From D1 Swimmer to $6M Franchise Owner: How Josh Brown Built an Empire with a 4-Month-Old Baby

This is the complete transcript from Episode #4 of The Franchise Champion Show, where host Alan Regala interviews Josh Brown, a successful ServiceMaster Clean franchise owner who has built a $6 million business over 19 years. Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform. 

Alan: Well, Josh Brown, I am very excited to have you on another episode of our show, The Franchise Champion Show. Josh is my cousin-in-law.

I don't know if that's a real thing or not, but I believe you are my cousin-in-law. My wife's cousin's husband, and you are actually the first person that introduced me to franchising. Believe it or not, I don't know if you knew that or not.

Josh: I did not, but...

Alan: Yeah. So welcome to the show, Josh.

Josh: Thank you. Yeah, well, I'm super excited to speak with you.

Alan: You and your wife, Jodi have been crushing it for, like, 19 years now. With ServiceMaster Clean knocking it out of the park, three markets, 140 employees. And how big is your business right now revenue-wise?

Josh: We should end up this year to about 6 million.

Alan: Wow. $6 million. That's amazing. Fantastic. Congratulations.

Josh: Thank you.

Alan: So start us off by telling us what ServiceMaster Clean does and how you impact the lives of your clients.

Josh: Good question. So we're a janitorial franchise, so we send crews out in the evenings, typically to clean commercial office space. ServiceMaster brand owns many different franchises but best known for their disaster restoration. I've seen a lot of their vans or trucks, you know, driving around.

Typically we see a van with ServiceMaster on, and it's going to be the restoration guys running around. So we kind of fly around incognito in the evenings and clean banks and schools and any commercial setting where we'll do it.

Alan: That's great. That's great. And tell me, how is it that you impact the lives of your clients?

Josh: Sure. So, you know, I guess the easier one would be like a health care setting. We got into this franchise, and I just wanted to do something that I believed in. ServiceMaster Clean has a system of cleaning. In my opinion, it's the right way to do it. We're not just sight cleaning or going in and making the office visually look clean.

We're actually cleaning it correctly. We're improving the health of the office. So we've got a bunch of data that can prove that, you know, we're lowering the office staff's sick days, by the way that we clean. Quick story. We're cleaning a school currently because like a year ago, the kids were doing a science experiment on their desks and they tested their desks for different organisms and bacteria and stuff like that and could not find very much.

So I got a nice phone call after that that they appreciated the way that we were cleaning. So that's just an example of us committing to doing the job correctly in the indoor air quality, in the health of the office that we clean.

Alan: Yeah, that I mean, that sounds actually really disgusting. I can imagine what it would be like if you guys weren't doing a good job of cleaning. You know, kids' desks and such. Yeah. I think with a business like this, it's really interesting. You know, it's not a quote unquote sexy business. You know, janitorial services, right? But I think what's important for most people, you know, that are looking for a business. A lot of times they're thinking about that sexy thing that they want that is going to, you know, be excited to tell their friends about, you know, hey, here's what I'm doing.

But at the end of the day, it comes down to, you know, how it makes you feel and how you impact those clients. And I mean that I had no idea - this, you know, a study was done like this that, you know, you're actually improving, like the physical health of the employees, not just making it look pretty, but like, you're improving the health of people and their employees and the businesses and helping those businesses maintain their employees, you know, and more.

Wow.

Josh: Yep. Yeah, there's a lot of data. I mean, I can nerd out on it. We've got indoor air quality, like particle meters that can test like dust particles and so we are - our goal is every time we go in and we clean, we're improving the indoor air quality of the office. Let me get into health care. You know, there's a lot of data on hospital acquired illnesses.

Somebody goes in for a standard procedure and comes out with something a little bit worse, which is of course, bad for the hospital. So, yeah, you know, we're looking to partner with our customers and improve their space.

Alan: So that's great. Very cool. Okay. So tell us about your background and how you got into franchising.

