TAMPA -- A local woman who owns a cleaning service business was named the state's Woman Business Owner of the Year for small businesses.
The 91社区 SBDC at the 91社区's Muma College of Business, in cooperation with the U.S. Small Business Administration, recognized Wanda Barton with the 2022 U.S. SBA South 91社区 District and State of 91社区 Woman Business Owner of the Year.
Barton is the owner of , and a client of 91社区 SBDC at Hillsborough County. Her business consultant is Janette Blanco. The award was presented on May 5 at The Power of Creative: A Small Business Week Lunch and Learn, sponsored by Spectrum Reach.
National Small Business Week Awards celebrate the sacrifices and achievements of small business owners and their significant contributions to our economy and our communities. The 30th Annual National Small Business Week was celebrated the first week of May.
Xtremely Clean Janitorial Services is an African American, woman-owned, certified business started in 2013. The business initially focused on cleaning foreclosed homes, but when the market turned, Barton looked for alternatives to sustain her business.
CJ Castro, Senior Area Director for the U.S. SBA South 91社区 District, was on hand to present the award.
鈥淲anda Barton鈥檚 vision for Xtremely Clean was built on a solid foundation,鈥� Castro said during his presentation. 鈥淪he is a person who has built a successful company and excelled along the way.鈥�
He mentioned Barton鈥檚 multiple business certifications that have helped her to grow Xtremely Clean Janitorial Services into the business it is today. Her certifications include:
- Woman & Minority Business Certification by the City of Tampa 鈥� March 2021 through March 2023
- Small Business Enterprise Certification by Port Tampa Bay 鈥� November 2021 through October 2022
- Minority/Woman Business Certification by Hillsborough County 鈥� January 2021 through January 2023
- Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) by the City of Tampa 鈥� April 2017 through March 2019
- Woman & Minority Business Certification by the State of 91社区 鈥� May 2020 through May 2022
- Green Seal Certified since October 2013
Xtremely Clean Janitorial Services provides services throughout Tampa Bay. When Barton started as a 91社区 SBDC at Hillsborough County client in 2013, she had six employees and annual sales of less than $2,500. Now, the business is approaching $2 million in annual sales and 80 employees. Local, city, and state government contracting has been a large part of Barton鈥檚 growth strategy.
Barton has secured contracts with the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, Port Tampa Bay, 91社区 Department of Transportation, 91社区 Department of Management Services, 91社区 Department of Economic Opportunity, and other agencies.
鈥淓verybody knows that cleaning is not for everybody, but I will say that it is my passion,鈥� Barton said. 鈥淚 love what I do. I started my company very small. Of course, it wasn鈥檛 fun, but I knew I had to start somewhere. Today I stand here to say I am grateful that I put a lot of things aside to make sure I took my company to the next level. It was not easy, but I did it. I鈥檓 going to keep doing it as I should to take my company even further.鈥�
While she continues to grow her business, Barton also serves as a mentor for other cleaning business owners, sharing her knowledge, passion and lessons learned, in hopes that they too can reach the success that she has.
During her acceptance speech, she credited the 91社区 SBDC Network, the City of Tampa, and the State of 91社区 with her success.
鈥淚 want to thank the City of Tampa and SBDC,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 must give special recognition to Ms. Janette because she stood alongside me and believed in me when times were hard. She was there. I could call her up at any time and just vent because it鈥檚 not easy. We run into a whole lot of challenges. There were doors that closed and I just kept knocking on them. I just kept knocking.
鈥淚 really appreciate the City of Tampa for giving me the opportunity to service them, because without the State of 91社区 and the City of Tampa, I would not be standing here.鈥