Shanique Graham - Transforming Passion into Business
Being a single mother of two girls
below the age of eleven often helps
a young woman hone certain skills
to maintain sanity. For Shanique
Graham, those skills have been
organisation and cleaning. Her
friends believe that these skills are
so pronounced that they have put
on their white coats, diagnosed her
with
Obsessive
Compulsive
Disorder (OCD) and encouraged
her to start her own cleaning
business.
She followed their advice and breathed
life into the Totally Maid for You
brand in July 2018. Several other
companies offer in-home cleaning
services as part of their service
packages. However, Shanique has
distinguished her Totally Maid for You
brand by positioning herself as the
Marie Kondo of Jamaica.
This vivacious mother is not only the
mastermind of the Totally Maid for
You brand. She has a Bachelor of Law
(LLB)
degree from the University of
Technology and Bachelor of Science
Degree in International Relations
from the University of the West
Indies. Additionally, she is pushing to
gain entry to the Norman Manley Law
School to complete her legal education
so that she can become a practicing
lawyer. She currently works as a
Strategic Planning professional. I
caught up with her to learn more
about her active life and how she
balances entrepreneurship with her
many roles.
I take great pride in ensuring that potential customers understand that we
do far more than clean your home;
What services does Totally
Maid for You offer? Describe your business in
one word.
My long-term vision for this
business is for my team and I to be
the go-to source for in-home
cleaning and organising in Jamaica.
Marie Kondo is my greatest
inspiration and I take great pride in
ensuring that potential customers
understand that we do far more
than clean your home; we offer an
organisation experience that helps
bring peace of mind. The services
we currently offer include: Totally Maid for You is a necessity
because it offers structure amidst a
hectic life. An organised home
inevitably creates an organised
mind and life.
Cleaning Services
Laundry folding
Closet/cupboard organising
Ironing and cooking will soon
become a part of our package.
Issue �: January ����
What is the greatest
challenge that you have
faced as an entrepreneur
and how have you
overcome it?
Potential customers often have a
preconceived notion about the
value we offer. This leads them to
“bawling down” our prices. We
often have to explain the value of
our services and the fact that our
prices are non-discriminatory.
How do you balance
entrepreneurship with
motherhood?
It’s a daily challenge and no two days are
alike. However, having structures in
place helps. I have a lot of demands on
my time so everything has to be time-
bound and organised.
My daughters are also intimately
involved in the business. In fact, my ten
years old daughter has recommended
that we add homework services to our
service line-up and she wants to be
trained as a maid. I have to keep
reminding her that I will be charged for
child labour if I hired her as a maid.
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