In 1958, Bill Guin, a young man of just 25, decided to go into business for himself. He had a wife and three young children at home; he had a steady job with a promising future, but he also had a burning desire that he couldn’t ignore—to start his own business. He had the drive and ambition to be successful, and a moral code to always do what’s right. Bill’s first job as a new business owner was to put the plumbing in a new house for a friend he had made during his days as a young engineer.
Today his grandson, Joseph Braswell, the current owner of Guin Service, has a copy of that first invoice hanging on his wall. “I look at that invoice every morning as I walk into my office” says Joseph. “When I think about my grandfather going into business at that young age, it really motivates me to carry on his legacy.”
Joseph says he operates the business under one key principle that dates back to 1958: Treat people like family. “We treat every customer and employee like they are members of our family,” he says. And that’s not just a cliché for Joseph; that principle really is what drives him to try to be the best mechanical business in the city. “When we have our staff meetings, we rarely talk about money or profits,” says Joseph. “Almost every meeting we’ve ever had is about how we can provide better service for our customers.” Those meetings always consist of discussing ways to be more efficient so we can show up on time, showcasing new software to better communicate to our customers, or giving out prizes to employees for a job well done. Joseph says that nothing makes his day more than receiving a notification about another five-star review. “My favorite thing is to take a screen shot of the review and text it to the employee that performed the service,” he says. “I think it shows the employee that we appreciate his hard work, and it reinforces the values that guide us to do what we do.”
“I have an unwavering opinion that if you do the right thing, everything else will work itself out,” says Joseph. “If I thought that we had to do something dishonest to be profitable, I would shut the doors immediately. I think this attitude is what sets us apart.”
The other thing that Joseph says sets them apart is their people. “We are blessed to have, what I believe, are the best employees in the world,” he says. “It makes my job easy knowing that every employee has bought into our company culture.” Joseph says even though he has great employees, manpower is still his biggest challenge. “We hire on character and train on the technical aspects of our business,” he explains. “It’s a much longer process, but it always pays off in the long run.” With great people and an honest approach to business, it is no wonder Guin is continuing to thrive after 62 years in business.
