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House Cleaning Blog

Featured Franchisee: Wesley Kelley

  Tony Teolis  |    Jun 9, 2017 3:57:50 PM  |    Franchise Opportunities,  |    Katy

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Aspiring Business Owner

After three years in the U.S. Army as a fire support specialist — essentially a scout for artillery — Wesley Kelley decided he wanted to be the first person in his family to attend college. He studied marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of Houston. “I’ve always wanted to run a business,” he said. Two years ago, a conversation with his grandfather changed his mind. “He said, ‘You know, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.’”

Choosing A Franchise Business Model

Kelley realized that a franchise would provide structure, and a service-based business would provide repeat customers. He ultimately bought a You’ve Got MAIDS® operation in Katy, Texas, two years ago. Today, he has seven employees and is about to hire two more; Kelley handles office work and estimates for new customers while his employees perform cleaning duties.

Using Military Experience To His Advantage

His Army experience was invaluable, he said. “I was able to have the experience of working in a team and even going out as a team leader. Now I have teams that are like the teams I was on in the Army. They have tasks and goals, and basically like real missions. They have three houses (to clean) that day, they have to have a plan.”

Treating Customers With Respect

He also learned how to treat customers from his experiences in the military: “If you treat them with respect and kindness, then you receive kindness and respect in return.” He said he had a sergeant who, “if you looked left when you were supposed to look right, you were doing 20 push-ups. And so everybody hated him.” Kelley said from that, he learned to always treat each customer with respect.

 

This article was originally featured in USA Today.