17 Mar 2026 What means more than winning

Last Thursday, I had the honor of speaking on a panel at the Business Council of Westchester Women’s Council meeting on the topic of building and sustaining influence.

I was sitting alongside three dynamic, inspiring women, each of whom I’m a big fan of, in front of about a hundred smart, accomplished local business leaders, and it felt important to get this one right. So I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to say.

And since it was also the final voting week for Westchester Magazine’s Best Of competition … yes, that was definitely on my mind too.

But preparing for this talk reminded me that the recognition that means even more to me is a different one.

For the third year in a row, Maid Brigade has ranked as one of the Best Places to Work in Westchester, and what makes that especially meaningful is that it is based on employee surveys, reflecting how people actually feel about working here.

When I started this business 30 years ago, my focus was all about the customer: attracting them, supporting them, and retaining them.

While that part hasn’t changed, over the years I’ve come to understand that the title of customer belongs to more than just the people we clean for.

Yes, there are the paying customers who welcome us into their home.

But the employees who make that welcome possible are customers too.

Let me explain.

Just like customers won’t stay if they don’t receive good service and treatment, the same is true for employees. And in both cases, the business feels it.

So, like customers, if staff don’t feel supported, respected, and valued, they won’t stay with us.

And when they do feel that way, everything works better. For them, for us, and especially for our paying customers.

That realization really got into everything.

It shaped how we train, how we communicate, and how we think about benefits, tools, expectations, and even the little things that can make a workday easier.

Of course I’m proud when we’re recognized for the quality of our cleaning. I’d be lying if I said otherwise. And yes, my fingers are crossed that enough votes came in by Friday.

We work hard, and our team deserves that recognition.

But being named one of the Best Places to Work means something different.

It tells me we are building something people want to be part of. It tells me the respect we feel for this work is being felt by the people doing it.

And that benefits every customer we serve.

Cheerfully,