Good people know good people

To me, the most important aspect of our service, is that customers enjoy a consistent, high-quality experience. We strive to provide consistent, high-quality work, by the same housewife at each visit.

Unfortunately, finding high-quality employees who are able to provide that experience is not easy!

In the past, as one employee has gone, I've used a variety of sources to quickly find, hire, and train someone else to try to avoid an interruption in service to any client. This has led to problems with quality as well as longevity of employment. When I put someone in the field who just isn't ready, they often don't last more than two months.

At this time, all of our housewives are fantastic. We just don't have enough of them to cover our current list of clients. I have been working to fix this problem, trying to avoid issues I've had in the past.

While brainstorming with fellow business owners recently, we were discussing the best ways to find good employees when someone said, "Good people know good people." 

She was totally right! And, when I think of good people, who are some of the first ones that come to mind? You! Our clients are undoubtedly some of the best people I've ever met! Besides that, you know exactly what kind of people we are looking for... because you know who you would trust in your home.

How can you make this knowledge work for you? 

Keep reading!

I would like to propose an incentive for those of you who think you know someone who would be a great fit for Hire A Housewife...

Anyone who submits the name of a person who applies and is hired by Hire A Housewife, will be be credited with 10 hours of free housekeeping when the employee reaches their 6 month anniversary. 

*Just a side note: It is against our policy to have friends and family members clean each other's homes. So the person you refer would not provide you services.

In the mean time, while I am working to find, hire, and train the right good people for Hire A Housewife, new clients and some current clients will be placed on our waiting list. 

We would rather ask you to wait for service and risk losing you, than providing you with sub-par service and lose you for sure, with good reason.

I am posting our current employment ad below. 

CLICK HERE

To submit someone for referral!

Hire A Housewife is hiring again for the Greater Peoria Area!

You must:
Have general knowledge of how to clean prior to training
Have a good attitude 
Have a clean criminal record
Have your own vehicle
Have the ability to check your email regularly
Have the ability to follow directions
Pay attention to details
Intend to stay for an extended period of time.

We offer:
15 to 35 hours per week
Monday - Friday, between 7am and 5pm
Flexible scheduling
$10 per hour to start, before tips and incentive programs
Performance-based raises
You choose your own service area

Learn more about us at our website before you apply or interview: www.hireahousewifepeoria.com

To apply: Send a resume and cover letter to kindall@hireahousewifepeoria.com

No phone calls please.

Seminar on Breaking Through Barriers

Many of you have read the post from my personal blog about how God showed me my worth and healed me of codependency earlier this year. If you haven't, you can see it here:

Unlovable

In the post I mention that I went to see a professional for help, and that is where the breakthrough occurred. I left the word "professional" in the post as I wanted others who needed help to reach out in their own way, whether that be a doctor, a counselor, a pastor, etc. I purposely left that open to interpretation.

However, I do want to introduce you to the professional that I used, who I believe can help anyone achieve big breakthroughs in a short amount of time.

Daryl Carlson is a Meta Coach here in Peoria, IL. In his video here, he explains exactly how Meta-Coaching works and what he can do for you.

Self Leadership enhanced by Meta-Coaching
Learn more at my website www.itsyourbrain.com
Posted by Your Brain Unlimited on Friday, February 13, 2015

If you think what he is saying sounds interesting and you are interested in learning more about him and what he does, I want to invite you to attend his seminar on August 4th on Leading Yourself Through Change: Busting Through Barriers. The cost is $29, and very worth your time!

Click HERE for Seminar Information

If you can not make the seminar, I would like to encourage you to take advantage of Daryl's offer for a no obligation, free first session. Check out his website!

Your Brain Unlimited

I want to add that this post and endorsement of Daryl and Your Brain Unlimited was not solicited in any way. I very much believe in what he does and saw a huge and exciting change in my own life after only a couple of sessions.

Don't let the term "leader" make you shy away. Being a good self-leader, will help your succeed in life, whether you ever want to lead others or not.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Have a blessed day!

Exciting News!

We have exciting news!

Hire A Housewife is currently in the running for a $100,000 grant from Chase Mission Main Street Grants... but we need your help!

