Gallatin, TN, June 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SERVPRO HQ teammates recently toasted the success of the SERVPRO brand with a celebration marking its 2,000th franchise.
“Since its inception in 1967 and its first franchise in 1969, SERVPRO has been founded on entrepreneurial dreams and helped change the lives of hundreds of small business owners,” said SERVPRO CEO Rick Isaacson.
To celebrate the milestone achievement, teammates from SERVPRO HQ in Gallatin, Tennessee, gathered to toast the brand and its franchise professionals who do the expert work of serving their communities in their time of need.
“To each of those 2,000-plus franchise owners who took a risk on this company to help change their family tree; to every one of YOU past, present, and future teammates who did everything we could to make this brand the best it can be to make our franchisees successful, make this company proud, and become the very best brand in our space – congratulations on 2,000!” Isaacson said.
Small business owners are the engine of SERVPRO, Isaacson said, which was founded by his father, Ted Isaacson, with the purpose of helping other entrepreneurs succeed.
“The mission, vision and purpose of SERVPRO are inextricably linked to small business owners and entrepreneurs in every way,” Isaacson said. “SERVPRO changes family trees, and this 2,000th franchise milestone reaffirms how far we have come and outlines the bright future we still have ahead serving our customers across the U.S. and Canada.”
Despite the challenges faced during the pandemic, SERVPRO franchises stepped up to provide necessary services, making shared spaces safe again, and disinfecting first responder vehicles, often free of charge.
“Two years ago, during the start of the pandemic, many small businesses suffered and struggled to cope with unforeseen challenges,” Isaacson said. “However, I watched our SERVPRO franchisees do what they do best – jump in to help in the middle of uncertainty – and switch gears by offering Covid cleanings and disinfecting services, helping other businesses in their communities safely open their doors to customers again while protecting frontline workers.”
Entrepreneurs of all types
SERVPRO franchisees from all walks of life have found success by helping make it “Like it never even happened.” SERVPRO recently spotlighted four entrepreneurs who have different small business stories, and all have found success and service in the SERVPRO system.
Learning to adapt and understanding the value of patience are the best pieces of advice Julie Roberts knows. Slowing down and making the right call with a clear head have allowed her to make some uncommon decisions that have blazed her unique path to success.
From their humble beginnings, Julie Roberts and her husband Tony now have four SERVPRO franchises and employ just shy of 50 employees. Because of their impact in the area, Roberts was asked to join a small business roundtable hosted by Vice President Mike Pence to discuss issues facing business owners.
“I was in line at the bank and I got a call, and my phone literally said ‘The White House.’ And in the back are my kids screaming for ice cream while she is interviewing me. I said, ‘This is so embarrassing and unprofessional.’ And she said, ‘No, this is perfect.’"
After starting a janitorial company when he was 18 to now owning several successful restoration businesses, one resilient entrepreneur has finally proven to his grandmother that dropping out of college was the right decision.
“When I told my grandmother I wasn’t going back to college, she didn’t speak to me for a week,” said Daniel Jeffries of his early career. “It was extremely difficult and challenging as she definitely shaped my professional and personal life tremendously.”
After nearly 20 years in business, 15 as a SERVPRO franchise owner, Jeffries said, “Fast forward to where we are now, with all the success, and that’s pretty much the only time she’s been wrong.”
During his deployment where he served on the command staff of the U.S. Army Reserves, Sgt. 1st Class Matt Marchese realized he experienced firsthand how to run a successful organization under pressure.
“What I didn’t realize at the time (while serving overseas) was that I was exposed to what was a very high level of business,” Marchese said.
“After sitting in these high-level meetings, when I came home, I realized I had an entirely different perspective of the world than the other 21-year-olds that I was around. And once I got into the business world, I realized, ‘oh, this is small compared to what I understood.’”
After owning their own business for 10 years, Kyle and Courtney Carter agree that the best part of entrepreneurship has been the ability it has afforded them to give back.
“It’s important for us to serve others,” Kyle said. “To serve the community, to serve our employees, to serve each other, to serve our kids, our church. That’s really big for us.”
Kyle’s first dream as a kid was to work on a trash truck. His parents put up a fence because he would run into the street to meet the crews who let him operate the controls that crushed the garbage.
Now, he and his wife operate several SERVPRO franchises in the Florida panhandle and southern Georgia which offer fire, water and biohazard cleanup, restoration and construction services. Recently, they opened SERVPRO’s 2,000th franchise, a milestone for the brand.
To be connected with a local SERVPRO franchise small business owner, please reach out to Senior Communications Editor Kim Brooks at the contact info included.
About SERVPRO®
For more than 50 years, SERVPRO has been a trusted leader in fire and water cleanup and restoration services, construction, mold mitigation, biohazard and pathogen remediation. SERVPRO’s professional services network of more than 2,000 independently owned and operated franchises spans the United States and Canada, responding to property damage emergencies large and small – from million-square-foot commercial facilities to individual homes. When disaster strikes, homeowners, business owners and major insurance companies alike rely on SERVPRO to make it “Like it never even happened.”
Attachments
