In this episode of Scale HER Up, I'm joined by Kerryann Martin — owner and managing director of K&M Cleaning Services Limited.

Kerryann started in 2014. Her son was only months old. Her daughter was in nursery. The plan was simple: go out and clean some houses, work around the school hours, answer to nobody.

"Oh, how that changed very quickly."

Twelve years on, K&M Cleaning Services has 30 staff and a service list that now includes domestic cleaning, deep cleans, tenancy cleaning, commercial contracts, carpet and upholstery cleaning, laundry, and biohazard cleaning. None of that was the original plan. Most of it was opportunistic at first, then strategic, then (as she puts it) all at once because she couldn't help herself.

We cover:

• How K&M grew from domestic cleaning to biohazard — which bits were planned and which weren't
• What she wishes she'd known about running a business at the start — and why she's glad she didn't know it
• The growing risk appetite that took over the last couple of years ("I never done it in small doses either")
• The goalpost problem: getting the commercial client, the office, the van, the staff — and then needing more
• What she's learned about herself: patience, not taking it personally when staff leave, surprising herself
• The husband who picks her up when she wants to throw in the towel
• Learning from networks: Growth Nation, BNI, coaches Faye Mack and Strategy One
• Advice for her 18-year-old self: set goals, make a plan, go for it

Quote of the episode: "As long as you're doing better than what you were doing yesterday, that's all that matters." — Kerryann Martin