Plumbers who want to own their own business are encouraged to hop on board with a growing franchise that is getting ready to take a giant leap forward.
Headquartered in Phoenix, AZ and launched in 2014, bluefrog Plumbing + Drain currently has 15 franchise locations spread over nine states across the country from Arizona to Florida to Connecticut and it’s looking to expand further.
“Our focus is on helping people build plumbing businesses and taking care of clients so those clients want to do business with us again and tell other people about us,” president and COO Jeff Moody said during a recent interview.
Helping the company with its expansion goal is its recent acquisition by the Restoration 1 brand. Moody said bluefrog is ready to put its expansion into high gear now that it’s part of the the Restoration 1 family.
Restoration 1®, one of the fastest-growing and most-trusted restoration franchises in North America, has acquired the bluefrog Plumbing + Drain® franchise network with plans to aggressively grow the business across North America.
“This is a monumental acquisition, broadening the franchise brands and complimentary services that we will deliver to a growing residential and commercial customer base across the United States,” said Gary Findley, CEO of Restoration 1.
“We grew a regional franchise into an award-winning national chain in less than a year at Restoration 1, and we are ready to do it again with bluefrog Plumbing + Drain,” Findley said. “Restoration 1 has a strong franchise development department and they’re expecting us to have another 15 units by the end of the year and a hundred by the end of 2018,” the COO outlined.
Going from 15 to 30 and then onto 100 locations by the end of next year is a perfectly feasible goal, he added, because the Restoration 1 brand is about to go through a significant expansion itself.
And this pending expansion by both Restoration 1 and bluefrog is why it’s an ideal time for people to get on board with the plumbing and drain brand.
Brand Name Recognition
The COO said bluefrog largely targets individuals in the plumbing field who have the ambition to own their own business, but who face roadblocks to making that a reality for themselves.
Within the plumbing industry, he noted, there are essentially three types of business units. The first is what Moody called the “man in the van,” who is an owner-operator that runs a one-person show. A step up from that is a plumber who has expanded to a handful of vehicles, which Moody labeled a “plumbing company in transition.” On the top tier are the successful businesses, which the bluefrog president called “strategic plumbing companies.” Bluefrog is looking for “man in the van” and “plumbing companies in transition” enterprises to turn into strategic plumbing companies.
The franchise does this by helping franchise partners with client acquisition, team building, financial management, service standards and brand name recognition, which clients appreciate, Moody said.
In fact, the bluefrog name sets the brand apart from the myriad plumbing franchises that all seem to have a common root to their name.
“There are so many ‘rooter’ companies out there and that leads to brand confusion in the client’s mind,” Moody pointed out.
A lot of the major plumbing franchises also have limited territories available throughout the country, a problem bluefrog doesn’t have, as availability is wide open at the moment.
Check Local Licensing Requirements
Bluefrog has the systems in place to take a person who essentially just has a plumbing job and teach that person to run a successful company and end up with a sellable asset if that’s their desire.
However, he added, people don’t necessarily require a plumbing license to be a bluefrog franchise partner. The various states have different licensing requirements and usually they require at least one licensed plumber to be on staff, Moody pointed out.
“We have franchise owners who are not licensed plumbers,” he explained. “They’re more on the business side of it, so they will hire someone with that skill set. In other areas we have licensed plumbers who are running the show. So, we have a little combination of both.”
The plumbing brand has a strong support team that focuses on training franchisees on bluefrog’s various systems like it’s client acquisition system. This system helps franchisees make their phone ring and provides training on how to answer the phone and engage a client so they buy services.
Franchisees also receive training in financial management and business analysis that teaches them to look at their key indicators so they know what’s going on with their business and where they need to focus their energy.
Although a bluefrog franchise could be started out of a home, it’s preferable for the business to quickly transition to an industrial location where it can store a little bit of inventory and accommodate some machinery.
One of the key differences between bluefrog and it’s competition, Moody said, is that bluefrog doesn’t just want to go in and do the work and get out. They want to educate the client on their plumbing services so the clients understand what’s going on.
“We want the client to understand their plumbing systems and how those systems fit together,” Moody said.
He was brought on board right at the beginning of bluefrog’s formation because he has a lot of experience with plumbing franchises. Moody used to work with another major plumbing franchise and bluefrog brought him on board in late 2013 to help launch the franchise.
Now, with the help of Restoration 1’s guidance, Moody is looking to take bluefrog Plumbing + Drain to the next level and help the right entrepreneurs realize their dreams of business ownership and success.