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RUNS IN THE FAMILY: Susan Haralson, left, is on board as an investor with Kathy Haralson’s NeatNik Cleaning.SBJ photo by WES HAMILTON
RUNS IN THE FAMILY: Susan Haralson, left, is on board as an investor with Kathy Haralson’s NeatNik Cleaning.

SBJ photo by WES HAMILTON

Business Spotlight: Cleaning Agents

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Kathy Haralson is no stranger to career changes. She’s at least in her second line of work.

“I would say my second, third, fourth career, maybe,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of different things.”

The part-time preschool teacher turned home health care aid is now firmly rooted in the cleaning service business. Before those jobs, there was the stay-at-home mom calling, where she managed a household of five children with her husband, Darren.

Today, NeatNik Cleaning LLC is her baby. It has been the last five years, since she took over seven residential cleaning jobs for a friend who was leaving on a long-term mission trip.

And it’s only been family members working in the business – except for that short stint by a part-timer. That might change soon.

“I’ve worked it, all of my older kids have worked it with me and their significant others, too,” Kathy Haralson says. “We’re outgrowing that rapidly and I’m running out of kids to work. They can only do so much and I’m stretched now to the point I can’t take on more.”

With part-time work from her 23-year-old son and his significant other, Kathy regularly cleans 32 residences and seven offices. Since taking on the cleaning gigs for a friend, she doubled the clients in each of the first two years.  

“We’re to the point I’m getting 2-3 phone calls a week for new clients. There aren’t a lot of slots to put them in anymore,” she says.

To help with the growing pains, she brought on her sister-in-law, Susan Haralson, as an investor owner in early 2015. Susan co-owns Premier Home Health Care, where Kathy spent time as a home health aid.

The duo’s goal is to grow revenue 25 percent from the $36,000 generated last year.

“I’m on track for that right now,” Kathy says, noting at midyear the company has crossed the $20,000 mark.

NeatNik Cleaning previously has grown revenues 10-15 percent each year. Kathy also is hungry to again double her clients, but specifically on the corporate side.

According to the Small Business Development Center Network, the janitorial services industry has rebounded from effects of the Great Recession, namely in corporate profits and office occupancy rates. In 2014, the industry reported $52 billion in combined revenues and 2 percent annual growth projections to nearly $58 billion in 2019. But the industry is fragmented: The 50 largest companies – including ServiceMaster, Jani-King and ADM Janitorial – generate about 30 percent of revenue, according to a market research report by SBDCNet.

Representing about 20 percent of NeatNik’s work, office clients include Ozark Foam Insealators, Torgerson Design Partners and National Home Products. John Torgerson’s architecture firm on the Ozark square was Kathy’s first corporate client, and NHP has been on board nearly as long.

While Kathy’s work is mobile – her van is jam-packed with cleaning equipment and supplies – she set up an office in April 2015 at the Ozark Chamber of Commerce business incubator. Part of the motivation was to connect with more clients.

“We thought it would give us some advertising space with people who come in and out of there,” she says. “We’ve gotten several clients from that.”

Three quarters of NeatNik’s jobs are residences every other week, and Kathy also cleans rentals, churches, houseboats, post-construction jobs and renovation projects.

“We will clean just about anything,” she says.

Well, there is one thing she won’t clean: pet messes.

“I made the mistake once going into a job without checking it out first. It was a disaster to say the least,” she says.

One thing she strives for no matter the job is a customer connection.

“I learned a lot through home health care. You have to be more than just a cleaning company. I like to have a personal connection,” Kathy says, noting she doesn’t give quotes over the phone in order to first meet potential clients. “They need to know me and I need to know them. You learn if you’re a good fit for each other.

“I don’t believe you should ever treat someone’s house just like it’s yours. You should treat their home like it’s their home.”

Now, she has to determine when the company is at the tipping point.

“We’re right on the cusp of hiring more,” she says. “The biggest challenge is knowing when to pull that trigger. I like the job done a certain way. I want the quality to stay the same. When it’s your baby, it’s hard to let it go.”

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