Two Friends Start Successful Janitorial Business Based on Service.(Originated from Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.)

Publication: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Publication Date: 02-JUN-97

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COPYRIGHT 1997 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jun. 2--The number of model airplanes in the main reception area of J&W Janitorial Services Inc. gives a hint of the former life of company vice president Dennis E. Jordan Sr.

Jordan spent 16 years working as an airline customer service representative at Richmond International Airport, including 12-year-stint with United Airlines. In fact, he continued to work for the airline (and his partner, company President Virgil B. Winters continued to work as a welder) for years after they founded J&W in 1987.

"I had the customer service experience and he had the cleaning experience," Jordan said. "We didn't even realize how much we really knew and what our capabilities really were. We just went door to door, giving out our business cards."

Winters said both men wanted to run their own business. "Since my father owned a janitorial service, I had been around that business my whole life," he said. "We found a used floor buffer and bought it for $80 -- new ones sell for...

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