Southard will Oversee the Eco-Friendly Cleaning Franchise’s Growth
Rachel Southard has been appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of ecomaids, an eco-friendly cleaning franchise under the Happinest Brands umbrella. As CEO, Southard will foster ecomaids’ growth. Other franchises under the Happinest Brands umbrella are Mosquito Hunter, Lawn Doctor, Sparkle Squad, and Elite Window Cleaning.
“I’m looking forward to meeting and getting to know all our ecomaids franchisees. Franchising is a relationship business, and I’m really looking forward to building, nurturing and growing those relationships. This will make us unstoppable,” Southard said.
She was sold on ecomaids when Happinest CEO Scott Frith gave her a tour of the manufacturing facility. She noticed that he knew every employee’s name, shook their hands, asked about their families, and even remembered their relatives’ names. She was impressed that some Happinest employees had worked there for multiple decades. Frith’s actions spoke volumes to her, and Southard could sense the people-first culture at the corporate office. This gave her confidence that she would be supported and surrounded by great people.
Frith believes that Southard is the right fit for this role. “The Happinest Brands team could not be more excited to welcome Rachel to the ecomaids family. She brings a wealth of experience and a culturally aligned perspective to our leadership team. Rachel is the perfect individual to help us take the ecomaids brand, and our amazing franchise owners, into the future.”
Southard and Franchising
From an early age, franchising has been a significant part of Southard’s life. As a teenager, she worked at a Lady of America franchise. She grew in that brand for a decade and then joined a fitness software company that was later acquired by Anytime Fitness in 2011. This enabled her to transition to the franchisor side, Southard said. Prior to joining Happinest Brands, Southard worked at Threshold Brands as president of the Men in Kilts franchise and held leadership roles at Self Esteem Brands.
She enjoys supporting entrepreneurs in fulfilling their business ownership dreams through franchising. In her view, the beauty of franchising is that entrepreneurs can own their own business and get support from the franchisors. “Building relationships with franchisees and seeing them thrive in their business and personal lives gives me a greater sense of purpose in the work we do.”
The Importance of Validation
Before investing in a franchise, Southard urges candidates to validate a brand to ensure it is a good cultural fit. To her, candidates should get perspectives from multiple franchisees with different backgrounds. “Franchising isn’t something you do on your own. You’re surrounded by other franchisees and home office staff that are your partners, and it’s important to get a sense if they will be good partners for you.”