New cleaning business opens

KateLynn Slaamot

NLJ Reporter

“Gruff on Grime” is the motto of the new Newcastle cleaning business started by Don and Kacy Botkin. Blue Dog Cleaning, named after their favorite dog, a blue Australian cattle dog, began offering services in May, seeking to provide quality cleaning services to the people of Weston County. 

Don has been working in the energy industry until he went full time with the cleaning business earlier this fall. Kacy worked at the hospital in Newcastle before leaving that job to work as a real estate agent for Home Place Realty, where she still works, in addition to working with the cleaning business. 

The idea of starting a cleaning company has been on the Botkins’ minds for some time, Don said, especially with his past experience owning a construction company. 

“It’s something we had talked about for years. Kacy had worked for a cleaning company in the past.  … And I had my own construction business in the past, so it
was kind of a combination of both of those (experiences),” Don said. 

“And we liked the idea of being … entrepreneurs,”
Kacy added. 

A lot of research into equipment and training for certain specialty services such as carpet cleaning was undertaken before launching the business. 

“We wanted to be as prepared as we could,” Kacy said. 

The entrepreneurs also began purchasing equipment and accumulating the supplies they would need to operate. 

Blue Dog Cleaning offers a number of services, including residential and commercial cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaning and steam sanitizing, along with painting and staining, drywall and texture services and room remodels, in addition to other small carpentry jobs. 

“Our stated mission is to give our clients timely and professional service each and every time. You know, handle each job individually,” Don said. 

“Both in our personal businesses and in the jobs that we had, throughout all of our adult lives, customer service has been very important,” Kacy added. 

Don noted that it’s important to Kacy and him to give people the best service possible, whatever the job is. Taking care of clients comes first, Don said. 

As far as growth, Don and Kacy said they would love to continue gaining clients, and maybe even hire more help if necessary. However, the couple said it’s very important to them to still stay heavily involved in the day-to-day operations, no matter what, to keep that personal touch and maintain the quality of their services. 

“We have a certain way, and a certain standard that we want to keep,” Don said. 

Kacy added that it’s important for them to go out of their way to do things to make it a better environment for their clients, even if it’s small personal touches. 

This new business venture has come pretty smoothly to the Botkins, they said, because they put a lot of thought into it to make it happen. 

Owning their own business allows them to spend more time together and with their dogs, Kacy said, which is another reason they decided to name their business after Max, their dog. 

“It allows us more quality of life, more quality time. And so, that is kind of what brought up the thought about the dogs because that allows us more time to spend with them,” Kacy said. “So it was just a natural fit that it became Blue Dog.” 

Blue Dog Cleaning is flexible with its scheduling, and the Botkins are willing to work after hours, over weekends, early mornings, etc. to meet the needs of the customer. They also like to get quotes to customers before doing the job so that the client knows the cost up front. Their landline number is 746-9114, and Kacy’s cell phone is 941-2575. Their website is BlueDogCleaningAnd
Services.com.