FOR 56-year-old business executive Jenefer Brimmer, the road to success has been strictly uphill.

At 14, she was forced to leave school because her parents could not pay her school fees. She went to work at Herbie Simons' lunch cart stationed at PHC Stadium in Warwick.

Today, she is chief executive officer of Thermax Bermuda/Caribbean Ltd. and the Allergy & Asthma Relief Centre. She came to the job after several decades in the hotel industry.

She has been front office manager at Sonesta Beach Hotel, a reservations manager at Elbow Beach Hotel, and account executive of group and incentive sales in North America for the Bermuda Department of Tourism's office in New York City.

Thermax Bermuda Ltd. is affiliated with the Thermax Corporation in the United States and sells a water-based, environmentally-friendly vacuum cleaning system. The Allergy & Asthma Relief Centre sells equipment and products for people with asthma, allergies and chemical sensitivities.

THE store is located on the corner of Dundonald and Union Streets in Hamilton. It is stocked with vacuum cleaners, air filters, special dust mite-free pillows and pillow cases, a substance to mix into wall paint to make it resistant to mildew, a carbon filter showerhead attachment, special hair shampoos and deodorants, items for gift baskets, and nebulisers, peak flow meters and other crucial medical equipment for asthma sufferers.

"The centre opened its doors to provide asthma and allergy management products to the public," said Ms Brimmer, who runs the business with Charles O'Brien. "At that time, these products were not available on the island and Bermudians had to travel abroad to seek these products in order to get some relief. Our centre was the first of its kind in Bermuda."

According to Ms Brimmer, the centre was one of the first places in Bermuda to offer peak flow meters and spacers to local asthma sufferers.

One of the traits of a highly effective business is reputed to be having a mission beyond just making money. The Allergy & Asthma Relief Centre has nothing if not a mission. It wants to improve the quality of life of asthma and allergy sufferers in Bermuda.

To do this, it has sponsored an asthma awareness day; brought a well-known American immunologist to Bermuda for a week; successfully campaigned to bring in certain asthma devices duty free; has negotiated with Bermuda insurance companies to have asthma devices covered by insurance; started an asthma education programme in local schools; launched Bermuda's first asthma charity in 1997 and started asthma support groups in Bermuda and on several islands in the Caribbean.

"I had no idea I would be in this field at this place and time," she said this week. "But it is important that people have more education on how they can manage their health and their lives."

She said a healthy indoor environment was crucial.

"The indoor environment is five times more polluted than outside," she said. "The carpet is the second most dangerous area of your house and your bed is the first, because of all the allergens, mildew and dust mites that reside there. People wonder why they feel bad when they get up in the morning. Mould is one of the worst problems we have in Bermuda."

Ms Brimmer says she does not suffer from allergies herself and got into the business "accidentally".

"My background was hotel management," she said. "As a young girl coming up, I wanted to do one or two things in my life. I wanted to be a fashion designer and I wanted to be able to help people. Unfortunately, my family was not in the position to keep me in school."

Ms Brimmer thought at the time that her early school leaving cancelled out any chance she had of a future.

"Then, years later, when the idea of Thermax Bermuda and the Allergy & Asthma Relief Centre came around I said, 'This is it! I don't need a degree. As long as I have accurate information to share with people I can reach out and try to help them control and manage their diseases'."

THERMAX Bermuda was opened in 1992 and the other business followed a year later. She said people with allergies and asthma needed to look at their medication, their diet and then look at how they were cleaning their environment.

"That is why we provide all the natural products you see out front," she said. "You name it we have it. We try to give them everything they need to make their lives more comfortable."

Ms Brimmer and Mr. O'Brien founded Thermax Bermuda while Ms Brimmer was still working abroad for the Department of Tourism.

"When this was started we hired someone to run the business," she said. "That can be a plus and a minus for any new company starting out. We learned quickly that it doesn't always work.

"That is why I decided on short notice that I would leave Tourism, even though I was enjoying working overseas and enjoying what I was doing."

The stress of working abroad, travelling a lot, and lots of late nights worrying about the new business took a toll on Ms Brimmer's health.

"So I decided to quit and come back and do this full time," she said.

Ms Brimmer said she had managed to accomplish many of her goals even without a high school or college diploma by taking advantage of every career opportunity that presented itself.

"When I was working at Elbow Beach, the general manager said he wanted me to go overseas. I said. 'When do you want me to leave?' He said. 'Next week'. I said, 'No problem'. I was married and I had two children. If you want to advance in your career you can't afford to turn things down, especially if you're a woman.

"With drive, commonsense and determination you can accomplish anything," added Ms Brimmer who has two grown-up sons and seven grandchildren.