Meet the Absa Small Business Friday featured Small Business of the week – Clean-Pro Systems.
Clean-Pro Systems is a specialist bulk supplier of cleaning and facilities chemicals, consumables and products targeted to supplying the cleaning and facilities industries in South Africa. They also provide valued training and consultancy to these industries for their client’s operational staff with PBEH (Professional Body for Environmental Hygiene) certification.
Verina Coleman began Clean-Pro Systems in October 2017. It is a unique business in their industry because they have two parts which complement each other. The first is the product silo, and the second is the training and consultancy. Even though they have faced many adversities in the industry, they have set themselves apart by getting their clients to see them as partners rather than just suppliers. After 5 years of existence, the revenue of this business has gone from zero to nearly five million per annum.
Verina has instilled her values of respect, responsibility, excellence, integrity, and innovation into her business. With 20 years in the industry, she learnt early on that the key to success is never to quit and to stop making excuses – just do it.
Starting from humbling beginnings, she has made sure to keep a close eye on her finances to ensure that she manages the cash flow well every day. Clean-pro systems has overcome their financial challenges by paying close attention to their debtors’ and creditors’ reports daily to ensure they manage the cash flow very carefully. Through the careful attention paid to their finances, Verina has managed to build a financial position where they have a great credit score. They have no overdraft or credit facility and have full-paid assets.
With her positive attitude and determination to excel, Verina works hard to have a positive impact on anyone she meets. She strives to have a positive impact on at least one person every day whether that is teaching a new skill or just offering a smile. This has set her apart as she is also not shy to get her hands dirty while working and believes people learn best by seeing you do it.
Their long-term goal is to start a community education sponsorship programme for underprivileged individuals, especially the youth coming out of high school. The future will also see drastic changes regarding technology in this industry and having skilled labour who can use the new and diverse technology will be important.
Clean-pro systems were chosen to receive a Top 20 Award at the 2022 South African Small Business Awards.