Josh: Well, I met Jodi at Cal Poly. We graduated together and we both went into the agriculture field. A little Mustang, by the way. Go, Mustangs. Right. So we had a couple different jobs right out of college. We both worked for the government. Then we got into agriculture, and we're just trying to find our way. I think we just quickly decided we wanted to own our own business, so we started looking around.

I had a cousin that owned a disaster franchise, and so just really started to talk to him about being an entrepreneur. Didn't necessarily approach him to talk about the brand specifically, but one thing led to another. They were looking for somebody to take on the license in the Fresno market. And two weeks later, you know, they were sitting in our living room and here we are.

So. Wow. It's been a ride.

Alan: Wow. So when you were - did you look at any other options at all? Or you just kind of are like, all right. I mean, it sounds good. I mean, what was that decision making process like?

Josh: You know, we weren't necessarily searching for a franchise, so I didn't look, I did a little bit of research on other franchises once we showed interest in ServiceMaster, but we were looking into a couple different agricultural directions that ended up not panning out.

I think the thing that really sparked our interest was once we showed that we were interested, possibly in buying a license - the way that they courted us. Then we started doing our homework and figuring out like this, this would be pretty fun. I think the thing that most attracted me to ServiceMaster or this janitorial business was the recurring revenue model.

You know, if you go out and sell windows, you create, you know, you build that relationship with the customer. They don't need you for 30 years, right? Or maybe a little bit less. But janitorial was one of those things where you build your book of business and it's just you're building a bigger snowball, you know, with the monthly reoccurring revenue.

Alan: Yeah. So I was attracted to that for sure. And that's great. That is ideal. That's fantastic. So you hadn't been out of college for very long. You know, it sounds like you guys got jobs, you know, with the government, but you weren't. Maybe you weren't happy. You know what? What made you take that leap into business ownership? And what made you feel like this is - I can - we can do this.

Josh: Well, I was young for one and pretty ambitious. So that was a big part of it. But, you know, I had - we said we got into the ag industry, I got into sales. And I really fell in love with the relational part of sales.

So I think I quickly understood like, this is this is my thing. Like I want to do something where I can be in the sales role. So as we started to explore this and I'm looking at, you know, we could pretty much clean all shapes and sizes of boxes - from huge facilities. And right now, our biggest facility is over 200,000 square foot warehouse and down to tiny little hair salons, you know, so it really opened up the opportunities to, you know, we weren't in this specific market.

I could go anywhere and I could talk to anybody. And somebody knows somebody that works in an office and could use a service. So yeah, it's pretty broad. I hope that answered your question.

Alan: If you're wondering if franchise ownership is right for you, I'd love to help. As a franchise coach, I work one on one with my clients to find the perfect business match that meets their goals, skills, and investment level and help them prepare to be champions in their new business. And the best part? My service is completely free. To schedule a 15 minute introduction call, visit athletetoowner.com. You'll find the link in the show notes. Now back to our show.

What was family life like when you started a business?

Josh: It's just you and Jodi. My oldest was four months old, so lots of new things happening at the time, but decided to quit my job and swing for the fences. So. But you know, he also - there's my son Cole. He also was motivating me to really start to think about the long distance plan and the future and working for somebody else. I had had a few situations where I had sold this customer, set everything up in my mind perfectly. Hand it over to operations. And they messed it up.

So then it's like, oh, I you know what? If this continues to happen? So it kind of moved me into how I want to be the only person I can blame for failure. Yeah. And I just was like, okay, I need to own my own business, be my own boss. And that way there's only, you know, if I fail, there's only one person to blame - not anybody else, basically.

Alan: Yeah. Yeah. Have that control. You know. Yeah. No excuses. You own it. Yeah. That's great. So you had a four month old kid and, you know, lots of life changes and things happening, you know? I think there's a lot of people that are always waiting for the perfect time to start a business. And there's always a reason not to do it.

You know, whether it's, you know, married, you know, have kids. I've got this happening. My parents are aging, my kids are in college now. It's just like, there's a lot of reasons not to do it, you know? How did you manage, you know, with how busy you were with having a kid? I should say a baby. Not just a kid.

