Allan Young’s heart was a bit heavy.
The Richmond, Va.-based entrepreneur was preparing to deploy to the Middle East with the Army Reserve. Though he was excited about the assignment, he knew it would affect his small business consulting firm.
Still, the major knew his duty and placed his clients in the care of competitor consultants he respected. Young believed he would have to rebuild his business from scratch when he returned.
“Imagine my surprise when I returned and one of my clients – a cabinet shelving company – was still on board with me,” Young said. “I asked them why they stayed and they said they liked working with me and were willing to wait.”
That was a profitable decision, as Young, 39, helped build the company into ShelfGenie Franchise Systems, America’s only franchised provider of custom-built shelving solutions.