Be honest and transparent with your clientele. There is nothing better than integrity that will grow your business.
Q & A With Sasha Paul, Founder of Clutter Monkey
What services does Clutter Monkey offer?
Residential, Commercial, Post Construction, STR or Air BnBs within the GTA, Milton, Oakville, Barrie, as far as Niagara
How did you come up with the idea to start Clutter Monkey, and what purpose did you intend to serve with the concept?
We wanted to stand out from the competition by forging partnerships with our clientele and working collaboratively towards achieving our shared goals. This is more true in the STR (hotels and similar accommodation providers) market where you must work together with your clients to ensure whatever standard is required is fulfilled for the next customers. Their review of their property on STR sites largely depends on our efforts. We won't get you a good review necessarily, but we will get our clients a bad review if we have not done our job properly. We want to become the vendor of choice. This is not always achievable on our initial visits but every client we have met to date has come full circle and hired us after trying a cheaper service. Sometimes it is not about the bottom dollar, and sometimes you don't know the quality of service you need/desire until we provide it. Finally, we want to demonstrate openness and honesty at all times, and to become experts in our field by calling upon our passion with persistence to deliver excellence in all of our tasks. We treat your home like our own.
Which milestones have marked meeting benchmarks towards the fulfillment of your personal goals/ the company's vision and goals?
The company has grown by 7-9 new customers every month. This is remarkable, given that we have over 95% repeat business and 75% of our new customers (2-3 per month) are from referrals. Google Ads has only been able to provide 25% (or 1 per month). No amount of advertising can produce the same results that we get through word-of-mouth. It speaks volumes about our business model, quality of service, how we operate and the loyalty of our customer base. For example, in January, we got a new client from a referral. In February, we got her aunt, in April her mother, and now, in May, we just secured her sister-in-law.
Which steps have you taken for the company to achieve the level of consumer trust that has been nationally recognized?
The CBRB has recognized ClutterMonkey.ca as one of the most trusted sources of cleaning services in both Mississauga and Etobicoke in the past two years. Letting someone into your home takes trust: trust that they won't break anything, trust that things won't go missing, trust that they will show up on time and ultimately, trust that they will clean your home to your standard.
What part of your education or other experiences do you feel was the most helpful in preparing you for success?
I am a veteran, and after 30 years of service, the skills the military taught me are directly linked to the success of clutter monkey.ca Catch-phrases that are common in the military, such as "trust," "honour," and "ethics" transition well into business practices. If you run your business with the same mentality as you have learned by being a veteran, success will come to anyone regardless of the product/service you may provide.
Which strategies have you found the most effective in growing your audience/ bringing awareness of your service to a larger consumer group?
Social media has been our friend. Again, it has allowed cluttermonkey.ca to build our brand, drive traffic to our website and to reach large audiences. It does not matter if the person you are responding to about a post on Facebook obtains your service, as it is the broader audience that you are targeting and speaking towards. Oftentimes, the person is not necessarily interested in our comment, but others are.
Are there any challenges that made it difficult to continue operation and that you managed to overcome? What was your approach to get past these?
Staffing. Our brand is built on our reputation, primarily. People know our services and are often linked directly to personalities. It has been our experience that individuals raised in certain demographic regions benefit from a general culture that encourages early development of cleaning skills, and we have found that often, these individuals make the best cleaners. We have targeted this market through our social media posts seeking cleaners.
How do you balance work, passions/hobbies, and relationships?
If you provide a service that you are passionate about, then it is not work. Your cleaning results are the reward. Our cleaners care about the quality of work they do because details matter.
What are your future plans to build on your personal/ company achievements and fulfill your vision for success/ what developments can your audience or clientele look forward to expecting next?
Every client's needs are different. We are a results-oriented company. All clients have different needs, and often, they are not aware of their requirements to maintain a clean home. Our flat rate fee structure provides our clientele with the peace of mind that cluttermonkey.ca will achieve the desire effect. Fast-rate, you purchase our time, as opposed to a-la-carte fees for various services.
What advice would you like to give readers that hope to achieve success in your field?
Be honest and transparent with your clientele. There is nothing better than integrity that will grow your business.
Is there anything else you would like to share with Winner Magazine readers?
We are bonded, and that carries all the liability insurances required to provide you with a worry-free cleaning experience.
We thank Sasha for sharing these insights and experiences with Winner Magazine's readers. If you are looking for Cleaning Services within the GTA, Milton, Oakville, Barrie, or Niagara, we would recommend reaching out to Sasha at Clutter Monkey!
