ONE Business Solutions: Inc. 5000 List Profile

Meet the most inspiring companies in 2020. If entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of an economy, consider Inc.’s ranking of 5,000 companies America’s circulatory system. The Inc. 5000 annual report looks at these fast-growing innovators and what they are doing that sets them apart. This year, fourteen Knoxville-area companies made the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America. The Knoxville Chamber has worked to build a profile for each of the businesses that have been nominated, learn more below.

1. Tell us about your company – how did you get started, what inspired your business.

ONE Business Solutions was formed in 2019 after our owner, Janet Livingston, had surveyed the field of businesses she owned… including 4 Answering Services, a Business Process Outsourcer, and a Call Center Consultancy and recognized a parent brand might be beneficial. At the  same time she also bought an alarm monitoring and installation company — which in a matter of only a few months — became ONE Service Pros. A sister company that housed plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and the security piece. 

The creation of all of ONE really started in 2014 with Call Center Sales Pro. Janet returned home to Knoxville (Seymour, specifically) to take care of her parents. Once the move had been made, her husband, Jeff Livingston, joked “how long would it take to start a new service”? Given that Janet previously had successfully managed, sold, and was set to retire comfortably from the Answering Service business (with a brief stint as a restaurateur just for fun!). Janet laughed and replied “…well, maybe I’ll just consult for a while.” And here we are… at the top of the ride once again!

What inspired Janet, and all of us at ONE, is really simple: PEOPLE. Janet is a mom, through-and-through. And she takes that passion for people — seeing them work hard, and thrive for their families — and she leverages it to stand up responsible and hard-working companies. It’s all to provide service for folks that makes either their homes or businesses run as smoothly as they can be (with just a lil’ bit of help from us, of course!).

2. What factors do you attribute to your growth last year?

For ONE, it’s really a commitment to make smart decisions based on data — not instinct. We look at our operations as a singular unit. Through one hub, we collect, monitor, review, analyze, adapt, and execute decisions that ultimately let us continue to scale across the verticals we service. This has allowed us to take on 4 verticals in the service professional industry, to fielding answering service and BPO solutions for several major business types — most importantly to us Medical and Health Care, legal services, property management, and small businesses.

In addition to this, Janet would be sure to hang our success on the hard work put in by her teams. From our senior team (assembled experienced industry veterans operating remotely across the United States and Canada), to the individual agents working in Seymour. Everyone has a job to do, and the passion to get it done. And it doesn’t hurt that we do it all with the ideology that we can succeed (and, yes sometimes… fail) together. 

3. How do you see your company evolving and/or what are your plans to sustain that growth in the future?

Our plan is to continue doing what we’re doing. In these chaotic times, we have to be mindful to not “bite off more than we can chew”. At present, each new client won is met with individual attention and care to see we’re providing the best service possible. From the Answering Service side, we’re in process of standing up new websites that highlight the breadth of our work, while we also keep eyes on consulting with centers to help  them improve to. It’s really all a matter of ensuring we’re “out in the marketplace” delivering our message and responding quickly when the call(s) occur.

On the service side? Well, it’s ALL about brand recognition! We’ve recently signed a TV advertising deal that will see us on the air for the next year (!). So, our goal is to deliver some memorable ( not cringe-worthy) spots that highlight how ONE Service Pros lives by the mantra “ONE call, we can do it all!”

And we also plan on giving back to the community. We are once again participating the the Boys and Girls Club annual golf outing, and will be partnering throughout the year with the Knoxville Chamber — and Janet’s church — to make sure we are giving back to the community that gives us such great employees and customers.

4. Are there any aspects of operating in the Knoxville region that has been instrumental in your growth? 

As Janet would be apt to note: Seymour is really on the rise! We’ve carved out our niche down on Chapman highway. Beyond a great location though really are great people. Not to labor the point too severely… but we are a PEOPLE-driven business. And our success is wholly due to the warm hearts and hard-working souls of the Knoxville citizens who work for us, and with us. Knoxville is a city on the rise, and the combination of metropolitan access, and country charm has meant great homeowners opening their doors to ONE Service Pros technicians… and some of those same great people coming to work as agents in our center!