In just over a year, Anna-Marie Ortiz, a 30-year-old entrepreneur from the US has transformed her cleaning business, Cool Aunt Cleaners, from a side hustle to a growing company projected to earn over $100,000 (over Rs 84 lakh) in revenue in 2024. Ortiz's journey, however, has been far from easy, marked by financial risks, personal sacrifices, and hard-won business lessons.
“In the beginning, I had no idea how it was going to go,” Ortiz admits. “But you keep going because you believe in what you’re building,” she shared with CNBC Make It. Ortiz launched Cool Aunt Cleaners in July 2023 with her last $2,000 (Rs 1.68 lakh) in savings.
Initially, she operated it part-time, but as business picked up, she dedicated herself to it full-time by November 2023. Since then, her business has grown to an average monthly revenue of $10,000 (Rs 8.4 lakh), although the road was rough, and it required strategic adjustments, including cutting down her workforce to control costs.
Growing up in a financially struggling household in Wichita, Kansas, Ortiz learned the value of hard work early on. “Growing up, money was definitely tight,” Ortiz reflects. “I’ve been poor my whole life.”
The daughter of young parents who later divorced, Ortiz experienced the challenges of living paycheck to paycheck. Moving from Wichita to a rural farm town further isolated her, while her chores on the family farm instilled a work ethic she credits with helping her succeed today.
Ortiz’s first experience with entrepreneurship came with opening a plant shop in 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic forced her to close it. Despite its failure, it taught her valuable lessons about operational costs and the need for flexibility. Reflecting on that time, Ortiz said, “I realised that I had selfish tendencies; I had my vision and wanted things done my way.”
The startup costs for Cool Aunt Cleaners were minimal compared to her plant shop. With her last $2,000, Ortiz covered essential supplies, a website, and branding. She avoided online advertising costs by targeting neighbourhoods with flyers and business cards, and she used her fintech and sales experience to create a business model that appealed to younger professionals.
Running a cleaning business posed unexpected challenges. Ortiz learned that flat-rate pricing could backfire, especially in affluent neighbourhoods. “I quickly learned that just because you’re in a higher income neighbourhood or a bigger house, that doesn’t mean that you’re making more money,” Ortiz observed.
Despite financial obstacles, including $14,000 in debt after her move to Portland, Ortiz managed to reduce her credit card debt to around $5,000 by August.
As of now, Ortiz's company has a consistent client base of about 15 to 20 recurring clients, handling up to 10 cleanings a week. She pays herself an annual salary of around $29,000, preferring the autonomy of entrepreneurship over her former $60,000 corporate salary. “I don’t feel good when I spend money,” Ortiz says. “I feel really good when I earn money and when I save money.”
Looking to the future, Ortiz plans to expand Cool Aunt Cleaners into new markets, aiming to hire six more employees and explore digital advertising to drive growth.
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