Jeff Dudan

And I realized that that industry was very heavily controlled by franchise systems. So I'm like, well, then we should be a franchise system. We shouldn't join a franchise. We should be a franchise. So I hired our first one in 97, just got some education on it. I actually created our franchise company in 2000. But, you know, lack of focus leads to a lack of greatness.

Our company was growing so fast on the direct business side that there was no resources, time or energy spent on the franchising, number one. And number two, there was a lack of alignment with my partners. They were fearful. They were very comfortable building a lifestyle contracting business. And I was willing to do it for as long as it took to get us where we needed to go.

Our company was growing so fast on the direct business side that there was no resources, time or energy spent on the franchising, number one. And number two, there was a lack of alignment with my partners. They were fearful. They were very comfortable building a lifestyle contracting business. And I was willing to do it for as long as it took to get us where we needed to go.

But that wasn't what I signed up for. In our second year, in 1995, I moved to Charlotte by myself and started our second location. And we became the thought leader. We became the innovator. We actually weren't operating under AdvantiClean at the time. We came up with the brand. We got the trademark. We said, we need to change our name now because we're going to be a franchise organization.

But that wasn't what I signed up for. In our second year, in 1995, I moved to Charlotte by myself and started our second location. And we became the thought leader. We became the innovator. We actually weren't operating under AdvantiClean at the time. We came up with the brand. We got the trademark. We said, we need to change our name now because we're going to be a franchise organization.

So all of that started happening around 2000. But when you have partners that everybody has to be aligned, until I bought my last partner out, we couldn't make any progress on it because there was just too much info. And honestly, the innovations that we came up with in our North Carolina location, which was probably 80% of the revenue coming through there. We created our commercial services group.

So all of that started happening around 2000. But when you have partners that everybody has to be aligned, until I bought my last partner out, we couldn't make any progress on it because there was just too much info. And honestly, the innovations that we came up with in our North Carolina location, which was probably 80% of the revenue coming through there. We created our commercial services group.

We created our government contracting division. 90% of the revenues were being generated by our office. And that office, the original office, was having a real hard time making the transformation over to the current business model. And ultimately, my last partner, who was a wonderful man, he was an incredible mentor. but he wasn't one that could deal with a lot of stress.

We created our government contracting division. 90% of the revenues were being generated by our office. And that office, the original office, was having a real hard time making the transformation over to the current business model. And ultimately, my last partner, who was a wonderful man, he was an incredible mentor. but he wasn't one that could deal with a lot of stress.

And he ultimately kind of got a little sick and just was like, you know, I need you to buy me out. So hurricanes hit central Florida in 2004. There was three of them that crisscrossed there. We ended up doing about $4 million worth of water damage in about 90 days. And that's very high margin work. And that provided cash for me to go to him.

And he ultimately kind of got a little sick and just was like, you know, I need you to buy me out. So hurricanes hit central Florida in 2004. There was three of them that crisscrossed there. We ended up doing about $4 million worth of water damage in about 90 days. And that's very high margin work. And that provided cash for me to go to him.

And it's funny, I hired a mediator to help us negotiate the sale. We had real estate. We had multiple commercial buildings. We had lots of assets. We had the franchise business, which was nothing at the time. And then we had our operating business, which was significant.

And it's funny, I hired a mediator to help us negotiate the sale. We had real estate. We had multiple commercial buildings. We had lots of assets. We had the franchise business, which was nothing at the time. And then we had our operating business, which was significant.

And the guy's like, I've never been in a negotiation where the buyer was trying to give the seller more than he was asking for, and the seller was trying to take less. So we were inversely negotiating against each other. I'm like, Dan, you've built this. You need this money. He goes, well, I don't really, you know, that's a lot. You know, you're taking all the debt.

And the guy's like, I've never been in a negotiation where the buyer was trying to give the seller more than he was asking for, and the seller was trying to take less. So we were inversely negotiating against each other. I'm like, Dan, you've built this. You need this money. He goes, well, I don't really, you know, that's a lot. You know, you're taking all the debt.

And I'm like, so it was interesting. And the guy's like, I've never seen anything like it. But I think that's a testament to that partner. His name was Dan. And he was just a really good guy, very giving. And then I'm not the hardest business guy out there. I care deeply about our franchisees' success.

And I'm like, so it was interesting. And the guy's like, I've never seen anything like it. But I think that's a testament to that partner. His name was Dan. And he was just a really good guy, very giving. And then I'm not the hardest business guy out there. I care deeply about our franchisees' success.

Part of being a good franchisor, business is too hard, especially for entrepreneurs and first-time business owners to just go to the contract and beat them over the head with it when they're having a legitimate problem. understanding what they need to do or the stress of it. It's such a shift for them to put that entrepreneurial suit on for the first time.

Part of being a good franchisor, business is too hard, especially for entrepreneurs and first-time business owners to just go to the contract and beat them over the head with it when they're having a legitimate problem. understanding what they need to do or the stress of it. It's such a shift for them to put that entrepreneurial suit on for the first time.

And you really have to have patience and empathy and a real intent that these people are going to be successful. And sometimes it's tough love. And sometimes we make mistakes in a program or an advertising thing or something like that that has an impact on them. Sometimes they make mistakes that we've got to parachute in and help them resolve a lawsuit or a problem or something like that.