Beth Burton

Burton has help from Beth, who keeps the books; Scott Wilson, the operations manager; and 28 more employees.
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Beth Burton
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His wife, Beth, keeps the company's books.

Determined to meet the demand, he decided it was time to find help."I hired a few buddies to work with me in the evenings."It went so well, Burton started allowing those employees to clean accounts in the evening without direct supervision.This experience proved to be an eye opener.

"That was when we realized that was the way to grow the business," he says, noting that Farley's advice about the cleaning business had turned out to be true.Burton certainly had more work than he could handle, and he knew he could spread himself only so thin.

By 1995, he decided to make a major shift in the business's operations.He shed the residential work to focus his energy on the ever-increasing influx of commercial work.It made more sense to switch to commercial cleaning, where there were more business opportunities, and take on a managerial role while hiring employees to do the actual cleaning.

Up until that point, Burton had been the company's only employee â€" and thus its only cleaner â€" able to ensure everything was done to his standards.During the acquisition of new accounts, Burton moved cautiously in order to avoid possible pitfalls.His biggest concern was quality control.Though the transition was smooth enough, Burton adopted a few strategies to help the company run more effectively.

First, Beth took on the role of bookkeeper.Then, in 2005, Burton brought on Wilson as full-time operations manager to help meet the large number of accounts the company was accruing, and to help manage its growing employee base.
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Burton likes to spend what free time he has with them.He also enjoys skiing and tennis, and does a bit of woodworking on the side.His creations, such as a kitchen table made from the trees in his back yard, an armoire/entertainment center, and occasional tables, finish his home

Additionally, Burton is on staff at Christ Memorial Church in Williston."My love for the Lord has played an important part in my life," he says.

A native New Yorker born on Long Island and raised in western New York, he studied Christian education at Nyack College in Nyack, N.Y., with the aim of becoming a youth pastor.
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Burton applies the same logic when it comes to hiring cleaners, who are typically moonlighters looking to clean a few nights a week to earn extra income."Our turnover is very low â€" for the cleaning industry, that is," says Burton.
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Furthermore, says Burton, "We hire employees specifically with certain accounts in mind, and it becomes their account.One employee will work the same account for years, and what happens is they take ownership of it.My customers get to know my employees, and they're on a first-name basis.It's a nice little loop."

More than just increasing work quality, Burton says, it puts his customers at ease."If they can trust you, they're very happy," he explains.
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In the meantime, Burton continues to gain new accounts around Chittenden County.He says he has no plans to hit record-breaking numbers in terms of accounts, but that the company will continue to do what it's always done â€" grow at a rate that allows him to maintain his standards on quality.