Inspirational Woman: Rachael Flanagan

Today, our Founder and Managing Director, Rachael Flanagan was named as an inspirational woman by We Are The City.

She spoke to the wonderful Alison Simpson about her business journey with Mrs Buckét, the challenges she’s faced, her biggest achievement, mentorship, gender equality and what advice she would give to her younger self.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role

I am Managing Director and founder of commercial cleaning company, Mrs Buckét.

From a young age, owning a business was my dream, but I was told I would never ‘make it’.

With the incredible support of my family, I went for it anyway. I began with £20 worth of black and white flyers and a mop, scouring my local area for any business I could. For a long time, I did it all by myself, working 60-70 hour weeks, cleaning people’s houses. After a while, I realised I needed to hire a few members of staff to offer a more efficient service.

From that point, my ‘team’ was born, and I’ve never looked back. I sold the domestic arm of Mrs Buckét in 2019 to focus solely on the commercial sector.

We’re now a multi-million-pound business servicing some of the biggest venues in Wales and the South West, including Wales’ famous Wales Millennium Centre.

Did you ever sit down and plan your career?

Never! I wrote my first ‘business plan’ during my Business A-Level (it wasn’t actually a requirement of the exam – which I ended up failing!) and my second on a train back from Swansea after winning Young Entrepreneur of the Year when I was 21.

While, of course, planning is a critical part of our business strategy nowadays and is something I would wholeheartedly recommend at any stage of setting up and growing a business, there is something to be said for having room to be flexible. Nothing will ever go fully to plan, so being able to be agile to change is crucial for any successful business.

To read the full interview, visit the We Are The City website here.