Coastal Cleaning Introduction

Brian 0:10

All right, well, welcome back to the Bero Beach Podcast. I'm Brian.

Shawna 0:13

And I'm Shauna.

Brian 0:14

And today we are sitting here with Kristen from the Coastal Cleaning. Now, Kristen, we're gonna get started here in just a second, but I want to give you a heads up. We were talking the other day, Sean and us, and you know, sometimes Kristen's Kristen's at is actually at our place right now as we're recording this. And uh, but you know, we sometimes we go to the business locations and do the podcast there, and we thought we were going to, I was going to prank you and text you and say, so hey, we got all the supplies for you. So when you show up, you we took we're gonna take some pictures of some dirty rooms and say we can't we're excited about doing the podcast and see how your company runs.

Shawna 0:47

But like we're gonna follow you around while you clean and ask you questions, and you can clean our whole house. Oh my gosh, like Vogue. No, wouldn't that be a great crank though?

Brian 0:59

That would be great. It came up because Shauna said, I have to clean the house before Kristen comes over tomorrow. I'm like, why don't we send her photos and act like that was the whole part of the podcast? She does the clean.

Meet Kristin Charles

Kristin 1:10

Yeah, that way we can clean it up. I was gonna have you guys come over to one of my Airbnbs and do it. We are booked up. Woohoo!

Brian 1:18

I'm excited to get into everything that you're doing. There's a lot here. But as we get started, I would love for you to take a take a you know a few seconds. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Kristin 1:27

Um, so I am a Florida native. I am 27 years old. I'm a Scorpio. No, I'm kidding. Me too. Um, I have owned coastal cleaning. I've been a cleaner for over five years now. Um, it started off as just a thing on the side to make a little bit of extra cash, and it turned into something that I loved. Um, I'm professionally trained in software. Loved it, loved it, loved it, and then hated it. Um I have a dog and four cats and two lizards. And gosh, all right. I'm I'm a very busy lady, that's for sure.

Lizards, Dogs + 500 Cats

Brian 2:06

Okay, we got a lot of questions just coming out of that. Like, this is what we love. Exactly. We love this. You know, this is this is gonna be a different episode because usually we split these up in three, but we're like, we're gonna roll this out as one episode, and so we're gonna really dive into all get to know you, what you do. Let's start with the lizards. What kind of lizards do you have?

Kristin 2:22

They're leopard geckos. Yeah, we rescued them just about two years ago from a home that wasn't taking care of them properly, and they have been a part of our family ever since.

Brian 2:31

So, okay, so what's your lizard's name?

Kristin 2:33

Sylvester, and then we also have Charmander. Charmander, that's awesome. That's cool.

Brian 2:39

That's cool. Awesome. Okay, so tell us about your dogs and your 500 cats.

Kristin 2:45

Oh, well, all of them are rescues. Um, Kennedy is my um my dog. She is the sweetest pit bull you ever meet in your entire life. Um, we got her, she was itty bitty. She was just about six to seven weeks old, the vet said, and she is a spoiled brat. And then I have four rescue cats. Um, we actually our newest edition, Craglen, um, is this tiny itty bitty little kitten. He is so sweet. He has some medical issues. So we're getting those resolved. And um, and then in November for my wedding anniversary, we got another bitty bitty little kitten. So we've got two kittens in the house, and then I have two older cats that I rescued as well. Um caliber, Koresh, or Cal we have Katina from oldest to youngest, Katina, Calibur, Kuresh, and then Craglin and Kennedy.

Shawna 3:42

Great names. Thank you. That's nice. So the big question is are all the cats getting along, the older ones and the babies?

Lost My Love For...

Kristin 3:50

There's always like a period of getting used to one another, of course, but yeah, they are tolerant. It's the older ones that you have to worry about usually, but they've been they've been pretty good.

Brian 4:03

Oh so Kristen, tell us okay, you said that you were professionally trained in software. What do you what what was that?

