After working for eight years as a Manager at a medical call center, Genevievre Delpeche, Florida native and owner of Authentic Cleaning Solutions, was ready to venture off on her own. With help from her mother and sister, Delpeche started a residential cleaning business in 2010 and never looked back.
“I was nervous about starting my own business, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “My mom had a cleaning business and owned restaurants in the past, so she was helpful in making it a smooth process.”
Delpeche continued, “At first, my mom, sister and I were doing cleanings at night and on the weekends. After about a year and a half, I was in a good position to go full-time on the business. Around this time, we also reached a point where we were getting a little burnt out doing the cleaning ourselves – it was necessary to start hiring employees.”
According to Delpeche, the biggest challenge in the early days of her business was keeping consistent customers. They’d have a lot of one-time clients looking for a single deep clean. However, since introducing commercial cleaning four years ago, they’ve been able to add more regular clients and diversify their offerings.
“Commercial cleaning is a totally different type of cleaning,” Delpeche said. “The chemicals, the consistency and the method of cleaning are all very different. Fortunately, YouTube and Google were there to help with any questions I had.”
Delpeche has grown her business through a variety of methods including social media marketing, traditional advertising in magazines and by participating in various networking events. She also joined several well-known platforms used to bid on commercial jobs.
“These platforms, such as Periscope S2G and The Blue Book, are great,” she said. “They’ll let you know when contractors post commercial jobs. The jobs include commercial cleaning and construction cleaning – both of which we do.”
Delpeche has worked hard to set her business apart from the competition in a number of ways. Even though she’s now in more of a “managerial” position, she still shows up to do first time cleanings for new customers. She feels it’s important for customers to meet the owner and to know the job will be done the right way. She’s also extremely reliable, trustworthy and offers same day service. Finally, no job is too big or too small. Her crew is capable of handling anything and everything.
Looking ahead, Delpeche, who recently relocated to St. Lucie County, is focused on growth. In fact, her long term plans include expanding nationwide. Beyond simply cleaning more homes, she wants to create jobs and exceed her customers’ expectations.
What advice does Delpeche have for aspiring entrepreneurs? “Have confidence in yourself and leap out on faith,” she said. “Also, never feel too educated or overconfident that you know what you’re doing. Always continue to educate yourself and have passion in what you’re doing in order to love it. Don’t do something you have to do – do something you love to do.”
Delpeche continued, “Also, it’s important to know that there are a lot of free resources available to help you start and grow your business. Keep talking, searching and asking questions. I still take plenty of advice to this day.”
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