Another Client Success Story: Meet Matt Carstens

Matt Carstens is the proud owner of an Enviro-Master franchise serving Metro Detroit South. His entrepreneurial journey is nothing short of an inspirational story, which is why FranNet of Michigan chose to feature him in our testimonial series of client success stories. Assisted by FranNet Consultant Mark Cory, Carstens was able to turn his entrepreneurial dreams into a reality. Below, in his own words, Matthew shares the details of this personal journey – from his previous career as a corporate attorney to ownership of his very own Enviro-Master franchise…

Background 

“I graduated from the University of Iowa’s Law School in 1998, which began a 12-year legal career in commercial litigation in Chicago, Detroit, and Cedar Rapids. In 2009, I was then presented with an opportunity to become in-house counsel for ITC Holdings Corp. – the largest independent electricity transmission company in the U.S. A few years later in 2015, I was promoted internally, becoming the company’s vice-president and general counsel for utility operations. I really did enjoy the work during my time at ITC, but after the company was later acquired by another corporation, I began to think about exploring my options.” 

On Becoming an Entrepreneur 

“When I began to look at other opportunities, I was really considering the benefits of working for myself. I had a desire to set my own tone and culture, based on my experiences to date. Franchising was an appealing way to go about it because the business models, infrastructure, processes, and systems are already in place. No need to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I met Mark Cory with FranNet through a mutual friend, who had just purchased a dry cleaning franchise. I took the personal assessment to discover which franchise opportunities aligned with my interests and goals and Mark helped me go through about four different concepts. 

Why Enviro-Master? 

“Initially, I really liked Enviro-Master’s history of success – they’ve established a pretty good track record over the past couple of decades. I also appreciated how, as a commercial cleaning service, the brand’s value proposition and business model wasn’t going to be threatened by one of the big tech companies or some other disruptor. This was an opportunity where we, as owners, wouldn’t be replaced by AI someday.” 

Tell Us About Your Experience Getting Started 

“I signed my franchise agreement to purchase an existing Enviro-Master location in July 2020. They had a robust client roster and several hundred thousand in revenue when we took over. This was all right about when Covid was really starting to lock everything down. As you might imagine, this turned out to be a fairly advantageous time to own a commercial cleaning and disinfecting company. Enviro-Master has many applications that go well beyond these services as well. Initially, the phones rang off the hook from clients looking for our help. I guess you could say the timing worked out really well. As for my territory, the metro area of Detroit for Enviro-Master is actually split into north and south – I own the region consisting of Wayne, Washtenaw, Monroe and Lenawee counties, though we also service Toledo and its neighboring communities.   We’re fortunate that – even through the ownership transition – we didn’t have much turnover, especially for our managers and technicians. All the top people stayed on, which helped us out a great deal.  Of course, that doesn’t happen by accident, but is the result of a focus on building a team that is dedicated to its task.” 

Where Do You Stand Today? 

“This is still going really well. I’ve learned that this business isn’t for everyone. It takes a lot of work and effort to develop the right interpersonal relationships to maintain our growth. That’s been my main focus over the last three years. I like to say that we work on the business, as well as working in the business. There have been times when I’ve even been out in the field myself, handling technician services as needed. In the last three years, we’ve tripled our annual revenue – an amazing accomplishment. Enviro-Master as a business opportunity is always evolving and looking for new service lines, which creates the potential for additional revenue streams. Even though we’ve been hard at it the last three years in our own territory, I still feel like we haven’t even scratched the surface when it comes to new business development.” 

How Did FranNet Support Your Journey? 

“I’ll begin by saying that I wouldn’t be here as an Enviro-Master owner without Mark Cory’s help. In a turnkey fashion, he was able to guide me through the franchise investigative process and review different business models. I never felt pressured to make a decision one way or another, it was completely up to me. Mark was very instrumental in helping to arrange everything – the meetings, the introductions, the referrals for professional assistance – everything. And the perspective and advice he offered was also very helpful.” 

How Things are Going 

“My main focus is on digging deeper into our own area. There are plenty of dense, commercial-rich clients in southeast Michigan that present a lot of opportunity. I’m also looking to expand our service lines with ‘our existing customers, while we’re busy building relationships with new ones. I think we have plenty of work to keep us busy for a while. I’ll probably stay on and run the business until retirement. One of my two sons has shown an interest in pursuing an entrepreneurial future, so you never know – this could end up being passed down as a legacy business. Ultimately, I’m very happy and I’m not going anywhere.” 

For more information, please visit Matthew Carsten’s Enviro-Master franchise site on the web.

