Amy Clegg From Junior Achievement to Successful Owner B orn in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Amy Clegg


was the youngest of six children in her family. Amy’s childhood summers were spent in the Poconos swimming and hanging out at the resorts in the area. In the fall and spring, she attended Catholic school and became involved in Junior Achievement during high school. “We started our own business and learned first-hand about running a company,” Amy said. “I was so involved as a leader in Junior Achievement that I began going to the grade schools to teach children about the business world. Years later, as a business owner, I continued to volunteer at grade schools, presenting about free enterprise and how to get a good job.”


After college, Amy worked for a staffing company in the Poconos. Seven years later, the franchisees of that company went their own ways. The former franchisor told her he believed she had the potential to own a business, so he gave Amy the funding for one year to help her get started. Not surprisingly, at the end of the year Amy was on her own two feet. A few years later, she invested in a second office back in her hometown of Scranton and everything looked rosy.


But Amy and her husband had a personal obstacle to overcome. They dearly wanted children and decided to adopt a little boy from Vietnam and a little girl from Kazakhstan. Within a couple of years they had the family they wanted but life became much more hectic. With two little ones at home, Amy decided to simplify things and sell the Poconos office so she could concentrate on her Scranton office.


In 2008, a friend and former employee who worked at the Express office in the Poconos told Express about Amy and her independent office in Scranton. Before long, Express was calling her, hoping she would join the team.


“I gave them a really hard time,” Amy said. “I asked them why in the world would I want to team with someone else and change our culture? I was very hands-on about my staffing business and I didn’t think there would be any advantage for me to join Express.”


So Amy did some investigating, some thinking, and some soul searching, and finally signed as an Express franchisee.


“Not long after I signed with Express, it became clear that I’d made the best business decision ever,” Amy said. “In 2010, my first full year with them, my business grew 10 times its size. By teaming with Express, I have been able to help more people find work and more companies find great employees than I could ever have done as an independent.”


As busy as she is, Amy still considers every associate special. One of her favorite stories is about a woman named Inge who came in needing a job badly.


Amy placed her as the housekeeper for the owners of a large manufacturing company. During the years, Amy and Inge stayed in contact until it came time for Inge to retire. “At that point, I asked Inge to move in with us,” Amy said. “I had the two older children and a baby on the way, so I needed help with my own family. Even today, Inge is still part of our family, serving as a trusted caregiver for our children.”


After joining Express, Amy and her team have grown and become known as staffing leaders and experts in their market. “Now, we look back at the thousands of people we’ve helped find work, and we feel so good. Today, I’m really happy I joined the Express family. Sometimes I shudder to think how close I came to walking away from this opportunity.”


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