Franchisee Spotlight: John McGovern of The Cleaning Authority

John McGovern moved to the Kansas City area 14 years ago to continue a career in IT sales – a field he excelled in for over two decades. After his move to K.C. in 2002, John soon began to develop a desire to go into work for himself and operate a business he could call his own. In October of 2016, John left corporate America on his journey to franchising. As of Jan. 2, 2017, he will operate Olathe’s The Cleaning Authority location as the franchise owner with the hope of teaming up with the Kansas City Autism Training Center and Target Autism, a cause close to his heart.

I’ve been living in the Kansas City area for about 14 years now. I attended Arizona State University where I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. I quickly learned that was not what I wanted to do for a living and began working in IT sales. I spent 20-plus years selling IT solutions to Fortune 1000 companies. Obviously, with sales, you have good years and you have down years, so I was always interested in going into work for myself. I always wanted to own a small business.

In 2002, my family and I moved to Kansas City for work. My wife’s brother and sister had previously moved to Kansas City, so we had some ties there. I continued my work in IT sales in town, but decided to leave in October (2016) to start the process of buying my own company in Olathe, Kansas.

My desire to own a business began a couple of years ago. I was thinking of leaving corporate America when a friend told me about his neighbor who worked as a business broker in the area. I decided to meet with him to see if there were any businesses around town that were for sale that I could take over, but didn’t initially find much that I was enthusiastic about.

I took some time to think it over and had the chance to speak to my brother, who worked for a franchise. He recommended that I work with Franchise Choice to help me find a franchise to own. That was about two or three years ago now.

I reached out and nothing really came about then, but recently, out of the blue, I was told about a couple of opportunities in the area, including The Cleaning Authority, and how it was up for sale in Olathe.

I really liked The Cleaning Authority concept. It made sense; it was a good business model. The company is doing well, the current owner decided to step down, but the business is doing well. So, I thought it was a perfect fit for me.

I’d like to get more involved with local charities. There are a few that appeal to me, specifically, like the Kansas City Autism Training Center. I have a friend who sits on the board of Target Autism and I think my business can help contribute to the cause.

Visit the International Franchise Association’s @OurFranchise website for more stories of passionate local franchise owners, employees and their communities.