Josh: You know, having been an athlete previously, I was a collegiate athlete. I swam for Cal Poly. You know, when you compete at that level, I guess I was used to facing, you know, staring adversity in the face and just continuing to drive forward. Had a lot of confidence in my abilities. And Jodi was the same.

So but at the end of the day, it is a leap of faith. You know, you don't know what's on the other side of the door. And I remember walking up to my first account and, you know, when you start a business like I did, I was wearing all the hats. You know, Jodi kept her job, I quit mine, so I was out, I was sales, I was everything right.

So I was the cleaner. So my first door to go clean. And I remember just thinking. I hope there's a lot more doors, you know, after this one. And yeah, it panned out.

Alan: So that's great. I remember distinctly talking to you shortly after you had started this business, maybe, or in your first year, and you mentioned, you know, like one of your jobs you were in. I don't know, it's like a grocery store or someplace like that. And you're just like, I have no idea what to do in this particular situation. And you said that you were able to call, you know, a fellow franchisee. And I think it was like late at night and all that. And, you know, you would get help, which I thought that - and that was one thing that clicked in my mind.

I was just like, oh, that's like, that's really cool about a franchise system is having, you know, other people that you can rely on, not just the franchisor but the whole community. You know, what has that been like for you?

Josh: Yeah. So that's what franchising is all about, right? Is that network - the power behind a brand or a franchise brand is, you know, networking with the other owners. Some of my favorite meetings every year when all the owners get together for an annual conference, you know, we've got corporate teaching us new things, and that's great. But my favorite is the time between meetings when I'm meeting new owners, hearing about their experiences, learning from them.

But yeah, that was a great example of I had an "oh no" moment, you know, in the middle of the night, I was - I believe I was stripping and waxing floors, and I hit a snag and didn't have enough experience to know how to push through it, and was probably had 3 or 4 people I could have called and they walked me through.

And, you know, we're exchanging pictures. So and I mean, I could tell you countless stories of the same as the business grew and I'm not sure. Am I charging that correctly, you know? Or I could reach out to several different owners and give them my scenario. So I would say, you know, here's a more specific example of like, as my business has grown, I've always tried to latch on to an owner that's a few steps ahead of me within our network and keep them close, asking all the right questions, as many questions as I could.

If I can learn from his or her mistakes, then I can avoid them on my path. And that's been really valuable and makes owning a franchise and, you know, because there are some rules when you're in a franchise, you have to give royalties, you have to follow the rules. They have to protect their brand. Makes sense? But to have that network at your fingertips is just a wealth of knowledge.

That's I really don't know what I would do without it.

Alan: So yeah, it's a definite positive. Yeah, yeah, it's really interesting. You know, just having access to so many people, so many resources within your organization to provide that help. And I've never thought about it that way. Like, you know, someone that's two steps ahead of you and then probably also you're, you know, being willing to help people that are two steps, you know, behind you, I'm sure.

And you know, I can relate to your comment about the those conferences and those meetings being able, you know, it's great to learn things, you know, same with me when I was in my home services business at our reunion and other conferences, I found the most value and the most little tidbits of like those little nuggets of wisdom I would get were outside of the official meetings, and they were with people like in between.

Now it's great. So, you know, I'm sure the first few years, you know, you mentioned you were doing everything at the very beginning, you know, it wasn't easy and you're probably building your team. You know what? How long did it take for you to finally feel like, oh yeah. Yeah. This is like, we're going to make it for one. And then also like, oh, I can breathe now. I feel like this is a little bit more manageable. How long did that take?

Josh: Yeah. You know that's always - I get asked that question a lot when people consider buying a license or coming into our brand. I'm sure it's different for everybody. Trying to remember, I guess I didn't focus too much on that. I was always focused on the next goal and the next hurdle to get over. I will say, revenue wise, I felt like in this business, once we hit the million dollar mark, I felt like I had operations. I had an operations guy focused on operations so I could focus on sales. So I could take that hat off and focus just on this half of the business while he or she ran the other half.

That was just a big sigh of relief. You know, especially in this business, when 90% of our work is after 6 p.m. at night. You know, I'm selling all day long, and when I'm in charge of all the cleaners as well, or there's no manager in between me and the cleaners, that phone could ring at any minute.

