From Runway to Pest Control
Holmes takes the white male dominated business head on
When hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast region, it hit very close to home for Genma Stringer Holmes whose parents lived in Mississippi. Days after the storm, Genma, referred to by her friends and associates as the connector, rallied along side countless others to gather food, clothing, and building materials to send to family and friends in Mississippi and Louisiana. Since Katrina, her church, The Family of God at Woodmont Hills, has adopted a small community in Mississippi and is helping rebuild it one home at a time.
Genma Stringer Holmes is CEO of Holmes Pest Control in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s been said that tenacity and determination equals success in business. Nine years ago, Genma went from being a fashion model and actress to becoming the bug lady in Tennessee. Though she couldn’t find anyone willing to share information about pest control or give her guidance on starting an extermination business in general she managed to educate herself by researching every aspect of the pest control industry. “The industry is dominated by white men with very few African American Pest Control Operators (PCOs) in a $7 billion industry.”
This mother of three (Franz 19, Cornelius 15, and Alexis 14) was not “bugged” by her move into a profession, completely different from the fashion and entertainment world. “I was laughed at by my agent and others who said, “it‘ll be impossible for you to transition from a modeling career to a business owner, you won’t survive.” Holmes has not only survived but has become a voice for minorities and women in the industry. She help formed the organization Minorities in Pest Management (MPM) and was named Chairperson for the group by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). This was a bold move for an industry that has been long known as a “good ole boys club”.
Holmes career change began as a struggle with having to spend many hours on the road traveling with her daughter, who was four, at the time and leaving her boys behind. “We were in city after city, modeling and on daytime talk shows. It sounds glamorous but it was not good for an impressionable young child or a young marriage.” That year she felt a particular longing to be with her family and started to ask herself questions about her career. Being a woman raised to put God and family first, she suddenly knew what was needed. “The light bulb came on and I realized that my family and I needed balance and spiritual maturity. My career, at the time, was not giving us that. I wanted to create a legacy and leave something solid for my children and grandchildren. I was willing to put my show business dreams on hold for my family until God was ready for me to get back in the field.”
With that mindset, Genma spoke with her husband, Roger who was a manager at a local company. The pest control for the company was one of his many duties. Genma and Roger always had conversations about the industry and how customers were not really told the truth about extermination practices. “I began to really pay attention during our conversations and thought; this could be our family business. I told Roger that this was an opportunity that we needed to explore further. I started to do market research throughout the Middle Tennessee area, industry analysis, the average income generated by a pest control company and the possible freedom we could have.”
Being a woman who does not take no for an answer, Genma convince her husband to strike out on his own and Holmes Pest Control was born. Armed with Roger’s experience and the will to succeed, the Holmes rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Today, the company grosses over $500,000 a year. Holmes plans to partner with several other minority owned pest control companies for a joint venture that is expected to generate several million dollars in sales by 2007.
Holmes Pest Control has gotten much media attention and industry recognition. Genma credits the company’s goal to making a difference in the community, excellent work ethics, the educating of their clients about sanitation and pests, and promoting the use of minimum risk pesticides by EcoSMART, not the model, that the media likes to write about.
"I strongly believe that we as African Americans should expect quality goods and services from African American businesses. We should have the same rules for White owned businesses. Because a company is African American does not mean it is inferior. Yet in the next breathe, we want opportunities with large majority firms that we won’t give to others that we interact with on a daily basis. Until we change our attitudes toward how we do business within our race and culture, we will never TRULY forge ahead,” Genma says.
Genma's Keys for Success
1. Know Your Purpose and Passion: When you know your purpose, you can pursue your passion. Doing what you love to do is the best career or job to have. Have a purpose in life keeps us from wandering aimless into “No Whereness”.
2. Don’t Allow Anyone to Determine Your Destiny: Do not spend energy on negative people or nay-sayers. They either keep you from beginning your journey or stop your progress once you have started. They come in various forms; family, friends, or foes.
3. Be a mentor: Be real and transparent with someone who is starting out. Give all of yourself and watch how God give all HIM back to you. Sharing our knowledge is one of the greatest gifts we can give another business owner.
Value Relationships: Put more value on the relationships with your client than the money. Getting the business is important but valuing the relationship is even more. When you value the relationship, you will usually get the business.
Set Your Business apart from others: Know your business. You must learn everything about your business, wear many hats and be good for goodness sake. Practice being excellent at everything. Raised your standards and keep them high.
Partnership: 25% of 0 is Zero! Partnering will guarantee you more revenue and increase your market share. As African Americans, we are often afraid of partnering because we think we are protecting our business. But because we don’t partner we remain small and powerless. There is unity in numbers and often two can get the job done much quicker and more profitable than one person on his/her own. Be a team player and find African American businesses you can partner with for growth and expansion.
