Peachy Clean, based in Fernwood but covering a 20 minute radius including Grantham, North Hykeham, and Newark

A cleaning company is celebrating a major milestone this month, marking 10 years of serving the community.

Peachy Clean, based in Fernwood, was founded by Alyce Bradbury in 2010, after she decided to take the risk of a solo adventure and leave her career in purchasing to open her own business.

Facing the high cost of childcare, Alyce sought a new path that allowed her to balance work and motherhood, and her first client was her own mother.

“I started earning £8 an hour, much less when you factored in travel, products and insurance,” the business owner said.

"It wasn’t easy, but it was the start of something bigger than I could have imagined.”

Within a year, Alyce hired her first employee, and not long after, commercial contracts began coming in.

A few years later, her husband Jonny also joined the business full-time, showing the same dedication by waking in the early hours to clean offices across the area.

One of Peachy Clean’s proudest achievements is winning ‘Employer of the Year’ at the Newark Business Awards, as well as gaining larger contracts cleaning holiday homes.

Since then, Peachy Clean has expanded from a one-woman operation into a thriving business with a full team, offering services ranging from office and home cleaning to end-of-tenancy cleans, oven cleans, and even cleaning some boats.

Over the past decade, the journey has faced both highs and lows, and covid-19 presented some particular challenges, as the team was expected to maintain cleaning services without the support the government provided to key workers.

“It felt the hokey-cokey of ‘we can work, we can’t work’,” Alyce said, “We were not given the title of key workers despite being expected to still clean the office and communal spaces for people to go to work.

“The holiday let industry was still open too, however as we were not listed as key workers, our children couldn’t go to school, which meant we couldn’t go to work.

“It was a juggle to put it lightly.”

Alyce admitted that throughout the years, she has grown as a person and become more confident and assertive, also learned to trust her instincts.

But the road wasn't without struggles as the owner admitted facing postnatal depression after the birth of her second child, seven years into the business, a particularly tough period that was made easier thanks to the support of team member Jess, who stepped up and has remained a key pillar of the business ever since.

“She took the team from strength to strength and has been my sounding board and absolute pillar from that day,” Alyce said, “We’re like chalk and cheese, she will bring me back to reality when I need it, and I hand on heart couldn’t imagine Peachy Clean without her.”

Covering Newark, Hykeham, Grantham and the surrounding areas a 20 minutes drive from Fernwood, Peachy Clean offers a full range of domestic and commercial cleaning services.

The team prides itself on having a good internal structure, with a variety of ages and strengths in the team, making it possible to offer the range of services and quality it does.

With a successful and growing business, Alyce reflects on 10 years of experience and advises aspiring entrepreneurs to know their worth and ‘do it properly’ as starting a business is easy, but continuing it is the hard part.

“We know what we’re doing and we stay in our lane,” she said, “I always think back to being told at school that you need to try harder in areas where you’re weak. I disagree.

“Know what you’re good at, keep pushing and outsource the rest.”