Vanetta Williams is 34, a mother of four and the energetic owner of a business establishment that offers services, some of which might not ordinarily be associated with a woman.
Time was when she was focused on clothing design; she gave that up and began to offer seasoned fish and meats to customers from her 58 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge home.
Eventually, she in-vested in a car and immersed herself in the rental business. That did not do well. People, she said, would sometimes retain the car far beyond the agreed period and return it to her “with parts exchanged.”
Vanetta Williams
She has not given up on cars altogether; in fact, she has owned two others since then and these days she earns extra money providing a ‘private hire’ service.’
Williams’s current business focus, however, is on growing Lime Cleaning Service a facility that provides cleaning for homes, bonds, stores, offices, halls, restaurants and gymnasia. Lime offers after-event cleaning as well as cleaning services for various types of vehicles.
You might think that once contracted to provide a service Williams steps back and calls in the muscle to get the job done. Not so; she leads from the front, cleaning everything from living rooms to vans and minibuses. She says she does what she does because she must.
Hers, she says, is a typical small business, focused on direct customer contact, affordable prices and efficient service. Where vehicle cleaning is concerned she responds to calls and makes her way to the stipulated location with her equipment in tow, does the job and moves on.
Much of it may seem like man’s work, but Williams takes it in her stride. She embraces the support which she receives from her 16-year-old son though it does not always entirely compensate for the reality of hers being a one-woman enterprise. Depending on the nature of the job she would hire-in help “to get the cleaning done.”
Like so many other small businesses she continues to seek opportunities for expansion. Her emphasis is on being able to afford to invest in business premises and, a wash bay of her own.
She believes that over time, she has sharpened her administrative and customer service skills and has now become more adept at marketing the services she provides. Over time she has grown into the job of chauffeuring passengers from one destination to the next. These days, there are risks involved in that particular undertaking, but, she says, she goes with her instincts, fashioning a line between offering a service and minimizing the attendant risks.
Her cellular rings whilst she speaks with Stabroek Business and she handles the call in an unfussy manner, giving commitments with a clarity that is impressive. Then she returns to the interview, quietly apologetic for the interruption.
