Steve Healis graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with an engineering degree but quickly realized he did not want to be an engineer. Procter & Gamble only hired engineers for their entry-level supervisory positions because engineers would have a better understanding of the technology – BUT they had to find engineers who also had people skills. Steve started as a supervisor in the laundry detergent (Tide, Bold, etc.) packaging department and, after two years, was promoted to warehouse manager. During this time, he learned how to hire, fire, discipline, motivate, and manage professionally.

Later, he was recruited by Frito-Lay as the Sales Operations Manager, overseeing distribution facilities and the truck fleet in the Pacific Northwest. His last corporate job was as Sales and Customer Service Manager for Technicolor Videocassette in Newbury Park, CA. They duplicated videocassettes for all the major studios (Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, etc.), and it was here that Steve learned about corporate sales and customer service. Six years of corporate jobs, combined with his engineering background, prepared him perfectly for business ownership.

In 1988, a friend from Procter & Gamble asked Steve to join him in growing his part-time janitorial business. Steve said yes, and in six years, they grew the company from one employee to 50. Seeking more, they split in 1994, and Steve started Avalon Building Maintenance, Inc. with 20 employees. Over the next five years, he grew it to 450 employees, making the Inc. 500 list. Engineers with Steve’s degree were known as “efficiency experts,” and he incorporated a limousine as a mobile office, equipped for work on the go.

In 2002, Steve was approached to sell his company but declined because key employees would be let go. Instead, in 2003, he sold the company to his top employees with a 50-year royalty agreement. This allowed Steve to create a unique way to sell businesses that gives the seller a lifetime of residual income while enabling employees to buy the business with no money down. He has since helped many other businesses sell their companies this way (PassTheBaton.com).

This reduced schedule over the last 21 years has allowed Steve the time and resources to launch various businesses, including an employment agency, a computer company, and a home cleaning company. He has started 25 total businesses with 28 partners, employing over 1,500 people, and recently launched a logistics company that helps people receive, inspect, store, deliver, and install high-end furniture in their new home or office.

Steve lost his only daughter to mental illness and got divorced in 2018. In 2021, Steve met Andressa in Brazil, and they got married in 2023.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at REF Orange County.