How she shines: Lety built The Organic Cleaning Machine, Inc., by training her cleaners to be as fussy as she is. She has developed a team spirit that keeps her employees wanting to continue working for her, with many for more than five years and several for over 10 years.
OCM, the acronym for The Organic Cleaning Machine, Inc, at Lety's insistence, guarantees client satisfaction, even if it takes redoing the job completely. OCM will use the products the client specifies with a qualifying statement that cleaning with some products will take more time. Since the majority of OCM's employees are mothers, Lety is willing to make allowances for sick kids and school holidays. The evening work at some sites (e.g.offices, banks, etc.) is generally handled by the male crews to accommodate everyone's needs and schedules.
Years in the industry: 27 years
Job responsibilities: As CEO, Lety manages 25 employees and supervises the schedule for over 300 clients.
Career path: Born and raised in Mexico City, Lety came to the United States with two babies and very little English. She worked hard, attending ESL (English as a Second Language) classes while taking classes for a bachelor's degree in education. After completing a two-year degree, she discovered that she was making more money cleaning part-time in a week than teachers were making in a month. Lety's first job was cleaning at the main office of State Farm Insurance. She learned that because the supervisors were not interested in the cleaners, the jobs took too long and were not done well. From this experience, she decided to lead with an interest in the work cleaners performed.