Meet Stephanie Barneburg | CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Barneburg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We’ve all heard the saying, do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. I personally love cleaning and organizing because I’m a bit of a clean freak and very thorough when it comes to cleaning. I believe that when people are in a clean and organized environment, they’re bound to be more productive and relaxed. I’ve always known that my goal was to be my own boss, incorporate my own core values, and make an impact on what really matters. I just didn’t know in what space I could make that happen, or even what it would even look like. Little did I know that I would eventually turn my passion for cleaning into my own business.

Creating Sparkle Freshness took a lot of soul-searching. I thought and inquired, what brings me joy and how can I make a difference with the tools and knowledge I already have? How could I create something that allows me to be home with my kids during the day, so I could watch them grow and be a part of that and keep the work/life balance? After much discussion with my husband, that’s when it hit me, I could create my own cleaning company. When I was younger, one of my first jobs was cleaning. My Mom had a friend who owned a cleaning service and I learned so much from that experience. Combined with my 20 years of management experience it seemed like the perfect combination to make my dream a reality.  Leaving my comfortable job in corporate America was a little scary. I had no guaranteed income or clients, nor did I have any money to pay someone to help me do the work. Making this happen would require sacrifices, venturing into unknown territory, and being in a world of uncertainty both professionally and personally. There was definitely a pivotal fork in the road and we decided to put ourselves first and go for it and we’ve never looked back.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

I am the CEO of Sparkle Freshness. Sparkle Freshness is a full-service cleaning company offering environmentally safe and all-natural cleaning services to businesses in North County, San Diego. We specialize in commercial cleaning, post-construction cleaning, move-in/move-out cleaning, and vacation rental cleaning. Sparkle Freshness is a minority, women-owned small business that’s making a mark in Carlsbad. I created Sparkle Freshness, with my husband, out of a need for better cleaning practices for our family. That has spiraled into educating clients and others on how cleaning with toxic chemicals can be harmful, harmful to us as well as our environment. We provided information on how you can achieve great results by using natural and safer choice products. My husband and I are very hands-on in the day-to-day operations of the business. We know how important it is to keep our employees safe, protect our environment, and give back. Many of us are unaware that our daily environments like our home and workspace, can potentially contain harmful fumes that can enter the body by air ingestion or by skin contact. There are a lot of toxic chemicals that are in products that don’t produce a smell, those can sometimes be the most dangerous. Knowing this led us to the path of green cleaning. Understanding that there is a way to clean without toxic chemicals and passing this knowledge on to our clients is key to who we are. We provide a true partnership with our clients, it’s never transactional. Since the environment is important to us we not only ensure to recycle properly and utilize compost when cleaning offices, but we also offset our carbon footprint by planting trees in our clients’ names. We have more than 12,000 trees planted that help sustain our ecosystem locally and afar.

I’m very proud that we have launched our non-profit organization, The Jim Dunston Foundation. The Jim Dunston Foundation also known as JDF is a fiscally sponsored program of United Charitable, a registered 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 20-4286082, that has 4 initiatives. One initiative JDF has is bridging the gap between young individuals, in urban and underserved communities, pursuing employment in corporate America and getting their foot in the door. JDF empowers our youth and young adults by preparing them to pursue employment in companies that would normally not be available to them. Through our mentorship and internship programs, the intended outcome is for participants to be placed in the company they are in pursuit of with a career path, not a job. The second initiative is to provide microloans and mentorships to minority women-owned small businesses that would help them thrive in today’s environment. When those loans are paid back they will directly help other individuals in their communities have a chance at ownership and business awareness to help them succeed. The third initiative JDF has is to provide the next steps for individuals that are transitioning back from deployment before going into the civilian world, preparing them for what’s next. Basic life skills including financial and personal development and job placement. JDF’s fourth initiative focuses on individuals or start-up companies who have what we call a passion project. A passion project is something they have created that is designed to affect others in such a way it has a huge impact on the world.

Getting where we are today was no easy task and I’m excited to say that we are growing and expanding into areas that I’ve never even imagined. Our success is attributed to hard work, a great network of people who can contribute personally and professionally, having a clear vision and mission for our business, and staying true to this and what your business is known for. The most important thing I’ve learned is that every mistake, bump in the road, and utter failure is a learning experience. These lessons are important because they help business owners, such as myself, grow and learn important do’s and don’ts to create a more successful business.

