Veronica Bucca

I attribute my success to my mother, who was my role model growing up. I was born and raised in a very poor town without access to much, but I watched my mom get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to work on our little farm and raise animals like chickens and pigs. Seeing all of that made me want to do better so I could help her. She taught me through her own example that success requires hard work and 100% commitment to whatever you want to do in life. She never sat me down and said 'you gotta study, you gotta do this,' but her actions showed me that if you want a better life and a better future, no one is going to give it to you and no one is going to knock on your door - you have to go and get it yourself. Now that I'm 44, I understand even better what she was telling me back then. I owe so much to her for all the sacrifices she made so we could have a better future.

Stay committed and trust the process. Veronica emphasizes that success doesn’t happen overnight, and consistency paired with integrity will always yield results over time.

If it's on your heart, go ahead and do it. Don't question yourself. You're going to learn through your actions, you're going to make mistakes, and it's not going to be easy, because nothing that is worthwhile is easy. You just have to be willing to risk, but you also have to be willing to give it your all. It means working extra hours and probably doing things that you don't like doing, but that's what your business requires - your 100%. Your dream requires your 100%. So you have to stop those questions and ask yourself, is this what I really want? If the answer is yes, then prepare yourself and find mentors - professionals who have actually walked the way and have experience, someone who has built something and can help you with your business. Not someone who's just reading a book and repeating what the book says, but someone who has actually worked the way. And it's possible, but you really have to work hard to get it.

I think one of the biggest challenges for us as a company, and probably for anyone who has a company, is that we all want to keep growing and moving forward. For me personally, the marketing part has been quite a challenge because I'm not a creative person in any way, and I'm the one doing the marketing right now. I'm always asking myself, am I doing this right? Am I reaching the right people? We've tried hiring people who call themselves professionals, but the results don't show it, and we've been very disappointed because they didn't know what they were doing. We do carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning, and we've been in business for a long time without ever doing any kind of paid marketing because we get a lot of referrals all the time. But when we try to do something more with marketing, it just doesn't work out. On the opportunity side, there are many opportunities. We recently added a new division for pressure washing and created a new service called the Backyard Refresh, where we clean your grill, pressure wash your fences or patio, and clean your furniture - so you don't need three different companies. We can take care of everything in half a day, and that service is picking up little by little.

Ethics are most important to me. I think you have to do the right thing, no matter how bad the situation might look like. You always have to do the right thing. I always tell my kids, no lying, doesn't matter how much it's going to hurt me when you tell me the truth. You have to always be honest and upfront, because that's how people are going to get to know you. For us, it's about being transparent, and not just what we do at home, but what we do as a business. If you want to keep long-term clients, you just have to be honest to them and give them your quality all the time. Honesty is everything.