Monday, November 2, 2009

She died of cancer, but we were with her until the end…

I met Wadia on March 23rd, 2009, shortly after I visited my brother in Hong Kong who has cancer. She had been going for treatment and receiving home care from her mother and her sister. I was invited to her home because she was looking for a cleaning service on a weekly basis to help out with the house work so her mother and sister could focus more on caring for her.

She was a very upbeat person, except she looked a little tired. You would not know Wadia had been battling cancer for 2 years. As usual, I sat down with her on the sofa, listening to her story about why they needed the service and how she wanted certain items to be done. As it turned out, Wadia found a lump 2 years ago and was diagnosed with breast cancer - it was already at the end stage. Being the youngest in her family, the news devastated everyone around her. For the longest time, the family could not accept the news but Wadia had a high spirit. She looked at it as, "living with cancer," not dying with cancer. What a beautiful way of looking at life!

I shared with her why Clean4Me supports Cleaning For A Reason to donate free cleanings or discounted cleaning services to women cancer patients. My own father died of cancer at the age of 69 and now my brother, at age 42, is also suffering with cancer. Not only did I provide insights about how to maintain a clean house but I also shared some nutrition information with her. We talked for 2 hours and shared notes. I still remember she described my visit as being a, “visit by an angel,” for what we do for cancer patients.

We started cleaning her house on a weekly basis. Once in a while, I would call her to see how she was doing and to provide encouragement to her. In September, the family called to cancel the service because they were moving to a condo. I called shortly after and learned that Wadia had passed away.

It is sad to see her go but I am glad that we were with her to the end of her journey. By taking over her household cleaning tasks, it allowed her family have more quality time with her and to provide better care for her.

We were with her until the end but she will be with us always. I still remember her face and her smile...


Information on Cleaning 4 A Reason, please visit: http://www.cleaningforareason.org/

Information on Clean4Me Inc: please visit: http://www.clean4me.ca/
Clean4 Me Inc is currently providing maid service, office cleaning, carpet cleaning, windows cleaning and duct cleaning services in Markham, Vaughan, North York, Richmond Hill, Stouffville, Pickering, Uxbridge, Toronto and Thornhill

Will face masks protect you from the flu?

Read the full story from CBC News on face mask:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/28/f-flumasks.html#socialcomments

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Top 10 Best Ways to Prevent H1N1 Swine Flu

Here are our top 10 tips to boost your immunity, stay healthy, and prevent H1N1 Swine Flu this flu season.

1. Optimize your vitamin D level. Adequate levels of vitamin D are essential for our immune systems to function optimally.

2. Get adequate sleep. This is an indispensable requirement for a strong immune system.

3. Get adequate exercise. This keeps you robust.

4. Take actions to lower your stress levels. Do breathing exercises, meditate, practice yoga, spend time doing something that makes you happy. Feeling spent, overwhelmed and or mentally run down has a causal relationship to your physical health. If you get too much on your hand, deligate and outsource your household chores. Get help!

5. Wash your hands frequently but not excessively. It decreases your likelihood of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people. Be sure you don’t use antibacterial soap because of the risk of creating resistant bacteria. Rather use a simple alcohol free hand sanitizer.

6. Watch what you eat. Avoid sugar and processed foods as they decrease your immune function dramatically. Eat phytonutrient rich meals (lots of colorful salads and dark greens). Eat lots of garlic, it works as a broad spectrum antibiotic. Keep a supply of antiviral herbal supplements on hand. As opposed to antiviral drugs, antiviral herbs do not cause resistant strains because they are multifaceted and contain literally thousands of different medicinal compounds. Thus they are able to attack viruses with a full spectrum of synergistic substances. Andrographis, Olive leaf extract, Grapefruit seed extract and Elderberry extract all have antiviral properties. Use one or a combination of some of them as a prophylactic measure, for example, whenever you travel (airports) or enter a potentially compromised environment such as a large office, auditorium, stadium, theater etc.

7. Take a probiotic daily (look for one with 10-20 billion organisms). A strong immune system relies heavily on having a strong foundation in the gut.

