Notes from Chris

Episode 2026

Ahmed Mezil always wanted to start a business, but felt discouraged because society taught him that businesses had to solve a big world problem. He also heard you needed to have millions of dollars in investment money to make a go of it.

But like so many of our listeners, Ahmed learned that it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

One day in 2017, a friend sent him a Reddit article about earning money through “local services.” You know, things like yard care, tree cutting, and taking away unwanted items. This article contained a 30-day plan he could use to get his first customers.

Ahmed decided to go with cleaning. He figured it was a big market, and almost anybody could be a customer. He chose the name Hellamaid for his business because the domain was available for only $4 on GoDaddy. And it worked. That $4 domain name has helped Ahmed gross over $2 million.

He started cleaning houses on the side during his lunch breaks while balancing his full-time job as a research lab technician at the local university in Guelph, Ontario—a small city of 150,000 people about an hour south of Toronto. When he wasn’t cleaning, Ahmed would distribute fliers to get more customers.

At first, he was only cleaning three to five houses a week but as his business grew, he needed extra help. He decided to hire some other cleaners as independent contractors—not as employees, because he didn’t want the hassle of all the government paperwork. He also didn’t have enough clients yet to guarantee anybody full-time hours.

So he began sub-contracting out his jobs to other cleaners that he found by posting ads on Kijiji. It’s a platform similar to Thumbtack in the United States. Ahmed would search for cleaning services, contact them about the cleaning job he needed to fill, negotiate a price for them to do the job, and come to a deal..

Basically he was using the Uber model, focusing on building a top-down operation that could work with a lot of different contractors and many, many clients. He later added Virtual Assistants from the Philippines to help with operations and marketing, including social media and blog posting.

What sets Hellamaid apart from typical cleaning companies is the use of technology for online appointment booking. The company also uses a service called Twilio that send out SMS booking reminders and ratings requests.

Ahmed pays his cleaners well above average and treats them like employees. He strives to be the “Starbucks of cleaning services” where his main focus is on the happiness of his cleaners over everything else because he believes that will guarantee great service.

In 2022, annual revenue is expected to be between $1.7M and $2.2M, with a monthly revenue of close to $150,000.

Ahmed’s grateful for that Reddit article that got him started. He’s also glad he pushed beyond what society had led him to believe about business.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Ahmed’s Canadian based cleaning services at his website, Hellamaid.ca.

SEE ALSO:

• Hungover Accountant Starts “Morning After” Party Cleanup Service: Hungover after a night of hosting a party, an Australian accountant comes up with an unusual cleaning service that goes on to earn $30,000/year part-time.
• Reddit Post Inspires Airbnb Cleaning Service: Inspired by a post on Reddit, a Los Angeles man picks up the knowledge to start his own cleaning service.
• Retail Worker Cleans Up With Litter-Picking Business: Despite having little in the way of business skills, money, or education, this retail worker turns his father’s side hustle into a multiple six-figure business.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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