“Making the world a better place, one clean home at a time,” this is the mission of Mrs. Clean, an on-call, personalized cleaning service founded by Kimberley Gothong.
As the brains behind the company, the idea came to her around the time she was thinking about business options as well as when they were looking for hired help.
“That was when I figured, ‘if I’m having a problem about this, a lot others are probably having the same problem as well.’ That was when I thought about starting a company that would somehow provide that solution for practically anybody who’s just so busy.”
By December last year, Mrs. Clean was in business. More than a cleaning service, it’s a social enterprise and an inclusive business that strives not just to declutter the homes and offices it caters to, but also gives overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) a chance to make a living as it exclusively employs returning OFWs. It was an idea she thought of after putting up an ad on the web and what she considered “a match made in heaven” given their skills.
“Looking through the applications, I discovered a lot of them were former OFWs. That’s when I really heard their plight. As it turns out, when OFWs come back home, especially the women, they find it hard to look for employment here despite their experience.”
During the start of the business, it was just Kimberley and her first hired cleaner, until they grew to a total of eight executive cleaners (all female OFW mothers and NC2 certified), one administrative assistant, a driver and herself. She’s also open to hiring males as there are some tasks that require a little brawn.
Mrs. Clean caters to homes and offices, “going beyond the extra square-meter” as what Kimberley coined. Clients can choose between two kinds of cleaning options: quick clean or deep clean, priced according to the floor area. Word spread and it gained quite a number of clients, some of which have become regulars.
She recalled some of the struggles she encountered during the early stages from the purchasing, making the manuals to taking inquiries—even the cleaning she did herself, though, she can delegate some of the tasks to her team now. Currently as president and chief operating offer, she’s still hands-on as she possibly can. She also has the support of her husband Charles Robert Gothong, who is the chief executive officer of the company and whom she has two kids with.
“He’s all about long-term and thinks strategically. I’m very focused on the day-to-day so we’re really a good pair.”
As a boss, she makes it a point to create a close relationship with her cleaners. She values their opinions and considers them a part of her family. “They’re really happy because one of my cleaners called us an ‘answered prayer.’ It’s really heartwarming because I’m really close with them. I know their life stories. I know their struggles,” she said.
“I really love my cleaners so all the operational decisions I have to do, I have them in mind.” The same goes with clients, as some have grown to become friends. Integrity and excellence are the company’s core values.
Having a medical background, this is an entirely different field compared to what Kimberley expected she’d venture in. Today, she grows fonder of the company and even calls it like her “third child” with more goals in store like expanding to a wider audience. “It’s a continuous improvement. We’re continuously developing. It’s something I’m really passionate about and I’m so excited about it.”