And I was headed out the door for the evening. And that was stressful. But yeah, we got through that and it was about that revenue mark. Because what I remember more than timeline, but I know the first year was pretty difficult. I've heard a lot of people say if a new business can survive the first year, that says something.

I kind of felt like that. And then I feel like the second year in business, I really got my wheels turning and I knew we had something and yeah, it started getting easier because it yeah, it was a battle for a while.

Alan: And, you know, here you are, you know, 19 years later, like that's kind of crazy. What tell me what business is like or what your lifestyle, I should say, is like for you. And also, you know, kind of what's Jodi's involvement in the business as well.

Josh: So Jodi pretty much manages all of our back end. So she is doing all the, you know, QuickBooks and accounting and receivables. We do have to offer payroll now. So she basically manages them. And you know anybody that's been in business knows you want to keep some things a little bit close, like the ability to kind of check on things like that. So she's really involved in the back end of our business. But her abilities are in marketing. So she's very involved in our SEO and marketing and website and that kind of stuff.

So a lifestyle for me, it is what - I mean, it can be whatever I want. That kind of sounds arrogant, but it's no, no, no, it's I've continued to remove myself from the gears of the business so that I can kind of take that mile high view. And, you know, when I see something that's not functioning properly, I can step in and fix it.

But my goal from day one has been to continue to remove myself from the business so that it doesn't rely on me, which frees up my time to be able to make tweaks, improve this, improve that, and really just hopefully one day sit back and smile and watch something that we worked really hard to create just rolling on its own.

And yeah, you know, pretty much there.

Alan: So that's humbling for me. That's fantastic. I mean that is really what I think most entrepreneurs aspire to get to, which is being an owner and not, you know, being able to work on the business and not be in the business on a day to day level and really get to choose what you do and the things that you want to do that give you energy and, you know, give you pleasure and sales, it sounds like for you is the thing. So that's great.

Yeah. Congratulations.

Josh: Thank you.

Alan: So the theme of my franchise coaching business Athlete to Owner is taking these principles of success, you know, of high performance in athletics. And that can be found in other ways as well. But it's kind of a high performance training, learning something new, especially when you're younger and applying those principles to become successful in business. And you mentioned earlier you were a D1 swimmer for Cal Poly, which is amazing. And I you know, I was a tennis player for Cal Poly around the same timeframe. And, you know, I believe Jodi was also a competitive athlete as well.

Tell us what she did.

Josh: So Jodi has always been involved in horses. So she when I met her, she was doing what's called reining - like patterns, running patterns. I believe it's in the Olympics. And she took that all the way to the world show. So she's competed at a high level in equestrian events. So yeah, she's had a horse as long as from the day I met her and still does and probably always will.

Alan: So that's really cool. Yeah. When you told me before she was a reining, you know, champion and I was like, how do you even spell that? What was that? And I had to look it up and I'm like, oh wow. Okay. Yeah. No, I've definitely seen this on TV. And that looks really amazing. So. So how did training, you know, for swimming, like what you did and for, you know, reining and equestrian stuff for Jodi.

How did that help you in building and running your business?

Josh: You know, when I quit my job and started the business, I quickly figured out that I had to be very self-disciplined. You know, when you're your own boss, that comes with a lot of perks and things like that, but also comes with some responsibility for yourself to make sure you know you can sleep in now and no one's going to be calling and yelling at you, but what's going to suffer? So you really have to set your goals, fight through adversity, all the things that an athlete has really faced. So those things were coming natural to me when we started the business.

Competing at the level that Jodi and I did. You know, we're used to being told, no, you can't do that. Or facing something that looks impossible and taking it one step at a time and driving through it. And I would try not to be discouraging, but I would say starting a business was harder than competing at the D1 level. You just start to feel like everything's against you and you just have to fight through that.

And like, for example, we had some - just getting into the business. We had to partner with some vendors to purchase our supplies. And I quickly figured out that the sales prices they were charging me was double of a larger business. Wow. So that makes it really hard to - we resell like consumables, paper towels and soaps and things like that to our customers. But if I'm buying them at double the market value, you know, I'm not going to sell too many.

