Keeping it clean: Indigenous cleaning business brings ‘good energy'

Hamilton Spectator

07-05-2025

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh company 4 Directions is looking to grow its business, prioritizing employment for First Nations.
The Indigenous-owned company 4 Directions, which currently covers the North Shore and the Sea to Sky Corridor, among other areas, offers residential, commercial, marine, and industrial cleaning, with de-cluttering and moving services, providing a needed service and work for local Indigenous communities.
Former health care worker Ashley Paull is the multi-faceted founder of 4 Directions and a member of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) who created the business in 2022.
As a spiritual person, she uses her business to incorporate and spread the cultural teachings and values of the Nation by prioritizing the employment of First Nations people.
She also hopes to expand to serve clients across Canada and potentially establish another branch, such as a laundry service.
'I come into your home [or] business with love, non-judgment, and prayers. I can sense trapped energy inside, and will pray to free it,' reads her business statement on
LinkedIn.
'I feel like when I go into homes, I feel the energy sometimes. There's blocked energy to the point where, like, you can't move right?' she told The Squamish Chief. 'And so that's when I was trained by Elders to tell me, 'You're going to go into this home: it's foster care, or there's a hazard,'' she added.
'The night before, I'll light up my medicine and I'll pray, like I'm in that spot and I'm clearing out the energy.'
Paull suggested her chosen business name, 4 Directions, conceptually embodies her holistic practice, in that her business is essentially about four aspects of cleanliness.
'Using '4 Directions' could signify a cleaning service that addresses mind, body, spirit, and environment,' she said, 'Not just physical spaces, but promoting well-being in a holistic way.
I want to clean mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.'
Paull previously worked as an employee for a cleaning company and said she became disillusioned with the industry before she began working independently.
'At the end of the week, I was so tired, and I looked at my little paycheque. All that work I put in is for what? I could do it myself. [Being independent] is definitely more liberating,' she said.
It all started with a Facebook post offering residential cleaning to make extra money. And the next thing she knew, she was getting booked up and became an independent cleaner.
'And then my friend goes, 'Why don't you get into commercial? So that's when I got a business license, and I went for it. I got my first contract cleaning daycares. It just seemed so unreal,' she said.
If clients approve, she can bring her cultural knowledge to the client's space, taking into consideration any allergies, including those of pets.
'There are times when I'll bring in my sage, my sweet grass, and do a little cleansing of their home, and open the windows. … You wouldn't want just anybody to go into your personal space and clean. You've got to trust that person,' she said.
Besides the North Shore and the Sea to Sky Corridor, Paull has business connections in the Lower Mainland, as well as the Fraser Valley.
She hopes to expand 4 Directions further across Canada, her partner being from Saskatchewan.
But she remains extremely mindful and respectful of territorial boundaries, and about keeping her business self-contained, she added
'I don't want to step on anybody's toes, if there are any other First Nation companies out there, I don't want to go into their territory and take over.'
Paull said she considers her employees, who are currently all Squamish Nation members, her 'family.'
'My number one rule is family first,' she said, 'I want to build a connection [and understanding] with my employees.'
You can book a service or look for work with 4 Directions by contacting 604-354-5554 or
[e-mail].
Ina Pace is The Squamish Chief's Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) Reporter.
This reporting beat is made possible by the
LJI.