Turning Challenge into Clean Profit: Megan’s Path to a Proven Cleaning Company

✨ Hello, I’m Fran, Your NLP & Business Coach. I’m exploring a wide range of business ideas and money-making paths, with practical takeaways you can apply.

In this episode, I'm interviewing Megan Johnstone about her story of perseverance and authenticity.

Meet Megan, a young entrepreneur navigating life with endometriosis. She's a health and fitness advocate, devoted gym enthusiast, and lover of the outdoors and family. Passionate about business, she built a thriving professional cleaning company from the ground up—driven by motivation, perseverance, and authentic living.

You can connect to Megan in the following ways ⬇️
https://www.procleancommercials.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/procleancommercials/
https://www.tiktok.com/@procleancommercials
https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganjohnstone02

Find me @ www.melancholymentor.com

* As a coach, I listen without judgment, understanding that others views may differ from my own.

#nlpcoach #nlpcoaching #creativity #inspiration #transformation #cleaningbusinessowner

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

Fran 0:00

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Melancholy Coaching Podcast. I'm Fran, your host and NLP coach. Join me as I interview inspiring business owners and self-improvement seekers about their experiences whilst delving into personal development, motivation and strategies for overcoming challenges. Let's ignite our creative potential together. Hello and welcome to the Melancholy Coaching Podcast. I'm Fran, your NLP coach, and I'm excited to introduce an inspiring guest. Megan is a 23-year-old woman from Dorset whose passion for life shines through in everything she does. She's an inspiring advocate for health and fitness, a dedicated gym enthusiast, and someone who truly values the great outdoors and quality time with family. Megan's journey is even more remarkable as she navigates life living with endometriosis, demonstrating resilience and strength every step of the way. Beyond her personal pursuit, she's passionate about her business, and her story is one of motivation, perseverance, and living authentically. Megan, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. I'm really grateful to be here. Oh, you're very welcome. Just for complete transparency, anybody listening and watching this today, we had a slight tech issue with joining the podcast today, which was mostly my end. So we've been sorting that out. And you know what? It's all good because we can just get grounded, you know, and breathe through it and everything's okay. We've got there in the end. I know, so thank you so much. The way that this is going to go is I've got three main questions to ask you, and we'll have a little conversation around it. Okay. And just go with the flow on it, okay? Yeah. So the first one I'd really like to ask you is can you tell us more about your entrepreneurial journey and what inspired you to start your business? What you're most passionate about in your work.

