Franchisee Voices: Leon Mann of Mosquito Joe

1851 had a chance to speak with Leon Mann to learn more about his background and how he got involved with Mosquito Joe.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

I went to St. Patrick’s High School in Chicago and was a project manager for Drake Construction in the city of Chicago for quite a few years, focusing on building condos and single family homes. I was going to go into contracting on my own and then the economy fell through. I built a house in Highland Park and was laid off. I had a wife and kids to take care of and knew I needed to find another job and fast. I opened my own inspection company nine years ago thinking I could make something off it--and I was right. It’s now one of the largest in Chicago. I have about eight employees, all inspectors, who perform nearly 1,900 inspections per year. My wife, Rachael is a real estate investor for the Conlon Real Estate Group out of Winnetka.

Why did you choose to become a franchisee with Mosquito Joe? How did you learn about the brand?

We have an acre of land on a private block, and when I was sitting with my neighbors about four years ago we were getting eaten alive by mosquitos. There were no local mosquito prevention companies so we called Mosquito Squad. They weren’t organized and I wasn’t impressed by their customer service. They had a great set up but they needed a more centralized location and I thought there had to be something better out there. I was on a plane to Florida last year when I saw a sign for Mosquito Joe. We researched the franchise and decided to buy it. They had a strong brand image, the corporate team was supportive and that was the combination that pushed us into franchising.

What were your perceptions of franchising before starting the process?

I don’t know if I had any perceptions, honestly. I read up on franchising in general because my background is in business and I wanted to understand the opportunity. I thought with the service industry, it would be better than say a Subway because you would not be working 50-70 hours per week. I’ve had experience with pests because my inspection company focuses on mold and termites. I knew my background would help extend my knowledge of the industry and it would become something we can utilize to really help our customers.

What were the most unexpected challenges of opening your franchise?
Licensing in franchising is overwhelming. I looked at the legal documents and realized I had no idea what I was doing yet. A lot of things can fall through, which puts another eight weeks on your timeline to open. I started the process in January and got everything finalized April. It’s the legal part of the franchising process that has a distinct difference from business ownership.

Do you have any development or expansion plans with the brand?

I’m going to get this location up and running and then look into expansion opportunities.