“You don’t have to come from a technology background or even good circumstances to make a difference.” – Angelica Bermudez

Angelica’s story begins in Colombia, continues in New York and takes root in Florida. What started as a cleaning business with her husband, born simply out of a desire to raise their children in a stable home, grew into Essentia Maintenance Services. A purpose-driven company serving multifamily communities. Angelica’s journey shows what happens when pride in small beginnings compounds into transformational impact. In every word, I kept hearing how her work is personal. 

“We wanted to help property managers be successful too, so we always said yes and found a way to solve their problems.” – Angelica Bermudez

The complication was obvious: Esencia started cleaning apartments for $30 a unit, losing money but building trust. With every “Yes”, the work expanded then move-outs, decorating lobbies and even planning resident events. But with more demand came more complexity. Property managers needed reliable vendors; new Americans needed fair work. And the gap between those two realities created strain for everyone.

“Our purpose became helping people make their American dream come true as well.” – Angelica Bermudez

The turning point was purpose. Angelica and her husband began empowering other immigrant families, giving them buildings to clean or contracts to manage so they could support their families. Some who started by riding bicycles to work now run million-dollar cleaning companies. Purpose and pride turned Esencia into more than a vendor, it became a community.

“We knew technology was the missing piece. Everything was manual, fragmented and inefficient.” – Angelica Bermudez

Esencia then evolved into a platform. By creating technology that expands vendor access, ensures compliance and safeguards quality, Angelica solved a painful bottleneck: property managers stuck with expensive, limited choices. Now Esencia connects multifamily operators to qualified local providers bridging the supply gap while guaranteeing speed and peace of mind.

“Whatever you do, do it with pride and integrity. Doors will open from that.” – Angelica Bermudez

Angelica’s advice is as powerful as her story: Get Started, earn the privilege to do more work, don’t wait for perfect circumstances and don’t underestimate the value of pride in small tasks. 

Whether it was scrubbing grease off a mechanic’s shop floor or decorating luxury apartments for Christmas, excellence created opportunity. That same philosophy drives Esencia’s technology, vendor training and customer trust today.

Action Items & Follow-Up Questions

• Audit your vendor base: Are you limited to expensive mid-size providers because smaller local ones can’t get certified?
  
• Check your process: Are you still relying on manual coordination that creates delays, risk and frustration?
  
• Ask yourself: Are you treating vendors as partners whose success can also fuel yours?
  
• Embrace purpose: Could empowering your teams and partners create more loyalty, efficiency and innovation?
  

Follow-up question: Where in your operations could pride and process together unlock your next “Hell Yes”?