Agency Red Flags And Early Lessons

Megan 2:12

Yeah. So I mean, in terms of my journey, I kind of fell into my business, which is actually really common for a lot of cleaning companies. Ever since I was younger, I always wanted to be in the police. My dad was in the police, well, still is, and it's just something that I was really interested in and always wanted to do. I always really wanted to help people as well. So yeah, I always had that dream. And I was kind of like one of those people at school who was really smug when a lot of other people were like, Oh, I don't know what I want to do at the end. I was like, Yes, I still want to do the same thing. I'm gonna do it. So when I left school, I did my A levels, I got an unconditional offer from university, and at the time they actually changed it, so you had to have a degree to get into the police. So that was kind of the only option. And I think there was one university in Leeds and one in Winchester, which is about an hour away from me. So I went with the closest one, and unfortunately, it was kind of just when COVID hit as well. So the first year I didn't really get the most out of it, it was all sort of online, and at the time I was living independently, so I was kind of used to having my own space and I decorated it how I wanted it. I liked cleaning it, and that's kind of where my passion first came in. So kind of like the uni experience, I didn't really get the most out of it. I did attempt to live in the dorms, and I was gonna kind of part-time live there, part-time come home. I lasted one night in there. I just I really didn't like it. I think I'd opted no, I'd opted to share with girls, and it just didn't go that way. And I was sort of like living with boys, like they weren't clearing up after themselves. It just wasn't for me. And I remember the first night I actually somehow forgot my suitcase. So I ended up sleeping in my jeans, and there was just like parties going on, and it was like all through the night, I was just like, I really don't like this. So I kind of came to the decision where I was like, I'm gonna go back to living independently because I kind of moved out at quite a young age. And although, you know, in the grand scheme of things, it probably wasn't doable financially. I was like, I'm just gonna make it work, I'll work really hard at my degree and you know, like get some income in as well, just to try and make it work. So I kind of did that, and as I said, that's kind of where I fell in love with cleaning, especially through lockdown. I remember Mrs. Hinch, you know, the cleaning sort of influencer. She was quite big at the time. And I just remember sort of clearing out my kitchen cupboards one day, and I just spread out all of my products, and I was like, oh my god, this is ridiculous. I took a photo of it and I've still got that photo now, and I look back on it and think that's kind of where it stemmed from as a hobby. I mean, before I even got into cleaning, I was working at a pub, so I was kind of doing like weekends, evenings, and then again, because there's obviously not much money in that, especially when you're a student, I was doing sort of holiday let cleans for a family member. Kind of did that for a while, obviously, in full-time education and two part-time jobs. I was like, I kind of need to condense this into one job. So I found like some agency work cleaning for it was kind of like end of tenancies, deep cleans, that sort of thing. Looking back on it now, it was such like a cowboy sort of company. They just didn't do things properly. I remember I never met anyone from the company, I never had an interview, they never told me sort of how to clean as such, how they wanted things done, what to buy. And the kind of jobs that I was doing was like all round the country. I was travelling like two and a half hours for a day's work. And obviously, once you factored in the travel cost and time, there was kind of nothing left over. But I was really that desperate just to have my own space and kind of live that way. So that's kind of how I first got into things. I guess I just sort of saw how much of a mess the company was. I'd kind of go to one of the jobs and the clients would just be predicting a really bad service because of the management they'd had. And I just felt really let down. I was always sort of a really hard worker, and I guess I saw the potential that I could have if I did my own thing. So yeah, I suppose I just had this realisation that actually I could probably easily do what they were doing on a smaller scale with the results of my own work, which I knew was really good. So I was kind of doing that for a while, and then my friends and family kind of just pushed me in the end and said, Why don't you just get some business cards, go independent? Business, yeah. Yeah, and I was young as well, so I was just so scared, and I didn't really believe that I could do it or confident enough to know how. So, yeah, that was kind of the first step, really. And I remember for a good six months I was really struggling financially because I'd quit like the other agency job, and I had one salon which was two hours every week, and then I had another job which was an hour and a half travel away just for £50. And I remember that £50 was so much at the time, but again, once you factored in all those like overhead costs, it's nothing. So I was kind of just going along, like surviving, really. And I can remember the days when I had, you know, like the electric electricity and gas top-up cards. I remember topping that up and always running out of credit, like I'd come home from a day's work and the freezer would be defrosted or I couldn't have a shower because it was cold. So that was kind of like my struggle and everything that I was kind of going through, but I really wanted to make it work. At this stage, like the cleaning when I went independent, it was only like a part-time thing to get me through till the end of my degree. I really was stuck on this career of being in the police, so I didn't really take it that seriously. Again, I didn't do any courses as such or anything like that, so I didn't really know how to run a business, how to scale it, how to advertise or anything like that. And I suppose I was really confident in my work and the results that I could do from the clients I had the feedback and everything, but not the business side. I didn't really have a clue what to do with that sort of thing. But as I said, for a good six months it was quite quiet. So I kind of used that quiet time to focus on university and get through the first sort of couple of years. And it was then when I got into the second year, I realized how hard the uni work was, and that really you do need to have your full attention. I think most people at uni don't know they have like a job at the weekends, but they really do focus on their work, and that was something that I wasn't really doing. And then I kind of had like a bit of a breakthrough moment, so I started advertising. I literally just did, you know, like free advertisements on Facebook community groups, and that just hit it off straight away. I mean, when we first started, it was domestic, so there was a lot of work out there, and I kind of used my age to my advantage, and I was quite good with the social media side of things, so quite quickly I was fully booked, and I think when you're sort of self-employed working solo, there's only so much availability you can give before what your profits are sort of capped, aren't they? You can't really go any further.

Fran 9:10

So, yeah, as I said, focus there's a few things in there, like I'm absolutely buzzing. Yeah, to come in. I'd like to say, because obviously I come in from like the neurolinguistic programming side of it. You your story shows a lot of uh emotional intelligence, I think that you you as a person, you're very resilient anyway, and adaptable to change. But also, even with the company that you worked for, the uh the cleaning company that didn't work out, let's just say, there's lessons to be taken from that. So, you know, other than that's not how you want to do business, just just out of interest, what other lessons did you get out of that? Because then there must have been something to have learned about how to run your own business from having that experience.

Megan 10:00

Yeah, I think even now, comparing it to my company, now they're very different. They were quite large-scale, you know, there was loads of people working in the office, taking in calls. So, I mean, I suppose it taught me how to actually just go in and do things on your own because there wasn't really any support or management as such from them. It was kind of almost like a practice of starting my own business. There were the clients were given to me as such, and the rest of it was just down to me, you know, how I communicated with the client, how I delivered the service, how I wanted to do the clean, everything. So I guess it literally did taught me how to start your own cleaning business with like these free kind of leads that were given from them. So yeah, kind of went in at the deep end, really. But it was, I suppose it was quite good in the sense that you didn't have people hassling you of how they wanted things done. But on their end of the spectrum, that's not good for their company. And I remember reading over their reviews one time out of interest because I thought they seemed to be getting a lot of bad feedback. And one of them was something like these people had booked in an end-of-tenancy clean, they'd walked in halfway through the clean, and one of the cleaners was sat watching TV on their sofa eating their food, and it was just like that was typical of them and and not you not even just the management, but the other cleaners that they hired, obviously, without interviewing people.

