Franchisee Expansion Continues to Fuel TWO MEN AND A TRUCK’s Growth

In the nearly four decades since its founding, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® has carved out a formidable role as the largest franchisor in the moving industry. With more than 3,000 trucks on the pavement in markets across the U.S., the brand has hit it’s 400th location, and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK’s consistent growth can be attributed to any number of factors, including its leadership position in a recession-resistant industry, low overhead and streamlined operational model. Still, the biggest driver of growth for the brand is the success of its existing franchise owners, who continue to reinvest in the franchise at a rate unmatched by competitors. 

“Any kind of growth is exciting, but when the bulk of your growth comes from existing franchise owners who continue to find increasing value by reinvesting in your brand, that is about the best indicator imagnible that you’re doing things right,” said TWO MEN AND A TRUCK President Randy Shacka.

Justin Moore, a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchise owner in Chico, California, has been with the franchise for 15 years. This year, Moore opened his second territory and said he plans to launch two additional territories in the coming years.

“When we decided to grow, we considered taking on another brand — a franchise in a different segment — but nothing matched the opportunity we’d already found with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK,” he said. “Franchising is all about support, and that is where this brand really shines. The corporate team is not only with us every step of the way; they are also extremely flexible. They are willing to try new things and move out of their comfort zone to help us grow.”

Moore’s second territory is in Waco, Texas, nearly 2,000 miles from his Chico location. Moore has a partner running day-to-day operations in Waco, but he says the support from TWO MEN AND A TRUCK’s corporate team made such a distant expansion possible in the first place.

“[The corporate team] really provides everything you need for a successful opening, and once you get up and running, the model allows for successful hands-off ownership,” he said. “I knew all that, which is why we pulled the trigger on the second territory, but I was still shocked by how well it’s gone.”

In his 11 years with the franchise, Josh Payne has opened eight territories, and he’s preparing his ninth to open later this year. Payne says his growth with the brand is only partly due to his desire to grow his portfolio. The real driver behind his consistent expansion efforts, Payne says, is creating opportunities for his team members.

“My core purpose as a business owner is to provide opportunities to talented people who might otherwise be locked out of those opportunities simply because they don’t have the financing or connections,” Payne said. “So while expansion is good for me and my portfolio, I really look at it as a way to provide leadership opportunities for people on my team.”

Payne says half of his current territories are run by what he calls “homegrown operators,” meaning they started as entry-level employees and worked their way up.

“Some of them start in sales or operations, and our internal model is designed to give everyone the chance to prove that they can run the operation on their own if they aspire to,” he said.

Payne said TWO MEN AND A TRUCK’s corporate team has been fully supportive of the homegrown operator model. “Whenever I approach the home office with a plan to open a new territory and establish one of my employees as the operator, they have no hesitation — they just ask how they can help.” 

The ability to hand off a new territory to a first-time operator is facilitated by the same operational advantages that allow franchise owners like Moore to open additional territories halfway across the country from their original locations. “It’s plug and play,” Payne said. “There’s a simple operational playbook, and they just have to follow it. Everything falls into place.”

After Payne opens his ninth TWO MEN AND A TRUCK territory later this year, he says he’ll continue to expand for the foreseeable future.

“I don’t have a number in mind, but I want to keep providing new opportunities,” he said. “I don’t want my legacy to be about the empire I built with this brand. I want it to be about all the opportunities I created for people. So in that sense, I’m not sure I’ll ever feel like I’m done.”

Payne says his desire to help his employees grow is largely inspired by his own experience as a first-time business owner with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK.

“This was the first ownership opportunity I had, and the support I got from the corporate team gave me the tools and confidence to succeed and expand,” he said. “Without their support, I’m not sure I would have succeeded as a business owner with this or any brand. These days, I consider myself a mentor for younger entrepreneurs, and TWO MEN AND A TRUCK allows me to provide the same growth opportunities to a younger generation of entrepreneurs that this business gave me.”

ABOUT TWO MEN AND A TRUCK

Headquartered in Michigan, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK is the largest franchised moving company in North America. Currently, there are more than 390 locations and 3,000 trucks operating in 47 U.S. states in addition to Canada, Ireland and the UK. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK has performed more than 9 million moves since its inception in 1985 and has seen consistent growth dating back to December 2009. In 2022, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked TWO MEN AND A TRUCK as one of the top 500 franchises in the U.S. and No. 1 in the moving/junk removal category. Franchise Business Review also named TWO MEN AND A TRUCK a 2022 Top 200 Franchise and a 2021 Top Recession-Proof Franchise. As of August 2021, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK has joined the ServiceMaster brand. ServiceMaster was founded as one of America’s first franchise businesses and does business under six brands today across 50 states and nine countries that generate more than $3.3B in system-wide sales: ServiceMaster Restore, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, AmeriSpec and Furniture Medic.

To learn more about franchising with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, visit https://franchise.twomenandatruck.com/.