Before coming on board as a member of the Groutsmith franchise family, Bob Noeske built himself a career working in another area of home service: the painting industry.
Spending the bulk of his prior experience in a number of customer-facing roles, he built a strong foundation of interpersonal experience he later applied to his role as a Groutmsith franchisee showing customers how the Groutsmith’s uniquely specialized service can make a huge difference inside their homes and businesses.
“Part of what I do is go out and meet people to assess their needs and offer estimates on the work we can do for them.”
Ready for a shift in his professional life, Bob reached out to a friend involved in franchise sales to explore what opportunities were available to him in the Madison area. Intrigued by the unique benefits The Groutsmith had to offer, they teamed up to move forward with the first and only Groutmsith location in the state of Wisconsin.
After building his business for just less than two years now, Bob’s says his Groutsmith business has received an overwhelmingly positive response from customers who as Bob points out, “Usually have no idea a specialized tile and grout restoration service existed in the first place.”
“Most of our competitors are carpet cleaning companies who do tile work on the side. We do more when it comes to restoration and repair, and customers are happy to know there’s a tile and grout specialist in town.”
Instead of opting for the secondary services of a carpet cleaning company, customers are thrilled to hear there’s a local service that devotes all of their time, energy, and expertise to tile and grout restoration.
Recalling the onboarding process he went through prior to opening his business, Bob says his in-person discovery and training sessions were simple, informative, practical, and one-on-one.
“Jonathan makes it feel like a family type of business. You don’t become part of a huge corporate network. Everyone was very welcoming and made sure we were comfortable every step of the way.”
Most notably for Bob was the thoroughness of the hands-on training sessions in the field.
“As far as the training went for us, it was very helpful. When we came back, we knew exactly what we needed to do to open the business and get started right away.”
Today, Bob can continue living flexibly by writing the work schedules that he wants to operate on.
“After we got our name out there and established ourselves as a name in the community, things change and I’m able to fit much more off time into my schedule, giving me the freedom to get out an do what I want to do.”
Stepping back into the shoes of someone still shopping around for the perfect business opportunity, Bob says those who are serious about owning their own franchise should focus their growth strategy on hiring wisely. “It’s key,” he says. “Find good employees, pay them fairly, and you’ll do well. Once you’re there, things fall into place and success comes naturally.
For those thinking about taking the next step with a Groutsmith franchise of their own, Bob’s advice is this:
“During the training process, listen and learn everything you can from Jonathan. He’s truly the most valuable resource during the early days of the business and he always makes you comfortable when questions come up. Keep in mind that everyone at the company is just a phone call away. The support system is very strong.”
As for the future of Bob’s Groutsmith business, his sights are set on growth far into the future.
“I feel very confident I’ll continue to grow. Hopefully I’ll be adding more people onto the team and expanding the service to help even more customers solve their home service issues.”
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