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A music teacher might not be the first person to come to mind as a franchisee for one of the country&#8217;s fastest-growing pest control companies, but that&#8217;s exactly the case for Marla Carruth. Working with kids has long been a part of Carruth&#8217;s DNA. For the past 20 years, she has taught elementary school music in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and to this day, she&#8217;ll say that working at Parkview Baptist school has always been&#8212;and will continue to be&#8212;her dream job. Even so, Carruth, alongside her fianc&#233;, was ready to broaden her horizons. That&#8217;s when she turned to her cousin in Arkansas, who owns and operates several Mosquito Joe franchises throughout the state. &#8220;We spoke with my cousin who filled us in on the <a href="http://mosquitojoefranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=teachers-are-repurposing-their-skills-to-become-successful-mosquito-joe-franchisees-5326" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mosquito Joe</a> business model. We liked the seasonality of the brand, and how it seemed to work in tandem with my schedule as a teacher. It was a flexible option for people like me who still want to keep their day jobs,&#8221; Carruth said. &#8220;We also looked at this as an opportunity to plan for retirement down the road. When that day comes and I decide to leave behind my career as a teacher, it&#8217;s nice to know I&#8217;ll have the flexibility and benefits of the lifestyle that only comes with being a Mosquito Joe franchisee.&#8221; By May 2016, just as the students of Parkview Baptist cleared out the hallways for summer vacation, Carruth and her fianc&#233; were set to officially open their first <a href="https://mosquitojoe.1851franchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=teachers-are-repurposing-their-skills-to-become-successful-mosquito-joe-franchisees-5326" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mosquito Joe</a> business. So far, they have already hired three full-time employees to prepare for the start of the next school year. And while multi-tasking multiple jobs isn&#8217;t always easy, Carruth is confident that the skills learned as a teacher will help bridge the gap between the two. &#8220;Having good communication skills is a big part of being a teacher&#8212;whether it&#8217;s on the phone or face to face with children and parents. It&#8217;s important to explain things in an easy-to-understand language. Those same lessons carry over into our Mosquito Joe business. There can be a lot of technical elements in what we do&#8212;from talking about what our trained technicians do to detailing the specific treatment options and chemicals we use,&#8221; Carruth said. &#8220;Customer care&#8212;in both teaching and franchising&#8212;is so incredibly vital to your success.&#8221; Other traits, like being great problem solvers and knowing how to successfully implement schedules, are also important skillsets&#8212;both inside and outside the classroom. Having a creative and resourceful mindset doesn&#8217;t hurt either. &#8220;Teachers are typically outside-the-box thinkers and know how to creatively approach a problem or situation. This can help us out in many ways when it comes to running our Mosquito Joe location&#8212;especially when it comes to marketing our new business throughout the community and managing our limited budget as we get things off the ground,&#8221; Carruth added. Carruth is just one of many other teachers-turned-franchisees in the Mosquito Joe system. Kevin Wilson, the CEO of Mosquito Joe, believes that&#8217;s due, in large part, to the brand&#8217;s seasonal model. &#8220;Mosquito Joe&#8217;s services kick into high gear just as teachers are winding down for the school year. It&#8217;s a great opportunity to introduce another source of revenue without the burden of taking on another full-time job,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;Quality of life is extremely important for our franchisees, and Mosquito Joe allows them to achieve that right work/life balance.&#8221; He&#8217;s also confident that teachers like Carruth will thrive with the brand because of the skills they&#8217;ve honed in the classroom. &#8220;Ultimately, we need franchisees who know how to communicate and are comfortable in putting customers first. Teachers like Carruth have spent countless hours explaining musical concepts to her students in a clear&#8212;and patient&#8212;way,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;If you&#8217;re good with people and can communicate easily with customers, there&#8217;s no reason why you can&#8217;t succeed with Mosquito Joe.&#8221;

1851 Franchise

Music teacher Marla Carruth found that becoming a Mosquito Joe franchisee was an easy transition thanks to her experience in the classroom. 


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