He hired his family and created a multi-million dollar business

Ricardo Regalado was in mortgage banking when he decided to reinvent himself. He felt unfulfilled and unhappy in his career. He had studied and worked in different industries when, one day, a conversation with his cousin completely changed his life. Ricardo and his wife, Marley, immersed themselves in an industry they knew nothing about. How did they achieve success? Family.

Ricardo was born in Chicago to immigrant parents from Mexico. His father was deported three times and his mother worked tirelessly to provide for the family. At one point, there were 10 family members living under one roof trying to make ends meet. The whole family worked while the children went to school so they could have better opportunities. Although Ricardo was always on the right track and had big dreams, he couldn't find his passion.

After graduating from college with a degree in marketing, his cousin told him there were lucrative investment opportunities in the cleaning business. Without knowing anything about it, Ricardo and Marley immersed themselves into an industry that currently employs over two million employees, mostly Hispanic immigrants, and is valued at over $117 billion annually. But there is a lot of competition and the large franchises dominate the market.

From the beginning, Ricardo implemented a model that other companies didn’t have. He hired his father and mother to lead some of the main operations of the business. He currently has 22 members of his family working for Rozalado Services. Ricardo says that hiring family members has been an important component of his successful business model. But he goes further by making sure every single employee feels as if they are a member of his family.

However, Ricardo didn’t achieve success overnight. The first few years, Rozalado Services made only enough revenue to help him pay rent and his family’s basic needs. He continued to implement everything he had learned in school and in other jobs to stand out amongst his competitors.

So, how did Ricardo achieve success in the cleaning industry? According to him, these are the things that worked:

• Create a positive environment where all employees feel like they are part of the family.
• Empower all team members with the tools and support they need to grow within the company.
• Continue innovating by implementing new technological resources that assist the team in their daily tasks.

With a solid foundation of work ethic and family, Rozalado Services now generates over $8 million in revenue annually. Even with this achievement, Ricardo continues to push the bar, constantly finding ways to stay one step ahead. He is currently one of the few latinos in the tech space finding ways to evolve his business by developing the app “Route”, which helps cleaning companies be more effective while out on the field. That’s been Rciardo’s dream all along: helping others achieve their dreams, just like he did.