Experiences That Has Prepared You For Today

Kristin 4:11

I was doing nonprofit software for a while. Um, I loved being involved with the nonprofits, you know, helping them take care of their financials, their mailings, everything like that. And it just got to be really droning for a while. So I did that from 2020 up until last year in August. Um, and I don't know, I kind of just lost my love for it. It was just boring. It got boring. Yes. You know, holiday season is always, you know, the season forgiving, and that gets really, really busy. But I mean, I stayed generally busy with the software stuff. It just got to a point where I was just like, I I don't, I don't love this anymore. I was working remotely. I didn't have that kind of connection with people. Right. I couldn't really talk to them and see the smiles on their face. And while I knew I was making people happy, I didn't feel it myself. I was getting a little bit of a cabin fever, you know. So um, just about the same time that I got my software job, I started cleaning on the side for extra money just so I could get out of the house. Cause when COVID hit, I'm not a person that can just stay home, be home 100% of the time. I have to go out, I have to talk to people, I have to joke around with them. Um, so I started cleaning houses on the side. And that kind of just grew over the years. I was doing it by myself. And then last year in August, I said, you know, and I'm done with the software. I'm going to take a huge leap. Yeah. I'm going to start an actual business and not just keep doing this on the side. And now we have grown so exponentially. I now have three employees aside from myself and my wife does some clerical work. But um, yeah, we have a total of four cleaners now, including myself. That's amazing. Great job. Huge, huge growth. And I cannot thank everybody around me who has supported me in it enough. Because I mean, going from losing a $55,000 a year salary to not knowing where you're gonna be next month, that was a huge leap of faith. And I didn't know if I could do it. And here I am. Yeah, you did it.

Brian 6:30

So, Kristen, let me ask you this from uh from your history so far, from everything that you've done up till now, uh, what are some experiences that you would you could look back and see, wow, this actually helps shape me for and prepare you for where you are now?

What It's Like Running a Cleaning Business

Kristin 6:46

I would say that that's hard, but there's been multiple instances where I I've kind of wanted to just give up. Like I'm like I'm terrified, I'm scared. One day I was on the phone with my dad, who is also an entrepreneur, he owns his own painting business, has for years. Um, and I said, Dad, I I really don't know what the heck I'm doing. I have no idea what I'm doing. And he he talked me through it and he uh told me that he had full faith in me. And knowing what I know now about the people around me and how supportive they are, I feel like I should have done it years ago. Yeah. So just that one conversation with my dad, and then another conversation with Michelle from MS Gavin. Yeah, Michelle Butler, she has been so supportive. Her and Joe both so supportive of me ever since she met me. And I get to bounce ideas off of them. So, you know, having those conversations with people have really and seeing their support have molded how I do business, how good of a business I run, and how I interact with people. So that's beautiful.

Brian 8:00

All right, so this okay, so let's go ahead and talk about more about what you're doing today. Let's really lean into the business side today, like the behind the scenes. I mean, even when you walked in here, this is my favorite part. You walked in here already. This was before we hit record. You're already on your phone responding to Airbnb stuff, and uh so and then running a cleaning thing. Like we unfortunately didn't Shauna didn't leave the place a mess where we could see how your process worked. But maybe next time we talked about doing these viral drop-ins, maybe you can drop in and do a cleaning and I'm gonna drop in over here and see how dirty y'all be. Let's not air that's bad signals.

Shawna 8:37

Actually, I think that's worse. So what I used to clean as well. So I used to clean, I I don't know, I don't know how to judge if it was full time or not, because I was doing it kind of on my own. Like, you know, um, what do you call that? Like uh like I wasn't working for a business, I was just doing it like for people independently. Independent, just independently. Yeah, you were solo cleaner. Yeah, so that's what I was for for about five years. Solo cleaner. Okay, yeah. So I was doing that and I was cleaning a lot, like so much. Then when I got home, I couldn't even think about cleaning. Didn't even want to look at it. My house was way worse when I was cleaning professionally. I'm right.

Brian 9:11

Well, how much do you charge an hour?

