Why These TruBlue Total House Care Franchisees are Thriving in Denver

TruBlue Total House Care, the 80-unit home maintenance franchise, has carved out a lucrative niche as the only franchise brand focused on providing maintenance services for seniors aging in place and busy families. TruBlue believes that aging in place starts with a safe home, and the company offers ongoing in-home support to help seniors remain at home for as long as possible. Now, with the senior population growing and the demand for home services skyrocketing post-COVID, the brand is seeing significant growth all over the country, including in the beautiful city of Denver, Colorado. 

Mark and Julie Odell, the Colorado-based couple who own two TruBlue locations in the Aurora area, for example, have a deep passion for supporting the elderly, as well as one for home remodeling and entrepreneurship. Before franchising, Julie sold advertising to several print publications, while Mark worked in financial services with a specific niche of offering financial planning to seniors. When the couple decided to invest in a business of their own, they were familiar with TruBlue because of Mark’s experience in the senior sector. They understood the brand’s uniquely strong position in the marketplace because of personal experience.

Success came quickly as the couple broke the brand’s first-month sales record in February 2021. Since then, Mark and Julie have dedicated themselves to raising the bar for the services a maintenance company should provide, both inside and outside of the home.

“We didn’t know what to expect when we first signed on,” said Mark. “We had done our due diligence, and we knew there was a huge need for what we were going to offer, but you never know how the business will go. We were conservative with our projections, and from the minute we opened for business, we’ve been slammed. There has been no lull in the demand. Our projections were blown out of the water, and we broke the record for first-month sales by $5,000. The Denver market has basically exploded, and we are happy to be a part of that.”

The Odells attribute this growth to the vast array of clientele they can serve with TruBlue. While senior services are a significant focus of the brand, it also fulfills the needs of busy families who want to spend less time tackling housework and more time making memories with their loved ones.

“We quickly realized there is no limit to who could benefit from a service like this, from stay-at-home moms to hectic families and seniors,” said Julie. “As we started to peel away at the layers, we realized our target market is everyone, and we have the opportunity to help our friends, our friend’s parents — literally everybody.”

And in Denver specifically, Julie says a high number of busy families don’t want to waste their weekends doing home maintenance. Denver is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic created a massive influx of homebuyers flocking to the area. According to the U.S Census Bureau, Denver features more than 300,000 households. 

“It is such a hot spot, and we can make an impact by providing a service that allows homeowners to get their free time back,” Julie said. “We’ve been able to elevate expectations when it comes to customers, especially with the senior community and busy young families. We’ve been able to set ourselves apart and raise the bar.”

Now, the Odealls say their sales are up 30% over last year, and the business shows no signs of slowing down. “We are just busy, plain and simple,” said Julie. “That type of solid year-over-year growth is a huge deal in those first few years. We are on track to hit the Winner’s Circle milestone and are excited about the future.” 

DJ Lewis is another TruBlue franchisee in the Denver area. The long-time Denver resident worked for 18 years in the oil and gas industry and held several management positions throughout his career. When it was time for a change of pace and a job that would allow him to spend more time with his family, he set off to do something on his own. That is when he discovered TruBlue Total House Care.

“I looked at a few franchise brands and loved the idea of having that support infrastructure and proven business model — not doing it on my own,” said Lewis. “TruBlue came up, and I liked that it was something I could do that wouldn’t require a brick-and-mortar shop. I also heard about the Odells doing well in Denver, and I spoke to Mark about the concept.”

Without the need for a brick-and-mortar location, TruBlue’s startup costs stay considerably low, ranging from just $65,000 to $91,000. The business is significantly easier to run than other senior care or home maintenance concepts.

Lewis officially opened in 2021 and, similar to the Odells, has seen a solid increase in demand, repeat clients and referrals since then. 

“Most of my customers are busy families, and Denver overall has been booming for the last several years,” he said. “With the COVID-19 pandemic, even more people are moving here, and it is very densely populated. That helps word-of-mouth get around. It is a big city but feels like a small community. There are a lot of new homeowners, upgrading homes, moving in and moving out, which creates a lot of opportunity in all aspects of TruBlue.”

Sean Fitzgerald, TruBlue’s President, says the team is hoping to find more growth-minded franchisees in the Denver area, with room to add 10 more territories between Boulder and Colorado Springs. Nationwide, the team hopes to reach 225 units by 2025. 

“Our franchisees in Denver are a great example of scalability our model provides,” said Fitzgerald. “It is a growing city with great demographics and a lot of suburban homeowners looking for our services. When you have a low cost of operations monthly, with high demand and high margins, that's a great formula for success.”

The total investment estimate for a TruBlue Total House Care franchise ranges from $65,050–$91,400. To learn more about franchising with TruBlue, please visit https://trubluefranchise.com/.