Interviewer: Zerlinda, tell us a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up?

Zerlinda: So I grew up in Dover. It's in Morris County. It's about 45 minutes from this area. That's where I grew up.

Interviewer: And high school there?

Zerlinda: Yeah, I did high school there. Actually, I was fortunate enough to...I'm born and raised in that area, so I think that was very important, but yeah, I went to high school there.

Interviewer: Okay, great. And college?

Zerlinda: I have some technical schools that I went to, actually I have an architectural background, but all through technical schools. Yeah. So I didn't really graduate college per se, but I did about four years of different technical schools and that's where I got a lot of my experience.

Interviewer: Terrific. Terrific. Now, you're now head of Meticulous Clean, so I'm thinking of you as a little kid running around cleaning the house. Was that it? Is this your nature? Is this your background?

Zerlinda: Actually, believe it or not, I just was always interested in business, but service industry always caught my attention. I moved to...I live in Glen Rock Bergen County, Northern Jersey. And when I moved here, moved there 14 years ago, I saw that everyone paid for a service. So I was always intrigued by the service industry and that's kinda how I started.

Interviewer: So paid for a service. Service of any type or a service of cleaning?

Zerlinda: Cleaning was one of, I say 15, 20 services I was seeing around, you know, all the different trades I was seeing. But my family is very organized and very clean. So I always saw that growing up and we were a no shoe house. And I was always intrigued by the thought of being organized and having a clean space. So I was seeing that around me a lot and where I grew up, it wasn't like that. So I was seeing a lot of the different trades. So I said to myself, you know, let me go into service. I think there's just a high demand for it.

Interviewer: So the service being a cleaning service?

Zerlinda: Yes, definitely. Definitely.

Interviewer: So explain what you do now.

Zerlinda: So when I first started it was all like maid service per se, and that's how we kind of got our feet wet a bit. And then I said, "I really wanna grow this." So I started going after things that kind of that I could use my education on. So like, so, you know, being that architectural background I wanted to go after the big projects. So I said, well, post-construction is such a big thing, construction clean-outs. So I started really focusing on that and growing that into the business. So that's really 80% of what we do now is post-construction clean-out. So we get commercial retail spaces ready for grand openings, for restaurants, for board of health inspections. So we do that final phase of cleaning right before the tenant or owner moves in.

Interviewer: So you do residential, you do post-construction, and you also do like industrial and commercial.

Zerlinda: Yes, yes. I would say at this point that what we're doing mainly is the commercial end of it. I mean we still have about, I would say 20%, 30% of our business is a residential maid service. We continue to have that because our business, a lot of is based on the markets and real estate market. So when the real estate market is low or down, our business does take a little bit of a hit. So the residential stuff kind of keeps my 35 employees working. So I think, you know, that's why we hang on to that, you know?

Interviewer: Got you. Good. So it's a good diversifier, a good sort of whenever things are down that'll hold steady.

Zerlinda: Absolutely. Absolutely. A lot of all my employees make sure they always have work. So I think, you know, keeping that keeps our cars going, keeps our employees going, you know, and keeps business running, so.

Interviewer: I wanna come back to your employees in a second, but something you said before is you said the most is this post-construction cleaning that is your biggest business. That to me sounds like it's one-off. Like you do it, after construction you clean and then you have to find a new client. Is that true?

Zerlinda: Yeah. Well, what happen is I have a sales team, so they've developed these vendors that...I guess if you want to call it, we're preferred vendors for a lot of developers. So recording five, six, seven projects at a time. And if, let's say we land half of them, I mean it keeps...and that's one out of how many of those contacts we have. So it keeps our staff working. It is one-off, but it is also opening up doors for the next with that contractor or that developer.

Interviewer: I see. So even though that one location may be one-off, the relationship is broader than that.

Zerlinda: Definitely. Definitely.

Interviewer: So let's talk a little bit more about the start of your company because that's always fascinating to me and to the listeners. How did you start? Did you go out and say, "Hi, I'm here, your neighbor, can I clean your house?"

