Exploring Life & Business with Stephanie Bowen of Dust to Diamonds House Cleaning

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Bowen.

Hi Stephanie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
In 2011 at the young age of 22, I was going through a tumultuous divorce that unfortunately did involve my older children. My ex-in-laws and I worked together at this time, and the environment quickly became hostile for me.

Battling to find childcare for my two children I started looking for a more flexible job and career. One that would allow me to be there for my children without harsh punishments. This is when I began cleaning. At first, I did work for another local company. However, the terms we agreed upon when hired fell to the waste side and I felt the desire to begin building my clientele around 2013.

To be honest, I fell into my business by the grace of God and the need to be there for my children. I had no clue what I was doing at this time. I stayed as a solo cleaner for many years, originally known as Simply Clean. However, this was before I knew about trademarking, and before I knew it there was another business in existence with that name. Dawn the birth of Dust to Diamonds House Cleaning LLC.

Learning from hands-on experience, and advice from others I found myself to be well-educated in the entrepreneur scene, and my business became trademarked, registered, and insured in 2015. Around 2018 I began bringing on cleaners to aid in the continuing demand for services. Then, enter the pandemic and Covid-19.

Before the pandemic, my business had me and five additional cleaners. To date, I have become a primarily solo cleaner again. As with many other small businesses, it’s been a true struggle to remain staffed since 2020. Despite the setbacks of the pandemic though, my business continues to flourish. Finishing my degree has always been a life goal of mine.

In 2005 at the age of 17, my father tragically passed away in our family home. I promised him I would still go to college somehow and make something of myself one day. With the pandemic and my older two children virtually in school, I decided to enroll back into college and finally start working on my degree. I received my associate degree in business in August 2022. Now, I am currently working on completing my bachelor’s in Communication and a project management certification.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Struggles are plenty when one is a business owner. From staffing to payroll, taxes, registration, social media, inventory, or insurance, there is a lot that a business is responsible for. One struggle I have faced since the pandemic is burnout. Being so short-staffed has left me working an intense amount. One does not have to do everything and to continue to grow, it was pertinent I accept this and begin allocating tasks elsewhere.

In 2022 I hired a virtual assistant to help with online communication and scheduling. Hiring is also another aspect that seems to not lighten up over the last two years, but I just stand grounded in the hope I have that this will turn around for all of us small business owners. A final current struggle to my business I am currently overseeing but would like to hire out is bookkeeping and accounting.

While I am knowledgeable enough to keep my books up to date, it’s not my area of expertise, and I feel outsourcing is most beneficial to open up my plate for other tasks needing my attention. No one ever promised us this life would be easy. But, with hard work, good morals and values, faith, and hope, I truly believe all the struggles are worth the joys they may later produce. To grieve is to also know you have loved. To struggle is to know you are trying. Don’t give up.

As you know, we’re big fans of Dust to Diamonds House Cleaning LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Dust to Diamonds House Cleaning LLC is a residential and small commercial cleaning company in Colorado Springs. My business feels almost like a deep personal relationship, like a mother to child. I am responsible for all of it. From the logo, website, and social media to our operating procedures, step by step I am developing a business I am proud of, and that is hopefully a safe space for those in a busy lifestyle to still find some income and feel valued in this chaotic life.

I am a certified professional house cleaner through ISSA/ARCSI and require my long-term cleaners to complete this certification as well. One thing about the cleaning industry that frustrates me is the lack of regulation. Just about anyone can say they are a “professional house cleaner”. Any other service industry such as plumbers, HVAC, hairstylists, estheticians, and mechanics all have to complete certification courses before they can claim they are a “professional”. This does not apply to the cleaning industry, and it blows my mind.

Some families spend most of their lives trying to purchase a home, it’s a big accomplishment that is worth a lot of money, and should be taken seriously. I think and my cleaners must be knowledgeable about the tools and chemicals we use and what surfaces they are safe to be used on. There is a lot of science behind properly cleaning, and I’d like to see this industry more regulated.

Dust to Diamonds is known for bringing peace into homes and families helping to reduce stress and increase healthy living lifestyles. No two cleanings are the same, and I like building estimates to each client’s desires. Some want their entire home cleaned from top to bottom no matter the price, and some are looking for just a few hours of a helping hand. We are known for listening and communicating with clientele their expectations and delivering the wanted results. Helping our community to take homes and lives from Dust to Diamonds!

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
Summertime as a child was always a time to look forward to. Throughout the school year, I was primarily an only child. This can get very lonely. During the summer though, my two step-sisters who lived in Nebraska throughout the school year would come to visit Dad. During this time we would go to Six Flags, movies, have dinners, and play family games. It was a great time of connection for my family that I now hold dearly in my memories.

Pricing:

• $40 per hour per cleaner – Basic Cleaning
• $45 per hour per cleaner – Deep cleaning

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dusttodiamondshousecleaningcos.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/d2dllc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d2dllc/

Image Credits
Elise Odom