This is Ron Holt and the story of his establishment of Two Maids & A Mop, a residential cleaning franchise brand with 20 office locations across eight US states and one US district.
Originally from a small town in southwestern Georgia, Holt’s journey to success began with a job as a chemical technician with precision instrument manufacturer Micromeritics Corporation. His efforts would pay off and soon enough, he would be promoted to laboratory director. It would seem that Holt had it all: admiration, status, and a level of respect most Americans would envy.
The question you may be asking yourself now is probably how and why he went from living the good life in favor of a risky career change? What possesses a man to risk everything for a goal that might lead to nothing at all? Here are the answers that you seek, straight from the man himself.
Q: What prompted you to start Two Maids & A Mop?
I was living the American Dream fifteen years ago. I had just been promoted to the Senior Lab Director position within a company that served as a global leader within its industry. Not only was I the youngest and least educated to ever hold that position, but I was also earning almost $100K annually. Then, abruptly, I quit to open a cleaning service in another town, with little to no support from friends or family.
My decision made no sense to those in my personal and professional network, but it made perfect sense to me. I wanted to control my life by building a business, so I started reading every business and investing book I could get to better understand what opportunity would provide me with the best chance for success. After years of study, the allure of recurring revenue became very exciting and I decided to focus my investment search to businesses with repeat customers. That led me to the consumer services industry, and eventually the residential cleaning space industry.
Q: What’s your definition of “customer service”?
To me, that’s what customer service is about. It’s not the old school thought process where every customer is right. As a customer service professional, it’s your job to know what they want before they even think about being right.
Q: Tell us more about fundraising advices, early failures, missteps, productivity, and culture management.
I struggled more than I ever imagined, but it made me stronger, leaner and more efficient. Success doesn’t happen just because you willed it and rest assured, difficult times are ahead of you. For me, learning from my mistakes helped create a scalable business model that generates fast growth with a lean operating structure. Today’s franchise partners are reaping the success from those early missteps.
Q: What are the major milestones and achievements of your company?
Q: What are your upcoming plans or projects?
Q: What’s your advocacy or advice to millennial entrepreneurs?
My story is pretty romantic nowadays but the early days were filled with stress, anxiety, fear, and outright pessimism. It takes more than just a healthy savings account to build a business because the vision for your business’ success will be tested daily throughout your journey. Having a true vision for your business does not guarantee your triumph but you are going to fail without one. Visualize your goal, believe in it and respect it every day. Your success won’t be created overnight but you’ll have the best chance of long term success if you have faith. Don’t waste another day without creating a vision for your life or business.
