Swift River Corporation

Danielle and Ben Swift have worked for various construction and emergency repair contractors for years in positions that range the full breadth of the spectrum. Since the couple love to plan their work and work their plan exactly on time, they decided to grow their own repair company - Swift River Corporation. Ben had already established a list of happy, repeat customers, while working nights and weekends. The Covid-19 pandemic gave the married couple their perfect opportunity to make a move.

At first, the plan lacked a comprehensive view of business challenges. “We worked in management and operations. We had a manager’s view of the maintenance business, but not the owner view,” said Ben. A friend who lived in Joliet recommended that the couple contact the Small Business Development Center. A call to the Illinois SBDC at the Starved Rock Country Alliance, put Danielle in touch with Amy Lambert, Executive Director of the nearby SBDC.

Success soon followed for Danielle and Ben. Their digital presence has lifted their leads from two a week to almost five a day. The couple have filled their schedule with clients who trust that the Swift River team will complete work according to specification and on-time.

The team has taken another look at the GrowthWheel concepts. They’ve applied the lesson of building a Customer Portfolio. For example, the couple turned down a job proposal from an acquaintance whose distance would not enable the team to provide a quality scope of work in a timely manner and opened up the opportunity for different clients who could be serviced with success. The growth in the client base has also led the couple to train their son and daughter to execute work according to Swift River standards - growing their future potential as a family driven business.