How Serving My Country Helped Prepare Me For Franchise Ownership

{This is a guest post from Ray Toombs. Ray is a franchisee of Maid Brigade, a military veteran, and received the Purple Star}

                                                                                                                 

Two things have formed my life since early adulthood; a desire to help and a need for structure.

 

When I retired from the Army Nurse Corps in 1996 after a thirty year military career, I didn’t need to work; I had everything I needed and most of what I wanted. However, the sense of duty that has been my driving force since youth led me to seek opportunities to be of service to others.

 

I opened a home repair business starting with one home and over seven years time grew the business to serve over 100 families. In 2003 my wife left her Quality Advancement position with a national company and we decided to look into franchise opportunities.

 

 

In all our research, we found Maid Brigade the most appealing. We were attracted by the fact that the franchise system allowed us to use our experience in leadership, management, and operations to work on the business rather than in the business.  My wife, Margie, is the analytical partner in our venture.  We wanted to use her administrative know-how, quality improvement background and financial acumen.

 

As the “people person,” I knew I could draw on what I learned in my over 30 years in the service to focus on operations, training, scheduling and procurement.

 

We were most impressed with the proven systems Maid Brigade had in place.  It appealed to our organizational nature. We wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel to open our business in NE Ohio.  We attended Discovery Day at Maid Brigade headquarters in Atlanta, and purchased an exclusive territory in Canton, Ohio.  Additionally, thanks to a special Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative (VetFran), we were able to add substantially to the size of our territory.

 

The benefits of VetFran were an unexpected bonus. I recall that, after we came back from Vietnam, nobody much cared about the military. But it was a big part of my life, and it meant a lot to me to be recognized for my service by Maid Brigade and VetFran.

 

The complementary styles that Margie and I possess, our experiences and skills have helped us to grow our business 15-20% per year since we opened in 2003.  We’ve utilized the business systems and marketing guidelines provided by the franchisor to make a name for our business in NE Ohio. 

 

It hasn’t been easy, but I know that the discipline I learned while serving my country allowed me to persevere during the early years and continues to help us as we grow our business.

 

Now Maid Brigade has announced the Veteran’s Giveaway, a nationwide contest geared toward helping veterans get started with a franchise.  More than $1.5 million dollars will be awarded in waived franchise fees to as many as 100 qualified veteran applicants.  The top three winning veterans will receive additional financial rewards in the form of working capital, training and equipment. One hundred new Maid Brigade franchise locations equal an estimated 1,000 new jobs across our country.

 

 I was excited and humbled to be asked to serve on the Judge Panel.  Between now and September 30th, applications will be taken for those interested in vying for part of the $1.5 million in prize money. Check out the details on the Maid Brigade Veterans Franchise Giveaway website.  The franchise consultant that actually helped match us to Maid Brigade, Joel Libava, also wrote about the details in a recent post of his on his award-winning blog. Here- Maid Brigade is Giving Away Franchises to Military Veterans.

 

Major Ray Toombs and his wife Margie operate the NE Ohio Maid Brigade based in Canton, Ohio.  They can be reached at mtoombs@maidbrigade.com.

Ray is a recipient of the Purple Star