Shawna 9:14

I'm expensive. No, actually, I'm I'm not expensive, but you should be. I try not to be. I it's really it's a hard bounce to strike, isn't it? Because if you're really good at it and people really appreciate, like you have to be able to trust someone in your house. So if you're a good cleaner, like that's what Brian always told me. He's like, you are not charging enough. Yeah, you are not charging enough. Who are you charging? Um, so when I first got started, I was charging 25 an hour. Oh, girl, that's what people were making in the 90s.

Brian 9:43

That's what I told her. I was like, babe, I was like, no, no, no.

Shawna 9:46

No, and then I was like trying, I was like, okay, maybe I'll go to 30. I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I was like, it's fine.

What Was It Like When You Decided To Start Your Business

Kristin 9:52

I've done a lot of market research and I've done a lot of pricing strategy. I I did a few different ways. You know, I did um like a flat pricing for a while. I ended up losing a lot of money doing it that way. Really? Um, I I started tiering my services. So deep cleans would be 50 an hour, compost construction were 60 to 75 an hour, regular cleanings were 40 an hour, Airbnb's always got a flat price so that you knew what to charge the gas. But now I have dumbed it down to $40 an hour per cleaner. Um, I try to stay just profitable enough and just cheap enough to where the regular people can afford to have us come in. So I mean, it's probably not my worth, but I'm still making a profit. My employees get paid properly, yeah, and the client is happy, and that's the most important thing, right?

Brian 10:50

Yeah. So take me back to okay. I mean, you're still in like well the first year. So so I was gonna say take me back to the early days, but take me back to the very, very early, like when you first started. What was it like? Like you say, making that decision, like, okay, I'm gonna step through this door, not knowing what's on the other side.

Kristin 11:07

Haunting. Thinking about that, that just the first month, even after leaving my programming job and the worry of how am I gonna pay my bills? How am I gonna do this? How am I gonna do that? It's haunting to think about because now, I mean, there's still just that general worry like if I lose 10 clients this week, how am I going to pay everybody properly? How am I going to be able to buy this, buy that? But now that I know what we can do, and I know that we we've retained clients from that I've started cleaning for four or five years ago and keeping that consistency and that quality. I don't know. Thinking about that first month, I was absolutely terrified. I was having panic attacks in the middle of the night, waking up three o'clock in the morning, like, what am I doing? Am I am I doing what is right for me and my family and most importantly, other people? Because at that point I was looking for my first employee. And that's a big stuff. It was yeah, it adds a whole nother level.

Brian 12:16

Now you're gonna put your responsibility of taking care of you and your family. Now you have other people and their family that I'm responsible for.

Kristin 12:23

I have to make sure that I can pay them so that they can pay their bills. And it it is definitely a weight that I did not anticipate at all. I did not, I still sometimes I'm like, what the heck am I doing? But I kind of laugh it off now instead of like sitting in the corner rocking and crying, you know? But with cleaning, you know, when you hire somebody for your retail store, okay, you walk them through the job, you train them, they know what to do because they're coming coming to the same place every single day. With cleaning, we're going to different houses all the time. We're going to different Airbnbs. Every house is different, every owner, every client is different. They want different things. So there's no real training that I can give you.

Shawna 13:12

That will give you everything.

Kristin 13:13

That would give you everything. Now I'll teach you everything that I know, but I'm gonna have to take you to each of these individual houses, and it becomes a real um investment when I hire somebody. So I have to be a little picky because if the quality isn't there, the communication isn't there, I have to know within the first week is it going to be worth it to me to continue? Or should I just take it on the clients, continue taking on the clients myself, and then and end up yourself out?

Brian 13:43

Yeah, that's where you become your own bottleneck, right? You're like, I can't grow because it's all gotta be me.

Kristin 13:48

That's when you own a job, not a business.

Brian 13:51

Exactly.

