Brady Ravenelle launched his Busy Bee Jumpers franchise in Central Massachusetts in 2025, betting on an entirely new career. After leaving insurance and drawing on lessons learned through his time playing baseball, he entered the inflatable rental industry with little hands-on experience but a lot of confidence in the Busy Bee system. One year later, that confidence has been rewarded with a growing business.
"What surprised me the most is just how logical the business is," Ravenelle said. "Once you really understand it, you see how you can efficiently build revenue. My eyes have opened a lot over the last year, and I've learned so much about both the business and the inflatable industry."
Over the past year, Ravenelle has developed a much better understanding of how the business works. Every delivery follows a similar process of arriving at the customer's home, setting up the inflatable, spending a few minutes with the family and heading to the next event. Seeing that process repeat throughout the season has helped him better understand how the business grows.
"We're still a two-man operation with one truck, but we've doubled in size from last year to this year," he said. "The two of us work about 55 to 60 hours a week. Some days we're on the road for 10 or 12 hours, but it's been fulfilling. We've been able to accomplish a lot with just the two of us."
Throughout his first full year, Ravenelle says Busy Bee's corporate team has been an invaluable resource.
"Our corporate support has been excellent," he said. "Sal and his team have been doing this for 25 years, so there's really not a situation they haven't seen before. Whenever I call, they're always there to help."
With just two full-time employees handling deliveries, every hour on the road matters. Having the call center manage customer inquiries allows Ravenelle to stay focused on serving existing customers while new bookings continue to come in.
Before franchising, Ravenelle worked in insurance, where customer conversations often centered around difficult situations. Today, those same customer service skills have taken on a much more enjoyable role.
"In insurance, you're usually trying to make a bad situation better," he said. "What's nice about this business is that 99% of the time you're showing up for something good. I'm basically the Santa Claus of the summer for some of these kids."
He credits strong communication as one of the biggest contributors to the company's growing reputation. Positive Google reviews frequently mention both the customer service and the responsiveness of the Busy Bee team.
One of Ravenelle's original goals was to become part of the Central Massachusetts community, where he grew up. Over the past year, he's had opportunities to do so.
"We recently partnered with an auto body shop that bought one of the old dealerships in Dudley, where I grew up," he said. "We hosted a free community event with a huge obstacle course and about 10 or 12 inflatables. It was really rewarding because all the kids from town came out. That was one of those moments where it felt like I was giving something back to the community where I grew up."
With one successful year behind him, Ravenelle is already looking ahead. Plans are underway to expand west toward the Springfield area in 2027. He's also preparing to add trucks and grow his team while continuing to strengthen the company's online presence through Google reviews and search engine optimization.
"We've seen a lot of great growth in our second year," he said. "We've been able to handle it professionally without things becoming too chaotic. We're growing at the right pace, and there's still a lot of opportunity ahead."
Looking back, Ravenelle says he wouldn't change much about how he approached his first year. His main piece of advice is simply to be prepared for the work that comes with building a business.
"Be ready to work for the things you want," he said. "Some things look easy on paper, but then you have to go out and deliver. There are great days and there are hard days when it's rainy, wet and you're driving around all day. You just have to stay level-headed and keep moving forward."
After one full year in business, Ravenelle says the challenges have been worth it. The business continues to grow, and the leap of faith he took a year ago has become a foundation for long-term success.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/busy-bee-jumpers.
Busy Bee Jumpers
SPONSORED
After doubling his business in his first year, the Central Massachusetts franchisee reflects on the lessons learned, the importance of customer service and his plans to expand in 2027.
Brady Ravenelle launched his Busy Bee Jumpers franchise in Central Massachusetts in 2025, betting on an entirely new career. After leaving insurance and drawing on lessons learned through his time playing baseball, he entered the inflatable rental industry with little hands-on experience but a lot of confidence in the Busy Bee system. One year later, that confidence has been rewarded with a growing business.
"What surprised me the most is just how logical the business is," Ravenelle said. "Once you really understand it, you see how you can efficiently build revenue. My eyes have opened a lot over the last year, and I've learned so much about both the business and the inflatable industry."
Over the past year, Ravenelle has developed a much better understanding of how the business works. Every delivery follows a similar process of arriving at the customer's home, setting up the inflatable, spending a few minutes with the family and heading to the next event. Seeing that process repeat throughout the season has helped him better understand how the business grows.
"We're still a two-man operation with one truck, but we've doubled in size from last year to this year," he said. "The two of us work about 55 to 60 hours a week. Some days we're on the road for 10 or 12 hours, but it's been fulfilling. We've been able to accomplish a lot with just the two of us."
Throughout his first full year, Ravenelle says Busy Bee's corporate team has been an invaluable resource.
"Our corporate support has been excellent," he said. "Sal and his team have been doing this for 25 years, so there's really not a situation they haven't seen before. Whenever I call, they're always there to help."
With just two full-time employees handling deliveries, every hour on the road matters. Having the call center manage customer inquiries allows Ravenelle to stay focused on serving existing customers while new bookings continue to come in.
Before franchising, Ravenelle worked in insurance, where customer conversations often centered around difficult situations. Today, those same customer service skills have taken on a much more enjoyable role.
"In insurance, you're usually trying to make a bad situation better," he said. "What's nice about this business is that 99% of the time you're showing up for something good. I'm basically the Santa Claus of the summer for some of these kids."
He credits strong communication as one of the biggest contributors to the company's growing reputation. Positive Google reviews frequently mention both the customer service and the responsiveness of the Busy Bee team.
One of Ravenelle's original goals was to become part of the Central Massachusetts community, where he grew up. Over the past year, he's had opportunities to do so.
"We recently partnered with an auto body shop that bought one of the old dealerships in Dudley, where I grew up," he said. "We hosted a free community event with a huge obstacle course and about 10 or 12 inflatables. It was really rewarding because all the kids from town came out. That was one of those moments where it felt like I was giving something back to the community where I grew up."
With one successful year behind him, Ravenelle is already looking ahead. Plans are underway to expand west toward the Springfield area in 2027. He's also preparing to add trucks and grow his team while continuing to strengthen the company's online presence through Google reviews and search engine optimization.
"We've seen a lot of great growth in our second year," he said. "We've been able to handle it professionally without things becoming too chaotic. We're growing at the right pace, and there's still a lot of opportunity ahead."
Looking back, Ravenelle says he wouldn't change much about how he approached his first year. His main piece of advice is simply to be prepared for the work that comes with building a business.
"Be ready to work for the things you want," he said. "Some things look easy on paper, but then you have to go out and deliver. There are great days and there are hard days when it's rainy, wet and you're driving around all day. You just have to stay level-headed and keep moving forward."
After one full year in business, Ravenelle says the challenges have been worth it. The business continues to grow, and the leap of faith he took a year ago has become a foundation for long-term success.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/busy-bee-jumpers.
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