Fran 11:22

So there's the the level of either motivation or integrity for the job and things like that, you you've you've had a much higher attainment level. Yeah. Therefore, going out on your own, you've had something behind you. Is it like bravado or something behind you? I mean, also the lessons of how not to do it.

Megan 11:45

Yeah, yeah, I guess firsthand I did see how it can go wrong. And like I said, I do have quite a good work, I think, even when I worked in pubs and things like that. So to hear like someone be unhappy with a service that they're paying for just wasn't something I wanted to do, and it didn't sit right with me. So I guess yeah, I saw their mistakes before, but I mean it didn't stop me from making my own mistakes.

Going Independent And Financial Strain

Fran 12:09

But this this part of the question was about what you're most passionate about in your work. So by the sounds of it, it you discovered how much you loved cleaning.

Megan 12:21

Yeah. Yeah, and I mean, um it was it was a really good few years. I was just gonna sort of go into saying that I was trying to sort of juggle everything. I was, I remember it was, I think after my second year, because I think at uni, you broke up quite early, don't you? And I had this whole summer where I was like, oh great, I can really focus on the cleaning now, I've got more availability. And I actually had a friend who said I'd be happy to help you. So we worked as like a duo, and I was like, brilliant, you know, double clients, half the time, because we're splitting the work between us. Then I had another friend who I took on independently, and yeah, I just had there was no limits anymore of like how much I could scale it, so I kept doing that really, and I think at one time we had like 60 regular clients who were weekly and fortnightly, which is obviously quite a lot. So yeah, that was kind of a big step then, and in in the last year of uni, it kind of got towards the end of the summer, and I was like, oh god, I've forgotten about the fact that I'm gonna have to go back and limit my availability again. I kind of reluctantly just tried to do it all. So obviously, now you throw in like managing staff, something that was really new to me, no training on it, or I never even thought that I would take on staff, so it was kind of just something new. And like I said, I just tried to do it all and it just wasn't possible. I was also travelling from an hour to the university, and I think I kind of just came to the realisation that the money that I was making was better when you have your own business, obviously the flexibility of working when you like, everything being on your terms, and I kind of just stopped attending uni for as long as I could get away with it while still trying to get the degree, and they just they clocked on and it didn't work, so I actually kind of dropped out and I was really gutted because that was kind of my dream. In the end, I was really shocked, but I did get a diploma out of it for the two years that I did do so. So I was done, yeah. Because I was thinking, oh god, the student loan that you know, the debt that I'm in for nothing, and I was thinking of everyone else on the course on their like graduation and me not having that. So I actually don't have any regrets at all, and it did just go so well really quickly. And kind of the stage that we're at now, I mean, last year we rebranded to go completely commercial rather than domestic, you know, the staffing side of things is so much easier, and I really like working business to business, a bit like you. I'm quite passionate about business as well, and I just find it enjoyable and there's that common ground. But yeah, I mean, in terms of sort of what I was really passionate about, I always wanted to help people, and I think when I was kind of doing the lower level cleaning, shall we say, with domestic, when it felt quite limited, I almost felt a bit like I know I'm helping people day to day, but I want to do a bit more, and I still feel like that now. So in September, I'm going to London to do a biohazard course, so that would be like after death clear-ups, needle sweeps, hoarders, that kind of thing. So, yeah, I guess in a way I will get to live out my sort of policing career in a l in a kind of weird way mixing with my business now, and also kind of helping other business owners as well within cleaning to help them scale to kind of avoid making the mistakes that I made. Because I mean, I'm a lot of it I just sort of went through it not knowing what I was doing and learned things the hard way.

Fran 15:42

It's it's always a good idea, and again, for anybody listening, it's always a good idea to build a business model that has room for scalability in it. I'm just gonna say though, if your passion is to be a domestic cleaner and you just want a few hours a week and things like that, there's absolutely no judgment for that at all. You can still scale within that. There are still other things that you can bring in, any level of this. And I know myself I used to do domestic cleaning, but I've kind of incorporated my years of care work and being a conservation assistant kind of together, and I did high-end, but I it was kind of you know, in and out of people's houses. So, but it's it's always an idea to build in some scalability into your business model.

Megan 16:31

Yeah, definitely.

Fran 16:32

I want to now ask you because I love the fact that you're a young entrepreneur. So, as a young young entrepreneur in the cleaning industry, what are some of the biggest challenges that you've faced and how have you overcome them?

