City Wide of Westchester, White Plains
New York City resident Michael Binz had worked on Wall Street for many years and decided in 2019 to change careers but continue to live in the area.
Binz said last week he took the summer of 2019 off to decide what to do for his new career. He was introduced to representatives of City Wide, a building management and maintenance franchise organization. “Because of the uniqueness of the business model, I was sold,” Benz recalled. “I think it’s a great business.”
Binz said he was interested in having independence by owning his own business. Binz said he worked with City Wide for several months to prepare before opening his City Wide of Westchester franchise in White Plains on Feb. 3.
Owning his own business has been a “really unique and fun experience,” Binz said.
City Wide has 60 franchises located throughout the United States. “We’re a management company,” Binz said. “We provide a wide range of services to commercial building owners and managers.” City Wide has a 90 percent client retention rate nationally “which is really unheard of within the maintenance industry,” Binz noted.
Some of the services managed by City Wide include janitorial work, window washing, carpet cleaning and outdoor lawn maintenance, Binz said. “The building owner hires us,” he said. “They have one point of contact, because of that we represent the client.”
Binz said his company determines which independent contractors its clients should choose. “We vet them. We take care of the payment,” he said. “We’re available 24-7.”
“We provide a lot of customer service, which is not something that’s prolific in these industries,” Binz said. “We get out to the client quite often.”
“I’m constantly recruiting and looking for new independent contractors,” Binz said. The companies he hires are local. “I feel like we’re helping to grow the local economy,” he said.
City Wide provides services, which means its clients do not have to deal with multiple vendors and invoices, Binz said. “It’s really kind of a transformational type of business model in this industry,” he said.
So far most of his clients are from the White Plains area, Binz said, adding his coverage area includes Westchester and Rockland Counties and the Bronx.
“By the end of the year I expect to have enough buildings, enough facilities” to be able to hire additional staff, Binz said.
“Our mission actually is to save our clients and solve their problems,” Binz said. “We do that through this great business model.”
City Wide of Westchester is located at 280 Dobbs Ferry Rd. in White Plains, Suite 209. For more information call 315-889-3272. The business is also on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
