CONTRACTOR SUCCESS STORIES: YMM JANITORIAL SERVICES
YMM Janitorial Services being acknowledged with an award from the State of California as a California Green Business.
“ The customized business assessment and guidance, along with the training and technical support the Program provides has helped me develop vitally important business skills,” notes Charles,“ including how to connect with the various City sectors, understand how they operate and what their needs are, how to develop a professional network, market my services, organize and maintain financial records, meet prevailing wage requirements, accurate job costing, and effective project and money management.” Throughout 2017, the Program helped YMM Janitorial Services uncover new business avenues and expand into Construction Cleanup. Charles took courses to earn his D-63 Construction Clean-up License for the State of California, then went for a D-38 License for Water & Sandblasting in order to add the power washing niche to the menu of services YMM Janitorial Services offers.“ You can call me‘ Professor Jones’ now,” he states wryly,“ I now have an understanding of running a business that I never had before.”
When the inevitable challenges have come along, the CDP staff have been a source of continued encouragement, including through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.“ When I feel down and unable to continue, the Program staff have helped me remain positive and motivated,” says Charles. CDP staff are also assisting in his current efforts to secure bonding. Because of Charles’ dedication to ongoing training and his ability to successfully market his company’ s services, YMM Janitorial Services has been able to continue to bid on and secure contracts, expanding the business in a sustainable and strategic manner.
Since participating in the Contractor Development Program, YMM Janitorial Services has been awarded a number of
public works subcontracts: two with Plant Construction at San Francisco’ s Pier 70; one with G & G Builders at the DPW Navigation Center; one with XL Construction at San Francisco International Airport; one at Park Tower and one at Chase Center, both with Clark Construction; and two“ as-needed” contracts – one disinfecting buildings for CCSF Purchasing, and the other power washing City streets with DPW. As CDP Manager Jennifer Elmore points out,“ YMM Janitorial Services was recently awarded a contract to disinfect government buildings during this COVID-19 crisis, thereby helping to ensure that the public and government employees have a safe working environment while simultaneously providing much-needed employment opportunities within the community.”
Charles L. Jones, Owner of YMM Janitorial Services
In mid-2020, Charles was busy hiring a crew of twenty to fulfill the building disinfection contract and was eager to bring on and retain employees from his own Bayview neighborhood in San Francisco. Since the pandemic began, YMM Janitorial Services has been protecting its crew by providing
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