Meet Greg Shepard | Founder of Emily’s Maids

We had the good fortune of connecting with Greg Shepard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Greg, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The origins of Emily’s Maids started in 2011 with the ending of another maid service named Maid 2 Order. Before Emily’s Maids, I was seven years into running my first cleaning service, Dallas Maids. The philosophy there is to compete on quality, not price. Prices may be a little higher than the competition, however Dallas Maids mops up the competition in terms of quality and consistency. Anyway, when the owner of Maid 2 Order had expressed his frustration with finding business, I offered to refer leads to his business that did not have the budget for Dallas Maids. A win/win: He would have more business for his fledging service while I could save people from the trouble of finding a more affordable, reputable service.

Unfortunately, competing on price is a race to the bottom and out the door. A few months thereafter Maid 2 Order closed their doors. Despite their failure and knowing it would be a tremendous challenge, I thought why not start another cleaning company with lower rates that would appeal to the cost-conscious customer. By this time, I learned of multiple ways to cut cost which I then could pass on the savings to the customer. Sure, Emily’s Maids would not offer all the bells and whistles of Dallas Maids, it would still be a bare bone, cleaning operation with lower rates. Thus, Emily’s Maids was born.

So how did we lower costs to provide a highly competitive price even the most frugal fellow blush at? I focused on three areas: 1) a creative organization structure, 2) marketing expenditure, or rather the lack thereof, and 3) leveraging overseas talent.

Emily’s Maids legal name is Emily’s Personnel Service, LLC because the company did not start as a house cleaning service; it started as a referral agency. Using this business structure, we were allowed to work with independent contractor rather than employees. This offered several cost saving benefits. 1) Tax Savings – Instead of paying taxes for each employee, we were able to write it off as an expense. 2) No Need to Buy Stuff – Emily’s did not have to buy supplies, insurance, uniforms, pay for company events, gas expenses, provide special benefits like bonuses – all costs for things that employees expect and independent contractors do not. 3) Simplification – Not providing all that stuff and not needing to calculate payroll created radically simplified operations. Simple operations mean fewer moving parts, less things going wrong, and yes, less cost!

Marketing expense was minimal because Dallas Maids was, after all, referring the cost-conscious leads to Emily’s Personnel Service. In addition to referrals, I used my knowledge on how to rank websites on Google search results. The website, emilysmaids.com, achieved a high ranking on Google organic and later their 3-Pack listings – both free and more effective than paid advertising because Googlers view the non-ad sections as more credible. While other maid services were spending thousands of dollars on marketing per month, Emily’s budget was closer to zero.

Finally, hiring overseas talent means I can leverage differences in cost of living. I was able to provide a better wage than their local employers could provide. This meant I could attract top talent for super cheap because wages overseas can be a fraction of the cost of hiring workers within the United States. I used UpWork.com as the platform to hire foreign contractors. Even today, this is the secret to my other maid services too because I can hire more talent than other companies can, allowing me to have the additional muscle to provide unparalleled service for our customers.

This was the through process going into Emily’s Maids. However, over the years our prices have increased because it is nearly impossible to run a quality operation by competition on price. Yet, the pricing is still lower than Dallas Maids and, like Dallas Maids, is thriving today. In addition to offering two house cleaning options for Dallas families, both companies work closely with each other creating a profound synergy. For example, if one company is short staffed, it will hire the other company. If customers prefer a cheaper option or a more top-quality service, either company can refer business to the other. It has made both cleaning business better and for that, I am deeply grateful.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
How did I end up where I am today, leaving a promising high-tech job to clean toilets? Well, it all started with a desire to have my own business – to create something valuable that could improve lives and give me more freedom. Despite the initial sacrifices of long workdays, I knew that building my business would eventually free me from the 9-to-5 grind, allowing more time for family, friends, and simply enjoying life.

The idea of having my own business was deeply rooted in my mind. Even during mundane moments like driving, waking up at night, or yes, even sitting on the toilet (apologies for the visual), my subconscious mind was at work, generating ideas. These unexpected ideas, arising from the subconscious after analyzing data behind the scenes, felt like my personal supercomputer at work.

After about a year, I had a lengthy list of ideas. The key, I learned, was to have many ideas to increase the likelihood of finding a great one. Reviewing my list, I quickly honed in on ideas that seemed promising. Then, the idea I was certain would work emerged: a Maid Service. The confidence in an idea’s success is crucial, as it reflects the subconscious mind’s way of communicating.

With a solid plan in mind, I took the plunge, quitting my job and committing 100%. It was a sink-or-swim moment, and I chose to swim. Quitting my job turned out to be the best business decision I ever made. Finally, I was free!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Monday – I would bring my friends to explore the Frisco Square. We would start at our day with breakfast and coffee at The Depot Cafe. Afterwards we would explore the shops and boutiques in Frisco Square. Later, for lunch, TruFire Kitchen all the way! Finally, catch a movie at Cinemark Frisco Square.

Tuesday – My wife loves Ford Center at The Star where the Dallas Cowboys’ training facility is located. We would have lunch at one of the sports-themed restaurants around The Star. Visit Frisco Commons Park. And finally, visit Pete’s Dueling Piano bar where my wife and I have had a couple of dates outs.

Wednesday – Just rest at home because we do not want to wear out our guests!

Thursday – If our guests have kids as I do, we would make it a day of family fun. First, spend the morning at the Frisco Discovery Center, home to the Sci-Tech Discovery Center and the Frisco Art Gallery. Have a family-friendly lunch at Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. Love how the wait staff randomly burst out in song here! At the end of the day, head to Frisco Fun for mini-golf, go-karts, and arcade games.

Friday – Outside time so we can include Tiara, our family dog. So, it would be a day outside at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. There we would hike. Later we would find a scenic spot at the park to eat a picnic lunch. Afterwards, have the kiddies enjoy the playground they have. in the park.

Saturday – Spend a day shopping at Stonebriar Mall. Maybe a catch a movie in the AMC theatre. Later that day visit the Frisco Heritage Museum for a glimpse into the city’s history. And guess what? The museum is free!

Sunday – Take it easy today. Though would grab dinner out. I would recommend Trattoria al Giardino – I love Italian food and they have some of the best!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The single common thread I have noticed while reading autobiographies is that successful people enjoy the pleasure of reading books. The same with me: My love of learning and an insatiable appetite for a good book armed me with the knowledge to succeed.

I am often approached by other business owners seeking advice. A common question is what books would you recommend. And I have three for aspiring entrepreneurs: 1) “Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Own Your Own Corporation” by Garrett Sutton, 2) “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” by Harv Eker, and 3) The 4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferris.

“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” is a how-to on creating a corporation, what structure you should use, and how to register it with the state. It just has a wealth of other how-to knowledge needed to set up your business.

The book, “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,” teaches how to reprogram your mind for success. The biggest obstacle to success is not anything out there – it is within. It is your own mind. To run a successful business, you need to change your internal thoughts profoundly.

Finally, “The 4-Hour Work Week” is all about how to work smart. Indeed, it is where I found the advantages of leveraging over seas talent and difference in cost of living to do more with less.

So, there you have it, three books I recommend to guarantee (almost) a new business owner’s success. Thank you for giving me a chance to credit the most important thing to help with success in business or life: Read books.

Website: https://emilysmaids.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilys.maids/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emilys-maids

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmilysMaids

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilysmaids

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/emilys-maids-dallas-4

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@emilysmaids

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/emilysma1ds/ https://emilysmaids.com/award-winning-maid-service/