Dealing With Growing Pains

A 2013 study by The Freedonia Group Inc. projected that revenues for contract building maintenance services would grow 4.3 percent a year through 2017 to $176.5 billion. In the years since, with many companies no longer hampered by the recession and subsequent slow recovery, a number of firms have indeed prospered and hit their stride.

One such firm is Lee Building Maintenance, which is seeing such strong and steady growth that founder Jason Lee has actually had to turn down potential customers. That's a good problem to have, right? "Only if you have the strength to say, 'No!'" he says.

Lee founded Lee Building Maintenance in 2015 after more than 15 years as a co-owner in the janitorial industry. The Maryland-based firm services everything from manufacturing facilities to medical buildings. The company's prime servicing area is the bustling I-270 corridor of Montgomery and Frederick County, Md.; Northern Virginia; and parts of West Virginia.

In just two years, the firm's payroll has mushroomed to 87 employees. What's the secret of Lee's success, and what can others in the industry learn from his example? "Growth management," he replied. "I have folks in my corner who've told me, 'Just be patient. The one thing you don't want to do is get a bad reputation out of the gate.' Because we only get so many opportunities. Sometimes with the bigger facilities, you only get one shot."

Staffing remains the biggest challenge among building services contractors. In many parts of the country, there are just not enough skilled and willing workers to help firms meet their expansion goals. "We have a big staffing gap," Lee lamented. "It can be frustrating, because sometimes you hit those sweet spots in business.

You have customers that want to do business with you, but we don't have the capacity of staff right now to handle them. So, the toughest thing for me to do has indeed been to say, 'No.' I don’t want to land a big client, and then lose them in the next 90 days. It's just tough to find workers right now."

Overall, Lee and his team pride themselves on customer service. "You have to have a strong presence in front of your customers," he stated. "There needs to be multi-level bonding. You may have a contact who's the facility manager, but you may also work with a certain receptionist a lot.

When I or any of my area managers do walk-throughs, we'll sometimes randomly ask people, 'How has cleaning been in your area?' And some folks are genuinely shocked that you asked them. But it's important we get everyone's feedback, because a problem may not be getting to the top."

Lee says the favorite part of his job is the interaction with people. "We're in the people business, not the cleaning business. There's always someone new to help."

In addition to helping customers and members of the community, Lee's all about helping his 87 employees, making each of them feel valued, and giving them the tools they need to succeed. He concluded, "We have a target of 5 percent growth this year, and I know we can hit that. But we can't be crazy ambitious, because I feel we're still at a fragile state of our business."