Why Franchisee Anthony Scheeda Joined Mosquito Hunters After 25 Years in Retail

Anthony Scheeda wasn’t exactly looking for something new. But an email from a friend changed that.  

The email read: “Have you ever thought about owning your own business?”

In truth, Scheeda had thought about it — even more so after his 25 years in retail with companies like Target and Walmart had begun to weigh on him.

“I was just kind of getting tired of working 70 or 80 hours a week,” said Scheeda, “And then having my boss — and my boss's boss — walk in and point out all the things that were not right with the store when there were so many things that were right with the store.”

Realizing it was time for a change, Scheeda connected with a franchise consultant. After building a profile for Scheeda, the consultant presented him and his wife, Eliza, with a few different franchise opportunities ranging from tree services to art restoration. Out of all the options, Mosquito Hunters, the outdoor pest control brand with 130-plus units across the country, caught their attention most.

“We settled on a couple of options and went to two discovery days,” said Scheeda. “And there was something about Andy (Fuller)  and the team over at Mosquito Hunters that just felt right. Just the way that Andy conducted himself — how he carried himself and how forthcoming and honest he was — just felt like it was the right fit for us.”

Anthony and Eliza signed a two-territory deal east of Buffalo, New York, area. Their territories span as far north as Lockport, as far south as Boston (New York), as far east as Corfu and Pembroke and as far west as Cheektowaga.

“There is a lot of competition up here,” said Scheeda. “There's Mosquito Joe, there's Mosquito Shield, there's Mosquito Focus, there's TrueGreen. But we did our due diligence. We did some secret shopping and stuff to see how we could really differentiate ourselves from the competition, and the one thing that we found was that customer service was lacking. So that was an area where we wanted to really set ourselves apart. We were going to be easy to work with. We weren't going to lock people into specific things. We were going to be competitively priced. And that all really helped us come out of the gates really quickly.”

The Scheeda’s launched their Mosquito Hunters business in January 2019 and are now in their fourth year of operation.

“It grew super fast in the first couple of years, which really kind of caught us by surprise,” said Scheeda. “But I think those little things we did off the top really helped us differentiate ourselves from the competition.”

The Scheeda’s rave about the support from Mosquito Hunters corporate, citing the educational tools it provides and the marketing support.

“You know, obviously if the phones aren't ringing, nobody's making any money,” said Scheeda. “And they do a really good job at pushing the digital marketing for us. There is a lot of education that they go through, like how to attack your ground game, and it’s really motivating because, unfortunately, in today's world, everybody focuses on what you're not doing and not what you could be doing. It’s a lot different with Mosquito Hunters.”

The Scheeda’s earned top franchise honors in the Mosquito Hunters network in their first year of operation and have continued to grow their business year-over-year since. Scheeda attributes the growth to the level of customer service they provide and the community events they participate in, resulting in growth simply by word of mouth.

“A lot of our new business has been coming from referrals,” he said. “We get a chance to go out and do community events, people also get a chance to talk to us and put a face to the name and the company. I think that’s important. I think that matters.”

The Scheedas will continue to grow their business by word of mouth and with the marketing support from Mosquito Hunters corporate, and most of all, by doing business the way they believe it should be done.

“We're just honest with people,” said Scheeda. “We don't try to sell them, you know? We're just upfront and honest, and I think that really goes a long way in business — especially today, where everybody's trying to get the next customer or the next client. We figure if we do right by people and we take good care of them, they’ll tell people about us, and the growth will come. Because we're doing it the right way. That’s what it’s all about for us.”

The total investment necessary to open a Mosquito Hunters franchise ranges from $89,187-$116,187. For more information on franchising opportunities with Mosquito Hunters, visit https://mosquitohuntersfranchise.com.