Express Employment Professionals Receives Small Business Award

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Main News Photo

In 2016 when Levi Julian was still with Subway, he placed an order from the franchisee home office and included in the packaging materials was a Fortune 200 magazine. He looked through to see what franchises were ranking high and when he saw Express Employment listed, he immediately liked the concept and felt it was the type of business that would offer a “hand up” in the community. After doing his research and completing all the initial steps, he began looking for office space and after walking up and down Main Street he found the perfect space in January 2017.  He officially opened his franchise for business that following May and because his relationship-building process began long before they opened for business, Express hit their Fast-Track goal within the first six months of opening. Since then, Levi has expanded quickly.  In 2018, Levi opened an office in Hays in September and an office in Newton in October.  Next, in 2020 he expanded to Southwest Kanas and opened an office in Dodge City in October and is getting ready to open his fifth office in Garden City.  Levi said his expansion success comes thanks to finding the right people in the market who could take charge and run the office well.  In the four short years his office has been opened, they placed first in the Midwest for average weekly client growth in 2019 and achieve second place in the Midwest for Gross Margin Increase in 2020. Their office also joined the “Bronze Circle of Excellence” for the first time based on their 2020 performance.

One thing that sets his office apart from other staffing agencies is that he is a local, small-business owner who has access to the resources of a large, international company, including market analyses and data information. There are many programs they can offer, and they work to be the best business partner they can be. At Express, they have the ability to offer education to youth and adult populations to help shape their soft skills and employability.

While Levi is grateful for all their success, their rapid growth has also been a challenge. He sometimes says that he would not have expanded as quickly as he did in the beginning if he had to do it all over again, but it comes down to having the right person in place to run the operations. While there was financial stress and risk in expanding so quickly, the fact he had the right person to run the offices and that there was market demand for their services outweighed those risks, and it has paid off for them.

Levi believes in giving back to the community and currently serves on the Downtown Kiwanis Board, the Rotary International Board, President of Hutchinson Executive Association and Outreach Chair for Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. He is also a former Chamber Board Member, former council member of Young Professionals of Reno County, and he is active with the Downtown Coalition. Express also sponsors numerous Hutch Rec events, including Muddy Hutch, Trail & Treat, and the Daddy-Daughter Dance.

Their business makes a difference in people’s lives and gives people hope. People come to them to keep a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs, and food on their tables. They have the opportunity to connect people to companies they might not have ever known about. This business has really opened Levi’s eyes to all the employers in Reno County and beyond who are doing amazing things in the world of manufacturing. He said the greatest reward of their business is when they place individuals and, in a few cases, begin getting work orders from those people because of the position they have moved into. It is a challenging but very rewarding business.

Thank you, Levi, for all you do for our community.

Category: SBA