She bought divorced and bought into debt. At present, she is a associate in a cleansing franchise that earns BRL 130 million

Juliana Pitelli had two jobs when she became a salesperson for the Maria Brasileira cleaning chain in São José do Rio Preto

Overcoming stories are present in the trajectory of many enterprising🇧🇷 At age 44, Juliana Pitelli he’s been through a messy divorce, debt, and a two-job routine. For 10 years, she has written a success story in the franchise Brazilian Mariawhich led her to become a partner in the largest residential and business cleaning franchise network in Brazil.

Created in 2012, Maria Brasileira is present in all regions of Brazil with more than 450 units, offering residential cleaning, business cleaning, treadmill, post-construction cleaning, sanitation, kitchen and janitorial services. The chain earns R$130 million and the expectation is to hit the mark of 500 units in 2023.

Who is the entrepreneur

Daughter of a truck driver father and housewife mother, Pitelli was born in São Paulo, but lived her whole life in the countryside. Graduated in Literature, she moved to Sao Jose do Rio Preto in 2000, to help his brother with a new project. She held the position of salesperson and specialized in car glass sales, managing the company’s relationship with insurance companies.

Everything changed after 12 years. The brother terminated the contract with the insurers and, without sales volume, had to leave the position. At the same time, when Pitelli was getting divorced and living with her daughter at a friend’s house, her brother lent her money and she managed to get a down payment on an apartment in the city.

To pay off the debt within a year, she decided to work two shifts🇧🇷 While serving notice, he went to look for a job in restaurants in the city so that he could, with two salaries.

“I set the goal of paying off the debt in one year. I arrived at a pizzeria and asked if there was a vacancy for the night period. I took the test for waitress, something I had never worked on in my life, and passed. Meanwhile, I also sent resumes to work during the day, when I found a receptionist vacancy and decided to apply, without even knowing what company it was about, ”she says.

The receptionist vacancy was at the cleaning services company Maria Brasileira. Upon arriving at HR, she discovered that the vacancy had been filled, but that there was another one for a salesperson and she fit the profile. In 2013, she joined the Maria Brasileira network expansion team.

“I am grateful for the opportunity that Maria Brasileira gave me back there. I passed the selection process and I know they could have hired someone with a less complicated life context than mine”, says the saleswoman.

The history of Maria Brasileira

Pitelli’s story is linked to the growth of Maria Brasileira and its entry into franchising. That year, she joined the chain’s expansion team and continued working as a waitress.

“For a year I worked during the day at Maria Brasileira and before leaving I already put on the pizzeria uniform to go straight there. In the first month I sold four franchises and realized that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Since I joined, I’ve always been the best salesperson, in every month of my history here. I won all the awards and continue to win, precisely because of this, in 2016, I won the position of manager of the sector”, she says.

In November 2020, Juliana was invited to become network member and, the following year, took office.

“I’ve fulfilled the biggest dreams of my life: today I own real estate, I’ve visited several countries and I manage to keep my daughter in university, all without losing my essence. I have always loved the brand like it was my own,” she says.

The Maria Brasileira franchise

In addition to continuing to work in sales, currently Juliana maintains a direct relationship with franchisees🇧🇷

The network of cleaning services currently has five business models according to the size of the city. Among the home-based models, the initial investment ranges from R$42,900 to R$70,900. The average payback period is 14 months and the average revenue for each unit ranges from R$40,000 to R$60,000.

The physical store for cities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants has an initial investment of BRL 84.9 thousand, with an average revenue of BRL 60 thousand and payback period of 14 months.

Source: Exam