A North Tyneside business owner is on a mission to ‘clean up the cleaning industry’.
Helen Ross, from Killingworth Village, runs Bright and Beautiful North Tyneside - an eco-friendly cleaning service providing tidying, laundry, and ironing.
She set up the franchise after being made redundant in 2017 following a career in advertising and marketing.
Having already been named employer of the year for the North East in the FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards and best new business in the North Tyneside Business Awards, Helen has now been crowned the North Tyneside Business of the Month for December.
She was supported by North Tyneside Council’s The Business Factory – which, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, shines a spotlight on the quality of new businesses based in the borough each month with the Business of the Month campaign.
Helen said: “I am delighted to be named the North Tyneside Business of the Month, particularly as we only launched just over two years ago and we have already enjoyed a great deal of success.
“After I was made redundant, and having worked for several terrible employers, I decided I didn’t want to work for anyone else.
“The values of Bright and Beautiful in terms of ethical employment and eco-friendly cleaning really appealed to my own values.
“As a business, we are aiming to clean up the cleaning industry and educate people that there is a huge difference between one cleaning company and another.”
Helen believes there are too many cleaning agencies and companies using unethical employment practices allowing them to keep prices low.
“This results in poor quality and an unreliable service that people assume is the norm,” she said.
“There is a need to educate people that cleaning, when done professionally, should be paid along the same lines as any other trade.”
With a trusted team of 11 professional housekeepers, she is continuing to expand heading into the new year.
She added: “I love providing good quality jobs to local people and hearing how my staff love their jobs and I think I’m a great boss.
“North Tyneside is a great local community. The business community really wants to support each other.
“The support that the local authority gives to its local business in unbelievable from business coaches to free courses – it is no wonder people come from outside the area to find out more.”
Any small or medium-sized business in North Tyneside can nominate themselves or somebody they know for Business of the Month; simply provide a reason – ideally within 280 characters - why they think they should be selected and come along to the monthly business coffee morning.
Nominations can be tweeted to The Business Factory using the #NTCBiz, posted on its Facebook page or emailed to info@thebusinessfactory.co.uk
For more information about Bright and Beautiful North Tyneside visit https://www.brightandbeautifulhome.com/north-tyneside/