I am not your typical maid. In fact, I don't even like to clean. But I left my job as a vice president at JP Morgan Chase in Manhattan, where I had worked for more than 18 years, for the chance to develop a new business model for a maid service. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

I am a franchise owner of a THE MAIDS Home Services franchise, a residential cleaning franchise, in Brooklyn, NY. Starting a maid service in Brooklyn is a challenge in itself, considering the number of independent maids as competition, but an even more daunting task is developing a business model that accommodates an urban market.

As the first franchise owner to purchase a market in a major metropolitan city, my needs, business operations and marketing plan were different than the usual suburban business model used by other franchise owners of THE MAIDS Home Services.

For instance, THE MAIDS Home Services, which began franchising in 1980, built its system using four-person, professionally trained and uniformed team members who drive yellow company cars to single-family suburban homes within 30 minutes of the franchise's office.

That works fine for a typical suburban neighborhood, but not in New York City, a city with traffic congestion, few single-family homes and high rent for commercial property. To develop the franchise and excel, I had to tweak the system and create a new way of doing business THE MAIDS' way.

I paved my own path, working with THE MAIDS International, the corporate office of THE MAIDS Home Services, to develop and put into action an urban model for their franchise system.

This new model included purchasing 12-passenger vans instead of the traditional yellow cars and linking teams with drivers to combat the city's parking problem. I overcame high rent issues by running the business from the basement of a Brooklyn brownstone instead of the typical commercial location.

I tackled cleaning high-rise New York City apartments, small studio spaces and condos versus the suburban single-family residence. Taken together, these things are how I created a new way to provide an age-old service in fast-paced, congested, compact New York City.

When I was considering a residential cleaning franchise, my primary concern was parking. My franchise services sections of New York City which have little, if any, parking capabilities for my maids. I found the alternative to this problem to be as simple as purchasing passenger vans and hiring drivers to take cleaning teams to and from their respective assignments, eliminating all parking.

I make sure that my drivers do not help my maids get the supplies out of the trunk because when they step out of the van, for any reason, they are open to receiving a ticket. I insist that they wait in the van and do not even open the door to get out.

Hiring drivers is not a big expense; it's just an extra expense. Once they are hired, I give them a THE MAIDS uniform, guarantee a 40-hour work week and treat them like part of the team, because they are. The maids also treat them as team members, not chauffeurs. The maids speak up and tell the drivers if they are going too fast or if the music is too loud, for example. They also make sure they are focused on driving and safety. It is just like any working relationship.

Another business area that I had to adjust, to some extent, was advertising. Because the majority of my customers use New York's extensive public transportation system, bus shelters are one area where I focus my advertising spending.

Not only does this give me the opportunity to have THE MAIDS Home Services plastered on a shelter that New Yorkers see every day, but the ads are noticeable because of their large size - 69 inches high by 48 inches' wide.

Lastly, I was confronted with vast size differences among homes in my market. One of the strict guidelines and selling points that sets THE MAIDS apart is our signature four-person teams. In New York City, the majority of people live in apartments that vary greatly in size, forcing me to stray from THE MAIDS typical four-person team approach.

When cleaning large brownstone apartments, I use teams of five people to accommodate those massive homes. But when my maids are cleaning studio apartments, I run two-person teams. My central focus is efficiency and giving the healthiest, most thorough cleans, so modifying team numbers is a must.

My success with the urban model, however, has been due in great part to my employees. It is one thing to advertise and sell the customer on the service and get teams to the residence, but it is ultimately up to my cleaning teams who are out there cleaning, day after day, to retain the customers by providing unmatched quality service.

The key to superior service is finding the right employees, which has surely added to my success. I've relied on a program provided by the local Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to handle all my staffing and human resources needs, which has saved me both money and time.

The program, Good Help, is a free, business-driven staffing and employment service developed and managed by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce's Workforce Development program. They help small businesses find, hire and retain qualified employees.

They interview, screen, test and check references on potential employees, which is a huge benefit to me as a small business owner with limited resources. With the amount of competition for good, reliable workers in New York City, I am lucky to have found the Good Help program.

I retain staff by treating them well. First, I guarantee a 40-hour work week. If employees work five days a week, regardless of the hours, I guarantee they will be paid for 40 hours. I also provide breakfast, lunch and dinner, if necessary. Teams pack a lunch in the morning and are welcome to help themselves to dinner before going home in the evening.

In addition, I make sure employees know what is expected of them, that they have the tools to do their job, and they know that someone cares about them. I understand the value of training and retraining and send every single newly promoted team leader to THE MAIDS International's corporate office in Omaha, Neb., for intensive technical training.

One obstacle I quickly discovered along the way was adapting to my employees because they didn't have the corporate background that I had. I spent 20 years in corporate America and truly loved that arena, but my employees came from a vastly different background.

As the owner, I had to step back and adjust myself to this new environment. It was the most difficult thing for me. It meant having to deal with a different work ethic and mentality. I had to make the adjustment. If I did not make that adjustment, I would not be successful today.

All franchise owners know the first full year in a franchise business is overwhelming. Emotions run high as the demands of the business change from moment to moment. Even the best planners have to be prepared for constant chaos.

Even so, I feel my option to pave a new path, providing an urban system opportunity for me and other franchise partners, is a wonderful adventure. I never back down from a challenge and know I can only grow both professionally and personally from my decision.

My hard work has been recognized by both The Entrepreneur's Source, the career and business coaching company I used to find THE MAIDS Home Services, and by THE MAIDS International.

The Entrepreneur's Source recognized me as their 2006 Client of the Year, while I earned the distinction of Start-Up of the Year for 2006 at THE MAIDS International's 2007 National Convention. The latter award highlights one franchise within the system for excelling during its first full year in business. The award recognizes achievements in franchise growth, profit, quality of service and professional image.