Sheffield Township family brings cleaning legacy to their business
By CARL E. FEATHERLifestyle Editor
Jason Vance thought his wife Stacey took cleaning to the extreme.
"He always complained that I cleaned so much, it drove him crazy," says Stacey, 27.
Since starting Mom-N-Pops Cleaning Service, Inc., earlier this year, Jason has a newfound appreciation for his wife's commitment to clean. She and Jason's mother, Anita Vance, are the hands-on workers in this business that takes on both residential and commercial cleaning assignments.
Based out of the Vances' Sheffield Township home, the Mom-N-Pops serves customers in Ashtabula and Lake counties. Stacey covers most of the daytime assignments so their 3-year-old daughter can stay with grandma; Anita takes the night jobs.
Jason says he started the business so his mother would have a part-time retirement income and his wife a job that could eventually become full time.
"My mom just retired and she had been in the cleaning services 25 years," Jason says. "She wanted to keep working but didn't want to work full time. She asked my wife and me if we wanted to start a cleaning business."
Although it is a "Mom-N-Pops" business, the Lances incorporated, insured and bonded.
Jason never owned a business before, but he liked the idea of moving toward self-employment. A chemical factory operator, he knows there's little long-term job security. On the other hand, there will always be dirt.
"We'd like to turn this into a primary income, just in case the factory shuts down," he says.
"We've been through that before ... several times," Stacey says.
Stacey left her job with Wal-Mart to start the business. She says landing their first commercial account replaced her part-time income from the retailer. They've added several residential accounts and are looking for more. She'd like to be working full time in the business by the time their youngest child, Jenna, 3, is ready to go to school.
Jason says they plan to build their business through word of mouth referrals from customers pleased with their "down-home country cleaning."
"We don't own a mop. We do everything on our hands and knees," says Stacey. "We do a thorough cleaning. We get in there and do a good job."
Stacey credits her mother, Diana Pinney, for instilling this passion for clean in her.
"My mom is a stickler for it, and I think that's where I got it from. If the clothes weren't stacked in the drawer just right, she made me take them and do it over," she says.
Stacey says she's willing to apply this penchant for organization to her residential accounts. One customer has asked her to re-arrange and organize the living space as she cleans.
"We can basically do whatever they want," she says.
That includes scrubbing floors, washing windows, vacuuming and dusting. Pricing is set by the size of the home or office and frequency of cleaning. They even clean ovens.
"That's my mom's specialty," Jason says.
Contact Mom-N-Pops Cleaning Service at 224-7472 or stacey79@alltel.net.
Star Beacon Print Edition: 9/6/2006
