Keeping mothers invigorated with MommyGo energy shots and homes clean with Superb Maids housecleaning service has caught the attention of the Small Business Administration, which is honoring Las Vegas entrepreneur Elena Ledoux and her Superb Maids co-owner Nargiza Mukhutdinova with the 2019 Small Business Person of the Year Award for Nevada.
Ledoux and Mukhutdinova will compete with winners from across the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2019 Small Business Person of the Year Award.
Joseph Amato, Nevada SBA District Director, called Superb Maids an example of a Nevada small-business community success story, a distinction that elated Ledoux.
“I’ve been able to achieve my American dream with my childhood friend,” Ledoux said. “We are grateful for the community, the SBA, and the Nevada State Development Corp. for helping us with our business.”
Ledoux said Superb Maids models itself after top-flight hotel service, aiming to deliver a five-star customer experience with the convenience of Uber-style online booking technology.
Patron satisfaction matters above all, she said.
“We don’t haggle over the specifics; if our customer is not 100 percent happy, we give them their money back,” said Ledoux, adding that Superb Maids surpassed $1 million in revenue in 2018. “Our staff is instructed to clean with love, as they would for their grandma, and clean so well that clients would tear up when they see their home.”
Ledoux, who was born in the former Soviet Union, immigrated to the United States from Uzbekistan 20 years ago. She attended law school in Delaware and then lived in Hawaii for more than a decade.
Although she said she loved Hawaii and her work, Ledoux struggled to balance the demands of practicing law and raising a newborn son.
“I realized that if we moved to a lower cost-of-living area, I could quit my job and be a stay-at-home parent,” she said.
Ledoux said juggling workplace and family duties spurred her toward entrepreneurism. On her MommyGo blog, she suggests practical tactics for busy businesswomen, including ridding homes of clutter and combining tasks. For example, she writes, laundry-folding can allow time for catching up on podcast listening, and meal preparation can double as romantic time with a spouse.
Ledoux said she hopes to serve as an example to women and send the message that they shouldn’t have to forgo family to achieve career success.
”I feel like moms are overlooked,” she said. “I believe women should have it all; they shouldn’t have to decide or make a sacrifice.”
“Ledoux said she formulated MommyGo as something she herself could use to recover from a nerve-racking workday to be present for her family. The drink — which includes Japanese matcha in all three of its flavors (Lavender Coconut, Rose Almond, and a new keto-friendly MatchaGO) — has just 20 calories per 3-fluid-ounce bottle. In the Las Vegas Valley, it’s sold at Herbally Grounded and The Salt Room’s Summerlin location. It is also selling nationwide on Amazon.
In keeping with Ledoux’s mission to improve the lives and health of children and mothers, MommyGo is working with the nonprofit Healthy Sunrise Foundation to sponsor a program to provide essential health care for up to 200 pregnant women for five years.
For more information on MommyGo, visit mommygo.co. For more information on Superb Maids, visit superbmaids.net.
ABOUT THE SBA SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS
The SBA Nevada Lender Matchmaking, Networking and 2019 Small Business Awards are part of a small business week celebration planned for May 10 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, 3000 Paradise Road.
The event is a daylong opportunity for small businesses to have direct access to local, regional and national lenders, SBA Resource Partners and government agencies that support the Nevada small business community. Along with networking during the day, a general session is planned with Nevada SBA District Director Joseph Amato, the SBA Associate Administrator, and a Lender Panel on the state of small business lending in Nevada.
The daytime portion of the event will end with a Lender Matchmaking session, followed by the SBA Awards Reception and Dinner in the evening.
For more information, visit site.eventmatches.com/nvsbagala2019.