From Slow Weeks To Ice Storm Surges In Cleaning And Restoration with Stosh Fernandez, Voda Cleaning Restoration

0:00Welcome to Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners. Every week, we sit down with business owners, founders, and leaders to uncover the real stories behind building a successful business. The wins, the setbacks, the lessons learned, and the strategies that help them grow. No scripts, no fluff, just honest conversations with entrepreneurs who are in the trenches every single day. Whether you are a business owner yourself, thinking about starting a business, or simply enjoy hearing how successful people think and operate, you are in the right place. Let's jump into today's episode, shall we?

0:58Hey, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real, scalable growth. Today, I'm excited to be joined by Stash Fernandez with Voted Cleaning and Restoration of Greenville. Stash, how are you doing today? We're glad to have you. Doing great. Great, great, great. So let's go to jump right into things. So for those of you who may not know it yet, you know, who are you, Stash? Who is Stosh Fernandez and what is the franchise Voda Cleaning Restoration of Greenville?

1:31Well, just a regular guy in my 30s trying to build something for my daughter and family that, you know, I didn't have growing up. Hopefully pass something to him. And as far as Voda, we do residential, commercial cleaning and restoration. So, you know, carpet cleaning, air duct cleaning, upholstery cleaning, odor removal, and then emergencies we service, you know, water, fire, mold jobs. God forbid, you know, businesses or residences had, you know, issues within their home or business. Okay. Okay. So Stash, real talk, you know, what's something about running a business that people think is amazing, but it's actually completely yes.

2:13It's so much harder than you ever thought it was going to be, but also simultaneously just as rewarding. I think you're going to be, you know, 95 % of it's going to be very difficult. And then you'll have those wins here and there. That's maybe the five or 4 % that make up for it.

2:35Okay. So what would you say was the exact moment where you realized, you know, this could either really work or completely blow up in my face? So we opened up August, mid-August of 2025. it was in December where you know my wife and I sat down it was extremely slow we had been busy up until December it got slow people getting ready for the holidays and you know we had on a Sunday the following week we only had one booking for the next week I had downloaded Uber and Lyft you know to try to make ends meet make sure I can still pay the employees and stuff like that and I was finishing up school at the same time too.

3:17So it was just a lot going on. And thankfully, you know, we, I put it, I guess, enough work for, you know, bookings to start happening, did some extra marketing and it paid off. So Uber's off your phone. You went ahead and uninstalled it, right? The app? I have no idea. It might be on my phone, but I haven't looked at it today. You haven't looked at it. Okay, good, good. So Stas, what would you say is the most stressful moment you've had as a business owner? You know, obviously that was really stressful. What, anything else you can think of? Like a, you know, how am I going to get through this type of moment?

3:52I mean, most of it, I would say, was, you know, sadly all financially based. There's just a lot of recurring expenses with running a business, you know, and fuel right now is another thing. You know, just filling up all the work vehicles and stuff. If, you know, you're spending$150 to$250 a day, sometimes just in gas, then your employee expenses and stuff like that. So it adds up quick, but just taking care of, you know, your employees first and foremost, I think has worked out well in the long run.

4:27So, you know, have you ever thought about quitting? I know you kind of said earlier that you kind of put everything into this, but have you ever thought about quitting and going back to a nine to five? No, it's not an option. Nobody else, essentially. No. Okay. Okay. So what would you say is a mistake you made early on that costs you either serious money, time, or reputation? customers always right but actually listening to the customers you know issues from complaints comments you know about what specifically is going on and trying to help them solve those specific issues you could be going into you know a job or let's say an estimate for something and you know you know what you think you may need to do to fix the issue but when you really sit down and talk to the client.

5:19It may have nothing to do with that. They will want, you know, one specific issue handled or fixed and just, you know, making sure that the client is happy at the end of the day and best customer service that we can afford to them, I think is paramount. Okay. Okay. So what would you say is something about you personally or in your personal life that had to change in order for your business to grow and be successful so far? you know, just having the relentless mindset, not giving up. There's a reason why nobody starts businesses these days. It's not, it's not supposed to be easy and anything easy is probably not going to be worth it.

6:01So just continuing to grind whether you're working, you know, 12 hours that day or 19 hours that day, just to make sure that everything gets completed before you go to bed and then start again, you know, four hours, five hours later. yeah yeah okay okay so stuff you know and obviously this is really hypothetical but let's say if someone shadowed you for a full day or even a full week what would you think would surprise them the most about how you operate i mean i say it jokingly but i probably you know are we done yet or why are we still working we left the office when it was dark and it's now dark again.

6:44I think that's just a lot of those days, especially in the commercial industry, what we do cleaning for larger commercial accounts. There's just, you know, there's a lot of that involved with it, but I enjoy it. And I think as long as you work to the strengths of your employees too, it benefits everyone. Okay. Okay. I like that. I like that. So, and obviously again, let's talk about numbers, But, you know, obviously without getting too specific, what would you say was the turning point where things started to scale for you? It was right after Christmas. We had some back to back ice storms in my area and it was, you know, anywhere from 48 to 96 hours of just nonstop calls.

