Entrepreneur Highlight: Lori Sayre & the Cleaning Bee

Lori Sayre, owner of The Cleaning Bee, started her business in 2014. She had been employed in the medical field but wanted a more flexible schedule to balance work and family. She had previously done cleaning, knew there was a need and liked the work.  

Over the last couple of years, The Cleaning Bee has seen growth in its client base and other business activities. Lori attributes this growth to more people realizing the importance and benefit of a clean home. She really saw a spike during COVID, when there was more focus on maintaining a clean environment. Due to this, The Cleaning Bee became COVID certified through the American Housecleaners Association.

Because of its growth, Lori decided it was time to move The Cleaning Bee into BB2C's Small Business Incubator, located in the BB2C Epicenter. Doing so gave her access to her own office space as well as a conference room for commercial client meetings and employee interviews. She also receives support for her business from the Epicenter Director, Pamela Lankford, who she had worked with previously.

The Cleaning Bee serves the entire Mid-Ohio Valley and specializes in serving veterans, cancer patients, real estate Open Houses, and post-remodel construction. The largest percentage of Lori's clientele are seniors. She also has some commercial accounts.

A fun fact about Lori is that she also does training for Washington County Job and Family Services for new cleaning providers. Offering this program helped her business get clients when she first started out and she has proven to be an example for others to follow in terms of her quality of service.

The Cleaning Bee consists of Lori, as well as her husband and daughter who help out as needed. She also has another full-time employee and one part-time employee. Lori says her business experience has been positive. “It is satisfying to know someone has a clean home that can contribute to their good health while taking the stress away from them.”