From Nursing in Honduras to Maidpro Ownership: Tania Sobalvarro’s Story

When Tania Sobalvarro moved to the U.S. just six years ago, she began managing the St. John’s location of MaidPro, the home cleaning franchise with over 280 units backed by Threshold Brands, and quickly became a valued part of the system. As she became more familiar with the business, she only grew with the team, coming to do an exceptional job in all aspects of the business. A few years ago, Sobalvarro began considering buying her own MaidPro, but after some research, she realized she needed some more time to prepare. When the former owner of the St. John’s location began discussing retirement, Sobalvarro knew it was her time to shine.

“The previous owner had the opportunity to sell the business but was really focused on ensuring the culture we had created during the past 12 years would be maintained,” said Sobalvarro. “Our culture has proven to be an operational and competitive advantage that allows us to save money on hiring and training, maintain institutional knowledge and run at lower attrition than other similar size cleaning franchises.”

This culture has allowed MaidPro of St. John’s to establish an average employee tenure of nearly 16 months, and many team members have been on board for over five years. Because the business and its team members have grown together, it gets stronger each year. Long-time employees have a strong understanding of the preferences of individual customers, and the entire team knows how to work together, communicating effectively with both each other and the customers to ensure realistic expectations are set and a high standard of service is maintained.

As she steps into ownership, Sobalvarro says she will continue to leverage the skills she developed during her time in management to propel the business forward. Most importantly, she will keep up with what she calls “the three core functions”: securing new customers, employee pipeline and quality control.

“We need to keep up with leads, new hires and the review of 25% of booked cleans,” she explained. “The way we do this is important. There is a need to be consistent in everything we do — how we talk to employees, how we sell and what we expect in every clean. It’s just as important to give our team a chance to go beyond the customer’s expectations. This starts with the simple concept of not overselling. Rather, be consistent and present the product, but leave room for the team to exceed expectations.”

While MaidPro has presented Sobalvarro with an opportunity to serve her community, she also sees it as an opportunity to support team members and establish a strong foundation for her own children’s futures.

Sobalvarro explained that, at least once a year, the team tries to have a large family event that includes the employees, their spouses and their kids, where the group goes to an amusement park, waterpark or some other form of entertainment or event. This helps everyone understand the value of working with MaidPro and experience the family feel of the business, but Sobalvarro also takes actionable steps, working to consistently increase benefits packages so employees have more resources to take care of themselves and their families.

Looking to the future, Sobalvarro says she aims to double the size of the business in the next 10 years to provide even more support to her own family.

“I want my kids to attend a prestigious university. Cambridge would be my dream for them,” she explained. “I tell my sons that their job is to excel in school while my job is to work in order to give them the best opportunities. That is why I want to double the size of the business. I need to make the necessary income to provide them with the launchpad to have wonderful, successful lives.”

To find out more information on the costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/maidpro/info