Growing a Franchise
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It's Julie Kozlowski's passion to relate to those in her Delaware community. Her new company, Welcomemat Services, connects her enthusiasm for her community with area businesses.
New Castle County resident, Julie Kozlowski, is using her passion for connecting with people to open the first Welcomemat Services in Delaware to help locally owned businesses grow. After realizing she wanted to run a company of her own, Julie met with a franchising consultant from FranNet and learned about Welcomemat Services. The company uses unique technology to target new residents in the area and provides them with a welcome packet when they move into town. The packet contains gifts such as a free pizza, complimentary oil change, or a full-service car wash. This enables businesses to welcome the residents to their new community and build a relationship with those individuals. For the small, locally-owned business or locally-managed franchise, this helps target new customers before they turn to a competitor down the street. Born and raised in Delaware, Julie knows the area well and is excited to help these businesses grow and thrive. Partnering with Welcomemat allows business owners to concentrate on running their companies while Julie takes care of driving new customers through the door.
What were you doing before partnering with Welcomemat?
After graduating from Goldey-Beacom College with a degree in Computer Information Systems, I worked at Citibank for about three years. Once the recession hit in 2009, I was looking for a new career path when I came across an opportunity in Regulatory Affairs. I was back in school for biotechnology so it fit perfectly with my interests.
I had many amazing experiences and grew so much in my five years at the company, but I was looking for a change and was unsure again what I wanted to do. A friend of mine mentioned that I should look into franchising and I found that it really resonated with me because the concept of franchising is that you can go into business for yourself but not by yourself.
How did you hear about Welcomemat and what made you ultimately decided to commit?
Since I had no knowledge of franchise opportunities I decided to work with a franchising consultant. I met with Kim Graham from FranNet and after taking personality tests, setting personal and business goals, and researching different franchises, I found Welcomemat Services. I have always been interested in technology and how companies can use it to improve business. The technology aspect of Welcomemat really impressed and interested me. In addition, all the franchisees that I spoke with along the way only had great things to say about the company and their 14 years of experience. I knew I could count on them for support and learn from their experience to grow my business in Delaware
Why will New Castle County be a great market for Welcomemat?
My Welcomemat territory is the first location in Delaware so I am really excited to bring this new business to my home state. We have a lot of locally owned businesses and small franchises in Delaware so it will really help their businesses grow to use Welcomemat and target the new residents. Being a native to the area, I have a lot of pride in my town so am excited to help these businesses and show the new residents what makes Delaware so great.
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About the Author
Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.
