Franchisee Knows Value Of Good Employees

Wall Street Journal:

Ted Schwarz, 45 years old, has been a Stanley Steemer franchisee for 22 years. Mr. Schwarz spoke with StartupJournal about his 2 stores in Eden Prairie and Rochester, Minn. which he runs with his mother, who is semi-retired.

SJ: How did you become involved with franchising?

Mr. Schwarz: My mother made the choice. She was recently divorced and we were living in Columbus, Ohio, where Stanley Steemer’s headquarters is located. She was at a franchising class and met someone from Stanley Steemer and became involved. My dad was already involved with McDonald’s restaurants as a franchisee.

My mother, brother and I moved to Minnesota and opened a Stanley Steemer together. My brother has since left the business.

SJ: How much was your initial investment?

Mr. Schwarz: A couple of hundred thousand dollars, which included training and buying the rights to exclusive market territory in 1985. We bought the rights to nine counties - there is no other Stanley Steemer franchise that we compete with. We renewed our rights this year for a small fee. Trucks and equipment are a separate cost.

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