Women in Business 2011: Sandy Hastings

Solving problems is what Sandy Hastings, president and co-owner of Servpro of Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties, likes best about her job.

Sandy and her husband, Richard, co-own the Servpro franchise in this area. In addition, Sandy serves as vice president of the Servpro Missouri Directorship, which oversees all 33 Servpro offices in Missouri.

Servpro is a professional cleaning service that specializes in carpet and duct cleaning, fire and water restoration as well as mold remediation.

Sandy describes herself as the visionary of the business, which she and her husband have owned for 20 years. "I plan out our five-year goals and see how our cleaning service can best help people in this area," says Sandy. "We also work with the Red Cross and first responders who specialize in disaster relief."

Sandy, who was born and raised in Cape Girardeau, has also worked as "one of the crew" in clean-up for the business. "If we are short-handed, I step in wherever I'm needed," she says.

When asked how she got into the professional cleaning service business, Sandy said, "I married into it." Her husband, who has been in the business for 31 years, owned a Servpro franchise in Delaware and St. Louis before relocating to Cape Girardeau.

Besides solving problems, Sandy says that she enjoys "the satisfaction of helping the people that she meets. Success through service is our motto." Her least favorite part of the job is dealing with collections, or late-paying customers.

Sandy is also active in the community. She is a member of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, serving on the executive board as the first vice president. Sandy serves as secretary of the Cape Girardeau Evening Lions Club and as the recording secretary of P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization for women that she has been involved in since she was 18. Sandy is also a member of New McKendree United Methodist Church and is active in both the music and youth programs there.

Sandy has a daughter, Brittany, who attends Missouri Baptist College, and a stepdaughter, Sarah, and stepson, Brian, who both reside in Delaware.

When asked what advice she would pass on to young women who want to pursue a career in the professional cleaning service, Sandy shares this: "Be confident and persistent. Be self-disciplined and a goal setter. Women can definitely succeed in this field."