Say Hello: Gleem

With Meanwhile Creative’s three projects just about at capacity, we are taking the chance to introduce some of our tenants to the world in this inspiringly titled feature, ‘Say Hello’! First up is a man who has found himself working in not one, not two, but three of our different buildings. Joe’s business, Gleem, is currently based at 36 King Street.

What’s your name and where d’you come from?

My name is Joseph Edwards and I’m from Bristol. More importantly, we are Gleem, the high quality, on-demand, home cleaning.

What do you get up to in your Meanwhile Creative space?

We orchestrate cleaning experiences: trying to give people that sigh of relief and a smile when they see what a great job we’ve done. Day-to-day this involves managing a team of 30 cleaners across Bristol and Bath as well as handling customer expectations.

What was your motivation for starting your business or becoming self-
employed?

I travelled for a few years after university (where I studied Economics), and once I returned I realised that I didn’t want to join and get stuck on the corporate ladder in London.

What makes Gleem stand out from the crowd?

Gleem is high quality! We focus on adding value in everything that we do: whether that’s a beautiful website, an amazing customer service team or a team of great cleaners arriving to your home dressed professionally and motivated to over deliver on our cleaning promise. This diversification as a premium service allows us help people tick this never ending chose off of their to-do list.

Does Bristol seem to be a good location for your business?

Bristol is a great location! Being from Bristol I’m obviously biased though. The only other (real) option for us would be London, but the crowds put me off. The focus of Gleem is to be able to manage cleaners remotely (we have plans to be in 66 UK cities within 3 years), so in reality it doesn’t matter what city we situate ourselves!

Have you got exciting plans for Gleem? What’s next?

www.gleem.co.uk is currently having a complete re-vamp along with some great new branding! From humble beginnings (my bedroom), we’ve moved into a shared space, a small private office and now a larger private office, and the team is growing. We are about to see out 4th employee start, and from then we have an adventurous expansion plan, with the intention to be in 10-15 cities by January 2015.

What one piece of advice would you give someone thinking of starting a business?

Seek as much advice as you can. There is so much access to free advice from a plethora of people with great business experience. Ask away, and let experts help inform your decisions. but remember that at the end of the day, it’s your business, and at the start a lot of it will be about gut instinct!