Earlier this year, as organizations began to grapple with the scale and scope of the COVID-19 crisis, cleaning and restoration work began ramping up in some critical, highly trafficked facilities in an effort to stem the spread of the virus. 

As the president and CEO of a franchise brand, I have been asked for a few thoughts on franchising and how a franchise might be a good or bad decision for a carpet cleaner, restorer, or fire-in-the-belly entrepreneur ready to tell their boss to “pound sand!” and go it alone as a business owner. 

The restoration industry is always evolving and changing. Businesses seem to come and go at a pretty fast pace, both independent companies and franchises included. 

COVID-19 has put the cleaning, restoration, and insurance businesses on a wild ride. As you’ve heard me say time and time again, the vast majority of restorers are not adequately insured today for biohazards in general; coronavirus just made things worse.

It’s a tale as old as time. A customer’s home has suffered a disaster that needs immediate attention. Your team arrives quickly and diligently works to make the home good as new. The customer is ecstatic with the work . . . until the invoice arrives. 

While recently checking my notes from the 2008-2009 meltdown, I reviewed some thoughts that I’d put together then as to what changes would be needed to help clients make it through the aftermath of that economic downturn. The prime directive was to stay “profit focused.”

The first two articles in this four-part series on Emotional Intelligence (EQ) (part I, part 2) introduced the overall concept and explored the characteristics that are widely believed to make up what is termed “personal competence”—our ability to stay aware of our emotions and manage our behavior and tendencies.