To get to the next level in the competition, we need at least 250 people to click through the banner below and vote for us! It takes about 10 seconds and could make a huge difference in the future for Hire A Housewife and for our employees.

What would we do with $100,000?
Here are a few things...

• Trademark our name and logo
• Obtain the website we want (HireAHousewife.com)
• Hire an accountant to help us ensure our finances are being handled correctly
• Implement a more comprehensive training program to continue to ensure our customers receive the best service
• Expand to Galesburg and Henry, with the possibility of expanding to Bloomington soon.
• Begin steps towards franchising
• Update our office equipment

I want to continue to not only provide great service to all of our customers, but to also change lives of our employees for the better. We offer fair wages, flexible schedules, and a supportive work environment for people who need it most. 

I know that nobody who works for Hire A Housewife intends to work with us forever. I care about the dreams of my employees and want to help give them a solid stepping stone to the next phase of their life... leaving a little closer to living their dreams.

Please help us do that by clicking the banner above or below!

Thank you and have a blessed day!

Why Choose Us?

There are a lot of cleaning services out there these days who want to help you out! 

Why should you choose ours?

Many people have started using Hire A Housewife because they heard the story of how we got started and they were moved by it. I so appreciate that and I look forward to continuing to share my story and everything else that God has done since!

However, I want you to STAY because you love the service!

(And if you don't love it, let us know right away so we can fix it!)

Hire A Housewife Benefits:

• No judgement or guilt! We just want to help!
• You NEVER have to worry that we will judge you based on what we see. We appreciate that you trust us enough to let us into your home to help.
• We value you as a person. You aren’t just another client to us. We care about your family and how we can help you!

• The same “housewife” each visit
• One of the ways we make sure you are satisfied with our work is sending out the same employee each time. As she gets to know you and what you need, it will be a continually improving experience.
• Flexible scheduling without a contract.
• While we do have a standard cancellation policy, we never lock anyone into a contract. We want you to keep us coming back because you love the service!
• Insured and Bonded
• The risks of hiring someone who is uninsured are huge to you. Our employees are covered by a workman’s comp policy in case they are injured on the job. Anyone not covered by such a policy can sure your homeowner’s insurance if they are injured while working at your house.
• Our liability policy covers items that are damaged by an employee’s carelessness. We hope to never have to use the policy, but isn’t it good to know it is there if something were to get broken?

• Wide range of services
• We don’t just clean, we will organize, do laundry, run errands, wash windows, walk the dog, clean the fridge… you name it!
• You provide needed supplies and we do the work!
• We do not give you a list of things we WON'T do! Just give us your list and let us get to work!
• Great staff who care about YOU!
• Everyone who works for Hire A Housewife undergoes a background check to ensure your safety and to let you know that we are trustworthy!
• All housewives receive complete training. We want all of our employees to be able to give the same great service that was being given when it was just a company of one.

Thanks for taking the time to read! Please share it with your friends who are considering hiring help!

Have a blessed day!

(P.S. And YES! an update on the girls' room is coming!)

Promise after promise

Many of you know the story of how God started this business. 

While Hire A Housewife has done much better than expected considering I have never run a business before, overcoming my personal past has been quite a struggle. Hopefully, it is a struggle that others can find encouragement in. 

In that hope, I've decided to share my personal blog with my Hire A Housewife fans as well. I've had good days and bad, and if you've not read it before you might be surprised by some of the things I say.

I started this blog as a way to hold myself accountable for my choices and promises to others and to God. I am real. I am honest. Sometimes I am confused beyond belief, but that's human... and I am definitely that.

I did not become homeless just under three years ago by living right or making Godly choices. Some of those choices I made were based on wrong beliefs I had about others and myself. 

With some of those choices I caused myself deep wounds, some that are still healing.

God is still working on me, but I am excited by all He is doing. So, if you feel inclined to share in my personal journey as well, I'd like to invite you to check out and subscribe to my blog here:

PromiseAfterPromise.com

Like I said, I am excited by all that God is doing and I want to be able to share with all of you in the coming weeks. 

Have a blessed day!

