“It's important to stay focused and happy.
All business owners are used to worrying about their business - whether we’re in lockdown or not!”
In this blog, meet the CEO of MMCS Commercial Cleaning, Olga Bell, to find out more about how the company has developed over the years and how COVID has influenced its operations recently.
How has your business grown and developed over the last 18 years?
The business first started as an idea to help bring in some money while I was looking after two young children. It has now grown to a company to provide a stable income to over 30 employees and a reliable service to many companies around Newcastle and Northumberland.
When I first started MMCS (known as Maid Marian’s Cleaning Service at the time) I had no idea about how to run a business. My initial role was to build a bridge between clients who wanted their properties cleaned, and cleaners who were looking for work. By connecting them together, I learned a lot about understanding the needs of both sides.
Today, I am fortunate to have a dedicated team who help me manage the day-to-day activities of the business. This allows me to more time to focus on the long-term strategic growth of the company.
What have been the major challenges that you faced over 18 years?
The main internal challenge that I have faced throughout the history of the company is the struggle to delegate tasks and responsibilities to others.
Like many other business owners, I have often felt that everything had to be done by myself, but often this leads to more harm than good.
Over the years, the main external changes that we have faced as a company is at times underestimating the amount of work in a property which made reaching tight deadlines difficult (although, we always managed it!). I feel that we have now improved the way in which we assess new jobs and this helps to remove the pressure from my team.
How would you describe the culture at MMCS Commercial Cleaning?
I feel that the culture at MMCS can be described in two words: friendly and hard-working. My team are not afraid of challenging themselves and work well together to complete the task in hand. We would not be able to provide such a great service without the hard work and dedication of my team.
What are your company goals for the next 2 years?
We’re hoping to take on more cleaning projects with construction companies around the region and provide them with contractual cleans. This will require us to provide more extensive training for existing and new staff, which will bring around further professional expertise for the company,.
We are also about to open up our second production unit which will double the capacity for our linen hire services for holiday lets and B&B’s. This is an exciting move for the company but we will have to keep working hard to increase our turnover and provide enough work for the two offices to manage. I’m looking forward to meeting more customers and building strong work relationships with them.
Any personal goals for the next 2 years?
My personal goals are currently to spend more time with my family and work on incorporating a more active and healthier lifestyle into my daily routine.
Moving into our second office gives me a great opportunity to focus on how I can better organise my working space - I’m even looking into trialling a standing desk!
How has COVID-19 impacted your business?
COVID has made me realise the importance of having a flexible business model. During this difficult time, the company has survived by being able to adapt to situations quickly by finding a solution to a problem and implementing it without any barriers.
This has allowed the company to change its services and offerings relatively quickly and adapt to the needs of the market.
Prior to COVID, we were primarily doing regular cleans for offices and commercial properties. Now, we also provide regular disinfection services as either a one-off service or as part of a regular cleaning package and will continue to provide this disinfectant service for as long as our clients require it.
I feel that at the start of the first lockdown, everyone was a little worried as nobody knew what to expect and what would happen to the business. It wasn’t as if we could approach a professional who could guide us on how to survive a national lockdown!
At least with this second lockdown, we have had some better insight and understanding abouthow things will operate which has made it a lot less daunting.
I feel that anyone who owns a business will naturally experience thousands of worries about their company every day. That's why it's so important to stay focused and happy. All business owners are used to worrying about their business - whether we’re lockdown or not!