In this week’s SME Focus we hear from an entrepreneur who found that necessity can be the mother of profitable invention.

Name:

Kirsty Macleod.

Age:

37.

What is your business called?

White Pearl Cleaning Ltd.

Where is it based?

West end of Glasgow.

What service does it offer?

Commercial and domestic cleaning.

Whom does it sell to?

All sectors including private domestic clients, landlords, estate agents, construction companies, offices, building companies, restaurateurs and publicans.

What is its turnover?

Our projected turnover for the next financial year (our third trading) is a six figure sum.

How many employees?

15.

When was it formed?

March 2012.

Why did you take the plunge?

I was made redundant in 2012 from my father’s distribution business as he decided to retire and close it. Having worked since the age of 16 and as a single mum with two little girls I wanted and needed to work. I had never had a conventional nine to five job and was thinking of lots of things I could do. I met a friend who worked in an estate agent and who suggested I start a cleaning company, and launched the business that week.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

I had been an office manager for my father’s company for almost 17 years. Overseeing all administration and accountancy work, routing the vehicles and at times delivering the goods. I learned everything about the business from my dad, which has been invaluable in setting up my company.

How did you raise the start up funds?

There were no initial start-up costs, just cleaning products a vacuum, mop and bucket, all of which I had at home.

What was your biggest break?

My sister wanted a cleaner so I started cleaning her house then a few of her friends’ places. Her husband is a publican/restaurateur and he gave me fortnightly deep cleans in his venues.

After a couple of month’s trading I sold my BMW 5 series which was no longer affordable with all the mileage I was doing and leased a fiat 500, liveried up with my company logo. I very quickly picked up more and more contracts. I would go home and send out up to 100 emails a day to estate agents offering our services.

When I'd been trading around six months I employed my first full time cleaner to help with the jobs, working alongside her seven days a week. After about a year I had six full time cleaners and I took on more of a managerial role, organising rotas, doing the payroll and bringing in more clients. We are now at a team of 15 and although I am more office based I still like to keep my hand in and the team like the fact that I’m still happy to get my hands dirty.

What was your worst moment?

I very quickly learned that professional cleaning is very, very different to cleaning your own home. On one of my first deep clean end of tenancy jobs, I missed a few things that at the time I would never have known were important (the washing machine drawer being one). The cleaning of such properties is very thorough and attention to detail is paramount. We teach the staff to clean as if they were going to be staying there themselves and to always check each other’s work; someone might see something that perhaps another girl has missed. When you’re in a kitchen for up to four hours it can get tedious and tiring so fresh eyes are helpful.

What do you most enjoy about running your own business?

All the people I come into contact with from all different walks of lives. I’ve met some amazing people over the last few years and made some great friends. I also love the variety of the job from cleaning HMO (Houses of multiple occupancy) to million pound mansions.

What do you least enjoy?

Chasing outstanding debt.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

I want to continue to grow the company but keep it at a level where standards will not be compromised. Sometimes we can have three to four jobs running in different parts of the city and it's very time consuming to have to travel between them all checking them but it’s imperative that they are checked so that we don’t get complaints or let workmanship suffer. We are currently moving toward the end of build sector bringing on large house builders, the skill is slightly different in end of build cleaning, attention to detail on these jobs is of the utmost importance so the staff will be selected carefully. Our medium term business plan is to reach around 40 full time staff with more supervisory and managerial roles becoming available.

What are your top priorities?

Having a happy workforce and offering a quick responsive customer service.

We know our clients well and aim to provide a first class service with lots of our staff coming from a hospitality background they bring different qualities to the job, for instance folding toilet rolls into points. I had one girl who folded a towel into a swan in one of our service apartment contracts which the client loved. These added touches although small make the difference in this business.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

I think the jobcentre service needs to change its approach to the recruitment side. We initially tried to recruit through the jobcentre but it didn’t work at all. I have found the applicants just don’t turn up for the interview, which is a total waste of my time. When you’ve arranged to interview five or six possible recruits and none of them turn up it’s infuriating and disappointing. Forcing people to apply for a job that they simply don’t want will never work and the employer will pick up on this immediately.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

Sometimes you just need to say no. I push my team but I will not push them too hard, they work long hours and it’s a very demanding physical job. I’d rather say no to a job than do half a job.

How do you relax?

With great difficulty, everyone who knows me knows I’m always on the go. I absolutely love what I do and rarely turn off, I don’t think any business owner really does fully turn off. I like to go to the gym when I can fit it in, I’m not sure if you can call that relaxing though!