How These Two Sets of ecomaids Franchisees Are Building a Family Business

Oftentimes, when couples and families consider the idea of entrepreneurship, they think about starting a business from scratch. However, what many don’t realize is that the benefits that building a family business by following a franchise model can offer are considerable – and so are the potential rewards. That’s why many aspiring entrepreneurs are turning to franchising to help them become their own boss and set up a legacy for their families or to build financial independence that will carry them through to retirement.

Hollie and Lucas Kemmer have wanted to start their own business for the last few years, but they were at a point in their lives where they didn’t really have time to start from the ground up. That’s when they looked at the prospect of franchising with a proven business model that offered support to its franchisees. ecomaids, the environmentally safe home-and-business-cleaning brand, stuck out to the Kemmers because of its dedication to eco-friendly cleaning.

“We have always been passionate about the environment, doing what we can to save the earth through recycling and saving water,” explained franchisee Hollie Kemmer. “ecomaids really fit our family lifestyle.”

The Kemmers own the Madison-Sun-Prairie-Verona ecomaids franchise in Wisconsin, and when they decided to join the brand, they were excited about becoming part of the Happinest family.

“The ecomaids franchise, and the folks at Happinest, are people who are really down to earth, and we connected really well with them throughout the entire process,” she said. “We know the importance of having a clean, safe home, and we knew after meeting the team that our values were aligned. We were ready to take on our own location to provide customers with the same high-quality service that the brand offers.”

Luke echoed Hollie’s point about finding a franchisor whose values aligned with their own. “When we found ecomaids, the brand really stuck out for us because of our passion for eco-friendly and non-toxic cleaning — and we knew it was something we needed to pursue,” he said.

“It has been really impressive and wonderful to experience the growth of the brand with high-quality candidates like Hollie and Luke Kemmer,” said Sharon Cupach, senior director of franchise development for ecomaids. “Franchisees like Hollie and Luke, who have values that align so well with the ecomaids mission, really make us excited about the future growth of the brand as we work to introduce environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning products into the homes of all our customers.”

In addition to the Kemmers, Dave and Michelle Burns own an ecomaids franchise in the North Royalton-Hudson-Northfield near Akron, Ohio, an area surrounded by Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The couple both worked at the same company until the COVID-19 pandemic sent them into early retirement. They decided they would give franchising a try, thanks to the advisor they were set up with to help them in their search for a new business venture at their previous company.

“We started looking for a franchise around June 2020, and I looked at a variety of options over the course of several months,” explained Dave. “I finally chose ecomaids in October 2020, and we haven’t looked back since.”

When determining if ecomaids was the right fit for them, the Burnses went through discovery day and found out how much they enjoyed the team behind ecomaids and Happinest. “There was just something about them that we enjoyed so much, and we trusted them from the very beginning,” said Dave. “We felt comfortable with them and like they were part of a large family. They’ve been helpful with any advice we’ve had so far, and we know we made the right choice.

Now, the Burnses enjoy being a part of their community, supporting charities and showing their employees just how appreciative they are for their help. “We love our community, and it’s really important to us to give back,” said Dave. “We want to support the people who work for us and often have parties and get-togethers with them. We’re like a big happy family, and we really enjoy that.”

The Burnses also work hard to let their customers know how valued they are: “We personally visit each of our customers during their first round of services to get to know them, and we even give them our cell phone numbers,” said Dave. “We want to create a business that is compassionate to our employees and provides quality services to our customers. We always answer when there’s a problem, we take care of anything a customer may need and we put our focus on building a company the right way.”

How Support from ecomaids and Happinest Helps Franchisees Feel Like They’re Set Up to Succeed

In addition to the environmentally friendly mission of ecomaids, the Kemmers said that they were also impressed by the support the brand offers franchisees. “We’ve only been in business for a couple of months now, so everything about this is brand-new to us,” said Hollie. “ecomaids has really gone above and beyond with helping us get our footing. They’re helping the most with the call center, which allows us to focus on the day-to-day of business operations and all that we have going on as new business owners.”

Additionally, Happinest offers its franchisees support by way of business coaches, something the Kemmers appreciate as they learn the ins and outs of entrepreneurship.

“Our business advisor, Christine, gets really involved and knows everything she needs to know on a personal level,” said Hollie. “She knows what we’re going through and what we need help with. She holds us accountable to our own goals and is there to help us work through any roadblocks or with any ideas we may have.”

Aside from corporate support, franchisees with ecomaids have the opportunity to connect with other franchisees in peer support groups. “We have had such a positive experience connecting with other franchisees,” said Hollie. “We went through training together in one of the first in-person sessions since COVID-19 and have been able to stay connected and learn from each other.”

The Kemmers are excited to continue growing their customer base, and they hope to bring on 200 new customers in 2022. Thankfully, they have an entire community supporting them; they have plenty of already-established relationships with friends, colleagues and close acquaintances to obtain referrals for new customers.

Dave echoed the Kemmers’ sentiment of feeling supported as a franchisee with the brand, saying that the team at ecomaids and Happinest has been there every step of the way as they navigated the road to becoming business owners. He said, “We’re in this and going to make the best of it, and knowing that we have the backing of the ecomaids and Happinest team gives us the confidence we need to know that we will be successful.”

The Burnses currently have approximately 100 customers they continuously see, as well as 100 customers they’ve served with one-time cleanings. The goal, Dave said, is to reach 200 customers with recurring services by the end of 2022.

“We currently have three teams within our business, and the goal is to get to six teams by the end of the year,” he added. “We want to hire 20 to 30 people so that we can maintain a manageable size team while still meeting our financial and retirement goals.”

The total investment necessary to open an ecomaids franchise ranges from $121,560 to $147,615. For more information on franchising opportunities with ecomaids, visit https://ecomaidsfranchise.com/.