About 5 Microns
My name is Pascal Jean-Baptiste, and I am the president and founder of 5 Microns Inc. Before I started our company, I owned a mail-order catalog business that I started in 1996, which I grew to a customer base of just over one hundred thousand customers, it was the dawn of e-commerce, and one of today’s most prominent online companies was rapidly growing its market share and more people were beginning to shop online for consumer goods, this put a lot of pressure on the profits of mail order catalog house which were starting to lose money, and the fact that most mail order houses also had an aging customer base between the ages of 69-85 were beginning to disappear, the Sears Roebuck catalog is an example. Unable to quickly adapt to these changes in the marketplace and without the financial horsepower like many other mail-order houses, the business was eventually bankrupt, and I was forced to close my doors around 2017. At that point, I started drinking heavily and was arrested one night for drunk driving. Thankfully no one was hurt. It was the beginning of the lowest point in my life. The following year we lost our home and were forced to move out and stay with my wife’s parents; at that time, I decided to give up drinking and put myself through alcohol rehab; it was the best decision I ever made. I found part-time work at Home Depot, but surviving was a struggle. Due to the conditions surrounding my marriage, we divorced. At this point, I had to move out and live out of my Jeep. Tired of the struggle, I sought ways to gain new marketable skills. I had heard about a working retraining program in Seattle and decided to visit their office to see my options.
When I got to the center, I met a very kind and helpful woman, a social worker. I told her my predicament, and she patiently showed me all the available training opportunities. Still, knowing that I wanted to own another business one day, she suggested looking at becoming an environmental consultant, and that I would go to different buildings and homes to conduct inspections and testing for contaminants, I had never heard of that line of work before. Still, it sounded interesting, and I was intrigued. The social worker mentioned I could get training if interested, so I jumped at the opportunity. I went into training for a few months and finished first in my class. After graduating, I was hired by the same company teaching the course, an environmental consulting company, which I won’t name. But after several months of work, I was called to the manager’s office, where he told me, “Turn in your keys; today’s your last day.” I was stunned and asked why; he said he didn’t think I would make it in this industry. I went to speak to the owner, asked why I was being fired, and was told that I was taking too long to perform my surveys. It was less than a month before Christmas, and I still lived out of my car. I was saving money to get into an apartment, but that would have to wait since I lost my job. Laying in the back of my Jeep one night in forty-degree weather, I thought I had this new skill, so why not go into business for myself? I took my last paycheck and meager savings and decided to pour it all into my new business, and that’s when 5 Microns was born. I chose the name because my training and work experience were mostly with asbestos; I started by offering asbestos survey services but added others as I went on. People often ask me why not 1 Micron or 3? because the size of an asbestos fiber is five microns in length; I decided to name my business 5 Microns.
I had no money for marketing and no office space, so I rented a mailbox and used the back seat of my Jeep as my office, and it was also my home. I used the local library occasionally as my office, but it wasn’t quiet, and I could only use the private meeting rooms for 2 hours, which went by fast. But most of my time would be spent working out of my car. With my library card, I got free access to InfoUSA, which provides B2B marketing lists. I was able to download a list of 4000 contractors in the WA state area; I bought a TV dinner tray to use as my desk and parked my Jeep at the back of a Safeway to get a free Wi-Fi signal, and went to work 12-16 hours daily, I would cold call and emailing contractors and school administrators offering my services, after about six months, I got my first call, and things kept coming slowly after that. Then Covid hit and set me back for a few months, but thankfully, the governor of WA made an exception for our industry and classified us as essential, and things began to start again. Business more than doubled in the second year and grew 50% in the third year; we continue to grow rapidly, thanks to the support of our customers, staff, and vendors.
No matter how old or where you are in your life journey, you can change your situation if you make that decision, sacrifice, and commit yourself. Have faith, and persevere. If I can do it, so can you.
Pascal Jean-Baptiste (President & Founder)
