She Moved Halfway Around the World at 18 and Found Her Future in Franchising After watching her mother run businesses in Indonesia, Josephine Suryono knew she'd one day do the same — just on a different continent.
This story appears in the September 2025 issue of 91³ÉÈË. Subscribe »
Josephine Suryono moved far away from home, but never escaped the lesson she grew up with. As a child in her native Indonesia, she watched her mother manage multiple automotive dealerships — and it inspired this lesson: "Deep down, I always knew I wanted to build something of my own," she says.
At 18, Suryono came to America for an education. She earned a degree in industrial engineering from Oregon State University and an MBA from University of California, Davis, then spent nearly a decade working at Hewlett-Packard. But the entrepreneurial drive stayed with her. So in 2007, she left the corporate world and bought her first franchise (an indoor children's entertainment center). In 2017, she opened her first AtWork Group, a staffing and recruiting franchise, followed by a second location in 2023. Here's how she's generating millions of dollars from those businesses.
What drew you to AtWork Group?
AtWork was the perfect fit, because it offers a scalable business model with less capital risk and it aligned with my goals for growth. Also, staffing is one of the few industries where you can directly impact someone's life, whether it's helping them land their first job or take a big step forward in their career. It's very rewarding to be a part of that. So AtWork is a great blend of a smart business opportunity and meaningful work.
Your locations generated nearly $10 million in 2024, and you're projected to hit $12 million this year. What's driving this growth?
We've landed a couple of large clients where we manage their whole facility and we recruit for them exclusively. So this year, it's just been a matter of execution to reach that projected 20% growth.
What is your strategy for building and keeping strong client relationships?
From day one, we've been very intentional about building deep relationships — not just recruiting but taking the time to understand client business models, pain points, and goals. We're a strategic partner, and 70% to 75% of our new business every year comes from referrals.
What's one piece of advice you consistently give job-seekers?
The job market is getting tougher, so you have to put effort in. For every job out there right now, there are hundreds of candidates that apply. You need the right résumé. You have to be willing to apply for 50 to 100 jobs and attend multiple interviews.
Related: What It's Really Like to Become a Franchisee: Expectations vs. Reality
What is your biggest challenge today, and how do you address it?
Staffing is very competitive. Every client that we work with also works with other agencies. If they don't hire from us, we don't get paid. So we have to address it by delivering the best candidate, but also very fast. That's tough.
If you could go back to 2017 and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
I didn't know the type of team or employee I needed, so I made a lot of mistakes hiring the wrong people at first. So the advice would be to hire the right people for me — someone who's driven, who takes full ownership of the work, holds themselves accountable, collaborates well, and leads.
What does success look like now compared to when you started with AtWork?
We were the first AtWork franchisee in the Greater Sacramento area, so it was about making money and establishing the brand. Now, success is about scaling the business and building a team so that I can become a semi-absentee owner someday.
Related: How to Be A Wealthy Franchisee
