Born and raised in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Mandy Rennehan faced financial difficulties growing up in a community that relied on a seasonal fishing industry. However, her entrepreneurial spirit emerged at the young age of 10, when she foraged for bait and sold it to local fishermen. Fast forward to her late teens, Mandy left home to explore her passion for construction and to make her parents’ lives easier. She worked for local contractors for free to gain experience and founded Freshco in 1995 at the age of 19.
Today, Freshco is a retail maintenance and construction firm serving Fortune 500 companies in Canada and the Eastern United States, such as Anthropologie, Apple, Home Depot, and Nike, among many others.
A Blue Collar Revolutionary
Mandy Rennehan, the CEO of Freshco, is determined to change the way society looks down on blue-collar workers. She aims to bring a blue-collar perspective to the white-collar world and promote the trade field as a rewarding and innovative career path. With the purpose of encouraging women to enter the trades, she has given motivational speeches, established scholarship and mentorship programs, and currently hosts a home improvement reality television series called Trading Up on HGTV.
Turning the Hook on Brilliance
Mandy’s family struggled financially when she was growing up, so she had to take odd jobs that made use of her robust physique. She had so much of a hankering to get her hands dirty that she started calling random building firms to offer her services. She was able to put her skills and diligence to use at a flooring firm, where she ultimately found employment. At 19, she started Freshco and has subsequently grown it into Canada’s largest and most financially stable retail maintenance company.
A Paradigm Shift Towards Inclusivity and Creativity
Being a leader in transparency and innovation, as well as an outspoken supporter of women in trades, Freshco has earned a reputation as the “fun brand” in the construction and maintainence sector. Mandy argues that it’s crucial to raise awareness of the trades as a cutting-edge, secure career path that calls for proficiency in sophisticated math and physics. When it comes to training employees, Freshco relies on artificial intelligence and technological advancements, such as the creation of exoskeleton outfits that allow contractors to demo without risking injury. Mandy wants Freshco to expand across North America and encourage the next generation of blue-collar workers to take charge in the trades.
The fact that Mandy Rennehan was able to go from selling bait to founding Freshco is evidence of her unshakable resilience and dogged determination as an entrepreneur. She has emerged as a blue-collar revolutionary and a loud champion for women in trades, in addition to campaigning for transparency and innovation within her profession. She is also an advocate for women in the trades. Her story might serve as a model for those who, on the path to accomplishing their goals, must surmount obstacles and challenges.
Interested in learning more about the scholarship or mentorship programs that Mandy offers? All you need to do is visit the official site, read and apply at https://mandyrennehan.com/mandy-cares/. For collaboration on commercial or bigger projects, you can reach out to Mandy’s company at https://freshco.ca/about-us/.
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