Franchisees Who Grew Million-dollar Businesses

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Cleaning Up Most franchisees who buy into janitorial or domestic-cleaning concepts are true mom-and-pop businesspeople. They run their enterprises from the kitchen table and spend countless hours on their hands and knees, earning clients one clean floor at a time.

However, when Harry Young and his wife, Emelie, bought a Molly Maid house-cleaning services franchise in Austin, Texas, in late 1994, Young had no intention of ever touching a mop. In fact, after one day of training in which he had to clean a house, he vowed he'd never do it again.

Instead, Young, who had moved to Texas to soak up the sunshine after decades as an IT guru and CEO of air-defense companies in Washington, D.C., gave his Molly Maid the full corporate treatment. That meant setting up an aggressive business plan and organizational chart, with the objective of growing as quickly as he could.

Harry Young of Molly Maid house-cleaning franchise Harry Young of Molly Maid "We set up a system right out of the corporate world," he says. "This franchise is interesting because it's a microcosm of a large company. Our business involves everything a big corporation deals with in complete miniature." However, not long after Young took the reins of the franchise, an Austin defense company caught wind that he was in the area and lured him back to the tech world. Emelie reluctantly agreed to helm Molly Maid while Harry returned to his old line of work for what he thought would be a five-year term. Instead, it turned out to be a 10-year odyssey that included 300 days a year of international travel.

While Harry was otherwise occupied, Emelie followed their business plan and the Molly Maid system to a T, and the franchise grew quickly. By the time Harry took back the reins in 2004, his wife had crafted a company that was taking in more than $1.2 million in annual revenue.

Molly Maid - offline News and Press Releases

This article has been read 823 times.

Molly Maid - offline Logo

Molly Maid
3948 Ranchero Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI

Phone: (734)822-6800
Toll Free: (888) 812-9803
Fax: (734)822-6888

Share This Page!


FREE FRANCHISE ADVICE

First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
City:
State: (US inquiries only please)
Zip:
Phone:
Email:
Capital to Invest

(Min $50k Investment)
Investment Timeframe:

Can I use my 401K or IRA
to buy a business?

Submit your request for a
FREE Franchise Consultation.