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Two Maids & A Mop Featured in Forbes Magazine

Two Maids ForbesThe humble origins of the Two Maids & A Mop brand has been well-chronicled and recognized by several leading publications. But very few people have heard the story of how the brand switched gears from a corporate growth strategy to a franchise concept. We are humbled that Forbes Magazine took the time to profile our brand’s journey into franchising.

Here are a few takeaways from the nationwide article….

“Residential cleaning may not sound like a romantic industry, but Holt was passionate about the business he started in Pensacola, Florida, in 2003. “I had this big vision, early on, to build a nationwide brand,” he said.

By 2008, he had grown the company to 12 corporate-owned stores and 300 employees. But with just four corporate employees overseeing all of those far-flung locations and varying degrees of management buy-in from store to store, the business was running into quality and consistency issues. “We needed more support,” Holt said. “We were having some shortcomings when it came to respecting our systems and the business model.”

Worse, because of the low price ceiling in the industry (Two Maids & A Mop’s competitors are often under-the-table, low-wage cleaners), Holt didn’t see much profitability in scaling up the corporate infrastructure to better manage each store. Holt knew he had to switch things up. He opted for franchising, which would allow him to continue to grow the brand nationally, while local owners would be incentivized to maintain quality and consistency in each store.

Holt eventually found himself inside a Las Vegas hotel lobby sitting next to the CEO of a franchise organization called College Hunks Hauling Junk. The meeting was an accident but life has never been the same since that fateful day. It just so happened that College Hunks has recently experimented with a pilot cleaning service in their local headquarters of Tampa, FL. The two young executives eventually teamed up to provide each business with different benefits. College Hunks taught Two Maids how to become a franchise concept while Two Maids taught College Hunks how to run a cleaning business. Since that day in Vegas, the two brands have worked together to build one of the fastest growing franchise brands in the country.”

Please take the time to read the story on the Forbes website by clicking here: Two Maids Featured in Forbes Magazine.

Interview With Our Washington, DC Franchise Owner

LA Martin of Washington, DC

         LA Martin with CEO and COO of Two Maids & A Mop

Make sure to check out this inspiring article about LA Martin, our franchise owner in Washington, DC. Here’s a quick snippet…..

We recently spoke with LA Martin, owner of Two Maids & A Mop in Washington, DC, about her rise as a house cleaner to franchise owner. She’s grown exponentially since her inception just under one year ago is set to become the dominant housecleaning company in DC.

How long have you owned a franchise?

Two Maids of Washington, DC opened for business nearly one year ago on September 15, 2015. My franchise is jointly owned with a group of very successful business executives that have a long history within the franchising industry. I partnered with superstar franchise executives Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, co-founders of the nationally recognized franchise brand College Hunks Hauling Junk.

What were you doing before becoming a franchise owner?

Prior to ownership, I was an employee within the Two Maids & A Mop corporate office. My most recent role was in Nashville, TN as the Territory Manager for Tennessee. In my years at corporate, I have literally held every position available within the organization; from a real, live house cleaner; Training Manager; Office Manager and all the way to a Territory Manager responsible for three office locations supervising more than 50 employees. My three offices combined to generate more than $1 million in annual revenues in just a few short years, and we were still growing every day when I passed the baton.

How much did you spend before your doors were officially opened?

Between the franchise fee, the office costs, stocking supplies and hiring the first team member, we incurred approximately $70,000 in pre-open development costs. We were fortunate to buy at a good time when our franchise fee was minimal, and the partnership with Nick and Omar proved to be quite cost-effective on the physical office costs because we were able to utilize a great relationship with their local College Hunks Hauling Junk office to share a space. A lot of the costs such as supplies were a large, first-time purchase that could easily be accrued over the opening months, and others are typical costs (such as insurance policy purchases) for any new business.

What does a typical day look like for you?

As the managing partner for the franchise, I am one woman who wears 20 hats any given day. We start our day at 7:30 a.m. with a morning huddle and dispatching the teams before the phone starts ringing at 8 a.m. The remaining business hours are spent juggling sales calls, sending emails, effectively resolving customer service situations, hiring, training, updating social media, scheduling, venturing into the field for quality inspections and in-home estimates, and keeping my team motivated to work hard with a big smile on their face! There’s also accounting, marketing, PR and business planning that happens at any given time of the day when that rare moment of silence happens. Usually for me, that’s about 8:30 p.m. when it’s bedtime for my daughter. Somewhere in there I fit networking events, lunches with referrals, quarterly celebrations for our team and cleaning in the field when we feel a growing pain and overbook ourselves!

What advice do you have for others looking to own a franchise?

Don’t wait! This is an exciting time to become a Two Maids & A Mop franchise owner. As my mother used to say, “You’ve got to get, while the gettin’s good!” There are some exciting markets available for development right now and the home office is predicting very fast growth in the near future. Making the decision to open a franchise allows you to create your own success from a model that’s already been proven to work. It’s so much easier to open a franchised business rather than trying to reinvent a new wheel.

Would you recommend others be franchisees? Why?

I would absolutely recommend a Two Maids & A Mop franchise to anyone who believes that helping others can truly create a successful business. It takes a passion for people, knowledge of business and a little bit of a competitive spirit to really enjoy starting a new franchise, but anyone who believes that hard work pays off will find this brand to be a great fit.

 

Entrepreneur Magazine Highlights Two Maids & A Mop

       The official signing of our very first franchise sales agreement!

Entrepreneur Magazine published an exciting article this morning on how Two Maids & A Mop discovered its very first franchisee!! It’s a must read so check it out:

Entrepreneur Magazine Article on Two Maids & A Mop