After working for a government contractor at Tyndall Air Force Base for 19 years, Zane Jarzynka began picking up some side work. In 1996, Zane faced possible job loss; however, he was able to keep his job at the base if he wanted to. Feeling that he should consider a career change, Jill and Zane Jarzynka had the opportunity to purchase a small Tennant sweeper and open their business — Bay Clean Sweep, located right outside of Panama City, FL. Now, the company has six full-time and part-time employees.
Currently, 75% of revenue comes from sweeping, 10% striping, 5% asphalt work and the remaining 10% consists of cement work, pressure washing and signage. With two Schwarze sweepers and a Graco LineLazer 3900, Bay Clean Sweep maintains a service area within a 100 mile radius of Panama City. The majority of Bay Clean Sweep's clients are commercial properties including shopping centers and homeowner associations.
Unlike most companies, Bay Clean Sweep sends out two-man crews to each jobsite with one person in the sweeper and the other on the ground. "We think they can get the job completed more effectively, do a better job, and it's safer," Jill says. "We did try one person on a job for a while, but we felt not only could two workers do a more efficient job, employee morale seemed to improve when we went back to two workers."
In recent years, Jill has continued to look for ways to become more diversified by offering additional services. "Even though pressure washing isn't that big of a percentage of revenue, we have picked up a lot more work with it," she says.
Jill also looks for additional services to provide her existing clients. "We've completed drain repair, painted flagpoles and repaired damage to bollards," she says. "We will provide them with any service so they won't have to look elsewhere."
Not only does Bay Clean Sweep have a diversified set of services, but it has also found success gaining additional business by working with a National Service Provider. "We have been working with Divisions for about 5 years," she says. "They don't have a lot in this area, but it definitely helps to contribute to our revenue."
The crews at Bay Clean Sweep are capable of completing every type of work. "We have two workers that mainly do sweeping, but most are able to do whatever we need them to," she says. "We have completed hands-on training to show the workers how to operate the different types of equipment."
Being located near Panama City Beach, Jill and her crews have encountered several interesting situations. "Because we do some work out there we have to deal with the spring breakers," Jill says. "One of our clients is a shopping center that stays open for 24 hours. You have drunk college students trying to lunge in front of the sweepers."
With added safety issues, Jill and her crews are extra careful and pay even closer attention to their work. In some situations, they have had to call the police. One benefit of the hectic spring break and summer seasons is that some of the clients on the beach increase the level of sweeping. For example, some clients go from three nights to seven nights in order to maintain a clean facility.
After being in business for 15 years, Jill hopes to continue to grow Bay Clean Sweep by becoming more diversified and expanding the company's sweeping services.
