Kitchen Vent Cleaning - Service Business MBA

What happens when you leave real estate and start a hands-on service business from the ground up?

In this episode of The Hyper Driven Investor Podcast with Zeke Martinez, Zeke sits down with Ann Tran, founder of Albedo’s Return in Houston, Texas.

Ann shares how she went from real estate and mortgages into pressure washing. That move soon led her to a specialized service: commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning and compliance.

For Ann, the business made sense. Commercial kitchens need their exhaust systems cleaned on a regular basis. It is work that helps restaurants stay safe and meet local requirements. It also creates a service that customers need again and again.

But starting the business was not easy.

Ann talks about entering a male-dominated industry and working to earn the trust of restaurant owners. She also shares one of the biggest lessons she learned as a business owner: knowing the service is not enough. You also have to know how to sell it.

Ann explains why she had to study sales herself after trying to hand that job to other people. She also talks about hiring technicians, keeping good workers busy, building systems, and learning when an owner needs to stop doing everything alone.

Her goal goes beyond making money. Ann wants to create good jobs, pay her team well, serve her community, and build a company that can run without her doing every task.

She calls the business her own “MBA project.”

Now in year three, Ann is focused on growth. She is working on better systems for CRM, reporting, accounting, payroll, vehicles, equipment, and a central warehouse for her team.

This conversation is a great look at what it really takes to move from technician to business owner. It is about finding the right niche, learning sales, trusting your people, building systems, and staying ready to adapt.

About Ann Tran

Ann Tran is an entrepreneur, real estate professional, and founder of Albedo’s Return, a kitchen exhaust cleaning and compliance company serving commercial kitchens and restaurants in the Houston area.

Restaurant owners, food truck operators, service business owners, and entrepreneurs interested in connecting with Ann can visit albedosreturn.com. Ann also said she can be found through LinkedIn and through Albedo’s Return on Instagram and Facebook.