Finding Clients And Hitting Capacity

Megan 16:49

So I think being young and the kind of circle of people I had around me at the start, I didn't have any friends who had businesses because most young people don't. I think I was only 19 when I started. And the family, I mean, I didn't have loads of family, but the family that do have businesses are very different. And as I said, living independently, I was quite shut off. So I really wish that I did things properly. And I think a lot of the challenges I faced was kind of not having that attitude of having, yeah, business models and you know, this is gonna be my career. It was a bit of a hobby at the start and just something to get me through. And I suppose kind of the transition of going from that little bit to get by to actually I'm gonna do this. There was already, you know, years of progress where things weren't set up properly, so it was very hard to kind of just start again, but with the client base I already had. So I wish that I yeah, had more processes in place, maybe invested in a course or like a handbook or just getting some advice from people who really knew what they were doing. Because I think when you kind of just wing it and you do you kind of hope for the best, there are going to be challenges that come up and obstacles. And I feel like I faced challenges in every kind of way, whether it was accounting, terms and conditions, you know, finances, that kind of thing. So yeah, I wish that I uh took it a bit more seriously and also kind of invested back in the business. I think probably shows my age as well when I first started. I'd never kind of had that kind of money before. So any money I got, I would draw it out of the account. That was my sort of personal money. And you know, the accounts were messy, I didn't have a business account at first, and I also was, you know, spending it so much. I was going on holidays. I think going back to working with my friends, it was great because we had this like work life together, and then outside of work, we got to spend our money. So, yeah, holidays, clothes, new cars, things like that. And I think looking back on it now, if I'd I had this tiny little car when I first passed, and everyone else usually upgrades their car after a couple of years, don't they? And I had this car for about six years, I was really embarrassed driving it, it was all scuffed up, and I was like, I'm gonna save really hard, work hard to get a really nice car that I like. And looking back on it now, it was just silly. I could have got three vans, maybe with this one car that I've got, which was nice for my own development, and I worked really hard for it. But I think just that mindset, maybe when you're young, to just take it seriously, and like money does come around, you know, you've got your whole life to make money, so putting money back in the business is what will help you go further.

Fran 19:37

I feel that when we're at school, because I'm that bit older you, I'm I'm 55 this year, so and I'm quite sure that it's not a great deal different. When I was at school, there was nothing much about entrepreneurship, there was nothing much about self employed businesses, it was all just you know, what career do you want? You work for somebody, you work for an organisation. You work for an industry, and that was all I was kind of pushed towards. There was nothing else really available in the way of either opportunities or information. So it's hard to know where to turn to. And not all advice is the advice that you need at the time. Definitely. And I think it's not always from a genuine place, is it?

Megan 20:21

Yeah, that's true as well. And also, I think going back to being quite young when you first start, I didn't really listen to people's advice anyway. I was a bit like, well, I've come this far to do all of this on my own. And my friends and family still say that about me now, that I never listen to advice, I just do it, and then I come running back to them that it's all gone wrong. But yeah, especially in my situation, coming from a place where I was very independent and I'd kind of done it all on my own. I didn't want to be told by anyone how to do it. But I think as well, like now, social media is quite good because I think back when you're at school, you wouldn't really know who to turn to kind of when you leave that sort of thing. But now I think because there's so many like business mentors out there and things like that, it's quite easy to find people in your industry and go to them, whether they're selling a product or even if it's just you know someone that you're messaging for advice.

Fran 21:14

Yeah, I hear you, and that's what you can be now, because you can be the business mentor for others kind of summoning.

Megan 21:21

And I think that's kind of why I would like to do it as well, because I wish that back then that there was someone that I could have gone to or someone that I knew of. I mean, people sell things now like handbooks and you know, just product that you can get straight from the service. So it's really easy to kind of do that. And I've done so many courses now, and I look back on them and think I would not be where I am if I hadn't have done that, and it's the best money you ever spend because it helps you kind of scale and grow.

Fran 21:52

So yeah, that's another thing. The thing about advice as well is that if it's kind of not welcomed or not asked for, then it can make us feel a little bit defensive or that we don't need it. So I feel that it always should be permission-based. You know, would you like some advice or because you have to be open to to taking in the information, whether it's advice or tips or anything like that, you have to be in a place where you're open to receiving that information. Otherwise, you can't truly kind of embody it and then do anything with it.

Megan 22:29

Yeah, definitely. And I'm I think maybe from a woman's perspective as well, I think sometimes we go to people looking when we do ask for advice, it's kind of because we want empathy on the situation and to feel better. Whereas I think men are very logical and straight talking, and that's something me and my partner struggle with as well. He always gives me advice and I just don't listen because I'm not looking for the actual advice at the time. And I think unfortunately, sometimes it does take things to actually go wrong before you kind of do really seek out that advice that you're going to follow.

Confidence, Visibility, And Mindset

Fran 23:02

And a lot of that's about communication as well. So if we're able to clearly communicate what our needs are, but we've got to know what our needs are to start with, because you may not have known that you needed help to create a business plan, or you may not have known what an actual business model was, or that the different variants of it. So if you don't know that, you don't know what to ask in the first place. So I feel sometimes that things aren't broken down enough. You know, the information isn't small enough for us to digest to start with. There's that thing of, you know, you could you can't get on the first rung of the ladder if it's too high up. Yeah, I don't know. And I also feel potentially that your partner's advice, there's gonna be a place for that.

