“…while I give a lot of coaching, I also take a lot of coaching from mentors, and read extensively. When you are done learning, you are just done.”

This is Taylor Sparks of the Raleigh-Durham MO.com, where we feature small business owners and entrepreneurs to bring you, hints, tips, insights, and perspectives on what it takes to be successful. Joining us today is Jeff Dudan, who is the CEO/Founder of AdvantaClean Systems in Huntersville, NC founded in 1994. AdvantaClean has over 70 franchise locations in the U.S. including Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Canada. They were rated #5 in the 2011 Franchise Business Review.  Entrepreneur Magazine rated AdvantaClean #16 for Top New Ranking,  #92 for Top Home Based Franchise, #291 Top Franchise 500. Jeff, Thank you for taking the time to speak with MO.com.

MO:
You began your initial business as a painter and it was a trip to Florida to help clean up after Hurricane Andrew that you learned about disaster restoration. What was it about disaster restoration that made you add it to your painting business?

Jeff:
I think like a lot of entrepreneurs in that circumstances create opportunities.  Our painting business was a college painting business.  I attended Appalachian State University, coming from Chicago originally and I wanted to stay in Boone NC over the summer but I couldn’t find employment. So I started the business with a friend and we painted apartments for student housing  when the leases changed.  We were able to make good money and cut our teeth as entrepreneurs during the summer while in college.

MO:
How long did you continue with the painting business before focusing solely on disaster restoration?

Jeff:
Our younger brothers had come to the university and we turned the business over to them. We were looking for what to do next and a prior roommate called me and said that Hurricane Andrew just hit South Florida and he had taken a job with a firm that was in the restoration industry and he encouraged us to come down and take a look and see if we wanted to help them clean up South Florida.

MO:
How soon after working with that company in South Florida did you start AdvantaClean?

Jeff:
We ended up working  with a firm in partnership for a couple of years and in 1994 we moved up to Central Florida and there were four of us that started this company as partners.  In 1995 I moved up to NC to start our second office.  Each office had between six and eight employees at that time.

 

 

MO:
Did your painting business fund the disaster restoration business and equipment needed?

Jeff:
Initially I was able to take a little income off of the painting business after we had left and that was  helpful in starting a business.  Any time you start a business, cash flow is not the best, as our franchisees discover today. I think it was very beneficially starting the first office in Florida and then the second office in North Carolina, we inherently know what our franchisees are going through and what they need to do to be successful.

MO:
What were the biggest challenges of launching this business?

Jeff:
It was a pretty traditional launch.  We had an advantage because we had worked in partnership in South Florida, so we were able to ramp up the Central Florida office relatively quick and the North Carolina office even quicker.  We had a formula for launching in the marketplace and we stuck to that, so it wasn’t too painful for us.

MO:
How long was it before you were profitable?

Jeff:
We were profitable right away because we landed a significant government contract.  We also had a lot of insurance contacts and between the government and the insurance contacts we were able to start getting volume right away.

MO:
Was franchising your business always part of the plan or was there a particular circumstance that made you decide to franchise?

Jeff:
In my mind, I believed the business was starting to be a national player and to be significant in the industry from the very beginning.  There were four partners and I can’t speak for what they thought at that time, perhaps they were humoring me. We actually hired our first franchise attorney to educate us in 1997. In 2000, we franchised to ourselves.  So we created the franchise organization and signed franchise agreements with all of our company stores that were company owned.  In 2006, after we got all of the systems set up that we thought were necessary to manage and support a franchise network, we started selling those stores off to third parties under the franchise model.  It was a small group of closely owned franchisees at that point, people that were known to us and experienced in business.  In 2008 we launched to the general public.

 

MO:
So what does an AdvantaClean franchise do today?

Jeff:
Our franchisees perform three high-margin, non-discretionary services; Air Duct Cleaning, Mold Removal, and Emergency Water Removal. It’s a winning combination of scheduled events, and emergency services, that lead to the best possible utilization of resources in a small business.

MO:
You have an incredibly low failure rate, namely zero through December of 2010.  What do you attribute that to?

Jeff:
There are a number of things.  First, AdvantaClean is a low overhead business model, reducing cash burn while franchisees introduce their business to the local marketplace.  Overhead remains low due to extensive back office support, including telephone answering, booking appointments, and project support.  Since we shoulder this burden, it allows the franchisees to focus on building key relationships, closing deals, and producing work, all of which all must be done in local markets, without getting bogged down in office administration. We are also committed to developing people.  Our people are our most important asset and biggest factor in our collective success. At the home office, as well as in our franchise network, we look for people with a growth mindset.  People with a growth mindset are typically motivated, enjoy a challenge, strive to learn, demonstrate humility, and tend to treat others with respect.  Indoctrinating first time business owners in their new role requires patience and intellectual humility.  Realistic expectations must be set, driving towards a clear future.  As the franchisor, we have to be present, attentive, and responsive to their needs.  We must honestly care about them, their families, and their success in this business.

MO:
So what does the future hold for you and AdvantaClean?

Jeff:
In franchising, our success truly is determined by the success of our franchisees.  By the end of 2011, we are projected to have over 100 territories awarded.  Our expanding footprint provides leverage and opportunities that will be beneficial system-wide to the AdvantaClean family of businesses. As long as everyone is happy and meeting financial expectations, the system has a bright future ahead. Personally, while I give a lot of coaching, I also take a lot of coaching from mentors, and read extensively.  When you are done learning, you are just done.  Read extensively, and surround yourself with people that share your passion for growth and learning.
Everything you need to build your business is out there waiting for you, but you need to dig through a lot of material to find what is most relevant.  You must understand and internalize the learning before you can apply it, which takes focus and commitment.  Building your business will be harder than you may have anticipated. You will have to be persistent, and efficient with your time. As you learn and grow, always take time to think well, and never be afraid to question the establishment.

The Final Five!  Five semi-random questions.
MO:
Proudest personal achievement?

Jeff:
I’m a family guy so I take a lot of pride in my wife and my children.  I think being a business owner and a franchisor and constantly focusing on how to help people overcome the things they need to do to become successful has given me a lot of material to help my kids do the same thing. My kids have developed good mindsets and I like developing people.

MO:
Title of last book read?

Jeff:
Inside Steve’s Brain by Leander Kahney

MO:
Two non-family members you admire?

Jeff:
Benjamin Franklin and Jerry Moore, the head football coach at Appalachian state and he has been there since 1989.  He has had many opportunities to go many different places because of the success that they’ve had.  He’s a guy that’s just focused on the people in front of him. A very solid individual and very influential.

MO:
Favorite hobby or diversion for fun?

Jeff:
I coach.  You name it, I coach it.  Soccer, football, basketball, franchisees, employees, you name it, I’ll coach it.

MO:
If you weren’t in the disaster restoration business, what career would you have?

Jeff:
I would have to think that I would be running a business of some sort.  The business is really immaterial. Our space; I call it the light environmental space.  It’s large, its established, its fragmented, high margin services so it’s a great business to be in.  But what we do would apply to almost any business at the end of the day.  So if it wasn’t this business I’d be leading a business in some other space.  I’m not sure if it would be remarkably different in the things that I do.  I exist to serve by leading through clarity.  Any time you can lead people to a clear future, reasonable people with good insights and a clear understanding of what they are supposed to do are typically going to do the right thing and have success. I work on that every day.

MO:
Thank you Jeff and I think people would find your blog Healthy Home Tips, to be a wealth of information for their homes.

Jeff:
Thank you.