7:30and I think I, you know, I remember coming home at one point to use the bathroom, eat something, you know, kiss the little one to sleep and going right back out to grab more equipment and heading to another job. There was a lot of that. We were in the middle of, you know, the holidays or post-holidays and New Year's. So, you know, try to give the employees time off too, but it was, it was difficult. And then we only had one four-wheel drive vehicle at the time. So I was using my personal vehicle and what worked, vehicles I could use to get to some of the clients' locations because, you know, there was anywhere from six to nine inches of ice on the ground.

8:07So there was a lot of that involved. Yeah, we did have a little bit of a rough winter this year. It was a lot of snow, a lot of ice, cold days. It was rough. Thankfully, we're out of that. And hopefully summer will be great, too. But what would you say actually moves the needle most in your business right now? trying to find you know competent individuals to replace certain aspects of jobs that i do to allow me to work more on the business instead of you know in the business each day i do really enjoy working you know on the jobs with the technicians and such but long term i know it's not where i need to be to continue to be able to grow we're in the process of building a warehouse on one of properties and then another one up in North Carolina here shortly after as well.

9:00Okay. Okay. So for our North Carolina listeners, because we actually have a bunch, where in North Carolina are you going to be at? So specifically we're looking in our North Carolina, just outside of Asheville. And yeah, yeah. We're looking at some areas there because we service essentially all of Western North Carolina. So it kind of centralizes us to be able to go down to, you know, Hendersonville, Flat Rock, but also, you know, up to Swan and Noah, North Asheville, Silva, and cover some more areas up there. And that's where I grew up too. So I know the area pretty well. Oh, nice. Okay. Okay.

9:38Nice. Nice. So what would you say is one thing you're doing today that's giving you an unfair advantage over your competitors?

9:48Oh, I think we have really good anybody else. Yeah, I think it's really our home office is amazing. I have success coach specifically that I work with a really good relationship with. So if I have any, you know, technical issues, questions, I could text them, call them instant message him and I have an answer in a few minutes. and then I also have a sister location next to us, so we're always calling each other for ideas and help with each other. It just really depends on what's going on, but I think that's huge. Okay. So what would you say is the fastest way someone could lose their job working for you?

10:34Dishonesty and a poor attitude, I would say, because that's really the main things I'm looking for when I'm hiring. So that's kind of the biggest thing that you look for that's not on someone's resume, right? Right, exactly. Okay, okay. And on the flip side of that, what makes someone instantly valuable to your team? Exactly that, you know, a good attitude, competency, just ability to make mistakes and learn from them, you know, and hopefully not make that same mistake again. And I know that's how I learn. And a lot of the employees that I hire as well have those same attributes too, because, you know, I want them to, I don't want them to fail, but I want them to make mistakes.

11:16And typically, like we had one yesterday, it was something small. And, you know, he said to me that, oh, you know, I see why we don't do it this way. I won't do that again, you know, just joking around. But I think that's a big part of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you can fall down, but it's how you get back up that, you know, tells the story, correct? Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Now, Stas, have you ever had to make a tough call, you know, like letting someone go or cutting something off that ended up being exactly the right move at the time? Yeah, I mean, we had, wasn't a friend of mine, but, you know, someone I knew outside of work.

11:53The timing was perfect for hiring the individual, had a great background, hard worker, and still is. Had issues with, you know. driving the vehicles appropriately. And it got so bad. One time I was, he was driving both of us around in one of our vans. I started throwing up cause I was so motion sickness from, you know, slamming on the brakes and, and driving like Jeff Gordon.

12:20Like he's in a NASCAR race. Wow. That's insane. Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. So we're going to head into the quick fire round. So how this works is I'm going to give you one word. and I just want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear that word in regards to running your franchise business. And then I want you to kind of expand upon it a little bit, kind of why you chose that. Does that make sense? Okay. Yep. Okay. All right. Perfect. First word is success. Hard work. Okay. And expand about it a little bit. Choose that. I mean, nothing, nothing that's worth it long-term is going to be easy.

12:58Typically anything worthwhile doing is going to be more difficult than any other decision. Failure. Not acceptable in the long term. Make small mistakes. Learn from them. Don't make them again. Burnout. I'm waiting for it. I'm hoping it doesn't hit me. Find whatever your why is. It needs to be powerful enough that everything else is going to be outweighed by what your why is. I love that. I love that. Scaling. do it quickly, but don't outrun yourself or your business. And make sure you, you know, hire. Sorry. No, no, just, just keep it, keep it personal. Have relationships with your employees.

13:44Let them know that you're still, you know, a human as well. Hiring. Hire fast. Sorry. Hire slow, fire fast. That's, that's, that's really, really good advice. Competition. they're out there. We keep coming behind our competition. So I don't know whatever that means. Just, you know, putting that personal spin on with all your employees, everyone you interact with, treat them as individuals, listen to what, you know, their issues and problems are. Like I said before, you just need to, to understand where they're coming from and why they, you know, they called you for a reason, help them solve that issue.

