Seattle Founder Finds Success by Focusing on the Team She Leads
Heather McDowell founded Seattle Green Earth Cleaning in 2010 as an environmentally friendly residential cleaning company offering customized services to clients throughout the Seattle metropolitan area. After hiring several cleaning companies for extra help during her pregnancy, McDowell recognized an opportunity to make a difference and was inspired to create a business where clients felt appreciated and team members felt valued and recognized for their contributions.
McDowell initially launched her business from a home office, with a flip phone and a rented storage unit, and cleaned client homes herself as the only employee. Now in 2024, the company has their own headquarters with offices, warehouse, and staff kitchen, has created jobs for 46 team members, and is on track to exceed $3 million in annual revenue.
As the self-described “Managing Member,” McDowell views her role as a steward rather than an owner or employer, and attributes the ongoing success of the company to the team she leads. At the center of her team building philosophy McDowell facilitates opportunities for mentorship, on-the-job training, and opportunities for career growth within the company, in addition to a benefits package extended to all members.
In 2023, despite the financial success of the company, McDowell recognized a need for making changes and improvements.
“I knew I needed some support, some consultation and help,” McDowell said. “Through the SBA I found the T.H.R.I.V.E. program and applied. The program took me through all aspects of my business, encouraging me to assess detail by detail what needed to change, what was working and what wasn’t.”
The SBA T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders Reimagined program is an executive-level training series designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential small businesses across the nation. The program allows participants to work with a network of experienced subject matter experts in core business topics. Through one-on-one advising, self-paced instruction, and peer-to-peer networking with a cohort of small business owners, participants produce a three-year strategic plan to guide their business through the next stage of growth.
As a result of the T.H.R.I.V.E program, McDowell began working with a SCORE mentor to assess the status of the company, identify areas for improvement, and develop the plans needed to realize their goals.
“Through the T.H.R.I.V.E. program, and with the guidance of my SCORE mentor, I completely reorganized our entire administrative structure, our pricing model, and increased our employee benefits further. It really got me back to the culture that I wanted to create in the beginning,” McDowell said.
Looking forward, McDowell remains focused on building and maintaining a dynamic team with a dedication to the company’s mission to “Brighten People’s Every Day,” a mission they deliver not only to their clients and teammates, but to their local community as well.
Seattle Green Earth Cleaning has regularly dedicated their resources to support local food banks, volunteered time to clean their “adopted” city street, made financial donations to charitable organizations, and supported their staff with paid volunteer hours to spend with local nonprofits.
“I am so excited about the future of our business and aim to develop it into an employee-owned cooperative business model in the coming years. I firmly believe that it is the people of this company that own this company. We all work together, and we are all responsible for our success.”
In May of 2024, during National Small Business Week, Heather McDowell was recognized as the 2024 SBA Washington State Small Business Person of the Year and the SBA National Runner-Up Small Business Person of the Year.