This Marine Corps Veteran Means Business — A Million Dollar Cleaning Business

Matisa Ulrich, who went from high school running track to on track to make $1 million this year, often describes growing up in Miami as “unconventional,” but much of her success comes from her stint in the Marine Corps. I believe it comes from experience.

Her father died when she was young and she didn’t have much of a relationship with her mother. Raised by her grandparents, her older siblings, and other family members, Ulrich found some stability when her military recruiter noticed her during her high school years.

“One day I came to school in my tracksuit. There was a competition that day. He stopped me and asked what I was running,” Ulrich said. “I said I was pretty decent in the middle distances, but I wasn’t very good at sprinters.

“He just really took an interest in me, which didn’t happen very often when I was growing up. They didn’t.”

College was always a goal for Ulrich, but she didn’t think it was feasible, so meeting military recruiters meant a lot to her. Despite the objections of her family, who wanted her to follow a different path, she enrolled in basic training and she enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after she graduated from high school in 1999.

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“To be completely honest, no one was very ecstatic about it,” Ulrich said. “But I think they understood. I have always been very independent. is.”

Nearly a quarter of a century later, Ulrich’s decision to join the military proved to be the right one. Her first foray into civilian life wasn’t exactly what she had hoped for, but she was determined to change course.

She got a college degree from Campbell College in North Carolina and got a job with the IRS. When another closure loomed in 2014, she was eating well.

“Some paychecks were skipped,” Ulrich said. “But when the shutdown happened, I was like, ‘I can’t be at home.’ I’m a busy body

When opportunity closes one door, another opens. It was during this time that she started a small cleaning business with a few local clients to supplement her salary from the IRS. and expanded its portfolio.

As a small business, she found success in the cleaning market, but knew she needed more resources to be more successful in the industry.

Earlier this year, Ullrich became a franchise owner of OpenWorks. OpenWorks is a facilities management company that provides client services in areas such as commercial cleaning and disinfection, pest control, and handyman services. Ullrich had previously offered many of these services, but under her franchise umbrella, she was able to expand her business reach even further.

Ulrich is based in Stafford, Virginia, just 50 miles from Washington. Her location keeps her in populated areas and attracts her clients, with clients in Virginia and West Virginia.

The new business is a resounding success as Ullrich is on track to meet his goal of $1 million in commercial contract revenue.

After a rocky start, this Miami girl has a bright future ahead of her.

“My grandfather always told me that if you don’t try, you don’t know if you can do it,” Ulrich said of seizing new career opportunities.

This sage advice also applies if she chooses to take the military route when not everyone in the faction initially supported the decision.

“Some of the most influential things I’ve learned from the military, especially the Marines, are that they work on a very small budget and almost do miracles,” she said. this is my mindframe [in business]I’m not perfect at it, but I’ve learned to adapt to whatever resources are available to me. ”