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 Change agent. Strategist.
Entrepreneur. Risk-taker. Goal-driven. Business developer. Organizer.
Wife. Mother. Oklahoma FHA/HERO
President, 1981.
What do all of these have in common?
They are all adjectives describing Stacia Long Glavas, who likes
to grow things. She says her link with that adjective (the occupational
student organization, FHA/HERO) has been invaluable in mixing
her growing family with her fast-growing business in Alexandria,
VA.
Glavas graduated from Oklahoma State University
with a business degree and received her master's degree from
George Washington University. Her focus was on international
business.
"I met and later married my husband, Pete, when we were
both working for U. S. Senator David L. Boren on 'The Hill' in
Washington D.C. Pete was a lawyer, and later, a lobbyist. I was
an intern," Glavas said. "I later worked as a legislative
aide for a congresswoman," Glavas said.
It didn't take long following their marriage and move to Alexandria
for the goal-driven Glavas to start thinking about setting some
new goals for herself.
"I wanted to be in business doing something. But, I didn't
want to have to create a market need and then try to fill it,"
she said. "So, I researched the area to find out where the
needs already were."
Glavas researched area companies and services available to fill
established needs. She then researched businesses which had the
greatest potential with the lowest investment.
And she read.
"I read Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise 500, Inc. and Fortune.
I was looking for a small to medium size business."
"I discovered that 70 percent of the women in the area work
outside the home in Alexandria. There was a high demand for house
help," Glavas said. "I now had my goal."
Having a goal combined with a very narrowly targeted strategic
plan enabled her to almost meet her short, personal timeline
for business startup.
"My goal at Christmas in 1989 was to be in business by April
1. I missed it by nine days," Glavas said. "We opened
The Maid Brigade, a national residential cleaning franchise on
April 10 with three employees."
From that date, she put her effort toward a larger goal - to
make it work with their future family. "My goal was NOT
to make lots of money. It was more to see what I could do to
work around people and to have flexibility."
In order to achieve that goal, Glavas began her operation by
training her staff and delegating duties. The company continues
keeping family in focus by making it family-oriented for employees,
too. The staff helped set up systems to accomplish this.
"I wanted to be dispensable," Glavas said. "I
have friends in business who can't take vacations. Last year,
Pete and I took off for eight weeks and people hardly knew we
were gone."
Today, the Maid Brigade employs 140 who go out in teams of three
to clean 700 houses a week. With three branches - two in Virginia
and one in Maryland - Glavas' company has 17 on staff for customer
service, accounting, sales, data entry, training, operations,
order supplier and human resources .
Although this particular business might sound like a good career
that aligns with a former home economics student, in reality,
she wasn't interested in that aspect of it.
"I just wanted to own my own business," Glavas said.
"It's kind of like when I was in home economics in high
school. I did everything BUT cook and sew."
It was the other activities with FHA/HERO that appealed to her
business sense such as leadership skills and public speaking.
Probably most important to the choices she has made in life are
organizational skills needed to lead others.
The Glavas' career paths have now switched. Stacia is now semi-retired
from the business, and is happy to be "mom" who carpools
and helps in the kids' preschool. Pete retired his lobbyist/attorney
shingle and decided to take the reins of the Maid Brigade, while
Stacia still oversees the financial side of the business.
"I feel like I've come full circle in the past 15 years,"
Glavas said. "I was heading to the moon with great ideas
and plans. Now I'm just tickled pink to stay home."
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