8. Keep homeopathic Oscillococcinum on hand. Take it at the earliest sign of a cold or flu as early intervention is essential. If you are exposed to someone with the flu directly, you can take one dose twice a day for two days. You can also take one vial once a week throughout the winter, and two or three times a week during flu season, as a preventative measure.

9. Clean your home and office with an effective multi-purpose cleaner. There is is an entirely new class of extremely safe, non-toxic, ultra powerful antimicrobial disinfectants and chemical decontaminants that kills bacteria, viruses, spores, molds, and fungus with unprecedented efficacy (99.999%) of common household germs that cause colds, flu, and food poisoning, and other health risks.

10. Decontaminate the air in infected locations, rooms, ducts, and more. Steam clean your carpet, wash all inside of the windows, remove all molds around your house. Maintain a high levle of air quality in your home.

Choose a cleaning service provider with fully equipped to eradicates bacteria, viruses, spores, molds and fungus to 99.99999% and neutralizes toxic chemicals, while being totally biodegradable and safe enough for household use. It must offers top-to-bottom disinfection, decontamination, de-molding and mold prevention of commercial buildings and homes.

Information researched and provided by Clean4Me Inc.

Clean4Me Inc., Entrepreneur Profile on Rogers TV – YSB show

Looking for the latest and greatest business idea? This seems to be the goal of every entrepreneur but sometimes the best new businesses come from rethinking old ideas.

Headquartered in Markham, Clean4Me is sweeping across York Region! Amanda Collucci founded Clean4Me Inc just 3 years ago generating remarkable business results. Growing from zero to over $36,000 billing per month in less than 3 years is a big matter for any small business. Clean4Me’s success was featured on CBC Fortune Hunters show in February, 2009. Amanda Collucci also received a National Business Excellence Award from the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACCE) in April, 2009 and was featured in OMNI TV and Rogers TV for her success story.

What started as a maid service company has expanded to provide Clean4Me’s, “One Call Cleans it All™,” service convenience to both consumers and commercial clients. Clean4Me cleaning services include: Maid service; commercial cleaning; carpet cleaning; window cleaning and duct cleaning, as well. The ability to develop your people and effectively manage complexity is the key: “We expand the scope of our service based on the demand from our clients and we have developed a system to run this efficiently,” says Amanda.

Research shows that the entrepreneurial spirit is thriving with more start-up businesses than ever before. Each week, Rogers TV host and associate producer Sheba Siddiqui connects viewers with the best information, advice and resources available for aspiring small business owners. If you are looking for the inspiration to help you start your own venture then this is the show for you.
This half-hour program on Rogers YSB shows profiles innovative entrepreneurs to share their success stories, showcase growth industries and emerging technologies, provides resources entrepreneurs need to succeed, profiles innovative ideas from the hottest markets around the world and provides business management tips and informative business advice.York Small Business TV will inform and inspire anyone who has ever dreamed of starting their own business.
Watch YSBTV on Rogers TV, cable 10 & 63 in York Region, Ontario, Canada
For details on YSBTV show schedule, visit: http://www.rogerstv.com/option.asp?lid=1&rid=17
For Clean4Me Inc. details visit: http://www.clean4me.ca/
To view videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmandaCollucci

Currently, Clean4Me cleaning service is available in Markham, Richmond Hill, North York, Vaughan, Thornhill, Stouffville and Toronto.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Markham Cleaning Company President Appointed to International Board of Directors

Amanda Collucci, Founder and CEO of Markham based Clean4Me Inc., has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI).

The Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI) is the ONLY non-profit member owned organization dedicated to advancing the home cleaning industry.

Professional house cleaning is one of the fastest growing service businesses, not just in the US, but around the world. ARCSI provides a community for those involved in the industry that are serious about being professional, and serious about succeeding to come together, share, learn, and grow!

Headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Amanda Collucci founded Clean4Me merely 3 years ago with outstanding business results growing from zero to billing over $36,000 per month within 36 months.

Coming together as an industry to educate ourselves and the consumers creates a win-win for all involved. Cleaning companies share best practices to support each others success while clients benefit from doing business with a more professional house cleaning industry.

The need for a bonded and insured cleaning company whose employees are professionally trained and criminal background checked for your security is absolutely critical. After all, you are letting a stranger into your home.

