No matter the state of the economy, companies need help and people need jobs. And Express Employment Professionals, the full service staffing franchise that works with job seekers to help them find the right job for their skills and experience, gives franchise owners the chance to capitalize on the booming $212.8 billion staffing industry while benefiting from the unmatched support of a business with over 40 years of experience. 

Two of those franchise owners are Nancy and Jeff Reed. The Reeds have been franchising with Express for over 16 years in the Brownsville, Harlingen, Weslaco and Southwest Dallas territories of Texas. Prior to becoming Express franchise owners, the couple collectively spent more than 45 years building their professional careers. Nancy spent nearly 10 years wearing different hats in the human resources field, with husband Jeff calling her the “HR guru of the Rio Grande Valley.” Jeff spent more than 20 years of his career in sales at various manufacturing companies. 

Originally from Mexico, Nancy was born into a family of small business owners with her father at the helm who specialized in owning and operating local restaurants. “After watching how hard my dad worked to support our family, I knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps of owning a small business that would leave a big impact,” she said. “And Express has given me an outlet to do so. Lucky for me, my lifelong partner Jeff was on-board with this strategy, as he also always wanted to own a business.” 

When pursuing business opportunities, the Reeds connected with an Express franchise owner in the area where they were living at the time. They soon realized that, coincidentally, Nancy had used Express as a previous resource during her HR days and remembered how beneficial that partnership was. Encouraged by their conversation with the franchise owner, the pair decided to invest in the Brownsville location.

“When discussing what would be the right franchising opportunity for us, we were immediately drawn to the fact that Express had a model to follow for its operators and a robust franchise network — and corporate team — that assured us that we wouldn’t be doing it alone,” said Jeff. “We were thrilled to know that we had found a partnership with the best of both worlds where local ownership and corporate backing coincide. So, we decided to give it a shot.” 

Now that the couple owns a number of Express locations, they expressed that they are certain this was the right move for their professional careers. One of the reasons for this is the “second-to-none” business model that Express offers, Jeff noted. “When there are challenges in the market, we know we’re never alone in trying to figure out the answers,” he said.  

Support is a crucial part of the Express model. The brand makes sure to give franchise owners everything they need to be successful. This includes franchise owner Help Desk support from the Oklahoma City HQ, monthly regional meetings with other owners to help discover best practices, leadership conferences available for staff to attend to further their development, annual conferences, monthly in-person meetings, strategic development and problem-solving and more. 

Additionally, franchise owners benefit from the brand's low overhead and investment level. Because they do not need to purchase a significant amount of supplies or equipment to start up their office, Express owners can save on investment costs. Even more impressively, the brand’s average AUV rings in at over $6 million. For territories open more than 24 months, average sales in 2021 were $6,119,487, while first-year offices averaged $900,049, according to Item 19 in the brand’s FDD. 

“We work really hard in the offices daily, and I can assure you that if we didn’t have the corporate backing that we currently have, we may not have the bandwidth to survive,” added Jeff. “So much of this business is having that support behind you and it truly makes all of the difference.”

Like many Express franchise owners, the Reeds see the opportunity to change people’s lives as the most rewarding part of the experience. The brand has always been guided by a simple vision: help as many people as possible find good jobs by helping as many clients as possible find good people.

“I have a big passion for helping people, which really brings out the soft side in me, and I truly enjoy the purpose of what we do at Express,” said Nancy. “Helping someone in need to find a job is a really rewarding career. Even as an HR professional, I enjoyed helping a company to find that skillset that they needed and give back to them by helping grow a quality business. This translates well to my role with Express and has pushed me to become a successful franchise owner.”

Express is looking to partner with more passionate franchise owners like Nancy and Jeff in markets around the world—and has strong territories that are available. With no prior experience needed, entrepreneurs from all backgrounds have the opportunity to invest and work towards Express’s goal of putting a million people to work each year.

The initial investment ranges from $100,000 to $220,000 to open an Express single traditional model, with a franchise fee of $40,000. For more information on franchising with Express visit: https://expressfranchising.com/.