Les Wells has always enjoyed his freedom, and he’s had more of it than ever over the past 17 years. Wells has enjoyed the freedom to make more money, the freedom to make more friends, and the freedom to spend more time doing the things he enjoys doing. That’s because for the past 17 years he’s been a technician with Creative Colors International in Jacksonville, Florida.

Wells started off driving a tanker truck. “Actually, I went to church with Doug Waitekus, and he approached me about an opportunity with Creative Colors. I didn’t even know there was such a thing,” says Wells. “It all sounded interesting, but at the time we didn’t do it because I’d been driving a semi for six years and I was in a really good job situation… at least for about eight months.”

Then came the layoff.

“The company I worked for lost the account I was hired on for, so they ended up laying me off.” Wells took a chance and called Waitekus to ask if the opportunity was still there and it was… sort of. The opportunity now included a move to Jacksonville, Florida. Wells and his wife knew this was a chance that was too good to pass up, so they packed up and moved.

Wells had never heard about Creative Colors International, and never even knew you could do some of the amazing repair services provided by the company. But Wells credits his father’s love of tinkering with helping him pick up the CCI processes so quickly as well as his trainer’s amazing abilities.

“In about a month and a half, I was out on my own. Doug is amazing in his ability to fix things — or to figure out how to fix things. He’s the best I’ve ever seen at making colors and fixing things,” Wells said of Waitekus. “If I ever have a problem or a situation or run into something I’ve never seen before, I call him. He’s either done it before or he will figure out a way to fix it.”

It’s true: “WE CAN FIX THAT!”

Wells spends most of his time working with auto dealerships, but he says it’s not just about making a repair and dropping off a bill; for him, it’s about building friendships and relationships.

“I want them to understand this is a personal relationship, not just a business transaction for me. If customers trust you, trust that you’ll do a good job and that you’re not going to mess them over, that you’re going to take care of their stuff, then they are going to call you again and be happy to see you because they know you’re going to fix it right!”

“I really pride myself on that aspect of this job. We’ve created a name for ourselves in Florida and they know we are going to do a good job. I get a lot of referrals,” says Wells. And that’s good, because referrals are like money in the bank!

“I like the freedom of it, but I also like that if I want a raise, I go pick up another account. If I want to take next week off and make a little more money for a trip, I work a little more this week,” Wells explains. “And Doug and Jill Waitekus are the best bosses I have ever had. They respect what we do. Doug gets in there when he needs to get in there, but most of the time he just lets us do our job.”

Being a Creative Colors International technician must be working for Les Wells or he wouldn’t have stuck with it for 17 years (in fact, here are five reasons why technicians thrive with CCI).

“Truck drivers are making good money now, but I have no desire to ever drive a truck again. I’m an immediate gratification kind of guy.”

And if you, too, are looking for a little more freedom and you’re eager, energetic, and self-motivated, then a career opportunity with CCI might be for you.