Life-long Middleton resident, Kelly Mulqueen, began cleaning several of her teachers’ homes while attending Middleton High. Then pursuing her Animal Sciences degree at UW-Madison, she recruited classmates and officially began a cleaning company. The company was based out of her parents' home which provided a meeting space for the staff and stored supplies. Her dad was in charge of laundering numerous loads of cleaning cloths. The support from her parents grew along with the support from the community. Kelly was also working at Louisianne’s during this time. Owners Gwen, Erik, & John gave her a backpack vacuum the restaurant no longer needed. She was on her way. After graduation, Kelly knew that the obvious path for her was to continue entrepreneurship.
During Covid, when most business owners were rightfully fearful, Kelly partnered with other owners to gain traction even while doors were closed. Businesses that seemed to have nothing in common began doing giveaways together. Kelly is especially grateful for Nicki, owner of Grape Water, who shared numerous posts and sent referrals her way. With the increase in business, there was a lot more laundry to do and a commercial space was a must! Kelly began renting her first office from La Rae Richard, owner of The Cozy Home. La Rae wanted to bring color to a drab building in need of repairs along University Avenue. La Rae assisted Kelly with hands-on renovations. Kelly was inspired by Richard’s knowledge, experience, and work ethic in a space you don’t often see women.
Now, with her new co-owner and fiancé, David Reichelderfer, they are looking forward to more success and new goals in 2025. Their energy and enthusiasm is infectious. Kelly’s focus remains creating an encouraging culture among her employees, as well as being part of a supportive community among other local business owners. Over our lunch at Sport Bowl, it was clear that Kelly and David knew the owner and servers there, too. The focus on people is a main factor in why employees at Happy House stay. The company knows when you attract and hire the best, you can consistently deliver the best quality to the clients and set the industry standards for professionalism. There is a science behind cleaning with the correct substances for each surface, and a method for doing things efficiently. Happy House employees are true professionals in their field. Employees are paid a competitive wage, performance bonuses, tips, two weeks of PTO, and the opportunity for growth within the company.
David’s background is in hospitality and construction management, where he’s managed large numbers of staff working hard, manual labor. His focus and challenge will be creating a unified culture among employees who work separately in different homes each day. As the business expands, it will remain firmly rooted in Middleton and steadfastly focused on a happy work culture as they look to expand their business and hire more cleaning technicians.
The Happy House logo cleverly highlights “us” in House, making it read “Happy Us” too. A smile underscores their motto: happy employees create happy homes. Schedule your cleaning today and experience the joy for yourself—visit their website!