Former University of Kentucky Wildcats Team Up to Clean Up
From the hard wood to hard floor care, similar values produce success for Jani-King franchisees.
Wins don’t come easy. Neither does success. But these two former Kentucky Wildcat basketball players know what it takes to commit to a goal, work hard and come out winners. Now, they’re taking the lessons and values learned on the court and applying them to their business.
As student-athletes at the University of Kentucky, Samantha Mahoney and Chante Bowman competed on one of the best basketball programs in the country while earning their degrees. Mahoney, a potent shooting guard, and Bowman, an intense small forward, shared the court, working together every day toward a common goal, something that has carried over to their Jani-King franchise in Lexington, KY.
“Playing on a college basketball team and owning a business has many similarities,” said Bowman. “Commitment, discipline and hard work are at the top. During our college careers, we put our full attention, energy and efforts into becoming the best student-athletes possible. Fast forward to today, as business owners, much of the same attention, energy and efforts are required each day as we are committed to being successful business owners and satisfying our clients.”
According to Mahoney, in order to accomplish your ultimate goals in both sports and business, you must be disciplined enough to do tasks that aren’t always easy or fun. The rewards follow the effort.
“It was never easy waking up for early morning workouts or going to class between practices and traveling for road games,” said Mahoney. “As business owners we face some of the same challenges we did in college each day. So we take the same approach now as we did as student-athletes. We understand that our goal is to own a successful business, and we must accomplish that goal by any means necessary. Our work ethic and communication skills are key components to our business success.”
With degrees in hand and an unbeatable work ethic, the two could have chosen different paths after graduation in 2008 and joined the job market to build their careers. But the potential of the commercial cleaning industry and the opportunity to own their own business was something they couldn’t pass up.
“We chose Jani-King because it gave us the perfect opportunity to take the knowledge we gained in college and apply it to a real life experience,” said Bowman. “Jani-King provides franchise owners support in order assist the business in becoming successful. We also felt Jani-King had a ‘team’ philosophy, which is what we are accustom to. The exciting thing about the commercial cleaning industry is the fact that there will always be places to clean. It is a profitable industry, and there is not a cap on the amount of money your business can earn.”
When it comes to providing great customer service or even solving problems for customers, Bowman and Mahoney draw from their experiences and understand their market.
“In any industry, one has to overcome adversity and solve issues that arise,” said Mahoney. “For example, we had a customer who was not pleased with their service. In order to solve their issue, we went above and beyond what was necessary. Great customer service is the experience we want to deliver to our customers. Our philosophy is to exceed the customer’s expectations. When we do that, and continue to work hard, we are bound to be successful!”
To learn more about owning your own commercial cleaning franchise, click here. www.janiking.com/franchise-opportunities
