Veteran Transitions from Food Truck to Franchisee: Leading TWO MEN AND A TRUCK in Bozeman

Jeremy Eide's journey to franchising is a unique one. Originally from Seattle, Eide moved to Montana in 2020 to start a food truck business. However, he soon realized that it wasn't the right fit for him and decided to pursue something new. 

During his search for new opportunities, Eide met a fellow veteran who was starting a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchise. Intrigued by the opportunity, Eide joined the team as a customer service representative. His dedication and hard work quickly paid off as he rose through the ranks to become the general manager.

Recently, Eide took his commitment a step further by investing in a new TWO MEN AND A TRUCK branch in Bozeman, Montana. Now, he is blending his passion for business with his dedication to service by becoming a franchisee and making a significant impact in the moving industry.

1851 Franchise spoke to Eide about his franchise journey and his plans for the future. 

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Jeremy Eide: I am originally from Seattle, Washington. Around 2020, I decided to leave Seattle and move to Montana for a different business venture. I ended up opening a food truck in Billings, Montana. However, after about six months, I realized it was the wrong partnership and separated from it.

I then turned to real estate, which I used to sell in Seattle, and started looking for houses to buy as an investor. During this time, I met some veteran organizations in Billings, as I am a veteran myself. They connected me with a guy who was starting his own moving company. I needed a job to have a documentable income for buying houses, so I reached out to him.

It turned out he was opening a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchise, and that was two years ago. I got hired as a customer service rep and was quickly promoted to operations manager, then sales manager, and recently to general manager in Billings. The owners of this franchise were looking to expand, and we discussed opening a new branch in Bozeman. They offered me the opportunity to invest in it, which I accepted. Now, I am the GM in Billings and an investor in the Bozeman/Belgrade area.

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?

Eide: I love the idea of franchising. Franchising is, to me, a proven model with support on the back end. I was excited to get into something from the ground up in a different market, but with a lot of support on the back end.

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

Eide: I didn't really pick this brand. I just happened to run across somebody who was opening a moving company and it just happened to be the biggest franchise in the world, which is cool. What excites me most is that every day is different. The customers we get to interact with, the people that we get to move every day are different. I love the people I work with. It's a fun job to have.

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

Eide: Just to be the best moving choice in town and to be the higher level of moving service in town. Plans for growth include always building relationships with apartment buildings, builders and others in the community.

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Eide: I started from the ground up. I've done the moving. I've started as a customer service rep and moved all the way up to the general manager, and then ownership of a branch. I've been able to see every different level of the moving business here. 

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

Eide: Jump in with both feet and hit the ground running. Come to work excited everyday, because every day is different.

ABOUT TWO MEN AND A TRUCK:

Headquartered in Michigan, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK is a national, full-service franchised moving company with more than 430 locations and 3,000 trucks operating in 47 U.S. states, Canada, Ireland, and the UK. Each location is independently owned and operated and together, the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK network has performed more than 10 million moves since its inception in 1985. In 2024, Franchise Business Review named TWO MEN AND A TRUCK a top franchise and a top 100 franchise for women. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK also ranked on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list and was named #1 in the Moving/Junk Removal Services category. The moving company also ranked No. 12 on Entrepreneur's top franchise under $150k. In 2021, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK was acquired by ServiceMaster® Brands which is a leading franchise provider of needs-based residential and commercial services in the restoration, cleaning, moving, and bioremediation industries. ServiceMaster was founded as one of America’s first franchise businesses and does business under seven brands today across 50 states and nine countries that generate more than $3.5B in system-wide sales. For franchising opportunities, visit franchise.twomenandatruck.com.