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Is the Cornhusker State Moving Up Franchising's List?
Nebraska is shocking many franchise brands as it continues to rise on their list of targets.
The Cornhusker State is quickly moving up the list of top places to do business. Nebraska reached an all-time high of number three on Forbes’ Best States for Business list. Much of the recent success of Nebraska has been its low cost of doing business, a business-friendly regulatory climate and the economic growth of the state’s largest cities, Omaha and Lincoln.
Traditionally known for its expansive land and intense passion for high school and college athletics, Nebraska is shocking many franchise brands as it continues to rise on their list of targets.
“Typically we want to have a minimum number of qualified households before we will consider a market,” said Scott Thompson, vice president of development for JAN-PRO and Maid Right. “Omaha is a great market for us on the Maid Right side because of the number of households qualified, the suburb areas have a lot of dual income homes and we have a JAN-PRO Master Owner already present to offer brand awareness and support for new Maid Right Masters. Before we had Maid Right, many of our large customers would inquire about home cleaning, so it was a natural next step and Omaha is one of our targets for this reason.”
It is also home to a few franchise brands, most notably Right at Home*, a premier in-home senior care franchise, and Godfather’s Pizza, a popular pizza franchise.
Former Right at Home franchisee turned founder and franchisor with Palm Beach Vapors, an e-cigarette franchise, Chip Paul has spent a lot of time in Omaha and knows the market well. Palm Beach Vapors also recently opened their first Nebraska location in the Omaha market.
“We just recently opened a unit in Council Bluffs,” said Paul. “Omaha is a really interesting market and we’re excited to have a strong franchisee to run the first location. Omaha is somewhat of a standard market, meaning that it is a great test market for brands. What works in Omaha will most likely work across the country. Having a passionate owner who is eager to try new things in the area means that we will be able to test our products more successfully in a market that potentially cross applies nationwide.”
Omaha specifically, seems to also be attracting upscale brands like K-9 Resorts Daycare & Luxury Hotel, an award-winning daycare and luxury boarding franchise system for dogs, who recently partnered with private equity firm Navigator Partners, LLC for a multi-million dollar investment to fuel the brand’s expansion. As a part of that expansion, the brand is looking beyond their stronghold in the Northeast and targeting new markets like Nebraska for growth.
"With Nebraska, and more specifically Omaha and Lincoln because of their population density, we see a lot of great opportunity," said Jason Parker, co-founder and co-CEO of K-9 Resorts. "There are thousands of passionate pet owners in Nebraska's major cities and we see a great need for our services. There's a lot of potential in the market for entrepreneurs and we're excited to explore this and other Western states."
With the franchise industries eyes locked on Nebraska, it looks like Warren Buffett won’t be the only one calling this state home.
*This brand is a paid partner of 1851 Franchise. For more information on paid partnerships please click here.
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