"It is the priority of all men to dream big. It is the priority of an American to make that dream a reality." - Harold Rushing
Yet, Harold’s dream had been for a family business, and this dream was realized in 1982 when Harold's son Marty joined his father to make his business officially—a family business. During their many nights of cleaning floors together, Harold and Marty would talk family and talk shop. It was during these shop talks that they became aware of the growing needs of their clients and potential clients. Retailers needed a more complete floor care and maintenance program to keep the physical foundations of their businesses strong.
Rushing Enterprises developed two programs: a complete floor maintenance program and a full-line fleet cleaning program. After these developments, Rushing Enterprises expanded, servicing customers with both programs in six southeast states using their own company brand of floor cleaning and fleet cleaning products.
However, Harold and Marty were not finished dreaming. From executing the floor cleaning and fleet cleaning programs, the father and son began to realize that Rushing Enterprises’ own floor service and fleet cleaning equipment needed, at times, repair and service work. Once again, Harold’s and Marty’s entrepreneurial spirit came to the forefront, developing a fully functional service department capable of servicing and repairing all types of floor cleaning and fleet cleaning equipment.
A Family Business: Harold Rushing’s American Dream
It is the priority of all men to dream big. It is the priority of an American to make that dream a reality. Such is the case of Harold Rushing, a family man with an entrepreneurial spirit and an innate drive to make his American dream happen. In October, 1974, Harold found his future in floor care through a rental service for dust mats and mops.
At first the business was a part-time venture, but in 1976, the business went into full-time operation—a unique service where dust mats and mops were cleaned and delivered to businesses in southeast Alabama, southwest Georgia, and the Florida panhandle. As Harold distributed dust mats and mops during his first year of full-time operation, he became aware that a need for a floor cleaning service was evident in many of his clientele’s businesses and operations. Pulling on his drive and entrepreneurial spirit,
Harold expanded the scope of his business and acquired his first floor cleaning job in 1977 at a local grocery store in Dothan, Alabama. It did not take long for Harold to realize that floor cleaning could actualize his dream. Putting his efforts into developing these meager beginnings, Rushing Enterprises evolved into a major floor cleaning service.
As the family business grew, Harold worked alongside his son for many years. Marty used this time to learn the business from his father, and in 2004 Marty bought the business from his father when Harold retired. And since then, Marty has realized meat markets and delis needed some type of sanitation system to insure the safe handling, storing and processing of meat and other foods. In 2004 Rushing Enterprises developed a full- line sanitation program. Marty has carried on his father's entrepreneurial spirit, growing the business into a 17 southeastern state operation. Marty has also carried on his father’s vision of a family business, inviting his sons Addison and Alex into the business, making it more completely the family owned and operated business of which Harold had dreamed.
The Rushing family attributes their many years of success to their loyal customers and to keeping their clients’ best interests at heart. From its conception, Rushing Enterprises has always been concerned about how to better serve its customers. It’s a matter of pride that the family business has been built on such a noble foundation. In the future, Marty, Addison and Alex will continue to realize Harold’s dream as Rushing Enterprises will remain a service driven company that will continue to evolve in keeping with the floor maintenance, fleet cleaning and sanitation industries.