Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Terrell.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My husband and I purchased a lakehouse in East Texas, ultimately for my parents to retire in, be closer to us, and have a family vacation home to enjoy. We were both in the corporate world with extensive travel, 60+ hour work weeks, and all the time pressed challenges that come with it. We’d make plans to leave Dallas by 3pm (to beat the traffic and make the most of our weekend) yet find ourselves leaving at 7pm or later, rushed, shoving groceries, dogs, bags, and our sanity into the car. Most of the time, we’d arrive to the lake after dark, realizing we’d left wet towels in the dryer that were now musty, or that the patios were completely covered in cobwebs and in need of hours of sweeping and clean up, or that we had six mustards and no ketchup and a container of leftovers had gone so bad it had practically grown legs! We were spending the first four to six hours of our “relaxing lake weekend” working like crazy so we could finally enjoy our time.
Saturdays were bliss, for the most part, when we weren’t tackling honey-do handyman projects, laundry, and cleaning so we could (in our hopes) enjoy the lake the NEXT time we came out. Sundays we were booting guests out of bed at 6am so we could do the four loads of laundry needed to make sure we didn’t have musty sheets or moldy towels on our next visit. Bottom line, it was exhausting!
We needed help, but not just basic maid service. We needed someone who could start our “lake life” before we arrived so we could walk into our weekends at the lake and relax: someone who would check the house, de-cobweb our patios, pull out/clean off patio cushions, clean the house, tackle our honey-do’s, shop+stock for the house, uncover the boat and gas up our personal watercrafts. We needed someone who could close up our weekend, so we could leave relaxed, refreshed, and worry-free. We needed Prep My Lakehouse.
Out of our own need, the idea for Prep My Lakehouse (PML) was born. I quit my corporate job, put my Marketing degree to use, and started one client at a time. I built the company with a “Lakehouse Concierge” approach. What does that mean? It means, if you own a lakehouse in East Texas and have a need, our answer is “Yes.” I started with housekeeping and concierge services, personally handling and cleaning each client’s lakehouse; week by week adding clients, assessing needs, and helping fellow lakehouse owners enjoy their lake life.
As the PML client numbers grew, I realized clients really valued having background checked, drug tested, insured, reliable service providers working with their lakehouses. As I hired lakehouse managers and handymen, I set my criteria to ensure they were trustworthy, reliable and passed our stringent background/drug tests. Our high-tech, fully-documented work process allows clients to have that peace-of-mind that their request was executed to their specifications. We communicate with each client, document our work, and share proof of completion (via text or email) to ensure the end goal the client expects is achieved.
Now over four years in business, PML is a team of 15 strong with a client list of over 200 homes on Cedar Creek Lake, Lake Athens, and Lake Palestine, helping with handyman/home repairs, housekeeping, boat maintenance, shop+stock, food prep, entertaining support and personal concierge services.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s been an exhausting road as we started small, we tested new service offerings, and we iterated. Over and over…
We worked with clients on our pricing, our services, and how we organize the work and our communications. Obviously, the summers are our busiest season, with the “big three” being our most challenging times of the year: Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. Everyone with a lakehouse tends to use their home on the big three and need enormous support before and after.
Luckily, the PML team is dedicated to making the “lake life” dream a reality for our clients. We work as a unit, communicating through our documentation platform and we support and schedule ourselves to make sure we get it all done… and done right.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Prep My Lakehouse story. Tell us more about the business.
Our hashtag of #KeepCalmAndCallPML says it all in a nutshell. PML handles anything that owning a lakehouse can throw at you.
Obviously, meticulous housekeeping is a strong piece of our business offering. However, our handyman services has truly taken off in the last year. We can handle the smallest request, like hanging a new towel rod, to rebuilding decks/docks, and everything in-between. If it’s a project that requires a licensed professional (plumbers, electricians, septic teams, etc.) we have built a network of insured and respected businesses that prioritize PML client requests and deliver exceptional service in an expedited fashion to help us keep our clients worry-free.
As the owner, the thing I’m most proud of is the passion and dedication the PML team has for supporting the PML family of families. They are the eyes and ears of our clients in their homes, taking such pride in their work and in the perfection they strive for in everything they do. When I receive an unprompted thank you email or text from a client – it makes the team’s day!
What sets us apart is professionalism, documentation, and safety.
Professionalism: all phone calls/texts are answered or responded to in the same day. We are a company. We are insured. We follow the adage of “Say what you’re going to do, and then do what you say.” The phenomenon of “lake time” is one of the most infuriating pieces of lake life. There are so few responsive and professional service providers in lake communities – which makes getting work done at the lake one of the biggest challenges our clients face. We execute as a highly efficient and proactive company, bringing the same level of service and responsiveness we expect in the metroplex to rural East Texas lake communities.
Documentation: all projects the PML team executes are documented before, during, and after. We respect the trust our families place in PML. We make sure to share what we see when we enter a home or start a project and document throughout the process. This offers PML the opportunity to share any piece of the project with homeowners – if and when they want it. There’s never a discrepancy of what was or wasn’t done, and the transparency of us showing the work in real-time to our homeowners puts them at ease.
Safety: the entire PML team is background checked and drug tested upon hire and monitored throughout the year. We carry significant insurance as a company. We make sure that we keep your lakehouse safe by ensuring that we put the most qualified and safe individuals on the team. We stand behind our reputation and our work. Keeping your home and our team members safe is one of the pillars upon which PML was built.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We joke that “It’s good to be lucky and it’s lucky to be good!” But ultimately it isn’t luck that played a role in my life, it is true grit. To go from a corporate job, enjoying the perks of travel, five-star hotels, business dinners, and a white-collar career to scrubbing commodes and de-cobwebbing a boat dock in the dead of summer, takes a lot of determination and grit.
No one is going to hand you your life, and nothing can stand in the way of a determined woman once she’s put her mind to something. One day at a time, and one client at a time, I grew this company and my resolve to make it even more successful. As I grew the business and added team members, I realized that determination and passion to make more of your life and do what you love is abundant, if you know where to look. PML’s team members share the same passion, determination and grit that I do, and I am proud to work alongside the team and support them whenever the need arises.
So although it’s good to be lucky, and I’m incredibly lucky my team is good!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.PrepMyLakehouse.com
- Phone: DFW Office: +1 (214) 886-3633 East TX Office: +1 (903) 686-0607
- Email: info@prepmylakehouse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepmylakehouse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrepMyLakehouse/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/prep-my-lakehouse-frankston?uid=_WpdgcmlQ0HTj7guqe9f9w&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
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