Rodney Douglas: Cleaning up the route to success

Cheraw native Rodney Douglas has an incomparable work ethic that would put many of us to shame. But, to him, “It’s not work if you love what you do.”

For the past 13 years, Douglas, 43, has worked as a network administrator for Aalberts Integrated Piping System in Pageland. And, in August 2020, he started his own business, The Janitorial Pros, which he runs between his 9 to 5 and on the weekends.

“I started this company with a mop and a bucket,” says Douglas.

The Janitorial Pros came to life after he had helped out a friend on a job stripping and waxing floors, when he realized he wasn’t getting paid for the work he wasn’t putting into it.

“At that point, I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to try to do it myself,” says Douglas. “And from that point on, it’s just been going and going, and going.”

A family friend booked Douglas to clean a bank he was a member of in June 2020 and, soon after that, Douglas purchased the equipment he needed, earned the credentials he needed, and officially opened for business on August 11, 2020.

It’s a path that came full circle for Douglas many years later, from his days working for another cleaning service company, Pro Clean, between high school and college.

“That’s when I learned the trade of cleaning services,” he says. “The owner of the company, Joe Swind, taught me a lot about business and janitorial work. … I reached back out to him when I told him I wanted to start my janitorial company in 2020 – asked him for some advice.”

A graduate of Cheraw High School, Douglas earned his associate’s degree in computer networking from ECPI University in Charlotte. He would go on to work as a network engineer at Bank of America (Charlotte) and back home for the Chesterfield County School District.

Today, The Janitorial Pros is a team of 10 servicing about 11 different commercial clients, with Douglas at the helm, while at the same time working his other job. It’s a trait he picked up from his two hardworking parents at a young age, his father having worked two jobs for 32 years until he retired.

“One of the main purposes I started this company is for my three kids,” says Douglas. “I wanted to build a company that would support them in the future. I sat down and told them that this company is always going to be a family-owned company and it will never be sold. … So I’m trying to create generational wealth for my kids and for my wife and me.”

Douglas and his wife, Yolanda, have been married for 17 years and are the parents of daughter Taylor, 23, who is going to school in Charleston to become a nurse; 17-year-old son Christian, a junior in high school; and son Cameron, 12, a seventh grader.

“When people say you start at the bottom and you work your way up, I am definitely at the bottom, working my way up in the trenches, and I’m trying to show my kids and the younger generation that you can start from the bottom and, and be successful and look back,” says Douglas.

One mindset Douglas has that he attributes to his success is refusing to have anyone on his team do work that he wouldn’t do himself. He’s also thankful for the connections he has made and mentors he has found while sitting on the board of directors for the Greater Cheraw Chamber of Commerce.

“I keep a good rapport with my crew because, at the end of the day, my family name is on it, and I want it to stand out,” he says. “I always want to have open communication, which comes from me working in corporate America … treating people in certain ways. As a business owner, I also want to treat people in certain ways. I think I got my growth from being in corporate America, in terms of how to treat my employees as well.”

One more slogan he has that he firmly believes in: providing friendly service with outstanding values that are built on trust.

“I’m a very Christian-hearted fellow,” says Douglas. “And me and the good Lord had a conversation that at 45, my plans were to be solely the janitorial business. So that’s my goal now. … At 43, he has truly blessed me thus far, and I’m so anxious and anticipating what the future holds. I truly believe it’s going to be successful because I put God first in everything.”

The entrepreneur’s goal for the future after he turns 45? To grow The Janitorial Pros and open one in every city or state his children are eventually living in.