About - Jacky Fischer

Getting To Know
Jacky Fischer

About Jacky

Jacky Fischer grew up working in a multitude of crazy family businesses. She is quite sure her parents broke every child labor law.

She received her undergrad from the school of hard knocks and her MBA from Rice University. In 2003, she bought her parent’s moving business and grew it from $3 million in annual revenue to over $40 million.

Jacky just finished her first book, The Growth Paradox, which highlights her industry-disrupting, signature management method aimed at helping small business owners avoid the pitfalls that are most destructive to a company’s growth. As an expert on what it takes to build a multimillion-dollar brand, Jacky loves helping entrepreneurs skyrocket their businesses through proven & unique growth processes.

When she is not leaping buildings in a single bound, she is running the most innovative moving company, 3 Men Movers, and is in the process of starting a nonprofit to help others climb out of poverty.

Jacky’s Story

70s
Love

In the 1970s, my dad, Jack Fischer, was a rebel without a cause. He blew his blue-collar paychecks partying late into the night, dancing, drinking, playing pool, and indulging in the occasional bar room brawl.

One night, he saw my mom, Shirley Ellen, a divorcee with four teenage kids, across the bar. It was love at first sight.

Suddenly, Jack had a wife, four teenage “causes”, and, soon after, a baby (me!) on the way. He needed to make some money fast.

…So he put down his pool cue, cut his hippie hair, bought himself a suit, and started selling Kirby vacuum cleaners.

80s
Strife

The Kirby business went under, so my dad decided to move us to Houston, where he heard the economy was booming.

We arrived just in time for the recession and didn’t have enough money for the return trip, so we dug in. My mom got a job at the public library making minimum wage while my dad started a business building bunk beds. That business went under too, and he was stuck with a junky delivery truck and a stack of bills.

Rich people go bankrupt, and poor people go broke. We were broke. It does something to a man when he can’t provide for his family, but my dad didn’t give up.

In 1985, at age 50, he put an ad in the paper and started moving furniture. Soon he began to get referrals, and his business began to grow.

It was truly a family business. My mom was in the “marketing department” and hand-drew flyers in the evenings when she got home from her day job. I was in the “sales department,” meaning I checked the cassette answering machine after middle school, returned calls, and scheduled moves. My dad was out on the truck moving customers.

90s
Growth

The 90s were years filled with hard work, but life began to get easier and my parents began to smile again. Soon we were able to move out of our low-income apartment and buy a modest home for $27,000 in Katy, Texas. We set up an office in the spare room and made bandit signs in the garage. Growth was slow and organic because banks would not finance us.

As the company grew, I was growing too. I went from a girl in middle school trying to fit in, to a teenager embracing my unique style.

At age 17, I moved out and away from the family business. Later, I got married, and while that didn’t last, I did get two amazing kids out of it.

00s
Transition

My dad suffered a massive stroke, and I returned to the family business to help out. Working together didn’t last, as we still butted heads.

A week after I left, the movers signed a petition to bring me back and gave it to my dad. He offered me a raise and bonus if I would return; I told him the only way I would come back was if he sold the business to me. He reluctantly agreed.

I went to nine different banks for a loan and was denied all nine times. My dad agreed to finance me over the next 15 years.

I started running the business, which grossed around $3 million in annual revenue. I reinvested the money I made, buying new office space and adding more trucks. With false starts, failures, and some success, we set out on a period of rapid growth.

But to take the business to the next level, I had to face the biggest challenge yet: Me! I needed to discover my own leadership style. My Dad was a tough guy, but that didn’t fit my personality. I was still trying to figure it out.

10s
Evolve

I returned to college and earned my MBA from Rice University. With my MBA, I had the best of 3 worlds: growing up in a family business that instilled the importance of work ethic in me and an understanding of how to treat customers. Vistage Peer Mentoring gave me tactical solutions to business problems. My MBA taught me a high-level strategy.

Cloud technology opened up many opportunities to make moving easier for our customers and movers, and we added new technology, products, and locations.

I began to understand the importance of knowing how to create an environment of accountability and how to empower my team. Yet, I was still very hands-on in the day-to-day operations of my business.

Personally, I fell in love and got married again. The kids grew up and left the nest.
My parents moved back to their hometown 40 years after they left and bought a house on the river. My father died in 2016, which left a huge void in my heart as I struggled to understand how to move forward. Much of what I accomplished was aimed at making him proud of me. I began to search for a deeper meaning in my life.

20s
Actualization

A worldwide pandemic hit. We began to work remotely, which tested my thoughts and abilities as a leader. As a business owner, I ventured outside our home state and opened up a new location in Florida and a call center in Panama, Central America.

I now had time to step back and gain perspective on my life and values. I realized that my experience as a business owner could help others. I found a publisher for my first book, The Growth Paradox, which will be available in 2023.

Photos & Media

Book Jacky

While Jacky’s availability is limited, she loves helping others and, when possible, is willing to share her knowledge with fellow entrepreneurs. Her specialty is teaching leaders of small businesses how to create a more accountable and engaged culture which will lead to more profits, less stress, and happier employees. She does this by helping them master The Growth Paradox.

Jacky earns a living by running a successful moving business and uses all proceeds from her speaking engagements, book sales, and coaching to fund her 503c Ladder Down Foundation, whose mission is to help others climb out of poverty.

Getting To Know Jacky Fischer

About Jacky

Jacky’s Story

70sLove

80sStrife

90sGrowth

00sTransition

10sEvolve

20sActualization