Why Mold Medics’ CEO Still Gets His Hands Dirty

For most companies, the CEO is typically far removed from the day-to-day work of the ground-level employees (to date, CBS has gotten 11 seasons worth of material out of that discrepancy). But for emerging mold remediation franchise Mold Medics, CEO Tim Swackhammer’s intimate knowledge of the brand’s services is a core feature of the its business model.

“A leader should have firsthand experience in everything they expect their team to do,” Swackhammer said. “The moment you start setting policies and systems based on what you think works in the field, rather than what you know works from experience, you set your team up to fail. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many situations where a brand’s corporate team is so far removed from the actual experience of the franchisees on the ground that the entire model starts to fall apart.”

Swackhammer did not build a career in mold remediation, or even contracting, before joining Mold Medics. “My background is predominantly in sales and customer service,” he explained. But he does boast a long resume in the franchise industry, starting out of college as a franchisee with wireless retail franchise Wireless Zone. 

Seven years ago, Swackhammer jumped brands to a home-service franchise, and that’s when he began learning about mold. “I started on the ground level and haven't stopped learning since," he said. “I went through all the various training and certification programs, and I’ve never stopped taking continuing education programs.”

Today, Swackhammer says the entire Mold Medics franchise system is designed to ensure franchisees are experts in their trade. That starts with his own extensive knowledge, but it doesn’t end there.

“A lot of it comes down to technology,” he said. “We have an in-house CRM that makes it really simple for franchisees to keep every job organized, to plan their schedules and stay in communication with clients. Whenever a job is scheduled for a client, the system automatically provides the client with all of the information that they need, whether it’s video instructions or written tutorials on what to expect. Our systems make it easy to the take the substantial knowledge and resources we have and package that up comprehensively for franchisees so they are prepared for any situation.”

New Mold Medics franchisees also go through a rigorous training process, including on-site work in real environments with members of the corporate team. “It’s all about taking the various situations our franchisees will encounter in the field and introducing them to those situations early,” Swackhammer said.

Of course, Swackhammer is the first to admit that no amount of training can prepare a franchisee for every situation they are likely to encounter in the field. That’s why Mold Medics is adamant about keeping lines of communication open and available between franchisees and the corporate team at all times.

Mold Medics’ first franchisee, Michael Chapman, attested, “When joining the Mold Medics franchise, it genuinely feels like joining a family. I would not be in the position to own and operate a successful business without the help of Tim and his team. He was able to help me not only become familiar with the mold remediation process and best practices but also was able to give advice on business details such as finances, growth plans, goal setting, data and statistics analysis, and so many more things that I would have struggled with on my own.”

Swackhammer added, “Every home is different, so no matter how well you are trained, you are bound to run into something you’ve never seen before. On the other hand, you are very unlikely to run into a situation that no one has ever seen before, so we share knowledge. And when a technician encounters something they’re not sure how to deal with, they call us up, and we work through it together.”

These days, Swackhammer says his continuing education in the field of mold remediation is oriented primarily towards the client side. 

“I’m always interested in new training courses and resources, but I spend a lot of my time working directly with our client base to learn about their experience both with mold and with our services,” he said. “Too often in this industry, people get so focused on the ins and outs of their work that they forget to look at the experience of the customer.”

To that end, Swackhammer says he even participates in support groups for people who have suffered from mold exposure or other environmental health issues.

“This isn’t just a business; it’s an opportunity to really make a positive impact in people’s lives, and if we are living up to that commitment, then it's essential we know how these issues are affecting people, so I take every opportunity available to educate myself,” he said.

For more information on franchising with Mold Medics, visit moldmedics.com/franchising.