Harrisburg Area Community College

Home of the
Clean
Business Interview

Elexis D. Haywood
Jeremiah Tome: Home of the Clean
Business 101: 25495
Michelle Myers
12/6/2020
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Entrepreneurship is the act of taking entrepreneurship knowledge and utilizing it for the

effectiveness in a new business. Creating a business involves monetary risks, with the hope of

making a business profit. Establishing one's own business has skyrocketed in the 21st century,

several people leave their current job to seek something more from within themselves. Having the

job of an entrepreneur allows people to pursue careers in any field they choose, allowing them to

become anything their soul desires.

According to, Entrepreneurship.com (Leadem, Rose,) before starting a company, you must,

first, ask yourself these questions. Does your personality and creativity fit the nine-to-five

lifestyle, do you love to learn new things, are your ideas seen as crazy, do you want to create

something with a deeper meaning, and do you want to make the world a better place?

On Monday, September 21st at 6:30 p.m. I, Elexis Haywood, interviewed Mr. Jeremiah

Tome, owner of Home of the Clean LLC. Home of the Clean is a residential and commercial

cleaning business located at 350 Larkin Dr. Red Lion, Pa. This business has been around since

2016 and has thrived in more ways than one since its start. Jeremiah and his team take on the

responsibility of cleaning commercial business, residential properties, schools and churches, all at

various hours of the day. Most business and school cleanings take place in the evenings and the

residentials are more daytime shift. He quotes, “I take pride in people trusting us with their most

coveted assets.”

An entrepreneur must find something they are passionate about. Whether a hobby or an

occupation they find interest in, this job has got to be something they are willing to commit

themselves to and enjoy doing. Not only do they have to find a love for that job but, they also

must learn how to operate/ function, how to professionally fulfill and compete

against this job. Job readiness is also a huge need when interested in having a business. From,

Principles of Management (Williams pg. 316), it states job readiness consist of the amount of
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knowledge, skill, ability, and experience people have to perform their jobs. Entering the world of

an enterpriser, these management abilities are a necessity in order to excel as a supervisor.

When deciding whether to manage their own business, they need to know the reasons of

why they choose to do what they're doing. Many of the 21st century entrepreneurs go into their

business for the wrong reasons. With today's culture, everyone out there is looking for some way

of receiving fame or looking for satisfaction. An examination needs to be made asking, “Can I

cope with the anxiety and stress that comes with owning a business, am I capable of being a

leader?” Thirty percent of entrepreneurs become what they are yet face depression due to the

unsatisfaction they thought it would bring them. Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur, says, “To

become an entrepreneur, you need to be passion driven, not career driven or salary driven.” Along

with depression, entrepreneurs also suffer with loneliness. Outwardly, people may be able to make

entrepreneur life appears glamourous, but a lot of unseen emotion goes on behind it. Desertion is

mainly the cause of loneliness. Because expectance is not always received by a person’s product

or idea, knowing that because they are an entrepreneur, their ideas will and should be unique.

Everyone won’t see the purpose in their endeavors, this is the reason why entrepreneurs should

strive to be a leader and not a follower. The two go hand in hand when coping with the resisting

outside world.

Jeremiah found the need to start his business four years ago after leaving his previous job

at Agway, which he served at for fourteen years. Being at Agway, Jeremiah was a manager and

had duties that consist of opening and closing the store, inventory, hiring, scheduling and

processing. This line of work consumed 65 hours a week of Jeremiah’s time, causing him to miss

out on life activities such as church functions, family time and personal hobbies. After leaving his

prior occupation is when he finally decided to act on his next career. He quotes, “He reached the
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top of his ladder.” Having stepped out and opening his own business, Jeremiah says he has no

regrets, he is now able to take glee in family outings. Because of this, he recently was able to

purchase a pop-up camper and now enjoys the pleasure of traveling and experiencing outdoor life

with his wife and three kids.

Not all entrepreneurs will face such victories in their endeavor. It is said that most victories

come after failure. Williams also mentions, successful leaders have a stronger desire to lead. This

is true in most cases, but most succeeders went through some form of failure before they got to

where they are. An example of one includes Milton Hershey, a chocolatier, businessman and

philanthropist. Milton dropped out of school at the age of fourteen and started his own candy

profession in Lancaster, PA. After five years, he moved his workplace to Denver ad started

working for his father. Doing this he learned he didn’t care for dominance and decided to pursue

his own path. After failing in many big cities, Milton soon made his mark and flourished in his

caramel business. It was after this that he opened his chocolate business which is know all over

the world today.

Because Home of the Clean is a Christian run business, the overall goal of the company is

to glorify God in all that it does. Jeremiah also seeks pleasure in having satisfied customers after

a cleaning, he says success in his business is happy customers and happy employees. Having

satisfied customers is his top goal, another important step in his business is follow up calls on all

his customers after a cleaning. These calls consist of questions about the cleaning, whether

anything could be improved, were they content with the job done and any other concerns that may

better the cleaning of one's estate. He also follows up to schedule the appointment for the

costumers next cleaning. The average customer request to be scheduled bi-weekly or monthly.

