How Preservan Offered a Prime Expansion Opportunity to This Dynamic Duo

Scott Sidler has spent over a decade restoring historic windows and doors through Austin Historical, his thriving restoration business. While Sidler quickly built a successful model and loyal following on his social media and blog, he began to notice a gap in the community. Homeowners, unable to find the expertise and offerings they needed from other providers, were approaching him for help with smaller residential projects. However, the cost and wait times associated with complete restoration projects were still a hurdle. It was then that he decided to invest in a Preservan franchise, the growing wood rot repair concept, with his longtime General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of Austin Historical, Rob Lyng.

“Smaller projects were falling through the cracks, but people still needed help,” said Sidler. “When I was talking to [Preservan Founder] Ty [McBride] about what he was doing, it sounded like a perfect solution to the problem we had, which was people saying, ‘I can’t afford you’ or ‘You can’t get to me soon enough.’ Preservan was already similar to what we were doing with Austin Historical, but when we launched, clients told us that it was exactly what they were looking for and missing from what we had been doing.”

Sidler and Lyng bought their Orlando Presevan franchise in 2023, expanding their service offerings and broadening their entrepreneurial reach. 

“We have a good rapport in terms of complementary skill sets” explained Sidler. “It was a no-brainer that, if I was going to jump into this, I’d have some help. I was already running one company, so having a partner to help me oversee both works really well.”

Prior to their work in restoration and repair, Sidler and Lyng had vastly different backgrounds. Sidler earned a degree in musical theater and performed on Broadway tours before working with Disney for about a decade. After he began working on his own home, Sidler began to realize the potential that existed in the restoration market. Lyng was a pastor for over a decade before he felt drawn in another direction. He enjoyed historic restoration, Sidler says, so the transition just made sense.

While the work they do with Austin Historical and Preservan is, on its face, quite different from their previous careers, there is a bit of a through line for the pair. Through entertainment and ministry, the two found great purpose in service. While they previously provided entertainment, support and joy through their work, Sidler and Lyng now offer service through problem-solving.

“One of the biggest keys that Rob and I both focus on is teaching our people that it’s ultimately about figuring out what the client needs. And then being able to deliver that,” explained Sidler. “We’re not just making the same thing over and over. This is about being able to custom-tailor a solution, and to me, that challenge is the fun of having a service business.”

As they work to expand, Sidler says the team is focused on building a $1 million business. While Austin Historical is performing well, he explained that it is far less recession-proof than something like Preservan. A homeowner is highly likely to put off an expensive and unnecessary restoration project, but an affordable repair that will have an impact on the safety of or quality of life in a home almost always has a place in the budget.

With this investment, Slider is both diversifying his own investment portfolio and bringing a new, valuable service to the community.

“Now, we are more of an all-house option. With Austin Historical, once the windows and doors are done, there’s not much else we can do,” he said. “With Preservan, we have an option to sell to people and service our clients when they need help with siding or trim, whereas before we launched Preservan, they were kind of left without an option.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/preservan