In August, Jamaican entrepreneur, Ingrid Murray, made the coveted Inc 5000 list for her powerhouse, New York-based business, Prospect Cleaning Service.
Each year Inc magazine, a highly revered, long-standing US-based business publication, releases a list of the 5000 fastest growing, private companies in the United States. This year Prospect Cleaning Service came in close to the top of the list at number 1001, with a noteworthy business growth rate of 651 percent over the past three years.
Prospect Cleaning Service is a city and state certified, minority woman-owned business that provides building and maintenance services to the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut areas. With Murray at the helm as CEO, during the pandemic the company landed several multi-million-dollar contracts, including one with the Metro Transport Authority (MTA). The Jamaican-led team was commissioned to clean massive subway stations across New York, as well as the Grand Central Terminal – the largest train station in America.
Starting a cleaning service is not an unusual choice for Jamaicans who have migrated to the US, but Murray has broken through many glass ceilings and surpassed the scope of possibilities for minorities in the industry. “I call myself Jamaica-born, American-made, and globally exported. It means I’ve expanded my talents outside the island, and I’ve been able to touch lives near and far,” Murray explains, admitting that she could never have envisioned the level of success she has achieved.
Still, the road has been a rocky one.
Murray grew up humbly between Duhaney Park and Hellshire in Jamaica. While there, her highest paying job was as group accountant at United General. When her boss refused to give her time off to spend with her mother who was visiting from the US after over a decade of being away, Murray resigned. “When my mom left and I realized I was jobless, I decided to run taxi with the Nissan Sunny I had just bought. I became the first and only woman taxi driver in Naggo Head,” she laughs at the memory, noting that there have been many other women taxi drivers since.
Murray first ventured to the US almost two decades ago to find her teenage daughter who had been kidnapped by her stepmother. That story is a long one, but in the end, she found her daughter and spent many years living and working between Jamaica and the US so she could care for her daughter and other two children back home.
At the beginning, Murray took on many less than desirable jobs to survive. Her first was a lucky break with a double-edged sword. She started in sales for a contractor and landed $25,000 in commission the first week. However, the owner didn’t intend to pay her. After an arduous fight, Murray finally received her due. Next was a series of bartending jobs, which was an odd fit for Murray – a non-drinking or smoking, Christian who didn’t know the first thing about alcoholic beverages. “I went home and looked up how to mix drinks on my computer. I had to write it all down on the inside of my arms,” she laughs. Her natural sales and people skills made the job a lucrative one.
Soon, Murray would meet her husband, Courtney Murray, and take her children to New York to live with her before the couple had their last child.
Prospect Cleaning Service was originally her husband’s business, under another name. When Murray got involved, it was a much smaller operation that focused mostly on carpet cleaning, making less than $70,000 per year. Murray poured into the business by giving her husband ideas, helping him with rebranding, building a website and assisting with marketing. In 2012, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and by 2014 he officially handed over the business to Murray, trusting her abilities to keep things afloat.
However, Murray did more than just keep things afloat. Within the first year, she formalized operations, bumped up marketing and doubled the annual revenue. Even though there were difficult years, and she couldn’t seem to hit her goal of a million dollars, Murray grew the business exponentially. Within that period, she had also managed to secure a bachelor’s degree in business administration and also start her master’s degree.
Everything was on an upward, even if bumpy, trajectory, until the pandemic hit in 2020. That March, Prospect Cleaning lost 90 percent of its clients. Murray was down and depressed, crying uncontrollably one day when she had an interview for a full-time job. The situation was dire, and finding a job seemed to be the only solution. The idea devastated Murray so much that she ended up missing the interview. It was that day she received the call from MTA, which would end up being a multi-million-dollar contract. She didn’t have the capital to buy the equipment and supplies needed to do that caliber job, so she borrowed the funds from her father. In one day, everything had changed.
Murray and her team spent the entire pandemic working tirelessly. By 2022, she found herself ill, suffering from burnout. Her husband had also been diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. Even though she has been forced to slow down to take care of him and herself, Prospect Cleaning is still ticking, with several major government and private sector contracts secured under its belt.
“Hard work brings success,” Murray says. It’s something she learned in primary school in Jamaica. A teacher had the children recite the phrase daily. “I believe that” Murray affirms. That is why she has always worked hard at any job that came her way. “I’m also Christian. I grew up praying, having faith and believing in God. Even though my faith may waver, it’s only because I am impatient. I have the discernment to live for God, and I know that will be recuperated. I believe if you ask, you will receive. If you seek, you will find.”
Ingrid Murray also says she had a big vision for her life since she was a child. “I wanted the big house, the husband, and the children; the picture I saw on TV. I knew I’d have to work hard to achieve that.”
Giving back is an integral part of Murray’s life. She has adopted her past community of Hellshire. Every year she hosts self-funded give back initiatives in September, October, and December, providing assistance for students, seniors, and residents in need. In the US, each Christmas she takes time to express gratitude to her clients by baking and delivering Jamaican Christmas cakes and sorrel to 30 to 40 clients.
“My father was a giver. He would give you the shirt off his back. I grew up seeing that. Plus, people have given so much to me over the years,” Murray explains. “My first ticket to the US was bought by someone. I believe everyone must play their part. You can’t always be a taker.”
The formula of giving, working hard, and being ambitious and faithful, despite her impatience, is one Murray recommends to anyone desirous of achieving their wildest dreams and beyond.
