Filthy Rich Cleaners: The Cleaning Business Podcast
Filthy Rich Cleaners is the free cleaning business coach you never knew you needed. Hosted by Stephanie Pipkin, founder of Serene Clean, every episode delivers real, tactical advice you'd normally pay for in a consulting call. Honest stories, proven strategies, and tips from people who've built successful cleaning companies, whether you're just starting out or ready to scale. We're here to make you Filthy Rich 💸
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#162: The Mother-Daughter Duo Running Two Cleaning Companies
<p>Two cleaning companies in one family! In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Kyleigh Lipsitz of The Blissful Clean (Grand Rapids, MI) and her mother, Lisa Temple, founder of Maid in Michigan. Lisa built her business from a stack of handwritten calendars, and Kyleigh took that framework and scaled her own business with software. They run separate residential cleaning companies two hours apart, but come to Filthy Rich Cleaners to share the systems, hiring philosophy, and sales approach that took Lisa's business to $1M in recurring revenue, and to discuss how Kyleigh is following the same playbook.</p> <p>Â </p...
#161: How Vanessa Muir Doubled Her Cleaning Business's Revenue in One Year
<p>Vanessa Muir turned her knitting-group side gig into a cleaning company that doubled its revenue in a single year. In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Vanessa, owner and founder of The Cleaning Guild in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to unpack how she built her business from two knitting-group clients into a six-person team. Vanessa shares the real numbers behind her pricing evolution, how she landed (and priced) her first big commercial contract, why she's walking away from a $4K/month account, and the hard-won lessons from firing her first three employees.</p> <p> </p> <p>📌 What You'll Learn<br> — How to...
#160: Rose's Playbook to Attract the Right Client at the Right Price
<p>Rose Cavanaugh started cleaning houses in 2019 as a newly single mom who needed to make money. Seven years later, she runs a 175-client cleaning business with 15 techs and an office manager, and, best of all, she is 100% out of the field. In this episode, Rose sits down with host Stephanie to walk through how she built Patriot Endeavors / Rose's Cleaning Services in rural Central Texas. She talks about the terror of the first hire, learning her worth on pricing, closing nearly every walkthrough with confidence, and building a "family first" culture in a high-turnover industry. She also shares the...
#159: Client Red Flags Every Cleaning Business Owner Should Know
<p>0 years ago, there was barely any competition for cleaning businesses. Today, it feels like everyone and their mother has a cleaning business, so how do you actually stand out? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Maria Dorian — owner of Task Away VA and a cleaning company that she now runs remotely from Spain. They dig into how the industry has transformed, why creativity beats budget when you're starting out, how to handle bad reviews and difficult clients, and red flags that owners should look for in current or prospective clients.</p> <p><br> 📌 What You'll Learn</p> <p>— How to...
#158: The Mindset Shift That Tripled Sophia Tyler's Cleaning Business
<p>Most people wait until they "feel ready" to do things like raise prices or hire staff. Sophia Tyler did the opposite and jumped straight in. In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Sophia, the 24-year-old owner and founder of LadyDo in Longmont, Colorado, who launched her cleaning business at age 20. They dig into the messy early days of undercharging and overdelivering, the emotional work of raising rates on longtime clients, and how mindset, networking, and BNI became the engine behind her growth. Plus, a genuinely wild on-the-job story that you don't want to miss 👀</p> <p> </p> <p>📌 What You'll...
#157: The Exact Quality Control System We Use at Serene Clean
<p>If you've ever wondered how to pull off a surprise quality check without terrifying your cleaner, you've come to the right place. In this solo episode, Stephanie answers a listener question from Kate in Australia about quality control checks and the practical side of making them happen. She walks through Serene Clean's exact QC form, the culture of "everybody checks everybody," the ideal timing for showing up, how often to check different staff members, and how feedback gets documented and shared with the team.</p> <p> </p> <p>📌 What You'll Learn</p> <p>— Why your cleaning checklist is the founda...
#156: How Jose Razo Built a Premium Cleaning Brand From Scratch
<p>Laid off from a 10-year cybersecurity career, Jose Razo used his severance to launch the cleaning business he'd been sitting on for years. He built it around one person: his own home's cleaner of six years. In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Jose, owner of Allens Landing Cleaning just outside Houston, Texas. Jose shares how he went from tech professional to cleaning business owner in a matter of months, why he refuses to compete on price, and how he's building a premium brand from a two-person team.<br> <br> </p> <p>📌 What You'll Learn<br> — Why execution beats knowl...
#155: Why Accountability Makes or Breaks Your Cleaning Business
<p>Two cleaners, the same feedback, but two completely different reactions. This told Stephanie everything she needed to know about who stays and who goes at Serene Clean. In this episode, Stephanie talks about why she views accountability as the single biggest predictor of whether someone will succeed on your team (or in your business). She walks through two active situations in her company right now: a beloved, long-tenured cleaner going through a rough patch who takes full responsibility for her mistakes, and a two-month hire who blames everyone but herself 👀<br> <br> </p> <p>📌 What You'll Learn<br> — Why accounta...
#154: Simone Angell on How to Go From Solo Cleaner to Running a Team
<p>If you're burnt out doing every clean yourself but terrified to hire, you're not alone! In this episode, Stephanie welcomes back Simone Angell of The House Mum to talk about a question posted in the ZenMaid Mastermind: how do you transition from doing all the cleaning yourself to building and leading a team? Simone, who just hit 30 employees running a luxury household-management company in Australia, and Stephanie unpack pricing, hiring, financial transitions, client notes, and the hard conversations.</p> <p> </p> <p>📌 What You'll Learn<br> — Why a growing waiting list should trigger a price increase (and how that funds...
#153: How to Handle Damage in Clients' Homes (And Who Pays For It)
<p>It's not a matter of IF you'll break something in a client's home, but a matter of when 😬 It happens to every cleaning business owner, and in this solo episode, Stephanie talks about things she and her team have broken, damaged, and replaced over seven years at Serene Clean — from a faucet that snapped in her hand to a priceless glass statue that couldn't be replaced. She breaks down who's responsible when staff damages items, why you should never hide it, and how reducing risk in your kit and scope of work protects your business in the long term.</p> <p...
