A Life-Altering Brain Injury Leads to a New Path for This TruBlue Franchise Owner in Vermont

After seven years in the corporate sector and a life-altering brain injury from mountain biking, Brian McNabb faced a pivotal decision: return to the corporate grind or embark on a new business venture. Now, with his new TruBlue Home Service Ally in Northern Vermont, he’s made his choice clear, leveraging his lifelong entrepreneurial spirit to provide home maintenance and handyman services to seniors and busy families in his community. 

With a blend of experience as both a business owner and corporate employee, McNabb's first venture at 27 was launching an I.T. adult education business and leading the first ever IT apprenticeship program in the U.S. This experience, focused on transforming the underemployed into senior IT professionals, was not only a professional milestone but also a personally fulfilling endeavor for McNabb, marking his early affinity for making meaningful impacts in people’s lives.

From there, McNabb’s versatile career continued as he helped establish the nonprofit Green Mountain Montessori School in Vermont to improve early childhood development. His career then oscillated back to the corporate world, where he took on various roles in healthcare IT and continued on his passion for discovering and nurturing adults who were underemployed to become top IT professionals such as he did with OpenTempo, a Vermont start-up, which launched many successful careers in IT.

Then, the mountain biking injury happened and brought everything to a halt. With time to reflect and his kids in high school, McNabb decided to embark on a new business venture that would improve his community. 

As he steps into this new chapter with TruBlue, McNabb aims to create a legacy through serving the community as a trusted local provider for essential home services and as a foundation for future leadership within his business. At 52, with a keen understanding of the needs of both busy adults and seniors, he finds himself uniquely positioned to empathize with and serve both customer bases effectively. McNabb plans to open his TruBlue location in February of 2024.

1851 Franchise spoke with McNabb to learn more about his inspiring story, his decision to franchise with TruBlue and his plans for the future. 

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

McNabb: I came out of college into the I.T. world. That was my predestined career path. Since then, I’ve gone back and forth between being a business owner and a corporate employee. My first business opened when I was 27. It was an adult I.T. education business. I actually ran the first-ever I.T. apprenticeship program in the U.S. and really enjoyed that experience. I’ve always enjoyed finding people who are diamonds in the rough. For this program, we took people who were unemployed or underemployed and put them through I.T. boot camp. My job was to get them up to a senior level in software development. It made a huge impact on people’s lives, which was very gratifying. 

From there, I opened up another business with my wife — a non-profit Montessori school in Vermont called The Green Mountain Montessori School. I managed all the business aspects while she took care of the kids and parents. 

After that, I went back into the corporate world for a few years. Then I got asked by a former employee of mine if I would come run professional services for a new start-up I.T. company called OpenTempo. I was responsible for almost everything aside from Sales and Development, and hired most new employees, so I had the joy of finding great people again. After three awesome years, I wanted to find more time to spend with my children so I  went back into the corporate world, and  I have been there for the past seven years, running large-scale technical programs requiring collaboration across engineering, marketing, finance, support and more in healthcare IT. 

Recently, I had a brain injury due to a mountain biking accident. That took me out of the workforce for a bit. I had two options from there — go back into the corporate world or start another business. 

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

McNabb: I looked at franchises because I wanted to be able on my own but  didn’t want to deal with the burden of starting a new business from scratch again so I could enjoy my kids who are now 15 and 17 — I didn’t have much more time to spend with them while they are still living at home. I’ve always loved real estate, so I started looking into the home service sector and noted that the common reason that so many franchises exist is that the industries are fragmented and customer service is generally poor. It is hard to find a good person to do anything and even the good people are busy working and find it hard to concentrate on the customer experience. The kicker is that once you do find someone good, you have to start all over for the next service: Painting, cleaning, repair, etc. This led me to ask my franchise broker if there were any companies that  placed a high-focus on the customer experience across multiple home services.? She showed me TruBlue. 

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

McNabb: One of the things that I loved about TruBlue is that it is focused on delivering great customer experiences. This is TruBlue's calling card — you can provide a great service and really become a trusted ally for homeowners. Do you need someone to help with the driveway? We can do that. Do you need someone to help with minor repairs? We got it. 

Opening up a fast food restaurant or something wasn’t interesting to me. Home services and the focus on seniors was really what stood out. Seniors get scammed constantly. A lot of adult children don’t live in the same place as their elderly parents. Who do you trust? I want to develop this brand locally as a trusted provider of these services. I am really excited about that, making their home safer with senior home modifications, free safety assessments, and more. We can do anything and everything to help seniors live more safely. And, with the national brand, children of elderly parents living near me have a trusted brand to call.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

McNabb: I am looking to build a legacy I can leave behind for the benefit of the community along with employees who are capable of taking the business to the next level. 

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

McNabb: I am 52, so I will need these services at some point myself. It will be great to have this ally in my community when that time comes. The two demographic profiles we hit are busy adults and seniors — I am dead center between both of them. My wife and I have run multiple businesses with two kids, and we are both headed towards retirement age. So, I can totally relate to both parties and look forward to solving issues for both groups. 

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?

McNabb: Find something you can get excited about, but remember that there is no guarantee. The only way you can be successful in anything is to prepare yourself and work hard. Since you are going to have to work hard, you better be excited about the business you are opening. 

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit: https://1851franchise.com/trubluehousecare/info

About TruBlue Home Service Ally:

TruBlue Home Service Ally® provides a unique and affordable approach to helping busy adults and seniors live a worry-free life by offering trustworthy handyman, home maintenance and senior modification services. Helping you maintain your home both inside and out, TruBlue’s services include handyman projects and to-do list chores, preventative home maintenance programs, kitchen and bath remodels, seasonal work, and senior modification services, all handled by professional, bonded and insured Tru-Pro® Technicians. TruBlue franchise owners are required to complete senior home safety certification programs through the NAHB and Age Safe America. As certified specialists, TruBlue franchisees are able to perform aging in place home safety assessments and can make recommended safety modifications as needed.

All locations are independently owned and operated. Service offerings, certifications, and licenses vary by location.