Under the Happinest umbrella, ecomaids has an executive team of business professionals with significant franchising experience. The Development team includes Eric Martin, VP of development, Ron Ens, franchise development manager, Sharon Cupach, senior director of franchise development and Shirley Warrington, director of franchise development. Together, the team is working together to save the planet, one home at a time.

The ecomaids brand was founded on the principle of providing sustainable and environmentally cleaning solutions to the modern consumer, and the franchise is poised for massive growth thanks to the backing of an executive team with decades of experience in the industry. Some of those responsible for educating prospective franchisees spoke about their backgrounds, how they came to the brand and what ecomaids has in store for the future.

Eric Martin, VP of Development

Martin’s career in franchising started over a decade ago in Omaha, Nebraska. “I always say about franchising, ‘We don’t find it, it finds us,’” said Martin, who was fortunate enough to be brought on board to do franchise development for senior-care company Right at Home. “We launched another concept, and through that I got the experience of helping to lift a franchise from the ground up.”

Soon afterwards, Martin was contacted by Lawn Doctor chairman Scott Frith, who was looking to add another concept to the brand family. “Lawn Doctor was a very strong 500-unit system at that time with a great legacy,” said Martin. “I joined the team, and we brought on Mosquito Hunters shortly thereafter in June 2018. We had an opportunity to mentor and build relationships with those folks to grow that brand, and then in May of 2019 we acquired ecomaids.”

Upon the acquisition of ecomaids, Happinest was born. “As a now parent-company managing three brands, it all became very real at that point,” said Martin “It was critical for me to find people that I trusted and believed in, who I knew could also take a lot of initiative and leverage their experiences and relationships to put these emerging brands on the map.”

It was through this process that Martin reconnected with Cupach, who also introduced him to Warrington. “All of us have relationships, history, knowledge and business acumen. We really work together as a team,” said Martin. “We all work remotely, have different schedules and different ways of doing things, but we all work under the same process.”

Because Happinest is a relatively new multiple-brand franchisor, Martin strives to see the team continue to develop and take on new responsibilities. “This is a really exciting time to see this all taking shape. I feel blessed every day to wake up and work with Shirley, Sharon and Ron. They’re focused on finding the right type of people and care about the people they are bringing in to become franchise owners,” Martin said.

Together, the team is developing a process to truly educate potential franchisees on what it means to invest in the ecomaids brand. “We look at this as a long-term strategy. We want to keep people motivated and have them stick with us for years and get their families involved,” said Martin. “Our staff is an extension of our operations team, and we want to make sure people are making the best decision for themselves and their families.”

Ron Ens, Franchise Development Manager

Ens started working with Martin in 2017 as a consultant who was brought on to help with project management for Lawn Doctor. After about five or six months, an opportunity arose for Ens to take on a full-time role. “My background is in business development, and I just happened to be here when the company decided to purchase Mosquito Hunters,” said Ens. “I was fortunate enough to be offered a job by Eric and help build out the franchise development process for Happinest. It was an incredibly exciting time to come on board because we were building everything from the ground up.”

Ens worked to develop a CRM, build out the brands’ marketing materials and leverage his background to really dive into a completely new industry. “Mosquito Hunters took off like a rocketship. We experienced win after win, and you get very few opportunities like that in the course of a career,” said Ens. “I’m happy to be part of the larger Happinest vision with the acquisition of ecomaids.”

Ens went on to say that moving from the seasonal outdoor services segment into a year-round home services business has been as invigorating as it is challenging. “It just keeps getting better and better as time goes on,” said Ens. “In many organizations I’ve worked with in the past, things get swept under the rug and not addressed. That was never the case here.”

Pragmatic support has been a pillar of the Happinest business. “From a franchisee perspective, you’re looking at the team and the organization, but also at an opportunity to work with a company that is totally focused on growing this vision,” said Ens. “To me that is unique and something that franchisees will gravitate towards.”

Sharon Cupach, Senior Director of Franchise Development

Cupach got her start working with Warrington at Proforma and developing several different franchise concepts. She eventually relocated to southwest Florida to work for a senior care brand, which she grew from the ground up.

Cupach made the switch to Happinest in the summer of 2019 in order to launch ecomaids. “I reconnected with Eric, and we felt that together, with our combined work ethic, integrity and our reputation in franchising, this could be something we could really grow together,” said Cupach. “I’ve been really fortunate that I've been able to build that reputation and work with people like Eric, Shirley and Ron.

Much like Martin, Cupach considers herself an educator for franchisees. “Overall I would say that in my experience it has always been extremely important to have a collaborative team in development that has the same goals in mind,” said Cupach. “Our goal is to treat our candidates respectfully within a lasting, mutually-beneficial relationship and to help them understand that we’re really looking for the best possible fit. I think that's a differentiator between us and other groups—we take this very seriously, but we also really enjoy working together and have a lot of fun, too.”

Shirley Warrington, Director of Franchise Development

Warrington got her start in franchising with Cupach 21 years ago in Cleveland, Ohio. “We started out with Proforma, a franchise in the print and promotional products industry, but we eventually went our separate ways while both staying in franchising and franchise development,” said Warrington.

While she enjoyed each brand that she worked with, Warrington found herself wanting to represent a brand whose ethics and values really aligned with her own. “When I can represent a brand that I feel passionate about, I feel that I can do the best by my candidates as well,” said Warrington. “I was looking to make a change towards the end of last year, and I reached out to Sharon. I was immediately hooked on the prospect of ecomaids as an emerging brand.”

Warrington spoke with Martin as well and felt truly sold on the concept. “The culture of Happinest was a huge reason why I joined,” said Warrington. “I’m super excited and looking forward to lots of growth.”

To learn more about franchise opportunities with ecomaids, visit https://www.ecomaids.com/franchise-opportunities/.