Zerlinda: Absolutely. It's funny, that question is asked a lot to me. I was working at the time a corporate job, so I was like I'm a big, like I try to plan my financial life in advance. And I'm sure you could appreciate that. But so what I did was I'm a big Suze Orman fan, so she always said, always have that emergency fund. So I said, "Okay, if I'm gonna start a business, I can't leave my job unless I have one year salary saved." So that's what I did. And then I started sending mailers out. So instead of like just pre-printing an envelope, I handwrote every mailer and about 400 to 500 of them went out a month. With a real stamp, handwritten, I bought a mailing list and I just sent out. I said, "When I have our first 10 customers, I will go ahead and leave my job." And that's how it all went down. I immediately hired people, I said, "In order for me to diversify my business and grow, I have to be sales. So I'm just gonna hire laborers, qualify them, they'll do the labor end of it and I'll just go out and grow."

Interviewer: Makes sense. But you're sending out 400 or 500 of these a month. What is the response rate?

Zerlinda: So I would say it didn't take long before I had my first 5, 10 customers, maybe a month, maybe 2 months. But yeah, it was pretty quickly. And my thing was just, I had my emergency fund, so I was good. I just needed to just really capitalize on this. And I think what happens is once you get...like I understood branding right away, so I immediately got a company car. I wrapped it, like we wrap them, you know, so they're completely covered in our logos that will generate business plus my sales. So it was all being hit kind of simultaneously. So I grew not super fast, but you know, gradually it was constant growth.

Interviewer: Right. So you went from 5 to 10 to what from there?

Zerlinda: I mean, I think right now residentially, we're probably at 800 or 900 customers. Like the reoccurring residential stuff, which keeps my 35 employees pretty busy. And then all the other stuff just takes a whole nother...it's just at a whole nother animal in itself. But yeah, I would say 800 or 900 customers is what we have right now. Keeps us pretty busy.

Interviewer: That's impressive. I don't know much about cleaning businesses, but that sounds like a lot of customers.

Zerlinda: Well, you know, like a lot of industries cleaning is more like volume. You know, you have to just...you have to do a lot of...it is not a huge profitability in each unit you do. But I think with doing high volume is the way you can make it, you know.

Interviewer: Right. Right. Because you get a fixed cost, a fixed revenue from each client, so in order to grow your revenue, you need more and more clients.

Zerlinda: Absolutely.

Interviewer: So tell us about a challenge that you had at the early stages. You're sending out these mailers, handwriting and putting the physical stamps on, you've got 10 people, you must not have been like all, you know, Apple pie and sunshine at that point in time.

Zerlinda: Absolutely not. I had to learn very fast, but I think my biggest challenge is, you know, when you open a business, and I come from a business background, but when you open a business, you think more is more and you think sky's the limit, and it's true, but you're as good as your staff. And I underestimated that. So I said, you know, I could grow and I could make this a big business, but I'm only as good as them. So if I don't have good them, good staff, I can go out there and knock on as many doors as possible. But if I can't service their hands, all the work that's coming in, then that's a challenge. So I learned that very fast and early on too, so.

Interviewer: So how did you find good staff? Did every one you hired be perfect?

Zerlinda: No, absolutely not. I can write a book. I don't know if you'll read it, but yeah, staff is something that's my biggest challenge even today. And as the years go, I've been almost in business for almost 14 years and I have really seen a change and it's one challenge that I don't even have an answer to really. It's just you just gotta constantly talk to people, network. I'm doing things that I never did before. I feel like people's...are employees' work ethics. Not currently, but like you deal with that. The work ethics are not how it used to be. I think people are much more demanding but they wanna do less for more. So I think that's just a huge challenge. And I meet with law entrepreneurs and that's one of the top five things I ask. What are your struggles? And it's always, number one is staff.

Interviewer: It's people.

Zerlinda: It's people, finding people. And I don't just like to hire, to hire. We have a background check system that we do. We do check. We have, you know, a lot of checkpoints that we...you know, just because we are in a lot of personal...

Interviewer: You're in homes, you're in people's private spaces.

Zerlinda: That's huge. So it's been challenging. It really has. I've tried everything and I continue to work on that and that's actually stops me from growth really.

Interviewer: Right. Because it's hard to find quality people.

Zerlinda: It is.

Interviewer: Do you have any staff that have been with you since the beginning?

