From Securing Lives to Securing Homes: How This U.S. Veteran Thrived as a Signal 88 Franchisee

Although there truly is no typical day for any franchisee, Jeff Chovan’s experience with Signal 88 was not typical from the get go. Chovan was on active military duty in Iraq when he decided that he wanted to pursue business ownership. However, as Chovan explained himself although the army brought many experiences, aspects of business ownership were not included.

“I joined the army when I was a teenager and you don’t think about business opportunities when you have a uniform on,” Chovan said. “I was enthusiastic about the prospect of owning a business, but was not totally sure where to start.”

It was around the same time that Chovan saw an issue of Entrepreneur Magazine featuring their annual Franchise 500 rankings. The thought of a franchise for his first business appealed to Jeff due to the proven system and support team backing you up - an ideal situation for a first-time business owner.

“I started looking at it and did some research online and realized that all of the things everyone is afraid of in starting a business are easier through a franchise setup,” Chovan said.

Signal 88 itself jumped out to Chovan almost immediately. His role during his second tour of duty was Personal Protection Specialist - making security itself something he was extremely familiar with. Him and his wife Jamie were drawn to this idea, and the opportunity it presented to utilize skills built over years of duty.

“We were leaning heavily towards franchising and talked about a bunch of different opportunities. Coming from my background in security, Signal 88 seemed to be the way to go. Once I learned that Signal 88 was the only security franchise in the world, it really seemed like the best company to get involved with,” Chovan said.

It was during their time in Iraq that Jeff and his wife Jamie, who ran a civilian hospital, began etching out plans to open their Signal 88 franchise in Dallas, Texas. They opened the franchise in November of 2011 upon their return from Iraq, and relocated to Dallas to do so.

After selling Signal 88 of Dallas, Chovan purchased Signal 88 of Denver in 2014. Currently, he operates that and Signal 88 of Phoenix, which he recently took ownership of in January of 2017.

Upon reflection of his years with the brand, Chovan has come to the conclusion that although his days with the Army were not typical then, they sure are not typical now. He finds himself entrenched in long work hours that definitely do not fit the mold of a 9-5.

“It is very important to me that I am using every ounce of waking day time in front of clients and potential ones and that I am not locked up working on admin tasks. I split it up with ‘day work’ and ‘night work’,” Chovan said. “I draw a line across the day in my planner and draw a sun on the top and a moon on the bottom. I focus on the client stuff during the day and the additional admin stuff at night,”

Chovan added that the plus side this is that, through business ownership, you are the master of your own destiny and can choose your own hours. He explained that he can choose where he allocates his time and plan things to his liking.

“I am putting in more hours here and now that I ever have before. Working long hours every day may not be everyone’s first choice but they’re my hours and I get to pick them,” Chovan said. “When you’re working those hours for yourself it has a different flavor to it,”

All of the hours and planning are worth it to Jeff and Jamie when they get to reflect back on their business growth and milestones along the way.

“The biggest thing I have learned is to treat the business like the next step you want it to be. If your goal is for it to be a $4 million business, treat it as such. There is nothing more rewarding than setting a goal and accomplishing it," Chovan said. “When you’re in the army, you don’t even ever use the word ‘million.’ When you are suddenly doing that in business, it is an amazing feeling. It means the kids get new school clothes and it means you are doing something right. Looking back and seeing what you have accomplished really puts weight on what you do.”