Derreck, the owner of Hoven Mobile Cleaning, is telling me a story about his worst sofa cleaning experience.
“There was this landlord who asked me to clean his sofa set before the next tenant moved in. The house had been empty for a month.
“When I started cleaning the sofa, I realised it was crawling with maggots. The previous tenant had left food on the sofa, and it was completely infested.
“We had to steam clean the entire thing first, before we did the shampoo wash. But in the end, we got it clean again.”
Taking over the family business
From creepy maggots busting out of a sofa like in Alien, to hard-to-clean blood stains (only 5% chance of removal if left too long, according to Derreck), Hoven Mobile Cleaning has seen it all in their 30 years of operation.
Founded in 1986, Hoven Mobile Cleaning has seen a remarkable rise in business over the last decade, thanks to their focus on service availability (they operate 7 days a week, even on public holidays) and delivering great customer service.
Part of this meteoric growth is due to them listing their cleaning services on Recommend.my.
We caught up with Derreck to learn more about his business, how Recommend.my has helped them grow, and his advice for those who are keen on setting up their own business.
Tell us a little bit about your business.
I’ve been doing this for about 10 years. Our cleaning services include sofas, carpets and car seats.
Hoven was first founded by my father in 1986 – which is over 30 years ago. So as you can see, I’m the second generation in this business.
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Above: Spraying cleaning liquid on the sofa. Hoven makes their own cleaning detergents, and have different formulas that work on different types of stains. The detergents are calibrated to remove stains without damaging the fabric.
How’s business?
We’re doing really well! This industry is peaking and it’s at the stage where what people would call a “sunrise business”.
What are your plans for this business? How big do you intend it to be?
My vision is to franchise the business and to expand the business into bigger teams. Currently though, I’m focusing on the sales aspect of the business, and Recommend.my has definitely helped to boost my sales!
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Above: After adding detergent and activating it with a spray of water, the sofa is rinsed and vacuumed in one pass to avoid over-soaking the fabric
How did you discover Recommend.my?
I was browsing online and that’s when I discovered this amazing online servicing platform. And I decided to give it a try by joining as a Pro.
How is Recommend.my different from other servicing platforms?
The main difference is the frequency and quality of leads and requests. I also feel that the service and support team at Recommend have been really helpful, so I’m really grateful for their guidance.
How has your business grown since joining Recommend.my?
Since joining, we have served over 121 customers, and have a 5 out of 5-star rating from 17 customer reviews.
In fact, 30% of my business now comes exclusively from Recommend.my, and that’s no small figure! I need to triple my team size just to keep up with demand.
What tips would you give someone trying to start their business?
Have persistence and don’t give up, because it’s going to be one long and tough ride.
For example, don’t get mad and frustrated at customer complaints, instead, treat it as a learning experience and improve yourself.
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Above: Derreck shares a trick to clean carpets. Before using the vacuum, give the carpet a good brushing to loosen hairs and dirt.
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Above: Steam cleaning a mattress to kill germs and dust mites
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Above: The results of sofa cleaning on the left seat vs the “before-cleaning” right seat
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Above: Before and after cleaning a leather sofa
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Above: Before and after steam cleaning a queen-sized mattress.
Need someone to clean your sofa, mattress or carpet?
Do you have a stain on your sofa, mattress or carpet that you can’t seem to remove? From filthy sofas to seemingly unremovable blood stains on your carpet, our professional cleaners can help you to remove any stain. Request for a cleaning job from our cleaners now!