“How can you trust when there is no verification of a criminal background check? How can you protect yourself from a law suit if your cleaner falls down the stairs or slips on your icy door step?”

“One of my goals as a director at ARCSI is to increase public awareness about the importance of professionalism and trust in the residential cleaning industry. Hiring a professional cleaning company is an important decision similar to hiring a certified plumber or electrician.

Members of ARCSI come together to network and share ideas to learn how to improve and grow their own company as well as, improve over all conditions in the entire industry as a whole.

For more information about ARCSI visit www.arcsi.org .

For more information about Clean4Me visit www.clean4me.ca .

Saturday, October 3, 2009

7 Highly Effective Ways to Market your Business

Starting and growing a business is the hardest thing to do in business. 85% of all new businesses fail within the first five years. Why? While most answers would be: “lack of business”. Marketing and financial literacy along with the ability to build a good team are among some of the good reasons why 85% businesses fail in the first 5 years.

Without adequate sales volume to cover overhead expenses, how can a business survive years after years of net profit loss? Effective marketing strategies can help you to acquire and retain loyal customers, help you to build your brand and grow your business. The real question is: “How do I get my business noticed?” After all, 550,000 Americans start new businesses every month! “How do I stand out from the crowd without shouting my lungs out?”

One of the richest men in the world, Howard Ruff, once said, “If I could teach my kids one thing, it would be the skill of marketing because with that skill, they’d be successful with anything they did.”

At this workshop: 7 Highly Effective Ways to Market Your Business, you will:

1. Walk away with actual tactical items you and your team can action immediately
2. Learn how to create value for your service
3. Learn how to identify your ultimate USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

Come join us for a fun and practical marketing workshop. When you leave the workshop, you will have an action plan ready for execution to help you grow your business!

Presentation will be on October 8th, 2009 Thursday at 10:30am - ARCSI Annual Conference in Chicago

Amanda Collucci has over 15 years of sales & marketing experience. Has held various leadership roles at IBM. Amanda Colluccis also founded Clean4Me Inc, provides cleaning services solution to residential and commercial clients in Toronto, Canada. Under her leadership, Clean4Me Inc. grew 40% year over year during the current economic downturn.

To learn about the ARCSI Annual Conference in Chicago, visit: http://www.arcsi.org/?page=2009ConventionEducat

About Amanda Collucci, visit: http://amandacollucci.com

Regular One Days Course Fee: $599.00, Clean4Me alliance partners: $299.00

(Free for all ARCSI members and conference attendees at ARCSI 2009 conference)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

What is your Key to Success?

Everyone has a different set of Key to Success principles. They guide your path, lead you to a higher level of achievement. What are your guiding principles?

For me, it is POP. That means: Passion, Ownership and Pride.

Passion is a burning desire. You can't quantify it; you can't describe it. But you can feel it; feel it in your heart! It calls out to you, keep calling until you take action. Take action to materialize your dream.

Ownership is being responsible for your own results. Believing in yourself to have the ability to manage and response to unpredictable events. You have control over your own destiney. You can overcome challenges and deal with adversity. The ability to turn challenges into opportunities and thrive in spite of adversity.

Take pride in everything you do...mopping a floors or cleaning bathrooms! This is a mental attitude - take pride in yourself! All businesses started small - they all started with 1 customer, in basement, garage or in a living room. You will only grow to the extend of how much pride you take in your work. Proud of your achievement - big and small; be proud of the progress you make everyday; be proud of the team you build around you; be proud of the milestones you achieve.

What are your guiding success principles? I would love to hear from you.

Amanda Collucci
Founder / CEO
Clean4Me Inc.
www.clean4me.ca

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Clean4Me Inc Founder & CEO appearance at ACCE Business Forum for Entrepreneur – May 23rd 09, Toronto

Clean4Me Inc Founder & CEO appearance at ACCE Business Forum for Entrepreneur – May 23rd 09, Toronto

An ACCE Award winner Amanda Collucci will participate in a business forum hosted by the ACCE in Toronto to share her experience, insights as entrepreneurs and be an inspiration to others.

