Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Paul Flick Of Premium Service Brands On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
Build a great team: Success comes from hiring the right people. It took some time, but building the right team has been critical to PSB’s success. We’ve grown exponentially and the right team in our corporate and franchise development teams have only led to even more successful growth throughout our franchise system.
As we all know, over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion about inclusion and diversity in the workplace. One aspect of inclusion that is not discussed enough, is how businesses can be inclusive of people with disabilities. We know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. What exactly does this look like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experience about the “How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Are Disabled “.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Flick, Chief Executive Officer of Premium Service Brands.
Paul Flick is the founder and CEO of Premium Service Brands (PSB), a leading franchisor of niche home services brands, including 360° Painting, ProLift Garage Doors, and Maid Right, with over 1,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada. He started PSB in 2006 with the launch of 360° Painting and has since expanded it into a powerhouse in the home services industry, helping entrepreneurs build successful businesses. A dedicated philanthropist, Paul also founded the nonprofit Kids Lift in 2008, driven by his personal experience raising his daughter- Anne — who was born with Trisomy 18, to support children in need and promote inclusivity.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you ended up where you are?
My entrepreneurial journey started back in college in Windsor, Ontario, where I ran a student painting business during the summers. I loved the autonomy that came with running my own business, controlling my schedule and income. After college, I joined Coca-Cola and quickly realized corporate life wasn’t for me. I hated being a cog in a large company where I had no autonomy. No matter how hard I worked, the paycheck was still the same. Things had to change. So, I saved money, developed a business plan, and came to the U.S. on an E-Visa, starting 360° Painting in 2006. From there, Premium Service Brands (PSB) grew organically as I acquired additional home service franchises like ProLift Garage Doors, House Doctors, and more. The company has evolved into a multi-brand, customer-centric business, but the core of my mission has always been about offering people the autonomy to build their own businesses, just like I wanted when I started.
In the early days of PSB, my daughter Anne was born in 2008 with Trisomy 18. Alongside Anne, the concept of Kids-Lift was born as well. I always wanted to tie my business to a charitable organization in a thoughtful and productive way that focuses on less fortunate kids and their communities. Franchisees across our system have individual causes in their community that help advance the opportunities for kids through their schools or homes. They deserve a purpose-driven life and so does Anne. That is how Kids-Lift came to be. We built Kids-Lift out around the idea of a purpose-driven life and now not only Anne has the opportunities to have purpose, kids around the country can as well.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Perseverance: In 2008, when the financial crisis hit, I had my car taken away and struggled to pay my mortgage. It was a tough time, but I didn’t give up. I adapted and focused on building a recession-resistant business, which led to adding brands like ProLift Garage Doors to Premium Service Brands. This resilience is key in any entrepreneurial journey.
- Open Communication: I’ve always believed in having an open-door policy. Whether it’s with franchisees or employees, fostering open communication has been crucial to maintaining a strong company culture as we’ve scaled. For example, we hold quarterly town halls and monthly calls to ensure everyone stays informed and connected.
- Vision: From the start, I had a vision of building a multi-brand company, even before Premium Service Brands was born. That vision helped us grow into a leader in the home services industry. Whether it’s anticipating the need for recession-resistant brands or staying ahead in marketing and technology, maintaining a clear vision has guided us through challenges.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work-related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
Like I mentioned before, I would say one of the greatest professional struggles was during the Great Recession. The downturn hit us hard — I was in a position where I couldn’t pay my mortgage, and I had my car repossessed. It felt like I had nowhere to turn, but I knew I had to turn somewhere to survive. That’s when I realized the need for recession-resistant services like garage door repair and cleaning. Even in the worst economic circumstances in the history of the country, people were still buying homes and seeking out ways to improve and service them. It was a tough lesson and period to go through, but it taught me how important it is to build a diversified business that can weather a multitude of economic storms. Since then, we’ve expanded Premium Service Brands with that in mind, focusing on services people will always need.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Right now, there are a few things happening at our home office and across our franchise system that are really exciting. One of the most exciting projects is our inclusivity initiative at our home office. We’re working on creating a more accessible and welcoming workplace for individuals with disabilities. This includes working closely with Reagan Stillerman of Stillerman Consulting Group, who has helped us ensure we offer reasonable accommodations and support to employees with disabilities in our home office. One of our goals was to help Reagan get an official process together that could be replicated in most businesses who want to hire someone with a disability. We’re proud to have helped make that happen.
On top of adjusting the workspaces to be more physically accessible and providing ongoing training and resources for our staff, we also provide guidelines for job application processes, interview techniques tailored to individuals with special needs, and strategies for daily task management and office navigation.
With one of our brands, House Doctors, we’ve also just launched a large national program called Aging in Place. This program, in partnership with Age Safe America, is helping creating an accessible and safer home for those that want to remain in their own home as they age. Our franchisees across the country are trained to offer customized solutions for each of the unique needs of seniors, while maintaining the aesthetic and functionality of their homes. This program will help countless seniors that want to age gracefully at home where they belong.
Fantastic. Let’s now shift to our discussion about inclusion. Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiatives to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?
Inclusivity and accessibility have always been close to my heart, especially since my daughter, Anne, was born. This personal connection motivated me to create an inclusive work environment at our home office because I want her and everyone like her to have a purpose-driven life. When we partnered with Reagan to make our workplace more accessible to people with disabilities, we took a leap forward in providing a chance for that purpose to even more individuals.
