NDN Cleaning & Janitorial Services provides professional commercial cleaning to a variety of businesses ranging from office and medical buildings to salons and storefronts. The company offers customized schedules to fit client needs and takes pride in providing exceptional and affordable services with superior customer experience.

We recently sat down with Lakesha to talk about how she got started, and how the Impact Program has helped her.

 

What inspired you to create NDN Cleaning & Janitorial Services?

The idea came from my uncle who had a cleaning company of his own—which I actually helped him launch. When his company closed, I worked for Kaiser Permanente. When that company left the city, I needed to find something else to do. And in-lieu of going to work for someone else, I decided to start my own cleaning company.

 

What has been your biggest takeaway from the Core City: Cleveland Impact Program?

Everyone here is very personable. I’ve gotten a lot of help, and a lot of feedback. My advisors are awesome. Even when I’m not in class, they’re easy to contact and there is no such thing as dumb questions.

Also, everybody works together. I have two advisors, but I’ve worked with every other person here, as well. Overall, I’ve had great experiences that I’ve taken away—I’ve learned so much about finances, goal setting and projections, as well as marketing and advertising.

 

What has surprised you about the Core City: Cleveland Impact Program?

How much JumpStart offers. I think JumpStart is the best-kept secret in Cleveland right now. I wasn’t aware of it until my cousin told me about it. But since I came in and met with the team, I’ve learned it offers so many other programs and services and that surprised me.

 

What’s the most important thing the program offers to entrepreneurs?

The most important thing that Core City offers is education on your finances. A lot of people start a company thinking it’s going to be easy. We go in blind not knowing about financial projections, marketing, benchmarks and things of that nature and JumpStart offers assistance and education.

 

What are your future plans for your business?

I see it grossing probably double what we grossed this year. Probably five years from now I would like to look into franchising. 10 years out I definitely want to be a franchise brand.

 

 

Learn more about NDN Cleaning & Janitorial Services at ndncleaning.biz. Then, come watch Lakesha pitch her business live on May 15 for a chance to win up to $10,000 at the Core City: Cleveland Entrepreneur Showcase.