FranNet Success Stories

Julie Piccone | FranNet Success Stories
Julie has always been ambitious and ready for the next adventure. Being a young entrepreneur, Julie didn't shy away from owning her own business and investing in her future. This is her story.

Jeff Gibson | FranNet Success Stories

Jeff served our country bravely for years. After his time in the service, Jeff made his own path to success through business ownership. This is his story.

George Habbouche | FranNet Success Stories

From Lebanon to the US, George came looking for opportunity for him and his family. He found it through business ownership, in an unlikely industry. This is his story.

Another Client Success Story: Meet Mike Doherty

Mike Doherty is the proud owner of a Junkluggers franchise that spans seven territories. His entrepreneurial journey is nothing short of an inspirational story, which is why FranNet of Michigan chose to feature him in our testimonial series of client success stories. Assisted by FranNet Consultant Mark Cory, Doherty was able to turn his entrepreneurial dreams into a reality. Below, in his own words, Mike Doherty shares the details of his own personal journey – from automotive engineer to ownership of his Junkluggers of Mid-Michigan franchise… 

Background

“I graduated from Saginaw Valley State University, then later got my MBA from Northwood University in Midland, Michigan. After completing my education, I continued my automotive engineering career at Means Industries that would span a total of 24 years. My specialty was in the design and manufacturing of transmission-related products, and over the years I served in multiple capacities - up to and including executive level positions. I’ve been married for 26 years, and we have two grown children, ages 20 and 22.” 

On Becoming an Entrepreneur

“I’ve always been interested in an entrepreneurial future and the possibility of owning my own business someday. And then one day, that opportunity presented itself. In 2021, my company merged with another company and, unfortunately, my role was eliminated in the new organization. It was pretty disappointing at the time, but in a larger sense it actually ended up giving me the freedom to pursue my entrepreneurial dream. Through the outplacement services I received, I ended up crossing paths with Mark Cory at FranNet of Michigan. Admittedly, I didn’t know very much about the franchising industry when we first met. Like a lot of people, I just thought franchising meant McDonald’s and such. But I came to find out just how many different franchise concepts there are out there. The more I learned, the more I realized that franchising could be the right opportunity for me personally.” 

Why Franchising?

“Before I decided on franchising, I had considered starting my own business from scratch and maybe even buying an existing business. At the same time, I really didn’t want to spend a lot of time and effort to create business processes and systems on my own. I was more attracted to the franchising model because it’s essentially a business in a box, so to speak. With franchising, you get a blueprint and a roadmap. It seemed like the best way to get up to a significant scale within five years or so – which was my plan. It seemed to be a better choice than doing everything on my own and risking mistakes along the way.” 

Your Experience Getting Started

“Mark Cory and I began working together and he presented me with three or four franchise concepts that were a match for my experience and preferences. I took an academic approach to the exercise, looking at these opportunities from a standpoint that took into consideration the brand’s ownership, management, value proposition, required investment, and the potential ROI. But I was also looking for something that I personally believed in – a brand that had excellent management and a well-defined mission statement. Having something I could scale was important to me, and I also needed to stay within a certain window on my upfront costs. I narrowed my search to Junkluggers because it’s a concept that, quite simply, checked all the boxes. And I really liked their corporate team because it was clear they were all vested in growing this brand.” 

Where Do You Stand?

“I signed my franchise agreement in April of 2021 and ended up opening for business in October. I bought four Junkluggers territories to start off and have added another three since for a total of seven in all – but it’s all run from one central location. In my first year, I was most interested in validating the business model. I wanted to see if people truly cared about the services Junkluggers provides and whether or not they’d use it. I had a specific sales target in mind when I started, and I hit it within the first nine months of operations. My goal for the second year was simple – double my revenue. There’s still a lot of 2023 to go, but I’m already up 109% year over year. To date, I’ve grown the business to include a total of three trucks and 11 employees.” 

How Did FranNet Support Your Journey?

“After I met Mark and we got started, what I needed was an education on franchising – and that’s just what I got. Mark did a great job giving me a high-level rundown of how franchising worked and what he could do for us. My wife and I participated in the assessment, which was a fun exercise. Throughout the process, Mark was patient and understanding – he walked us through each step efficiently. At the same time, he was never pushy and was always very supportive. We never felt pressured in any way. Mark kept the process moving along and, next thing you know, here I am.” 

How Things are Going

“Junkluggers has some really exciting initiatives that they’re getting ready to roll out. I’m pretty excited about their new ‘Remix’ market plan. Our vision is to get to a point where we are keeping 100% of reusable items out of landfills. This currently is not practical, given today’s limitations on what items can be donated and recycled. Remix provides a whole new and efficient channel for reusing items that might otherwise be taken to the landfill thus moving us one more step toward our goal. With Remix proceeds being donated to our charity partners, this is a win for our community, a win for the environment and a win for Junkluggers too. As for my future plans, I intend to keep my business sustainably and profitably growing revenue. It’s possible that I’ll look into adding a couple more territories down the road, and I wouldn’t mind looking at other business ownership opportunities to establish a bigger entrepreneurial portfolio.” 