Canada (Press Release) May 12, 2009 --

Clean4Me Inc. Founder & CEO - Amanda Collucci will appear at ACCE Business Forum for Entrepreneur – May 23rd 09, TorontoSince the launch of Clean4Me in November of 2006, the Markham based cleaning company has continued to see rapid growth in its cleaning business. In addition, Clean4Me has launched franchise expansion to accommodate growing demand from clients in new service areas.

Clean4Me was featured as the lead story on Dianne Buckner’s CBC Fortune Hunters, which aired February 7th, 2009. For show details, please visit: www.cbc.ca/news/fortunehunters

Clean4Me also received one of the most national prestigious award from the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneur (ACCE), in the Best Start-up category. ACCE has announced the result on April 4th, 2009 during the Award Gala. Amanda Collucci was among seven other winners to be recognized and receive this business excellence award. For further details, please visit: www.acce.ca

Since the recipient of the ACCE award, Amanda Collucci – founder and CEO of Clean4Me Inc has received many media coverage on her secret of building a successful cleaning business in 2 short years. Coverage includes Ming Pao Daily Newspaper, a local TV channel: OMNI 2 and Markham Economist & Sun. Ms. Amanda Collucci will also participate in a business forum hosted by the ACCE in Toronto on May 23rd, 09 to share her experience and insights as entrepreneur. For further information, please visit: http://www.acce.ca/events/23May09.htm

ACCE is expecting at least 300 attendees at the ACCE Business Forum. The goal of this event is for the ACCE winners to share their success stories in running their own business will benefit and inspire entrepreneurs in managing a business in Canada. Amanda Yeung Collucci, the founder and CEO of Clean4Me, arrived from Hong Kong in 1992 as an immigrant to Canada. “Canada was in deep recession,” she recalls. “With limited English skills, I managed to find a job at a restaurant but got fired the first day.”

After that painful experience, Amanda sharpened her own skills and went on to secure an 8 year career with IBM but she wanted to be an employer in the community. When she founded Clean4Me, Amanda vowed that one day she would become a great employer who would treat employees with respect and dignity and help them to grow. Services have also expanded to carpet cleaning, windows cleaning, duct cleaning, commercial cleaning and house cleaning services – an integrated cleaning service provider. Service areas includes: Markham, Richmond Hill, North York, Vaughan (Woodbridge), Thornhill, Stouffville and Toronto North.

“Achieving a highly successful result in an accelerated fashion is not easy. Passion alone is not enough. Although it is a very important element; it needs to be combined with a high degree of focus, goal setting and a set of specific business skills. I am happy to be able to share these insights with other entrepreneurs and be an inspiration to others at the ACCE Business Forum.”

ACCE Business Forum:
Date: May 23, 2009 (SAT)
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Venue: Council Chamber, North York Civic Centre (5100 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON.)
Ticket: Please contact ACCE directly at (905) 479-2802 , or email: awards@acce.ca

To inquire about our cleaning service, please email to: assistant@clean4me.ca
To inquire about Clean4Me franchise opportunities, please email to: chris@clean4me.ca
For other inquiries, please reach us at 905-305-0011
You can also visit the Clean4Me official website at: www.clean4me.ca

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Clean4Me Inc Receives Business Excellence Award

Business: Franchise April 11, 2009

Clean4Me Inc shines at the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneur Award (ACCE) ceremony. Founder & CEO Amanda Collucci was thrilled to receive such a prestigious award.


