Macon Magazine

"The recession was really the best thing that could have possibly happened to my business," said Vernon. "When you look at the amount of people who were forced out of corporate America, and forced to revaluate their future and their life, a tremendous amount of business-minded individuals were, I like to call it, forced into entrepreneurship." Vernon said that the franchise owners ASP has obtained because of this "covers the spectrum of virtually every industry out there," from pharmaceutical sales reps to bank presidents. The economy also didn't hurt the sales side of the pool business. "We were very concerned that everybody would fire their pool service, but what we found was, we were really able to capitalize on the fact that most people stopped a lot of their discretionary spending outside of their home. " What ASP found was that people were staying home more, which worked to ASP's advantage. "Once people realized the world wasn't falling off a cliff, then they actually began to reinvest money in their backyard. They felt like they would rather have a nice clean, shiny-looking pool as opposed to taking a week-long ski trip somewhere." With all the growth that the company has seen, and all the success that Vernon has known, he remembers that Macon is his home and a big reason for how his professional life has turned out. Vernon sees a great future for Macon, one he personally spends a lot of time investing in, whether it's serving on the boards of organizations such as the local chamber of commerce and The Children's Hospital at The Medical Center of Central Georgia, or talking to Mercer University about bringing a seminar in entrepreneurship to the campus to encourage more entrepreneurs. And he sees this city as on the way up. "We have stayed firmly rooted in Macon; we know that the business was started here and has had success being run from here, this is certainly our home," he said, referring to his father, Minor Vernon, a long-time Macon pediatrician, and now his own family, wife, Shannon, and two children, Stewart Jr., 6, and Sloane, 2. "It's a city with a lot of history, and a lot potential at the same time." M N for ow Su Reg mm ist er erin 20 g 13 TAKING ADVANTAGE OF BAD TIMES 2013 IllustratIon by EmIly schlottman They were able to tap into a slew of such individuals thanks to one of the roughest economic downturns in our lifetime. The recession paved the way to ASP's success, both in terms of candidates for franchise partners and growth for the company's sales. Camp Eagle Stratford Fine Arts, Enrichment Academics, Sports Camps Academy Ages 3 to adult • May 27-July 26 478-477-8073 www.stratford.org/campeagle april/MAy 2013macon magazine I 43

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