We caught up with the brilliant and insightful William Kimbrough a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi William , thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Ok. I remember moving a client’s 4bdrm house with all new furniture. And as I was disassembling the bed, the headboard to the bed snapped and broke from the bottom right in front of the customer. The customer immediately put both of his hands on the top of his head in ahhh, and said (verbatim) “ahh big baby what are you going to do for me”. I was embarrassed, as I usually discipline employees for not paying attention. This time it was me and I knew that I needed to correct this situation. I end up discounting the move, and the customer was satisfied. He stated that he was surprised that we handled the incident so professionally and the discount was a great gesture to making things right.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Me and my wife both worked on 9-5 jobs. Back in 2014, I was approached by a co-worker whose brother owns a moving company. He asks did I want to make some extra money helping him move someone on the weekend. I was like… Moving… No way. I pass that job up. He asked me about three more times after that, and again, I was like no. He came to me and said that I could be making some real money moving people. I resonated that in my head, went home, and studied everything there was to know about the moving industry. About two weeks pass and I talked it over with my wife and we decided that a moving company was worth building.

After months and months of saving money, we were finally able and ready to take on clients. On 7/2015 we decide to launch it and I asked my co-worker will he help me with my first job and train me out in the field. He said that he will. Well on that first very job, things were going well at first. The customer was kind of agitated that he wasn’t moving fast enough.

My co-worker started complaining of chest pains and was not looking good. He said that the pain was very intense and he can’t go on. The customer gave us a look as if he messed up from hiring us. So at this point, it’s me and the client moving the apt. My co-worker stated he needs to go sit in the car. I gave him the keys and kept checking on him periodically. I keep asking him was he alright. He said no and to just let him sit there. I said well, you might need to go to the doctors. He said no, and that he will be alright.

After finishing up the client, I told my co-worker that I was going to take him home. He asks could I turn the A.C. in the car up. He then grabs his chest, held tightly, and started making these loud moaning sounds. I was then freaking out and repeatedly kept calling his name. After that, he fell back in the passenger seat in a complete silence. I again repeatedly called his name over and over and over again, and still silence, he didn’t answer. I checked for pulse and stomach movement. No movement at all. I got out, went to the passenger side, pull him out and started C.P.R. I looked into his eyes, and they were still as glass. I screamed for help and called 911. The customer assisted me in calling 911 as well.

A couple of nurses that stayed on the property took over doing C.P.R. Shortly the ambulance arrived and took over from the nurses. I went on his phone to call his family. I also followed them to the hospital, where I waited for his family to give his personal things too. My co-worker died on me on my first job. I almost gave up, but something didn’t let me. We kept on going and started taking our company to the next level. That’s what my co-worker would have wanted.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My cofounder is also my wife, and we both worked at a fast food restaurant..

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

Yes we also own a products company where we sale essential oils, fragrance oils, car fresheners, hand sanitizers, candles, and car freshies.

Contact Info:

• Website: 1stGroupManagement.com
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