Megan 23:47

But maybe there's yeah, I always say this, and unfortunately, my business isn't at the stage where I could give him like a full annual salary based on, you know, just pluck it out of thin air. Definitely in the future. But I think yeah, he's you know, got his own job and you can't just rely on your partner. But definitely he's got great ideas, and again, I that's other help that I probably wouldn't come as far as I have if I didn't have that.

Fran 24:13

I see that maybe as pearls of wisdom, and you could use it for social media.

Megan 24:18

Yeah. Oh, I do slightly already, but yeah, I could definitely do that a bit more. Utilise, utilise what's around you. Yeah, definitely. I mean, following on from what I was saying about maybe not taking things as seriously, again, it kind of felt like a bit of a side hustle at first, which, like you said, there's nothing against that. Like if you've got children or you might have another another job and you just want a bit of income, it's perfectly fine. But I think when you're going with big contracts or you know, things like that with commercial clients, you do really need to look at doing that properly. And I think um now I take it a lot more seriously. I can't afford to mess up with the kind of work that we're doing now. And I think, like you said, you've got to have structure, sort of long-term planning for the future ahead. I mean, for a long time, I think maybe three years, I didn't even have an accountant. And I was using like a one-off service for an accountant. I said, could you just check over my sort of self-assessment? And they said, Oh, just so you know, you should have registered, you should have registered for that about a year ago. And I was just like, honestly, I don't even know what that is, what that means, how do I register? Like, what do I do? And I just got myself in this really, really messy situation. So yeah, even things like that, like you don't get told when you start a business, you must have an accountant, you must understand this. I think you're kind of expected to just work it all out. And I always say people start their businesses because they're good at cleaning or because they're good at coaching people, not because they know everything about finances and what accountants know and marketing and all that stuff. So, yeah, there's so much that goes into it. So I think having support is really important. There's there's the initial passion, isn't there?

Fran 26:02

Yeah that you can then do something with. Um with again, with building business models, there are different ways of doing it. So obviously, not everybody has to be back registered unless you're, I think, unless you're a limited company. So if you stay as kind of self-employed, you get a self-employed number, you can even do if you're under a certain tax bracket as well.

Megan 26:23

Yeah.

Fran 26:23

Um so there are ways of starting that aren't too daunting. There are ways of starting because there's there's a whole financial thing about being under a taxable bracket, and then yeah, you know, whether or not you're doing your self-assessment and things like that. So there's lots of different ways of going about it. Yeah. What I want to get to from that is anybody listening to this who's interested in finding out more about you know what you do or building their own business around cleaning, don't be put off. There are ways into it. You know, there's always a way of starting. That's the hardest thing. The actual starting, I think, is the hardest thing. And I love the fact that you were quite gun-ho and you just went, right, that's what I'm gonna do, and just more or less threw yourself into it and learn as you went along.

Megan 27:10

And it is scary as well, like you know, going back to having structure and things like that. People put these plans and these sort of courses and things together to help you and really break it down. I think a lot of people get scared by the idea of going self-employed and all of that stuff. I mean, I've done interviews before. I personally like to take people on as self-employed rather than employed. And I've had people, yeah, apply and they don't have a clue about it. And as soon as you mention it, they go, Oh no, I don't want to do that. And you think actually that would be beneficial for you because you've got another job where if you were employed, you'd get taxed a lot on that. You know, if you're only doing a few hours here and there, you're probably not going to go over the tax bracket. So, yeah, people get really scared, and I think it's just about kind of getting that help if you are a bit nervous about it. Yeah.

Young Entrepreneur Challenges And Money Management

Fran 28:00

We don't know what we don't know. Exactly. Yeah. Right. So that leads beautifully into my next question for you. So, what advice would you give? I'm gonna say young women. Um, you know, obviously this speaks to men as well, but then you know, take the words, but I'm gonna say young women. So, what advice would you give to young women who are looking to start their own business or to pursue their passions despite any challenges that they might face?

Megan 28:29

I would say the the number one thing that comes to mind is just to be confident. And as I said, when I first started and people were saying, you know, turn this into a business, make business cards, I just didn't for such a long time because I thought, oh, you know, I don't know what I'm doing. Why should anyone trust me? You know, I don't have a clue. So I think just be confident. And I think again, going back to starting a business for why you're good at something or why you like doing it, if you believe that you're good at it or you're passionate about it, then there's no reason why you can't work out the rest of the other stuff. Again, it's so easy to sort of access courses and things. So if you need that structure and want to know what everyone else in the industry is doing, then you can go and find that easily. And there's no rush as well. You can take your time to learn it and do everything like that. So I think, yeah, confidence is key and kind of like own your own skills, believe that you're good at it and be proud. I think that held me back for a really long time. And sometimes it does even catch me off guard now. I think like it's like a voice in the back of your head, isn't it, that says, Oh, you you can't do that, you you don't know enough about that, or you know, things like that. So, yeah, just kind of believe in yourself.

