Sal Longo, founder of Busy Bee Jumpers, has spent nearly 30 years building a thriving business in the bounce house rental market. With a vision to blend efficiency and service with a tightly curated inventory, he has established a business model that encourages scalability and profitability.

As the brand expands, Longo celebrates growth but remains focused on the people of the system as the top priority.

“[My focus is] my franchisees’ success,” he said. “They’ve invested significantly, trusting my 20+ years of experience. Ensuring their success is paramount.”

Busy Bee offers a unique market opportunity in a fractured industry, which Longo aims to elevate with streamlined offerings and healthy national growth. By bringing the proven system to new markets, emphasizing disciplined operations and strong customer service, and supporting owners with proprietary technology and comprehensive training, Longo has created a strong franchise opportunity.

“This market has opportunity, and we have a proven system,” he said. “We’ve been growing for 27 years. With discipline, franchisees can be very successful in 12 to 24 months.”

Longo recently joined 1851 Franchise Publisher Nick Powills for an episode of “The Franchisor Hot Seat.” A transcript of Longo’s interview with Powills has been provided below. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style. 

Nick Powills: Your franchising journey has lessons. How did you accidentally fall into it?

Sal Longo: Busy Bee is a niche. I dreamed of blending TWO MEN AND A TRUCK’s delivery with Chick-fil-A's efficiency in bounce houses for success.

Powills: You decided to franchise. Describe finding resources and the journey.

Longo: Our team was foundational. I sought attorneys for an FDD. I found you and Charles Internicola on YouTube, and I liked that you seemed easygoing yet professional. After an intro call, we chose The Internicola Firm for their franchise specialization. Six months later, legal work was done, and we had organic leads.

Powills: You found the right person. Many franchisors are promised unrealistic sales. How did you learn to trust your gut in finding partners and protecting your brand?

Longo: Tough. I'm a "trust first" guy, blessed with an organically grown, family-like team. I trust my intuition to connect with good-hearted people.

Powills: You have a great business. Is protecting your culture more important than selling franchises now?

Longo: Yes. We "protect the hive" at Busy Bee. Our corporate business is successful and profitable. We won't disrupt it for growth. Our first three partnerships came organically from my connections.

Powills: What is the dream for the brand?

Longo: My dream is to elevate this fractured market with business acumen and customer service. Busy Bee has led for over 10 years by prioritizing customer satisfaction. We seek like-minded operators who fix mistakes; our systems help navigate difficult situations.

Powills: Frame the business opportunity. What is Busy Bee?

Longo: Busy Bee offers streamlined bounce house, obstacle course, water slide and tent rentals. Limited inventory allows quick scaling. Territories up to 500,000 people include a $150,000 equipment package. Success stems from customer service, not flashy products. The package includes a truck, branding and a proprietary driver app, proving effective for our first three successful franchisees. We'll disrupt this niche industry.

Powills: What's the magic of Busy Bee — the shift from good to great? 

Longo: Entrusting our people. Our 13 managers, with me over 10 years, treat this business as their own. Trusting them to make decisions and handle problems shifted us from good to great.

Powills: People are the power of business, but the model must be sound. You "McDonaldized" this business by reducing product offerings. How did limiting your offerings make it easier for consumers and for you to operate?

Longo: COVID was eye-opening. After a 90-day shutdown, we realized attractions like ice cream trucks were low-margin, high-risk. We liquidated them, doubling down on core bounce houses, water slides, obstacle courses and tents. This doubled revenue and margins in 36 months, allowing faster staff scaling due to simpler training. Our new franchisees quickly learned the system, crucial for national expansion.

Powills: Limiting offerings will help franchisees. Was it stressful to say "no" to customers when scaling back?

Longo: Difficult, yes. I liquidated an $80,000 ice cream truck for $10,000, despite its high revenue. The associated headaches were immense. Removing it doubled revenue and reduced our 100-plus hour weeks to a normal life. We wondered why we hadn't done it sooner.

Powills: What keeps you up at night?

Longo: My franchisees' success. They've invested significantly, trusting my 20+ years of experience. Ensuring their success is paramount. Since going live May 1st, they're all thriving: daily deliveries, orders and deposits, proving our efficient technology and training.

Powills: Your answer highlights a crucial distinction: most franchisors worry about selling more franchises, but you worry about your franchisees' success. That's the magic that allows a great idea to double. Comments?

Longo: I agree. As the brand grows, my direct access to franchisees will lessen. Today, I experienced sheer joy on calls with them. One landed two significant jobs quickly, confirming our marketing works. Hearing his father say "thank you" was overwhelming. I'm enjoying this unique access now, knowing it will change as we grow.

Powills: Is letting go going to be a hurdle you face?

Longo: Yes. Disconnecting from direct Busy Bee operations was hardest. I used to handle deliveries and client issues. But my team executes more efficiently than I can alone. 

The next hurdle: selling more franchises after this season, then disconnecting as I onboard new franchisees in distant markets.

Powills: We're talking about the power of "no" as you scale. You didn't have to franchise to build a great business. It's the power of "no" to the wrong person or to a franchisee asking for unaligned additions. That's the next magic power you'll need to master.

Longo: Successful people master "no," which I struggle with as a pleaser. But to protect our working brand and "hive," I must stay disciplined. Three successful franchisees in under six months prove nationwide success is possible by sticking to the plan and resisting early changes.

Powills: Logistical question: What's the cost to get in, and how much can someone make? What are you disclosing?

Longo: Our 2025 FDD shows an initial investment of $160,000 to $400,000, all-inclusive. Year one benchmark is $300,000 per franchisee, with potential revenues of $500,000 to $750,000 from initial inventory.

Powills: What do you want a potential candidate watching this to know to make them reach out to you?

Longo: This market has opportunity. Unlike others who say it's not working, we have a proven system, growing for 27 years. With discipline, franchisees can be very successful in 12 to 24 months.

Powills: Franchisee success hinges on leader vision, product, cost/earnings, market and validation. Your vulnerability reveals a blessing: negative experiences built your generosity and authenticity. Your concern for franchisee success is the magic. As long as you maintain that positive outlook, the sky's the limit. This human magic is bigger than the business. I appreciate your story and our relationship.

Longo: Same here. You've been instrumental in guiding our future plans. Thank you for your advice, mentorship and guidance. We're here because of people like you.

Powills: This is just the start. It'll be fun to look back in a year and see how far we've come.

Watch the full interview above or on YouTube.

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/busy-bee-jumpers