The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Eco-Cleaning Ohio owner enjoying more time with family, feeling fulfilled
When Alicia Scheel felt a strong need to be at home more to be able to spend more time with her family, she moved to start her own cleaning company.
“We are going to be celebrating our four-year anniversary this month,” said Scheel, owner and operator of Eco-Cleaning Ohio. “I wanted to do something that I was able to do out of our home if I needed to.
“I was in sales. I wanted to get involved with other women with like minds, who have children, work together and help people, and maybe work with girls who are going to college,” she added. “I wanted to feel fulfilled with what I was doing and sometimes in sales you don’t feel that way.”
While mostly working virtually, Scheel uses space at 36600 Lakeland Blvd. in Eastlake for training purposes and meetings.
“My husband, Christian, has taught me a ton about business. He’s been running his family business for the last 20 years, so I have learned so much,” Scheel said. “It’s a learning process. We are never perfect and we’re never going to be, but we can strive to do the right thing and help others. That’s amazing to us.”
Eco-Cleaning Ohio offers residential and commercial cleaning, with residential mainly being longterm cleaning contracts with people who were possibly referred to the company, Scheel said. Many businesses, churches, real estate offices, hair salons and attorney offices are mostly reoccurring, whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
“We take good care of them, sanitize and disinfect, and make sure that it’s up to par with their customers,” she said.
Since the novel coronavirus, business for Eco-Cleaning Ohio has doubled, most of which came from local real estate agents, Scheel said.
“The real estate market is doing really well right now,” Scheel said. “A lot of people are selling and we had the opportunity to get involved with a lot of agents where we go in and get the houses ready prior to them going on the market.”
Eco-Cleaning Ohio currently employs 12 full-time and part-time employees, which includes Maria Angel, an onsite supervisor who ensures that jobs are being executed properly and that customers are happy.
“She is phenomenal,” Scheel said. “Part time is usually those individuals who have to go to school or women who only have daycare available to them a couple days a week.
“I work with that because they deserve to make an income too, and if we’re able to help them get through Christmases, birthdays and maybe pay their car payment, that makes me go to bed a lot easier at night.”
During a typical week, between 20 and 25 properties are cleaned, such as homes that are ready to go onto the market and businesses, Scheel said. The night before a shift, she said she always tells her employees to make sure all of their supplies are together and working, that they have clean wash cloths and to make sure they are on time as best as they can be.
Scheel and her staff also communicate with their customers to ensure that no one in the home has asthma or any allergic reactions to products — something that is used to base off of what products staff will use, she said.
“We do have an ecofriendly line that we use, vinegar and water,” she said. “We do our best to make sure it’s a healthy environment for people. If you tell us you don’t want harsh cleaning products, I have cleaning products ready. It’s a really even mix.
“Businesses — it’s hard for them to go 100% ecofriendly because of the amount of traffic that comes in and out, and what has to be disinfected.”
Scheel’s goals going forward would include hiring another four to five employees, gain more customers and have more business growth in general. Additionally, she said she would love to engage more with the community and consider volunteering time at different functions.
“(Business) is a little challenging sometimes, but it keeps me on my toes as a mother,” she said. “I’m moving all day long. There is really no sit down time. That’s the reality of being a mom and owning a business.”