The Small Business Spotlight series highlights SuretyBonds.com clients across the country in a variety of industries. These small business owners share how they’ve overcome challenges and offer tips for success.
As a single mother with two children, Tina Gallegos is used to working extra jobs to help bring in a bit more revenue. Having sold Avon products and Tori Belle lashes, Gallegos was no stranger to managing a side gig. When looking to pick up work after her full-time day job, she decided to start a cleaning business. This way, she could set her own hours and her sons could work within the business as well.
Gallegos established her cleaning business, Stardust Commercial and Residential Cleaning LLC, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her business services commercial and residential buildings, providing Gallegos an opportunity to clean office spaces at night and her sons the chance to clean new builds during the day.
The Challenges and Rewards of Starting a Business
When establishing her business, Gallegos’ first step was getting licensed through the state of Arizona Corporate Commission. She found an available business name; entered all company information, including her business’s address; and paid the $85 fee to get her license. She then ran an ad in a local newspaper to spread the word about her business.
After becoming licensed, she decided to look into any additional requirements. She found that cleaning companies in Arizona did not have to be bonded, but she felt motivated to purchase an optional Janitorial Service Bond nonetheless. Gallegos knew that if she were hiring a cleaning service, she would select one that was bonded to protect from potential theft and broken household items when allowing a stranger into her home. Not only did she want to offer her clients this protection, but she also wanted to showcase the legitimate nature of her company with the bond paperwork.
When deciding which company to use to get bonded, Gallegos turned to SuretyBonds.com. She had a wonderful experience with SuretyBonds.com when getting an Arizona notary bond a few years ago and found our website easy to navigate and understand. After confirming the correct bond for her business with a SuretyBonds.com customer care representative, Gallegos bought her Business Service Bond bond and was set to go.
While Gallegos found it relatively easy to establish her business, marketing her business and networking with potential clients proved a challenge because of the large number of competitive cleaning companies around.
Gallegos assumed that because of the pandemic, more businesses and homeowners would be interested in utilizing professional cleaning and sanitation services to keep employees and family members safe. However, she found this was not the case. With the increase in mask-wearing and protective gear, she hasn’t seen a big uptick in businesses looking for sanitizing or deep cleaning for health and safety purposes.
Setting up her website just how she wanted it was another challenge for Gallegos. It took many small tweaks and changes to get the website just right. However, she has found that technology has been a big advantage for her business. From people finding her company online to enabling internet-based bookings, Gallegos found scheduling technology made it easy to keep all contacts and cleaning appointments organized.
Her favorite part of the business so far has been working for herself and having a place for her kids to work. She can make her own hours, help other people with her services, and have extra time to bond with her family.
Advice for Entrepreneurs Starting a Business
Gallegos knows how discouraging it can be to start a business, especially if you have a full-time job or children. She advises hopeful entrepreneurs to take the time to research as much as possible before jumping in.
Once a business is established, it may be hard to earn clients or grow the company. Don’t be discouraged by these setbacks. Gallegos is looking forward to her hard work paying off and her business becoming her sole source of income, developing a caring and personable staff, and being able to make a difference in her community.
When researching licensing or bonding requirements, Gallegos advises everyone to look up the different steps required and create a checklist. This could eliminate extra costs caused by mistiming or forgetting steps. Gallegos is excited to continue growing her business and hopefully transition to running Stardust Commercial and Residential Cleaning LLC full-time.
SuretyBonds.com strives to Put People First in everything we do by recognizing the impact our clients, our employees, and our colleagues have on our company. We’re always rooting for our clients to succeed in their individual careers and business goals both big and small.
