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<a href="https://www.jdogbrands.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">JDog Brands</a>, the home services franchisor behind both <a href="https://www.jdogbrands.com/services/junk-removal-hauling/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">JDog Junk Removal &amp; Hauling</a> and <a href="https://www.jdogbrands.com/services/carpet-cleaning/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">JDog Carpet Cleaning &amp; Floor Care</a>, was created in 2012 with a unique mission to help veterans achieve the American dream of entrepreneurship by creating a clear path to successful business ownership. Today, JDog Brands has grown to feature over 260 veteran-owned franchise locations across the United States. Now, following a pandemic-fueled <a href="https://www.homeadvisor.com/research/reports/market/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">boom</a> in the home services industry, the brand is expanding rapidly as savvy veteran entrepreneurs recognize that JDog’s junk removal and floor care services are more in demand than ever before.&nbsp;In addition to the brand's well-positioned concept, a big reason for that impressive growth is the strength of the JDog Brands leadership team, which brings decades-worth of both military experience and business expertise to the veteran-led brand. 1851 Franchise spoke with a few of the team’s members to learn more about their stories and their experience being part of the JDog family.<h4>JDog Brands CEO Jerry Flanagan</h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerryflanagan11?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Jerry Flanagan</a>, the founder and CEO of JDog Brands, served four years in the military prior to joining the business world, including two years active duty in the Army and two years in the National Guard.When he returned home, Jerry and his wife Tracy decided to follow their entrepreneurial dreams and start a retail business. Unfortunately, the Great Recession hit shortly thereafter and forced them to declare bankruptcy. Fueled by this experience, Jerry set out to design a recession-proof company that could provide lucrative work opportunities that aligned with the skills, needs and values of veterans. Jerry decided on the junk hauling industry and established JDog as a <a href="https://1851franchise.com/jdogbrands/why-jdog-brands-is-the-perfect-franchise-opportunity-for-veterans-looking-to-secure-their-future-2716982#brand-latest-stories">welcoming space</a> for veteran entrepreneurs, quickly building a <a href="https://1851franchise.com/jdogbrands/jdogs-military-veterans-bring-professionalism-and-reliability-to-junk-removal-industry-2716513#featured">trusted reputation</a> in their local community.&nbsp;As CEO, Jerry oversees all systems, processes and initiatives, while leading the rest of the JDog Brands executive team. “Tracy and I have built this business from the ground up,” he said. “Every system or process we put together, we did ourselves. We’ve been there, done that. We don’t expect others to do anything we have not done. We’ve also done a great job at surrounding ourselves with people who are even better than us.”Now, Jerry says his primary goal as the CEO of JDog is to lower the veteran unemployment rate to 1%. “We’ve been able to put up 262 franchises in seven years, and the next 200 to 500 franchises are going to come even easier and faster,” he said. “We have the infrastructure in place that will allow this affordable business to succeed in any market across the country. We want to have a JDog in every zip code, which means about 1,500 franchise units. That would involve a lot of veterans being hired. We hope other companies look to us as a leader for veteran small business ownership. Also, the fact we have a TV series on Discovery —&nbsp; <a href="https://www.operationhiddentreasures.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Operation Hidden Treasures</a> — is bringing everything full circle, and we are showing Americans how much fun veterans have working together and how they can continue to serve after the military.”<h4>JDog Brands Co-Founder and Senior Vice President Tracy Flanagan</h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-%E2%80%9Cmrs-jdog%E2%80%9D-flanagan-7a1b201a/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Tracy Flanagan</a>, co-founder and senior vice president of JDog Brands, came from a background in retail business ownership prior to starting the company with her husband. Her original business was a concept that sold children’s swing sets by hosting birthday and pizza parties. When the economy crashed in 2008 and they were forced to close the business, Jerry came to her with the idea for JDog, and Tracy helped him with everything, including hauling junk during the very first job. Right away, Tracy could tell the business was catching on, and she was the one who originally introduced the idea of franchising.“The customers started to recognize our professionalism — we branded ourselves as veteran-owned, and it was clear people wanted to know they were supporting veterans,” said Tracy. “As we got our business off the ground, we started to see more and more veterans struggling to find employment. I looked at Jerry and said we had to franchise the concept. Wouldn’t it be great to have a veteran come into this business model and control their own destiny? This is a simple business model. I have the back-office covered, and Jerry can train in the field. It's not rocket science, it's junk removal. I knew we had something.”&nbsp;Now, as the co-founder and senior vice president of JDog Brands, Tracy works to support the mission, growth and development of JDog, training new franchisees, building up brand awareness, heading up the Spouses Advisory Board and more.&nbsp;“I’ve always considered myself a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none,” Tracy said. “Everything in my career has led me to where I am today and allowed me to be a brand ambassador for JDog. I always hated public speaking, but now I’m training franchisees, and I even have a podcast that I do in conjunction with our new TV show. If you were to tell me I’d been doing any of that years ago, I would have thought you were crazy.”<h4>JDog Junk Removal &amp; Hauling President and COO Kevin Kopa&nbsp;</h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-kopa-1aaa3044?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Kevin Kopa</a>, the president and COO of JDog Junk Removal &amp; Hauling, joined the company in January 2016 and has played a pivotal role in JDog’s expansion across the U.S. Prior to joining the team, Kopa served for six years in the Marine Corps Reserves as a Squad Leader, overseeing the training, health, and daily operations of his unit between 2005 and 2008. He was deployed twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.