Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
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Thriving cleaning company is looking to expand
A passion for business has helped a south Cumbrian entrepreneur create a thriving cleaning company. Now Maggie Ptasinska, company director of Housekeeping Club, wants to expand the business, move to new, larger premises and increase the size of its vehicle fleet. Her ambitions go even further...
"Ultimately, I would like Housekeeping Club to be seen as 'the' commercial cleaning company that people think of in the North West when they need a cleaning service," she says.
The company, which has a base in Kendal, specialises in cleaning the interiors of commercial properties and offers services in south Cumbria and in north Lancashire.
"We are seeking larger premises to provide more storage, meeting rooms and somewhere for our staff to socialise," says Maggie, 28, who set up what is now Housekeeping Club 2.5 years ago.
"We would also like to acquire more vehicles for our staff to use."
She currently employs six part-time staff but that can grow to around 15 during the Summer season.
"We will be increasing the number of staff as the summer season approaches and, as we take on more contracts, we will be looking to recruit even further," she says.
The company is celebrating after gaining an important industry stamp of approval. It has been awarded a CHAS certificate of accreditation, which recognises the standard of its health and safety procedures.
"It shows we are operating correctly and taking our health & safety obligations seriously," she says.
Maggie, who grew up in Poland, moved to England as a teenager and attended The Lakes School at Troutbeck Bridge. She worked in hospitality in the Lake District, gained a Tourism City and Guilds Level 2 qualification at Lancaster and Morecambe College and later worked in sales and recruitment, as an air hostess for a VIP charter airline operating from Stansted and spent time as a personal trainer.
But she was still waiting to find her true passion. "I always knew I wanted to achieve great things - I wanted to be out there, solving issues and thinking on my feet - but I had not yet found by vocation," she explains.
In February 2021 she moved back to Cumbria and became aware of the demand for cleaning services. To find out more about how the sector worked she walked into a holiday cottages letting company and asked if they needed any work doing - the company subsequently gave her three cottages to clean.
Maggie then set up her own company, which became Housekeeping Club in 2022 and realised she had found exactly what she wanted to do in life. "Running a business is what I am passionate about. I enjoy leadership and organising the operational side of the business is my forte," she says.
"We offer a professional cleaning service for the interiors of buildings. Initially we focused on the hospitality sector, including holiday lets and caravan parks, but we are now concentrating on commercial premises, such as large buildings containing multiple offices, retail establishments such as shops and supermarkets and educational premises such as schools, colleges and universities.
"We also do cleaning and tidying up after renovation and construction projects.
"We offer a bespoke service, which means we can adjust the number of hours to meet the needs of clients, the start and finish times, whether they want us to supply our own equipment and if they have any specific cleaning products they would like us to use."
Maggie loves being able to employ local people and ensures staff are given extensive training so they are confident in their roles and clients are happy with the service provided. Staff are paid more than the national living wage.
"Customer care is at the heart of the business," she says. "All our clients are of equal importance to us, regardless of the size of contract, and we treat every individual and business with respect and consideration."
The focus now is on the South Lakes and Morecambe and Lancaster areas but Maggie would like Housekeeping Club to expand to cover Preston and, eventually, Manchester.
29th February 2024