This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Success is an International Word!

Judy Santos, Managing Director of OfficeSlice,  spoke with Mary Wilcox, the founder and CEO of Milan Cleaning Services.  Mary emigrated “a long time ago” from Lima, Peru and has been a resident of the San Fernando Valley for 21 years. 

 

Mary worked in the financial industry for 20 years as a international business banker.  After two layoffs in the industry, Mary decided to start her own business.  Mary took her love of cleaning and organizing which she inherited from her grandmother and mother,  plus the increasing busy schedules of families and lack of time to clean house to embark on her new career.  As a single mom, Mary also wanted flexibility to spend time with her kids.  Milan Cleaning Services was born.  “The reason I started a cleaning business is because I personally like to clean!”  When Mary began Milan Cleaning Services, it was for the long term.  Mary takes pride in training each individual on her staff to clean the way she wants them to clean.  Milan Cleaning Services provides personalized service to every residence and commercial space they are hired to clean.

Find out what's happening in Studio Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Mary believes that no matter what type of business you are in, you have to enjoy what you do.  “I do enjoy cleaning, organizing, putting things together, making them look pretty, and making everything look nice.  To me it is very relaxing.   At the end of the day I accomplished what I had to do and it is great!”  Mary prides herself on getting the job done right. If the client is unhappy about the way something turned out, just a simple phone call and Mary and her staff will return either on the same day or the next day to fix the issue.

Find out what's happening in Studio Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Recently, Milan Cleaning Services was contacted by a new client who saw their five star review on Yelp.  The client needed the cleaning service to be completed on a Sunday.  Mary contacted her staff, found two that were available to get the job completed.  The client had a specific time frame and needed certain rooms cleaned in a particular manner.  “My staff and I arrived at 3 p.m., by 5:30 p.m. the house was in excellent shape.  The owner was ecstatic!  She had told my staff exactly what she wanted, and my staff delivered.  We were able to work with her budget and within her time frame. “ 

 

Mary prides herself on really getting to know her clients.  “The more I get to know my clients, I am able to advise my staff in what areas to improve and do a better job.  I can transfer the knowledge of what my client wants to my staff.”   Working within your budget is another value that Milan Cleaning Services provides.  Mary prides herself on getting the job done well, within budget and to the customer’s satisfaction! 

 

“I have always been a people person and that is what I like about my business.  I give all of my clients a high quality job.  I want to leave my clients happy and wanting more.”

 

Mary’s advice to those out there just starting their business or thinking about starting a business, “ If you have your business in mind you really need to like what you do.  Values are important, you must have your values in place.  Persistence is important.  You will have good days and bad days, bad days can overwhelm you, but the next day the sun does come out.  Thinking positive and setting short term and long term goals is very important.  Money is not everything.  Money is important, because we all work for the money, we want to have a better life and go on trips.  Money is a tool towards your happiness, but it won’t make you happy.”

 

Mary’s favorite restaurant is Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks.  Mary also enjoys the many Peruvian restaurants around the valley and finds them all delicious.  You can find Milan Cleaning Services at Milandomesticservices@hotmail.com or visit www.milancleaningservices.com.  You can also contact Mary for your residential and commercial cleaning at (818) 692-0856. 

OfficeSlice is the valley's first coworking space, designed for women entrepreneurs, by providing resources and solutions through affordable workspace, networking, educational and personal growth workshops. 




We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?