Meet Anna-Marie Ortiz, the African American founder of Cool Aunt Cleaners, a very successful apartment cleaning business based in Portland, Oregon. Last year, she quit her job, used her final $2,000 in savings, and turned it from a part-time gig into a business projected to make over $100,000 in revenue in 2024.
“When I first started, I had no clue how things would turn out,” Ortiz shared with CNBC Make It. “But you push forward because you believe in what you’re building.” She launched the business in July 2023 with her final $2,000 in savings and has since turned it from a part-time gig into a business projected to make over $100,000 in revenue in 2024.According to CNBC, Anna-Marie grew up in Wichita, Kansas, with four sisters and parents who divorced when she was just three. Her mother later remarried, and her stepfather’s flooring business, though successful later on, faced financial challenges in its early stages. “Money was always tight growing up,” Ortiz recalled. The family lived paycheck to paycheck, stretching every dollar and often relying on thrifted items to get by. Moving to an 80-acre farm near Kingman, Kansas, during her fourth-grade year introduced social isolation, as she was one of the few people of color in a predominantly white rural area.
After graduating high school in 2012, Ortiz pursued business studies at Butler Community College on a track scholarship. Uncertain about her career path, she left after a year, feeling that college was an expensive way to find direction. She then worked various odd jobs in Lawrence, Kansas, including as a café server. One customer, a fintech startup founder, invited her to collaborate on a project, leading to several years of startup work where she gained valuable experience in sales, marketing, and project management, despite the projects ultimately fizzling out.
In 2020, Anna-Marie opened a plant shop with a high school friend. Unfortunately, the shop, which launched just before the pandemic, struggled despite shifting to online sales and closed in early 2021. The experience provided her with lessons she applied to her future endeavors, including understanding her preference for having full control over business operations. By September 2022, after a breakup and the plant shop's closure, she moved to Portland and continued working remotely for her fintech job, eventually deciding to start Cool Aunt Cleaners in July 2023 due to its low startup costs and manageable operations.
With an initial $2,000 investment, Anna-Marie purchased supplies, developed a website, and registered her business. She named the company Cool Aunt Cleaners to appeal to younger clients and distributed flyers and business cards to generate interest without spending on online advertising. The business initially brought in $2,595 in its first month but grew steadily. By November 2023, she committed to running it full-time, and the company has since averaged around $10,000 in monthly revenue in 2024.
She plans to expand further, adding more staff and streamlining operations while staying focused on creating a legacy and financial independence. “I want to be the person in my family that creates generational wealth and leaves behind a legacy,” she said.
To learn more about her business, visit the official website at CoolAuntCleaners.com