Cesar Bermudez, Sterling Building Services, FSBDC, Business Consulting

Sterling Building Services, Inc.

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The American Dream in Progress

 

Achieving the dream demands, in equal measures: hard work, passion, subject matter expertise, patience and caring leadership; characteristics that accurately describe Cesar and Yazmin Bermudez, founders and co-owners of Sterling Building Services, Inc.

imageFollowing immigration to the United States in 1989 with a professional background in financial management, Cesar earned his stripes as a part time employee of ABM Building Services where he rose from building supervisor to Assistant Branch Manager to Branch Manager of Central Florida. Cesar then joined D&A Building Services as Vice President Operations transforming an emerging company with $2.5 million in sales and 200 employees to a mature entity with sales exceeding $20 million and 1,100 employees.

Motivated by the goal of sustainable financial independence, Cesar and Yazmin leveraged their experience and industry relationships to open Sterling Building Services, Inc. in 2007. The firm provides interior and exterior cleaning and maintenance services to property managers, owners and commercial clients. As a Minority Owned Enterprise the company achieved 8(a) certification in 2008.

The business gained serious traction in 2011 followed by an impressive 34% growth rate in 2012. The company is on track to double in size in 2013 with sales projected to increase 113%.

Cesar and Yazmin have responded to the dynamics of rapid growth with three key management assignments. Andrea Vargas was promoted to General Manager, Janitorial and Window Cleaning Divisions. Industry veteran Jerry Garner was named General Manager of the company’s new Facilities Services Division and Sonny Acevedo was hired as Director of Business Development.

This management structure synergy and the new business development initiatives in all three divisions have created a pipeline that will ensure continuation of dramatic growth in 2014 and beyond.

In Cesar’s words, “We are fortunate to have a growing business, but the challenges that come with growth are sometimes enormous. The advice and counsel we received from the Small Business Development Center at UCF’s Growth Acceleration consultant, Roger Greenwald, has been very helpful enabling us to adjust to growth, keeping our cash flow in check, aligning our management structure with strategic goals and assisting in defining our need for and obtaining working capital.”

Cesar and Yazmin take pride in their journey to achieve the American Dream, not only for themselves and their family, but for their employees as well. Cesar and Yazmin’s dedication to their employees’ success by providing meaningful employment and career opportunities is a central tenet of their business model.