What Have Been Some of the Challenges & Lessons You've Experienced

Shawna 13:52

And it's really hard with cleaning because I think that most people, I would say probably most that get into cleaning, it's because they're good at it and they they see it's so rewarding. Isn't it? It's so rewarding. The sense of accomplishment is uh out out of the woods, like out of out of out into space, like just because you and like when your client comes home and they're so happy that it smells good and it looks pretty and it's sparkly, it hits the reward center in your brain just right, like it does, and then but then to like hand that over to someone else is so difficult.

Brian 14:27

Yeah, so this cleans in a great to the next part of the conversation too. So I was gonna ask you like what's some of the challenges and lessons that you've experienced so far.

Kristin 14:35

With Airbnbs, it's actually pretty simple. I I consider myself a specializer in Airbnbs. I love them, I love every bit of it, and it might be an absolute mess sometimes, you know, like not actually a mess, but very confusing, especially with setting up a new Airbnb. I love doing that stuff. Um, most recently, I just did a two-bedroom, two-bathroom here in Vero. Um, we're getting all the licensures. So you've got to get all the paperwork together, you've got to get everything like that. I set up the listing, and and then from then on out, the owner doesn't, it's pretty much hands-off for them. Um, they sit back, they collect the money. I sit back, collect the money. If there's an issue, I go over there. The most challenging part about Airbnbs is I have to say the scheduling because you want consistent regular clients, you want to be on a schedule with them, but with Airbnbs, it's a little different. Sometimes somebody will check out on a Tuesday, but then somebody's coming in on a Tuesday and checking out on Friday. So I might clean a place two to three times a week.

Shawna 15:45

Yeah.

Hoarders, Birds, and Screening

Kristin 15:46

And I have to fit them into the schedule some way, somehow. So yeah, that is tricky. I didn't think about that. Being an Airbnb co-host is really rewarding as well because on top of the cleaning and feeling good about it, you know, I want the guests to walk into a really comfortable place. I have a little bit more control over the communication about the um supplies that are in the house. Like we don't want to put single ply, thousand rolls, Scott, toilet paper in exactly. We want nice good toilet paper. So that's what I'm gonna buy and that's what I'm gonna bill you for. Yeah. Um, I have a lot of a little bit more control over the pricing or the um the calendar itself. So I can give us an extra day if necessary in between, as long as it's not booked. Um, with residentials, it's kind of just like we go in, we take care of the stuff that the client wants done. And I mean, of course, it's not copy and paste, it's not very cookie-cutter. Every house is different, but generally you walk in, you see it. If it's dirty, you clean it. That's that's something that I've always said to my girls is if it's dirty, clean it. It doesn't matter. One challenging thing that I found this year was commercial cleaning. I didn't know, I didn't really know how to clean. I have never done anything commercial until last year when I started gathering commercial clients. Had no idea how to price it, had no idea what exactly to do other than everything because I'm used to going top to bottom, right? Making sure everything is perfect. Commercial cleanings, they pay less because they want you to do less. For someone like me, that's really hard. It's hard because I want to do everything. I don't want to just do dusting surfaces and floors. That's that's icky. But I had to get used to that because they they have a budget, of course. I have to meet that budget and not kill myself doing it. So that was that was a challenge. But I love my commercial clients, they have been absolutely awesome to me, and I'm very grateful.

How Kristin Works With Hoarders & Why

Brian 18:37

So let me ask you this. Okay, have you ever walked into and I'm asking this out of my own personal experiences because I did HVAC in Ohio for a while, and I remember walking into one house, and it was it was the only hoarder house that I walked into, and it was so bad. And I was like, oh my gosh, like literally, like we walked in the basement and it was from the floor all the way to the ceiling, and we had like a little pathway that we could walk through, even found like got by the furnace. I don't know, people in Florida might not be like, What's a furnace? It gives you heat.

Speaker 3 19:08

Not around here, they know around here.

Brian 19:10

But like uh, I remember getting by the furnace, and there was a birdcage, and the birds were all skeletons that were in it, so it was like, this is so bad. Have you any have you ran into situations like that? And like, how do you is there anything that you do to kind of do any screening evaluation? Yeah, yeah, screening process. That's what right, that's what a word I was looking for.