One of our most significant achievements has been hiring Elisabeth Angeley, our corporate office assistant. Elisabeth has autism and her presence has impacted our workplace culture, showing everyone the value of diverse perspectives and abilities. She assists with essential administrative tasks, and her role is a daily reminder of how people with different abilities can contribute meaningfully to a company’s success. I think everyone here in the office has enjoyed getting to know Elisabeth, we have learned to slow down a little and make sure we are training our team members with full knowledge, patience, and individuality. Her work not only strengthens our operations but also serves as a powerful example of how inclusivity leads to a richer, more empathetic work environment. We’re incredibly proud to have her on our team.
This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have an inclusive work culture?
An inclusive work culture fosters innovation and creativity because it brings in diverse viewpoints. It also boosts employee morale — when people feel accepted and valued, they are more engaged and committed. They have a PURPOSE from their own personal perspective. From a business perspective, inclusivity helps us attract not just top talent, but the right talent that comes from anywhere and build a company that’s reflective of the diverse communities we serve. It’s not just about being legally compliant; it’s about building a stronger, more resilient company.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what this looks like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Can you please share a few examples?
Reasonable accommodations might include modifying workspaces to be more accessible or offering flexible work schedules. For example, we’ve worked with our employees to create customized work environments that meet their needs, whether that’s specialized software or adjusted workloads. For Elisabeth, we made sure her work area was distraction-free and tailored her responsibilities to focus on her strengths.
Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? If you can, please share a few examples.
Some best practices include offering diversity training for staff to help foster an understanding of different abilities and experiences. It’s also important to encourage open dialogue. Creating mentorship programs is another great way to support individuals with disabilities by providing them with a clear path for growth within the company. We’ve also implemented regular check-ins to ensure employees feel supported and that their needs are being met.
We also brought in another young adult with special needs to speak to the whole office at a lunch and learn. She spoke about her story, the benefits of working in an accepting workplace, the importance of feeling independent, and much more. That talk was really inspiring to our office and gave people an understanding as to why we were hiring someone with special needs. Plus, you can’t imagine how much it means for a young adult to have a job where they are treated with respect, are supported, and can create some independence for themselves. Everyone wants that, so it’s no different for people with special needs.
Can you share a few examples of ideas that were implemented at your workplace to help promote disability inclusion? Can you share with us how the work culture was impacted as a result?
We hired Elisabeth and worked with her to create a tailored role that fits her strengths. It’s been amazing to see how this has impacted our culture — her work ethic and attention to detail have not only contributed to our operations but have also inspired other employees to embrace inclusivity. We have a small team here made up of Vice President Vivi Nellen, Office Manager Shandi Bradley, and Launch Systems Program Manager Forrest Brown, and they are dedicated to Elisabeth’s success, comfort, and growth. The whole office is dedicated to making sure Elisabeth is successful and growing, but if a company was looking to hire someone with a disability, the right support structure is crucial.
We’ve seen an increase in collaboration and empathy across teams as a result. Office supplies are organized and labeled much more specifically and clearly. Our office space isn’t a cramped, cubicle-based office- it’s open to allow more collaboration and open thinking. Anne also assists with us around the office as well. Both her and Elisabeth are embodying what the purpose of inclusion is all about. It’s been really fun to see Anne get excited to come in to work with Elisabeth. During some afternoons, they roll a cart around the office offering drinks and sweets we don’t typically have stocked in the office. That’s obviously a perk for us! But it also gives that feeling of purpose to Anne. We’re also moving forward to hire more employees with disabilities. This is just the beginning and I can’t wait to see it grow.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
- Persistence is key: When I lost my car and struggled with my mortgage during the recession, I had to persist to rebuild my business. No matter what came my way, I had a vision of being my own boss and allowing me time to spend with my family. I needed to get there and sitting still wasn’t going to get me there.
- Find your niche: When I first started, I thought any service business would do. It wasn’t until I focused on recession-resistant industries that my business truly took off. After testing the waters of corporate America, I knew that being my own boss in my own niche was more important than the constraints of everyday corporate life.
- Build a great team: Success comes from hiring the right people. It took some time, but building the right team has been critical to PSB’s success. We’ve grown exponentially and the right team in our corporate and franchise development teams have only led to even more successful growth throughout our franchise system.
- Adapt to change: Technology and market trends change, and so should you. That’s why we’ve implemented AI and other tech solutions at PSB to stay competitive. However, as we’ve discussed previously, adapting to change means more than offering the latest technical gizmos. It’s adapting your office to accept everyone and give people the chance at having a purpose and the opportunity for success.
- Embrace failure: Every failure is a learning opportunity. We’ve also recently revamped our franchise system training program. The initial program we built failed, but we used that failure to create something better. Now, we’ve implemented a coaching tree structure that begins day 1 and continues as long as our franchisees are in the system. We’ve already seen growth and business retention in our markets and that came after our new training, coaching, and mentoring regimen.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” — Robert Byrne. I’ve talked about it extensively here, but this quote reigns true every day. We all have a purpose; we must have a purpose to go on and do great things. Everyone deserves the chance.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would love to inspire a movement that encourages businesses to prioritize inclusivity, especially when it comes to hiring individuals with disabilities. There’s so much untapped talent out there, and by making workplaces more accessible and welcoming, we could unlock incredible potential while also creating more empathetic and innovative work cultures.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I can be found on my personal LinkedIn and PSB’s social media accounts, including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at [email protected].
Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Paul Flick Of Premium Service Brands On How Businesses Make… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.