Our Story: A Bold Leap of Faith
In 1980, Dan Eller and John Wagner founded Populist. They were not men gifted with natural business acumen and had no real aspiration to build a company. They were truly original cats, excelling as artists, musicians, writers, thinkers and interested in politics (truly of, by and for the people).
Being unique, unconventional, and always challenging the status quo, they left their established careers of stability and security to pursue a different path. With an ultimate reliance on God, they fully embraced the life of independence and sacrifice. Often not knowing where the next meal might come from or how to fix the hole in the roof, these were years of extreme faith and pressing forward – never looking back, in order that they might pursue true, unique callings for themselves and their families.
Needing to provide for their families, they picked up a mop and a rag and cleaned for a living. They traded in their established careers and became janitors! Through a zig-zag of many paths, and an unwavering commitment to serve God, they embraced their callings, principally in politics and music.
Eventually they secured a few cleaning contracts in some churches and small schools. As a few more family members became working age they found a few more customers to serve. Hard as it was, the blessings were a-plenty in this two-family endeavor for several decades. Through example, our founders, Dan and John, taught us the real meaning of risk, survival, and keeping the faith. These are the humble beginnings of Populist Cleaning Co.
Pressing fast forward, we’re now in 2nd and 3rd generations of the same families here at Populist, still original cats with very unique traits. Achieving growth to a team of over 200, our roots are woven into the very fabric of who we are today and remain the cornerstone of our success.
Our leaders in the business today love Populist, a gift ordained by God and passed to us from our founders. We love what we do. We love making our company better every day. We love working with our teams. Even through the daily grind, bumps and bruises, we recognize the blessings of free-market capitalism in our country. We champion the entrepreneurial spirit as the highest attainment of the American Dream.
We believe that by lifting up those who take risks, build from the ground up, and work tirelessly to create better lives for themselves and their families, we fuel not just their success, but perhaps more importantly, we do our small part in strengthening the foundation of our communities and our nation as a whole. Every decision we make is focused on delivering value and opportunity to the people – our partners – who drive our economy and our nation forward.
I really appreciate how responsive Populist Cleaning Co is to any questions, or special requests we have! They are thorough and attentive. I especially like the monthly check-in visits. Keep up the great work, thanks!
Through the years we have used several vendors for our cleaning needs. Populist Cleaning has been one of the most reliable groups that I have used. Mike Eller and his management team have always responded promptly to calls during the day. Cleaning requests are handled in a timely manner. I especially appreciate their wiliness to add additional cleaning services, i.e., carpet cleaning as needed or on a regular schedule, deep cleaning, i.e., floor stripping and waxing, or cleaning the employee refrigerator (Ick, who does that kind of thing!!). Having a regular maintenance review scheduled saves a lot of time walking through your suite to check to see what needs to be done. I would recommend this group to anyone looking for service in the area.
Populist Cleaning Co maintains membership in these fine organizations:
