Category Archives: Franchise News

Highlights from Two Maids & A Mop 2016 Pink Blazer Cruise

The Pink Blazer Club is the most exclusive, most honorable designation for any franchise owner in the Two Maids & A Mop network. To be included, a franchisee must be produce the best bottom line performance within its peer group. We define peer groups as stores that have been open for less than two years and stores that have been open for more than two years. This year’s recipients include franchise owners Wes & Jaime Kulaga of Tampa, FL and Jim & Krystal Torcivia of Knoxville, TN.

The Pink Blazer Club receives special treatment throughout the entire year as a result of its strong operating performance. Private fishing charters, exotic vacations, caribbean cruises, invite-only dinners and VIP tickets to special events are just a few of the rewards a Pink Blazer Club member can receive. Of course, one of the most attractive benefits is the pink blazer itself. It’s an honor to wear the blazer and everyone in our franchise family understands and respects the symbolism behind this unique jacket.

We’ve just returned from a caribbean cruise to Cozumel and are already looking forward to the next excursion. Check out the scenes from this year’s cruise and congratulations to this year’s Pink Blazer Club members!

The 12 Days of Franchising Tour Interviews CEO of Two Maids & A Mop

Ron Speaking at 2016 IFA ConferenceOur CEO Ron Holt was asked to participate in Franchise Interviews; a nationally recognized podcast dedicated to the franchise industry. Make sure to check out the podcast as Ron discusses the power of vision, the power of systems and the power of unit economics. According to Ron, “Almost every success that I’ve ever had since maturing into a adult started with one single vision. Nothing can ever guarantee your success but you can be guaranteed to fail without a proper vision”.

The podcast series is centered around the holiday season and offers listeners a free surprise gift. Today’s surprise gift is an exclusive interview with the Michael Gerber; the author of E-Myth; the franchising industry most heralded book on systems management and documentation.

Please take 15 minutes to check out today’s interview: Ron Holt Interview with Franchise Interviews Podcast.

Franchise Times Magazine Profiles the Two Maids & A Mop Story

Two Maids Home OfficeFranchise Times, the leading magazine serving the franchise industry, recently published a great article on the early days behind the Two Maids & A Mop brand. Our story is a true rags to riches journey and we’re honored to be included in such a prestigious publication.

Our founder’s story has always received great recognition that documented the difficulty of building a business with little resources. Ron’s story includes everything from odd jobs on the weekend to living an extremely frugal lifestyle. His passion of turning a small business into a national brand required serious dedication and grit. Those early life lessons continue to serve him today as the CEO of Two Maids & A Mop. Ron sums it best inside the article.

“Today Two Maids & A Mop is a multi-million dollar business, and yet Holt owns three pairs of shoes, one of which is flip-flops. “Once you become a frugal, obsessed person, you always stay that way,” he confesses. Holt is that guy who had a comfortable six-figure salary in corporate America, but harbored an insatiable entrepreneurial itch. In his case, he was a director of a lab for an international company. “It was a comfortable job with a nice career path,” he says. “I just wasn’t satisfied; I felt trapped.” Like most executives who cross over to the entrepreneurial side, he didn’t feel his ideas were being well-received by management. So on one particularly bad-traffic day, he made a life-changing decision all entrepreneurs do—to have no life. “Once I closed that car door, I became a different person,” he says. He decided it was the last time he’d feel so powerless—no matter how much he had to sacrifice in the process.”

Make sure to spend a few minutes reading the rest of the great article. We believe that you’ll learn a lot about our brand’s personality. Click the following link to access the article: Franchise Times Article.

Two Maids & A Mop Named Top Low Cost Franchise in America

Franchise

Franchise Business Review, a leading national franchise market research firm, has recently published its list of the nation’s Top Low Cost franchise opportunities. Two Maids & A Mop is excited to be included in the publication and proud to be the feature franchise concept on the cover of the magazine. The magazine reports that more than 11,000 franchise opportunities with a total investment less than $100K are currently available for development. The magazine conducts extensive research by speaking directly with franchise owners from every brand to compile the list of top franchises.

