Outdoor Living Provides Multitude of Options

Outdoor Living Brands is a unique franchisor as they have four different home-based franchise opportunities for you to explore that all cater to some aspect of outdoor living, according to Shemar Pucel, franchise marketing coordinator.

The four brands include Archadeck Outdoor Living, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, Mosquito Squad and Renew Crew. Across the four different brands, the goal is to have 50 new units signed each year. There are currently 350 Outdoor Living Brands franchisees and about 46% are multi-branded.

The company started in 1980, designing beautiful outdoor living spaces with Archadeck Outdoor Living. The brand currently has 55 locations spread out across 27 states and an additional presence in Canada.

The target markets for growth include cities that meet the demographics of their top clients, as well as cities that are known for rebuilding, which encompasses new construction and remodeling. Pucel mentions that they’d like to see Archadeck offices in all major markets across the U.S., but they’re planning to see at least six new units in the top cities of focus next year, including Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Lincoln, Phoenix, Tucson, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Seattle.

“We are not solely sales focused, we are support-focused. So as we grow our franchisee’s businesses, we also grow our business,” said Pucel. “To own an Archadeck, you don’t need to have experience, you’re going to act a project manager. We have employees at corporate who are working on the designs for the franchisees.”

After you have a beautiful outdoor living space, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives can provide premier lighting to both residential and hospitality venues. Not only do they offer creative lighting solutions, but they also have a temporary lighting system that they use to show how a home or business would look if they go through with the proposal. That nighttime demo clinches seven out of ten clients.

“There’s new outdoor lighting options that have become really popular, and our franchisees are seeing a lot of success because outdoor living spaces are hot,” said Purcel. “We also offer holiday lighting that is a great revenue stream for our franchisees to have each year.”

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives is shining a bright light on the industry, seeing three openings in the past few weeks, bringing the brand to a total of 56 opened locations from coast-to-coast, in addition to a few international locations in the Middle East and Canada. Top markets of interest to develop include Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Detroit, San Francisco, San Diego, Milwaukee, Madison and Savannah.

The third brand to join Outdoor Living Brands, is also their largest and fastest growing concept – Mosquito Squad. The franchise has seen consistent growth over the past five years, with 178 locations in almost every state. Key markets for expansion in 2016 include Florida, Ohio and Oklahoma.

As you can imagine, Mosquito Squad’s services are needed in certain locations more than in others, so the corporate team identifies the mosquito density when choosing top markets to grow in. The company is also currently exploring international expansion opportunities.

“We’ve been working to support the franchisees and help facilitate their growth from a corporate level,” said Pucel. “We hired a call center to help with the volume of inquiries, we are working with a brand spokesman from HGTV, and we have a cause marketing platform with Malaria No More.”

It’s no surprise the brand is eyeing 25 to 30 new territories signed per year, including many multi-unit and expansions by existing franchisees.

And finally, Renew Crew has been with Outdoor Living Brands for the shortest amount of time, joining the umbrella of franchises in 2012. It is a very unique concept that can be difficult to understand because it is actually two businesses in one. It is a premier power wash company that uses a proprietary blend of environmentally friendly products to clean, then a cold water rinse to wash away the dirt and grime. The second part of the business is something a painting company would usually handle. They have a special line of stains and products that help bring your deck, driveway, siding or gutters to life.

Renew Crew is a great fit for Archadeck franchisees, with 11 of them in the system that co-branded immediately when Outdoor Living Brands brought on the concept, so the franchisees can help maintain and restore the surfaces that they installed. There are currently 33 Renew Crew locations in total with the plan to add a minimum of five, but up to 12 next year in markets that mirror Archadeck’s key growth markets.

No matter what type of outdoor living experience you’re looking for, Outdoor Living Brands services can enhance, improve and make them overall more enjoyable. Franchisees are able to use some creativity, become involved within their community and have fun while running their business.