a clean sweep Breaking Into The Business The effects franchising can have on a startup building service contract operation. By: Hal Alpiar W While finding an entry-level job in the cleaning industry can be a straightforward affair, starting up a service business can be difficult. From business licenses and local regula-tions to taxes and equipment, the process of starting a service business from scratch intimidates many potential entrepreneurs. One option many newcomers may ex-plore is a franchised cleaning operation. Based on an existing business model and guided by other franchise owners, new op-erations created in this system can gain a head start on existing operations and indi-vidual startups. Success can have more to do with an owner having a positive attitude and wanting to make the most of the opportunities at hand. From Teaching To Cleaning Mercedes Vargas is one example of a build-ing service contractor (BSC) who found success through franchising. According to Vargas’ 14-year-old daugh-ter Dyana, “My mother was trained in Peru to be an elementary school teacher, but when she brought my brother Christian and me to America, she realized quickly that not having mastered the English language would hold her back from teaching here.” The Vargas family feared the uncertain-ties of their new environment, yet they were determined to make things work. A friend in New Jersey who was working for a HEITS Building Services franchise in-troduced Vargas to the company. With the help of other friends and the company’s management, Vargas was able to scrape together just enough money to buy her own franchise. to attend college; he is now enlisting in the United States Army. Further, income from the franchise helped Vargas’ daughter return to Peru for six months of accelerated schooling to catch up with students at her grade level in the U.S. Vargas is also learning English as she runs her business, says Giuseppe Grammatico, a master franchiser who oversees 72 active franchise operations in New Jersey. Grammatico worked his way up to a suc-cessful Wall Street broker career selling mutual funds to financial advisors before joining the company in 2007. He was searching for a more secure, more recession-proof business for himself and his family. Then, he met HEITS Building Services Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Founder Da-vid Heitner in Hasbrouck Heights. company’s continued certification pro-grams. Grammatico says that these franchises work best for people like Vargas who have the interest and determination to make all the pieces work. Successful owners also must have a strong sense of human relations and su-pervisory skills. Grammatico cites the qualities and work ethic that came from Vargas’ teacher train-ing background as the key reasons for her success. With others, small business and corpo-rate management skills can provide the right fit, he says. Today, a franchise’s success has more to do with the owner having a positive atti-tude and wanting to make the most of an industry-leading opportunity, Grammatico concludes. Keys To Success According to Grammatico, Vargas bought into one of the best-value franchises, and she ended up with a professional cleaning fran-chise available at a “highly attractive” price. Grammatico notes that franchisees are “fully supported with guaranteed revenue streams, uniforms and training in every aspect of customer service, equipment op-erations and chemical safety.” Ongoing training is provided to em-ployees and management through the July 2014 Franchise Results Using earnings from her cleaning franchise, Vargas supported her son and allowed him Hal Alpiar ● National award-winning business development consultant/marketer/author ● Four years SBA Advisory Council ● Five years National Committee for Quality Healthcare ● Assisted 500 startups ● Trained 20,000 managers ● Wrote six books, 100 websites ● Three years daily business radio host ● Three-time business Editor-in-Chief ● Pace University and Ocean County College Professor-of-the-year ● Instructor U.S. ARMY ● BBA, MBA, plus MA equivalent ● New School for Entrepreneurs ● Advanced Advertising Institute ● Blogs at www.BusinessWorks.us. 48 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® Image courtesy of NemanjaZs/iStock/Thinkstock
CMM – Archives July 2014: 48