Operation Clean Home

Kristin 19:30

Most of the time I do a walkthrough, not every single time. Um, usually it will involve me going over there, taking a look at the place, seeing exactly what they might need so I can make notes. Um, but this kind of opens up into the next part of our um a little bit of history about me. My grandparents were hoarders. My grandparents were floor to ceiling, tiny itty bitty little walkway through the entire house. Um, and growing up around that, and in that, I used to go l live with them during the summer. Live living in that and experiencing that definitely was uh um uh traumatizing to say the least, which I think where my need to clean came from.

Brian 20:26

That's interesting. I'm so glad you're sharing this because like I actually skipped that question because I'm like, she already told us how she got started, like why she got into cleaning, but you didn't.

Kristin 20:34

Well, it's very layered with me because there's there's reasons why I clean, and then there's reasons why I volunteer to clean, there's reasons why I do all of the things that I do. It's very layered. Um I'm just that kind of person, like it's down deep in there, but um yeah, please continue. Like this is this is no, I um I've done three hoarder homes now where we've done clean outs and we're about to do another one very soon for a local veteran. So the program that I have, Operation Clean Home. Uh, we provide free cleanings to in-need and disabled veterans. I met a woman uh through Realtor who whose son hoarded up the home and trapped her in her bedroom for three years.

Speaker 3 21:23

Oh no.

Kristin 21:23

So she's got like a bedroom and a bathroom that's all one. He trapped her in that room for about three years, hadn't been outside in three years. She is a disabled veteran, she's an off-the-knee amputee marine. Um, she's an incredible woman and has become a part of my family. I I can't go a day without talking to her. We FaceTime every other day, we're texting pretty much all day back and forth. Um, we send memes to each other. We um she has just been a good thing that has happened so far this year. Um we're gonna be cleaning out her house very soon. We're going to take care of the yard. We're going to pressure wash the house. We are installing a bunch of wheelchair um ramps. Ramps. Thank you. Thank you.

unknown 22:20

Yeah.

Kristin 22:20

The brain. Um we're installing wheelchair ramps. We are replacing multiple of her appliances and some of her large furniture. Um and I love I love huge projects like that, but it's a lot for one person. So not only am I and a couple members of my team coming, but we also have a bunch of volunteers from the Kiwanis Club, from the high school key clubs, um St. Vincent DePaul. And Habitat for Humanity Restore coming to help us and gonna start replacing her stuff. Um, there's a fridge that doesn't work. We don't know if her washer and dryer works. There's gonna be a lot of stuff that is gonna be done. I am so grateful for the opportunity. She was so strong and so uh brave to reach out because the realtor that she was talking to, she was about to sell the house, stuff and everything, just sell it and get out. It was it was really hard for her. And then the realtor told her about me, and she called me and was so defeated, felt so defeated, depressed, sad. I go visit that that lady now, and we're laughing, and we are she is smiling, she is so happy now, uh, compared to when I first talked to her. Just seeing that impact, the the impact that one person can make on somebody who really, really needs it is I don't even know the word for it. Just fulfilling. Yeah, that's a good that's a good word fulfilling for sure. That's something that you can you can look on my Facebook page for an event. Yes, that's so cool. That is so cool. And I'll be trying more. We um we service six veterans, including now Sonia, um, in the area once a month. We always do follow-ups. So we'll go in, we'll do a deep clean, and then we follow up once a month and we go clean the veterans' homes. Um, and we take care of them. We make sure that they're doing okay. Because usually multiple of mine, four of them, they don't have any family. So I've kind of like, you are my grandparents now. I love that is beautiful. I love them.

Brian 24:39

Operation clean home. Clean home. Okay, you said your Facebook. Is that where people can find mostly about all the information about it? Like so, what is your Facebook page? What should I look up?

Kristin 24:49

It's Coastal Cleaning of Vero Beach.

Brian 24:52

Okay, Coastal Cleaning of Vero Beach.

Kristin 24:54

And then there's gonna be it's yellow and orange, and has a picture of my mug on there.

