Crystal Clean Green Cleaning Receives $2,500 Glazer Family Small Business Fund Grant

SARASOTA, Fla. - Crystal Clean Green Cleaning has been selected to receive a $2,500 grant through the Glazer Family Small Business Fund, marking another milestone in the Sarasota-based company’s more than 14 years in business.

Founded by Steven and Kristina Pajevic with a $100 Walmart gift card, Crystal Clean has grown through the highs, lows and constant evolution that come with building a small business. Today, the company remains focused on its people, customers, sustainability and the long-term impact it can create in the community.

Co-founder Steven Pajevic said, "We're thankful for the grant and are going to make use of it. But the thing that stayed with me most was the belief that lay behind it. Since we've been building, adjusting, and keeping on going for 14 years, there's a certain significance in having someone from outside your organization look at what you've produced and say, 'We believe in this.’

At the time of the recognition, during Buccaneers Training Camp, Pajevic was given a commemorative football on which were inscribed the words "Glazer Family Small Business Fund Believes in Crystal Clean Green Cleaning."

For the company, recognition reflects a journey shaped as much by resilience and relationships as by growth.

Investing Back Into the Team
Crystal Clean intends to use the $2,500 grant to support workforce recruitment, training, and employee development, thereby strengthening the company's foundation as it continues to grow.
That investment reflects Crystal Clean's conviction that a successful service business must start with strong people.

“As our team grows stronger, the company grows stronger,” Pajevic said. “We aim at continually improving our methods of identifying good people, developing them, providing them with the tools they need to succeed, and creating a company they can be proud to be part of.”

Crystal Clean operates around four core values:
Be Real. Help Out. Create Value. Have Fun.

The principles are meant to serve as a guide for decisions at all levels of the organization, from leadership to frontline team members, while keeping the company focused on the trust that both customers and employees have placed in it.

“We’re in the business of trust. We just happen to be amazing at cleaning,” Pajevic said. “People invite us into their homes and offices. Our team trusts us with their livelihoods, and our customers trust us to do what we say we’ll do. That trust must be earned every day.”

Sustainability Beyond Cleaning
Environmental responsibility has been part of Crystal Clean’s approach since its early years, but the company’s view of sustainability extends beyond cleaning products and practices.

For Crystal Clean, running a sustainable business also involves developing people, fostering a healthy workplace culture, building lasting relationships, and conducting operations that contribute positively to the wider community.

The company regards those priorities as interconnected, in that healthier environments, stronger employees, and responsible business practices all help create a business that delivers long-term value.

Part of a Larger Tampa Bay Small Business Community
Crystal Clean’s recognition by the Glazer Family Small Business Fund also gave it the chance to celebrate alongside other entrepreneurs and small business owners from across the Tampa Bay area.
For Steven and Kristina, that wider community was an important element of the experience.

The companies came from a variety of industries and had different experiences, but all of them played a similar role by creating jobs, serving customers, solving problems, and contributing to the area.
The recognition also gave the Crystal Clean team a chance to note its own progress.

Small business owners often spend much of their time focused on the next challenge, the next customer, or the next problem to solve. For Crystal Clean, this created a moment to recognize what has already been built: the employees, customers, and community relationships that made it possible.

Using Business as a Vehicle for Greater Impact
This recognition also relates to a broader objective Pajevic has established for his work beyond Crystal Clean: to help 10,000 people.

The aim isn't just directed at customers or any one company; it also involves employees who acquire new skills and opportunities, families supported by meaningful work, customers who benefit from improved environments, other business owners who gain from shared knowledge, and communities that are strengthened by businesses that act responsibly.

“My goal is to help 10,000 people,” Pajevic said. “I don’t think that happens through one company, one speech, one program or one big moment. It happens person by person, team by team and community by community. Business can be one of the vehicles that helps make that possible.”

For Crystal Clean, the $2,500 grant will now be put toward strengthening the people and systems that support the company’s next stage of growth.
Recognition is not a finish line, but another opportunity to strengthen its team, serve its customers and continue building a business designed to make a positive impact.

About Crystal Clean Green Cleaning
Crystal Clean Green Cleaning is a Sarasota-based cleaning company founded by Steven and Kristina Pajevic. Founded with a $100 Walmart gift card more than 14 years ago, the company has built its approach around service, trust, sustainability, workplace culture, and community impact.

Crystal Clean operates according to four core values: Be Real. Help Out. Create Value. Have Fun.

https://crystalcleangreencleaning.com