Earlier this year, Angie Drake left her job with a telecommunications company to start a business that she finds fulfilling on both a personal and environmental level: ECO-CLEANING, a housecleaning business that uses environmentally friendly, nontoxic cleaning agents derived from plants.
The Arlington resident, whose childhood was spent on 300 acres near Oso, said she “grew up in Mother Nature” and has always felt a responsibility to be mindful of her impact on it. Drake, a mother of four, said she also knows about the time and energy it takes to keep a house clean and figured ECO-CLEANING could take that load off of other families’ shoulders and improve their quality of life.
ECO-CLEANING is not Drake’s first taste of entrepreneurship, having run a gift shop in Anacortes some years before returning to the corporate world. She has an associate’s degree in business administration from Skagit Valley College, where she did her internship at the Business Resource Center.
“I got to know the ins and outs of business and the resources available if you need them,” said Drake, whose mother was an entrepreneur, too, owning an accounting firm.
In December, Drake sat down to discuss her growing venture and her plans to create an online resource for those interested in protecting the environment and learning about sustainable practices.
SCBJ: What were you doing prior to ECO-CLEANING and what led you to the new venture?
Drake: I was a consultant for online marketing and was helping businesses grow that I didn’t believe in, and that bothered me. (With ECO-CLEANING) it makes me happy to go home and know I’m not doing anything bad for the environment and I’m making people happy every day.
SCBJ: What services does ECO-CLEANING provide?
Drake: It’s not just housecleaning. Every individual I meet has different needs. There is general housekeeping but also (home) organizing. I help people prepare for the holidays, parties. … I have one client who is very ill, I’ll do everything from changing her bed to cleaning out the kitty-litter box. I really focus on what a person’s goal is and what I can help them with.
SCBJ: How did you finance ECO-CLEANING?
Drake: I had a little bit in savings and just took it and ran with it. The day I called MacGregor (Publishing Co.), there were just two or three days left before (the advertising) closed. I said, ‘Angie, this is a sign.’ I just had to buy equipment and supplies and a couple of signs.
SCBJ: Why did you choose to enter the residential cleaning market?
Drake: I had experience in it. When I was 16, 17 I did cleaning for an office building. When I started (thinking about) leaving corporate America, I was doing side jobs, cleaning houses for friends.
SCBJ: Why the focus on environmentally friendly cleaning products?
Drake: I’ve just always been environmentally friendly. When I was a child in the ’80s, my parents introduced me to recycling. I’m Native American, and I guess I just have a calling to want to protect the earth.
SCBJ: In your own life, how do you practice being environmentally friendly?
Drake: I use cleaning supplies that are environmentally friendly; that’s a good place to start. I don’t (have a long commute to work) anymore. I stay local. I have a car that gets good gas mileage. When the kids are brushing their teeth, I make sure they turn off the water. My goal (in the short term) is to collect rainwater from the house and use it in the toilets. Long term, I want to be off-grid with solar power. There’s recycling, of course.
SCBJ: What cleaning products does ECO-CLEANING use?
Drake: Seventh Generation, Ecover — they have some great toilet cleanser as well as floor soap that uses linseed oil. I also use Biokleen for glass surfaces.
SCBJ: How would you describe your target market?
Drake: I prefer residential over office buildings. In fact, I don’t clean businesses, except home-based businesses. … We cover basically north Snohomish County, but if people farther south call, I’d like to hear their situation and see if they’d be a good fit.
SCBJ: How are you currently marketing your business?
Drake: I’m in the MacGregor phone book. I’ve had signs made and posted locally. Basically, it’s word of mouth.
SCBJ: How many do you employ?
Drake: It’s me, my daughter and one other employee. My daughter is 15 years old and awesome. She’s saving up her money to get her (driver’s) permit.
SCBJ: You just added an employee to your staff because your own schedule was full. Do you think you’ll need to expand your work force even further in the coming months? Is that something you hope to do?
Drake: I want (ECO-CLEANING) to do more things for more people and am looking at expanding farther south, into the Everett area, in the future. I want to keep employees under 10 because people say they like working with a smaller company. I can see within a year going to five (employees), but it keeps it more personal when the same person comes in to do a client’s house cleaning.
SCBJ: You have a Web site, www.iwant2gogreen.com. While it briefly describes ECO-CLEANING, its mission seems broader than marketing one company. What is the goal of the site?
Drake: It’s very generic right now, but what I really want to do is create a countywide Web site that lists resources for people interested in (going green) … and being connected with people who are environmentally responsible. For more information on ECO-CLEANING, call 425-345-7836 or send e-mail to info@iwant2gogreen.com.
— Kimberly Hilden, SCBJ Assistant Editor
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