Zerlinda: I do. Close to the beginning. Yeah. Yeah. Not necessarily the 14 years, but yeah, close to 11, 12 years.

Interviewer: What's the typical turnover? Is that hard to estimate?

Zerlinda: Yeah, it's hard to estimate, but I really try to...I always treat people, you know, with the utmost respect and whether you're working under me or what have you, I feel like treating people right and doing right by people is important. And that's how I keep my staff. I don't like turnover, so I just do right by them. And I think that's super important. You know, I build a relationship with them when I'm...I don't see them often, but when I do it's just like, I always, you know, how's your family? I just try to treat them like just like I care. I do care, but like genuinely care, you know? And I think that speaks for a lot so people can see that and they stay with you because of those reasons.

Interviewer: We just met this morning, right? I can tell you're a very genuine person. So that I'm sure comes across to anyone that you meet on a new basis.

Zerlinda: Definitely. And I think it's also, I've had...thank the Lord, I've had like the right people in place. I have great field managers that represent me because they represent the company, but they represent me in a way that they also are genuine. And I think because they have more interaction with the employees than I have, I think, you know, having that vision that our field managers have is super important too. But that's also a lottery ticket. That's not like easily found.

Interviewer: To find the right field manager.

Zerlinda: Absolutely. That's a challenge in itself.

Interviewer: Is there any trick, anything here, I don't know if trick, but any process that you follow that you could say to help in that front that you can share with others?

Zerlinda: Honestly, I'm invested in people and I try to gauge, hear their story and all that, and I feel like, you know, I try to relate and I think people see that and I think that helps with our relationship that we have. So I think if they feel that from early on and from even a phone conversation, I think it helps, helps people stay and helps people see that I am genuine and that you're gonna be with a company that's gonna be here hopefully for the long haul, but we're trying to do right, you know.

Interviewer: Right. Is there anything that you do from an incentive standpoint to keep people longer? Is there...

Zerlinda: So I'm constantly, I try to meet with employees and just kind of...or I have people who meet with my employees because I don't always have that one-on-one interaction. But I have people who can meet and say, okay, you know, how's this person doing? I know they've been with us for a few years, let's assess their...let's get a progress on them and let's assess their abilities and see what we can do with them so that we could help them out. But I also in my employee meetings, I also talk about how because a lot of the employees that we have are minorities. A lot of times they don't have the ability to obtain a driver's license or they're in the work in progress or even know the language.

So I always say, listen, whether it's this company or another company, try to always educate yourself, be better because you're gonna make more money for you and your family if you obtain that driver's license. You learned the language and just learn, you know, be a sponge. Understand what, even though it's just cleaning. But understand that if the more you learn in this country, the more you potentially earn. So I try to say that and I think they feel like that's such a...it's just a positive thing because they don't always have those people around them that could say things like that to them, you know?

Interviewer: And they probably see you as a success story. As someone they look up to.

Zerlinda: Yeah, definitely. Definitely.

Interviewer: Let's talk about perhaps one of your worst moments. Do you have a time when you look back and go, "Oh my God?" And what did you learn from that? What lesson can you convey to listeners?

Zerlinda: I think one of my lessons or worst lessons, I mean, I take every lesson, whether it's good or bad and say, "Okay, there's a reason why this is happening now. What is it?" And try to grow and learn from it. I think that's super important. But you know, you say, "Oh, I have all these customers. I need more cars, I need more branding, I need more marketing," and more isn't more. So you gotta take a step back and say sometimes, okay, until I have, or I'm in that situation, I really can't go ahead and make these investments or go ahead and take this time.

So I think that's important. You know, that I think a lot of people are like, "Oh my God, this storm is coming." You know, like a slew of projects coming in. We have to get more vans. I'm always like, no, let's take a step back. Let's try to utilize what we currently have. And then if we're in a situation, we know what we need to do, you know. And I think particularly employees are...or they easily spend the money, you know. So, I've learned to say no, no, let's take a step back and try to use our current resources. And I think that's important.

Interviewer: So you stretch until you actually need.

Zerlinda: Until I'm in a... And this time when it's time to move and act on. I'm quick to act on. It actually just recently happened where two of our cars really were...I was waiting 'til the last minute to kind of just say, okay, we need a upgrade. But I said, you know, because I invested a lot of money in marketing and each of the vehicles. So for me it's not just the depreciation of taking it out of a lot. It's also what I invest in that particular...

