Story & Lesson Highlights with Jennifer Everett of Sunnyslope

Jennifer Everett shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I’ve been growing some of my own food organically for several years now—testing many varieties to determine the best ones for this climate—and also have a lengthy consulting website for showcasing many of the foods I’ve grown and allowing others to learn from me how to grow food for themselves or their family in the Phoenix area or even well beyond (any temperate to hot climate anywhere in the U.S.). So, that’s both outside of work and as well as another form of work. Aside from fresher air near my home (the garden takes the place of ornamental plants), the gardening gets me outdoors some, gives me another form of exercise, and the whole process of growing my own food brings me tremendous joy (from the planting to the harvesting). Watching plants grow is exciting, they provide beauty and relaxation, and the freshness of homegrown produce will never get old.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Mine is a one-person green house cleaning service based in Phoenix. My company, Greener House Cleaning, was established in 2010. Soon after, the awards began rolling in. Since 2016, my company has been voted one of the best cleaning services in Phoenix. Even so, I continue to hone my skills and grow my toolkit. I don’t believe it’s possible to ever stop learning. Having been in business for almost 15 years, I also now have a consulting option on my website for helping others start small cleaning services in non-competing parts of the country (e.g., Tucson).

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My band teacher in junior high suggested that I compete nationally. I would never in a million years have thought that I had a chance of ranking well but ended up with a very high national rank. I don’t remember the exact rank, but it was something like 13th in the nation.

Prior to that time in my life, my other grades were pretty mediocre. But after I realized that I was really good at something, other things in my life began to shift.

By the time I was ready for high school, I took a chance and applied to enter a magnet school with a focus on science and math–with classes taught by college-level teachers. To my surprise, I was accepted and ranked in the top 10% of my class.
Later, I was also in the top 10% at a large college–also a surprise to me as I’ve never thought of myself as tremendously capable.

What I learned from these experiences is that we all have talents of some kind. Instead of depressing ourselves with how bad we are at what others are best at, we just need to focus on ALWAYS LEARNING and striving to be EVEN BETTER than we are now, have fun learning, and focus on our natural giftings.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I guess you could say that I’ve been blessed with a good amount of suffering because it has taught me to think outside of the box, search long and hard for solutions to long-standing problems, develop new skills to become more well-rounded and balanced, develop empathy for others who are suffering, develop a desire to teach others (consult others) to help them overcome problems without spending years learning the hard way, and develop patience, resilience and stamina. Suffering also has the ability to help us develop humility when we realize that we don’t have all of the answers.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Mostly. But those who take me for granted and want to pay for expertise a wage from 8 years ago (as if I don’t deserve pay raises) and a good amount of physical labor (requiring muscle recovery time) upset me more than they care to acknowledge. I lose a lot of sleep over the anger I feel even though I continue to treat people with respect regardless. I will replace those customers as soon as I am able, but there is unfortunately a higher amount of turnover than I can keep up with (e.g., customers moving out of Phoenix, a very elderly customer who is now about to sell his home and move into a retirement home so will no longer need cleaning help).

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
When I moved out of Seattle to Phoenix because rent had skyrocketed (would have gone from $728 to $1200/month along with a move to another apartment far away from my customer base since mine was being converted to a condo), I got many messages from my old customers saying how surprised they were that I was so hard to replace. Some were hiring companies charging much more (e.g., double) but doing far inferior work. Others didn’t mention a price but said they had hired many but couldn’t find someone who understood even the basics of how to clean a house well. One couple turned to cleaning their own home after giving up on finding a quality cleaner.

Unfortunately, in my industry, people tend to take cleaners for granted and want to UNDERPAY them until they go out of business or have to move to a cheaper part of the country. And THEN they realize what they had but didn’t value enough while it was available.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.greener-house-cleaning.com

Image Credits
(C) Jennifer Everett’s Greener House Cleaning