It’s National Small Business Week as I’m writing this. Small businesses play a significant role in our economy and in this industry. Most of the companies we profile in Cleaner are classified as small businesses. Most of you work for them. 

More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and those businesses create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. 

This month’s Cleaner profiles are two great examples of the types of small businesses this industry revolves around. 

Jet Plumbing, Heating & Drain Services in Reno, Nevada, is a family business. It’s been around for more than 45 years. Jim Walker and his sister, Nanci Thomas, own the business. Walker’s wife, Robin, manages the office and his niece is a dispatcher. 

The business employs close to 50 people, and Walker works to create a strong family atmosphere. He says developing relationships with his employees and seeing their development over the years is one of the most rewarding aspects of the business. 

That tight-knit family atmosphere is one of the hallmarks of the best small businesses. Everyone works together and everyone has a stake in the company’s success. It gives everyone a sense of ownership, and that is a powerful thing. 

The second profile in this issue features All Service Plus, and it paints another picture of success. Owner Wisler Sanon didn’t grow up around the plumbing industry. He didn’t even grow up in the United States. He came here from Haiti in 1992. 

Sanon had spent 10 years working for other plumbing and drain cleaning companies when he saw the opportunity to go out on his own and fulfill the dream of owning a business and being his own boss. Like so many entrepreneurs, he realized that if he could make money for someone else, he could do the same for himself. He started out with just a service van, a hand-held cable machine and a large drum machine. 

Since he formed All Service in 2012, Sanon has acquired a fleet of equipment worth roughly $230,000, employs five people and has expanded his service area to include all of New Jersey and Philadelphia. 

The theme of this year’s Small Business Week was “Dream Big, Start Small.” Sanon’s business certainly personifies that statement. Most businesses start small. Whether they stay small is in large part up to the owners and operators. There are plenty of business owners who want to stay small, who don’t want it to grow beyond the point where they can oversee and stay fully involved in every aspect of the operation. For many, that means staying close to the people who make it work and cultivating that family atmosphere. In many ways, that’s just as difficult as growing a cleaning business to millions in revenue and a staff of 150.  

Regardless of the size of your company, small businesses are really big business. You play a big role in this nation’s economy and an even bigger role in the lives of those who work for you. 

Perhaps more importantly, at least in the context of this discussion, you form the backbone of this industry.

Enjoy this month’s issue.