)

In this episode, Stephanie is joined by Paige Collins, founder of All Spruced Up Cleaning Co., who went from being a dental hygienist during COVID to running a thriving residential and commercial cleaning business with 15 employees.
 
Paige shares all about her rapid growth, how she balances business and motherhood, her top tips for employee retention, and why flexibility and compassion have become her company’s superpowers. She and Stephanie also discuss building training systems for multiple employees, the right way to price commercial jobs, and what it's like hitting that first million in revenue.
 
📌 What You’ll Learn
— How Paige grew her cleaning company from zero to 15 staff in under five years
— The truth about hiring “out of desperation” and what to do instead
— Why flexibility for working moms can actually boost retention
— How to price and bid for commercial cleaning without overcomplicating it
— Creative ways to use ZenMaid to systematize your business
— What a “done early” checklist is — and how it helps with quality control
— How Paige plans to scale to $1M and launch her nonprofit cleaning initiative
 
Resources Mentioned:
— ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com/
— ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (free to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind
— Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
— OpenPhone (now Quo) – the business phone system Paige uses: 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/
 
🎙️ Listen to the Podcast:
📖 Read the full transcript: (link)

Every cleaning business owner hits this breaking point — when you’re juggling every email, call, quote, and cleaning, wondering how much longer you can keep your sh*t together. In this episode, Stephanie breaks down how she transitioned from doing everything herself at Serene Clean to building a reliable, well-trained admin team that keeps operations running smoothly (even when things go wrong).
 
📌 What You’ll Learn:
— Why your first office hire shouldn’t be full-time
— How to transition a cleaner into an admin role (without overwhelming them)
— How to decide what to delegate first
— The most common mistakes business owners make when hiring admin help
— How Serene Clean structures its daily operations and priorities
— Tips for building a “buffer” between you and the field
— How to create trust, accountability, and systems that actually work
 
🧰 Resources Mentioned:
— Trainual (Train Now) — SOP documentation & onboarding: https://trainual.com/newhome
— ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com
— ZenMaid Mastermind Facebook Group (Free): https://www.facebook.com/groups/zenmaidmastermind
— Book: Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
— Book: The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
 
🎙️ Listen to the Podcast:
🎧 Spotify: (link)
🎧 Apple Podcasts: (link)
📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/how-to-delegate-without-losing-control-of-your-cleaning-business/

Jamie Runco prayed for a new direction in life, and four years later, she’s running a thriving residential and commercial cleaning business in rural California. In this episode, FRC Host Stephanie Pipkin sits with Jamie to talk about how she went from cleaning church floors to leading a full team, hiring her first coach, and scaling to six figures (and beyond). They share what it’s like to build a business when failure isn’t an option, including learning payroll and OSHA laws the hard way, navigating maternity leave, hiring friends, and managing panic-fueled creativity.
 
📌 What You’ll Learn:
— How Jamie turned a $25/hour solo hustle into a multi-employee cleaning company
— Why mentorship and accountability can accelerate your business growth
— The biggest legal and financial mistakes new cleaning business owners make
— How to handle employee laws, OSHA requirements, and California’s strict labor rules
— Why “panic moments” can actually fuel your creativity and growth
— The importance of building community reputation in small towns
— How to structure pricing and policies that protect your time and your team
— Why hiring friends can go very wrong — and how to recover when it does
 
Resources Mentioned:
— Shannon Miller (Coach & Mentor): https://kleanfreaksuniversity.com/
— 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/
 
📖 Read the full transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/how-coaching-and-chaos-transformed-a-cleaning-business-with-jamie-runco/

BOO! 👻 Did we scare you? Maybe not, but hopefully these hot takes will 🌶️ In this special Halloween edition of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Stephanie is serving up her spiciest opinions about the cleaning industry. She talks about controversial opinions around business policies, walkthroughs, pricing transparency, team cleans, the habits that make or break a company, and more! This episode isn’t for the faint of heart (or for people who still think cleaning is “unskilled labor”).
 
👻 What You’ll Learn:
— Why charging by the square foot almost always backfires
— The real reason Serene Clean refuses homes with smoke damage
— Why you should stop hiding client info from your cleaners
— How to handle commercial accounts without being taken advantage of
— Why “automated scheduling” is a myth
— Why no prices on your website is a power move
— The bold reason Stephanie stopped answering her phones
— Why she doesn’t hire family members or want experienced cleaners
— How to handle drama-free teams and build loyalty
— The case for being real, funny, and a little unhinged with your staff
— Why cleaning checklists, software, and paying yourself from day one are non-negotiable
 
Resources Mentioned:
— ZenMaid Scheduling Software: https://get.zenmaid.com
— OpenPhone (business phone system) + 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
— Gusto (Payroll Software): https://gusto.com
— QuickBooks Online: https://quickbooks.intuit.com
— Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com
— Zapier: https://zapier.com
— Filthy Rich Cleaners Ep. 33 (with Brenna Sledge) on vacation rentals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z2eZQv4-no
— Profit First (Book by Mike Michalowicz)
 
👉 Try ZenMaid free for 14 days: https://get.zenmaid.com
📞 Book a Consulting Call with Stephanie: https://serene-clean.com/consulting-services/
 
🎧 Listen to the Podcast:
📖 Read the Full Transcript: https://www.zenmaid.com/magazine/our-spiciest-takes-about-the-cleaning-industry/