Fran 29:45

Now, limiting beliefs is one of my things as as a coach, and you've kind of alluded to it just there. And that that voice, that inner critic that we have, a good way of doing something with that is to reframe it. So it tells you you're not good enough. So just reframe it into I am good enough. It sounds really simple, but you tell yourself that enough, and you do start to believe it because you can create new neural pathways and you can reprogram your own mind. Like it's incredible what we're able to do. We've just got to know that it's possible, and it is possible to challenge that inner critic. Yeah, definitely everybody's got limiting beliefs. We've all got things that will hold us back, and it is possible to tell yourself that you can do it. Yeah, and so I love that about having the confidence.

Megan 30:33

Definitely, and I actually spoke to someone yesterday, we were talking about that, and we're talking about how we've both been in therapy and kind of the advice we've been given about that sort of side of things. And she said to me a really good point that you should name that voice in your head, give it a name and just tell them to shut up and um yeah, speak to yourself.

Fran 30:53

There's different things you can do. Yeah, you can give them a name, you can turn the volume down, you can reframe it into something more positive. You can actually challenge the the inner critic as to where's the truth in that? You know, who who said that? Where did that come from? Because quite often we just, you know, we just don't really know even if anybody ever said it. It may have started from somewhere. Whose voice is it you hear? Is it your own voice? Do you hear somebody else's voice? You know, just imagine that you've got a volume control and turn the volume down on that.

Megan 31:26

Yeah, definitely. And I think, yeah, that's kind of when I really started to blossom in myself as a person and my business when I started to believe in myself. I remember for a long, long time I didn't want to kind of be visible on, I didn't want to show my face behind the business or anything like that. I don't know if that's maybe just a young thing or my idea of what other people were going to say about me, but I didn't do that phrase because I just, you know, I didn't want to be seen and I wasn't confident enough. And as soon as I got over that fear, I thought, God, people are so used to seeing my face all the time now because I'm constantly posting. What difference does it make? So yeah, at that moment.

Fran 32:04

There are fears though, we're born with a couple of fears. So we're born if we're a hearing person, we're born with a fear of loud noises, and we're born with a fear of falling. Everything else is either done to us by ourselves or by other people. So these fears just just build up. And that thing about visibility, you know, it's it's difficult to be on camera, I think, because you're open to judgment. Yeah. Or, you know, do I look good enough or have I got anything to say? And yeah, that's taken me a long time to to to kind of get somewhere with because I like to say the words um a lot, I've got a lot of filler words, you know. Anybody that looks at my YouTube channel, I've got another YouTube channel, and anybody that looks at the other stuff that I do back in the beginning, like it was it was pretty dreadful, really, you know. But I kept going with it. And the thing about visibility as well, it's what do you want to be visible for? So you want to be visible to promote your business, but you also want to be visible to show other people that it's possible that you can do this, that kind of motivational message that you've got, and that you can do this too.

Megan 33:10

Yeah, definitely. And even now, I there are some things that are still out of my comfort zone. It wasn't until I had a rebrand of my business and I invested in like a brand designer, and she was saying to me, you know, I'm doing all this work for you. You should really be like doing your social media, like do a launch day. And I was like, Oh, I don't really know. And you know, it was her that really pushed me to say, Look, don't care what other people think, just show your face and put yourself out of your comfort zone. And even now, there's things that I'm doing that are a bit like, oh, I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it it really limits you if you don't. And honestly, what is the worst that's gonna happen? Because we all have little things that we do, like you said, whether it's filler words or for me, I speak too quickly if I'm nervous and then I don't get my point across. But no one actually sits there and thinks, Oh God, that was a mess, do they? They just they just listen.

Fran 34:02

Yeah, and anybody that doesn't like it, then they're not your audience, and that's okay. You know, each individual have got their own preferences or the way that they like to take in information or absorb learning and things like that. And if you're not for them, that's okay.

Megan 34:17

Yeah, definitely.

Fran 34:19

We don't we don't need to be for everybody.

Megan 34:21

Yeah, so I mean, I was gonna say as well, that kind of links into showing up as the sort of the face of your brand. So, like I said, I was hiding a lot. One of my biggest sort of things as well is I would always worry about what people would say about me from school when they started seeing my face pop up on Facebook and things like that. And I guess, yeah, coming from a young person, that is something that plays on your mind a lot. Now, once I'm now I'm completely over that kind of irrational fear, I just think you know, those people who aren't maybe doing much with their lives now will only look at what I'm doing and think, oh wow, that's really good. Have you heard what she's doing? And then people talk, don't they? And if it gets my business out there somehow, then then it works. So, and I think as well, going back to kind of business strategy, people trust who they see, don't they? They put a face to a business rather than, you know, a fancy post with, you know, made on Canva or something like that.

