Mosquito Joe Holds Annual Franchise Convention in Cancun

On the surface, outdoor pest control may not seem like the most exciting industry, but for Mosquito Joe*, ‘making outside fun again is not only part of the brand’s vision but something every franchise owner, staff member and corporate team member lives and breathes every day. With this guiding principle in mind, a group of 310 people came together at the brand’s annual franchise conference from January 10th to 13th at Fiesta Americana Condesa in Cancun, Mexico.

For a brand that prioritizes fun, Mosquito Joe had a number of accomplishments to celebrate. After enjoying a networking dinner by the pool on the 10th, President Lou Schager greeted the crowd to talk about the year in review and what’s ahead. If 2017 is any indication, Mosquito Joe is well on its way to achieving its goal of becoming the largest outdoor pest control franchise in the nation.

In 2017, Mosquito Joe added 61 new territories and 27 new franchisees to the system, reaching 234 territories in 32 states with an additional 50 territories sold and set to open in 2018. While the brand continues to expand nationwide, it hasn’t lost sight of its razor-sharp focus on unit-level operations and economics.

“The original Mosquito Joe territory in our home market of Virginia Beach continues to show growth even in its eighth year of operation,” said Schager. “This is further proof that our business model sets our franchisees up for long-term success.”

Mosquito Joe’s parent company, Buzz Franchise Brands, also operates Pool Scouts*, a pool repair and maintenance franchise, and, in 2018, will begin franchising Home Clean Heroes*, a home cleaning business.

“What we’ve learned is that in order to fuel the growth of Mosquito Joe and our other brands, we have to create a culture that attracts the right franchise owners,” said CEO Kevin Wilson. “Once they're in the system, we offer best in class corporate support and are constantly growing our team to make sure that we provide the very best tools and resources to help our franchise owners. Because of these two focuses, we’ve been very pleased with our year-over-year growth, and look forward to achieving great things in 2018.”

Schager also highlighted Mosquito Joe’s 2017 accolades, including Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 and Fastest-Growing Franchises, Franchise Business Review’s Franchisee Satisfaction Awards, Inc.’s 500 List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies, Franchise Gator’s Top 100, Hampton Roads Inside Business “The Roaring 20” and “Best Places to Work” recognition from Outside Magazine, Inc., Virginia Business, Hampton Roads Inside Business.

“As we look ahead to 2018, we plan on continuing to grow, both in terms of revenue and new franchisees,” said Wilson. “We plan to recruit 30 new franchise partners to help grow Mosquito Joe across the United States, as well as helping our current franchise partners to expand their portfolios with new territories. By providing new tools for success, we plan to raise unit-level economics and sharpen our operations while spreading our wings across the U.S.”

At the annual awards banquet, Mosquito Joe gave out several awards to deserving franchisees in the system. Highlights include:

• Franchisee of the Year: Brad and Stephanie Simon, Arkansas.
• Most MoJo (Most passion, positivity and enthusiasm); Smooth Operator Award (Most customers recruited in a single territory); Philanthropy Award (Largest individual contribution to the system’s annual Beat the Bloodsuckers campaign): Trey Powell, Lake Murray, South Carolina.
• Best Buzz Award (Highest Net Promoter Score): The Burdine Family, Western Wake in Raleigh, North Carolina; Chad Armstrong, East Texas; Gail and Jim Yongue, Mobile, Alabama; Paul Huff, Southern Indiana; and Anne Johnson, the Sandhills in North Carolina.  
• Top Revenue by Region: Chad Armstrong, East Texas (Southern Region); Rich and Amber Anthony, Oklahoma City Metro (Mid-South Region); Paul and Veronica VanWagner, Montgomery County (Central Region); Beth and Dan Sehlhorst, East Cincinnati (Mid-North Region); Scott Franasiak, Greater Buffalo (Northern Region).
• Wingspan Award (Highest dollar volume as an entity): Kurt and Melissa Godwin, Baltimore/Annapolis, Maryland.

“Every year, the annual convention gives the Mosquito Joe family an opportunity to come together, celebrate another year of success and growth, recognize our system’s all-stars, set goals and share best practices,” said Schager. “2018 will be a big year for us and we look forward to celebrating achieving all the goals we set out at this year’s convention.”