My goal is for everyone to know that all water is connected and to help drive them to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Sustainability is not a trend but a necessity for our health and the regenerative growth of our environment for generations to come. We’re all in this together and everyone can do their part with simple changes, using safer choices or natural products to clean at home and in your workspace. Educate yourself on best practices and cleaning-efficient hacks. Plant trees or have trees planted to offset your carbon footprint. The average household can reduce its carbon footprint with 300 trees. If you don’t know where to start or how to change look us up to receive our monthly newsletter we give helpful tips. That’s a little part of why we’re not like anyone else.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

There are a lot of fun cool places in San Diego. Some of my favorites are:

Top of the Hyatt Manchester downtown San Diego is a must for drinks then Tom Ham’s Light House for dinner

Hang out at the beach in Del Mar then dinner at Jakes a table by the window is a must

Cowboy Star Restaurant and Bucher Shop for dinner is a dining experience usually about 2 to 3 hours

Dinner at LTH in Oceanside then drinks at The Rooftop Bar

Hang out at the mall in UTC drinking at the Wine Bar eating dinner at Javier’s

Coronado Beach Hotel drinks on the patio and play on the beach walk around

Go to Seal Beach La Jolla Cove and walk around then Pacific Coast Grill for dinner and hanging out

Go to North Ponto Beach then FIsh 101 to eat

Hang out downtown and eat at Herb & Wood

Walk around Balboa Park then hang out and have amazing drinks at InsideOut

Have breakfast at Hash House A Go Go then go to the San Diego Zoo

Petco Park if there’s a home game

Grab breakfast or lunch to go at Mexican Viejo in Vista location only then go to Legoland or Safari Park

Top of Double Peak before sunset and go to Tommy V’s for appetizers, drinks, and dinner

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

I have worked with a few business coaches and mentors throughout my career. They have all helped me in certain areas of growth and development; however, 2 people have helped me grow and develop in all areas of my life both personally and professionally, and that is Jeff Willmore and Richard Condon. In business, we sometimes get stuck thinking about how we can be different, think outside the box, and excel in business. When in reality, you have to create a profound new way of thinking to have that transformation. I took Jeff Willmore & Richard Condon’s Autonomy Course over four years ago, which had me create my own lane in business, which is mind-blowing while giving me autonomy in life. I now have a brand new philosophy about business, a new way of thinking that inspires me, calls to me, and has me live a life with intention, meritocracy, and autonomy. The Autonomy Course, facilitated by Jeff Willmore and Richard Condon, can open you to new ontological business knowledge and original thinking. They teach you how to align your career and business in such a way that you significantly elevate your performance, are empowered to fulfill your most important life /career goals and commitments, are living a life of significant generosity, accomplishment, and autonomy that are true to your most fundamental goals, values, and ambitions.

Most companies have a mission or a mission statement that usually describes what they do, not why they’re doing it. Sometimes you’ll find companies with a slogan that sounds good, not something that the persons creating that company put their hearts and souls into creating and wanting you to experience. What I have found is the beauty of really creating your own mission and vision for your company. This is hands down the best thing I’ve ever done in my business, especially when it comes from a place of autonomy. It’s also one of the first things I got out of the course. Sparkle Freshness’s mission is to connect, inspire, and empower people in living their best life. Yes, my business is in the commercial cleaning industry, so how do we do that? With fulfilled intention, like our intention – Our business is a catalyst for leadership, connection, purpose, and developing the mindset to live your best life. When creating our company intention, I reflected on all that I took from the course and incorporated it into my business structure for success. This new view has changed my world professionally and personally. I now get to create, grow, and develop our business and employees in a way I love, not settling for what business model has been successful for other people or industry guidelines everyone else has done or reformatted. It’s truly a creation that keeps getting better year after year. We are leaders in a movement of significant change that can imagine, envision, play in wonder, create freely, and have deep emotions about the unknown and what’s yet to be discovered.  That is a great place to be in business. I believe Steve Jobs said it best, “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes…The ones who see things differently- they’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… They push the human race forward and some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do”. And yes, I’m a crazy one.

Website: https://www.sparklefreshness.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparklefreshness/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparkle-freshness/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sparklefreshnes

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/sparklefreshnessca

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sparkle-freshness-cleaning-service-carlsbad-2?osq=sparklefreshness

Other: https://jimdunstonfoundation.org/

Image Credits
Anita Friedrich