Who was Wendi?

When Wendi Hearn started her cleaning service in 1972, her method was simple, yet effective: she would approach local businesses and offer to clean their restrooms, free of charge, for one month. If they were satisfied with her work, they could then enlist her services for the future while paying her back for the work previously completed. At the time, a woman breaking into the male-dominated field of janitorial services was itself noteworthy, but not as much as the success rate of her plan: 100% of the businesses she visited became her clients and Wendi’s Cleaning Service (WCS) formally launched

As Wendi’s client list grew, so did her staffing needs. Unbeknownst to her at the time, this would be the beginning of a nearly 50-year legacy of empowered women working to empower other women.

The Start of a Family Legacy

While working for Wendi in 2000, sisters Mary Kling and Grace Ward decided that they wanted to go into business together. Though Wendi’s Cleaning Service was not for sale at the time, the company’s founder and namesake ultimately decided to accept the offer from the two sisters. It was during this chapter of the WCS story that Janelle Ward and three of her cousins would accompany their mothers, Mary and Grace, in transforming the business into a true family affair. Regardless of what else was happening in the individual lives of these six women, they would always come together as a family to support the business and in turn that business supported them. Following the passing of her Aunt Grace in 2016 and becoming a mother herself in 2017, Janelle realized the tremendous potential for helping others afforded by ownership of WCS. In 2019, she joined her mother as co-owner of the business.
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“When I became a mom, I started paying closer attention to my local community and better understood how small businesses are vital to the strength of a community.”

– Janelle,
Co-Owner of Wendi’s Cleaning Service

A Commercial Cleaning Service Like No Other

Now in its third generation of female-ownership and under Janelle’s leadership, WCS continues the legacy of the woman who started it all by following the original formula: treat employees with the utmost respect, reward them for jobs-well done, respect them for the difference they make in the spaces around them, and they will deliver uncompromising quality services to clients who will become loyal to WCS and in turn, help organically grow the business.

“I have the opportunity to create stability in the lives of our employee demographic (who are often parents, like me) just by creating a stable work environment for them.”

– Janelle

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