14:23Okay. And the last word is freedom. yeah i'd say there's a few aspects to business ownership as far as freedom goes haven't got to enjoy too much of that yet but i'm hoping in the long term there'll be some you know i left a essentially a nine to five job traveling maybe working 50 60 70 hours a week and now i'm working i think there's 168 hours in a week and i'm working most of them so i'm hopefully it's going to pay off. Yeah. Yeah, no, it definitely will. All right. So I appreciate you getting through that quick fire round here. So a couple of last things here. So where do you think your industry is going and what are most people getting wrong about it right now?

15:02Would you say? I think the main reason we got in, my wife and I got into this business was it's a need, not a want. People are going to need your services regardless of COVID, the economy, financial situation. And I think that's the main thing. It's the same thing with food. You need food. You might find other ways and areas to purchase the food or hunt the food, but it's a need. So that service is always going to be there. And it's a huge industry. I want to say it's, I don't know what it was last time, but it's very fractionalized. So being able to grow quickly is is very possible. Yeah. Okay.

15:44So, and, and, you know, obviously this is hypothetical, but if it, let's just say, you know, a business owner, a small business owner is listening to the podcast episode today, which is Dosh. And, you know, let's say they're just having a rough go of, of, of the week, or let's say they're having a bad day or let's say, let's just say in general, they're having a really, really bad start to 2026. I mean, we're already, you know, through the first quarter, I head into the second quarter here. What's a piece of advice that you would want that, small business owner to hear from you today? Don't stop.

16:12You're going to hit rock bottom, hit it as quickly as you can because there's nothing below that. And just use that as drive and motivation, whatever it means to you to get past that point. The more effort and time that you put into something, nine times out of 10, you're going to get that back and then some. Yeah, because I've been there at month five and month six. I only know what to do. And my one go-to is just I'm not working hard enough. I'm not doing enough. And it did pay off with some help from the weather as well. But everyone, I feel like, gets to that point at some time and just grow from there.

16:58I love that. Love that. So what would you say is next for Voto Cleaning and Restoration of Greenville? What should people be excited about coming up in the near future for your business? you know, just we're getting some new employees in almost on a weekly, monthly basis. Lots of training, bringing, you know, our clients a new level of clean. Yeah, it's just, it's been thrown like crazy and trying to stay on that same track. I think the main thing that separates us is taking care of our clients and doing a quality job the first time and, you know, avoiding callbacks and stuff like that where a client has an issue with something and you have those.

17:36I can't say that we haven't had those, but minimalizing those and capitalizing on those, you know, those issues and making sure that they don't occur again. Nice, nice. And finally, what's the best way for someone to connect with you or learn more about what you all do? Yeah, just, I mean, you can just Google Voda Greenville. You can book whatever you'd like to, estimates or cleanings right off our website. And I'm happy to give anyone my 11 phone numbers so they can have any one of those they want. and give us a call and let us know how we can help. Yeah. And, you know, if you don't mind, you can give it out over the air if you want.

18:13Yeah. I mean, yeah. The number is 828-507-8923. Just give me a call. Tell me what you need, where you are. And once I capture your info, we'll put you on the schedule and take care of you. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Any social media? Yeah, we have an Instagram and a Facebook. I try to post on those daily. I have a Google, business page as well. Try to post on those at least several times a week. And that's where a lot of our business, you know, comes from combination of, you know, we're on Angie, Thumbtack, 33 Mile, Inquirely, Google, Facebook, Instagram, you name it. Okay, perfect. Any TikTok?

18:52No, I'm looking into it. I haven't freed enough of my time to do those yet. Yeah, TikTok is huge. Yeah, definitely. We recommend getting on that. It seems like Okay, everybody's on there now. So, all right, perfect. Yes, Tasha, this has been fantastic. Yeah, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story, your perspective, and your real behind-the-scenes of building your business. Really appreciate you coming on today. I think it was a fantastic conversation. No, thank you for having me. Yeah, thank you so much.

19:20Stosh Fernandez:Hey, thanks for listening to the Epic Entrepreneurs podcast. Here's three things that you can do. Number one, remember to subscribe to the podcast. It takes very little effort on your part. It's going to help you and your fellow entrepreneurs. Plus, you guys know how it works. The more subscribers we get, the more cool things we can offer to you. Second, to learn more about growing your business, just download my book, The Coach Approach. It's free for you at giftfrombill.com. That's giftfrombill.com. Hey, and if you'd like more info about growing your business and what we can do to help you grow your business, send me an email directly.

20:07Stosh Fernandez:Just send it to williamgilliland at actioncoach.com. That's my personal email that I read. No one else reads it first. It's not screened. It's my real email. Just send it to me. I can't wait to talk to you. Hey, and until then, all the best.