Working with family: Its a double-edged https://www.bekins.com/ sword. Its great that my kids see hard work and have developed strong work ethics, but its very difficult to have family functions or birthdays and not talk about work. An advantage is not only getting to see each other every day, but my grandson was sick this week, so my daughter had to take yesterday off, and everybody kind of fills in where needed. That's a huge benefit; everybody tries to look at the big picture.
The moving and storage companys on-premise warehouse is overflowing with customers belongings, a clear sign that space is getting tight.
On keeping happy employees: I think you treat people the way you want to be treated. I dont want turnover, so we try to retain employees by paying them well. I want them to have nice things in life, because if theyre struggling week to week and theyre not really gaining anything in life, theyll lose hope quick. We dont really treat them as employees, even. Its sort of an extended family. We throw a pig roast for them at the end of summer. We have a Christmas party every year for everybodys families. We try to keep everybody happy.
How the Sheridans got into the moving business: My brother and I never really had any desire to attend college. We tried it, but it wasnt for us. A neighbor down the street knew of a local moving company and asked if we wanted a job. We were only 17 or 18 years old. We didnt mind the hard work and liked the customer service aspect of it. Two of the most appealing things about it were that you were working outside and its the same job, but every day is different.
We like being in the city. I like the atmosphere and the mentality of this part of the city. Its constantly growing. Theyre doing a lot of nice things up and down University, East, Blossom and Winton. Its a great area where economic development is happening, said Mike Sheridan, 52.
On long-term goals: Wed like to eventually get into some sort of public storage, because the demand for that is amazing. Our storage facility isnt for everybody. We tell customers, If this is something you have to get into on a regular basis, were not the storage for you. We have the traditional vaulted containers in our warehouse where we stack them up. This isnt a garage door, a 10-by-10. It would just be another way of offering another service to our customers.
Although president and owner Mike Sheridan hasnt found a new space yet for the facility, one things for certain: He doesnt want to move far.
Today, the brothers also work with Mike Sheridans two kids and his stepson.
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Jinelle Shengulette is a Rochester-area freelance writer.
On a successful partnership: Were an agent for Stevens Van Lines out of Saginaw, Michigan. Weve been a top-ten agent four years in a row every year that weve worked with them. They have about 130-140 agents total. Were partners for long-distance moves. We handle work in the Rochester area and some in Buffalo, Syracuse, Fort Drum and the Southern Tier. Its been a good relationship. A lot of times, we do the booking and we run under their authority and they subsequently give a percentage.
On the driver shortage: A shortage of drivers, not only in our company but in the trucking industry in general has been tough. So many drivers are retiring and not enough people are getting into the industry. A few years ago, the average age of tractor-trailer drivers in the moving industry was 56 years old. We decided to offer to help anyone that planned on staying with the company get a class A or B license. It has worked well so far.
He founded the business in 1986 with his brother Joe and ran it until 1992 when the housing market crashed. In 2003, the duo started up again, and business has been increasing year over year.
Sheridan Brothers Moving is rapidly outgrowing its 21,000-square-foot facility on University Avenue.
Jinelle Shengulette 12:01 a.m. EDT April 16, 2016
Mike Sheridan(Photo: Photo by Jennifer Sheridan)
Information: Sheridan Brothers Moving, 1350 University Ave, Rochester, NY 14607. Call (585) 254-9000 or go to www.sheridanbrothersmoving.com.
When the company rebooted in 2003, it relied on rental trucks and employed only the brothers. Today, Sheridan Brothers have 15 of their own trucks and 30-45 employees depending on the season. For the past five years, Mike said the company has been experiencing 20 percent growth annually.
We spoke with the Irondequoit resident recently about company pig roasts, being named a top-ten agent and more.
