Influential Woman · Commercial janitorial

Andrea Williams

Account Management and Sales, ProImage Facility Services, LLC

Nashville, TN

3Awards received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's in Business Management with a concentration in Leadership Degree Frostburg Degree 2012 Degree Two years of community college courses started during senior year of high school Member BOMA (Building Owner Management Association) Member Allied Co-Chair Member CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Member Former Events Director

Her Story

About Andrea

I've been in the commercial janitorial industry for about 11 and a half years now, though I'll admit nobody grows up saying they want to do janitorial work. I actually came into this field somewhat by chance when I moved to Nashville and was working for a marketing firm. The team I work for now was one of my clients back then, and I wasn't very happy with the move I had made, so I was looking for another position. I lucked out because I found a really good team and a really good boss, and I've enjoyed working with them since 2015. In my role, I handle account management and sales, serving as the in-between for our operations team and our clients. I'm the person they call when either side has concerns, issues, or praise to share. I'm also actively involved in professional associations here in Nashville. I'm part of BOMA (Building Owner Management Association) and CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women). I just stepped down as events director for one of them and now serve as allied co-chair for the other. My day typically starts early, around 6 AM, when I'm in my buildings taking notes, seeing what we need to adjust or update, and making sure everything is running smoothly. What I'm most proud of is probably our portfolio expansion. When I first came on, we had about 3 million square feet around Nashville, and our growth with our property management teams has increased that significantly. I was also named Member of the Year by CREW last year, which was a tremendous honor.

Quick Facts

IndustryCommercial janitorial
Based inNashville, TN
Specialty Commercial janitorial, Account management, Sales
- Client relations
- Property management
Volunteers with Thistle Farms support (women's rehabilitation)
- Kamari House support (Murfreesboro)

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Andrea

01What do you attribute your success to?

I'd say getting up early is a big part of it. Honestly, a lot of what drives my success comes from what I learned in customer service during my time in food and beverage - you just gotta care. Because if you're not gonna do it, someone else will, or you're gonna lose that business. I'm normally in my buildings early, I started at 6 this morning, taking notes, seeing what we need to adjust, what needs to be updated or fixed. We make sure an answer is presented within an hour, and if it's not the full answer, we at least acknowledge that we're working on it. The biggest thing is that we're honest and transparent. If we mess up, we're going to say hey, it was us, we'll take care of it, whatever you need us to do, we'll make sure this happens or doesn't happen again. But we'll get it fixed for you.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

Surround yourself with good people, and the work will come easy. Unfortunately, they always say find a job that you love and you'll never work a day in your life, but that doesn't always happen for everybody. I talk to people all the time who love the work, but their boss is awful and they don't want to go to work, or the client they have is super particular or critical and not supportive. Don't get me wrong, there's always going to be people that have that negativity, and everything's not gonna be rainbows and butterflies, but for the majority, if you can have a good boss and you enjoy the work, that's the place to be. Life's too short to be surrounded by people who bring you down.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

My people are what matter most to me. I have great teams that work for us, and we're pretty adamant about making sure that if we're working, we're working with people that we enjoy working with, that are kind, that are nice, and that are going to be good to our team. At the end of the day, if you have a good environment, people are gonna thrive. Whether that's myself or our team members, if they're in a good place, they're gonna enjoy what they're doing and they're gonna care about what they're doing. If I ever decided to leave or change careers or have another child and become a stay-at-home mom, leaving my clients and my team would probably be the hardest part.

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