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.