Atlantic City Entrepreneur Credits Small-Business Programs With Helping His Company Grow

ATLANTIC CITY — Five years into building his own window-cleaning business, Atlantic City entrepreneur Quyan Jones says he is beginning to see the pieces come together.

Jones, owner of Dirty 2 Clean Windows, has gone from taking virtually any job he could find to targeting higher-end homes, restaurants and commercial properties throughout Atlantic City and the Jersey Shore.

Along the way, he says assistance available to small businesses in Atlantic City helped him buy equipment, improve his company's branding and position the business for its next stage of growth.

"I've just been trying to figure out this entrepreneurial lifestyle," Jones said during an appearance this week on The AC Mike Lopez Show on WOND. "I clean windows. It's more than just cleaning windows."

Jones, 33, said he was born and raised in Atlantic City and has operated his business as a sole proprietorship for about five years. He recently converted the company to an LLC.

"My mind is shifting every day," Jones said. "So I'm just trying to figure everything out."

Finding a Niche at the Jersey Shore

Part of that evolution has involved becoming more selective about the market Dirty 2 Clean pursues.

Jones still handles both residential and commercial work, but increasingly sees an opportunity in beachfront homes and higher-end commercial properties where clean windows are more than an aesthetic issue.

"I'm focusing on just like the main restaurants that we all know about," Jones said, along with "the more high-end luxury brands that care about clean ... windows and clean facade."

The shore environment itself provides an obvious market.

Jones said salt, sand and other debris can quickly accumulate on windows of properties close to the ocean.

"You pay all that money for your house. Why not enjoy the view?" Jones said.

"People come miles away to see the Atlantic City Boardwalk or see the ocean," he added. "And we have it in our backyard and you can't see it because of dirty windows."

Discovering Help Close to Home

But Jones' story is also about something he says he didn't initially realize was available to Atlantic City entrepreneurs: local small-business assistance.

Jones said he has been working with the Inlet Community Development Corp. for approximately two years.

Despite spending most of his life in Atlantic City, Jones told Lopez he hadn't known about the resources available through the city's community development organizations.

"I've been an Atlantic City resident for — I'm 33 years old — and I didn't know nothing about Inlet CDCs or how they want to help small business," Jones said. "And they actually do."

"You got to know about it, first off," he added. "But once you get in, they definitely help you out a lot."

Jones said he and his wife also recently completed an eight-week small-business program.

"I'm five years in the business, but I still — I'm a small business," Jones said. "So I'm still taking every advantage that I can get from my community."

$900,000 Went to Atlantic City Small Businesses

The assistance Jones described comes amid a broader push by Atlantic City to support locally owned businesses.

The city announced in March that $900,000 had been awarded to 65 small businesses across all six wards through its Small Business Micro-Grant Program.

The program, funded in part through federal American Rescue Plan Act money, offered eligible businesses grants of up to $15,000 for expenses that could include equipment, payroll, rent, utilities and inventory.

According to the city, the grants helped retain an estimated 200 jobs and create another 75. More than one-third of the funding went to startups, while three-quarters of recipients were minority-, women- or veteran-owned businesses. Nearly half were Black-owned businesses.

Jones said he received grant funding that made a noticeable difference for Dirty 2 Clean.

Among his purchases was a water-fed pole system costing roughly $3,500 that allows him to clean windows at heights he previously couldn't reach without a ladder.

"This system was roughly thirty-five hundred," Jones said. "I was able to get that. I got a truck. You see the truck outside. I got the brand and all new logos."

The new equipment, he said, expanded the types of homes and businesses he could safely service.

Jones also stressed that accessing assistance required work from the business owner. Applicants have to provide information and meet program requirements rather than simply being handed money.

But he praised local officials and community development organizations for helping entrepreneurs navigate a process that can be intimidating to someone building a business for the first time.

"We don't all know how to fill them out," Jones said of applications. "They don't just say no. That's what I loved about it. It was like, no, let us help you with this application."

Betting on Atlantic City's Growth

Now Jones is looking beyond simply maintaining his existing business.

As new homes and other development rise around Atlantic City, he sees an opportunity for Dirty 2 Clean to grow along with the city.

"One thing I do notice just from the mindset that I have, I see all these buildings and projects coming up," Jones said. "And they're coming up kind of rapid."

His goal, he said, is figuring out how Dirty 2 Clean can become a trusted window-cleaning company for the businesses and residents moving into those properties.

"I'm mapping out, you know, every uptown I see," Jones said. "I see all the homes coming. Go to the Orange Loop. You see houses, luxury homes."

And Jones has a simple observation about all that new construction:

"They all got windows."

Atlantic City's Small Business Micro-Grant Program results