She Couldn't Get Hired for Being 'Too Experienced' — So She Started a Cleaning Business on Facebook
3 min read · RealCase summary
Amber Starling moved to Manhattan, Kansas in 2017 with five years of management experience (including volunteer firefighting) and seven years of office work, but only a high school diploma, and spent seven months job-hunting without success before deciding to start her own business: "I can hire myself."
She launched Good Witch Cleaning with $100 from her grocery budget, her own vacuum, and supplies from discount stores, advertising $99 whole-house cleaning specials on Facebook -- and started without insurance, offering discounted rates to clients willing to take that risk with her. Revenue went from $11,000 in 2017 (before she hired anyone) to $57,000 in 2018, $119,000 in 2019, $216,000 in 2020, and $467,000 in 2021, before stabilizing by choice around $500,000 a year.
She hired her first employee within the first year, and all staff are direct hires rather than subcontractors, given full equipment and supplies, and trained toward IICRC house-cleaning technician certification. The company runs weekly Friday staff breakfasts followed by training, and offers living wages, healthcare, and mental health coverage -- Starling has said she thinks about training investment in terms of, "What if they stay without it?" -- while deliberately prioritizing residential clients over aggressive commercial expansion.
Key takeaways
- ›Started with a vacuum and about $100 of supplies after being told she was overqualified for jobs
- ›Hired her first employee within the first year and grew steadily rather than chasing rapid expansion
- ›Revenue rose from $11,000 (2017) to $57,000 (2018), $119,000 (2019), $216,000 (2020), and $467,000 (2021)
Original source
Read the original (Entrepreneur)
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