Boundaries, Pricing, And Value

Fran 35:15

There are certain touch points that people need so that they can build up no like and trust with us. And again, no judgment if anybody builds a faceless account or a faceless business. It's more about what your motivations are and who what kind of audience you're trying to speak to. And I do feel that it's important that your face is on your account because you're inspiring other young people to build a business of their dreams as well.

Megan 35:41

Yeah, definitely. And another thing I was going to say is not necessarily directed to being young, but I think anyone who started a business, I think you kind of lower your rates and what you charge because you just feel like, I mean, for me, I think because I'm can be such a people pleaser sometimes, I feel bad charging people what I think it's worth. You know, it is totally worth what I'm charging, but I feel bad. And I think if someone comes along and has this throws in there straight away, oh, you know, we were really unhappy with this price we were paying before, or don't you think that's so expensive? Little comments like that play on your mind and you automatically lower your price just based on their facial expression or how they say something. Whereas I would say to people, just be confident. And I think I went through a long stage in my business where, you know, there were times of desperation where I needed the money to get by, so I did things, or really influenced by what people would say. And then one day I just, you know, I was looking at how hard I was working and it wasn't working out, you know, profitable. And I just completely switched it and I thought this is what it's worth for me to go out there, do this job, provide the management that I'm giving. And I really do believe that I'm providing a good service. So that is kind of my charge. I mean, sometimes there's room for sort of wiggle room, isn't there? But you know, if someone's being out of line or just taking the mick with what I've said, I will just say, look, I'm we're not the right business for you. And quite often now, I think people do have these sort of um ideas that cleaning isn't like a high-paid service, that it's kind of one of those lower-end jobs. So all the time now, when I go to viewings and I speak to new clients, I say, if you're looking for value, then I'm glad that we're having this conversation. But if you're just stuck in a budget and cost is the main thing for you, we are definitely not the company for you.

Fran 37:32

Yes, having that transparency up front. Um, there's a couple of things there that have come to mind. I completely hear you from being working in care for over 25 years. Care is a very undervalued and undervalued as well. Like it's another of those service industries that is very overlooked. Um, a lot of what you're saying is to do with money mindset, and we don't realize that there are different mindsets, like it, like literally the same mind. Like it blew my mind that we could have different mindsets, that we could have a growth mindset or a money mindset. I'm like, I had no idea. And I had no idea that I had my own money limitations as well. Yeah. So it can be hard to it can be hard to price yourself at a point that either feels comfortable or that's right for the for the type of work that you're doing. So I think having that transparency is really important once you do figure it out.

Megan 38:27

Definitely. And I think sometimes there's this misconception that some business owners, a bit like the agency I worked for, they just go in and charge this ridiculous amount just because they're greedy. And I think you can really tell the difference between a company like that and someone who really cares and is gonna deliver a good service. So it's kind of like fighting those sort of expectations as well that's really hard. But again, I think maybe like talking to people in the industry, like whether you join like a Facebook community group, I think that's helped me at little times where might be things like someone said something, and I thought, oh, I should really put that in my terms and conditions because they've just gone through that really bad experience and I don't want that to happen to me.

Fran 39:11

Yeah, and it's not it's getting that those little things. Like I remember years ago when my children were young, I set up as a childminder for a little while. So I had a bit of a break in the care work because I wanted to be at home and I didn't know where to price myself, so I kind of looked on the National Childminding Register and all the rest of it to try and get an average for the area, and then I went in at the middle. So I don't know whether it's like you know, the high point of the letter, and I went in at the middle, and then I increased my prices from there because I added extra services. So that that where do you start is really hard as well. So I presume that's going to be something that you'll be able to mentor other people starting their businesses through, like where those price points are.

Megan 39:56

And it all started. I mean, I've been keeping on top of my sort of business. social media quite well at the moment. And I kind of just did a video on TikTok and I must have had 50 to 100 people message me saying, please can you give me advice? And I'd always sit there just, you know, writing paragraphs and paragraphs because I really cared and I really wanted to help people. And I thought actually there's like a market for this. And you know, instead of just writing paragraphs to you, I can probably give you a whole document and you know it would really help people like it would have me if I had it.

Fran 40:25

Yeah, that's well that's where you can look at growing an email list and having landing pages to collect, you know, so that they get the information sent to them. And then then you can have like documents ready and stuff like that or workbooks ready because you can help more more people without it taking up more of your time.

