SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A new company is taking cleaning services online.

Cofounders Kayla Bilodeau, left, Sharon Rusike, Mike Moyo and Robin Richard-Shaw had a table at the Yellowknife Spring Tradeshow in May when Miefy Cleaning launched. - photo courtesy of Miefy Cleaning

Mike Moyo, cofounder of Miefy Cleaning, which stands for Making It Easier for You, says the idea for his company was inspired by how hard it is to find a decent house-cleaning service.

"People have to go do research and call the company, but no one responds and cleaners don't show up on time," he said. "And when the cleaners do a bad job, they don't want to come back and correct it. So we took all those negative aspects and turned them into something positive."

The result is a completely online booking house for cleaning services where home owners register the type of cleaning they need for their homes and Miefy delivers a locally vetted, independent cleaner to their house. And it's all done is sixty seconds, according to Moyo.

Miefy cleaners go through a thorough background and reference check, and if the client isn't satisfied with the service, the company offers a 200 per cent money back guarantee.

"What we do is when we provide a service to your home, and you don't like the job, we actually come back for free and do the cleaning. And if you still don't like it, we give you back your money," said Moyo.

The company's strictly online component is a defining feature of Miefy and follows the popular digital-based trend of well-known start-ups, such as Uber and Airbnb.

"We live in a tech industry. We're in a situation where it is all about convenience. It's all about getting easier access to certain things," explained Moyo.

And with the Canadian market for residential cleaning services valued at $3.6 billion, he says the effort is worth it.

Overall, people have been receptive to Miefy Cleaning.

"Most of the time we get people saying, 'This is too good to be true,' because of the way that we provide everything-they're really happy with our services," he said.

Fort McMurray fire relief

Moyo says another important component of Miefy is its program called Miefy Loves which gives back to the community.

With this program, the company donates 10 per cent of its monthly revenue to a specific charity and provides cleaning services for free.

In May, Miefy went to Edmonton to clean houses for individuals and families taking in people who lost their homes during the Fort McMurray fire.

The company also donated 10 per cent of that month's revenue to the Red Cross to support Fort McMurray relief efforts as well. "We cleaned over 35 homes," he said.

"It was a Yellowknife company going to Edmonton to help out with the whole situation there. We saw that other companies were giving money, but we realized that because we are a cleaning company, why not go there and provide cleaning services."

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