JDog Brands Launches Carpet Cleaning Franchise, Finds Early Success Despite COVID

JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care, a new floor cleaning franchise from veteran-focused franchisor JDog Brands, was launched in 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic presented an existential threat to businesses across virtually every sector. Still, despite 2020’s myriad challenges, JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care thrived, signing a whopping 17 franchise locations in its first two years. Now, the emerging brand is preparing to build on that momentum, with a goal of opening 20 new locations by the end of 2021.

“2020 was a difficult year, but JDog was designed specifically to succeed in any economy,” said Dana Forester, President and COO of JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care . “No one could have predicted COVID, and we’re proud to say we built a business that not only survived but was able to grow substantially while other companies were scaling down.”

Recession proof business

Building a Recession- and Pandemic-Proof Business

Though JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care was launched in 2019, JDog Brands goes back a decade. After declaring bankruptcy during the Great Recession, JDog founder and military veteran Jerry Flanagan was looking for a way to provide for his family, and he was set on finding an opportunity that would endure in any economic climate.

“I didn’t want my livelihood to be tied to some company that could go under overnight without any warning,” Flanagan said. “I Googled ‘recession-proof industries,’ and waste management was one of the top results. I thought that was something I could do, so I hooked a trailer up to my Jeep and got started.”

And so, JDog’s first franchise, JDog Junk Removal & Hauling, was born. Years later, when Flanagan was looking to expand on the business with a complementary service, Flanagan found that carpet cleaning and floor care not only went hand in hand with junk removal but the category also demonstrated the same economic resilience as junk removal.

Veteran unemployment rate

Reducing the Veteran Unemployment Rate Through Franchising

After getting JDog Junk Removal & Hauling up and running, Flanagan quickly found that his military background provided a work ethic and degree of reliability that was rare in his industry, and customers appreciated it.

Before long, Flanagan had refined his entire operation to leverage his skills as a veteran, and he began hiring veteran employees whose talents, goals and values aligned with his own. As the business grew, Flanagan realized he had an opportunity to make a marked impact on the veteran unemployment rate, and he turned to franchising to introduce JDog in markets across the country.

“The success of JDog in those first few years was so exciting,” Flanagan said. “Not only had I built a thriving business, I found a way to reduce the veteran unemployment rate at the same time, and that’s a cause that is extremely important to me.”

JDog launched its franchise opportunity in 2012 and quickly became one of the most popular franchise investments among veterans. By 2018, the brand opened its 200th franchise location. A year later, Flanagan was ready to expand again.

Business model expansion

Perfecting the Business Model With a New Service Franchise

“JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care was designed specifically to elevate and be elevated by our junk hauling business,” Forester said . “Our franchisees on the junk hauling side were constantly being asked if they knew a good floor cleaning service. People clear out their junk, and then they need their floors deep cleaned — they go hand in hand.”

By adding a floor care franchise, JDog Brands became a one-stop-shop for customers who are moving or clearing out a space, allowing both franchises to increase referrals and expand brand awareness across markets.

And, like the brand’s junk hauling franchise, JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care was designed to meet the needs, skills and values of veterans.

“Veterans often have a difficult time transitioning into civilian life,” Flanagan said. “Most jobs don’t look anything like the military structure that veterans are accustomed to, but franchising, when done correctly, can fit like a glove. Veterans like to follow a process. They take their training seriously, and they’ve got the grit and experience to overcome challenges. We’ve built our franchise opportunities to make the most of those qualities and help our franchisees find success quickly.”

Though JDog’s franchise opportunities are available exclusively to veterans and veteran or military family members, the business model offers a number of advantages that would be attractive to any savvy entrepreneur. Perhaps the most appealing of those advantages is the brand’s streamlined and low-cost operational model, which gives franchisees the freedom to set their own hours and maintain their preferred work-life balance.

The business is exclusively service-based and requires no brick-and-mortar space, resulting in minimal overhead costs. “A huge benefit for our franchisees is being able to run the business out of their homes while operating instead of having to purchase or lease expensive real estate.”

JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care offers comprehensive training and ongoing franchisee support from its corporate office, and most new owners open their business in as little as eight weeks after signing the franchise agreement.

I have always wanted to own my own business, and a franchise is basically a business in a box,” said David Gilbert, a JDog owner in New York. “There is a plan you have to follow and if it is done correctly, you will succeed. I really liked how there was a lot of support and guidance when we opened our franchise, but we were also able to figure out our own ways to do some things.”

JDog’s streamlined operational model means veteran franchisees don’t need any on-the-ground experience in floor cleaning or even business ownership, so long as they demonstrate an alignment with JDog’s core values of respect, integrity and trust.

In the second half of 2021, JDog is actively seeking qualified franchisees to open franchise territories in markets across the country, starting with New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“The beauty of this business is that it requires no specialized skills or knowledge, but at the same time, it is designed to elevate the strengths of veterans and make the most of their talents,” Forester said. “So much of being in the military is about following a process, and with JDog, we’ve built a process that just about any veteran can take and turn into a thriving business.”