From Rocket Scientist to Commercial Cleaner

Ken Speece is a former rocket scientist turned Anago Cleaning Systems Master franchise owner who has been with the organization since July 2010 helping the brand grow in Ohio. Ken began his career as a mechanical engineer working on defense projects for a military subcontractor. During the Reagan years, he worked on missiles and other weapon systems for nearly eight years, and decided to continue his education with an MBA during the time the Cold War was coming to an end. Seeking to satisfy a latent entrepreneurial spirit and after hearing about the Anago Franchise opportunity, Ken turned his career objectives to growing the Anago brand in Northeast Ohio. Anago Cleaning Systems is a commercial cleaning franchise system supporting over 30 Master Franchises and 2,400 individual Franchisees in the U.S. and internationally. After years of refining procedures and creating duplicable systems created in his large commercial cleaning service, David Povlitz founded Anago in 1989 to help other entrepreneurs open their cleaning businesses. Today, its program sets the standard in U.S. commercial cleaning. Anago was ranked the 10th fastest-growing franchise and #39 on the Franchise 500 by Entrepreneur magazine in 2013, and ranked by Franchise Business Review as one of the best franchises in Franchisee satisfaction. Inc. Magazine has also listed Anago as one of the top privately-held companies in the U.S. For further information, visit its website or www.AnagoMasters.com. How did you learn about the brand? I started looking for companies to purchase, and was using a business broker. Even though I had no actual experience in commercial cleaning, I decided to get in touch with Anago. Why did you choose an opportunity with Anago? It had mostly to do with wanting to change my career. I was tired of working for larger companies. I always wanted autonomy to run my own business, and work that entrepreneurial itch. I saw commercial cleaning as a great opportunity to build something strong. What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now? Figuring out the ways to be successful in an industry I am new to has been interesting. Operating a Master Franchise territory for a commercial cleaning company is a multi-function job.  While previously I worked in a more narrow area or specific business skill, in this job, you use every business skill every day. What are your expansion or development plans? What is your end goal with Anago? Securing and managing several hundred clients is a very obtainable target and one that I want to make steady growth towards in 2013 and beyond. What kinds of accounts do you have right now? Some of our larger accounts are car dealerships and schools.  It’s not uncommon for them to be 30,000-50,000 square foot and take eight to 10 man hours or more to clean per night.  But we have a wide variety of accounts from small facilities that are cleaned only one day per week to larger ones, and everything in between.