&nbsp;“Everything I learned in the Marine Corps has prepared me for this leadership role at JDog, including problem-solving and getting things done in the manner they need to be done,” said Kopa. “The ultimate goal is accomplishing whatever task is put in front of you. The skills that have allowed me to succeed in this role are the same skills that make veterans great franchisees.”In his role, Kopa oversees operations, and is responsible for strategic development, management of franchise sales, marketing and franchisee relations for JDog Junk Removal &amp; Hauling. In this capacity he is responsible for territory development, franchisee expansion negotiations and building up the JDog Junk Removal &amp; Hauling footprint across the country. Kopa oversees national corporate partnerships, provides counsel for franchise growth, and trains veterans and military family members to become successful business owners.“It is very rewarding work day-in and day-out,” said Kopa. “Franchisees come from all walks of life, and it is great to help them get up and running and really live the American dream after serving. Some veterans really need a more curated work environment to transition out of service and into society. It feels great to help solve those problems.”<h4>JDog Carpet Cleaning &amp; Floor Care President &amp; COO Dana Forester&nbsp;</h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-forester-592443a0?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Dana Forester</a>, the president and COO of JDog Carpet Cleaning, has been with the JDog team since 2016. Prior to JDog, Forester served in the Air Force for four years and belongs to a very small community of women who have served as a Munitions Systems Specialist — a predominantly male field. She comes from a strong legacy of military service, including her uncle, Ken Baldwin, who was an original member of the “Band of Brothers.”“I was in the military for four years, highly trained to build bombs and missiles for B-52 bombers,” said Forester. “When I got out, I worked hard to find a job in that career field but no one would hire me. So I was a stay-at-home mom for a while, and when it was time to get back into the working world, I cringed because it had been so difficult in the past. I worked as an emergency services dispatch and was in the process of becoming a 911 dispatch operator when I came across JDog. During my job search, I had taken ‘veteran experience’ off my resume because no one paid any attention to it, so when I saw JDog was specifically looking for veterans, it was very exciting. Tracy had me in tears in the job interview because I was so impressed by what they were doing, and I had never been given the opportunity to become part of a veteran community after leaving the military.”In 2016, Forester began serving as the director of operations for JDog Junk Removal &amp; Hauling. She flourished in the position, so when JDog Carpet Cleaning &amp; Floor Care was <a href="https://1851franchise.com/jdogbrands/jdog-brands-launches-carpet-cleaning-franchise-finds-early-success-despite-covid-2716512#featured">launched in 2019</a> as the second brand under the JDog Brands umbrella, Forester was asked to come on as vice president of operations. Today, she serves as the president and COO.“Carpet cleaning and floor care is a very <a href="https://1851franchise.com/jdogbrands/how-jdog-carpet-cleaning-offers-military-grade-professionalism-in-a-fast-growing-industry-2716981#brand-latest-stories">hands-on and technical industry</a>, and I am a very technical-minded person,” said Forester. “I use that military experience to help manage people, projects and assets for the brand, and I utilize my business experience to help franchisees with operations. Franchisees can call me up at any time of the day and feel confident they will find answers to any questions. Our primary goal is to provide jobs for the veteran community, not only through franchising but also through the franchisees’ own hiring. It has become my life’s work and calling, and I’m proud to continue creating jobs for veterans and their families.”<h4>JDog Brands Vice President of Development Terry Corkery</h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-corkery-6b00856?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Terry Corkery</a>, the JDog Brands vice president of development, is responsible for creating continued franchise growth at JDog. Corkery has 30 years of experience in the franchise industry, working in franchise sales, development and real estate roles for both new start-up companies and legacy franchise businesses with over 1,000 locations. Corkery also owned his own company for 15 years, serving more than 750 franchisor clients to help market and grow their brands by identifying new potential franchisees for their system.&nbsp;“After selling my company, I met Jerry and Tracy, and we hit it off,” said Corkery. “JDog struck me as intriguing and unique to franchising because it was exclusively for veterans. It was an exciting opportunity to be in the franchise space while also helping veterans transition into business. I am always looking for something that is different from the competition, and I felt that JDog was something that really had legs and could make a big difference. Plus, I get to meet awesome people who served our country, which is very cool. I come from a military family, with a father who served in the Army during World War II.”Since joining the team four years ago, Corkery says his business and franchising experience has been a valuable asset as he aims to <a href="https://1851franchise.com/jdogbrands/jdog-junk-removal-hauling-signs-50-plus-military-veteran-franchisees-in-first-half-of-2021-2716511#featured">achieve his goal</a> of having a JDog franchise serving all zip codes throughout the United States. “As we continue to grow the brand and recruit franchise owners across the country, my franchise experience has definitely brought something new to the team and allowed us to take the brand to the next level,” he said. “But each individual person is really just a part of the whole. We’ve been able to put together a passionate and enthusiastic team, and that is really what makes us different from the competition.”Together, these inspiring and qualified executives are responsible for guiding JDog Brands as it quickly establishes itself as a top choice for veteran entrepreneurs and one of the franchise industry's most exciting opportunities.&nbsp;For more information on franchising with JDog Brands, visit: <a href="https://www.jdogbrands.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=meet-the-jdog-brands-leadership-team-2717946" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.jdogbrands.com/</a>

Meet the JDog Brands Leadership Team

1851 Franchise

The home services franchisor offers veteran entrepreneurs an exciting opportunity to join a veteran-led, community-oriented and proven business, backed by the support of an expert and patriotic leadership team.

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Empowering Leadership, One Pancake at a Time: How John and Kimberly Ehrhard Are Building a Franchise Legacy with Keke’s Breakfast Cafe

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