Mentorship, Processes, And Systems

Megan 40:42

Yeah, definitely. And I think going back to you know what young people can learn if they want to start a business or grow their business is I would say as well use your age to your advantage. So something like that, I'm quite good on my Mac or my iPad. I know how to do those kind of things. And you know social media as well in my teenage and you know younger years as I grew up when social media came out. So to me I used to sit there and make sure that my Instagram feed matched this certain theme. So now I know how to do the same thing with my business. And I think there will be something for everyone where you're really good at it. For me I'm not great at the maybe accounting side of things like that. Anything that's a bit sort of logical thinking but you know the creative side and things like that, use your age to your advantage, I think.

Fran 41:29

Yeah, lean on the skill set that that you have and if you don't think you've got one you you have. Yeah like everybody's got a skill set you've really and if you haven't you can learn if you want to that is like the things that I don't want to learn I don't want to learn accountants I mean even setting up this Zoom call that was a bit difficult for me that we got there. Oh it didn't help that I had tech issues did it just I'm gonna wrap this up in a moment but just gonna say because you you mentioned something quite early on about where you're going next with your business. So what is next for you?

Megan 42:04

So as I mentioned biohazard cleaning it was something that I always said no I would never do that. I really liked the glamorous side of it and when we first started we did really like high-end homes classed as like super homes we did like well-known people's houses things like that. So that was never really my intention but as I said I really want to help people and I think seeing the impact that those cleans have on people like you know the documentaries you watch with the hoarders where you go in and at the end you know it's nothing like glamorous but they have that space where they can just feel good. And I think to me the reason I clean is for like mental clarity to de-stress if I make dinner I have to clean first because I like to have a clean area and it just makes you feel good. So that's kind of what I would want other people to feel the same especially people who have never experienced it or got themselves in a really bad mental place where they you know can't and I think as well with kind of like after death clearups that kind of thing I only realized the other day that when someone passes away it's not just like the emergency services responsibility to pay for that clear up it's whoever owns the property. So if you've got family member that's passed away you have to deal with that side of things as well as the grief. So having you know a company that you can trust to do that job properly if it's a case of them living in the house or selling it peace of mind that they know that's been done properly, that they're going to turn up on the day those are things that I feel like I can deliver through what I do now while still you know really caring about the service I'm giving. So that's kind of like the next steps in at least in the next year I would say so I'm really excited for going to London for that course. I think it'll be really interesting. And yeah I think yeah just help like you said helping other cleaning businesses people start because I know how scary it is and how daunting it can be and also confusing. I mean there's so many times where I've said to my partner I'm just going to give up because I I don't know where to go from here or I've even said blamed it on the industry I'm in and how society sees the industry that I'm in and pricing and things like that. And I've even said to him recently I'm I feel like I'm struggling because it's concepts that I can't change that are out of my control. Obviously you know I know now that is just business you can't change that but I think that that really low place where you feel like it's taking over your life and you can't move forwards it's so important to have that guide there.

Fran 44:35

Yeah yeah absolutely that guidance that mentorship is really important and I can I can really see how you're going to be able to implement that from thank you learning your business in the way that you have as well and I'm excited to see what you do next as well. Thank you. So thank you so much Megan for sharing your your incredible story. I've loved this actually it's really interesting. So different isn't it yeah it is different it is different and it kind of it's got touches of things that I've done before. So before being an NLP coach I was a carer for over 25 years and then I had had a little stint as a conservation assistant in a stately home. So I did very high end cleaning and very classical care and collections yeah very specialised but that it's that attention to detail because I I love the way that people's minds work and the attention to detail and why we do the things that we do and I think my natural progression just led me into an LP coaching.

Megan 45:41

And I think I always yeah I always thought it was a disadvantage being young and I always thought oh people won't trust me they won't take me seriously whereas now I look at it and I think if I've done this at 23 what am I going to do in all those years next with this experience so yeah I am I'm quite grateful for everything I've been through.

Next Steps: Commercial And Biohazard Work

Fran 46:01

Yeah amazing um I love that so your story it truly reminds us all to stay motivated resilient like you're very resilient and passionate about pursuing your dreams for those of you curious about Megan's business you can find her so you've got a website and that's www.proclean commercials dot co dot uk and you're on social media as at proclean commercials you mentioned TikTok where else are they likely to find you LinkedIn if if it's more sort of commercialised again my new sort of business idea with helping other people that will be kind of a new business so I would say just keep an eye on what I'm currently doing and you'll see everything that comes next. I'm definitely going to keep an eye thank you I'm fascinated so if you're interested in more content like this be sure to visit me as well so that's www.melancholycoaching.com follow us for the latest updates and until next time stay curious and keep igniting your creative potential and please do find Megan at ProClean Commercials to see what she does next. Thank you you're welcome thanks for listening bye thank you thank you for joining me on the Melancholy coaching podcast I'd love you to subscribe for queries or to connect email info at melancholymentor.com until next time keep igniting your creative potential