Interviewer: You wrap car, you mentioned.

Zerlinda: Yeah, they're completely wrapped. I mean you spend thousands doing that because the rate of return on that marketing in itself, is probably better than any other marketing group out there. Absolutely. So it's just like a moving billboard, you know? So I always look at that end of it, I'm like, okay, I have to...if I have to do what I have to do...but it's a big investment. So I always kind of wait 'til last minute. But, you know, we have a slew of dealerships around here, so I just have contacts and I would say in a month's time we had two new cars and traded the other ones, got them wrapped, I wrapped them right away. You know, you just sometimes have to take a step back and just kind of assess.

Interviewer: Right. But when you need to, you make what decisions?

Zerlinda: Absolutely. I think you have to, as an entrepreneur, because you're getting thrown...it's like ping pong balls, you know, constantly being thrown at you, so.

Interviewer: And it's not about making 100% right decisions, right? All the time it's just you need to make decisions and move on and keep going.

Zerlinda: Yes. And learn from them too. Because I mean, you know, sometimes you're like, okay, is this the right thing? And you look at it from all angles and you have to just say, "Okay, okay, this happened and let me learn from that." Or I need to take...you know, act on this and I move forward. And so it's a lot of that, right?

Interviewer: Absolutely. No one makes 100% right decisions. And if you can learn from your "mistakes or failures," then they aren't mistakes or failures.

Zerlinda: Definitely.

Interviewer: So you'll never repeat that again, hopefully.

Zerlinda: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. Very important.

Interviewer: What's something that's been a real challenge for you besides the people? I mean, was there a time when you're like, "Oh my God, I'm not sure if this company is gonna survive?" Or was it always on a nice upward trajectory because of your effort?

Zerlinda: I think, you know, I know we said employees, I can't stress that enough. There's times where I look at the schedule and I'm like, we don't have enough staff for the workload. And that's like, I mean, close business, that's like, you're never gonna get that opportunity. It's like almost saying I can't service my client. I can't, you know, and that's very challenging. It continues to be challenging, and as years go, it's been even bigger of a challenge, you know. But I look at it like we have a great follow-up system in our office, so we're always like in contact. So, even if it was one realtor that called us and said, "I need to do a market prep," and we just couldn't on that specific day, then we try to just get back on as some sort of email with them so they don't forget about us, you know. So I think our follow through is great. Yeah.

Interviewer: So it sounds like the challenge you have is sort of managing the opportunities with the staff that you have, but it doesn't sound fortunately like you've had any sort of existential threat to the company.

Zerlinda: Yeah. No, definitely. Yeah, I feel like it's been it's like my business coach says, you know, like Zerlinda you're...it's consistent growth. I prefer consistent growth. And then you just have these peaks and valleys and I think that's...you know, like I feel like that's...I'll take that any day. Yeah, consistent.

Interviewer: You just mentioned business coach and I know when we were talking earlier, you told me you work out, and...so how many coaches do you have?

Zerlinda: Believe it or not, like, yeah. So like my business coach, I mean, I meet with her a few times a year and that's all as needed too. Like there's times where I'm going...the business is going through things that I need advice. I need someone to keep me on track. Yeah. So I meet with her a few times a year. And then I think exercise and working out is super important. I don't have anybody who helps me though I do have a lot of accountability groups that I kind of run. And that's just people who are just positive reinforcement. I think that's important.

Interviewer: Is that with working out or with the business?

Zerlinda: Working out. Anything positive, but like mainly working out. You know, I played sports all my life and actually when I became a mom and all that, I think and a lot of women could relate to this. When you're juggling a business staff, a household, you know, children, you put yourself in the back burner. If there's any time, then it's for me, right? But there's never really that extra time. So, you know, and starting my family I had, you know, lost that all, things that I like to do, like take a long walk or cycling or basketball, softball, you know, going to the gym. I just completely put on the back burner. And then I had gained some of the weight, you know, from being a mom and all that.

