In 2006 when Erica Castano hung her first set of door hangers for A Personal Elf, a home concierge service, her husband thought it would be a hobby. Erica’s mom moved to Gainesville to help her daughter with her new “hobby,” and for a solid year the two of them hung door hangers to market their services and personally cleaned every home that signed on.
“The first home my mom and I cleaned took us an entire day,” recalled Erica.
The “hobby” is now the family business and within a few years her husband Rudy closed his business and joined A Personal Elf.
The Castano’s moved to Gainesville from Miami. Intent on taking her career to the next level, Erica was focused on opening a consulting firm. As the former Director of Development at an engineering and construction firm in Miami, she knew she had the experience and the know how to open her own consulting firm. There was just one problem – Erica and her family moved to Gainesville for a change. In her previous position she frequently worked long hours and after some consideration Erica realized that consulting would mean more of the same. Recognizing that a consulting firm may not offer the change she was seeking Erica needed a new plan. For a while she worked with her husband in his plant nursery business, which kept them both busy.
When she needed some help around the house, Erica sought out services to help with laundry, cleaning, etc. Although she was enjoying their new life in Gainesville, the limited services offered were frustrating. After making a few calls she realized that she would need to work with several different companies to get the services she was used to getting from one.
“Everyone had their list of that they would and wouldn’t do,” stated Erica.
Frustrated Erica sought her own solution. She started a home concierge service offering her customers a one stop shop for the services busy families need to help their lives run a little smoother.
“I started looking into companies not because I love cleaning, but because I hated it,” expressed Erica.
The biggest challenge for Erica hasn’t been building the business itself, but finding the right employees. We have done a good job of hiring employees that care. Our leadership structure gives our team leaders a lot of responsibility. We respect and learn from our employees every day.
Another challenge? Everyone’s idea of clean is different. It’s all about taking care of the details and meeting each individual client’s expectations. Customer satisfaction is the top priority.
“I try to maintain personal contact with all of our clients. I never want to lose the feeling of being unhappy if one of our clients is not 100% satisfied with our services,” said Erica.
Six years later the company that started off as a hobby with Erica and her mom, now has 23 employees and has expanded into commercial cleaning.
The downside of owning of a home concierge service? “My house still doesn’t get cleaned. We are usually bumped off of the list for customers.”
Erica’s tips to building a successful business:
Work hard
Be honest
Don’t give up
Be fair
Be upfront – even if it means you may lose a client
I have known Erica for over 16 years. She is not only a great friend but a very dedicated employee and now business owner. She is driven and knows what she wants and how to fulfill that need. If I was in Gainesville, I would definately be an employee. I am very proud of her and wish her and her family all the best!
Thank you, PocketBook Magazine, for telling Erica’s story. She and her company are an inspiration to the entrepreneurs in Gainesville, Keep these types of stories coming!
Know Erica through my daughter and have always found her to be very responsible and friendly.