“It’s an honor to be included in this year’s list of top low cost franchises,” said Ron Holt, CEO & Founder of Two Maids & A Mop. “We’ve come such a long way since our early days and I’m so thankful that our current franchisees appreciate the brand and its operating systems. This particular recognition is extremely valuable since franchisee satisfaction is the primary criteria used during the evaluation of each opportunity.”

You can view the entire list of the nation’s Top Low Cost franchises by visiting the Franchise Business Review website.

CEO of Two Maids & A Mop Discusses The Story Behind The Brand

Ron Holt - Two Maids & A MopRon Holt, CEO & Founder of Two Maids & A Mop, went from managing chemists and engineers to cleaning dirty toilets … literally. Ron’s company has been ranked by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing cleaning companies in the country for the past four consecutive years, currently boasting 31 fast-growing franchised units. His number one pivotal strategy for success is having grit … and not just the grit you clean up.

He lives and dies by this philosophy: “When you hit those moments when failure seems imminent, you’ve gotta have grit to fight through it. Money is less important than grit. From the highest level executive in the ivory tower to the lowest level employee, to succeed in business, you’ve gotta have some grit.” He was attracted to this “unsexy” industry and his reasons and strategy are fascinating.

If you want to learn more of the Two Maids story, if you want to learn how to motivate a blue collar staff, if you want to learn how to use grit to build a business into a nationwide brand, then make sure to check out this amazing interview.

Click RIGHT HERE to listen to the 30 minute interview.

Profiles in Success: Anthony Truong

Two Maids Orlando

The Two Maids & A Mop business model offers a unique approach to a very old, static industry. Our brand disrupts the residential cleaning industry by using a variety of innovative technological advancements; including real-time online scheduling, social media brand awareness and digital media lead generation. Our growth has been so phenomenal that Inc. Magazine recently recognized us as the fastest growing cleaning company in America. The secret to our success certainly starts with the business model. But honestly, the true secret to our success ends with our franchise owners. In this series, we’d like to introduce some of the superstars within our franchise family.


Anthony Truong – Orlando, FL Franchise Owner


I was working inside my office one afternoon when the telephone rang. On the other end of the line was an energetic guy that was ready to take over the world within sixty seconds of the conversation. I immediately fell in love with the guy because, well… he sounded a whole lot like me thirteen years ago. Of course, this future titan of business is none other Anthony Truong; proud franchise owner of the best maid service in Orlando. Just wait until you hear his story.

Anthony was born in Saigon in 1973, just two years before the Vietnam War officially ended. Growing up in Vietnam was especially challenging due to the lack of food, running water and electricity. In those days, electricity and water were provided by the state on a random basis only. The only food source that was available to the people was Daphnia Seeds, the same exact stuff used to feed livestock. His parents were desperate to provide their children with a different way of life and devised a risky plan to escape the communist country. Anthony’s father and older brother decided to escape the country by floating on an old, wooden boat for seventeen days. Eventually, the boat found land on the shores of Thailand. His father and brother fought off multiple pirate attacks and suffered through extremely difficult weather conditions. It was an harrowing experience and death seemed assured. Once safely in Thailand, Anthony’s father and brother were herded into a camp already overcrowded with other Vietnamese refugees. They remained there living under difficult conditions for two solid years until they were brought to New Jersey by sponsorship of a local church.

Things did not improve until Anthony’s father and older brother were able to relocate to the United States. Both got jobs and worked hard to send money back home to help support Anthony and his mother. And after six years of separation, Anthony’s family was finally able to reunite at JFK International Airport in New York. Anthony recalls the moment vividly.

“I can still see my father and brother smiling, crying and waving in the glass waiting room inside the airport. I was overjoyed. I loved my father dearly and had missed him ever so much. I raced through the customs building, hurdling the cement steps and fell right into my father’s open arms. I wept tears of joy as he hugged me and kissed me. I knew my life had changed forever at that exact moment.”

