Hidden Gems: Meet Lakesha Holiday of JBL Cleaning and Organizing Solutions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lakesha Holiday.

Hi Lakesha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am an only child. At the end of the day, if no one has my back, even financially, my parents do! However, about 5 or 6 years ago, I made an intentional decision to fully transition from under their financial umbrella. Throughout college, I pretty much kept a job.

I’ve worked as a nanny, in nightclubs, in retail, in the credit industry, and in a few “odds and ends” jobs here and there. However, one industry that I did not mention that most fulfills me in the truest sense is Education; and in particular, working with students in 3rd to 12th grade, as well as, college Freshmen.

For as far back as I can remember, even before I moved away from home to start college, I’ve always found a way to work with youth, even if it was volunteering or working for minimum wage. In 2020, I was laid off from my job as a Youth Development Coordinator and transitioned to a position as a Lead Teacher in an Early Childhood facility.

I was grateful for the opportunity to resume income, but I was not completely fulfilled because it was difficult to implement my ideas and creativity into a demographic of such young children; but I couldn’t just leave because that isn’t what wise and mature adults do, LOL!

So, I decided to come up with a game plan. How could I start a side hustle to build up an additional source of income, which ultimately, would be used to fund my idea to work with youth in the capacity that I desired; that is how my cleaning business, JBL Cleaning and Organizing Solutions was birthed.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt… NO! The first struggle came when I had to make a decision to quit my job at the Daycare and pursue JBL full time. I gave myself 60 days to make an additional $2,000. I made nearly $4,000 in 30 days while working full time.

I was getting calls to clean and organize homes and had to turn them down because I couldn’t get time off from the daycare. I found myself getting frustrated because of the income I was missing out on. You would think that would make my decision to leave easier, right? No. I am a truly loyal person, and I didn’t want to disappoint my boss with my decision. I didn’t want to leave her in a hiring predicament because of my decision, but guess what?

I had her full blessing! I quit… the right way; respectfully and with a two weeks notice. Immediately after I left, I stopped getting calls for almost 2 weeks. I said, “Loooorrrrddddd… see. Now I’m going to have to go and ask for my job back!” LOL!!! But God looked out for me as He always has, and once I gave Him my full trust and faith in the journey, the calls resumed. I’ve hired staff.

I’ve lost staff. I’ve lost clients and have retained even more. I developed an extreme case of anxiety around the ending of the 3rd quarter of 2021 that lasted for several months because success was happening so fast for me and I was not prepared! After all, it was supposed to be a side hustle! SIDE!!!!

One of the biggest challenges for me has been balancing Lakesha the fun, bubbly, easygoing extrovert, and Lakesha the entrepreneur, employer, decision-maker, etc. It is an ongoing learning curve.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about JBL Cleaning and Organizing Solutions?
From early on, JBL created a standard, and ultimately, a reputation for which we’ve become popularly known; and that is our attention to detail.

Potential clients are educated during the complimentary phone consultations that if they are looking for a cleaning company to “get in and get out”, and just do the bare minimum, then we are not the company worth the investment of their money. Our existing clients already know what to expect when we come, which I like to believe is the reason they are in fact, recurring clients.

I am a firm believer that businesses should strive to add ‘shock value’ to their services, and one way that JBL does that is through its commitment to being a bleach-free cleaning company. While we are not fully green, I am careful in sourcing commercial-grade products that are free from harsh chemicals and smells, and of course, bleach-free. I am most proud of our ability to build rapport with clients, how we’ve increased our recurring clientele, and how our clients trust the integrity of our brand enough to refer our services to others.

JBL surveys say that 100% of our clients are likely to refer JBL to others and 100% of our clients have stated that their experience with JBL was better than their experience with a previous cleaning company. I encourage readers to find out for themselves how we’ve grown this reputation by scheduling a complimentary consultation via our website. We offer standard cleaning, deep cleaning, and organizing services.

And to briefly elaborate, what separates us from other cleaning companies is our ability to do more than just clean! In 2021, we introduced a platform called the Deep Dirty Dive: Exploring Mental Health and Clean Spaces, which is a dialogue between myself and two licensed therapists exploring the correlation between our mental health and the current state of our living spaces; and essentially, practical solutions on how to clear your mind and home.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
My goal for JBL Cleaning and Organizing Solutions is to position myself to work ON the business and not IN the business.

My goal is to fully staff the business with integral and well-meaning individuals who can carry on the day to day operations of the business without me so that in turn, I can work on what I am truly passionate about, and that is Education, and more, in particular, creating solutions for students be successful leaders beyond the classroom and bringing awareness and opportunity for advancement to Student Support Staff; those individuals who impact the sum total development of the student.

To support, you can simply share this article or schedule a cleaning and/or organizing service; and yes! We travel! To collaborate on the education side, you can contact me via ltholida@gmail.com.

Pricing:

• Standard Clean $150+
• Deluxe Clean $190+
• Organization $140+
• Combination Services Available

Contact Info:

• Email: experience@jblcos.com
• Website: www.jblcos.com
• Instagram: @jblcosolutions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jblcos

Image Credits
Ashleigh Crawley and Tyneshia Knowles