Military Careers, Second Careers - Navy Times

Business by the truckload

It’s not that Americans don’t like to keep it clean — they just may be too busy to do so. That’s why housekeeping and other residential clean-up franchises are booming.

So if you’re thinking about starting a business after the military — or even while you’re still in — there’s money to be made in the clean-up business, even for military tough-guys like Navy helicopter pilots Lt. Jeff Drawe and Lt. Cmdr. Mike Stoll.

The pair opened a 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchise together in October in Jacksonville, Fla. As a member of the International Franchise Association’s VetFran program, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? offers veterans discounts off its fee to buy a franchise.

“Mike and I knew we wanted to run a business together. I have the business acumen, and he has the analytical skills,” Drawe said. “We learned about the VetFran discount, put up the $90,000 and got $12,000 off the franchise fee. It was a seamless move to finish up the financing and be open for business.”

1-800-GOT-JUNK? began offering franchise opportunities in 1999 and has sold more than 330 — 14 of them to veterans or current service members

Franchisees of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? haul away all the old furniture, broken appliances and Stone Age tools people stow in backyards, basements and garages.

“We’ve chopped up and hauled away a 16-foot fiberglass boat, knocked down tool sheds, hauled away furniture, household items, drywall and construction debris,” Drawe said. “We recycle anything we can, from paper to cardboard, plastic and metal. We donate furniture and other items. We store things that are usable until we have half a load. Then we donate to the community — or if someone has a house fire, or things like that.”

Cleaning homes amounts to a $4 billion-per-year industry in the U.S., said Paul Hay, franchise recruiter for Maid Brigade, another VetFran participant.

“When people call us, they’re buying time with their families,” Hay said. “Even in a recession, cleaning isn’t something Americans cut back on.” Maid Brigade ranks 64th among Entrepreneur magazine’s top 100 franchises.

The cleaning business reaches beyond junk removal and good, old-fashioned housekeeping. Duraclean International, for example, provides traditional carpet and upholstery cleaning as well as mold elimination and water restoration.

One of the newest cleaning services is the Hygienic Home, which started offering franchises just last year and claims to be the first residential cleaning franchise in the U.S. that eliminates germs, allergens and other contaminants.

Drawe expects to leave the Navy in March 2009 for the reserves, and the new business will supplement his income.

“Franchises are fantastic for military personnel,” Drawe said. “We’re trained, disciplined and we follow systems and guidelines. This particular franchise is the best I know of. It’s beneficial to the community because we recycle and donate most of what we haul off, and it’s a morally sound service.”

Drawe said it’s tough to place a figure on the revenue a 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchise can make in a year because territories vary. He’s heard figures from a high $8.5 million a year to a low $5,000 or so a month. He says he is confident that when his military commitment is up, he’ll have a debt-free business to turn to.

Drawe and Stoll paid cash to start up. It took two months to get the details in place, including training and arrangements to lease two dump trucks and a warehouse to store the junk they haul away.

They broke even by the second month in operation, and business is growing faster than expected, they say.