Timing, opportunity and economic feasibility — all three factors are key to giving people the extra push they need to get started on the road to business ownership. For Julie and Barry Ellis of Fairhaven, Vt., the decision to start a franchise business was all about timing. In 2006, Barry had worked for a franchise owner for 15 years, and Julie had run a home-based daycare business for 20 years. When Barry’s employer passed away unexpectedly, and with their children grown, the Ellises decided the time was right to start their own business. But they needed financing to make their dream a reality.
After looking into various franchise businesses, they settled on ServiceMaster Clean, a business that fit their two main criteria. They wanted a franchise that would be less prone to the fluctuations of economic cycles and that would provide a solid return on their investment if they chose to sell the business in the future.
“Since Barry had worked for a previous franchise owner, we knew the potential of the business. No matter how bad the economy is, pipes still break and furnaces still malfunction,” Julie Ellis said. “We’d been in contact with our (now) regional manager at ServiceMaster, and he was instrumental in helping us get started.” Read more.