42 FEBRUARY 2023 By Mallory Gleich For Valley resident Connie Smith, cleaning is a most enjoyable task. So much so that she started her own home-cleaning business with her husband, Rick, by her side. The business came with many adventures, which inspired Rick to write a book that focuses not only on the homes but also on an inspiring notion: it’s never too late to hit the reset button. Connie and Rick were born and raised in Billings, Montana. Though they enjoyed the winter, they didn’t care for how long it lasted – and after visiting family in Arizona, they decided it was time to head west. That was over 20 years ago. Before starting Happy Trails Housecleaning, Connie worked in the medical and furniture industries. Rick worked 25 years with Universal Athletic Service, a corporation specializing in athletic sales with schools. However, something was missing in both of their lives: time. Connie decided to leave the corporate world and start her own business, focusing on something she loved to do: cleaning. “We had been involved with life in Montana, had two kids, jobs we enjoyed and constant improvement in our lives,” Rick said. “Connie became weary of working evenings, weekends and most holidays. She elected to end her sales career and create her own one-person business.” She operated the cleaning service in Montana for two years before the family moved to Arizona. “Her income went down, but earnings went way up. Time is more valuable than money. The new venture allowed Connie to be home for our kids in the morning and back again before they came home from school. No more nights, weekends and holidays, either,” Rick said. After 25 years of 60-hour work weeks, Rick was also ready for a change. Connie sensed it, so she wrote him a note and put it in his lunch (which she made for him every day), which set their new venture in motion. Happy Trails Housekeeping opened in 2002. According to Rick, Connie was management, and he was labor. She ran the business: scheduling, billing, prices, maintaining supplies and communications. Rick said he was happy to follow her lead. Twenty years later, the business inspired a different adventure – book writing. Rick compiled his thoughts, musings and tales from Happy Trails and published Cleaning Homes for The Rich and Famous in Scottsdale, Arizona , in 2022. “Manuscript writing took about ten weeks, but it took 20 years of cleaning to get the stories. Once I began to write, the chapters fell into place like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each finding its place at the right time,” Rick said. “I wrote the book, but Connie created and named the business. I convinced her to let me join along.” He explained that his original intent was to share stories from their experiences that would be entertaining: people, realities, highs and lows, friendships, funny moments, spiritual reflections, etc. The book starts with their move to Arizona and “traces our journey of blind faith through 20 years of cleaning,” Rick explained. Rick said the chapters honor those customers and the relationships they have developed. “The love of these people (and others not in the book) kept Connie and me cleaning all these years,” Rick said. According to the couple, a theme in the stories is hitting the reset button – in their careers and lives. “This meant ending one chapter and beginning another. We wanted to refresh our lives differently. The American Dream is available in different forms. Our dream is forever love and a stable and consistent home for our family,” Rick said. “It’s the crux of our love story. It didn’t matter if our jobs were glorious or humble. We started over from scratch at 50 – we hit the reset button.” Happy Trails continues to serve a few customers with cleaning and property management. Rick said they plan to clean for “a bit longer” until retirement. The couple enjoys walking, hiking, bike riding, reading, and movies outside of work. Rick sings and plays the guitar at senior communities around the Valley, with Connie sometimes tagging along to dance with residents while Rick performs. Rick is currently working on two more books. Cleaning Homes for The Rich and Famous in Scottsdale, Arizona , can be found online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Books and Amazon Kindle. rick-smith.co A Happy Trail helped this couple find new meaning in life Connie and Rick Smith. PHOTO COURTESY OF RICK SMITH You will: help businesses reach our audience in our publications and online. You’ll have: a wonderful existing customer base of advertisers who have been with us for many years: some more than 25! You should: be friendly, motivated, self-directed, detail oriented and able to work with a variety of people through different mediums. You’ll be: part of a small team that produces big results. We’ve won over 100 national awards for our stories, photos and ads. You’ll need: MS Office, Windows and CRM abilities. Print advertising experience (desired). Reliable transportation. We’ll provide: base salary plus commission, PTO, an in-office position with some schedule flexibility. ARCADIA NEWS IS LOOKING FOR AN ADVERTISING SALES REP If you enjoy helping others and love this neighborhood, let’s talk! Send an intro letter, resume or relevant work experience, and two work-related references: jobs@arcadianews.com