Anthony has loved America ever since that very first day and he’s taken full advantage of the benefits our great country offers. He eventually graduated high school with honors, attended college on his own dime and worked tirelessly inside corporate America for the past fifteen years. This is the moment when I met Anthony for the first time; on that innocent phone call last year.

Two Maids OrlandoAnthony talked a very big game. He had big dreams; wild visions in fact. I remember everything about our initial conversation. He talked about his desire to own the Orlando market; even though he lived more than 75 miles away in Palm Coast. He talked about his desire to serve as the initial Office Manager; even though he had plenty of money to hire an on-site manager. He even talked about his willingness to travel to Birmingham ASAP to get the ball rolling; like tomorrow in fact. Like I said, he talked a big game and I knew that we just had to meet this guy. Anthony’s first meeting with us was inside a hotel lobby. I didn’t know anything about his past. Didn’t know about Saigon. Didn’t know anything other than a couple of energetic phone calls. But on that night inside that hotel lobby, I knew we had a winner.

Anthony opened for business earlier this year. Hasn’t been a franchisee for a long time. But in that short time frame, he’s proven his commitment time after time. He’s notorious for working crazy hours. Believe it or not, he’s even provided a house cleaning for a customer past the midnight hour. He’s pushed brooms. Conducted estimates. Been on last-minute supply runs. Driven back and forth each of those long 75 miles from Palm Coast to Orlando every day since his grand opening. He rarely spends time with family during the week as a result. But make no mistake, Anthony loves his family and proves that by is work ethic. It’s been a sacrifice but he’s accepted the challenge from day one.

I believe that every successful business owner must possess four essential qualities: a business owner must be passionate, a business owner must have a plan, a business owner must have a very high work ethic and a business owner must refuse to lose. Anthony embodies every one of these traits and he didn’t just start living those ideals yesterday. He’s been busting his tail for a long time. He’s been passionate about building financial freedom for a long time. He’s been refusing to lose for a long time. And trust me, he’s been passionate about his plan for the future for a very long time. He’s the kind of guy that will find success no matter the direction. I’m just thankful that he chose Two Maids & A Mop.

Anthony still has a long way to go. He’s still building his business and he’s still working crazy hours. He already knows this and he’s cool with the challenge. I have no doubt that his future is bright. Anthony is success and there’s not one person on this earth that couldn’t learn something from him. Reach out to him and ask him about how to make it in this country. His answer will not be sexy. His answer will probably repeat everything that I’ve already said. Be passionate. Have a plan. Work harder than everyone else. And refuse to lose. That’s Anthony and we love him. Thank you Anthony for choosing Two Maids & A Mop and please keep on being you. You’ve earned everything and your future is bright. You are success!

Two Maids & A Mop Discusses How To Start Your Own Cleaning Business

Two Maids & A MopOur journey started more than thirteen years ago with the first Two Maids & A Mop opening for business on April Fools’ Day in Pensacola, FL. It’s been an amazing ride; full of so many ups and downs along the way. The grind is real and one thing is certain: success will not occur overnight. You’ll need to be passionate about your business; work harder than ever before & think outside of the box as much as possible. That’s the honest truth.

Our experience has taught us so much about the cleaning industry and we’re excited to share our insights with a leading magazine dedicated to small business owners. Please check out our article in this month’s edition of Fundera Ledger. Click the link to read all about it: How To Start A Cleaning Business.

Two Maids & A Mop Partners With Legendary Football Coach Vince Dooley

Vince Dooley Two Maids

When University of Georgia graduate Ron Holt learned that legendary Bulldogs football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley wanted to partner with him, he couldn’t believe his ears.

“I still get chill bumps thinking about it,” Holt said. “It’s a pretty big deal for us. He brings so much to the table. When you think of Vince Dooley, you think of nothing but trust and integrity. He’s a proven leader.”

