10/19/2026
A Man Running a Cleaning Company in a Female-Dominated Industry.
Something I've found interesting since starting The Clean Up Crew is just how few men I come across working in residential cleaning.
It's an industry that's largely dominated by women, and here I am, a 240-pound competitive powerlifter who decided to build a business cleaning people's homes and commercial properties.
I've squatted over 700 pounds, benched 500 pounds, and won national and world championships in powerlifting.
And I also spend a significant portion of my working day vacuuming floors, scrubbing bathrooms, wiping countertops, and cleaning toilets.
Quite the combination, right?
But here's something I've never really understood.
Why is cleaning still viewed by some people as women's work?
Why is it perfectly normal for a man to own a construction company, landscaping business, or automotive shop, but somehow different when that same man decides to start a residential/commercial cleaning company?
At the end of the day, it's a business.
You're providing a service that people need and are willing to pay for.
And if you can make a good living doing that, why should it matter whether you're a man or a woman?
Here's something I've learned since getting into this industry.
Professional cleaning is a lot more involved than most people realize.
There's a significant difference between cleaning your own house and maintaining multiple residential and commercial properties to a consistent professional standard.
You need to understand your chemicals.
You need to understand the surfaces you're working on.
You need proper systems to prevent cross-contamination.
You need to understand your equipment, manage your time, and deliver consistent results.
And if you're running the business yourself, you're also responsible for quoting, scheduling, marketing, bookkeeping, customer service, and everything else that comes with operating a company.
It's not just pushing a mop around for a few hours.
And I'll be the first to admit that I've learned a tremendous amount since getting started.
I also think the women who have built successful cleaning companies deserve a lot more recognition.
There are women in this industry who have built incredible businesses.
Some are working independently and making a fantastic living.
Others have built companies with dozens of employees, commercial contracts, and millions of dollars in annual revenue.
They've taken a service that people often underestimate and turned it into something incredibly successful.
That's something I have a tremendous amount of respect for.
And frankly, I think there's a lot that anyone getting into this industry can learn from them.
For any men considering getting into the cleaning industry.
Don't let the fact that it's a female-dominated industry discourage you.
There's absolutely nothing embarrassing about making an honest living cleaning someone's home or business.
There's nothing embarrassing about scrubbing a toilet.
There's nothing embarrassing about carrying a vacuum into a customer's house.
And I'll take that one step further.
If you're broke, the last thing you should be worried about is whether someone thinks your job is embarrassing.
Money is money.
If you're struggling financially and there's an opportunity in front of you to make an honest living, why the hell would you turn it down because you're worried about what someone else might think?
Your bills don't care about your pride.
Your landlord doesn't care about your ego.
And your bank account certainly doesn't care whether you made that money cleaning toilets or swinging a hammer.
There's no shame in honest work.
And if you're sitting around struggling to pay your bills because you think certain jobs are beneath you, maybe it's time to reconsider your priorities.
I'd rather make money cleaning toilets than sit around broke worrying about whether the work is beneath me.
And here's another thing worth mentioning.
I didn't start The Clean Up Crew because cleaning was some lifelong passion of mine.
I started it because I saw an opportunity to build a business.
A business with relatively low startup costs.
A business with recurring revenue potential.
A business that provides a service people consistently need.
And a business that, if operated properly, can eventually grow into something much larger than one person working with a vacuum and a mop.
That's what interested me.
The opportunity to build something.
The opportunity to create financial stability.
The opportunity to provide employment for other people.
And the opportunity to take something relatively simple and turn it into a successful company.
Here's my point.
I don't care whether someone thinks cleaning is men's work or women's work.
I don't care if someone thinks it's an embarrassing way to make a living.
And I certainly don't care if someone thinks a guy my size should be doing something more traditionally masculine.
I'm not building my business around someone else's opinion of what I should be doing for work.
I'm building it because I see an opportunity.
I take pride in the work I do, regardless of whether that means scrubbing a toilet, mopping a commercial building, or sitting behind a computer trying to figure out how to grow the company.
At the end of the day, honest work is honest work.
And if you're willing to put your ego aside, work hard, and take opportunities that other people might overlook, you might be surprised by what you can build.
There's nothing embarrassing about making an honest living.
And there's definitely nothing embarrassing about building a successful business doing something other people think they're too good to do.
