The company has retained a leading brand consultant to get the word out, according to Jaccom. “Our challenge over the next year is the branding issue, so that we can really leverage the organizational depth. Every month you will see the unveiling of the FirstService brand starting in January 2009.”

That will certainly help FirstService Williams recruit new talent, and one recent hire may be a portent of things to come. In December, the firm hired Joseph Caridi, former executive director of brokerage and advisory services at Newmark Knight Frank. Caridi will lead day-to-day operations at the company while Jaccom and Freedman hit the road to drum up new business.

“We are in an expansion mode,” emphasizes Jaccom. “Others are trying to figure out if they are going to make it through the storm. We know we will.”

There are many formidable obstacles in FirstService Williams' path, not the least of which are industry heavyweights CB Richard Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield, which have far more experience on their side.

According to a Cohen Financial insider, the structure at FirstService appears to be working. “They have obviously been a great capital partner for Cohen, especially in this challenging environment,” says Tim Mazzetti, executive vice president at Cohen Financial, a FirstService company. “And as far as governance is concerned, FirstService pretty much allows us complete freedom to manage the day-to-day business, getting involved on strategic, capital and budget matters.”

A prominent quote in Freedman's office is attributed to Zorba the Greek: “You have everything but one thing, madness, and man needs a little madness or else he never dares cut the rope and be free.”

Never prone to understatement, Jaccom notes, “We've cut that rope to the past of being part of a network, and now we are going to be one of the conquerors.”

Ben Johnson is a Dallas-based writer.

History of FirstService Corp. in North America

1972

Founder and CEO Jay Hennick starts Toronto-based swimming pool and recreational facility management business

1993

FirstService completes its IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange, raising
$20 million Canadian

1995

Shares of FirstService are listed on Nasdaq

1997

Secondary stock offering in Canada and the U.S. raises $20 million

2004

Acquires CMN (Colliers Macauley Nicholls) International, launching commercial real estate division

2005

Sells assets of company-owned lawn care operation Greenspace Services and two other non-strategic businesses

2007

Acquires The Merit Cos., California's largest provider of residential property management services

2007

Acquires Field Asset Services, a property preservation services firm

2008

Announces divestiture of Security Division to ADT Security

2008

Purchases 65% interest in New York's GVA Williams

Source: FirstService Corp.