For three years, franchise owners Willie and Sharon Brinson kept an eye on a contract they had lost to a lower bid because they knew the other service provider would eventually not be able to deliver as promised on their price and service. Sharon checked in often with the school board and superintendent, just letting them know she was ready to step in if they weren’t happy with the current service. Sixteen months into the contract, Sharon got the call she’d been preparing for.
“At the end of last year we found out they would be taking bids again on the school,” said Sharon. “There was no doubt in our minds that we were going to get the High School this time around. We put in our bid in January of this year and within a month we got the call saying we were awarded the contract.”
The Brinson’s purchased their Southeast Mississippi franchise in August of 2001. Sharon was driving for UPS at the time and the local Jani-King office was on her route. The couple was also running a lawn care business and the summer sun was beginning to take its toll.
The business savvy couple took quickly to Jani-King’s program and has grown their business, adding new customers and employees each year. Currently the couple manages 21 employees in their franchise and they take full advantage of the support offered by Jani-King’s regional office.
“The biggest benefit with the Jani-King system and regional office is the support you have from day one,” said Sharon. “Any questions we have about a potential account we are looking into or a bid we are turning in, help is just a call away. It’s also a benefit to have an extra set of eyes in your accounts doing inspections. We are in all our accounts daily, but it’s beneficial to have someone coming in doing inspections in case there is something we overlooked.”
Like with most business ventures, success wasn’t just handed to them. The couple works hard in their accounts and believes that building relationships is one of the keys to growing their business.
“We are successful because we work hard every day. We may be the franchise owners, but that doesn’t mean we just sit back and watch. We are in our accounts working beside our employees every day. This way we are able to nip any possible problems in the bud before it becomes an issue. We also make sure that we have a personal connection with the mangers and contact person at all of our accounts.”
