If you know me at least a little and you’ve been following Bredon Hill Cleaning Services on social media, you will know that cleaning is not just my job. I truly put my heart and soul in this business and that’s probably why it has survived and thrived for over a decade. But staying on top of everything and being the best amongst competitors is not easy. The cleaning industry is a busy and competitive space, so you must always be on your A-game. I thought I’d share with you what it is like to run a cleaning company, especially in the trying times of a pandemic.

No work, employees to protect and keep

We are blessed to have kept the majority of our clients even during the several national lockdowns. But it is no secret to anyone that for some time we were not working at full capacity. That meant some of the cleaners weren’t getting enough hours of work and it impacted their lives. It was my job as their employer to figure out how to help if I wanted to keep them. And indeed, I did want to keep them as I knew tables would turn and good, reliable and loyal staff is really hard to come by, especially in our industry.

Lots of work and not enough workers

Like I said, a change did come not long after the third full national lockdown. The demand for cleaning services suddenly increased and our team was working tirelessly to satisfy our clients’ expectations. Some of my hard-working ladies had made the choice to move out of the country permanently, others wanted a career change. Recruitment has been extremely hard. If you speak to 10 cleaning companies in 10 different parts of the UK and ask them what’s their biggest challenge at the moment, I bet the answer will be the same: “recruitment”. For months, I had to cover many shifts daily to keep our clients happy.

The tough decisions

There’s only so much pressure one can take. After a long time spent side by side with the girls cleaning, I was at the brink of exhaustion. Something had to change. And this provoked one of the toughest business decisions I’ve ever had to take. I decided to stop offering one of my favourite cleaning services, namely housekeeping for holiday lets. It was just too hard to cope without enough reliable hands.

The joyous moments

Despite all the challenges I still say that this is one of the most rewarding businesses a person can run. For me personally, it is the happiness we bring in people’s homes and lives that gives me the most joy. Receiving positive feedback and feeling the gratitude in customer’s voices truly makes my day and I often forget how tired my body and mind are after a long day at work.

Having a cleaning business is not easy. It could squeeze the last drop of energy you have, but if you do it with a true passion, the reward you get in return is worth the sweat.