Our office and warehouse was housed in an old tin-roofed block building for several years. It was white block with a red roof, old style beautiful and shadowed by the most amazing big and green and lovely tree.

We were content and happy and keeping on keeping on in the business.

Then I got a phone call. The person on the other end of the call wanted to know if I would sell the building. Whoa nellie, I said absolutely not! This was our business home. We had connected with so many people in this building, trainers, family, neighbors, strangers, delivery people, mail person and on and on.

But then I listened and listened some more. The offer, wow, the offer! Ok, I gave it a thought then more thoughts then I sold the building.

So now the challenge came up, where to move the business? Should we stay and lease back in the comfortable and affordable building we knew, an easy decision with no moving involved. Or might we look for another location and purchase another building?

I took a vote, some wanted to move but Yordan was adamant that the business would not be the same if we moved. This was where he was hired and learned his job. I felt and understood his reluctance. This was where we had celebrations and food and music and fun. This was where we brought trainers in to teach and learn. This was where we ate together and connected.

I stood back and weighed it all and decided if I could find the perfect place, we would buy another building and create a happy place again. A place where Yordan would see for himself that we can change locations but stay the same business.

I laid out the parameters on paper. Location and size and price and what I was willing to accept in a new location.

And guess what there it was!

Exactly the location I had dreamt of, the area between Howard and Armenia, off Columbus a block, close to employee homes and easy access to our cleaning accounts. Frank was excited and since he already worked with me as general manager he now saw the potential of building supervisor, as in overseeing the construction and repairs of this “new to us” building.

This building wasn’t move-in ready. In fact there wasn’t water access, the roof leaked, the back part needed to be attached to the front part and there was a small broken down, what looked like an old chicken coop, in the front yard. But I saw our future. We could do this remodel, maybe a better and more accurate word would be a major rebuild, anyway the papers were signed and we were on schedule to get the building up and move in ready within 3 months. Frank and I kept a tight rein on the timeline and he oversaw and hired and planned out every detail, I signed the checks and ok’d the plans.

A few important basics we worked from. The first being that every person who worked on the building had to have migrated from a Spanish speaking country and I wanted the roof red, the windows hurricane proof, the offices heated and AC installed and the yard rocked and fenced.

It all came together and every detail was included and completed within the time we allowed.

The place is beautiful! The roof is red. The walls are white block and the yard is fenced, landscaped and gated.

Which leaves us to Yordan’s recent comment “this is great, it works out and is close to home”.