So a few years ago I decided to just completely change, get my whole family on this whole health and wellness, and change the way I was doing things. And I'm actually down 60 pounds, so like, yeah, so in a few years and so I have a lot of accountability. I try to share that with people. So I have like family and friends. I have workout accountability partners that I was actually at the gym at 4:30 this morning.

Interviewer: 4:30?

Zerlinda: It's the only time I could get in. So, you know, just having that, those groups, I think when you are down, they kind of, "No, you got to get there." That positive reinforcement I think is important. And so, yeah, so trainer wise, just my business coach are my coaches, yeah.

Interviewer: It's not only let them down...well, accountability, but you don't wanna let them down. Right. So you wake, the alarm goes off at 4:30 and you're like if it was you by yourself, you know, I'll go to 5:00, or tomorrow.

Zerlinda: You're absolutely right. Oh my God, it's so...you know, you nailed it. I mean, I truly feel that way. I mean, I was under the weather like two weeks ago and my accountability partner said, no, "No, no, no, no. We got to get there." So 4:15, the alarm goes off. If she had not been waiting for me, I wouldn't have.

Interviewer: Not a chance.

Zerlinda: Not a chance.

Interviewer: Not a chance, yeah, it's so important.

Zerlinda: Absolutely, I think it's very important. I think it's...whether that's for physical exercise or for your business, you need someone to keep you in check whether it's a business coach, I think it's important to have that in your team.

Interviewer: Absolutely. And could you say that because of what you've done in the last few years in terms of this accountability and working out and working with your family and getting them involved, how has that helped your business?

Zerlinda: I think the working out end of it is part of my success, business success, because it gives me mind clarity. So I think I see things much clearer than I did before. Not that I never had a drive with the 60 pounds. I still was always very motivated, still very eager to grow and all that. But I think now I see things much clearer. So just gives me that, it just gives me that time to just think. And because of that, I think... and burn some of the energy too, because I do have a lot of energy, so it gives me...I just see things come much clear. Yeah.

Interviewer: I can relate to that and this isn't about me, but I also exercise routinely. And it's the greatest drug out there because it just puts you at ease and it's a bubble around everything else that you're doing so that when you approach the day, you're prepared, you're level headed, you've thought things through.

Zerlinda: Absolutely. You're absolutely right. I mean, even like this morning at the gym I took my little paper, and my accountability partner is looking at me like, "What are you doing? Like your homework?" I'm like, you know, I'd just look over our questions and just make sure...and I do that with my schedule. I do that and not just with anything I've got...like I try to prepare. And so even that hour and 15 minutes I was there, it was perfect to kind of think through my schedule and see what I have going on. And it's just good. I don't know. I see things much clearer afterwards. So I think it was super important.

Interviewer: Have you seen a direct correlation to when you started getting back and working out to the growth of the business or the profitability?

Zerlinda: I think I'm much...I think, again, we consistently grow in the same...our trends are kind of the same, but I do see that I'm much more passive. And I'm very good at just now taking a step back and assessing, breathing, you know, so I do take that time to do that where before I didn't, it was just like reactive. Everything was just like, you know...

Interviewer: Right, right. And going back to what you said before, more isn't necessarily more before you're constantly pushing, pushing, pushing. Now you can take a step back, take a broader perspective because you said breathe.

Zerlinda: Yes, definitely.

Interviewer: Stay in the moment.

Zerlinda: Yes. And you know, I think also it has helped me say like, you know, because of this whole like delegating out. And I think we talked about it before, it's just like, you know, the exercise has helped me think and say, okay, you know, I'm doing this for me first. You know, and I can delegate these things out. So it gives me that better like vision as to...so it might not equate to growth right now, but I think in the long run it's gonna really do something to the business because I am putting...I'm taking time for me and I think, you know, ultimately that it makes me better me. And I think that the cards will fall into place I think.

Interviewer: I agree. And I can see you're passionate about it, although this isn't a video and I hope that also, I hope that comes across in your voice.

Zerlinda: Yeah, definitely. Thank you.

Interviewer: You're clearly passionate about that.

Zerlinda: Definitely.

Interviewer: As we stand here, really sit here today, what are you most excited about in the business?

