Introduction
How to scale a side hustle is a question many entrepreneurs ask. In this Q&A, we sit down with Patrick Gorlack of Peak Cleaning, who transformed a small operation started with his mother into a $60,000 per month business. He shares his exact strategies, challenges, and the mindset shift that fueled his incredible growth.
Founder Success Story QnA
Were you always in the cleaning industry or tell me a little bit about your history and your careers?
No, it’s completely unrelated in the past. My history is I’ve spent a couple years in the automotive industry, hospitality management, and then moved into corporate consulting for a couple of years. When I started with cleaning, I was still doing a corporate consulting role, so it was definitely outside of my working hours finding the time to do it. Moving into the cleaning industry was entirely unrelated to my own passions or ventures; it was a pretty humble start.
Were you nervous at all moving away from what you’re kind of used to in the corporate world and kind of focusing more on what you were doing before and after your normal nine to five?
Absolutely. I’d be lying if I said no. I’ve always looked at myself as always having a bit of an entrepreneurial business bug. Even years prior, whether it was just selling cars or some kind of things to keep myself busy and bring in a little bit of extra cash. I think I’ve always had some kind of bug that wanted to be scratched, but I never really knew where to start. I was always looking for the perfect idea, that one best decision that I could pursue. It’s definitely been a thing to see now that no matter what the route may be, there’s definitely potential for success, for growth, for financial gain.
How long was your mother cleaning prior to you coming on board and being like we can make this bigger?
About 10 years or so, and it was really just a small solo operation. It was her, just outside of her day job, really just extra work on the side. Then I got involved, we incorporated Peak Cleaning under the branding back in the fall of 2018. So it’s going on just about to be at our three-year mark at this point.
When was that light bulb moment that you were kind of like this can be bigger than what it is right now?
I think I was surprised the first couple weeks in, just seeing like, “Wow, I definitely expected this to be a lot harder.” It seemed so simple, seemed kind of too simple. I thought, “There’s definitely a need; people are looking online on Google and elsewhere for services.” There’s more of a sales process there outside of just the traditional world. The first couple weeks, that was something that really just kind of hit like, “Cool, maybe there is something here.” But realistically, it wasn’t until about a year in. Right around the year mark is where we got to the $10-15k a month point. At that point, I started looking at it as something that has further potential.
How did you actually locate that course and find out more about Foundr in particular?
That first year was definitely me trying to recreate the wheel every step of the way. I was going the hard way of not asking for advice, not asking for help, just trying to rough through it and figure it out. I think that definitely slowed us down. So about a year in, I got involved with Daniel DiPiazza. I worked with him both through the Start Your Side Hustle course and through his Alpha mentorship program. I came across Daniel honestly years ago; I somehow fell onto his email list. I’ve been aware of Foundr through the global reach that you guys have online and on social media. It was fall of 2019 that I got involved in working with him.
How did that first year really transform your thinking after you started adapting some of these strategies?
I think the naming behind Start Your Side Hustle is deceiving because it’s although a side hustle is very easy to start, the big thing I took away was to start looking at it as more of a serious business and to start looking at all the different independent departments, so to say. One big, big takeaway was learning to productize our offering. I know that’s something Daniel always speaks highly of. At the beginning, you want to just offer everything and solve every problem. It was a big win for us once we realized, “Let’s start bundling this as a product.” That helped us simplify things internally and be more fulfilling for customers.
How did the branding and the website really come to life? What was it before you jumped on board?
Prior to me jumping on, the Peak Cleaning name wasn’t around. It was really just no online presence, nothing outside of just a phone number and a name, and just being word of mouth. When I got involved, I wanted to find something that could stand out. The color scheme, logo, things of that nature, we just kind of went with what seemed and ran with it. It wasn’t like a month and month research process. Part of that process was building out the website, keeping in mind that especially as a local service provider, Google Local and different local marketplaces are important to be found. That’s something I still see a lot of businesses aren’t taking advantage of.
Did you find it hard trying to kind of break into the market of cleaning because it is somewhat a saturated field?
It’s absolutely a saturated market. Anybody off the street can go to the local store, pick up supplies, and start rolling. But I think what’s missing in our industry, and what we kind of stumbled on by accident, is realizing that customers are looking for a customer service-centric company that’s super responsive, whether that’s online, through email, chat, or text. They want somebody that is professional in terms of the management. Oftentimes, with a local cleaner, you as a customer might have to be the one to manage them. Building in that professional structure on the back end was a big selling point and let us stand apart.
