Anna Savchenko and her husband, Eugene — immigrants from Russia and Moldova, respectively — initially built a successful tree service business from scratch. The savvy entrepreneurial couple grew the business to the point that it could continue to run with minimal involvement from them.
The Savchenkos found themselves ready to tackle another venture. Given her husband’s long-standing interest in franchising, they explored various options before deciding on United Water Water Restoration Group (UWRG), drawn by the brand’s supportive environment and opportunity to enter a new industry. The pair look forward to building their reputation and offering services within their community in the Lakeville, Minnesota area.
Anna Savchenko took the time to chat with 1851 Franchise to discuss all of this and more. Here’s what she had to say.
1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?
Anna Savchenko: My husband and I currently own a tree service business, which we’ve been running since 2012. It's been going really well, and it’s now at a point where it almost runs itself. We have the right people in place who can operate it daily without much involvement from us anymore, especially from my husband. He used to do everything — take calls, do estimates and manage the business — but now he’s taken more of a background role.
My husband has always been interested in franchising, so he did a lot of research into different types of franchises, from food to painting and everything in between. Eventually, we landed on United Water Restoration Group.
1851 Franchise: What was your perception of franchising before becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you're in it?
Savchenko: I always thought franchising was mostly for food places — that’s what comes to mind: different food locations and types of restaurants. But once we got into it, we realized it's so much more. A lot of businesses you don’t even realize are franchises. What we’ve loved about it is the support system and the fact that the setup is already in place. You’re not starting from scratch, which we had to do before. It saves you a lot of time and effort because the support is already there.
1851 Franchise: What made you choose this brand? What excites you most about this company?
Savchenko: Just from speaking with the president and everyone else involved at the corporate office, we got a great overall feel for the franchise. The work itself was exciting because it involves emergency services, which is different from what we were doing before. Getting into a whole new industry just seemed like an exciting move.
1851 Franchise: What’s your biggest accomplishment in this job? What’s your big goal this year?
Savchenko: Our number one goal this year is to be busy and consistent with work, as well as to get our name out there. Consistency with work is really important for us right now, especially in this first year, and we want our employees to be happy too.
1851 Franchise: What’s the number one thing about your story that you want us to know?
Savchenko: My husband and I are both immigrants: I’m from Russia and he’s from Moldova. What we love about UWRG is that there are so many other people involved who are also immigrants — people who weren’t born in America but are working hard to grow their businesses and provide for their families. We feel like it’s a good environment for like-minded people who love being in business and being entrepreneurs.
1851 Franchise: What advice do you have for aspiring franchisees?
Savchenko: Talk to other owners who are currently doing what you’re interested in. Ask them about their biggest hurdles and what they found to be the best parts of the franchise. Get a full picture from someone who’s already in that industry, or with that franchise, and get firsthand advice from an owner.
About United Water Restoration Group
Since 2008, United Water Restoration Group (UWRG) has helped thousands of home and business owners restore properties to pre-loss condition. Through a commitment to excellence and a focus on personal attention, clients’ expectations are exceeded every time, without exception. Today, with a philosophy of hiring the best staff to provide professional restoration services, UWRG has grown to more than 80 locations and maintains a level of customer service rarely seen in the industry. Although UWRG assists those experiencing disasters, this growing, recession-proof industry is also supported by fundamental infrastructure issues like aging systems and reconstruction.
The initial investment to open and begin operation ranges from $214,300 (single unit) to $627,400 (six units). For more information on franchising, visit https://uwrgfranchise.com/investment-opportunities/.
United Water Restoration Group
The Savchenkos have experience in starting their own business, but had always been interested in leveraging the support of the franchise model. Now they’ve done so with United Water Restoration Group.
Anna Savchenko and her husband, Eugene — immigrants from Russia and Moldova, respectively — initially built a successful tree service business from scratch. The savvy entrepreneurial couple grew the business to the point that it could continue to run with minimal involvement from them.
The Savchenkos found themselves ready to tackle another venture. Given her husband’s long-standing interest in franchising, they explored various options before deciding on United Water Water Restoration Group (UWRG), drawn by the brand’s supportive environment and opportunity to enter a new industry. The pair look forward to building their reputation and offering services within their community in the Lakeville, Minnesota area.
Anna Savchenko took the time to chat with 1851 Franchise to discuss all of this and more. Here’s what she had to say.
1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?
Anna Savchenko: My husband and I currently own a tree service business, which we’ve been running since 2012. It's been going really well, and it’s now at a point where it almost runs itself. We have the right people in place who can operate it daily without much involvement from us anymore, especially from my husband. He used to do everything — take calls, do estimates and manage the business — but now he’s taken more of a background role.
My husband has always been interested in franchising, so he did a lot of research into different types of franchises, from food to painting and everything in between. Eventually, we landed on United Water Restoration Group.
1851 Franchise: What was your perception of franchising before becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you're in it?
Savchenko: I always thought franchising was mostly for food places — that’s what comes to mind: different food locations and types of restaurants. But once we got into it, we realized it's so much more. A lot of businesses you don’t even realize are franchises. What we’ve loved about it is the support system and the fact that the setup is already in place. You’re not starting from scratch, which we had to do before. It saves you a lot of time and effort because the support is already there.
1851 Franchise: What made you choose this brand? What excites you most about this company?
Savchenko: Just from speaking with the president and everyone else involved at the corporate office, we got a great overall feel for the franchise. The work itself was exciting because it involves emergency services, which is different from what we were doing before. Getting into a whole new industry just seemed like an exciting move.
1851 Franchise: What’s your biggest accomplishment in this job? What’s your big goal this year?
Savchenko: Our number one goal this year is to be busy and consistent with work, as well as to get our name out there. Consistency with work is really important for us right now, especially in this first year, and we want our employees to be happy too.
1851 Franchise: What’s the number one thing about your story that you want us to know?
Savchenko: My husband and I are both immigrants: I’m from Russia and he’s from Moldova. What we love about UWRG is that there are so many other people involved who are also immigrants — people who weren’t born in America but are working hard to grow their businesses and provide for their families. We feel like it’s a good environment for like-minded people who love being in business and being entrepreneurs.
1851 Franchise: What advice do you have for aspiring franchisees?
Savchenko: Talk to other owners who are currently doing what you’re interested in. Ask them about their biggest hurdles and what they found to be the best parts of the franchise. Get a full picture from someone who’s already in that industry, or with that franchise, and get firsthand advice from an owner.
About United Water Restoration Group
Since 2008, United Water Restoration Group (UWRG) has helped thousands of home and business owners restore properties to pre-loss condition. Through a commitment to excellence and a focus on personal attention, clients’ expectations are exceeded every time, without exception. Today, with a philosophy of hiring the best staff to provide professional restoration services, UWRG has grown to more than 80 locations and maintains a level of customer service rarely seen in the industry. Although UWRG assists those experiencing disasters, this growing, recession-proof industry is also supported by fundamental infrastructure issues like aging systems and reconstruction.
The initial investment to open and begin operation ranges from $214,300 (single unit) to $627,400 (six units). For more information on franchising, visit https://uwrgfranchise.com/investment-opportunities/.
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