Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alicen Harrison, Founder and Owner of Sudz Up Cleaning Company, located in Columbia, MO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Sudz Up Cleaning Company is a commercial and residential cleaning service that offers cleaning to individuals, families, property managers, builders, and businesses in the mid-Missouri area.
Tell us about yourself
I grew up in a small town, but I always felt called and inspired by entrepreneurship. Participating in 4H and other youth programs, I always took every opportunity to make the things I enjoyed lucrative. I began cleaning homes on the side to fund my love of horses. Shows, stall boards, and feed got expensive, and I wanted to enjoy my hobbies without feeling financially strapped.
I started by cleaning a few homes per week, then growing it to a full-time job, then hiring my sister on full time to help manage and support the business, then hiring additional staff over time to our team of approximately 10 team members today. I am motivated every day by my desire to be financially free and serve others to the greatest capacity possible, as well as by the desire to continue supporting the lives of those that work for me.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Reaching half a million in revenue in 2021 despite the difficulties of the pandemic at the start of the year.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest part of being a business owner is the personal challenges. Working for yourself brings all of your own inner issues to the surface to be dealt with. The entire thing is a huge self-growth journey, and facing and overcoming the parts of you that you don’t necessarily like or want to accept is not easy.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Trust yourself. If you’re called to this work, it’s for a reason. Trust what draws you, and don’t listen to the projected fears and limitations others try to place on you.
- Remain an eternal student on the journey. As soon as you think you know best, or you know all, you close yourself to learning anything new. Stay open and stay willing to grow, learn, adapt, and change. People will come into your life and support your dream, but you have to let them.
- The hard periods of time in this journey are a test of your will. Every entrepreneur that has ever existed has faced the fire of uncertainty and continued forward anyway. Keep going.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://sudz-up-cleaning-company.business.site/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicen.harrison
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicen.hope/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.