004: Balancing Perfectionism and Expectations as a Female Business Owner with Lisa Warner

There are things in your head that you think everybody adheres to, but then they don’t—because we all have these made-up expectations.

Hi Lisa, I’m so excited to have you on the show.

Hi! I’m excited to be here. Thanks for having me.

Yeah, so tell us a little bit about who you are—professionally and personally. Just tell us about yourself.

Oh man, I could really spiral here. I have a lot to say and a lot to talk about. I was born in California, and then my mom and I moved to Utah when I was seven. I’ve basically stayed in Salt Lake the entire time. I was raised in Sandy and Cottonwood Heights. That’s the short version of me.

Professionally, I’ve been in a lot of different industries, but I landed in cleaning. How I got there is kind of a weird story. I never thought I’d end up in cleaning, but here we are.

Have you always been a business owner, or did you work for someone else at some point?

I worked for someone else for a little bit. When I first started out in my career path, I tried college. My mom called me like two months later and said, “This isn’t working. You’re just spending money and partying.” And I was like, “That’s what you do when you go to Dixie, right?” I thought that was the deal. Anyway, college didn’t go well.

From there, I worked in various management and team lead positions for other people. Then I ended up in the mortgage industry, which was unexpected. I did a variety of roles: sales, processing, and other things. Eventually, mortgage wasn’t going well for me. I couldn’t get on board with all the government requirements. I like to disrupt things—it’s more fun that way, apparently.

I was having a conversation with a good friend who’s a real estate agent. She said, “Why don’t you become a cleaner?” There were some swear words exchanged, and I said, “No. I will not do that.” She asked, “Why not?” and I replied, “Because I never imagined being a cleaner. I don’t want to clean houses. That sounds awful.”

But she pointed out that, during our 45-minute conversation, I had emptied her dishwasher, organized her Tupperware drawer, and that I was always the one she called to help clean when she was moving. I said, “Okay, I see your point. My ego is involved right now, so I can’t keep having this conversation. But I think you might be onto something.”

So, I decided to become a solopreneur and started gaining clients through word of mouth. I stopped focusing on mortgages and put all my energy into building a cleaning business. Turns out, I was very good at it.

When did you start hiring people, or were you always a solopreneur?

I started hiring people about a year in. Like every business owner, you go through the ups and downs of hiring. Some people weren’t a good fit. Some left, and I had to regroup. I realized I wasn’t as prepared as I wanted to be for having employees.

At one point, I said to myself, “I just want to meet a woman-owned cleaning company that already has everything set up—the building, the employees, the systems.” About five months later, I met my business partner.

That’s so cool. So, were you looking to merge? You show up in a lot of networking spaces, so I’m sure you know a lot of other cleaning companies. What made Molly the right fit?

It’s funny because I overthink everything—my friends will vouch for that. But when Molly approached me with the idea, it was an immediate yes.

Oh, so she approached you?

Yes, she did. We met at a networking group where she was the commercial cleaner and I was the residential cleaner. We passed referrals back and forth and even subcontracted each other. She had the vetting process for hiring, which made things easier for me.

When she called with the idea to partner, I didn’t even hesitate. I played it cool, but I was already sold. It was a very easy decision.

That’s rare to find such a perfect fit. Were there specific qualities you were looking for?

Definitely someone with a lot of self-awareness. A lot of people run businesses without that. Molly has it. She’s been a businesswoman for 22 years. She also has great communication skills and handles herself well in business settings.

Were there any other people you considered partnering with?

No—well, actually yes. There was one other person, but it felt off from the beginning. That process dragged on for six months before she ended up selling her business. So, there was a reason it didn’t work out.

It’s been mutually beneficial. You brought structure and strong values to the business. You often say, “We work with moxie.” Can you share what that means?

Growing up, my mom was in the military. When she told me to clean something, she expected it to be perfect. If it wasn’t, I had to do it again and again. One day I saw a commercial featuring Rosie the Riveter with the phrase, “We can do it, and we do it with moxie.”

I didn’t know what “moxie” meant, but it felt powerful. So I went back and cleaned that bathroom until it was perfect. I told my mom, “It’s because I have moxie.” She had no idea what that meant, but I felt great.

Later in life, I finally looked up the word. It means courage, character, and determination. That’s exactly how I had been living all along. I love silent disruption—coming in and making a difference with a smile. That’s what “working with moxie” means to me.

I love that. But your mom didn’t always communicate her expectations. How has that influenced you as a business owner?

I learned early what I didn’t want. I didn’t want silence or unclear expectations. I’ve worked hard to improve communication. Now, I just say it: “These are my expectations. Can you meet them? If not, let’s meet where you’re at and figure it out together.”

I struggle with that too. I sometimes expect people to meet unwritten standards.

We all do! Those expectations come from so many parts of our lives.

I think words of affirmation help. At a past job, leadership was focused on positive feedback, and that made it easier to receive corrections.

Yes, I love that approach. I’ve been to management trainings where they say to give two or three positives for every negative. But I try to avoid toxic positivity. It needs to be genuine.

Exactly. Like the sandwich method—start positive, give the critique, end positive.

Totally. But sometimes it’s better to just be direct.

Agreed. I think women especially tend to soften everything. When I email a man, there’s no fluff.

Yep. Men are direct. No passive-aggressive subtext. Just, “I needed this yesterday.”

Right? Tone is hard in text. But we need both styles. Different people respond differently. And as you grow a team, you have to understand that.

Exactly. I have a supervisor named Jefferson. He sometimes tells me I was too harsh. He delivers the same message, but in a softer way. I need that balance.

And it helps to recognize people’s strengths. Some people are better at delivering feedback. Not everyone has that skill, and that’s okay.

Exactly. A good leader calls out strengths, not just weaknesses.

Okay, switching gears—I was diagnosed as a perfectionist in fifth grade.

Wait, what? By who?

My fifth-grade teacher, Miss Weber. She had a parent-teacher conference with my mom because I was sobbing over an A-minus. She said if she could clone me, she would. That stuck with me.

Wow. That’s a compliment, but also a lot of pressure.

Exactly. And I still deal with it. A business coach asked me to list all my daily expectations for myself. Then she asked, “What would happen if none of these got done?” Just the thought made me nauseous.

But at least you’re working on it.

Yes. I think I handle it better professionally. I don’t want others to feel the pressure I put on myself.

That makes sense. Especially with design—aesthetics matter. Letting go of control is hard.

It is. You and I worked on my website, and I was very picky. But once I saw your work, I trusted you. Letting go is hard, but necessary.

Exactly. Many solopreneurs struggle with this. They know what they want and think they have to do it all themselves.

And that’s why it’s rewarding when they see the finished product and say, “This is better than I imagined.”

It’s the same with cleaning. There’s instant gratification. You see the result right away.

And people are trusting you with their homes, just like they trust me with their online presence. That’s vulnerable.

Exactly. We focus on relationships and consistency. Clients want to know who is coming into their house. They want someone they can trust.

And Jefferson has built those relationships. Clients invite him to weddings and Christmas parties. He gets bonuses from clients. He’s amazing.

You need to clone him, like Miss Weber wanted to clone you!

Right? And when we cleaned together, it became a rivalry—who could do it better. It made work fun.

I love that. Thank you so much for coming on the show. It’s amazing how much overlap there is between our industries.

Thanks for having me. This was so fun. We could probably talk for another hour!

For the sake of everyone else, we’ll wrap it up. But I loved this conversation. Thank you!