It’s the latest win for the Birmingham, Ala.-based Two Maids & A Mop, which is one of the country’s fastest-growing businesses. The home cleaning franchise has been named to the Inc. 5000 list every year for the past four years, and was also honored by the magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in Alabama. Founded in 2003, the company boasts franchise network sales near $20 million and yearly revenues between $17 and 20 million, according to Holt, who oversees 400 employees and more than 30 franchise owners.

The company’s success may now appear ensured, but it got off to a rocky start.

“I lost money for the first two years. I didn’t even receive a paycheck,” said Holt, who founded the company on April Fools Day in Pensacola, Fla.

But things eventually began to turn around as Holt developed some competitive advantages and operational efficiencies.

“Once we recognized the model was not only profitable, but scalable, I started thinking big,” he said.

Holt figured he was on to something special when he opened his fourth store in the company’s future home base of Birmingham. It was Two Maids & A Mop’s first store outside its Florida confines, and he realized that his baby was finally ready to spread its wings and fly on its own.

“That was the first store that I was not actively involved in every single decision and task,” Holt said. After several years of handling just about every aspect of the business but the house cleaning itself, he was gratified to realize this store could thrive without his control.

“The business proved that it could scale itself and grow without me being the most important person in the world,” Holt says. “That store really changed everything for us and allowed me to think much bigger—and continue to think big today.”

Before long, the company had grown to 12 corporate stores in five states throughout the Southeast, and Holt’s business model began to shift toward franchising.

“That gave us the opportunity to really grow across the country, not just in the Southeast,” Holt said. “It allowed us to grow much faster, and, on top of that, it allowed us to partner with people who were business owners, instead of employees.”

Somewhere along the way, the company made a serious impression on a couple of customers who also happened to be the wife and daughter of Vince Dooley, the coach who is still considered a god in Georgia for coaching Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and leading the Bulldogs to their last national championship in 1980. Dooley reached out to Holt—and just like that, a partnership was born.

“If people look into Two Maids & A Mop and study it, I think they’d be impressed by the [company’s] record of success. Hopefully, that will lead to more success in the future,” Dooley said.

Dooley is not a direct investor in Two Maids & A Mop, but the two are partners in virtually every other sense.

“He brings so many skills and traits to the table,” Holt said of Dooley. “I’ve learned so much from Coach Dooley’s life, and we’ve used that just in the last few weeks within our own business.”

Dooley is quick to remind people that he once oversaw a $120 million program as Georgia’s athletic director, so he has lots of direct business expertise to offer as well.

Holt said he sees Dooley’s involvement in Two Maids & A Mop as a golden opportunity for his business, which he wants to expand throughout the lower 48 states within 10 years. For the first time in the company’s 13-year history, Two Maids and a Mop will actively advertise its services—and Dooley’s endorsement will play a key role in that marketing push.

“We expect for something big to happen, honestly,” Holt said. “We fully believe that with the UGA community – whether it’s a fan or an alumnus, we feel that Coach Dooley’s partnership will really allow us to grow very quickly. Once people hear our story … we’re certain that our growth is going to take off.”

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.

Day With The Founder in Jacksonville, FL

Congratulations Tim & Tammy Page of Jacksonville, FL

Two Maids & A Mop celebrates it success stories as much as possible. Of course, we’ve got a lot of success stories to share and we work hard to recognize our franchise owners in very unique ways. One of the more exciting ways that we recognize success is by our Day With The Founder series. Each year, at least four franchise owners received a full-day visit from the founder of Two Maids & A Mop; Ron Holt.

Just last week, Ron traveled to Jacksonville, FL as part of his Day With A Founder tour to celebrate our one year anniversary of business. Tim & Tammy have grown very quickly in Jacksonville and deserve a lot of credit for building a great culture inside their business. They’re usually both very busy inside the office managing the daily operations but they were able to break away last week to enjoy a three hour sail across the St. Johns River.

Make sure to visit the Jacksonville House Cleaning Website if you happen to live the local area. Congratulations Tim and Tammy on a great first year of business!!