- Elite Window Cleaning
- December 14, 2018
- 3 Comments
Pictured above is Adam Stroud, Franchise Owner for the Ottawa-Carleton Place region. As we start preparing for our 2019 season we wanted to ask our Franchisees some questions about how their introduction to Elite Window Cleaning began, what about their 35-week year they enjoy the most and if they have any goals for the coming year (for more info on franchise opportunities click here).
Q: Adam, What about Elite Window Cleaning made it stand out to you as a business you would want to be involved with?
About a year ago I got approached about a possible business opportunity that would be right up my alley – some hard work in the summer months and in return I would get my winter months off. Okay, that got my attention. Then after some serious thought about where I was in my career and what I valued in life I decided I was ready to take a leap and start my own adventure. Having the built-in ability to take time to enjoy my personal life the way I wanted was a large component, but beyond all of this I could see how Elite Window Cleaning was poised to dominate markets with no established national brands. I knew that by working with Elite, I would be able to bring something new to the Ottawa area, grow a scalable business and make a good chunk of change in the process.
Q: Specifically, why the change to a service-based industry? What about the business model gave you the confidence to make this change?
To be totally honest I didn’t really know if the change to a service-based industry would be for me, my background up until this year was social/special needs services within the school system. It’s a drastically different field, but with some guidance I was able to see how a lot of the soft skills could easily overlap.
Enter the support system of Elite Window Cleaning, which includes a corporate run back-office. At the top I work with founders Chris Stoness and Chris Squires to flesh out long-term plans, hone my business owner skills and generally talk shop with two guys that love what they do. On a day-to-day basis the corporate back-office handles all of my client calls, online bookings, scheduling, route-mapping and even runs marketing campaigns targeted specifically to areas within my district. It was this top-to-bottom support system that gave me the confidence to take my future in an entirely new direction.
Q: For you personally, what appeals to you about the Elite franchise business model?
There are so many things that appeal to me about the business model, it really felt like a perfect fit for the type of person I am. I want to work hard, make money, travel, give back to my community and I want to do it my way, working for myself. I know the 35 week season is going to be full-on, but that doesn’t bother me – you have to make hay while the sun is shining. If I have the potential to net over $100k in 35 weeks, you better believe I’m going to bust to get there, and after I’m going to want to take some time for myself. Elite not only enables, but empowers its franchisees to take this type of approach to a seasonal job, and this is a lot of the reason I have been able to stay heavily involved with special needs programs within my community while starting a brand new career. I’m not sure how many other people my age get the opportunity to develop their life with such freedom.
Q: Do you feel value in the 35 Week business model? what do you plan to do with your winters off?
Yes I 100% feel value in the 35 week business model. I like the idea of maximizing my output for a set time during the year, then stepping back for a bit afterwards. With my winters off I plan on traveling and spending time with family and friends. I’m most excited about the chance to integrate my special needs family into my new lifestyle because that’s something I’ve been passionate about since a young age and it’s even what I went to school for. I feel like all of these relationships bring so much value to my life and the 35 week model just gives me a lot power to maintain them.
Q: What are you most excited about with regards to starting your 2019 season? Do you have any big goals/milestones you’re aiming for?
I am most excited to grow this business to something huge within Ottawa. If Kingston can sustain 6 vehicles in their fleet then in my eyes Ottawa can certainly handle 10+. That may be a few years down the road, but for 2019 I think an attainable goal would be to have 3 JobPods on the road by the end of year. I’ve only put in half a season of groundwork in the Ottawa area and I’m already starting the 2019 season with 2 JobPods. This half season was a lot of work, learning and adapting, but I can already see the brand growing which is really cool for me as a new business owner. I feel as though 2019 and 2020 are going to be big years for myself and the entirety of Elite Window Cleaning as a whole.
This might seem a little selfish, but I’m also excited to see if I can make over $100k net for myself – that’s a huge milestone for me personally. Beyond all of this I’m excited to have fun with who I’m working with, my customers, the back-office staff and the owners in a way that takes a bit of the day-to-day stress off my shoulders.
More information on Franchise Opportunities can be found here.