Female Influencers Spring 2018: Nicole Contro-Pieri

“Don’t let a male-dominated industry stop you from pursuing your goals,” says Nicole Contro-Pieri, president of Flood Support, a local, family-owned disaster relief service.

As a new mother almost 20 years ago, Pieri started her own home business so she could be available for her children. She bought a truck and equipment for her small carpet cleaning service and set out to obtain as many commercial accounts as she could. During the day, she conducted business calls from home with her son by her side. In the evenings, she cleaned the commercial properties. As the first successful year came to a close, she researched ways to expand her business. She learned about the insurance industry, emergency service industry, and construction, and was soon licensed and expanded the business into a restoration company. Today, Flood Support provides emergency service for all water and fire damage—locally as well as in national disaster zones. The mission of Flood Support, Pieri says, is “to help make a traumatic situation less stressful for our customers and ease the burden of putting their lives and homes back together.”

Pieri’s heart for small, close-knit communities goes back to her roots in the city of Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs, where she grew up with friendly neighbors who knew and cared for one another. “Walking to the small family-owned stores, playing outside in the streets, community gatherings—I always loved that,” she says. Fifteen years ago, she was seeking that kind of community when, she says, “I came back to the first place I ever looked for a house—Kennett Square.” Shortly afterwards, Pieri’s parents moved to the Borough. “I was so excited to have them close and part of the community I loved so much. Kennett was now our community too.”

Although Pieri doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar shop, she’s happy that her business is part of the community. “Small business is the glue to any community,” she says, and “the growth of Kennett Square has been so exciting every step of the way. To see all the wonderful small businesses thrive is amazing, and so many of the business owners have become great friends.” When Pieri and her family experienced a traumatic time, she says, “The love and support from the community in times of need was like nothing I’ve ever experienced . . . it was overwhelming. That is the kind of community anyone would want to be a part of. Love, compassion, concern, support.”