The cat is out of the bag!!

Two Trees Cleaning is launched and ready for a big 2025!! Lets Go

Author

David Rubalcava
January 10, 2025

Hi friends and familia!

If you’re receiving this email, it’s because you’re either a friend or family member.

You’ve likely heard that I started a home cleaning business, Two Trees Cleaning,(I know, so original) that will be serving Ventura County! Woohoo! And if you haven’t heard, well, now you have. Read on to learn a bit more about how I ended up here.

In the Summer of 2024, I had a business acquisition fall through at the one-yard line. Ouch. Painful lessons were learned. It hurt- bad. After that happened, I was feeling stuck and back at square one- while still working the corporate rat race. I was so so close to getting out.

After ruminating for a couple of weeks, and still eager to own a business, it wasn’t clear what to start, or buy. I invite you to look up “Side hustles” on Google, and you’ll leave more confused than ever. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I made a goal and wrote it on my whiteboard: MAKE ONE DOLLAR IN 2024.

The world of business ideas is a big black hole that can leave you pondering your whole life. Of course, there’s the restaurant business, which was the most obvious one for me. But with no immediate restaurant opportunity in sight, and eager to take the step towards business ownership, that wasn’t an option. You may have noticed I started filming more food content, and this was actually a big test- I spent a considerable amount of time and money researching the content creation business, monetization strategies, and what it takes to win in that space. It’s HARD.

That said, I think I’ll own many different types of businesses in my lifetime. In fact, that’s my goal. While I still think I’ll own a restaurant in the future, at the time, I was looking for a business I could start NOW. I needed something tangible and I wanted to take action.

Back to square one!

I started looking for a business that met the following criteria:

  1. No special licensing required to start

  2. Irreplaceable by AI

  3. Monthly Recurring revenue

  4. Minimal upfront capital, with big long-term upside

Most home service businesses fail number 1, or 3.

Except….. Home Cleaning!

Alas, I pushed aside my ego, and started looking into it a few hours every day. Research, research, research…

Well, I got to the point where it was either action, or keep pondering business ideas…

I had listened to enough podcasts on billionaire founders to make my ears bleed- Schultz, Lauder, Arnault, Knight, Jordan… it was time to DO THE DAMN THING.

Literally the most unsexy business out there- cleaning up after peoples shit! I mean, who wouldn’t rather own a sexy restaurant that serves cocktails and plays vibey music?? Or a tech company with 80% margins…So many sexy businesses out there…Anyway, after I got over the initial embarrassment (how dumb, now that I say it out loud), I started dedicating a few hours a day to it just “to see what happens”. I even lit up $500 on Google Ads (lesson learned) just to dip my toes in the water.

First the website, then the pricing, then the data infrastructure in the background, then the fun stuff like the legal documentation with the state, setting up a Google Business Profile (this was a b***), Business insurance, Workers Comp, Social Media account (pls follow me), bank accounts, and all that good stuff. The list keeps growing… After putting together a half baked product in November, I went out, and hired my first cleaner, Araceli (who’s been an absolute rockstar, btw, and is up for hire).

November

MADE MY FIRST DOLLAR - LETS GOOO

I got my first job, and well, yeah, I messed it up. I severely underquoted the job, didn’t ask the right questions, and bit off way more than I could chew. I don’t think they’ll be a returning customer- but that’s alright- stuff like this is painful, painful learning. But hey, I made 20 bucks, hit my goal, ALL while I didn’t physically do the work. Wow, that feeling was bliss….

December

Started going through the entrepreneur roller coaster…Even though I’d landed my first job, I still had those damn intrusive thoughts- "What the hell am I doing”, “Is this even going to work” ,“I feel like a dumbass owning a cleaning company”, “Keep your fancy corporate job you’re making great money”

But, I chugged along. Then came another job- first in Ojai, then one in Oxnard- more lessons learned, then one in Ventura- more lessons learned. ALL before the end of 2024. My sales ended up at something like $1,000 for 2024…. laughable… but blew past my goal of $1! (start small, right?)

2025

I’M ALL IN BABY

The year has started off with tons of leads, good jobs, and big momentum.

2025 Goal = $50,000 in Sales

That’s roughly 3 jobs per week- which is very doable based on what I’ve seen. Yes, it’s lofty, and I’m already behind, but hey, shoot high, right? Araceli, on behalf of Two Trees Cleaning, interviewed for a cleaning position in Montecito for a $6M dollar home… and we’re two weeks into the year.. can I get a WOOT WOOT? Stay tuned to see if we land that job, it had a ton of very particular requirements, but also very high paying. 🤞 

Types of Challenges with this business

Currently, leads are mostly coming in through Yelp Ads and Google Local Service Ads- which are very costly. So my biggest challenge at the moment has become solving the issue of getting leads and lower my Cost-per-lead. Easy right?

My other plan of action at the moment is networking, cold calling, and looking into some more traditional marketing like mailers, door hangers, etc.

Anyways, I have A LOT of work to do this year. I’m a one-man shop and everyday, there’s: Sales, Marketing, Operations, Admin, and miscellaneous stuff.

One thing that this business has forced upon me is discipline. If I don’t move the needle forward every day, literally no-one else will. The business will die.

Another goal for the year is to grow my team of cleaners to include different cities, to be able to bid more aggressively in cities outside of Ventura, like Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, and eventually making my way into Westlake.

I’ll also be on the look out for any office cleaning bids- landing these is a bit less clear to me at the moment though. This might take more B2B networking events.

Curious about who’s cleaning? Meet my team

  1. Araceli - mother of two kids, 26 years young, loves to see spaces transformed from clunky areas to inspiring fresh rooms. Has been cleaning homes full time for 3 years.

  2. Argentina, 38 - Originally from Mexico, has been a housekeeper for the Ojai Valley Inn for 3 years, and has also dedicates time to cleaning homes while she’s not at work.

Wrapping Up

As I’m finishing up this life update/blog/manifesto/whatever this is, I just want to mention that I didn’t start with a passion for home cleaning (just ask Eli 😉 ). But man, the more I work on it, the more passionate I get about it. It’s a great business. This venture has made me feel alive. It’s an awesome feeling when a customer loves our work. In fact, it’s not far from the restaurant business. We’re in the business of creating long-lasting relationships with real people in our community. Trust is key in this business.

And that’s something to get passionate about.

I GOT IT.

My ask to you:

Share the news!! Tell your abuelita, your neighbor, and your bestfriends aunt. The best way to grow a business is always through word of mouth. Now that I have the systems in place, and great cleaners who I trust, I feel a lot more comfortable telling the world that I’ve got a cleaning business. PHEW!

Curious about who’s cleaning? Meet my team

  1. Araceli - mother of two kids, 26 years young, loves to see spaces transformed from clunky areas to inspiring fresh rooms. Has been cleaning homes full time for 3 years.

  2. Argentina, 38 - Originally from Mexico, has been a housekeeper for the Ojai Valley Inn for 3 years, and has also dedicates time to cleaning homes while she’s not at work.

That’s it for today fam!

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Let me know! I keep a business journal with all the lessons I’m learning and I’m thinking of making this a quarterly update to share with friends and family: lessons learned, busing growth (or lack), and maybe some brags, if that’s cool with u.

Anyways, it’s a great way for me to update friends I haven’t seen, while also reflecting on my progress.

Forward this to anyone you think might love this news… or piss off… I don’t really care, just share it, it’ll make for some good chisme.

Peace,

David