- Story by Tess Van Straaten Photography by Don Denton

Michael Sikorski害羞草研究所檚 introduction into the commercial cleaning industry came at a very early age.

害羞草研究所淪ome of my parents害羞草研究所� Polish friends picked up a cleaning contract for some extra money and my parents decided to do the same thing,害羞草研究所� says Michael, the vice-president of Fantastic Cleaning. 害羞草研究所淭hey used to bring me along害羞草研究所� I had this little pedal car and I would ride it around whatever location they were cleaning.害羞草研究所�

After seeing how successful they could be, Michael害羞草研究所檚 parents, Waldek and Elizabeth Sikorski, decided to start their own cleaning company in 1989. Polish immigrants, they were living in Regina at the time, after leaving their homeland for a better life.

害羞草研究所淢y father was a photojournalist, a photographer for a newspaper, and was doing quite well in Poland in those times,害羞草研究所� Michael explains. 害羞草研究所淟istening to Radio Free Europe, he became quite obsessed with Western values. He was fired from the newspaper during martial law in Poland after refusing to affirm commitment to the Communist party. It was quite a big deal given how well they were doing at the time.害羞草研究所�

When Waldek told his in-laws he wanted to move to America or Canada, Michael says, they were shocked and said, 害羞草研究所淲hy would you want to do that?害羞草研究所� But the young couple wasn害羞草研究所檛 going to be deterred.

害羞草研究所淢om and Dad packed their tiny car害羞草研究所攁 Polski Fiat害羞草研究所攚ith everything they could and said they were going to visit his dad in Germany. And they didn害羞草研究所檛 go back,害羞草研究所� Michael says. 害羞草研究所淭hey were given refugee status and I was born there.害羞草研究所�

But Waldek害羞草研究所檚 dream of going to the United States would soon be dashed.

害羞草研究所淢y dad went to the U.S. Embassy and the guy had his feet up on his desk and wasn害羞草研究所檛 very kind. He got denied to go to the States, and that was heartbreaking for him because that had been his life害羞草研究所檚 dream,害羞草研究所� Michael says. 害羞草研究所淗is next choice was to come to Canada.害羞草研究所�

With a reputation for a professional European approach to cleanliness, quality service and treating people well, the hard-working Sikorskis quickly grew Fantastic Cleaning in Regina to 35 employees. But then a trip to Victoria would once again change the trajectory of their lives. They fell in love with the city and decided to move here.

害羞草研究所淭hey sold the business and they looked to see if there was another business they could purchase here, but Dad decided to stick with what he knows,害羞草研究所� Michael says.

They launched Fantastic Cleaning in Victoria in 1996 and the business is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. They now have loyal commercial customers all the way to Qualicum, but those early years weren害羞草研究所檛 easy.

害羞草研究所淭he biggest challenge in Victoria early on was this insider mentality,害羞草研究所� says Michael. 害羞草研究所淭hey weren害羞草研究所檛 open to new people being here then害羞草研究所攖hat was the big difference from Regina, which was so welcoming害羞草研究所攁nd my dad was told, 害羞草研究所榃e have enough cleaning companies here; you should go back to Regina.害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟

But Waldek wouldn害羞草研究所檛 give up. He went door-to-door, dropping off pamphlets that a 10-year-old Michael helped him to write, to 15 to 20 businesses a day.

害羞草研究所淗e wouldn害羞草研究所檛 let himself come home unless he had dropped off 15 introduction packages,害羞草研究所� Michael says. 害羞草研究所淭he biggest thing my dad taught me was to never give up and to embrace that immigrant mindset to build our enterprise.害羞草研究所�

From those humble beginnings, Fantastic Cleaning has grown to around 100 employees and now services more than 100 buildings on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. This includes numerous long-term customers and some that have been with them for more than two decades. Michael害羞草研究所檚 younger brother, Philip, is the company害羞草研究所檚 operations manager and they became equal partners with their parents a couple years ago. Both have worked in the company since they were kids, but they weren害羞草研究所檛 sure they害羞草研究所檇 go into the family business.

害羞草研究所淒ad told us he wanted us to do something else because it is a difficult business,害羞草研究所� says Michael, who went to business school at Camosun College and then did an entrepreneurship program at Royal Roads before coming to work for the company full-time.

害羞草研究所淚t was still being run as a mom-and-pop shop out of our garage then, and I came up with a restructuring plan that had a central office location and a warehouse, so we could become a more professional and efficient company with streamlined operations.害羞草研究所�

After making those changes, Michael says, the business started growing at a much more rapid rate害羞草研究所攁bout 20 per cent a year. But convincing his parents to do things differently wasn害羞草研究所檛 easy.

害羞草研究所淲e had some crazy fights,害羞草研究所� Michael laughs. 害羞草研究所淲e call them 害羞草研究所楶olish fights害羞草研究所� because they害羞草研究所檙e crazy loud! People often think we害羞草研究所檙e yelling when we害羞草研究所檙e talking because of our language. There was a lot of pushback because it害羞草研究所檚 hard for someone to let go of micromanaging when it害羞草研究所檚 their baby.害羞草研究所�

Michael also implemented quality control and employee-tracking systems. He admits, however, that his biggest mistake was trying to change things too quickly. Looking back, he thinks that if he害羞草研究所檇 introduced things more slowly and proved they work, it would have produced faster results in the end.

The COVID pandemic has been another hurdle to overcome, with decreased hours and some businesses temporarily shutting down.

害羞草研究所淚 learned that no matter how good things are going and it seems like it will be forever, everything is害羞草研究所攁t the end of the day害羞草研究所攙ery fragile and we shouldn害羞草研究所檛 take it for granted,害羞草研究所� Michael says.

The pandemic has also highlighted the critical importance of proper cleaning and sanitizing, and Michael and Philip have helped clients implement new cleaning protocols. Like their parents before them, they害羞草研究所檝e also invested in staff害羞草研究所攐ffering benefits and paying above minimum wage.

害羞草研究所淏uilding relationships with our staff has always been a staple for us,害羞草研究所� Michael explains. 害羞草研究所淭he cleaning industry is notorious for high turnover rates among employees because of lack of job satisfaction. Nobody likes to feel replaceable or that their work is undervalued. We made it a priority to approach this differently and that害羞草研究所檚 resulted in many long-term employees.害羞草研究所�

The brothers are now looking to grow the company, both internally and through acquisitions, and have started to expand to the Lower Mainland.

害羞草研究所淭he sky is the limit on what we can achieve,害羞草研究所� Michael says. 害羞草研究所淎nd I believe staying true to our values and harnessing that resilient immigrant mindset we learned from our parents, we害羞草研究所檒l be successful.害羞草研究所�

Fanstastic Cleaning can be found .

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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