Spotlight on courage: Kenneth Flowers, veteran and small business owner

From the military to full-time entrepreneur

It’s especially rewarding when we can celebrate Veterans Day by celebrating one of our own customers. Kenneth Flowers started his small business, Affordable Professional Cleaning, after serving in the military and as a way to make more money for his family.

He was motivated to start a small business so that he could broaden his horizons and create career opportunities for his future children.

Kenneth decided to  purchase business insurance through Hiscox to prove to customers that his small business is reliable and prepared for any risks that may arise in the process of performing cleaning services.

Watch as Kenneth recounts his journey from military service to small business owner.

My name is Kenneth Flowers. I’m the owner of my company, Affordable Professional Cleaning. I joined the military early. I was seventeen, I was still in high school, and they showed me a broadly different world than what I was used to.

Having those experiences helped me to decide, ‘Hey, I don’t have to live the lives that my family did.’ With that motivation, I decided to go out and try something new; try something that I felt like would be much bigger than myself.

I was definitely nervous starting my own business. Running a start-up is difficult, but with my military background, I think the biggest variable was that I knew how to stand in front of people and share my idea with the people and get the people to understand and believe in the idea I’m sharing with them.

I want people to know that, from the beginning, you can trust us, because we know what it means to serve. Hiscox has given me the confidence to expand, primarily because I had to trust my employees to do things without me being there, and knowing that we’re insured if anything was to go wrong, that takes a lot of stress off of my shoulders.

Every person in America wants to say that, ‘I run my own business.’ And I can say that and legitimately mean it. If I could speak directly to the people at Hiscox, I would just say, ‘thank you’. I appreciate the great customer service, I appreciate the timeliness in handling matters, and I appreciate them always having my back.

Looking for even more entrepreneurial inspiration?

Check out our exclusive video with Hiscox customer, Emily Charette, owner of a creative design studio. And learn more about how Hiscox can help protect your small business.