Florida-Based Franchisee Supports Local Nonprofits, Creates Jobs and Builds Community
Clinton Cobia finds fulfilment in his Koala Insulation franchise in four significant ways:
- Community members appreciate the brand’s valuable services.
- His success allows him to pass along some of his profits to nonprofit organizations.
- He takes delight in seeing his business grow.
- His franchise creates jobs.
Cobia explains how that happens for him, starting with the brand itself. Koala Insulation provides premium spray foam, blown-in and batt insulation services, solar attic fan installation, and crawl space encapsulation in residential and commercial buildings. “We’re in a unique position to benefit every client because our products are spreading warmth Koala Insulation franchisee pays it forward guaranteed to pay for themselves and even off era return over time. Every client will enjoy more comfort and a lower power bill when our work is done,” Cobia says. “Our success puts us in a great position to help local nonprofits, too.”
For example, his Jupiter, Fla.-based franchise is sponsoring a benefit golf tournament. “My wife runs a nonprofit organization so she’s been a resource for finding other local nonprofits to donate a percentage of our profits to,” Cobia says. “The golf tournament is our first sponsorship this year. It benefits the Piper’s Angels Foundation, which improves the lives of families in the cystic fibrosis community through advocacy, socially innovative programs, raising awareness and funding critical support.”
He credits Koala’s business model for helping make that sponsorship possible. “Koala was the first franchise I came across that seemed to offer a truly limitless earning potential in a short period of time if run correctly. I had owned a large digital marketing firm, and that’s why I immediately fell in love with Koala’s branding. I knew it would be a hit.”
A Collaborative Community
Cobia’s marketing knowledge gives him a major advantage over competitors. “If you have a digital marketing background, going up against other construction companies can feel like taking candy from a baby. Even if they have a great marketing company, they don’t have a deep understanding of the different pillars of marketing and how to use them.” He shares his marketing expertise with other Koala owners. “That’s something great about the franchise world — you have all these owners from different backgrounds. I was able to bring in some marketing companies that I had used and knew would be good for me, and I introduced them across the Koala system. Other owners introduced me to aspects of their former specialties.”
Cobia sees the collaborative Koala network as a major asset. “I was pleasantly surprised with the overall camaraderie that I had with other franchisees early on and to this day. Koala offers plenty of support, but most of what I needed came from others who were walking in my shoes and knew the pain I felt at the time. Some people who started around the same time as I did were my sounding boards, psychologists, business planners and idea people. It’s amazing to be able to pick up a phone and share wins and offload losses with someone who would come back with the exact same types of wins and losses.
“Challenges are ever-present in the world of business ownership. They just change as you go. The biggest early challenge was work-life balance. I was 100% dedicated to ensuring the success of the business. Nowadays I have a great work-life balance, and my main challenges are hiring and keeping the standards of work as high as they were day one to ensure the continued success of the business.
“It has been so rewarding to watch the business grow and watch my employees grow with it. Putting them in a place to succeed, create and grow families, buy houses, new cars, boats — anything like that — is very rewarding. My employees help me so much every day, and I have a duty to run a successful company that affords me the ability to help them back in any way I can.”
Visit Koala Insulation’s website for more information.
