Family Business Supports Community, Clean Homes
By Their Fruits LLC is a Comanche-owned business that cleans homes while supporting the community.
Owner Jeremy Travis is an assistant pastor, special education teacher, former full-time college student and father of four sons.
“My family would constantly be on the move. If we weren't at work, we were at church. If we weren't at church, I was somewhere doing homework. And when we'd get home, we'd realize that there were a lot of chores that weren't getting done. And my kids kind of were like, ‘It's not up to just us.’ And so, I was like, ‘You know what, you're right.’ And when I got to doing it, I realized it was something I'm really good at, and I enjoy cleaning,” he said. “I was a custodian for almost five years through Lawton Public Schools. And so, it kind of took me back to when things were a little more simple. And as I was cleaning around the house, I realized, ‘You know, I may not be the only one that has this problem of keeping up with everything.’ And I thought, ‘You know, what a great way to be a blessing to people by going and helping them do the things that either they may not want to do, or they just don't have time to do,’ which I feel like is most of us. So that's kind of what birthed the idea.”
The company, which is family-owned, offers a variety of services.
“We do deep cleaning, reset cleaning, move out cleanings for apartments, rental properties, basically any kind of cleaning that you could think of that you would like done, polishing windows,” Travis said. “And then we also have steam cleaning available that we do, which I find is really cool because steam kills all kinds of bacteria and stuff like that without chemicals. So, yeah, just about anything you can think of. The only thing we currently aren't maybe in the niche of doing, but I make exceptions, is carpet cleaning. And that's just due to me not having a carpet cleaner yet.”
He said his favorite project is to steam clean.
“And it's just so satisfying to kind of watch it go in the steam and just almost kind of like mesmerizing as you kind of get into it,” Travis said. “And it's also just, you know, peace of mind of knowing like it's getting clean.”
Travis said there’s a satisfaction in cleaning.
“There's something beautiful about having, you know, something that's not clean and then seeing it become clean for me. You know, the before and after,” he said. “That's kind of what gets me into it. I don't look at dirty things. It's like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that's bad.’ I look at it as an opportunity to turn something new. So, it's fun for me.”
Travis received his master’s degree in December in special education and sees himself always as a teacher.
“Think maybe, you know, in the definition of a pastor and dad, that the teaching is a component that, you know, is it remains the same throughout all of those different titles. From the moment I get up with my kids, you know, I'm teaching, talking, trying to mentor. When I go to church, I'm teaching. I'm trying to take the word of God and try to make it applicable for people to apply in their lives,” he said. “When I come to work, I'm looking how to teach these kids how to, you know, bridge the academic gap and be successful. And so, when you think about it, really, you know, I'm just a teacher, right? Just in different places of my life.”
However, there are also learning moments.
“What I've learned so far in the in the cleaning realm of business is a lot of people are hesitant to have somebody they don't know come into their home for various reasons,” Travis said. “One is maybe, you know, they think that the person may be judgmental. Two is, you know, they may feel some kind of embarrassment about the shape of the home. And I just want to take this moment to, you know, comfort anybody and say, you know, like, I'm not coming to pick on you. I'm not coming to look and be like, ‘Oh, my, look at what you didn't do.’ I'm genuinely just trying to come and help.”
The company can be found on Facebook by searching for “By Their Fruits LLC” or by calling 580-291-8350.