How were you performing on a month-to-month basis before you started implementing any of these learnings?
Up until the point where we started working with Daniel, $10 to 15k a month was kind of the high point where we got to. That was already a huge win. It felt like significant growth to that point, but it was kind of a realization that there’s probably an easier way to go about this.
Walk me through how COVID affected your business?
COVID definitely hurt. We were down 70-80% from the month before into the next month. We are in the residential space, so that’s half of our workload. The other half is in the vacation rental space, which is entirely travel-related and went down to zero overnight. The start of 2020 was entirely unexpected. We looked at it as an opportunity to keep pushing and adapting. We made a lot of changes internally in terms of how we service customers, disinfection, and protective gear. We did a lot of outreach to customers to let them know it was a top priority for us. By summer of 2020, things started picking back up for us.
How are you performing now in 2021 coming out the other side of COVID?
We’ve been growing and growing. I’m always reluctant to share numbers, but we’re at the $50 to 60k per month mark now.
When you came on board, did you have a certain amount of clients that you were servicing regularly and how did you grow that list to where you are today?
Going back to the humble beginnings with my mom, it was just a handful of customers, maybe once or twice a month. It wasn’t a full client list. For us, it was really almost starting from scratch. The way I looked at it was the fact that a lot of other businesses like ours weren’t doing a lot from a digital side. So that was the focus. We did look at lead generation platforms like Thumbtack, Yelp, Home Advisor. On those specific profiles, we made sure we had a lot of reviews, a lot of before-and-after photos, and a lot of info. We also took a very personal approach, advertising that we are family-owned and local. That helped build that trust from the get-go.
What were some of the other methods that you implemented that really helped you get where you are today?
One thing that Daniel calls out in the Start Your Side Hustle course is the Marsupial Method, and that was a perfect example for how we operated. When we got into the vacation rental space, things changed. For a vacation rental site, instead of working with one property at a time, there are larger property management groups. Becoming a preferred vendor with some of these larger groups, where we can come in and take on 20 or 30 homes at one time, was a game-changer. It was a more efficient way of doing it, focusing on a more evergreen or ongoing sales cycle as opposed to one-on-ones.
How did you hire your first employee or your other cleaners?
That’s still our biggest challenge: fulfillment. The sales piece we’ve kind of cracked, but we have to make sure we’re providing a great service. It was helpful for me to have that experience of working side-by-side with my mom. As we started onboarding more cleaners, we realized that most people want to do a great job. My role was to worry about the back end and make sure there’s a flow of work coming in. There are so many service providers out there that do a great job, but they’re just not being seen or are not visible outside of their immediate network.
How did you sell yourself to these larger businesses for your vacation rental cleaning and prove that you have their trust?
I have a huge focus on building a strong back end, strong systems, and strong procedures through different software solutions. A specific example is customer follow-up. At the front end, we do as much follow-up as possible post-service. We have an email and text that goes out asking for reviews. That’s one of the big things that makes us stand apart. When we’re dealing with larger corporations, they see that they’re dealing with somebody that’s at a professional level, not just the local mom-and-pop store. That’s what built the trust.
Were you using feedback, reviews, and case studies from these larger clients to help you have that social proofing on your website?
>Absolutely, everywhere across the board. That was a good way for us to stand out from day one. You could look around in the market and see companies that have been around for years that only have two reviews on Google. We looked at that as something that could definitely make us stand out. It was a big goal for us from day one to elicit as much feedback as possible, good or bad. Social proof is a way to establish that trust and build that trust before you even have a face-to-face interaction with the customer.What were some of the key learnings that you’ve had along the process of building up Peak to where it is now?
I always looked at it as trying to pursue the perfect opportunity, the perfect business. I’ve realized that doesn’t exist. You can truly make money in any industry as long as you put in the work and the time. No matter how big the goal is, it’s doable as long as you break it down step by step. We often over-glamorize the big wins but don’t realize it’s always those little daily steps that are important. I look at any big goal the same way: break it down from a five-year goal to a three-year goal, down to one year, and then what does next month have to look like.
How many actual employees do you have now?
On the cleaning side, up to 18 cleaners at this point, and we’re actively recruiting. On the office side, it’s myself, we have two admins, and we’re actually onboarding a fourth set of hands as well. So on both sides, we’ve been growing.
What would you say is your next progressive goal for Peak Cleaning?
