When Bryan Lazorik founded Bryco Services in 2001, his intent was to provide professional janitorial services to commercial offices, medical facilities and schools and universities in Northwest Indiana and the Western suburbs of the Chicago metro area. With Lazorik as President from the get-go, Bryco Services has experienced consistent growth thanks to some top-notch strategic planning.

"Strategic planning is an absolute necessity for any [building service contractor] looking to achieve goals and position itself for future sustainable growth," Lazorik stated. "I believe it's imperative for executive leadership to set goals and focus the energy of the entire company on achieving those goals. One key to being effective in strategic planning is to break your long-term goals into yearly, quarterly and monthly objectives. This helps to keep everyone aligned and focused and also offers the opportunity to celebrate the collaborative achievement involved at each point."

Of course, he has seen their fair share of change in the business and society since the company's launch. How Bryco Services has managed that change has also helped separate it from the competition. 

Staffing, as it turns out, has been a big key. "If you don’t like change, growth is going to be difficult," Lazorik remarked. "The first step is realizing you can’t do it all and that you need to hire to your weaknesses. I don’t enjoy cold calling and it’s an important part of the sales and growth process, so I hired someone who has exceptional sales skills, gave him the tools he needs, and let him run with it. I’m not a micro-manager and I think my team appreciates that."

Lazorik also believes it's important to pursue clients that are aligned with your company's business model. Once the client is added, delivering exceptional service then becomes the focus.  Finally, Lazorik advises BSCAI members to closely monitor their cash flow and plan for unforeseen roadblocks.

He listed "sharing knowledge" as the favorite part of his job. "I have a passion for learning and sharing that knowledge to help others grow," he said. "I can see how my team has grown in their skills, and it’s not only benefitted them, but our company as a whole.

“One key piece of advice I was given was to be a continuous learner. I read between 12 and 15 business-related books a year; and, this year, I’m on track for one book every two weeks . . . which is easy to do if you listen to audio books in your car. Another important piece of advice I received early on was to pay my taxes on time."

And what would constitute success if we were to interview Lazorik a year from now? "I’d want to see our client retention rate continue to be extremely high," he replied. "You’ll need to create new client partnerships that are a good fit for you to grow revenue and profits. On the people side, a successful year means that we have added new positions at all levels, and hopefully have promoted some team members from within. Giving loyal, goal-driven team members the opportunity to continue to grow and move up the ranks is a value-added process that will result in higher client retention and increased margins, as well as higher employee morale."