Zerlinda: So I feel like growth, even it's been gradual growth and duplications. So a few years ago I did put in my application for us to franchise the company. So unfortunately, it's a slow process because I spread myself super thin. And one of the things that I am very passionate about is being a mom. And I feel like if I'm gonna take away and have to travel with franchising to be a lot of travel opportunities, but currently right now at this point I am in my life, I'm focused really much more on my family than anything. Everything else is secondary to me. So I think if I have to sacrifice some of that quality that I give them, I think I don't want anything to do with it. So I think as my children are getting older, I definitely am gonna go full force with that. So I am excited about the possibility of franchising.

Interviewer: Now, your kids are 13 and 10, you said earlier, so you have a number of years potentially before you might focus on that. Is that fair?

Zerlinda: Definitely.

Interviewer: Family is number one.

Zerlinda: It's number one. I mean, even my business coach asked me, you knew you're consistently growing, like where's the cap for you? And I said honestly, like I'm good as long as it doesn't take away from that time I have with them. And I think it's very important because I won't get that back, so.

Interviewer: Absolutely. And speaking as someone who has children, 26 and 24, it goes way too fast. This is the time. So make the most of it.

Zerlinda: Definitely, definitely. It's what I'm trying to do though that's easier said than done.

Interviewer: Absolutely. And there is no, like, there is no official playbook that you can read and say, here's how to do it optimally. You got to live it. You got to live it.

Zerlinda: Definitely, definitely. It's super important. And I myself, I feel like, you know, I have a spouse who's super supportive but as women, I'm just speaking for myself, but like, you know, we're there. It's constant. And having and finding that balance is super hard. But I feel like even my business has taken a little bit of a backseat because I say, okay, this is my priority. Anything else is...so I haven't grown it the way I wanna grow it. And as entrepreneurs we're like, we're constantly wanna continually feed this live thing which is business and sometimes I say, I have to put a hold on it because my family will be affected by that, you know, and they won't get that time with me. So I am making a lot of sacrifices, but I think, you know, in the long run it's gonna be well worth it.

Interviewer: I just want to kudos to you because there is this...as an entrepreneur, as we talked about before, the microphones went on, there's a certain energy, a certain excitement, a can do attitude, but you wanna maintain that balance, right? To give a word of advice, that'll help you later in life. You'll look back with a lot more sense of...what's the word I'm looking for? But you'll be pleased that you did it.

Zerlinda: Absolutely. I hope so. And, you know, I really enjoy being a mom, so that's really like...you know, it's actually why I started a business because in the field that I was in before in architectural field, it was very demanding. So it's a lot of hours and it's just like a lot of...like the company I worked for was European, I was in Europe a lot. And I said, I can't continue to work 60, 80 hour weeks and start a family. Like that's a lot, you know, I wanna be there. So I wanted the flexibility. I feel like I work 60, 80 hour weeks now, but it's all within, it revolves around my family life. And I think that's important, you know. So I've been able to do that. So it could be like waiting for a kid in the car, I'm on a laptop or on my phone or, you know, so. So I just kind of...you know, but at the end of the day, I'm wiped.

Interviewer: I'm sure. I am sure. What's the best advice you think you've ever received?

Zerlinda: I'm a big Suze Orman fan and she wrote in one of my books, actually, she signed it and at a seminar I was at and she said, "Think big but act small." So don't let what you wear on your wrist define your success. I think that's super important. So, you know, always thinking big, but be hungry for it like you're very small. And be humble and never forget how you started. And even though it feels like you're starting every day all over again, you know, always just remember that just like you have it, it can be taken away from you. So I think just being humble is super important, and that's just...I'm more invested in people than myself, so I feel like, you know, just always just having that, I think it's important. Just be humble.

Interviewer: That's wonderful advice. And I can tell again, we just met today just a few minutes before the microphones went on and I can see that about you, so.

Zerlinda: Definitely, definitely. I appreciate that.

Interviewer: You clearly appreciate people and you're humble, you have a strong drive.

Zerlinda: Definitely, definitely. I appreciate that. And it's mainly really my foundations and my parents, you know, they were entrepreneurs. I think they always just showed us, you know, work hard and just continue to do right. Do right by people. I think it all kind of falls into place. It's not perfect, but it's a work in progress, right?

