Meet Adrienne Thomas of Nooks & Crannies Cleaning Solutions in Kennesaw

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrienne Thomas.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Adrienne. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I didn’t start off wanting to have a cleaning business. Actually, I quit my job to go into real estate. January 2007, I gave my job a 6-month notice to leave.

I wanted a more flexible schedule since I had a young child. I was spending too much time away from her. June of 2007, she would be turning 1 and I was determined to have more time with her. June came and I was on the road to becoming a Real Estate Agent starting in August! Woo-Hoo!!! To my surprise, the company I had been working for sold the company in July (1 month after I quit). Shortly after leaving, the real estate market and the car industry began to crash. At this time, I’m devastated and trying to figure out what to do next. It makes no sense to get my real estate license at this point.

I began applying for jobs and nothing was happening. The money we saved is beginning to diminish. Here we are back to January 2008 (1 yr. after putting my 6 months notice in to quit).

I decided I had to do something. We didn’t have any money! I said to myself, “I don’t mind cleaning, let me see if I can find someone on Craigslist who needs their house cleaned. Needless to say, I found several homes to clean. Six months later I had to hire someone and the rest is history. Here I am 10 years later with an office, staff and loyal customers.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! When you’re new in business you make a lot of mistakes. I didn’t know how to charge correctly and found myself underbidding and overpromising. Financially, the money seemed good until someone rescheduled/canceled and you were expecting that money to pay a bill. No house to clean, no pay. We don’t get “paid time off.” Then life kicks in. My daughter was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 5. Even though this was tough on my husband and I, we both still had to work. Even though people understood, they still wanted their homes clean. I lost some business during this time, because I had to cancel or reschedule houses due to my daughter being sick.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Nooks & Crannies Cleaning Solutions – what should we know?
Nooks & Crannies Cleaning Solutions is a locally owned residential and commercial cleaning company. We aim to do more than just clean. We are a company who gives back to the community. Whether it is feeding the homeless, sponsoring youth football, providing free house cleaning to breast cancer patients, heading up fundraisers for childhood cancer or lending an ear or giving a hug to our clients. We are training our cleaners to be more than just cleaners, we are teaching them to be leaders and future business owners.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My faith has been #1 throughout my journey. Without a doubt, my determination to succeed despite the obstacles have been instrumental in my success.

So many others would have quit. Giving up is not an option for me. Since I didn’t give up, my husband was able to quit his job last year and join the Nooks & Crannies Team.