Uber. Apple. eBay. Google. Facebook. The media spotlight goes so often to Silicon Valley-based companies that it can be easy to forget that business successes happen all over the country, especially if you're willing to get your hands dirty.
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In fact, if you want inspiration and ideas for starting your own business, you don't even have to leave your house. Just follow the example of these five entrepreneurs.
The basement, attic, air ducts
You can't get much grosser than mold and mildew, but 49-year-old Jeff Dudan found he could really clean up by cleaning it.
In 1992, Dudan was helping a friend remove debris after that Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida. After spending a few weeks in some of the worst messes imaginable, Dudan saw the potential for a business.
His company, AdvantaClean, headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina, is now the largest environmental franchise nationwide, a $50 million-a-year operation with 225 franchise territories in 32 states. AdvantaClean works with homeowners, businesses, government – anyone with a building that needs mold abatement, air duct cleaning, emergency water removal and other related tasks that most people wouldn't dare assume.
Dudan says the rewards go way beyond money. “Empathy comes into play a lot in this work,” says Dudan. "When you're dealing with water in the basement or dampness in a crawl space, you really think, How can I help these people recover? ”
These days, Dudan spends most of his time overseeing the business, and thanks to advances in technology, his franchise owners and their employees aren't usually covered in too much grime. But this has not always been the case. “I cleaned up bodies and crime scenes where people were shot. I've worked on jobs where sewage came through toilets, drains, and showers. Our franchisees don't see pretty much the things I saw in the beginning,” he says.
The swimming pool
Pool cleaning doesn't sound like fun work, and it isn't. That's why Stewart Vernon's business is doing so well.
In 2002, shortly after graduating from college, Vernon, now 37, met the owner of a small business in pool maintenance and repair in Macon, Georgia, who was looking to retire. Vernon took over the man's clients and changed the name – All Seasons Pool &Spa – to something that suggested an ambitious undertaking:America's Swimming Pool Company.
Today, ASP Franchising, LLC, generates 46 million a year with 100 owners operating 254 franchise locations in 20 states.
Vernon always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. He had his own car wash business as a high school student. “Back then, business was more fun than sports,” he says.
At the start of ASP, Vernon often waded through algae-infested pools. It's no longer part of his job description, but employees of his franchise owners still encounter unpleasant tasks. “In Arizona, dust storms sometimes deposit hundreds of pounds of dust and sand in swimming pools,” he says. “Another time there was a traffic accident and a vehicle ended up in the swimming pool.
Stewart likes what he does, but he recognizes a downside. "My close friends always call me 'the pool boy,'" he says.
The house
Ron Holt, 43, is CEO of Two Maids &A Mop, founded in 2003. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, the company operates in 46 markets. If all goes according to plan, 20-25 new stores will open every year for the next five years.
Holt was a chemist in a physical testing lab, supervising scientists. He wanted to be his own boss, though, and so for seven years he shoveled most of his paycheck into a bank account and left it untouched — in a bid to save $150,000 to invest in a business. Nights and weekends, Holt worked odd jobs, mostly at fast food restaurants.
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Holt landed in the cleaning business because he wanted to do something in customer service and felt that the service industry housekeeping was lacking. At first he was one of two housekeepers with the mop, but he soon realized that he had to work on running the business from the office rather than spending his time cleaning the toilets. .
But cleaning toilets gave him a lot of empathy for his franchise owners and their cleaning soldiers. “I put my hands on surfaces that I never thought I could use,” says Holt. "As a former lab director, finding yourself on a bathroom floor, cleaning up [mess] - that's not where you thought you were in life. »
The backyard
Money may not grow on trees, but 34-year-old Josh Skolnick discovered you can make a lot of money by cutting them.
When Skolnick graduated from high school, he had a landscaping and snow removal company that had 100 contract customers, three full-time employees and a large inventory of equipment. Skolnick sold his business in 2007 and the following year he was looking for something else to do when a former client asked him to remove a tree.
Let's just say the experience went well enough that Skolnick was able to diversify. Today, he owns Monster Tree Service, a tree maintenance and removal franchise with 29 units so far. He's also done a lot of green stuff:$11 million in annual system-wide revenue.
Expensive equipment like cranes allow franchise owners and Skolnick employees to generally avoid climbing in trees. Still, Skolnick admits it's a dirty business. "You sweat there, and when you use a tree crusher and crushing stumps, you create a lot of dust," he says.
The Garage
If you go to your garage, you won't find Barbara Moran-Goodrich. But she hopes you'll take your car with hers.
Moran-Goodrich, 51, grew up watching her father run Moran Industries, which focused on reselling and wholesaling automobiles. She became President and CEO of the company in 1999 and purchased the company in 2010. She quickly changed the direction of the company and its name. After all, Moran Family of Brands oversees three franchises:Mr. Transmission, which specializes in transmission and clutch repair; Alta Mere The Automotive Outfitters, an aftermarket parts company; and Milex Complete Auto Care, a full-service auto repair store.
“Vehicles aren't mechanical anymore. We no longer call our mechanics “mechanics”. We call them technicians,” she says, of some of the changes she has seen in the industry. The fact that car engines are more computerized and complex than before has only fueled the success of his business, as owners are even less equipped to perform car maintenance. But it has also made it harder to find qualified millennials to hire. "Fewer people are getting into the trades," Moran-Goodrich says.
But one thing hasn't changed:Fixing cars is still a dirty job. Moran-Goodrich saw it up close in her early twenties when she worked for her father in a rebuilding factory with 50 guys, building transmissions. “The thing I had to get used to was the smell,” she says. “Oil was everywhere. The smell wasn't on the same level as a skunk, but it was pretty close. »
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