As vice president of franchise operations at United Water Restoration Group (UWRG), Chrissy Gregory spent years helping franchise owners grow their businesses, building systems and shaping strategy from the home office. But in 2024, she decided to take on a new challenge — purchasing her own franchise in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Less than a year later, Gregory turned that location into a record-breaking performer, earning the Inspire Award at the 2025 conference.
“I love my role at UWRG and the chance to work alongside franchise owners to help them grow,” Gregory said. “Becoming a franchisee myself just felt like a natural next step. With my background in operations, I knew I could take what I’ve been building at the corporate level and apply it directly to the Port St. Lucie location.”
Gregory bought the location with the intention of running it as a semi-absentee owner while keeping her operations leadership role at the UWRG’s home office. “It was very much an owner-operated location that relied on the owner for a lot of tasks, and to take the business to the next level, it really needed to be a place that could run on its own,” she said.
As a critical next step, she hired a general manager, a marketer and a technician to fill key positions and heavily invested in both community outreach and digital marketing. As boots-on-the-ground marketing developed, these efforts revealed a need to focus on building strong relationships with local contracting partners. Gregory also put significant capital into strengthening the location’s online presence, leading to strong gains in just six months.
For Gregory, turning the Port St. Lucie UWRG into a top performing location in the franchise, meant empowering her team to lead with confidence and authority. She shared a bigger vision for what the business could achieve, encouraging her team to set ambitious goals and own their results.
“From the very beginning, we discussed what my vision for this company was, which really kind of fed into everybody that works there,” she said. “We opened up everybody's mind to the fact that there are no limits to this, and together, we could build something truly powerful.”
She also gave her employees space to make decisions without stepping in to control every outcome. The result was a culture where team members felt empowered to exceed expectations and take responsibility for the location’s success.
Owning her own location also gave her a chance to test the very systems she was responsible for rolling out at the franchisor level. She viewed it as both a personal challenge and an opportunity to strengthen the brand.
“Becoming a UWRG franchisee has given me and the franchise support team incredible insight into what we are rolling out as a franchisor and how our franchisees are operating,” Gregory said. “Being able to leverage my own experience as a franchisee has led to asking key questions like: Is the process feasible? Is it working? Is it keeping up with the times? All of the insights we’re gleaning are truly impacting how we grow and develop an operations and support model for the entire system.”
The record breaking business growth didn’t happen by accident. Gregory brought focus, structure and a strong financial drive to the role. She maintained a consistent development schedule with her team despite her corporate job, spending four to five hours a week coaching them to operate independently.
“I'm most proud of putting a team together that operates for the most part without me; that’s not easy to do. Everybody that was with the Port St. Lucie office when I purchased it still works there,” she said, noting that revenue growth came from the same staff who were there before she took over.
That commitment to empowering her team and driving measurable results is exactly why Gregory was honored with UWRG’s Inspire Award in 2025. The award isn’t about being the biggest operation — it recognizes franchisees who raise the bar for their teams and for the system as a whole.
In less than a year, what started as an average-performing location, became one of the network’s fastest turnarounds, proving that with the right leadership and systems in place, extraordinary growth is possible.
Gregory’s success shows that it is possible to run a semi-absentee franchise, but only with the right approach. Her results came from being hyper-focused on building and coaching a strong team, and following the operational playbook that UWRG has spent nearly two decades developing.
For entrepreneurs considering ownership while balancing another career, Gregory’s first year proves that with the right structure and commitment, the model can thrive.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/unitedwaterrestoration.
United Water Restoration Group
SPONSORED
Chrissy Gregory of United Water Restoration Group in Port St. Lucie, Florida, earned the brand’s Inspire Award for redefining ownership, effort and what’s possible in year one.
As vice president of franchise operations at United Water Restoration Group (UWRG), Chrissy Gregory spent years helping franchise owners grow their businesses, building systems and shaping strategy from the home office. But in 2024, she decided to take on a new challenge — purchasing her own franchise in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Less than a year later, Gregory turned that location into a record-breaking performer, earning the Inspire Award at the 2025 conference.
“I love my role at UWRG and the chance to work alongside franchise owners to help them grow,” Gregory said. “Becoming a franchisee myself just felt like a natural next step. With my background in operations, I knew I could take what I’ve been building at the corporate level and apply it directly to the Port St. Lucie location.”
Gregory bought the location with the intention of running it as a semi-absentee owner while keeping her operations leadership role at the UWRG’s home office. “It was very much an owner-operated location that relied on the owner for a lot of tasks, and to take the business to the next level, it really needed to be a place that could run on its own,” she said.
As a critical next step, she hired a general manager, a marketer and a technician to fill key positions and heavily invested in both community outreach and digital marketing. As boots-on-the-ground marketing developed, these efforts revealed a need to focus on building strong relationships with local contracting partners. Gregory also put significant capital into strengthening the location’s online presence, leading to strong gains in just six months.
For Gregory, turning the Port St. Lucie UWRG into a top performing location in the franchise, meant empowering her team to lead with confidence and authority. She shared a bigger vision for what the business could achieve, encouraging her team to set ambitious goals and own their results.
“From the very beginning, we discussed what my vision for this company was, which really kind of fed into everybody that works there,” she said. “We opened up everybody's mind to the fact that there are no limits to this, and together, we could build something truly powerful.”
She also gave her employees space to make decisions without stepping in to control every outcome. The result was a culture where team members felt empowered to exceed expectations and take responsibility for the location’s success.
Owning her own location also gave her a chance to test the very systems she was responsible for rolling out at the franchisor level. She viewed it as both a personal challenge and an opportunity to strengthen the brand.
“Becoming a UWRG franchisee has given me and the franchise support team incredible insight into what we are rolling out as a franchisor and how our franchisees are operating,” Gregory said. “Being able to leverage my own experience as a franchisee has led to asking key questions like: Is the process feasible? Is it working? Is it keeping up with the times? All of the insights we’re gleaning are truly impacting how we grow and develop an operations and support model for the entire system.”
The record breaking business growth didn’t happen by accident. Gregory brought focus, structure and a strong financial drive to the role. She maintained a consistent development schedule with her team despite her corporate job, spending four to five hours a week coaching them to operate independently.
“I'm most proud of putting a team together that operates for the most part without me; that’s not easy to do. Everybody that was with the Port St. Lucie office when I purchased it still works there,” she said, noting that revenue growth came from the same staff who were there before she took over.
That commitment to empowering her team and driving measurable results is exactly why Gregory was honored with UWRG’s Inspire Award in 2025. The award isn’t about being the biggest operation — it recognizes franchisees who raise the bar for their teams and for the system as a whole.
In less than a year, what started as an average-performing location, became one of the network’s fastest turnarounds, proving that with the right leadership and systems in place, extraordinary growth is possible.
Gregory’s success shows that it is possible to run a semi-absentee franchise, but only with the right approach. Her results came from being hyper-focused on building and coaching a strong team, and following the operational playbook that UWRG has spent nearly two decades developing.
For entrepreneurs considering ownership while balancing another career, Gregory’s first year proves that with the right structure and commitment, the model can thrive.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/unitedwaterrestoration.
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