Business Spotlight

Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc.—Taking Jobs No One Else Will Take for 33 Years

Story by Sam Calhoun

Work hard. Play hard.

That is the formula that Joseph “Joey” Marcoux incorporates into his business, Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc., and one of the reasons he believes he and his business are successful.

Since Joey’s father Joe started the business, Jo-Lynn Enterprises has demanded that its employees work hard because most of the jobs they take are ones that others feel are too hard or complicated to complete. On the flip side, Joey and his employees spend just as much time together away from work than they do at work. It’s not because they live together, but because they are all good friends and understand the importance of bonding outside of the workplace.

That formula—a good work ethic, happy customers and employees who are friends—has enabled Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc. to survive in the High Country for 33 years.

It all started because of Joey’s father’s work ethic.

In 1975, Joe Marcoux was going through a divorce from Joey’s mother. One day, Joe took 3-year-old Joey from the couple’s home in Florida and headed up the East Coast to North Carolina. Taking the child before custody was established was considered a “breach of state” and Joe entered into a lengthy and costly custody battle with Joey’s mother.

To pay off his lawyer fees associated with the custody fight, Joe started routinely cleaning his lawyer’s office in Boone.

“He did such a good job that more people started hiring him to clean their offices—and then another, and then another,” said Joey, who added that his father later married a woman named Lynn and started Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc.

At first, the business focused on office cleaning but soon started focusing on cleaning homes and lodges in the High Country’s resort communities. Joe liked to take on the big, nasty jobs because he liked the challenge and he started to get a good reputation for disaster restoration.

“[My father] would take on anything,” said Joey. “We got a reputation as a company that would do whatever jobs no one else would do.”

By the time Joey turned 13, he had already started working for his father. Joey attended Valle Crucis Elementary and Watauga High School and then earned a two-year degree from Caldwell Community College. When Joey graduated from Caldwell, his father asked him to work full time for Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc. and he accepted.

Within two years, the father and son were at each other’s throats because of the workload. Joey decided that he and his father had to find a way to have fun outside of work together if they were to survive at work together. Knowing that his father used to scuba dive for abalone in California, Joey suggested that they both get certified to scuba dive. Joe and Joey got certified and started to play hard as well as work hard—the formula that Joey and his staff still follow.

On January 31, 2001, Joey took over as president of Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc. and started to buy the company from his father and stepmother. Joey finished paying off the company on January 31, 2008, and took his staff to Las Vegas to see a NASCAR race to celebrate.

Today, Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc. is comprised of 10 employees and 8 work vehicles. Joey estimated that 75 percent of the business’s work is disaster restoration—smoke, water, vandalism, fire and mold—and 25 percent is cleaning—ducts, windows, carpet, rugs and pressure washing. Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc. is certified, licensed and insured.

Clientele from all over the High Country take advantage of Jo-Lynn’s disaster restoration services, and clients from the area’s country clubs and gated communities hire Jo-Lynn for cleaning services.

Joseph said he loves the buzz that challenging jobs give him.

“People, insurance adjusters know we’ll get the job done, and get it done right,” said Joey. “We’re the yes team. I’m the yes man.

“What makes us so successful is talking to people,” added Joey, talking about his company’s business secrets. “You would be surprised at how many [business owners] don’t call clients back. It’s all about communication.”

Joey and his employees make sure to call their clients back when they have questions, before they come over and if they are going to be late.

“We communicate to let them know what is going on,” said Ron Marshall, vice president of operations for Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc., “because [schedules] change every day.”

Most of Jo-Lynn’s customers have disaster insurance, and Joey makes sure that each time he bids a job he follows the insurance company’s rules. He negotiates ahead of time the cost of the project with the insurance company and lets customers know what the insurance company decided. This way there are no surprises and customers feel more comfortable paying the price specified by the insurance company. Because of that practice, Joey has never had to go to court to collect payments.

If customers do not have insurance, Jo-Lynn’s employees work with the client to handle the cost, often discounting the services.

“We treat people the way they would want to be treated,” said Joey.

Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc. also does a lot of charity work. Jo-Lynn employees clean all Watauga County Habitat for Humanity houses for free before the new owners move in, and give free services to hospice patients. Jo-Lynn also donates services to WAMY Community Action and elderly clients.

When Jo-Lynn’s employees are not working, though, they are hard at work having fun with each other. Joey’s love of scuba diving became infectious and now his entire staff is certified. Joey and his staff often leave town and head for tropical climates to relax together and scuba dive.

“We pay well, we all like working together and I take care of them, so they can’t leave,” said Joey laughing, who added that each of his employees now gets a 401K. “We’ve come a long way.”

Joey, 38, and Marshall plan to keep Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc. going until they both retire.

“We’re not going anywhere. We’re in too deep now, especially since the business is paid off,” said Joey.

Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc. is located at 2322 Baird’s Creek Road in Vilas. The business is on call 24 hours and day, seven days a week for disaster restoration. For more information, click to www.joclean.com or call 828-297-2109 or 1-800-922-2109.