How Danielle of MCF Window Cleaning Built a Thriving Business with a Loyal Following

Home services is an industry where trust is paramount. You’re letting someone into your home, after all.

Gaining customers’ trust is Danielle McColloch’s #1 priority. As the owner of MCF Window Cleaning in Idaho, Danielle eschews making a quick buck in favor of building long-lasting relationships.

She and her husband, who met working in retail management at Whole Foods, “took a leap of faith” when they bought the company from a Portland Whole Foods customer in 2017. They quickly grew the business through networking.

In 2021, they moved from Portland, OR to Boise, ID and changed the name to MCF (for “McColloch Family”). They didn’t know anyone in Boise, but they networked and gradually built a community of loyal customers.

Thanks to the McColloch’s hard work, and with a little help from Business Impact NW, MCF Window Cleaning is a thriving business with the capital to invest in new equipment and new hires.

How MCF Window Cleaning is strengthening trust in home services

While growing their business, there was one thing the McCollochs were clear on: They wouldn’t cold-call or go door-to-door.

“We want people to choose us, and keep choosing us,” Danielle explains. “It’s very important for us to build relationships.”

In Idaho, home services aren’t regulated as much as they are in California or Oregon, and certainly not as much as they should be, in Danielle’s opinion.

In Idaho, “you do get the occasional person who knocks on your door and offers to do your windows, and they don’t actually have the right experience.”

Seeking to bring home services “back into a good place rather than a scary place,” Danielle and her husband opted to grow their business more slowly—and more intentionally—within their new community. They showed up to their local Business Networking International (BNI) chapter and did commercials. Satisfied customers referred new ones.

The strategy worked, and MCF Window Cleaning has a stellar customer retention rate. The only caveat is that it takes more time to grow.

How a short-term loan went sideways

While the business was scaling up, Danielle realized she needed access to capital to hire people and keep things running smoothly.

She searched for lenders on the Small Business Administration (SBA) website and talked to a few. Later, she looked at an online loan marketplace. Someone soon called to say he could get her some money “tomorrow”—with a high-interest loan. Assuming she would refinance it through an SBA loan, Danielle agreed to the terms. Unfortunately, the SBA lenders didn’t get back to her, so that plan fell through.

The principal was low, but monthly payments were huge. They ate up her cash flow, locking Danielle into a borrow-spend-borrow cycle.

“It was fast money, like those payday loan places. You’re paying this HUGE fee … Sometimes, when you’re trying to survive, you get cornered into these things.”

Getting out of the vicious cycle of borrowing to pay off debt

Debt became difficult to manage, and Danielle was ready to give up. But first, she checked out her local chapter of Polka Dot Powerhouse, a women’s networking community.

That’s where she met Idaho Women’s Business Center Program Director Paige Wiscombe. Paige not only helped her secure a loan with Business Impact NW, but also gave her free coaching to reverse the cycle.

“Our goal wasn’t just to get Danielle out of one expensive loan,” Paige explains. “We needed to understand why the business was ending up in the same cash-flow position each year and build a plan that would keep her from needing that type of financing again.”

Paige helped Danielle create financial projections, review pricing, set realistic revenue and growth goals, and identify the recurring cash-flow shortfalls pushing her towards short-term financing. They then built a plan to address the company’s underlying financial sustainability.

Paige was impressed with Danielle’s determination. “She’s a super hard-working client who was willing to take the feedback, put her head down, and work on it.”

Danielle, for her part, is beyond grateful for Paige’s help; she wasn’t even sure she could get a good loan after what she’d been through. But since Business Impact NW bundles funding with coaching, it operates more flexibly than a bank. Helping people get out of high-interest debt is part of the organization’s vision that “all business owners have equal opportunity to succeed.”

A plan that’s helping MCF Window Cleaning grow sustainably

Danielle refinanced her debt with Business Impact NW’s funding. Guided by the new financial projections, she and her husband wiped out a few thousand dollars of debt each month. They also strategically added capacity—another part of the plan—by getting their second field technician set up with a pressure washer and hiring a part-time admin to reduce the load on Danielle’s shoulders.

This transformation has made her business financially sustainable in the long term, and it wasn’t simply due to the new loan. As Paige explains:

“Access to capital can absolutely change a small business, but capital works best when it’s paired with a plan. Danielle now has a much clearer understanding of her numbers, realistic goals for the business, stronger processes, and a plan for growth. That’s what makes me excited about where MCF goes from here.”

With this newfound stability, Danielle and her husband can focus on growing their business in line with their original vision: forging strong relationships with loyal customers, and making their windows sparkle.