Holmes takes the white male dominated business head on
When hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast region, it hit very close to home for Genma Stringer Holmes whose parents lived in Mississippi. Days after the storm, Genma, referred to by her friends and associates as the connector, rallied along side countless others to gather food, clothing, and building materials to send to family and friends in Mississippi and Louisiana. Since Katrina, her church, The Family of God at Woodmont Hills, has adopted a small community in Mississippi and is helping rebuild it one home at a time.
Genma Stringer Holmes is CEO of Holmes Pest Control in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s been said that tenacity and determination equals success in business. Nine years ago, Genma went from being a fashion model and actress to becoming the bug lady in Tennessee. Though she couldn’t find anyone willing to share information about pest control or give her guidance on starting an extermination business in general she managed to educate herself by researching every aspect of the pest control industry. “The industry is dominated by white men with very few African American Pest Control Operators (PCOs) in a $7 billion industry.”
This mother of three (Franz 19, Cornelius 15, and Alexis 14) was not “bugged” by her move into a profession, completely different from the fashion and entertainment world. “I was laughed at by my agent and others who said, “it‘ll be impossible for you to transition from a modeling career to a business owner, you won’t survive.” Holmes has not only survived but has become a voice for minorities and women in the industry. She help formed the organization Minorities in Pest Management (MPM) and was named Chairperson for the group by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). This was a bold move for an industry that has been long known as a “good ole boys club”.
Holmes career change began as a struggle with having to spend many hours on the road traveling with her daughter, who was four, at the time and leaving her boys behind. “We were in city after city, modeling and on daytime talk shows. It sounds glamorous but it was not good for an impressionable young child or a young marriage.” That year she felt a particular longing to be with her family and started to ask herself questions about her career. Being a woman raised to put God and family first, she suddenly knew what was needed. “The light bulb came on and I realized that my family and I needed balance and spiritual maturity. My career, at the time, was not giving us that. I wanted to create a legacy and leave something solid for my children and grandchildren. I was willing to put my show business dreams on hold for my family until God was ready for me to get back in the field.”
With that mindset, Genma spoke with her husband, Roger who was a manager at a local company. The pest control for the company was one of his many duties. Genma and Roger always had conversations about the industry and how customers were not really told the truth about extermination practices. “I began to really pay attention during our conversations and thought; this could be our family business. I told Roger that this was an opportunity that we needed to explore further. I started to do market research throughout the Middle Tennessee area, industry analysis, the average income generated by a pest control company and the possible freedom we could have.”
Being a woman who does not take no for an answer, Genma convince her husband to strike out on his own and Holmes Pest Control was born. Armed with Roger’s experience and the will to succeed, the Holmes rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Today, the company grosses over $500,000 a year. Holmes plans to partner with several other minority owned pest control companies for a joint venture that is expected to generate several million dollars in sales by 2007.
Holmes Pest Control has gotten much media attention and industry recognition. Genma credits the company’s goal to making a difference in the community, excellent work ethics, the educating of their clients about sanitation and pests, and promoting the use of minimum risk pesticides by EcoSMART, not the model, that the media likes to write about.
"I strongly believe that we as African Americans should expect quality goods and services from African American businesses. We should have the same rules for White owned businesses. Because a company is African American does not mean it is inferior. Yet in the next breathe, we want opportunities with large majority firms that we won’t give to others that we interact with on a daily basis. Until we change our attitudes toward how we do business within our race and culture, we will never TRULY forge ahead,” Genma says.
Genma's Keys for Success
1. Know Your Purpose and Passion: When you know your purpose, you can pursue your passion. Doing what you love to do is the best career or job to have. Have a purpose in life keeps us from wandering aimless into “No Whereness”.
2. Don’t Allow Anyone to Determine Your Destiny: Do not spend energy on negative people or nay-sayers. They either keep you from beginning your journey or stop your progress once you have started. They come in various forms; family, friends, or foes.
3. Be a mentor: Be real and transparent with someone who is starting out. Give all of yourself and watch how God give all HIM back to you. Sharing our knowledge is one of the greatest gifts we can give another business owner.
Value Relationships: Put more value on the relationships with your client than the money. Getting the business is important but valuing the relationship is even more. When you value the relationship, you will usually get the business.
Set Your Business apart from others: Know your business. You must learn everything about your business, wear many hats and be good for goodness sake. Practice being excellent at everything. Raised your standards and keep them high.
Partnership: 25% of 0 is Zero! Partnering will guarantee you more revenue and increase your market share. As African Americans, we are often afraid of partnering because we think we are protecting our business. But because we don’t partner we remain small and powerless. There is unity in numbers and often two can get the job done much quicker and more profitable than one person on his/her own. Be a team player and find African American businesses you can partner with for growth and expansion.
