Filthy Rich Cleaners: The Cleaning Business Podcast

The AUDACITY! 🙄 In this solo episode, Stephanie shares a first-ever situation from her cleaning company, Serene Clean: a long-time commercial client (a bank) tried to tie their cleaning contract to their business banking relationship. It started as a standard cancellation, but then turned weird — crossing into unprofessional and borderline unethical territory.  Stephanie talks through this experi...

What happens when a “small-but-mighty” residential company is asked to quote a 170,000 sq ft, five-day-per-week church campus… and the client found you through Google reviews? In this episode, Stephanie welcomes back Amanda Stovall of Stovall’s Cleaning Service to unpack the exact mindset shifts, pricing choices, and operational guardrails she used to turn panic into a credible proposal and a real...

Ever been ghosted? 👻 Us, too. Usually, leads ghost because of price, and nothing is more frustrating than when a potential client decides to go with the $80 “cheap” cleaner instead of you.   In this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Stephanie breaks down why it’s not the client’s fault that they ended up choosing the cheaper option — it’s actually a problem with how you’re communicating your value...

What does it take to grow from a solo $3K per month to roughly $55K per month while juggling five kids, sky-high turnover, and quality control? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with husband-and-wife duo Ibrahin Robles and Jessica Robles, the team behind a fast-growing, veteran-owned cleaning brand. They unpack how a recruiting background, a community-first identity, and tight training systems...

It’s not always about what you do for your business, but when you do it. Timing mistakes can hurt your cleaning business more than you realize, and these decisions can drain cash faster than you can stop it.   In this FRC episode, Stephanie breaks down the biggest timing mistakes she and other owners have made, and what to do before you make those types of costly decisions. If you’ve ever been tem...

What does it take to scale from 6 employees to 140 — and eventually sell your business at its peak? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with industry veteran Sharon L. Cowan, President & CEO of Cleaning Business Consulting Group, who built one of the largest cleaning companies in her region, spanning both residential and commercial.   Stephanie and Sharon talk about Sharon's background and ho...

All companies have turnover — especially service-based ones like maid services and cleaning businesses. There are a million reasons someone can give as to why they're quitting, but most exits aren’t truly out of the blue. In this episode, Stephanie breaks down 7 common patterns or behaviors she and her managers see before a cleaner resigns, including backlash, frequent personal emergencies, cowork...

When Molly Moran started her eco-friendly cleaning company in 2009, she thought the only way to be successful was to hustle herself into the ground. 16 (!!!) years later, she’s grown a thriving business, built a strong culture for both employees and clients, and learned a lot of lessons, including that saying “yes” to everything comes at a cost (this was a tough one to learn 😬).   In this FRC epi...

You don't need to step into a church to confess  In this honest self-roast episode, Stephanie exposes her worst habits, flaws, and blind spots that have slowed down Serene Clean’s success, per the opinions of herself and her own staff! She shares stories about when these traits have steered her wrong, like letting an employee live in her apartment with her, and talks about the messy side of being...

Independent contractors are one of the hottest — and most confusing — topics in the cleaning industry. Are they legal? What are the risks? And why do so many owners run into trouble when they think they’re doing everything right? We've talked about this before in Episode 62, and today, we're doing a deep dive. In this episode, Stephanie brings Chris Schwab, remote cleaning business owner and found...

Even the best cleaning companies lose clients — it's part of the business, whether we like it or not. But when clients choose to drop often follows a predictable pattern. Things like your client's favorite cleaner quitting or you needing to increase the prices of your services can all contribute to what we call client "danger zones," and there are critical moments in your business where client rel...

Amanda Stovall was fired from a restaurant job for refusing to wear makeup, and used that experience as a spark for her entrepreneurship. Today, Amanda runs Stovall’s Cleaning Services in Missouri and hit her first $10K month! She's built strong systems and laid the foundation for long-term growth. In this episode, Stephanie and Amanda dive into Amanda’s journey from being a dispatcher and server...

