Why I Built My Business in Northern Kentucky

One, we had outgrown the facility that we were in, and two, our workforce was increasingly young, and they really wanted to be in the center city, so they drove the search. Thinking in terms of the former headquarters (in Blue Ash, Ohio), which had lasted us about a dozen years, we were looking for the next headquarters that would accommodate the next 15 years or so…(and) be both a place that would allow us to attract a talented workforce but also retain the ones that we had, so that was really the driving force. 

I attribute the initial introduction (to Covington) to Chuck Scheper (a former mayor of the city). Even before we started our search, he said, ‘Why don’t you move the company for its next stage of growth here to Northern Kentucky,’ and I kind of chuckled at the time because we weren’t even really thinking that way, and certainly, we hadn’t started to put a process in place. Once we did put the process in place, I would say that whether it was the governor at the time, whether it was the county commissioner, whether it was the mayor, whether it was the economic development groups…they all made us feel very, very welcome.

I would say that the attributes for us in the service organization are always about people. We get a very well-educated workforce that is extremely loyal. We have a relatively low cost of doing business here…I think all the dynamics that you would look for in a people-based business you find here. 

No. 1, follow your dream. No. 2, make sure you have a passion for what you’re trying to accomplish. No. 3, don’t be afraid to fail, and I think I would just surround yourself with people who you trust and people who believe in the dream that you are trying to put forward.