Brian 24:59

Okay, coffee bug or we'll we'll definitely put a link in the show notes too. So make sure you guys click it, check it out. Wow, that is so cool. Uh you already knew about this.

It's More Than Cleaning

Shawna 25:09

We have a ton of I did know about it, but I didn't know so much about it. Like you have mentioned that to me before, but yeah, that that sounds amazing.

Kristin 25:17

We have Nikki's Pizza going to provide lunch for us for our event. We have Vero Beach Dumpster Rental providing the dumpsters for us. We've got um there's just so many Mark Sammartino with Sudson Shine Car Wash. He has he is an integral part of this. He is absolutely phenomenal. Him and his dad and Richard um Richard uh Schlit, I think his last name is. They've been absolutely amazing to work with to help Sonia because one person can't do it all on their own. So with projects like this, you need a band of good people with good communication skills for sure. And um, they've been absolutely amazing.

Brian 26:02

Yeah, so let me ask you this like have you ever thought that your cleaning, you might have already, but it did you ever think that your cleaning was gonna be solving a problem more than just cleaning?

Kristin 26:12

Not at first. Not at first. She she thanked me. I I told her to stop thanking me. Like, stop. I'm I'm I'm here now. You don't, it's fine. But she thanks me all the time for all of the people that I've introduced her to, and uh how wonderful I've been and how amazing this entire experience, like gearing up to do it, has been for her. And um, that is very fulfilling all in of itself. Her her words to me, she's just been so humble and grateful, and she's always asking, Well, how do I repay you? How do I repay you? And what I told her was Sonia, you you did. You did a long time ago when you signed your life away in sacrifice for America. That is how you you paid us before you even think thought that this was gonna happen.

Shawna 27:11

So what an excellent answer to it's hard to know what to say in situations like that.

Kristin's Hobbies & Shoutouts

Kristin 27:19

Like, what exactly that self-sacrifice to me, no, my grandfather served in Vietnam, and that self-sacr sacrifice it hits home. Like I loved my grandfather, and he he he passed away quite a few years ago. But I loved my grandpa, he was a great guy, a drunk, but a fun one. Um he and he made a really good impact on my life and who I was. But seeing him go through brain cancer, going and helping him as a teenager. I was just a teenager living down in West Palm with my dad, and going and helping him at his house. I didn't I didn't know that I'd be doing this years and years later, but that's where it kind of it kind of came from, you know. And I just I love it. I love everything that's and this is cool.

Brian 28:09

I love that you're doing this for the community because I I hadn't heard about it. I think you mentioned it to me a little bit, but Sean doesn't usually tell me too much, so that way it's all new to me as well.

Shawna 28:18

Yeah, exactly.

Brian 28:19

So uh so thank you so much for doing that. Uh that is so cool. That's so cool. And I and I know that I understand, I can kind of get a glimpse of how it's rewarding for you too, even the connections, because like my grandfather was a veteran, and I miss him being around because like the stories and you can be able to connect with them. So you're meeting people from all over. That's you're learning more about their life, and that's a gift back to you too. It's just it's a beautiful thing. It is it's a beautiful thing. So thank you so much for what you're doing. Uh, and if anybody wants to find out more about it, make sure you reach out to Kristen for sure.

Shawna 28:54

So, when you're not working, what do you love to do? Stay at home and play with my dog.

Kristin 29:00

I love to do that.

Brian 29:02

How does all your 50 cats feel about that and your two lizards?

Kristin 29:06

Do you insist on insulting me?

Brian 29:08

No, I'm not gonna be. I brought the cats down.

Shawna 29:10

It went from 500 to 50. He's getting closer to that. You said a million earlier.

Kristin 29:15

I could have you said a million, maybe I said 500. You only have four cats. I'm not crazy yet. This is the line. The low the line has been drawn, okay? Four cats, more than four cats.

Shawna 29:24

You're a little bit asked for it now, Kristen. You know a kitten's gonna come along and need you now. Because you've just made a line. No, not another one, please. My pocket. I know pets are expensive. The vet. The vet, yeah. Thank you, vets, for all you do. But can we get a coupon? Yeah.

