Maria Rodriguez clutched her last twenty-dollar bill as she walked out of the homeless shelter on a cold Tuesday morning in 2018. Her two young children, ages 6 and 8, had spent another restless night on thin mattresses, and Maria knew she couldn’t let this be their reality much longer. With no formal education beyond high school and a work history interrupted by domestic violence and displacement, traditional employment seemed out of reach.
But Maria had something more valuable than money—she had determination and a plan.
“I remembered my grandmother always saying that honest work with your hands never goes out of style,” Maria recalls. “I decided to start a cleaning service because everyone needs a clean space, and I knew how to clean well.”
With her $20, Maria bought basic cleaning supplies from a dollar store: all-purpose cleaner, sponges, rubber gloves, and garbage bags. She walked through middle-class neighborhoods, knocking on doors and offering her services for $15 per house. Her first customer was Mrs. Chen, an elderly woman who took pity on Maria’s situation and decided to give her a chance.
“Mrs. Chen not only hired me, but she also referred me to three of her neighbors,” Maria remembers. “That first week, I made $60. It wasn’t much, but it was hope.”
Maria reinvested every penny back into her business. She bought a cheap vacuum cleaner from a thrift store, invested in better cleaning products, and slowly built a client base through word-of-mouth referrals. She worked during school hours while her children were in class and spent evenings applying for small business grants and learning about entrepreneurship at the public library.
The turning point came when Maria landed a contract to clean a small office building. The steady weekly income allowed her to rent a modest apartment and move her family out of the shelter. Within two years, she had hired three employees and was earning enough to not only support her family but also to start a small college fund for her children.
Today, “Maria’s Spotless Solutions” employs 15 people and serves over 200 clients across the city. Maria has expanded into specialized services like post-construction cleanup and eco-friendly cleaning options. She’s also become an advocate for other single mothers, offering job training and support through a nonprofit she founded.
“Sometimes people ask me what my secret was,” Maria says from her office, which overlooks the neighborhood where she once knocked on doors. “The secret was refusing to let my circumstances define my future. Every day I chose to believe that tomorrow could be better than today.”