So I had to go to another ServiceMaster owner, get their pricing, going back to the vendor, fight for that pricing. You know, I'm not big yet, but we're going to be there. I'm looking for a partner, kind of a thing to establish that pricing structure so that I could operate. You know, you would hope that things like that would come a little bit easier.

But, you know, if you want it, you have to fight for it. And it really played hand in hand with our athletic experiences.

Alan: So yeah, I imagine that, you know, in sports you fail a lot. Right? But only one person's coming in first place in those competitions. Right. So you're used to not being on the top yet. Still going at it the next time and practicing and working on things that you need to improve to get to that first place position, you know, in the next tournament or meets or whatever it is. And so, you know, used to failure as being an option and a way to learn. But knowing that that's not, you know, the end.

You know, that's just one step towards mastery, right?

Josh: Yeah. That's great. That's great. The other thing that really came to mind as you were talking was that development of a growth mindset and just being, I don't know if I'm looking forward to, but not being afraid of challenges as they come up. I think that's something that a lot of people can get overwhelmed with.

And for someone who has, you know, had that growth mindset and really embedded in their systems through years of training and learning through failure and but wanting to get better and not being afraid of it just are open to that next challenge and, you know, somewhat can be maybe looking forward to it in some ways.

Alan: Well, yeah. As an athlete, you know, at least in my experience, I would set goals and I was like crazy about getting to them. You know, I was so determined to hit my goals. And that really translated into business as well. I you know, I'm competitive, right? I'm going into part of Franchise Network. They put up a top 20 list even when I was new.

And my gosh, I want to get on that list so bad. So it just it drove me. It really did. And and I did everything. It just helps you get up and get going and seize the day. After a rough day, like you said, you know, you're going to have failures. You got to get up, brush yourself off and keep charging forward.

Josh: Yeah. Some of most of the owners that I've seen fail in a franchise network, buy into the franchise expecting all this business to be handed to them by, you know, home office or the corporate brand. And, you know, they didn't just give you all the leads. They didn't just, you know, put it on a silver platter and say, here you go, Josh, wouldn't that be great?

I mean, they did some, but now you still have to, you know, aggressively sitting by the phone doesn't cut it right. You gotta get after it. So yeah, I think that is a common misconception that, you know, you got this franchise and it's kind of what are they going to do for me? So the attitude, you know, hey, I'm here, I paid my money.

Now what are you going to do for me? Versus like, hey, what you're paying for is an opportunity to have something wonderful that you can build yourself with our support, but, you know, you're still in charge of making it happen.

Alan: Yeah, really? Our brand gets me in the door. People recognize it. But you really become the brand in your market because people know me. They've gotten, you know, we have the relationship. They know in my market, I am ServiceMaster Clean. And that's but just getting in the door sometimes that's a huge help to be a part of an international brand.

Josh: Yeah, yeah. No, I can imagine that's that makes a lot of sense. If you're finding today's conversation valuable, I'd like to offer you my free book, The Franchise Fit Playbook: A Champion's Guide to Choosing the Right Business.

This comprehensive resource walks you through the exact process I use with my coaching clients to identify their perfect franchise match. Download it for free at athletetoowner.com/playbook. Now back to the show.

So it's interesting because you know you have kids. You have three children. Correct?

Alan: I have two kids. And as someone who as I was going through the process of learning what I needed to learn while I was growing my business, you know, I always like I was reading books, you know, talking to other franchisees and, you know, people in the home office and whatnot.

While I was trying to improve skills for myself, like sales and marketing and team building and, you know, leadership and all these sorts of things. One thing that I found was this parallel between leading a team and all of the things that you need to do, like empathy and communication was this parallel to raising kids.

I felt like and I'm curious to get your perspective on that and how and you know, if at all, you've applied any of the things that you've learned with the kids that you've raised?

