To our faithful (and amazing) customers,
I’m at a loss for how to even start this letter. Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I want to express my gratitude to each of you for so many things. Typically, I think a list of short blessings would be normal this time of year. But 2020 has been anything but a normal year so I’d like to share our story and highlight some of the amazing things that have happened in the last year. I hope you’ll indulge my softer side as we reflect back on this year together.
I left the high-tech world in 2004 to start Dallas Maids. During the months after hiring my first cleaning team, I felt exhilarated, anxious, nervous, exhausted, hopeful; all these feelings at once. I wanted to build a reputable business that met a real need and simply made people’s lives happier while providing a sturdy wage and good job for our employees.
I didn’t set out to get rich at the expense of my team, I wanted our business to be a journey that benefitted everyone: customers, employees, our community, and my family.
Fast forward to March 2020. I think we can all remember the day that the world seemed to stop. In March, the world stopped and slowed down. The novel coronavirus descended upon the world, infecting millions, shuttering businesses, old and new, and throwing the world into anxiety, peril, and fear.
As both a business owner and father, I was petrified. Of course, I wanted my business to survive, but more than that I wanted my team to be able to pay their rent, feed their families, and not go to bed in fear of financial ruin. 2020 was already hard enough – no one needed financial stress added to the mix of an unparalleled pandemic. I fluctuated between hope and despair daily – even hourly.
As the Dallas lockdown took effect, the impact on our business was nearly devastating. In just a couple, short weeks our business dropped by 50%. I don’t blame anyone for canceling service – far from it. The customers who had to step back for a time made the right call – they needed to do what they had to in order to protect their families. And I needed to protect my staff and customers by feverishly implementing safety measures and protocols. As the fallout became apparent, anxiety and fear were constant companions. Until you intervened.
Your Intervention Made a Difference
As Marched stretched into April and eventually the summer, so many of you kept our people going. Not our business, our people. You understood it wasn’t just about getting your home cleaned (although that certainly is our passion!). It was about making sure everyone had enough to get through a tragedy no one saw coming. Many of you paid for services you never received. You did that.
You kept my team employed, kept roofs over our heads, and food on our tables. That was you. Words seem inadequate to express the immense gratitude I have for you. Not for your business. For you. You were a bright light in a year of deepening darkness.
Your generous support was so overwhelming we started our Free Cleans for First Responders program. With your generosity and our own, we have been able to celebrate the heroes of these trying days – medical staff, first responders, and countless others who have kept us safe when the world felt so unsafe. To date, we have cleaned over 40 homes of medical staff for free. Together, we did something amazing in the Summer of 2020.
2020 will go down as a crucible. A time when our nation and ourselves were tested. Layered atop of pandemic were heart-wrenching social and racial unrest, growing mental health crises, financial upheaval, and a toxic presidential election. So often our world becomes focused on those big items. But as I reflect on this year, I’m most grateful for ordinary heroes. For men and women who saw the crushing tsunami of economic collapse coming and said “this will not stand.” In the end, I think we have learned a lot about who we are in 2020.
Yes, we have much work to do and many things to fix. But when the chips were down and we saw our fellow man struggling, we refused to let them go down alone. That is the strength of our nation. Not politicians or policies – our strength is our robust, fierce determination to take care of our friends, our families, and our communities.
Thank you for indulging me in such a long letter. I am so grateful and have no idea how to even begin listing everything that has been a blessing this year. While I will take time privately to make that list in the coming week, I want you to know that you will be at the top. In 2020, I’m grateful for so many things – especially you!
With gratitude and hope for brighter days ahead,
Greg
Founder of Dallas Maids, LLC
P.S. Do you know a nurse or a first responder that could use a stress-relieving home cleaning? Refer them to our free cleans for first responders program – It’s a privilege for us to serve those that serve our community.