Military Veterans Who Became Great Franchisees: Terry Bruns, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®

Veteran Franchisee: Terry Bruns

Franchise: TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®

From an early age, Terry Bruns knew he would eventually be an entrepreneur. After graduating from high school, he decided to forgo college and join the U.S. Air Force to expand his horizons, see new things and learn about the world. While in the service, Bruns served in an admin role that taught him the basics of logistics and organization.

When he left the Air Force after four years, Bruns worked menial jobs as he studied on his own, teaching himself about business, finance and leadership. He made a couple of attempts to start his own business, including a successful eight-year stint of fixing up and flipping houses. Unfortunately, the chaos that followed the bursting of the real estate bubble in 2008 left him sitting on the sidelines and managing properties. He started looking for another investment opportunity and found TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, the full-service moving company franchise with more than 430 locations in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and the U.K.

“My journey to becoming an entrepreneur was long, but when the time came, I looked at thousands of opportunities and TWO MEN AND A TRUCK really stood out,” Bruns said. “Everyone I know in the system, I really believe they care. We care about each other, our customers, our communities — we’re always there to help each other and help each other be better.”

Bruns credits his stint in the Air Force for preparing him for his success as an entrepreneur and, in fact, feels like the franchise system as a whole is well suited for veterans. “Most veterans really want to serve others,” he said. “If you’re like most veterans I know, [franchising gives you] the ability to go out and create an amazing workplace and provide an amazing life for your family.”

1851 Franchise talked with Bruns about his journey in franchising, his accomplishments in the industry and the advice he has for other veterans interested in venturing into franchising. The transcript below has been edited for clarity, style and brevity.

1851 Franchise: Can you tell me about your background? How does military service play into your history and what was your journey from the military to entrepreneurship?

Terry Bruns:  I was born and raised in a small town in Idaho. I was a mediocre student and didn’t have much money, and I really didn’t have an interest in college. I joined the United States Air Force right out of high school — in fact, I celebrated my 19th birthday in basic training!

Basically, I wanted to expand my horizons — see new things and learn about the world. I felt like I needed to learn some job skills and some life skills. It was a long journey, with a lot of bumps along the way, but I was always working towards entrepreneurship. I’d known since I was a kid that I eventually wanted to own my own business.

I got moved into an admin role in the Air Force, where I learned about logistics and organization. I was in the service for four years and, when I got out, I worked some menial jobs while I studied on my own. I taught myself about business, finance and leadership.

My first failed business attempt was a youth sports photography business — I struggled, but I couldn’t get it to work. After that, I worked traditional jobs for several years — saved my money and invested. I bought a house to fix up and resell — for therapy as much as anything. I made a little bit of money from that and, as a result, spent the next eight years buying and selling real estate. It was my first successful entrepreneurship. I bought and sold 24 houses before the real estate bubble burst and left everything in chaos. I ended up sitting on the sidelines and managing properties, trying to be a good stay-at-home dad but getting bored. I started looking for other opportunities and that’s when I found TWO MEN AND A TRUCK.

I feel like my journey only makes sense when you look at it in the rearview mirror. When I was going through it, it wasn’t a direct road from the military to franchising.

1851: How did your time in the military prepare you for success in franchising?

Bruns: The most valuable piece was — well, there were two things. One, I learned the value of systems—good, repeatable systems. The military breaks things down so that they’re repeatable and there’s a lot of value to that. It’s all well documented so you can see the value and work at getting better at it.

The second thing was training. The military is good at taking the lowest common denominator and training them so that they’re competent at their job. There’s a lot of value in training and helping people get good at their job.

1851: What’s your favorite thing about TWO MEN AND A TRUCK?

Bruns: Easy question — it’s the people who make up our system. We are the Movers Who Care®. Everyone I know in the system, I really believe they care. We care about each other, our customers, our communities — we’re always there to help each other and help each other be better. We’re pretty good at celebrating successes, but we don’t sit on them. We’re always looking for ways to get better. I guess the best way to put it is that we’re not just willing, but eager to help each other.

1851: Looking at your franchise journey so far, what are you most proud of?

Bruns: Another easy question, and this one gives me goosebumps. I’m really proud of the people who work in our individual franchises — helping people see a bigger, brighter future for themselves. I personally brought four people into the business and they eventually became franchisees. We’ve had people who used to work for us tell us how good their career is going, and they credit TWO MEN AND A TRUCK rather than college. Seeing people grow into leaders, people getting out of debt, staying out of debt, buying homes — just our people in general and what they do.

1851: What advice would you give other veterans considering the transition to franchising?

Bruns: Most veterans really want to serve others — our ability to serve others is just enormous. When you look at the workplace as a whole, a lot of employees are underserved by their employers and that gives us an opportunity to step up our game. I haven’t found any other area that gives you a better opportunity to serve. If you’re like most veterans I know, it’s the ability to go out and create an amazing workplace and provide an amazing life for your family.

I read Zig Ziglar when I was 20, and I’ll never forget this quote: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” If you want to serve others, jump in because that’s an amazing way to do it.

1851: Anything else you want the people reading this to know?

Bruns: My journey to becoming an entrepreneur was long, but when the time came, I looked at thousands of opportunities and TWO MEN AND A TRUCK really stood out. I’m so glad I’m in this franchise system — it’s not perfect, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. 

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