How the Tiny Home Trend Inspired an Engineer into Franchising with Anchored Tiny Homes

Cullen Cochran hadn’t initially planned on owning his own business. However, when a colleague built a tiny home in his own backyard and friends swarmed him with requests to build ones for them, as well, Cochran realized there was a huge market for tiny homes. A couple of weeks later, Cochran’s father approached him with the idea of going into franchising with Anchored Tiny Homes, the emerging accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and tiny home franchise. As Cochran already saw the value in this concept and the potential in the industry, he didn’t take much convincing.

Cochran looks forward to operating his own Anchored Tiny Homes franchise in the Memorial area of Houston starting in February of 2024. Cochran’s father, Devin Cochran, will be operating a neighboring territory out of northern San Antonio, and the two look forward to collaborating in running their businesses side by side. 

Cochran is excited about the opportunity to meet the rising demand for affordable housing solutions for the younger generations, as many people are investing in tiny homes on their properties for their children to live in independently while they save up for a separate property. He also is looking forward to serving families who are opting for tiny homes rather than assisted living facilities for their aging loved ones, as it tends to be more affordable and allows families to remain together. 

Aside from the concept itself, Cochran is also looking forward to working with the Anchored Tiny Homes corporate team, as he immediately felt a sense of shared values and support upon meeting them.

“I knew it was a family I wanted to be a part of,” he said.

1851 Franchise spoke with Cochran about his journey into franchising and his plans for the future.

PROFILE QUESTIONS

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

Cochran: I graduated in 2012 with a degree in geology, and then began my career in Oil & Gas. I spent 6 years working for a large oilfield service provider as a field engineer before moving into consulting, which is what I’ve been doing for the past five years.

I recently graduated with my MBA and first heard of tiny homes through a colleague of mine who was in the same program. He is a petroleum engineer for EOG, but he's also somewhat of a builder and handyman. He built a tiny home on his own property and then a friend of his asked if he could build him one on his hunting lease. I thought it was such a cool idea because most people just have trailers on their leases without any utilities. About a week or two later, my dad approached me saying he came across a franchising opportunity for tiny homes with a brand called Anchored Tiny Homes.

I had already been warmed up to the idea, but when I started looking into the scope of what the brand provides, I started getting really excited about the concept. I loved the idea of getting involved with a brand that serves families with aging parents, as the ADUs often act as an affordable alternative to nursing homes that also let families stay together.

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?

Cochran: I have always liked the idea of franchising. Having a proven model to follow rather than trying to go at it alone is appealing from a risk profile. In my experience, with Anchored Tiny Homes, we are small enough that I am able to reach out to the core team at any time. This has so much value for a new franchise owner. In my opinion, getting in early with a newer brand is the most beneficial, rather than getting in late when it is very established, more expensive, and management is inaccessible. 

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

Cochran: I already liked the idea of tiny homes, but when I went out to California and met the team, I got a sense of our shared values. The team is family oriented and value-driven, which made them very relatable. After seeing the homes they built and how much space they offer even though they are compact, I was impressed. The homes are so comfortable. They all have vaulted ceilings, quartz countertops, and a surprising amount of storage space. I felt like I was in a nice home, and I immediately saw the value. 

My dad is operating a territory out of northern San Antonio, and I'm managing my territory in Houston. My mom is also working alongside my dad, and my wife Hilary is working alongside me. While we each own and operate our territories separately, we will still be collaborating and sharing a lot of our administrative team members. 

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

Cochran: We have just set out our plans for the new year. We plan to expand into a new territory adjacent to ours, and which way we go will depend on the demand. We're aiming to achieve at least 15 contracts before the end of the new year. In terms of total revenue, we're aiming for $2.2 million in sales.

We are also aiming to expand our team and are looking to hire a project manager and someone to handle sales.

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

Cochran: What I'm most excited about with this business is the chance to deliver tangible value to people in my community. Business-to-business sales doesn't offer the same kind of reward or satisfaction. Building an ADU is something very personal, since more  often than not they are used to house aging parents. Having the opportunity to provide these solutions to people is something I find very exciting.

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

Cochran: There’s a lot of value in getting in early. Having a direct line of contact to the founders is tremendously helpful. Additionally, being the first to market in your area with a new concept has additional value as well. One thing to consider before making a decision would be evaluating the strength of their marketing team. If they are equipped to ensure you make a splash once you go live, that can be incredibly helpful as well.

ABOUT ANCHORED TINY HOMES

Anchored Tiny Homes (ATH) is on a mission to solve the housing crisis in the United States. Created by the Paulhus family, who hold over 40 years of combined construction experience, ATH is the only accessory dwelling unit (ADU) franchise on the market. With hundreds of completed and active projects in multiple states and growing daily, the ATH business model makes it easy for anyone to join this surging industry without a construction background and generate some of the best numbers shown in franchising!