Josh: I like that question. Yeah, I could definitely see that. The thing about our businesses were very labor intensive. So like you mentioned, we have a lot of employees. So I'm thinking of hearing my kids give me excuses why they can't do their chores or something, you know, and at work we get the same thing. Like when you're - I always say when your personal problems become my problem, that's a problem, right? So yeah, definitely some parenting, you know, but something I've learned leading our employees, leading my kids is, you know, they want to know that you have their back.

They want to know that you're cheering for them and supporting them. And, you know, the way that I describe my role as the business owner is that my job is to pave the way for your success. Right. I'm going to give you the tools to be successful, and I'm going to do my best to pave the way.

But you got to you got to carry the torch. You know, you've got to clean the office correctly. According to our training, you have to care. I can't make you do some of those things. So. But if I give you all the support that I can and you do it and you do it well, then I'm going to help you elevate and go as far as you want to go.

The really the way that I look at our business is, you know, we're an entry level employee business, right? You don't have to have a lot of skills or degrees to be employed by us. So what I want is that when somebody comes into our business, that we can help them grow as a person. So when they leave, they can hopefully get a better job than when they came in.

Because like you said, we're not firefighters here saving kittens from the tree. We're out there at night cleaning toilets at midnight. And it's humbling but it's work that needs to be done. So but the parenting angle is it's very true.

Alan: Yeah. Yeah. And your oldest just graduated right. He played - he was an athlete. Right. In college.

Josh: Yep. He's going into his sophomore year and he's playing water polo in college.

Alan: Sophomore year okay. Got it. Got it okay. So any thoughts of business in his mind or in any of the kids minds. Are they kind of are they going to take over the family business or you know, they want to do their own thing?

Josh: You know, I would definitely entertain that right now. They're just chasing their dreams and I don't want to divert them from that. But it's definitely set up perfectly. If any of them do show interest and want to become a part of it. So yeah. But yeah, the nice thing my oldest, he's studying business so I can bring him into ours and show him like, this is what you're learning right now and apply it to our business.

And yeah, I think it helps him understand the things a little bit better.

Alan: That's great. Yeah. Both of my kids are interested in, you know, have interested in, you know, like marketing, sales and kind of business in general. And one thing I found has been really interesting is, you know, when they're up at school and it, you know, we're working during the day and, you know, and when she was working, she would work from home too.

But our jobs have been so flexible that it's like when they're home, they come back and it's like we're always able to do stuff with them, you know? And so I don't they don't have I think, you know, that different perspective of, you know, other parents maybe that you know, don't get to spend as much time with them because we've been able to spend so much time and going into practices and the flexibility that, you know, owning a business has given us that.

It's been kind of interesting. And I kind of feel like there's a little bit of this is kind of a disadvantage for some reason, because they've gotten so much attention and so it's really been interesting. After selling my business, you know, last year, I have been very intentional about trying to bring them in and have them be a part of creating this new business.

You know, like asking for feedback on, like, my logo and for and, you know, telling them little situations and just just to get them involved somewhat so that they're like, oh, this is kind of what it's like to be in the real world. And and to show that I'm working hard in something and not just because you don't really they don't haven't really seen me actually work, you know.

So that's been a fun part of the process. One thing you mentioned about the other employees is, you know, so an entry level job, you know, and you're intent on helping them grow and, you know, hopefully get a better job, you know, later down the road, which is, which is awesome. And that's super noble. How does that you know, a lot of people get concerned about labor, you know, how do I find people?

How do I, you know, maintain people and and you've got this mindset of, well, you know, they're not going to be there forever. I mean, maybe some of them that really make sense can, can find a, you know, another position higher up in, in your organization. But for most of them probably not. So what kind of mindset, you know, do you have to have and systems in place to, to deal with having to have a lot of people come in the doors and knowing people are going to be going out as well.

Josh: Yeah. Good question. We have to be very careful. You know, once you bring an employee in, if they become a not so good employee, it's hard to move them out. You know, with all the legalities and things like that that you have to deal with. So we have to get really good at pre-employment screening, asking the right questions, finding the right people.

