Ep. 20 Ingrid Morales on Leading with Transparency and Trust

Unlock the secrets of entrepreneurial success with Ingrid Morales, the inspiring President and CEO of Marily Cleaning Service, as she shares her trailblazing story of transforming a local Virginia Beach cleaning business into a trusted name in the community. Ingrid's journey, filled with hurdles like launching a venture without prior experience, offers valuable lessons in resilience and innovation. Through her candid narrative, listeners gain insight into the critical elements of building trust with clients and the significance of having a reliable team. With almost a decade of experience by 2025, Ingrid emphasizes the invaluable role of advisors, the necessity of effective systems, and the strategies she's developed for fostering a dedicated workforce.

Prepare to have your cleaning service expectations redefined as we explore the client-centered approach that sets Marily Cleaning Service apart. Ingrid reveals how convenience and transparency are at the heart of her business model—offering same-day quotes and a streamlined booking process through www.marilyservices.com. Listeners will discover the meticulous attention to detail that ensures clients know exactly what to expect, thanks to personalized quotes and a comprehensive service checklist. Whether it's residential, Airbnb, or post-construction cleaning, Ingrid's commitment to service excellence and community trust shines through, making this episode a must-listen for aspiring entrepreneurs and anyone seeking reliable, quality cleaning services.

Marily Cleaning Services

Ingrid Morales

Virginia Beach, VA 

www.marilyservices.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Denise Taylor.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hello, welcome to Good Neighbor Podcast, Virginia
Beach.
Today I'm with Ingrid Morales,the president and CEO of Marily
Cleaning Service.
Hi, Ingrid, Welcome.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hi, how are?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
you this morning Good .

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Good.
Tell me a little bit about yourbusiness and the services you
all provide.
Yes, so we are in VirginiaBeach.
It is called Marily CleaningService Merrilee for my middle
name and we provide residentialcleaning service.
This is a service that weprovide for residential homes
and we do maintenance cleaning,deep cleanings, move-outs,

(00:58):
move-ins.
We also do Airbnb andshort-term rentals and
post-construction homes,post-remodels.
So our job is to go deep, cleanand clean everything and just
make our client's life easier.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Perfect.
How many years have you been inbusiness in Virginia Beach?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
We have been.
September 2025 is going to be10 years, so yes,
congratulations, that's awesome,thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Thank you very much, and you do serve us quite a few
homes down at the oceanfront,which is.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yes, we provide our service on good neighborhoods in
the oceanfront that's Northern,the oceanfront that's northern
um cavalier we do um cruatineneighborhoods.
So great neck area so weprovide all virginia beach,
norfolk and some areas ofchesapeake what would you want

(01:56):
to tell our listeners wasconception about your services
yeah.
So I think sometimes, uh, we tryto do a service and build
relationship with our clients.
So we're not just a maid thatgoes to your home and, you know,
just go and cleans bathroomsand put the house together.
We try to be that a smallbusiness and a community where

(02:22):
people and our clients can trustus and trust our clients and
our cleaners and, you know, feelsafe.
For me it's more about feelingsafe.
I am a mom, I have two littleboys, so for me, who's coming to
my house is so important andyou know our home, it's our safe

(02:45):
place.
So at the end of the day, nomatter if it's only a cleaning
service, I want to make surethat our clients feel safe and
protect and secure and that, atthe end of the day, whoever is
going to their home is going tobe in good hands.
And it's just not aboutcleaning toilets or you know,

(03:09):
it's about building arelationship and feel great
about the service.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
I love that.
Tell me how many current, howmany employees do you currently
have servicing Virginia Beach.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
So right now we do have 15.
And during summertime, which isfor us it starts around May,
and that goes up into like 20,20 girls cleaning, excuse me and
you know that is for theshort-term rentals.

(03:44):
So we do work with certainproperty managers around the
area and, um, and yeah that youknow our volume just go, goes up
with the short-term rentals.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yes, um, how long does a typical cleaning take, a
home cleaning take?
Well, that depends.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Um, it can be, um, you know, it can be two, three,
four hours, depending on thehouse.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
What can you tell me in terms of cause?
You're a small business ownerin Virginia beach.
Um can you describe onehardship or life challenge
starting this business inVirginia beach that our
listeners can take away?

Speaker 3 (04:25):
So I always said, when I first started, maybe it
was like not knowing how to runa business and like the
miscommunication or informationthat you can have.
So I always said at thebeginning I didn't really know
how to like run run the business.