Canada (Press Release) April 11, 2009 --
Clean4Me Inc shines at the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneur Award (ACCE) ceremony. Founder & CEO Amanda Collucci was thrilled to receive such a prestigious award. Amanda Collucci was an immigrant from Hong Kong in 1992. “Canada was in deep recession.” She recalled. “With limited English skill, I managed to find a job but got fired on the first day.” Amanda vowed to herself one day she will become a great employer and treat employees with respect and grow them.Incorporated in November, 2006 Clean4Me is experiencing exponential growth since. In order to accommodate the high demand of cleaning service, Clean4Me launched franchising for expansion. Clean4Me was also featured as the lead story on Dianne Buckner’s Fortune Hunters on CBC, aired on February 7th, 2009.ACCE, home of the Chinese Canadian Entrepreneur Award, annually recognizes companies that have high achievements or have contributed great value to the communities. There are four key critiries of eveluation to the ACCE Best Start-up Award. They are: Innovation, Operating Success, Growth Prospects and Management Capabilities. Award Gala was held at Markham on April 4th, 2009. For more information about ACCE or Award nomination, please visit the ACCE web site at: www.acce.ca“Clean4Me employees are so excited to see the company to receive this prestigious award.” “It takes excellent team work and great leadership for Clean4Me to achieve the result we have today.” “Employees are like family to me.” Amanda added. “Clean4Me positioned differently then the traditional maid and janitorial service. We are ONE CALL CLEANS IT ALL – maid service, commercial, carpet, window and duct cleaning services. Our image is more jazz and hip. The name Clean4Me clearly portray to provide customer centic service.” source: FPRClean4Me has been experiencing double digit year over year growth in spite of the current economic down turn. “There really is no shortage of customer demands.” Amanda remarked. “Whether it is good time or bad time, house still get dirty, offices still need to be cleaned. Cleaning is a necessity rather than a luxury item now a day.”“The top 3 company principles are: Develop our Employess, Serve our Customers and Expand our business profitably.” “Provide superior and professional cleaning service to the public continues to be the main goal of Clean4Me.” Amanda Collucci said. “That’s why we choose to franchise as our expansion plan, which we would have a better quality control then other method of distribution.” Franchising provides a greater degree of support and disclosure to the franchisee to help them be successful.

Services include: Residential Maid Service, Commercial Cleaning Services, Carpet Cleaning, Windows Cleaning, & Duct Cleaning Services.
Current service location: Markham, Richmond Hill, North York, Vaughan, Thornhill, Stouffville and Toronto North.

For inquiry about our cleaning service, please email to: assistant@clean4me.ca
For inquiry about the Clean4Me franchise opportunity, please email to: chris@clean4me.ca
For other inquiries, please reach us at 905-305-0011

For more information:
110 Riviera Drive, Unit 1, Markham Ontario L3R 5M1www.clean4me.ca Tel: 905-305-0011
Visit our website: http://www.clean4me.ca/
View Video: http://www.youtube.com/amandacollucci

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Clean4Me appearance on CBC Fortune Hunters Show (Feb 7th, 2009)

"Clean4Me brings franchise vision to National TV audiance!"

Clean4Me is featured on episode #5 of FORTUNE HUNTERS, aired Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBC Newsworld.

Amanda Collucci started Clean4Me just 2 years ago and in that short time has grown and expanded the business to deliver Residential & Commercial cleaning services beyond Markham to also include Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Stouffville, North York and Thornhill.

After extensive research, Amanda recognized the tremendous potential of the cleaning services industry with relatively low overhead and practically unlimited scale. Drawing on a vision along with her entrepreneurial spirit and her 8 years of corporate experience at IBM, Amanda developed a business system that continues to drive Clean4Me’s growth in spite of economic ups and downs.

In recognition of her efforts, Amanda has been nominated for ACCE’s prestigious Best Start Up and Best Community Service awards at a national level.

Who would have thought the girl who emigrated from Hong Kong 15 years ago would someday be driving an engine of economic growth in the Canadian economy?

FORTUNE HUNTERS is the only show in Canada on the trail of hot trends. It explores growing consumer and societal trends that are creating business opportunities, both here in Canada and in the global economy. The show is hosted by Dianne Buckner, current host of DRAGONS’ DEN and long-time host of CBC NEWS: VENTURE. For more information about the second season of FORTUNE HUNTERS, please visit: http://www.cbc.ca/news/fortunehunters


I am grateful for all the support I’ve received in my hometown and I’d love to talk to you about the growth of my company.

For an update of the show, please visit: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Fortune-Hunters/
To inquire about our cleaning service, please email to: assistant@clean4me.ca
To inquire about Clean4Me franchise opportunities, please email to: chris@clean4me.ca
For other inquiries, please reach us at 905-305-0011
You can also visit the Clean4Me official website at: www.clean4me.ca


Best regards,

Amanda Collucci
Founder/CEO