More growth. Revenue-wise, for 2021, we were looking at a seven-figure year. We might fall a little short of that, but that is still the goal. Outside of that, it’s looking at what next steps for growth can be. It could be expanding within our local area, expanding to different cities, or maybe offering different broader services. It’s continual growth, expanding our team, improving our internal processes, and just striving to get better day by day.
What would you say to anyone that was in your same position where they were in a completely different field and now they’ve jumped into something that has become a passion?
Just start. Simply put. With any goal, any process, I think from the very beginning I was trying to find that perfect solution. Now I kick myself like, “Wow, this is something I could have done a few years back.” Just start and just start running with it. Take one step at a time. You’re going to learn so much more in that experience and get so much more feedback than you would otherwise from just sitting back and thinking and planning.
Do you feel that undertaking Daniel’s course really helped you to get where you are today and would you recommend it?
Absolutely, beyond valuable. I tried for that first year just recreating the wheel myself. Daniel mentions that every business is entirely different but exactly the same, and there’s so much truth in that. He was able to provide so much input and help for the issues we were dealing with. Although the terms, providers, and customers might look a little different, the core mechanics behind it are exactly the same. For anybody that’s really just starting out or even somebody like myself that had a little bit of experience, I definitely found a lot of valuable info there to help us grow.
Patrick Gorlack Business Stats
Patrick Gorlack, alongside his mother, started Peak Cleaning in 2018. Their journey from a small word-of-mouth service to generating over $60,000 a month is a testament to strategic scaling. Below are some of the key stats from their business.
- Started in Fall 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
- Initial revenue before scaling strategies was $10-15k/month.
- Current revenue has grown to $50-60k/month.
- Team size has expanded to 18 cleaners and 4 admin staff.
- Serves both residential and vacation rental properties.
- Key pivot was partnering with larger property management groups.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly Revenue (Current) | $50,000 – $60,000 |
| Year 1 Revenue (High Point) | $15,000 |
| Total Team Members | ~22 |
| Year Founded | 2018 |
Patrick Gorlack Method
Patrick’s method for scaling his side hustle wasn’t about reinventing the wheel but about applying proven business principles to an underserved market. He focused on professionalism, efficiency, and strategic partnerships to achieve rapid growth.
- Built a professional website and online presence from day one.
- Utilized lead generation platforms like Thumbtack and Yelp for initial clients.
- Productized the service offerings into clear, easy-to-understand packages.
- Implemented the Marsupial Method to land larger property management clients.
- Focused heavily on customer service and gathering social proof (reviews).
- Used software for automation and efficiency in scheduling and reminders.
Patrick Gorlack Tools
To manage rapid growth, Patrick leveraged technology to automate processes and maintain a high level of customer service. This was key to operating efficiently while still working a corporate job initially and is the backbone of the business now.
- Website & SEO: A professional website to build trust and attract organic traffic.
- Lead Generation Platforms: Thumbtack, Yelp, and Home Advisor for acquiring new clients.
- Scheduling & Communication Software: For automated reminders, booking, and customer communication.
- Local Service Profiles: Google Business Profile and other local listings to increase visibility.
Key Notes
Reflecting on his journey from a side hustle to a thriving business, Patrick shares several key insights that were crucial for his success and can be applied by any aspiring entrepreneur.
- You don’t need the “perfect” idea to start; success is possible in any industry.
- Treat your side hustle like a real business from day one to set the right foundation.
- Focus on building trust and social proof, especially in a service-based industry.
- Break down large goals into small, manageable, daily steps to avoid overwhelm.
- Efficiency is crucial; use technology to automate tasks and save time.
Get Started in Just 5 Steps
Inspired by Patrick’s story on how to scale a side hustle? Here are five actionable steps you can take to start scaling your own service-based business today, following the blueprint that led to Peak Cleaning’s success.
- Find a Need: Identify a service need in your local market that is currently underserved.
- Build a Professional Presence: Create a simple website and set up profiles on Google and relevant service platforms.
- Productize Your Service: Define clear, bundled service packages to make it easy for customers to buy.
- Gather Social Proof: Actively ask every customer for a review to build trust and credibility online.
- Seek Efficiency: Look for one large client or partnership (like a property manager) instead of many small ones.
Conclusion
Patrick Gorlack’s journey with Peak Cleaning is a powerful example of how to scale a side hustle into a significant enterprise. By applying sound business principles, focusing relentlessly on the customer, and leveraging technology for efficiency, he turned a simple idea into a thriving business. His story proves that with the right mindset and strategy, incredible growth is within reach for any aspiring entrepreneur.