Stratus Building Solutions: On the Road to 100

In short

Franchising Magazine USA published this special feature as Stratus Building Solutions approached 100 master franchise territories. It opens with a profile of Rob Lancit, describing more than 30 years in franchising as a franchisor, area developer, franchisee, consultant and supplier, and saying he leads the company’s master franchise expansion. The magazine calls him a straight shooter and mentions his Gen X wit.

The body explains the business. Stratus was founded in 2005 and has franchised since 2006. At the time of writing the article counts more than 93 master franchise territories and over 5,000 unit franchisees. Master franchisees do not clean buildings. They recruit, train and support unit franchisees, secure cleaning contracts and manage operations, and earn through franchise fees, royalties and recurring contracts. The feature says the company is targeting secondary and tertiary markets, which it describes as having less competition, stronger community relationships, faster brand recognition and a quicker path to profitability. It also lists the support system: onboarding, operational support teams, national marketing, technology for CRM, quoting and reporting, peer mentoring and annual conferences.

It closes with Rob’s advice to people considering a franchise: study the model and not only the product, check that it matches your skills, capital and goals, talk to real franchisees, validate, look at the data and ask hard questions.

Summary by the editors of this site. The original belongs to its publisher; read the feature at the source.