The cleaning industry, a recession proof job market, will allow one soon-to-be graduate a way to make a living immediately.

It’s no secret that, while the economy is finally beginning to turn around and the job market is once again becoming something that those on the hunt are not terrified of, it is still no walk in the park.

Students who are graduating from colleges and universities are especially affected by the recent economic downturn and the weak, sometimes non-existent job market.

The task of searching for a job, especially one in the field the student has been studying for throughout the past two to four years, can seem like a job in and of itself.

But one soon-to-be graduate is bypassing the arduous process of job searching and creating one of his very own.

Humble Beginnings

Bruno Lima, 23 years old, was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

For nearly 15 years, he and his family have lived in the U.S., and they currently make Utah their home.

Upon moving to the U.S., the family’s first language, as was to be expected, was not English, but Cambodian.

The language barrier, in the beginning, didn’t allow the family to pursue a variety of avenues for income.

Lima’s father was the first to gravitate towards the cleaning industry, picking up small cleaning jobs in various places before deciding his future lay in becoming his own boss via a franchise opportunity.

Lima’s family has been in business for themselves, under the umbrella of a franchise, for as long as he can remember.

The business has been a family affair, with his father running the business, his mother handling finances and the rest of the family filling various roles within the business.

Come fall, however, Lima will break out on his own.

An Unconventional Job Search

Lima’s post-graduate plans aren’t going to follow the typical resume sending path that the rest of his classmates will embark on.

Lima will be a master franchise owner, responsible for an estimated 20 franchise operations that he will open throughout the state during the remainder of 2013.

While he will graduate from Brigham Young University with a degree in mechanical engineering, he sees little wrong with jumping right into the family business of cleaning, rather than starting a search for something more aligned with his talents.

The bright spot in this, though, is the fact that, once he has his diploma in hand, there is no anticipation of what comes next.

Knowing his next step, Lima has been able to prepare for his post-graduate time and will enter the workforce far more prepared to be a master franchise owner than many of his classmates will be to enter the beginning stages of a job search.

Education, Lima knows, is important; it isn’t just a means to an end, but it is a means to a path to follow in life.

The path Lima has followed and will continue to follow upon graduation, however, will afford him life lessons that a classroom education simply cannot.

He will learn, first hand, how to manage a business, manage employees and how to ensure that a business not only survives, but thrives.

Room For Growth

With graduation still months away, Lima already has eight franchises that are his alone, not working under the umbrella of his father’s master franchise.

Once the rigors attached to academia and graduation are out of the way, he will be able to focus on expanding his businesses and giving those who work for him the same opportunities that he and his family were given as immigrants from Brazil.

Working for himself, while balancing school and a blossoming young family, has taught him the importance of things like time management.

Starting a business before having a diploma in hand might sound like counting his chickens before they’ve hatched, but Lima has seen the success of owning a master franchise first hand from his father.

Lima is, in a sense, paying it forward: He and his family have been extremely successful following and concurring the American Dream, and now Lima can help others follow in his footsteps.

He had a dream, and he followed that dream to its conclusion.

“I love a man who dreams and says why not,” he said.

Go into business for yourself, bypass a shaky job market and enter an industry that is virtually recession proof to ensure a vital business for years to come.

Why not, indeed.