Launching With A Conscience

From Elaine Gordon Evans, founder of Elaine's American Maid.

My life began, at a very early age, in the low-income housing projects of New York City where I lived with my single mother and brother.  I lived on Welfare my entire young life yet somehow never felt poor.  One of the reasons I never thought of myself as impoverished is because I knew there was a bigger world out there, much beyond a Park Avenue-bound bus ride into the city.  I also had a mother who loved me greatly and always emphasized that I could do anything I put my mind to.  With her belief in me, I felt like I could accomplish anything. All it takes is one person to believe in you to gain the courage and inspiration needed to become a success.  Sometimes that one person is only you, and it is usually accompanied with some Divine Help that truly makes your pursuit victorious.

Accomplishing the Great American Dream took a lot of hard work, determination, and passion. With the vision of being an entrepreneur, I started ironing shirts for a nickel a piece at age nine.  I never stopped pursuing my dream and eventually opened up my first housecleaning service at the tender age of 19 in South Florida.  My housecleaning service was cleaning 150 homes per week and I was launching about 90 cleaners in their own housecleaning businesses.  I was able to successfully get off Welfare, and not only take care of myself, but also my baby daughter, Shavawn.

Twelve years later in Redmond, Washington, I found myself in circumstances that left me homeless, with 4 children, and a fifth on the way.  I was able to houseclean my way to financial success a second time by opening my current housecleaning service called, Elaine's American Maid.

Since launching Elaine's American Maid 23 years ago over 4,000 housecleaners have launched themselves as entrepreneurs. My company cleans for about 120 clients per week with roughly 80 individuals working through the housecleaning referral service. I have also been responsible, not personally thank goodness, for cleaning over 1 million toilets in the Seattle area.

My passion and life s work is mentoring and empowering low-income women so they can become entrepreneurs. I help them work their way out of government assistance by guiding them in owning their own housecleaning businesses. As new, sole proprietors, they are encouraged to get out there and acquire as many clients as they can. While they are building their clientele, I fill up their open days with jobs from existing clients. The reason I don t hire employees is because I want to help and inspire as many people as possible to ultimately be entrepreneurs. The housecleaning business is a stepping-stone for many of these people to get back on their feet and eventually start a business pursuing their true passion.  For example, some of our housecleaners have opened their own business, gone back to school, become real estate agents, caterers and even lawyers. (Read more inspiring stories and articles at Elaine Gordon Evans and Elaine's American Maid.)

Not only does the entrepreneur housecleaning model help women work their way out of government assistance, but also through the many stressors related to the transition out of an abusive domestic relationship. Believe it or not, the nature of the housecleaning service affords women the time to reflect and visualize where their lives are headed. Another perk of business ownership is the ability to regulate your work schedule to be home for your children when they are out of school.  In addition, the daily cash flow enables women the ability to feed their families and pay bills, while putting them in the position of being in control. 

Elaine's American Maid cares not only for the needy but also for the sick.  I started giving away free housecleaning service to women who have cancer about four years ago when my mother-in-law, Bernice McCulley, developed breast cancer and was too sick to clean her house. I have been giving free housecleaning away to women with breast cancer ever since.  I ve established two foundations to help women: Maid for Work, which is for the less fortunate, and Maid for Life, which is for the sick and dying.

Everyone s life can be used to serve an amazing purpose.  Typically we can identify an unmet need just by looking around ourselves and deciding if and how we will help to fill that void.

My hope and prayer is that this story will be an inspiration for many to help a fellow neighbor in need. Maybe you too will incorporate your business with a humanitarian contribution to help others without hope that are seeking some guidance.

Elaine s Bio:

Elaine Gordon Evans grew up on Welfare in the low-income housing projects of New York City.  She opened her first housecleaning service when she was still a teenager at 19 years of age, because she did not want herself and her baby daughter to become dependent on public assistance.

34 years later she is still running one of the largest personal housecleaning services in the country in Redmond, Washington.  Elaine currently has approximately 80 moms (including single moms) that she has helped launch as entrepreneurs in their own house cleaning services; she has helped launch over 5,000 women over the past 34 years. Elaine is actively working with Washington State Legislators in revising current laws with the goal of better helping single moms pursue entrepreneurship.

Elaine' s maid service Elaine' s American Maid cleans about 120 homes a week, and provides free housecleaning to women who have cancer.  She has established two foundations, Maid for Work and Maid for Life. In her spare time, she has summoned her creative and entrepreneurial spirit to develop a new workout cleaning video, How to Clean Your House in 30 Minutes and Get an Aerobic Workout.

Elaine home-schooled all five of her children, totaling 11 years of teaching at home. In addition, she owns a Production and Public Relations Firm and has produced a tribute video called, Heroes of Ground Zero with her two sons three weeks after 9/11.  The 9/11 tribute was nominated for an Emmy.

Elaine holds a black belt in Karate, and holds many titles both in the national and international arenas.

Comments

[Kimberly Rosenberg]

Elaine,
I was moved and inspired by your story; you really have been through a lot! To come out of a financial rut and back on track not just once, but twice, is quite a feat and I’m sure you have some great advice for women looking to go into business independently. You went in with determination and drive, and came out with results. I also admire the free service you offered for your sick clients. You have a true passion for your job. It’s a long road for any businesswoman, but with guidance and can-do attitude, it is absolutely possible to succeed.

I personally just started using Microsoft Office Live Small Business to take my business online, and I must say I would recommend this to any woman looking to expand their business or start it up through the vast outlet of the web. The features are easy to figure out, and it’s all free! Say you wanted to create a page with customized HTML, a host for your business e-mails and register it all under www.elainesamericanmaid.com. OLSB can do this all for you, and it’s free! It’s an incredibly effective tool for any upstart entrepreneur on a tight budget, and it’s really user-friendly; no need to hire a web designer!

If you or any of your readers want to check it out, visit
http://smallbusiness.officelive.com

We know how tough it can be for women out there, but it really doesn’t have to be! Your story is inspiring, and your achievements are motivating. We can only hope more women go for it and start their business today. Now, I work with Microsoft, so if you or any of your readers have any questions, you can direct them to my personal email: [email protected] I wish you continued success, Elaine, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Regards,
Kimberly