Tucson-Area Horse Trainer Brings Scoop Soldiers to Arizona Community

Denise Krause, Christian Spangler and Marian LaLonde are bringing pet waste removal franchise Scoop Soldiers to the greater Tucson area with an early-October launch date.

Krause, who has been a horse trainer and competitor for decades, talked about going into business with Spangler and LaLonde for years. While the trio considered a range of franchise options, knowing the model would support them in launching more smoothly, Scoop Soldiers made sense to the group of animal lovers.

Now, they are preparing to launch the business in early fall with plans to increase awareness of the pet waste removal service in the community and ultimately expand.

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

Krause: I’m a horse trainer, and I do a lot of competing. I have a lot of clients, and I’ve been doing that for the past 25 years. My husband, Christian, and I both have businesses. We were looking to branch out and try to do something a little different. We’re going to continue with our current businesses, but we were looking for something fun to do. We had been researching franchises. We even thought about doing a restaurant at one point. I looked into a couple other options, but none of them felt like the right fit. When we came across Scoop Soldiers, it was a very intriguing business model. We’re pet lovers, so that made the business even better.

We had talked with Marian about going into business together, and she’s also an animal lover who has dogs and horses. We were looking in our area, and there wasn’t really anything else like Scoop Soldiers, so we thought it was a really good opportunity to start up in Vail. We’re really excited about it.

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?

Krause: Franchising was all brand new for all three of us. But the thing with Scoop Soldiers was that, when we started talking back and forth and having meetings, they were very transparent about every aspect of their business. 

We knew that starting a franchise would be different than starting a business from scratch. We have our Tucson territory, and we’re already working on getting our business out there. We still have a couple months until we launch, so I think I still have things to learn. But for anyone looking to get into a franchise, the most important thing is to look for a franchisor that is open and honest. The word “transparency” is exactly what Scoop Soldiers showed us in the beginning of our conversations. That was really nice because some other franchises that we were looking at were not transparent, and that was a little bit of a red flag for us.

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

Krause: I think the number one thing was that we loved working with them from the beginning. They were open and honest with us from the beginning. Number two, we’re dog lovers and animal lovers, so we understand that aspect of the business. I think we can use that to build our clientele. Lastly, there just really isn’t anything like Scoop Soldiers in our area, so we’re excited that we can be the first ones to really open up that market in our area.

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

Krause: My husband is growth motivated. Marian and I are thinking that we’ll start with two trucks and two techs, and when we exceed 50 to 100 clients, we’ll expand. Christian, on the other hand, has very aggressive goals. We definitely want to grow, and we’re motivated about getting out there, marketing with the help of the Scoop Soldiers team and even working boots on the ground.

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

Krause: Marian and I are coming into this together, as women. Obviously, we have Christian as our sidekick, and he’s going to be helping us, but we’re a primarily woman-owned business.

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

Krause: We have a team of three, and it’s really nice to have each other for support. Scoop Soldiers has also been really great from the beginning. I think it’s important to find people, on your team and at the franchisor, that are easy to work with and will help you instill confidence in yourself.

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/scoopsoldiers/info .

About Scoop Soldiers:

Scoop Soldiers was established in 2010 to give pet parents a break from the dirty work of cleaning up after their pets. Not only does Scoop Soldiers help to keep yards clean, but it also saves clients’ time. Pet waste removal services are available at residential and pet-friendly commercial clients, such as apartment complexes, pet care centers and hotels. Clients can opt for service packages that range from three visits per week to a onetime cleanup for a special event. Scoop Soldiers helps to eliminate odor, germs and unsightly appearances from private and commercial properties. For more information on franchising with Scoop Soldiers, please visit scoopsoldiersfranchise.com.