Executive Q&A: Scoop Soldiers Co-Founder and CEO E.J. McCoy

1851 Franchise: How was the Scoop Soldiers brand started?

E.J. McCoy: We started the brand back in 2010 and began serving customers very early in 2011. My business partner and I founded the company; we started from nothing. We expanded corporately from 2010 through 2018 to approximately 10 locations and recognized that, to be able to really grow and expand nationally, we would need to bring other people into the system. We recognized the value of the franchise model and what that can do both for us as a franchisor but also for franchisees and bringing that ownership to individual communities. Rather than having a top-down, big corporate mindset, we wanted to grow with local owners and create a community within the company.

1851: What void did Scoop Soldiers set out to fill?

McCoy: It's an interesting industry, and it’s still emerging. Brand awareness is one thing but industry awareness is another. There was clearly a need for the service, even 10, 12 years ago, but there was an industry awareness issue. Right now, there’s a renewed focus on industry awareness and bringing more clients into the industry. So many pet owners don’t know that our service exists. That was the case back in 2010, and we’re working to increase that awareness and reach to new homeowners and new pet owners.

1851: What makes Scoop Soldiers a strong franchise?

McCoy: The thing we’ve always been great at is consistency of service and pioneering and innovating a lot of different features within the industry. One of the things that really took hold across the industry in a lot of ways was gate pictures — taking a picture of the gate confirming that it is secure for your pet. Another key differentiator for our clients is our passion for animals and our business culture. We want to bring our clients into the family and lower the barriers for their decision to join. Something we’re very unique with in that sense is that we don’t charge extra for the first service in most cases or for scooping for multiple dogs. It’s still an emerging market, but there is a lot of competition in most of our markets. We’re the only one that will charge the same for four dogs as we do for one dog, and that helps us to stand out among the other concepts.

1851: What learning opportunities has Scoop Soldiers leveraged to get to where it is now?

McCoy: In this industry, it’s all about people and pets, but it’s not just about people in terms of your clients. It’s about the people that are doing the work. It’s a manpower and hours for dollars consideration. That’s how we view it, so internally, we work on people development. We recognize that Scoop Soldiers may not be a career for every employee, but they can learn and grow. We very much believe in personal development for our technicians and everyone within our organization — not just management. 

1851: What important milestones has Scoop Soldiers reached over the past few years?

McCoy: Our coast-to-coast expansion is something we have been working towards for the last three to five years but have really reached in the last six months. In the last six months, we expanded through North Carolina, Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., Kansas City, Salt Lake City and Seattle, all of which rounded out our coast-to-coast presence.

We surpassed 40 franchise units and 100 total units in the last six months. In the past five years, we grew from a small business, broke some tough barriers to get into franchising and grew right alongside our franchisees to grow to 100 units. We have perfected the process of innovating alongside our franchisees in a unique way over the course of the last five years, and I think that’s really powerful for our future growth.

1851: Who is the ideal Scoop Soldiers franchisee?

McCoy: We love pet owners; that’s key. Beyond that, we want hungry, entrepreneur-minded business people. We want people that believe in the industry and the growth it’s going to experience over the course of the coming decade. We want people who have a mind for the long-term rather than the days and months; another word for that would be legacy-minded. 

There is no specific demographic we are looking to partner with. I like to have franchisees with a mix of backgrounds and experience. We love veterans, but we also love people that have a background in sales or independent entrepreneurs that see the value in a franchise system. Skilled trades entrepreneurs that might have an existing pet business and believe in what we’re doing and want to buy into the brand are a great fit. There might also be a plumber or electrician, for example, that is looking for an opportunity that provides a little more consistent recurring income and support.

1851: How does Scoop Soldiers support franchisees?

McCoy: The biggest area we provide support in is for new accounts. This is through our Command Center and our Client Care Center. We are running the support for franchisees’ clients and really handling the leads. With recurring residential clients, we're really running all of the administrative processes so they can focus on getting the work done and doing it well.

A huge portion of the marketing is outsourced. Owners still have local boots on the ground, but we’re managing system-wide marketing nationally, but in a local-minded way. 

1851: What does the future of Scoop Soldiers look like?

McCoy: Expansion has always been a major part of our business. We’ve spent the first half of the year focused on retooling and expansion. This year, we’ve grown coast-to-coast, which was a big push. We now have a renewed focus on industry awareness, which means that we’ll focus on bringing new pet owners into the industry through marketing and awareness. We want people to know that they can buy their time back by paying for this service; they don’t have to spend time doing it. 

A focus on growth is key in our upcoming plans. I’m focused on growth as a whole, and franchising is just a piece of that growth. I’m interested in making sure our current franchisees are able to grow and reach their goals. We’ve got big plans.

We’re in Raleigh, Charlotte, Orlando, and Nashville corporately, so those are hot opportunities for existing enhanced territories. Beyond that, the Northeast is a major focus for new franchisees that are building from the ground up with us.

Because our overarching focus is growth as a whole, we also have opportunities for our current franchisees who are looking to expand further.

1851: Why is now the time to buy a Scoop Soldiers?

McCoy: It’s always “now.” In other words, it was “now” a year ago, and it’ll be “now” in a year. This industry is still emerging. We’re new, we’re energized and we’re emerging, but at the same time, the industry is adolescent. It’s a ground-floor thing. So few people know about it that it’s really just about industry awareness and building a brand that owns the industry. I think if you do a little bit of research, you’ll find that there are a number of concepts, but we’re really the leader of the pack for the industry. Now is always the time when it comes to Scoop Soldiers, at least for the foreseeable future.

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