Convention Reflections: The Owner’s Corner

8/5/2021 (Permalink)

The gears were turning as we traveled home, thinking of ways to encourage Team Wall’s growth and success.

The blog that follows is an excerpt from an article featured in our most recent newsletter: 

We hear the tagline “Independently Owned and Operated” almost every day, but does anyone really have a good understanding of all that it entails? 

When we think about businesses that we interact with on an everyday basis, such as the UPS Store, 7-Eleven, McDonalds, and even SERVPRO, many of them are franchised and independently owned and operated. Even though individuals manage the everyday ins and outs of the business, they receive guidance and support from their corporate team, founders, and central board. 

Data shows that a new franchise, on any given business day, is opened every 8 minutes.  It has also been found that individuals who open franchises have a success rate that is three times higher than that of small business owners. Having a business plan already outlined is certainly beneficial for franchise businesses, but it is not a guarantee for success. Franchise business owners must also be entrepreneurially-minded, gain the loyalty of customers, and cultivate a team that possesses constant hustle. 

A certain husband and wife team took a leap of faith in May 2009, during a difficult recession in our country, by opening a license franchise. This was the birth of SERVPRO Disaster Recovery Team – Team Wall. At the time, questions of “What If?” and the idea of failure never crossed our minds, as we were young, first-time business owners. We were lucky to have successful paths forged by existing SERVPRO franchises to follow. The process of getting to where we are today was remarkable, but it was not without remarkably hard work. 

Here we are 12 years later, with Team Wall owning and operating, through 3 separate metro markets, a total of 12 franchise licenses. We wouldn’t be where we are without the blueprint provided for us back in 2009 when we were just getting started, but now, as “Multi-Market Owners” just beginning our new journey, we are excited to pave our own path. 

Multi-Market Ownership takes place when individual franchise owners operate several license franchises. This business model has been in use for years and examples, such as Dunkin Donuts, Subway, and Anytime Fitness, can be found almost anywhere in the world. In the food industry, for example, some multi-market franchise owners sometimes hold close to 300 licences. Within SERVPRO Industries’ service sector, it is a great privilege for Team Wall to be able to take part in the exploration of multi-market ownership alongside 20 fellow SERVPRO franchises.  

Our journey as Multi-Market Operators, which began during the fourth quarter of 2019, did not necessarily begin as planned. We dove into uncharted territory on the brink of the warmest winter in 100 years and a pandemic, which both threw us for a loop. Gee whiz! In hindsight, that portion of our journey is not one that we would particularly care to relive. Nevertheless, our hardship caused the week of July 20th, 2021, when we gathered for the 52nd Annual SERVPRO Convention, to be a true celebration. For the first time in over 2 years, we had the opportunity to see so many members of our SERVPRO family in-person instead of through a computer screen. 

Among our many takeaways from the convention were powerful inspiration, fellowship, and guidance. We headed back home having gained invaluable lessons in everything from marketing strategies and technology to key accounts and new relationships. Ultimately, we were excited by the prospect of utilizing all of this new information to maximize the services that we can offer our customers. 

At convention, we had the opportunity to bounce ideas off of our peers, discuss both the triumphs and challenges of the past year, and network. In the wise words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”

The collective enthusiasm of everyone at convention was infectious and, as a result, the gears were turning in our heads as we traveled back home, thinking of ways to encourage Team Wall’s growth and success. Being Multi-Market Operators within SERVPRO is a privilege for us and we can’t wait to work our hardest to take full advantage of the opportunity that we have been given. 

None of this would be possible without the unwavering support of our remarkable customers and we are forever grateful. The steadfast enthusiasm and dedication of our team members are equally humbling. Thank you for your support throughout the years and we cannot wait to see what the future of Team Wall will bring. 

With wholehearted thanks and profound gratitude,

Jim and Trish Wall