But really we've been blessed with just we've - you know, good people hang out with good people and think of high school, the knuckleheads, they all went out together, you know. So you get in with a good group or you have a good employee. We approach them often with, hey, do you know, you know, we've got some positions open. Do you know anybody have any family or friends that may be interested? And we worked that very seriously for years and years. And now it's like we have these pools of labor that as soon as a position opens up, we pretty much have it filled.

Alan: Wow. That's amazing.

Josh: It's something that we enjoy that I've learned that the rest of the nation really struggles with is finding good people to plug in, and it's really a problem that we don't deal with. And I don't say that lightly, because I can imagine what a struggle that would be. But we've got some great people working for us, and they bring in great people. But yeah, like you said, systems and processes. We've got to monitor. We've got to document and, you know, do all those little things just to keep everybody on the straight and narrow.

So we've gotten really good at that. Just because we had to.

Alan: So yeah, that part is definitely gone well. Well kudos to you because that like you said in other I'm sure, and even other ServiceMaster businesses across the country are, you know, struggle with that, you know, in addition to just any other type of company that has a large labor force.

It is not easy to maintain people, you know, for any length of time. Right. And so, you know, kudos to you because you are obviously doing an amazing job, obviously bringing in the right people, but then treating them well so that they want to stay and they want to do a good job for you and your clients.

You know, making them their clients, because that is I know, you know, even with my business, you know, with when I had help you finding people that want to do work, want to do great work because they feel like they're a part of your team and a part of your organization, and they feel good and they pass that along to, you know, the work that they do with their clients.

But in the same organization, you know, other areas of the country, you've got people that are kind of, you know, they're complaining about things and they don't feel like they're treated right. And that just it makes such a big difference. And so at the scale that you're at with the number of employees, like you're doing something really special over there.

Josh: Well, people talk, right? So like you said, you've got to take care of them. You've got to create an environment that's positive and safe for them. And then they tell their friends. And that's so I'm sure that's how that started. It wasn't always like this. It was a long road to get to where we are.

And it could change tomorrow. But we've had plenty of mishaps that we've had to work through. But yeah, we're very fortunate.

Alan: That's great. Well, my number one goal with this show is to help create future franchise champions, high performers in their business, like you, what's one nugget of wisdom you can share with our listeners who are thinking about buying a franchise?

Josh: I would say make sure that you talk to other owners within that brand just to, you know, hear it from boots on the ground. You know how the experience was - ask a lot of the questions that you've been asking me, like, at what point did you feel like you were kind of over the hill and driving the business and not just surviving?

That was important to me, to talk to a bunch of different owners. I would say, really know the brand that you're interested in, understand the rules that are in place, how the royalties work and all that. A lot of franchises have stipulations around sales, so just make sure it's the right fit for you. The other is to know your strengths and admit your weaknesses.

Like, I'll fully admit, like the production side of our business is not a strength of mine. I can do it. I don't love it. I love the sales part of the relational part. That's where my abilities lie. So when you are building a business, knowing that is important so you can hire the parts that you're maybe not as talented at.

And so you got to be able to admit your weaknesses and hire those out to build something successful. That would be my advice.

Alan: Wise words. Wise words for sure. Yeah. And with my clients, I definitely take them through that validation process, make sure they're talking to owners. I even help provide them with some good questions that they can ask. That is so important. I mean, really, that's where you learn the real meat, you know, of the business where they're not really incentivized in any way to tell you anything incorrect. So validation is super important. And yeah, doing your due diligence and learning. That's great.

Well, I appreciate your words of wisdom. This has been fantastic. Josh. Remind us what markets your business is in.

Josh: Sure. We started in the Fresno market - Fresno California and have kind of expanded around there. But basically that's our hub. And Rocklin, California outside of Sacramento. And then our final one was Sacramento - we acquired a few years back. So we have three now.

Alan: So if anyone's looking for some excellent janitorial services please contact Josh and Josh. How can these future clients and our listeners find you?

Josh: Absolutely. Yeah, they can find us on our website, which is www.smcbybrown.com.

Alan: Fantastic, fantastic. I will put a link to that in the show notes. Thank you so much for joining us. Josh. Wish you a wonderful rest of your day. And congrats on an amazing business.

Josh: Thanks.