Paul Delaney is a military veteran with an unusual career. He cleans up after dogs in Southeastern Massachusetts. Delaney owns a DoodyCalls franchise, the nation’s leading commercial and residential pet waste management service. He and his wife Angela were one of the company’s first franchisees.
As a proud member of the Army National Guard, Paul served in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. Being an E-5 Sgt. Assistant Squad Leader and Truck Master meant managing missions, personnel, and 20 5-ton trucks.
“While I was deployed I made a decision to do something different when I returned,” he says. “I was looking for a business opportunity and I had managed to save some money during deployment. I thought maybe I should just start my own business. The problem was finding one that provided a service that wasn’t already full of competitors.”
Paul started looking at all the franchise opportunities out there and liked what he read about DoodyCalls. He was jogging with a friend one day and mentioned the idea and they both agreed it would be a great fit for Paul. The management skills he had learned in the military would become a great asset to him in this new endeavor.
“Some people think what we do is funny, but not our clients – they love us because DoodyCalls helps them,” he says.
There are now more than 77 million pooches living in the United States, and the average dog deposits about ¾ pounds of waste each day. What first appears as a small amount quickly adds up.
“Often people get home from work and it’s dark already. Who wants to be out there with a flashlight? We get it done while they’re at work, and that makes their lives a little bit easier.”
Some have said, “Oh, you’re just a franchise,” like being a franchise is a bad thing,” Paul says. “Nothing could be further from the truth for us. Being a part of a bigger team means we can take advantage of a great support system. This allows us to make sure that the service we’re providing is being done correctly. As a DoodyCalls franchise, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There’s already a winning system in place.”
“Being part of a budding industry and Franchise system has been very rewarding; especially considering our early lack of business experience. As Angela and I have grown as business owners and Franchisees, Jacob and Susan have grown as Franchisors. We’ve scaled together. I think we all work under the same unspoken principals that if we work hard, are committed and consistent, we will thrive. It’s been rewarding to witness the industry grow and know that DoodyCalls has been a huge part of that growth. DoodyCalls is the industry leader and sets the standard that other pet waste removal companies have to meet in order to compete.”