Any small business owner (regardless of the industry they're in) will attest that this job is one of the hardest but most rewarding out there. You pour your heart and soul into your business and learn so much about yourself along the way.   In this fiery solo episode, Stephanie talks about the three traits that have allowed her to build Serene Clean into the 7-figure business it is today: grit, vi...

Would you rather send out a 20% off coupon twice in one day, or go viral for a typo that says “we’ll clean your crack”?  In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Ryan Williams, ZenMaid's Head of Marketing, to share real marketing mishaps (including $30k ad spend mistakes and sending emails with the wrong dates twice) and talk through how cleaners can stop overthinking marketing. They cover market...

What KPIs actually matter when you're running a cleaning business? There are a million different numbers you can track, so it's important that you spend your precious time on the ones that actually matter. Are you really short on leads, or do you just need to close better? Are clients dropping off because of price, quality, or something totally outside your control? Without tracking, you’ll never...

In this very special (and chaotic) episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, we bring you poolside in Barcelona, Spain at our annual ZenMaid company retreat! 🇪🇸   Filthy Rich Cleaners host Stephanie Pipkin sits down with Amar Ghose, Founder and CEO of ZenMaid, and Maria Dorian, Founder of TaskAway VA and Co-Founder of Quality Driven Software, to play a fun game of Would You Rather, talk about their crazy c...

Learning how to manage inventory is one of the hardest parts of opening a cleaning business. It's difficult to forecast how much of each item you'll need, when you should anticipate running out, where to store your items, whether the client should supply certain things, and more — it can feel like a logistical nightmare. We've been there, and that's why this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners focuses...

Can you wear your heart on your sleeve and run a business at the same time? The answer is no, but that doesn't mean you can't still lead with compassion and care for your employees and clients  In this episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners, Stephanie chats with Kimberley Crockett, the owner of Clean Keepers in Athens, Georgia. Kimberley shares how she started her cleaning business at the beginning of CO...

Do you know any cleaning business owners who skip the mop completely and don't actually clean anything themselves? Many times, people start out as cleaners and work their way up, or open their own business entirely, but there are some people who start out with the intention of never personally doing any cleaning. This is when they turn to independent contractors (ICs) instead of full-time employee...

Honest feedback can be hard to give — and it's often even harder to receive. In this Filthy Rich Cleaners episode, Stephanie is joined by leadership expert and author Mike Robbins to talk about how to lead with empathy and create an honest, emotionally safe work environment, especially in an industry with high turnover like cleaning. He and Stephanie discuss the right way to go about level-setting...

Even cleaning businesses with raving reviews and A–Z checklists still face nightmare scenarios. Think after-hours emails, upset clients, confused employees, and "Oh no, what the hell do we do now?" conversations. In this episode, our host Stephanie shares a recent (and horrific) scenario after a cleaning at an existing client's new property. Emotions were high with the client's upcoming family vis...

Think you need a business degree to excel in the cleaning industry? Hannah Sutton proves otherwise. After 16 years in healthcare, she found her calling at Serene Clean - and now trains the next generation of cleaning professionals. Discover how proper training systems, quality control, and company culture can transform your cleaning business from chaos to excellence. What You'll Learn: Why healthc...

Think tracking KPIs is overwhelming? Stephanie breaks down exactly which metrics will transform your cleaning business from guesswork to data-driven success. From basic profit tracking to advanced client lifetime value calculations, discover the specific numbers that separate thriving cleaning companies from those flying blind. What You'll Learn: Why weekly P&L tracking is your business securi...

What happens when an immigration consultant discovers the cleaning industry is the perfect pathway to the American Dream? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Julie Lesage, who specializes in helping international investors start cleaning businesses through E2 visas. From her own pandemic pivot to cleaning full-time to building an affiliate network across the US, Julie shares the unique chall...

What happens when your biggest fear as a leader is being misunderstood? In this solo episode, Stephanie gets real about the constant push and pull between wanting to be understood and needing to make confident decisions as a business owner. Fresh back from Barcelona with the ZenMaid team (and some serious luggage drama), she dives deep into why explaining the "why" behind your decisions is crucial...