Tackling the girls' room (Days 1 & 2)

When the girls came home from their dad's house, I put them to work cleaning the floor and warned them not to touch anything else... They complied. Everything was sorted into bags and boxes like I asked.

The next step was cleaning out their dressers and shelves. They got part way through on the first night, but I soon discovered the drawers on the short dresser were full of junk. Ella's answer, "I don't want to keep clothes in my dresser." (Nice try.)

By late afternoon on Day 2 (after school Tuesday) they had almost finished cleaning out the dressers and shelves.

However, I had a meeting from 6:30-8:30 on Tuesday evening and I came home to find they had jumped ahead a few steps in the process. They were going through all of the boxes that I told them not to touch without my permission.

They put most of it back, but the stacks themselves are much less organized now.

I also found a Build-A-Bear rescue had been initiated, their newest stuffed animals pulled from the garbage bags, now laying on the bed.

So what is the next step?

One bag/box/tote at a time everything from their floor is being washed, dried and put in the living room on the couch. I don't want any mass decisions made about anything. We will touch each piece of clothing and decide if it is a keep, donate, or trash item... as well as who it belongs to. You wouldn't believe how many times I said to myself when I was picking up the clothes originally, "Hey! I wondered were that shirt went..."

We probably have 4 or 5 loads to go today... and there is household laundry mixed up in this... but before I let them touch anything else on the broken bunk bed, we will decide where every piece of clothing goes. I have a feeling that will be a battle in itself. I have yard waste bags waiting to be filled to be dropped off at Mission Mart.

Even for 5 people, we have a lot of clothes to go through.

This might take awhile... 

Tackling the girls' room

Anyone who has heard my testimony knows that I am not usually afraid to tell it like it is. It's important that people know me, my household, and my family are far from perfect. When I come into yours, and give you ideas or help you clean something up, I am not judging you... I have no right to! I say that whatever mess you have, we have already seen it and cleaned it up before, and it was probably in our own house.

Well, if you don't believe me after this post, I don't think I'll ever be able to convince you.

My three girls, ages 17, 11, and 9, share a bedroom. I am constantly telling them to clean it up, pick it up, put laundry in the bathroom, throw away the water bottles, etc. When the bottom bunk of the bunk bed broke a couple of weeks ago, I realized that even if I found a replacement, I couldn't get into their room to change anything out.

If you read regularly, you have no doubt seen my posts about how you can de-clutter anything in 15 minutes a day. I have to say, that doesn't include a child's bedroom if they are still living in it and not picking up after themselves. Today I decided I was fed up the less than enthusiastic efforts of my children, and took it on myself to get them started.

Here are the steps I have taken so far to move us forward in this process...

1. I took pictures of everything.

2. I started bagging things up while they were gone today.
 
     *All stuffed animals and pillows in garbage bags.
       EVEN FAVORITES (Motivation for later.)
     *Anything else washable from the floor into totes and garbage bags.
       ESPECIALLY FAVORITES (Motivation for later.)
     *Books, movies, etc. went into boxes.
     *Shoes went into a box

3. I didn't pick up any trash.

4. As I worked, I swept everything to the center of the room. EVERYTHING. And I stacked the stuff that had been bagged and boxed (all will be gone through one at a time.)

5. I worked until I was tired and had other things to do.   
     Then I wrote this note for when they came home.

I also added that they were not allowed to put anything "away" ... because all of the "aways" still needed to be cleaned out as well.

Next step: To have them clean off their dressers and bookshelves so there is a place to put whatever they decide to keep.


This is honestly a risky blog post to put out on my business blog... I mean, what if we don't get it done? What if it turns out that I'm too busy or too exhausted to stay on them and three months from now my 17yr old is still sleeping on her mattress on the floor because I didn't stick to this or make them stick to it either!?!

Well, that will be just another reminder that I am human as well. Hopefully, though, instead of that, over the next week I will be able to show you that even though sometimes things get out of control at my house too, it is possible to take back control.

When I said I "other things to do" and stopped cleaning and wrote that note... I didn't just mean writing this blog post...

Today I'm going to take down the Christmas tree.