After more than a decade in the trucking industry and seven previous years in the Army, Alex Veiga recognized that while his corporate career provided stability, it lacked the personal fulfillment found in direct service. Following the birth of his second child, Veiga felt a sense of urgency to leave the corporate grind and build a legacy within the trades — a field he has always respected for its tangible impact. He is thrilled to launch his new TruBlue Home Service Ally location serving Gaston County and the communities west of Charlotte in North Carolina. This new business will offer handyman services and home modifications to local seniors, offering them a safe space to “age in place.”

Drawn to TruBlue’s focus on the trades and its empowering services for seniors, Veiga is looking forward to offering services to seniors in an area with a rapidly aging population. Knowing the demographic often struggles to fund reliable, specialized help, Veiga hopes to offer support for those in need. This new venture will allow him to plant deeper roots in his community and the place he and his family have called home for the past five years. 

Veiga sat down with 1851 Franchise to share how he made the shift from the Army and corporate sales into business ownership and why TruBlue felt like the right fit. Here’s what he had to say:

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?

Alex Veiga: To start, I’m a father and husband. I’ve got two little kids — a three, almost four‑year‑old and then a five‑month‑old. After college, I joined the Army, and was in the Army for seven years, lived everywhere. I was born in Florida, raised in Florida, then moved to Alaska and Texas and Missouri, so I’ve been all over the country.

I got out of the Army after seven years and then went to work in the trucking industry for a commercial tire manufacturer for about a little over 10 years, 4 years in North Florida and the last 6 years in the Charlotte area.

I had been thinking about it for a few years. Around the time my wife was about to give birth to our second child, I decided that it was time to stretch my legs and get out of the corporate world and go into my own thing, and I found TruBlue. It seems a great fit. I really love the mission, love the trades, and particularly the focus on the senior community and helping them be comfortable.

1851: What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Veiga: While I was a sales manager in the trucking industry, I went in looking for a resale of any small business and got connected through a business broker. He talked to me about the options in reselling versus starting a new franchise location. That was probably a three‑ or four‑month process of talking through the options on resales.

I wasn’t aware of TruBlue when I first met him. We had some discussions through that.

He talked about the structure franchises provide you and the guidance and the coaching. I really thought that, leaving the corporate world and going into business on my own, the structure of the franchise and the coaching and the vendor relationships really help small businesses grow and thrive.

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Veiga: I didn’t really consider franchising small‑business ownership. I just thought of it as a large national company with operators running it. I didn’t really consider it as hundreds or thousands of small businesses.

My mind was really changed when I found out you can run your business as you want to run it. There are some guardrails and some guidance along the way, but you really have the freedom to operate it as you wish.

From the franchisees that I’ve met with, they have various ways that they operate within the system and various niches they operate in — some with a super‑strong senior focus, some with less of that, but still have the certifications to be able to do the senior tasks.

So really, picking and choosing a little bit of information from the people that I’ve talked to and ways to go about it will hopefully help me grow my business quickly, get a foothold and then decide how I’m going to operate.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Veiga: I talked to a couple different industries and then some different franchises within the handyman space, and TruBlue was just established and had a really good background. The parent company has multiple franchise segments within it, so just a lot of stability there.

They’re looking to grow aggressively, so they’re looking to empower their owners to go out there and be successful and expand the brand, to be able to get contracts with larger entities — nationwide entities that really need that expanded footprint.

They’re looking for quality people and quality owners. They’re good people at the corporate office running the organization. At the end of the day, it all comes down to people — good people, good structure and good processes.

One thing I did like about franchising is being a business owner, an entrepreneur, with the structure of a larger corporate brand.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

Veiga: I’m looking to achieve freedom and autonomy. That’s kind of why you get into small‑business ownership in the first place. There’s a big learning curve getting all the systems and processes under you when you’re getting started out, but ultimately being able to have the freedom and the ability to improve my life, my family’s life and the lives of people that work with me on the team.

Ultimately, yes, I am looking to grow. I’d like to be a multi‑territory owner. I think there’s a huge opportunity in it and helping TruBlue fill out the map, put more dots out there to help grow the brand.

I need to get my little corner of the world up and running before I’m ready to conquer anything else, but ultimately that’s the goal — to have multiple territories.

1851: Is there anything else about your story you want us to know?

Veiga: We’ve been in the community for the last five years and have grown our family here and plan on being in this community for the long haul — raising our little girls here. We love the area, love the community. We think our family has dug some roots in the area.

I’ve got a fantastic wife who let me make this crazy jump while she was on maternity leave. She’s been great and supportive throughout the process. I’ve got two sweet little girls that are just excited about what’s on the horizon.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?

Veiga: As you’re doing research, just do your due diligence. Talk to as many franchise owners as you can during the validation process and make sure that it’s really a good fit. Talk to as many people as you can in the corporate office, make sure it’s a good cultural fit for you and you’re really on board with the mission — that the niche you can find within that really drives you to be part of it.

Once you sign on the dotted line, there are a lot of administrative things and tasks that need to get done. So ensure you’re taking your time on that before rushing to a grand opening or anything like that.

I’ve learned quite a bit in the last month and a half of just starting something, getting a process running, and then finding out that switching one of the services.

So take your time, establish everything and get solid footing before rushing to open the doors if you can. Some people may not have the luxury and need to start earning revenue right away, but the amount that you probably save by taking a couple extra weeks to establish the processes probably saves you in the long run.

About TruBlue Home Service Ally:

TruBlue Home Service Ally® provides a unique and affordable approach to helping busy adults and seniors live a worry-free life by offering trustworthy handyman, home maintenance and senior modification services. Helping you maintain your home both inside and out, TruBlue’s services include handyman projects and to-do list chores, preventive home maintenance programs, kitchen and bath remodels, seasonal work, and senior modification services, all handled by professional, bonded and insured Tru-Pro® Technicians. TruBlue franchise owners are required to complete senior home safety certification programs through the NAHB and Age Safe America. As certified specialists, TruBlue franchisees are able to perform aging in place home safety assessments and can make recommended safety modifications as needed.

All locations are independently owned and operated. Service offerings, certifications, and licenses vary by location.