You’ve probably heard the saying, “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Well, this local maid service may beg to differ.
SF Entrepreneur Incubator member, Student Maid™, is founded and owned by Kristen Hadeed, a 2010 UF graduate with a bachelor’s in finance and a minor in communications.
This company caters to commercial and residential clients with a laundry list of excellent cleaning and concierge services. Starting this company is sort of a rags to riches story in the making.
“I wanted an expensive pair of jeans,” recalled Hadeed. “I’d never had a job before, I had only worked for my dad.”
Kristen’s father has his own private law practice and she always felt she would be a lawyer.
“When I asked my parents for the money they replied, ‘get a job,’ ” she continued. “So I put an ad on Craig’s List for house cleaning. I started cleaning houses and hiring students to help out with the work load.”
Thus her company was born. After signing a contract with Paradigm, a large property management company, Student Maid™ went from a staff of four to a staff of 60, in just one month!
Employees work in teams of two, must have at least a 3.5 GPA, be classy, polite, professional, and pass a background check. This allows the company to offer services ranging from professional cleaning to babysitting and tutoring. Kristen strongly believes in ultimate customer satisfaction. If a customer is ever dissatisfied with their service, Student Maid™ will come back and correct their mistakes free of charge.
Student Maid™ and the CIED
No successful business is an island, Hadeed says. It takes a team effort.
Hadeed decided to join Santa Fe’ Center for Innovation and Economic Development, or CIED, as in incubating business for the support system and the services CIED offers to growing companies. CIED can provide businesses everything from meeting space and employee training to continuing education.
“The CIED is the perfect environment for us, offering so many valuable resources and exquisite personnel,” Hadeed said. “We will utilize their services to take the company to new heights, and I strongly believe that the CIED will play a major role in that.”
With the help of CIED, Kristen’s goal is to open several more locations in college towns all over. For now, she makes her debut in Gainesville.
For more information about Student Maid™, visit www.studentmaid.com or to learn more about CEID visit www.sfcollege.edu/cied.
To find out more about incubating your company at the CIED, please contact Director Dug Jones at dug.jones@sfcollege.edu or 352-395-5093.
~ This press release was written by Nequana Thomas, Communication Specialist, College Relations
~ Photos by Mikifoto
CONTACT:
- Dug Jones, for information about Santa Fe’s Center for Innovation and Economic Development, 352-395-5269 (office) or 352-359-6287 (cell) or dug.jones@sfcollege.edu
- Julie Garrett, media relations, for assistance facilitating your story, 352-870-2924 (cell) or 352-395-5430 (office) or julie.garrett@sfcollege.edu