Many businesses request service twice weekly with a school that is every night.
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As the owner, Jeremiah practically takes on all the unseen responsibilities by himself. He

cleans mornings, Monday- Friday starting at eight, with a mild break in the afternoons, and later

continues that evening until about ten. Another part of his job is to fill, replace and better supplies.

If an employee finds a product that gives complications, then that product is either replaced or

fixed to work properly. He also must refill or purchase new cleaning sprays and sometimes bottles

to keep cleaning running smoothly. His weekend task mostly consists of software management

with employee pay apps, via, paperwork and some accounting. He also must meet with new

customers for estimates. This gives him the opportunity to meet face to face with his new client

and allows him to view the property in which they want his service rendered. In times when

service may dissatisfy an individual, Jeremiah properly apologizes for the under met expectations

and offers to address the issues or compensates that individual. With that said, Jeremiah feels he

works better under pressure. He says, “Yes, I like pressure, sometimes. It gives me a goal or

something to set.” To him, failure means working harder to fix, correct, or improve upon an issue.

The Home of the Clean customers rage form various ages, but most are 50+. Residential

homeowners may have children with disabilities and cannot tend to house duties like a standard

household could. Others are in a position where they cannot take care of their homes while some

just prefer their homes be cleaned on a scheduled basis.

Jeremiah’s business has greatly excelled in the area of customers which has had a huge

impact on the financial state of the business. By choosing Home of the Clean, their promise to

you is that you will get a professional quality, easy, affordable, best clean possible. Alyssa states,

“I am so happy I found them - they are very thorough in their work and accommodating to what

you need for your schedule. They are family owned and truly care about their customers. HIGHLY

recommend!” Buffy, another residential owner who utilizes Home of the Clean says, “Home of
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the Clean does wonderful work. The owners came to my house to give me an estimate to vacuum

and dust the house every two weeks. Living on a farm, with two Great Danes and

several cats that come in and out of the house, the dust and hair get everywhere. They do a

fabulous job for a reasonable price. I would recommend this company to anyone who is looking

for cleaning done.”

Currently, the company runs off eight employees working part-time shifts. Some grind

the morning and some the evening, there are also those who take on morning and evening shifts

and experience both the residential and commercial side of cleaning. The employees at Home of

the Clean really make an impact for the whole business, without them the business would not be

what it is today. Working duties involve common area cleaning, detailed dusting, kitchen

appliances, bathrooms, baseboards, office and cubical cleaning, floor care, trash, etc. The favored

cleaning products used by this company are Fabuloso, Zep cleaner, neutral floor cleaner, water

and vinegar, Mr. Clean pads, Pledge, Comet, and Weiman stainless steel.

Home of the Clean workers enjoy being employed by this business for a variety of

reasons. All the jobs accomplished are within the weekday period making sure the weekends are

set free. Christina, a Home of the Clean employee states, “Home of the Clean has a good coworker

environment, I can arrange my schedule and easily request time off.” Not only does Jeremiah see

fit to have satisfied customers, but he also looks to have well-pleased employees also.

The facts I have learned from this interview have taught me how important the management

roles in a business are. With the well-structured work process and informative information, I found

Jeremiah an exceptional person to interview about his business. I see all his governing qualities a

great example for anyone looking to manage their own establishment or be involved in an

organization. Managing a company is an ongoing task as an entrepreneur. From the calling of

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becoming one to the tactics involved, no entrepreneur’s life magically falls into place. As read,

the stress that comes with leading is something to be prepared for. Looking at the bright side of

entrepreneur's life may be fooling cause what it takes to achieve it is far greater than what is shone.

Leadership not only involves people groups and federations, but it influences others in their

behaviors as well. Quoted by Brian Tracy, “Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary

achievement from ordinary people.” For these reasons I did my interview on the business for

Home of the Clean.

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Works Cited:

Leadem, Rose,

“https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/285079#:~:text=Entrepreneurship%20is%20on%20the%20rise.%20

Today%2C%20there%20are,nine-to-

five%20jobs%20to%20pursue%20their%20own%20entrepreneurial%20journeys,” November 13,

2016

Leruste, Mark,

What They Don't Tell You About Entrepreneurship, Vimeo by Business School, 9/2/2020

Tome, Jeremiah,

Home of the Clean LLC, https://homeoftheclean.com/ 2016-2020

Blank, Steve,

Standford Graduate School of Business, https://vimeo.com/454051128

Williams, Chuck,

Principle of Management, 2019-2018 Cengage Learning, Inc.,

20 Channel Center Street Boston, Ma 02210, www.cengage.com

Biography.com,
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Milton Hershey (1857-1945), A&E Television Networks, LLC, https://www.biography.com/business-

figure/milton-hershey Oct 10, 2019