Only 4% of us do this thing

My sister Jen and I keep coming back to this stat: roughly 4% of adults own a business that employs other people. The vast majority of the workforce, somewhere around 85 to 90%, works for someone else.

I bet you were an employee before deciding to take the leap into owning your own business. Or maybe you're still an employee, still pondering whether to start a cleaning business, which is why you're reading these newsletters. I get it. I was an employee for most of my working life too.

These days, our mantra is "Creating opportunities for ourselves and others." It's a different mindset when you become your own boss and build a business where other people rely on you to pay their bills. You take on every responsibility that comes with that. Finding more work for your team, paying them on time, paying them well enough that they stay longer than your competitors can keep them.

What I've realized over the last couple of years of sharing our journey is that this work suits some people and not others. Some folks are built to be employees, and that's a great fit for them. That's the vast majority of people, after all.

If you're in the 4% who do this thing, you're built a little different.

My favourite part of every workday is sitting down to pay the cleaners between 4 and 6pm. I do it every single workday. And every day, I feel a wave of gratitude for their hard work, their commitment, and our ability to pay them well.

When I was an employee, I used to overhear my bosses complain about making payroll. Like it physically pained them. Something in me decided to flip that on its head. I'm freaking HAPPY to pay the cleaners every day. And more payments going out means I made more money that day too.

Here's the thing about this business model: it compounds. More clients plus more cleaners equals more money for everyone. The costs stay flat as you grow. It's just more growth.

Our full cost stack: 60% to the cleaners. $197/month for our software and website. $40/month for insurance. $20/month for our phone line. About $150/month for AI subscriptions. That's the whole list.

Yesterday we took 8 new bookings. We also got one complaint. Some days bring headaches, same as anyone else's business. We let those 8 bookings get the oxygen, and the one Nasty Nancy got a full refund and zero arguments from me. "Thank you, next!" as I love to say now to anyone like that. (In my head, of course. To her I sent a polite "Thank you so much for taking the care and time to give us such detailed feedback. Here's a full refund." And then in the back end, I blocked that client from ever booking with us again. It's kinda fun.)

Oh, and one more thing. I'm writing this fresh from Camp Yoga, where I spent the weekend at what's basically summer camp for grownups. I slept in a bunk bed, hung around the campfire, did loads of meditation and yoga, made new friends and ran into old ones. If you ever get a chance to go to summer camp as a grownup, I highly recommend it!

What hit me hardest was the gratitude. For the trip itself, and just as much for the fact that I could afford it AND trust the systems Jen and I built. I unplugged for three days and the business kept humming along without me. This is what the years of grind actually buy you. Year one is heads-down survival mode. The freedom comes later. I'm so grateful I pushed past those tough days to get here.

Anyway. Back to you. Where are you at? Are you proudly in the 4% who create opportunities for yourselves and others? Still pondering? What's holding you back from taking the leap?

To creating opportunities for yourself and others,

Vic