Brian 29:45

So tell us about some of the other like endless galleries, some other places you like to visit sometimes. If you like to go out sometimes at a restaurant, I don't know, or whatever. If there's any place like that that you want to give a shout out to.

Kristin 29:57

My favorite restaurant in the area is Green Marlin. Really? It is. You're right here. I love uh what do you like to get from Green Marlin?

Brian 30:05

Oysters. Oysters, okay.

Kristin 30:07

Every single time I'm there. Yeah, there is a ton of other small businesses that I could say, like Treasure Lane Boutique. Kelly is amazing. Treasure Lane Boutique is out on the beach, Beachland Boulevard. Um, beautiful, beautiful stores, just gorgeous. Oh, um, Cindy's pets. Cindy's pets. Have you been there? I'm trying. Oh, that's where I go for my crickets for my lizard.

Shawna 30:33

Okay, so that is um that's not very far away from here, right? Okay, we went there um and they have birds. I have been going there since I was a kid.

unknown 30:43

You have?

Kristin 30:44

I have been going there since I was. I really want a bird. No, you don't.

Shawna 30:47

Yes, I do. No, you don't. I'm telling you. I agree, right?

Brian 30:50

No, you don't. That's what I'm saying. We really don't.

Shawna 30:52

We were getting along so well, Kristen. I'm so sorry, but I have to deny you this. I love them. I know I I love them too.

Kristin 30:59

You want to cuddle it like this. No. My grandfather had a bird, and that bird was a complete a-hole. They can be, can't they? Only liked him. That was it. Nobody him and Cher. Anytime Cher was on the radio, it was like, Yes, Cher. No, that was it.

Shawna 31:19

He didn't. I have made friends with my outside birds, so I guess I'll just yeah, we'll do that.

Brian 31:24

Like the outside birds are cool.

Shawna 31:25

Outside birds are fine. Yeah.

Brian 31:27

Outside birds are okay.

Kristin 31:28

I made friends with my squirrels, so that's that that's okay. That's fine. Keep them outside though.

Shawna 31:33

All right. Yeah.

Brian 31:34

All right. So, Kristen, as we get ready to wrap up, this has been great. We've thank you so much for joining us for the podcast. Thank you so much. This has been great. We've learned so much about you and what you're doing. I'm gonna turn the last question over to Shauna. Go ahead, Shauna.

How to Connect

Shawna 31:47

Okay. What do you um hope for the future of your business? So, like in the next couple of years, what are you hoping for?

Kristin 31:54

I'm hoping to stay consistent, stay uh affordable and keep growing. I just want to keep growing to the point where I can step back and stop cleaning because of my medical issues, personal uh medical issues. I want to be able to step back, let the business do its thing, keep the quality up, stay consistent, and just keep growing.

Shawna 32:23

That's a great goal. Yeah, yeah. You can work on the business, not in the business, right? That's it. I don't want to own a job forever. Right? Exactly. That's great. Oh, it was so great talking to you. It was good talking to you. I was like choking back tears half the time, though. I'm so sorry. I do, I do kind of have that effect on yeah.

Brian 32:44

I was just like, Oh, this is great. So again, everybody the business and how they can learn more about you and connect. Hey, I need I need my house cleaned. I need a smile. Someone needs to put a smile on my face so I can look at this mess. And next time ours is a mess, we might be giving you a call. Yeah, really. I'd like people know how they can connect with you.

Kristin 33:00

My name is Kristen Charles. My company is Coastal Cleaning of Vero Beach. You can find us on Facebook under Coastal Cleaning of Vero Beach, or you can just call me. Um, my phone number is 772-213-9845.

Brian 33:15

Thank you very much. You guys, everybody, thank you for tuning in to the Vero Beach podcast. Make sure you click that review button. Let us know. Let everybody know how much you love your Vero Beach podcast.

Shawna 33:24

And with that, catch you next time, neighbor.