Meet Brandon Jarrett

We recently connected with Brandon Jarrett and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandon, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

Through out my life Ive always been told I had innate talent or was “smart”. I coasted on my ability to logic answers instead of putting the actual work in. On top I had medical concerns that kept me from habitually being able to attend school.. Although this was challenging I used it as an excuse to not push myself and fulfill the potential i was told i always had. This habit carried on through out college until I graduated and wasn’t under the shielding of academia. My first jobs out of school each taught me the same lesson that my parents always told me but was reiterated so that i couldn’t forget. Your word is all you have to stand on at the end of the day. If you can’t do what you say you are going to do; whether that’s showing up to work consistently despite ailments or not allowing things outside of your control in distract you from the goal at hand then you intrinsically less valuable therefore expendable. Being fired was the biggest wake up call anyone could ask for and showed me the consequence of what it meant to live a life of excuses and unreliability.

This led me to lean on the lessons that my parents taught me and witnessed them practice. My father, a retired judge/college professor, and my mom, recently retired AG teacher, each showed me what sacrifice and hardwork can provide. In addition to them one of my biggest inspirations was my former boss and mentor Rich Volk. I worked for him for 8 years. Learning the trade of dry cleaning and laundry in great detail. The biggest thing I gleaned from him was that leading from the front with your employees creates moral boosts since youre there grinding and fighting with them. Also is There is no job too big or too small that you shouldn’t be willing to do. That sacrifice and success go hand in hand. I pushed myself as hard as I could and when I didn’t think i had anymore left I pushed some more. Whether that was me working 12 hour days 6 days a week to cover shifts or eventually commuting 5 hours daily to open the store, work a 12 hour shift and keep a smile on my face the entire time no matter how i felt. I can honestly say Rich changed my life and helped me start to tap into the potential that everyone always said I had .

Everyone’s experiences shape how they choose to view and interact with the world. I believe these situations and people were put into my life at the most opportune time to teach me what true work ethic was and how if i chose to practice those methods the sky is the limit.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Grew up in NJ and moved to NC in the 4th grade and eventually found my way to East Carolina University where i initially was a trombone performance major. Music was a very big part of my life and still is to an extent. MY old dream was to be a studio/symphony trombonist. After two years of constant practice i lost some aspects of passion and realized i had a cap in my potential to be great unless i made drastic changes to how I played. I eventually switched and graduated with an English degree with a minor in classical studies with intention to attend law school. My dad’s a retired judge, aunt worked for the attorney generals office in DC and another cousin who was secretary of state for North Carolina. If i chose to live the life of a civil servant I had ample contacts to get a start. I even took the LSAT and got a 161 but with modest effort. This feeling or lack of satisfaction rued in my head and created a lot of indecision for what i should do next.

During this time frame I started working at a Bowen Cleaners in Greenville NC. This was my second experience working at a cleaners since after my freshman year i had to take a medical withdrawal and work at A cleaner World in apex, nc while i wasn’t in school. For me that was a very fun and fulfilling job. I enjoyed the social interaction, working with my hands, and constantly moving around. I thrived in this environment so much so that the general manager would always pull me aside and say when i was done with school id always have an opportunity with him. So now at my second stint in the dry cleaning world I felt like the universe, god, or something was trying to show me a path the find happiness my own way. With that thought in mind and my mind clouded with indecision i couldn’t pass up the chance to do something that was meant for me and not was others thought i should do. I ended up talking to the owner privately about longterm goals we came to the agreement that I would stay on with him and run his pick up and delivery service. Fast forward 7 years and his route had grown 65% and was outperforming all his stores but the main plant. The initial plan was to buy him out and take over eventually but when his daughter changed her mind about jumping into the family business my plan of staying there longterm as well changed.

The owner pushed me on the idea of starting my own laundry route with East Carolina University and neighboring apartment complexes and ever since that moment ive pushed to make that dream a reality. Before I had a chance to start i met my now wife who was at the time a medical school student. Once she was done and matched in Virginia Beach i chose to continue my dream and commute 5 hours daily to keep my place at the job while i networked and planned my business out to start when we moved back. I got to the point where after talking to three chancellors and was going to present to the housing board that the official news of the bosses daughter becoming the new owner came out. With that I didn’t feel the need to stay in Greenville long term since ownership of that and expanding it with a laundry delivery business was always my plan. So when the opportunity to move to yakima, WA appeared for my wife, a pediatrician, we took a leap of faith and moved across the country. Although this delayed my dreams it didn’t stop them. Without her support I wouldn’t be here now fulfilling the promise I always said I wanted to do.

Laundry to some seems like a very odd thing to get into to most but i sincerely enjoy the work. Providing a service that can help generate more time for people to do what’s important to them gives me a lot of gratification. There’s a lot of trust when you give your personal garments to someone else and my goal is to always exceed expectations to the best of my ability. With Eastern Select Wash I want to be the face people can trust to help them get through the day.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Resilience, Work ethic, and being of your word. No one wants to hear excuses. If you want to achieve anything focus on task at hand and not what can or can’t be done, If you want it you’ll figure it out.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

When starting any business brand strength is everything especially when you’re dealing with peoples personal items. Ive made an effort to put my face in front of as many people a possible despite being high anxiety. Although its out of my comfort zone we only grow by pushing ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/eastern_select_wash/profilecard/?igsh=YWlkeHE0eHQ5M2k3
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