Gil and Samantha Grandas started Sassy Sam’s Cleaning Service with two vacuum cleaners, a laundry basket and off-the-shelf cleaners. They started as a two-person crew and now have 10 employees.
SASSY SAM’S
The logo and the idea came from the thought processes of Gil Granda. He formulated a plan to start a business and by the time he pitched the idea to his wife, he was more than ready.
Family is everything to the Grandas and run their business like family, treat their customers like family and even hire family members such as Sam’s daughter.
Sassy Sam’s was officially welcomed to the community of Elizabethtown with the opening of their new building and a ribbon cutting hosted by the Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce April 25.
ELIZABETHTOWN – COVID hit North Carolina as hard as it hit everyone else and toward the bottom of the pile were Gil and Samantha Granda which had their environmental business devastated by the turn of worldwide events.
“We held on as long as we could, because we loved it,” Gil Granda said. “We held on until we had $400 left to our name. That was all we had left. At the time we were renting a home and our rent was due in two weeks.”
Part of the miracle and how the couple overcame this devastation was culminated with a ribbon-cutting hosted by the Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce, April 25 at their new business and successful venture, “Sassy Sam’s Cleaning Service.” Their new building located at 1415 Greenwood Street in Elizabethtown. It is a happy ending to the painful journey they’ve traversed.
At the point of losing everything, Granda came up with an idea that he thought his wife would buy into.
“At that time, we were forced with a decision,” he said. “We could either figure out how to make a couple of hundred more dollars to make our payment or take $400 and somehow start a business with it. Before I came home to tell my wife, ‘We’re going to start a business with $400,’ I figured I’d better have a good plan.”
By the time he got home, he knew he was going to use her face as a cartoon character for their branding along with adding her name and he came up with Sassy Sam’s Cleaning Service.
“I didn’t know the first thing about cleaning,” he said. “But my wife had tons of experience with it. So I made sure I had that plan when I got home and pitched the idea that we were going to spend our last dime on stating this business.”
Sam agreed and was excited to go ahead with it immediately.
“We drove to Lowes in Whiteville with our $400,” he said. “We bought two vacuum cleaners that I still have to this day and will probably be buried with them. They don’t work anymore, but it will always remind me where we came from.”
They bought the two vacuum cleaners, a laundry basket and off-the-shelf cleaning supplies.
“That’s where the business started from,” he said. “From there it has been nonstop work, dedication and truly being blessed. Our community supported us right out of the gate. Prior to us going to work for ourselves, I actually managed the Cape Fear Vineyard & Winery and Sam was one of the waitresses there – and that’s kind of how we met. I was there about a year. When we got married, I figured it was time to start a business and provide for my family a little better.”
It was a two-person team to start as, obviously they didn’t have the money for a workforce. Those early days were brutal and they would come home after working sometimes 40-45 days in a row and just collapse. He wasn’t just supervising, but the couple both say that he was cleaning toilets right there next to her.
“I don’t know if I can name-drop, but the man who helped up tremendously was Dean Hilton and his wife Jenna,” he said. “We called them hoping that maybe they would have a house for us to clean. A way to make a dollar. They blessed us with more work than we knew what to do with for many months. That allowed us to actually to get an LLC, get uniforms and set it up as a proper company. And we have just gone from there.”
The response was priceless when Sam explains how she felt when her husband came home armed with their future.
“He’s the driver and I’m the backseat passenger and sometimes I get to ride in the front seat,” she said with a laugh. “But I support anything he does. I am confident that if he tells me we can do it and I wholeheartedly know he has our best interest at heart, I’m like… Let’s DO IT.”
She asked him if he would partner with her in the cleaning and said that although he’s not much on the cleaning aspect of the business.
“Now that we’re at this point, I think he’s much happier,” she said. “He’s not cleaning and he gets to do what he’s best at. And he’s the best partner a wife could have. Although we are polar opposites and he’s oil and I’m water – or however you say it. Sayin’ that, though we really are so much alike in our focus and our vision. In the beginning, once we realized we were best friends, we found out just how much we missed each other when we were apart.”
They met working together and he said that they don’t know anything else but working together, and this business definitely works for both of them. And their relationship works with her as the shy voice and he the booming voice, they just fit like a puzzle piece.
“It takes both of us,” he said. “If I would have started a cleaning service by myself, I would have been able to get a lot of business at first because I am comfortable with talking with the people. But I would have done such a horrible job that they would have fired me after the first time. Samantha on the other hand – all she is concerned about is keeping the customer happy and doing the absolute best job possible. So if she would have started a cleaning service by herself, her customers would have loved her – but she would have gone broke because she would have spent the whole day in one house. But when you put both of us together, we made the perfect combination where I could deal with the customers, keep the business somewhat profitable while Sam can make sure the job comes out flawless. About three or four months ago we finally got to a place where we were big enough that we are both able to be really good at what we are individually good at.”
One of the challenges to the couple was administration. They said that they knew they were missing a piece and that piece was their office manager Heather Marshburn.
“She started as a customer,” he said. “We became great friends with her and her husband. As she came in – we realized she had years and years of experience with property management, dealing with employees and human resources, computer experience and above all – she knew how to streamline and organize, helping us get to where we had to go.”
Marshburn bought into their vision and the puzzle is complete.
“My husband is a cross-country mover and I actually helped him in his business for about 10 years,” Mashburn said. “His business is called Showtime Relocations and he is actually a driver for them. They are a small, independent moving company out of Ohio.”
Mashburn said that her forte’ is in the scheduling aspect of things, making sure that things get clean when they want it cleaned. Also making sure that the girls are where they need to be there when they are supposed to be there.
“We are a residential and commercial cleaner,” she said. “Our target area is anywhere here in Elizabethtown, Lumberton, White Lake, Whiteville and all points surrounding those areas.”
Including in their cleaning is some light property maintenance, window cleaning, power washing and also either light or deep cleaning depending upon the package the customer will choose. At this point they have nine cleaners and Mashburn says that it’s enough for now, but as they expand, they will be adding more to their cleaning teams.
Mashburn holds down the fort and she is usually there each day from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
For more information about cleaning plans and fees, you can call 910-918-2891