Prime Retail Services President and CEO Donald Bloom started out his work life as a CPA. Today he leads a company with more than 800 employees.

Electrician Devon Turner reviews blueprints for a Popeyes location in Blairsville, GA. Myriad Electrical Contractors is Prime Retail Services’ electrical division, which serves the southeastern United States.

“Picture a pond that is smooth and clear. There’s a big blue sky, a sun and white clouds. You’re standing there in that perfect moment of silence. You take a pebble and throw it out in the middle of the pond. You see those little waves going in every direction around the pond back to your feet.”

These are the words of Prime Retail Services’ President and CEO Donald Bloom, and these are the ripples he wants to create in the world. For him, each ripple represents another life positively impacted by what started simply as his company’s mission: “To be great at managing projects and to make a long-term impact on those we come into contact with.”

Primed for Growth

When Bloom started Prime Retail Services (Prime) in Flowery Branch, Georgia, in 2003 with two partners, it was a fixture installation company. Almost from the outset, the entrepreneurial trio was working with big names such as Lowe’s, Walmart and Target. When the Great Recession hit in 2008, it became clear that Prime needed to diversify: Enter Prime’s general construction division.

It was then that the company obtained general contractor licenses in every state requiring one and got to work expanding its services nationwide. Today, Prime works in all 50 states.

Prime continues to build upon its success, opening the Prime Retail Canada division in 2012; moving into industrial and commercial electrical contracting in 2018; and becoming a network integration provider, with a division called Prime-Net, in 2019.

“We’re really a turnkey service provider for the retail sector,” explains Brett Broadrick, Prime’s Director of Organizational Development. Prime can provide tenant improvements, new store build-outs, renovations, brand rollouts, point-of-sale and close-circuit TV set up, network installation and more. Prime customers range from big-box retailers to quick-serve restaurants to hotels, urgent-care clinics and banks.

“We really consider anything customer-facing to be retail,” Broadrick says.

Prime specializes in “active environment special projects,” which are typically instances when a retailer doesn’t want to shutter operations during improvements. This may mean crews are working overnight to get the job done or taking special mitigation steps to keep a space functional during an open-store remodel.

Last year, Prime temporarily shifted its focus to partnering with retailers to roll out COVID-19 safety features on a large scale. This included working with 1,300 locations of a national dollar-store chain.

As spending priorities shifted and some states faced shutdowns due to the pandemic, these installations were a welcome source of revenue, Broadrick says.

“It helped out tremendously because, in the second quarter of 2020, we had a lot of projects put on hold; so being able to get out and do that type of work helped to keep our people busy.

“We had to make some hard decisions in 2020,” he continues. “We did have a layoff that was extremely painful to go through, but it allowed us to really right size and to weather the storm. Since then, we have been able to bring some of the workers back, and we’re starting to see a strong schedule for 2021.”

Donald Bloom: From CPA to CEO

The ups and downs of business weren’t something that founder Bloom originally imagined facing. He started out his career as a CPA, and when he realized he didn’t want to continue in public accounting, he invested in a small handful of businesses as a way to generate passive income, Prime Retail Services being one.

“Before I knew it, I was in the industry, working crews and developing relationships with clients like Lowe’s,” he recalls.

“The more I got involved, I really enjoyed working with people, both the customers and being in front of our employees. That led to the day-in and day-out of running a business and learning leadership skills; making mistakes and trying to recover from those mistakes.”

Bloom surprised himself when he developed such a passion for the business. At one point, he’d considered leaving the company. But he came to see his role in a new light, and he eventually bought out the other owners and established a mission for the company that matched his personal values. The business allowed him to continue to be a devoted husband and father while creating a company that would eventually provide jobs for 1,000 people.

“It’s cool to have something that you have passion about and love doing,” Bloom says. “It’s very difficult and very challenging but you’ll see the rewards. Not the financial rewards necessarily, but just the rewards of changing people’s lives.”

Making Impact with Jobs

When Broadrick was brought on board in 2017, his job was to oversee workforce development.

“Donald had a vision of building a workforce across the nation, what we later called ‘a thousand strong,’ ” Broadrick says.

The goal was to have 1,000 workers employed within 16 months, and Broadrick’s charge was to make that goal happen. (And he did.) He hired virtual recruiters in Washington, Texas and South Carolina to help in the effort, as well as connected with nonprofits and workforce development organizations in the communities they work in across the country to tap into the local employment pool.

Prime’s plan and Bloom’s BHAG—that’s a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal—is to impact millions across the globe, starting in the communities where they work. “The larger we grow, the more people we impact,” Broadrick says. “That doesn’t just look like giving people jobs; that looks like growing people’s families and growing communities. Being in that retail sector really allows us to be in the heart of those communities.”

Prime partners with organizations that serve those facing drug addiction and recovery, homelessness, transitioning from incarceration, and refugee and inner-city populations.

“They need a job, they need a paycheck, they need an opportunity to develop a career,” Bloom says. “By working directly in those areas and providing resources for those people to assimilate back into the workforce, we’ve seen people change their lives.”

Industry Involvement Nets Success

Bloom emphasizes his company’s first goal is still to provide quality results for its customers. “We have to be diligent with our business. We have to have work, and we have to do it in a manner that’s professional.”

To that end, Bloom has spent time serving on industry association committees and boards, helping build best practices for Prime and for the industry at large. For example, many of Prime’s field superintendents are certified though the Retail Contractors Association, a designation that demonstrates their knowledge of the retail sector.

Bloom says his involvement in those groups also had a hand in building relationships that have spanned the length of his career in retail. “The biggest surprise [for me] is that this is a huge industry—we’re talking about some of the largest companies in the world that we work with—but it’s a small, connected industry at the same time,” he says.

The company is now building relationships across the southern border into Mexico, with its division Prime Mexico. Like its sister division, Prime Retail Canada, the expanded reach came about because Prime’s U.S. clients had business dealings elsewhere in North America.

The state of Georgia took notice of this expansion, honoring the company with its GLOBE Award in 2019 for local businesses contributing to Georgia’s economic growth through global trade. The award is a public measure of Prime’s impact, Broadrick says.

None of this outward-facing success would be possible without laying the groundwork for a strong team. Providing employees with the resources they need to grow and succeed is another way Prime creates positive impact.

Broadrick points to Brooks Sullard, who oversees field leadership. He’s often in the field taking time one-on-one with field superintendents, “so they can really be great leaders for the field crews.

“You can never sit back and think the culture’s going to be OK,” he says. “It’s something you have to give attention and intention to on a daily basis.”

Reaching Up

Bloom makes it a point to take some quiet time each day for prayer and reflection—preferably with a good cup of coffee—as a time to check in and ensure he is giving attention and intention to both his business and personal callings.

“My faith has allowed me to look at this [work] as an opportunity to be strong and to help others in difficult situations.”

Bloom encourages other business owners to see how they can help in their own communities.

“It has to start with that first step,” he says. “Reach out to someone in your community and come alongside them."

“Hopefully that legacy we leave is life changing.”