(04:47):
You know you start a businessand then with the time you see
that you're like then you'reaccounting and then you're
customer service and then you'relike hiring employees or, you
know, doing payroll and allthose things.
So I would say if someone feelsthat it's during that point I

(05:07):
would say feeling and findinggood people that can just give
you the right information sothat you can do things right at
the end of the day.
So I would say in the beginning, not knowing what I was doing,
it was really hard and it tookme, you know, years to like get

(05:28):
a system and get where we are.
But at the end of the day, whenyou find good people to help
you build in information, Ithink that's probably the best
thing you can have in yourbusiness.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
And how do you think would you tell business owners
to keep people?
What have you done in yourbusiness to help keep those good
people?

Speaker 3 (05:52):
So relationship is very important and be honest and
be transfer, transfer withpeople.
You know I I try to have goodrelationships and and be honest
with people and you know, feelif I feel uncomfortable or if I
feel that something is not right.
Have that relationship whereyou can just trust and and have

(06:16):
a conversation.
You know communication I mean Iknow we take that in with our
partners and you know, inmarriage, oh, communication is
the key.
Oh, communication is the key.
But, honestly, communication isthe key for everything with
your employees, with the peoplethat you're working with, with
your admin team.
So I would say, in general, foreverything, communication is

(06:39):
the key for success.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
What do you think your cleaning business?
How does it stand out fromother services in the area?
What can differentiate yourbusiness?

Speaker 3 (06:49):
So I try to again build that relationship with my
clients and make sure that myclients feel the same with the
cleaners they have.
So I am thankful that I'm notrotating employees all the time.
The cleaners I have, they havebeen with us with four, five,
six years, four years, four,five, six years, four years.

(07:12):
So I'm very picky about who Ihire because I know that they're
going to my clients homes.
So, um, having that, you know,having that line of like, having
my girls train and and they can, they know the values of the

(07:34):
company and, at the end of theday, having my clients feel safe
with whoever is going to theirhomes, talking on the phone with
me, talking in the computertext messages with my admin team
, talking in the computer textmessages with my admin team, and

(07:56):
then when they're receivingtheir cleaning and when they're
getting the cleaner in theirhome, they can feel safe about
that.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
So when a homeowner does have a get out service from
you, do they get the sameperson every time, or is it
something that switches off?

Speaker 3 (08:09):
So we try to keep the same cleaners as much as
possible.
Yes, we try to keep the samecleaners.
Unless you know, most of mycleaners are moms, or they have
an emergency with their kids ordoctor's appointments, or
they're sick or they need avacation.
Then we will always let theclient know.

(08:31):
Hey, you might see a differentface today, but it's for this
reason.
So we have a system that we cantext message with our clients
and we try to make it easier forthem so that we will always let
them know that.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Can you tell me outside of your very your
thriving business, tell me whatyou love about Virginia Beach?

Speaker 3 (08:56):
The security.
I love the culture.
I love the atmosphere of likegoing to a coffee shop and it
feel nice and feel calm.
And I love the people.
I love the community and I lovethe people.
I love the community.
I love that I can bring my kidsto the beach and just be okay

(09:25):
and feel safe and go and grab acup of coffee and ride a bike by
the oceanfront and just havethat.
You know, have that lifestyleof like feeling good of where
you live.
And I love the community, Ilove living in here, so I love
everything about virginia yeah,I love it.

Speaker 2 (09:39):
I feel very um blessed to be in this community.
Yeah, sure, um, let's see.
Tell our listeners how they canlearn more about using your
services so they can um alwaysemail us via um.

Speaker 3 (10:02):
It's marilycleaningservice at
gmailcom, or they can go to ourwebsite, marily servicescom, and
in there they can fill out aform.
So we need that form so justyou know more information about
the house and then, based onthat information, we will send
the quote to their email.
Okay, and they can always, youknow, see the prices.

(10:26):
We will always send a checklistso you know exactly what you're
having done in your home.
It's not not like just you knowrandom services.
No, we want to make sure thatclients know what they're having
done.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
And how quickly can you get to new business or to
new, sorry to new clients.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
So no, we can have an email today and then we can
always respond and send a quotethe same day to get them on the
schedule, maybe a couple of days, I would say thank you for
listening to the good neighborpodcast.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
to nominate your favorite local businesses to be
featured on the show, that'sGNPVirginiaBeach.
com, or call 757-797-8852.