Interviewer: And never is perfect and that's not the objective, right?

Zerlinda: Yeah, definitely. Definitely.

Interviewer: Is there any partying, a guidance that you'd like to sort of give to listeners or convey, or anything that I haven't asked you that you think would be important?

Zerlinda: So I think like diversification in a business, I think is super important. I think, you know, a lot of people are like gun-ho for just specific things that they wanna market themselves. And I think in order for you to generate and have the phones ring, you have to do a lot of things. And I think that's super important. So like, if that means networking as part of your business, but then you also have...you know, you work with Google on marketing, and then you have your vans wrapped or you have friends and family who know about what you do, then you have like print ads or whatever it is that you do. Like I have a marketing team, you know, so like social media platforms, all these different realms, you have to diversify. So it's not something I knew early on. So I think, you know, if I can give any advice, you have to do a lot of different things to make those phones ring.

Interviewer: Right, and you gotta be willing to do that.

Zerlinda: Absolutely. So it's constant. It's a live...I say it's like having a life plan, you have to feed it every day for it to grow. And I think that's super important. But not a lot of people are willing to diversify. They think just by word of mouth, that's how they're gonna get their clients or get their business to grow. It takes much more than that.

Interviewer: You also mentioned diversification in terms of your client base, right? So you have the residential or the post-construction commercial that's also important, right?

Zerlinda: Yeah, definitely keep it like, you know...now there's like the Jack of all trades and that's something that my business coach always talks about when I have these great ideas. She's like, "No, have you mastered every end of your business? Have you like completely capped the amount of growth you can with your current services? Because if you haven't then why go out and do other things." You know, so like capitalize on your current areas of expertise, if you will, before you go ahead. Because as entrepreneurs, our minds are doing this so we have to like...she gets me off that and so it's, no, no, no, you have not maximized the capability of your current service so why venture also? Those coaches work.

Interviewer: Put your feet back, back on the ground as opposed to you hear something and it's like the new shiny penny. "Oh, I'll go do that. I'll go do that."

Zerlinda: I know. I know. In our minds as entrepreneurs are like, we're just all over the place. So sometimes it's just like honing in and getting off that...

Interviewer: Focus. Focusing on what needs to get done and maximizing where you currently are. I'm looking back, I took some notes of some of the things that you said and I want...if you just corroborate if I got this correctly. So some of the lessons you said you're only as good as your staff, right? You said learning equals greater earnings. So spend time earning...I mean learning so you can make more money. You said more isn't necessarily more. So stretch, and you just mentioned this in the last thing with your business. Go stretch until you need to, focus on what you can, on your strengths before you sort of jump into another investment or another avenue.

You also mentioned your business coach, which you have a few times a year, which helps keep you grounded. You have accountability partners in working out and that's a broader aspect, but you work out to keep time for you, as you said me time. And then that allows you to stop and think about the broader perspective of the business, react more rationally, more thoughtfully, and be present. We talked about exercise and then diversify, right? So you gave a lot of lessons, so.

Zerlinda: A lot of covered.

Interviewer: You covered a lot of area and I greatly appreciate that. So before we wrap this up, how can people contact you?

Zerlinda: So the name of the company is Meticulous Cleaning, Inc., we're based out of Waldwick, New Jersey, which is in Northern New Jersey. And our website is toobusy2clean.com, and you can get us on all forms of social media through our business name, so.

Interviewer: Toobusy2clean.com. And you mentioned that we're in Northern New Jersey. What is your geographic area?

Zerlinda: So, because of the line of work that we do, we cover multiple States. So we sometimes have teams, they stay for a week in a hotel because they have a product that they're running for the week. So it could very well happen. So we do cover multiple States, we're in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey obviously. So we will travel.

Interviewer: It's great. Because I want our listeners to know that if they wanna contact you.

Zerlinda: Yeah, definitely. Definitely. I appreciate that. Yeah.

Interviewer: So Zerlinda, thank you so much for your time, for coming in this morning, for teaching us all these lessons and also for your humility and your energy that come across.

Zerlinda: Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate.

Interviewer: Thank you very much.

Zerlinda: Thanks for having me. I appreciate that.

Interviewer: My pleasure.

Zerlinda: Thank you.