In 1969, Jimmy Woodley began cleaning buildings out of the trunk of his automobile. Since then, his company, Woodley Building Maintenance (WBM), in Kansas City, Missouri, has expanded into a family heritage that is carried on by his children, Terry and Tiffany, as well as his wife, Robery.
After his prior job went on strike, my father’s first significant contract was to clean an office complex in Lee’s Summit, according to Tiffany Woodley, WBM’s senior financial officer who joined the family firm at the age of 27. He borrowed money from his former boss since he lacked the funding to complete the work in Lee’s Summit, and the firm expanded from there.
But as the company expanded, Jimmy’s former manager informed him that he also needed a bank on his side. That is when Mercantile Bank, which was later purchased by U.S. Bank, entered the picture.
Tiffany Woodley stated, “The banking relationship is something you talk about with other business owners. Because there is a tiny bank personality there, despite the fact that U.S. Bank is a major bank, I have always happily shared my experience with them. One of the biggest reasons I haven’t pondered making any kind of change is because, when something does happen, I can always call out to people.
The WBM and U.S. Bank have been partners since 1977, and their relationship has endured through some of the most trying moments in recent memory. That includes the time the Woodleys worked with U.S. Bank to qualify for and obtain a loan through the Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP), which was established to aid company owners in maintaining their workforce during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Tiffany Woodley, her brother Terry Woodley, who serves as WBM’s president and chief operating officer, and her mother Robery Woodley are the owners and operators of WBM. Terry Woodley said it is a prosperous company with a rich history that all began with Jimmy.
Terry Woodley, who joined the company at the age of 30, said that when Tiffany and I joined, it was already a good size to support our parents. Since then, we’ve been able to expand and also form a partnership with another building maintenance business that was the idea of my father and Skip Marsden, a close friend of his.
While Jimmy Woodley passed away shortly after the joint venture’s launch and Marsden died before it got off the ground, Terry and Tiffany have watched it develop from an idea to a multi-state, multi-million dollar commercial janitorial, building maintenance and specialty property services company.
We got to where we are with Tier One today because of their mutual trust, Terry added, noting that WBM holds a majority ownership in the company.
The Woodleys and U.S. Bank have a long-standing relationship, as shown through the years and generations.
Jack Golden, a business banking relationship manager at U.S. Bank, said Tiffany and Terry “continue the entrepreneurial spirit and growth mindset that started with Jimmy.” It is a privilege to assist them as they develop Woodley Building Maintenance and carefully consider their company’s future.
As they consider their company’s history, they work with Golden to sketch potential future directions.
The third generation is made up of my children, and they have other hobbies, Terry Woodley remarked. We want to explore our choices for the future of the business while one of us is pursuing a degree in cyber security and the other is pursuing a career as a chiropractor.
It is humbling to look back and consider our history and the road that brought us to where we are now, Terry Woodley remarked as they celebrated their 50th anniversary as Woodley Maintenance Company in 2019. It is a noteworthy achievement for our clients, team, partners, and family.