- Story by Tess Van Straaten Photography by Don Denton

Michael Sikorski香蕉视频直播檚 introduction into the commercial cleaning industry came at a very early age.

香蕉视频直播淪ome of my parents香蕉视频直播� Polish friends picked up a cleaning contract for some extra money and my parents decided to do the same thing,香蕉视频直播� says Michael, the vice-president of Fantastic Cleaning. 香蕉视频直播淭hey used to bring me along香蕉视频直播� I had this little pedal car and I would ride it around whatever location they were cleaning.香蕉视频直播�

After seeing how successful they could be, Michael香蕉视频直播檚 parents, Waldek and Elizabeth Sikorski, decided to start their own cleaning company in 1989. Polish immigrants, they were living in Regina at the time, after leaving their homeland for a better life.

香蕉视频直播淢y father was a photojournalist, a photographer for a newspaper, and was doing quite well in Poland in those times,香蕉视频直播� Michael explains. 香蕉视频直播淟istening to Radio Free Europe, he became quite obsessed with Western values. He was fired from the newspaper during martial law in Poland after refusing to affirm commitment to the Communist party. It was quite a big deal given how well they were doing at the time.香蕉视频直播�

When Waldek told his in-laws he wanted to move to America or Canada, Michael says, they were shocked and said, 香蕉视频直播淲hy would you want to do that?香蕉视频直播� But the young couple wasn香蕉视频直播檛 going to be deterred.

香蕉视频直播淢om and Dad packed their tiny car香蕉视频直播攁 Polski Fiat香蕉视频直播攚ith everything they could and said they were going to visit his dad in Germany. And they didn香蕉视频直播檛 go back,香蕉视频直播� Michael says. 香蕉视频直播淭hey were given refugee status and I was born there.香蕉视频直播�

But Waldek香蕉视频直播檚 dream of going to the United States would soon be dashed.

香蕉视频直播淢y dad went to the U.S. Embassy and the guy had his feet up on his desk and wasn香蕉视频直播檛 very kind. He got denied to go to the States, and that was heartbreaking for him because that had been his life香蕉视频直播檚 dream,香蕉视频直播� Michael says. 香蕉视频直播淗is next choice was to come to Canada.香蕉视频直播�

With a reputation for a professional European approach to cleanliness, quality service and treating people well, the hard-working Sikorskis quickly grew Fantastic Cleaning in Regina to 35 employees. But then a trip to Victoria would once again change the trajectory of their lives. They fell in love with the city and decided to move here.

香蕉视频直播淭hey sold the business and they looked to see if there was another business they could purchase here, but Dad decided to stick with what he knows,香蕉视频直播� Michael says.

They launched Fantastic Cleaning in Victoria in 1996 and the business is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. They now have loyal commercial customers all the way to Qualicum, but those early years weren香蕉视频直播檛 easy.

香蕉视频直播淭he biggest challenge in Victoria early on was this insider mentality,香蕉视频直播� says Michael. 香蕉视频直播淭hey weren香蕉视频直播檛 open to new people being here then香蕉视频直播攖hat was the big difference from Regina, which was so welcoming香蕉视频直播攁nd my dad was told, 香蕉视频直播榃e have enough cleaning companies here; you should go back to Regina.香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈��

But Waldek wouldn香蕉视频直播檛 give up. He went door-to-door, dropping off pamphlets that a 10-year-old Michael helped him to write, to 15 to 20 businesses a day.

香蕉视频直播淗e wouldn香蕉视频直播檛 let himself come home unless he had dropped off 15 introduction packages,香蕉视频直播� Michael says. 香蕉视频直播淭he biggest thing my dad taught me was to never give up and to embrace that immigrant mindset to build our enterprise.香蕉视频直播�

From those humble beginnings, Fantastic Cleaning has grown to around 100 employees and now services more than 100 buildings on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. This includes numerous long-term customers and some that have been with them for more than two decades. Michael香蕉视频直播檚 younger brother, Philip, is the company香蕉视频直播檚 operations manager and they became equal partners with their parents a couple years ago. Both have worked in the company since they were kids, but they weren香蕉视频直播檛 sure they香蕉视频直播檇 go into the family business.

香蕉视频直播淒ad told us he wanted us to do something else because it is a difficult business,香蕉视频直播� says Michael, who went to business school at Camosun College and then did an entrepreneurship program at Royal Roads before coming to work for the company full-time.

香蕉视频直播淚t was still being run as a mom-and-pop shop out of our garage then, and I came up with a restructuring plan that had a central office location and a warehouse, so we could become a more professional and efficient company with streamlined operations.香蕉视频直播�

After making those changes, Michael says, the business started growing at a much more rapid rate香蕉视频直播攁bout 20 per cent a year. But convincing his parents to do things differently wasn香蕉视频直播檛 easy.

香蕉视频直播淲e had some crazy fights,香蕉视频直播� Michael laughs. 香蕉视频直播淲e call them 香蕉视频直播楶olish fights香蕉视频直播� because they香蕉视频直播檙e crazy loud! People often think we香蕉视频直播檙e yelling when we香蕉视频直播檙e talking because of our language. There was a lot of pushback because it香蕉视频直播檚 hard for someone to let go of micromanaging when it香蕉视频直播檚 their baby.香蕉视频直播�

Michael also implemented quality control and employee-tracking systems. He admits, however, that his biggest mistake was trying to change things too quickly. Looking back, he thinks that if he香蕉视频直播檇 introduced things more slowly and proved they work, it would have produced faster results in the end.

The COVID pandemic has been another hurdle to overcome, with decreased hours and some businesses temporarily shutting down.

香蕉视频直播淚 learned that no matter how good things are going and it seems like it will be forever, everything is香蕉视频直播攁t the end of the day香蕉视频直播攙ery fragile and we shouldn香蕉视频直播檛 take it for granted,香蕉视频直播� Michael says.

The pandemic has also highlighted the critical importance of proper cleaning and sanitizing, and Michael and Philip have helped clients implement new cleaning protocols. Like their parents before them, they香蕉视频直播檝e also invested in staff香蕉视频直播攐ffering benefits and paying above minimum wage.

香蕉视频直播淏uilding relationships with our staff has always been a staple for us,香蕉视频直播� Michael explains. 香蕉视频直播淭he cleaning industry is notorious for high turnover rates among employees because of lack of job satisfaction. Nobody likes to feel replaceable or that their work is undervalued. We made it a priority to approach this differently and that香蕉视频直播檚 resulted in many long-term employees.香蕉视频直播�

The brothers are now looking to grow the company, both internally and through acquisitions, and have started to expand to the Lower Mainland.

香蕉视频直播淭he sky is the limit on what we can achieve,香蕉视频直播� Michael says. 香蕉视频直播淎nd I believe staying true to our values and harnessing that resilient immigrant mindset we learned from our parents, we香蕉视频直播檒l be successful.香蕉视频直播�

Fanstastic Cleaning can be found .

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
Like Boulevard Magazine on and follow them on