For more information, please visit Mike Doherty’s Junkluggers of Mid-Michigan site on the web.

Another Client Success Story: Meet Matthew Relyea

Matthew Relyea was born into entrepreneurship, as his family owned a multi-generational business in Columbus, Ohio that began with his grandfather. However, Matthew was determined to see what Corporate America held for him and embarked on a very successful management career for a blue chip customer service brand. Eventually, circumstances changed, and Relyea began a new chapter – this time as the owner of his own business. His inspirational story is why FranNet of Michigan chose to feature him in our series of client success stories. Assisted by FranNet Consultant Mark Cory, Relyea was able to turn his entrepreneurial legacy into a reality – becoming the owner of a Floor Coverings International franchise. Below, in his own words, Matthew Relyea shares the details of his personal entrepreneurial journey…

Background

“I graduated from Franklin Pierce University in southern New Hampshire, where I was a journalism and sports management major. What I really wanted to do was become a sportswriter or work in the sports industry. But an opportunity came along for me to enter a management trainee program with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I relied on the advice from my father, as his company would hire their employees based upon their own world renowned training program. I couldn’t turn it down, because I was so eager to learn everything I could about business and customer service. I was a fast learner and pretty soon, I was getting promoted and moving up the ranks. I worked in six different cities in four states over the next 11 years, enjoying excellent results with my teams I developed. I eventually earned a promotion to a regional management position in Detroit, Michigan in Feb. 2020.”

On Becoming an Entrepreneur

“I put in a lot of hard work and years with Enterprise. But one day, new management came in, changed up the organizational chart, and that was it – my position was unceremoniously eliminated. It was upsetting to realize that you can still be treated like a number after all the success I’d had, but that’s the way it goes in Corporate America. I knew that if I ever chose to leave Enterprise on my own, it would be to go into business for myself. My family were entrepreneurs and business owners and it’s in the bloodlines, I guess. In a way, I kind of wanted to keep that legacy going for the family.” 

Why Franchising?

“After I was downsized, I was working with an outplacement contact at Right Management who introduced me to Mark Cory at FranNet. The franchising model was appealing to me because I really didn’t have a proprietary idea for starting a business from scratch. And I liked the idea of simply following a roadmap to success. What I was most interested in was finding a business that was recession-resistant and had low overhead. I took FranNet’s Entrepreneurial Readiness Profile, which is an assessment designed to match you up with certain franchise concepts. I found the results to be extremely helpful. I think it showed how FranNet has a great process for determining where your entrepreneurial strengths lie.“ 

How FranNet Helped

“Mark Cory and I reviewed about four or five different franchise concepts together. Mark was very patient, and I never felt pressured to make a decision. Initially, I wasn’t sure why I was a match for Floor Coverings International. But after my first call with the area developer, I felt like I could excel with this opportunity. I really connected with all of the brand executives. I came to realize that this was a business that was heavily dependent on providing excellent customer service and a no-hassle experience. That’s what I’d been doing quite well before. And because home improvement is a very personal undertaking, it makes the customer experience that much more important. Knowing many clients have had home improvement nightmares before, I really felt I could make this business work. I had my grand opening on Dec. 21, 2021.” 

Where Do You Stand?

“Things really got off to a fast start for me. I beat the initial projections by 50% and did $1.2 million in sales the first year. That earned me the ‘New Franchisee of the Year’ honors – basically, I was the rookie of the year for the brand. I credit that to all of my team members because it really does take everyone’s contributions to be successful. Floor Coverings International ended up being the perfect fit for me because, at the end of the day, we’re solving problems for our customers – and I love problem-solving. I love being the one who provides the solution to challenges and each day brings me a fresh opportunity to do just that.” 

How Things are Going

“I’m excited to see what the future holds for my Floor Coverings International location in Columbus. This is a market that’s growing, and it’s expected to reach three million people by the year 2050. The upside of continuing to serve this area is really high, as there’s still a lot of individual and commercial clients out there in addition to great trade partnerships we have established in Columbus just a little over a year in business. Who knows? It could end up being a legacy business for my family someday, but it’s definitely a sustainable operation for my long-term planning. I’ll reassess everything down the road – maybe another five to 10 years, but I truly love what I’m doing right now.”

For more information, please visit Matthew Relyea’s Floor Coverings International business on the web.