Leading for Franchise Success

When you buy into a franchise, you’re also buying into its leadership, a fact the team at Mosquito Joe keeps close to heart.

“I don’t think you can underestimate the importance of strong leadership,” said Kevin Wilson, CEO and Head Joe at the mosquito control treatment franchise. “A strong leader can create a great business in a bad industry, while a poor leader can make a bad business in a great industry. Having the right leadership can make all the difference for a company.”

Wilson went on to say he held steadfast to a simple philosophy when building Mosquito Joe’s leadership team: If you hire good people and challenge them, you’ll get great results. Wilson and his team take their time when hiring. Said Wilson, “We hire strong people who have the right skills and challenge them to do their best.”

So who makes up Mosquito Joe’s dream team? Leading the franchise development efforts are Jodi Ramoino and Walter Ewell, both joining Mosquito Joe after many years with other leading franchise brands. Then there’s Angela Zerda, Director of Marketing, who works tirelessly to improve the brand.

Mike Hull, Director of Finance, is a young and ambitious worker dedicated to learning everyday while putting his extensive quantitative skills to work. Denise Morris, Director of Local Operations, handles the brand’s corporate owned territory and takes the lead in training for franchisees. The newest addition to Mosquito Joe’s leadership team is retired Navy Captain Brian Garrison, who has taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer.

Together with the rest of the Mosquito Joe family, this team is behind the brand’s steady success, including 74 new territories opening this year for a total of 112 open territories – a 187 percent increase from 2014.

But growth is only one part of successful leadership. For Wilson, it’s even more important that his team is on hand to support franchisees.

“If I had to sum up the benefit of our company’s leadership for franchisees in one phrase, it would be ‘risk management,’” Wilson said. “A franchisee’s risk is dramatically reduced because we have an experienced and seasoned management team. We’ve got over 90 years of collective experience in franchising alone. That’s 90 years of learning from mistakes that will never be repeated. The only reason we have been able to successfully scale the business the way we have is because we have this team.”

The company’s dedication to franchisees is apparent based on its ratio of corporate-owned to franchise-owned stores.

“In franchising, you often see a mix between franchise and corporate locations,” Wilson continued. “We have one single corporate territory used for training and testing. Our primary focus is on serving our franchisees, not corporate stores. If a franchisee calls, our goal is to call back the same day. Same for email. Our objective is to have a team in place that is ready to assist all our franchisees as the brand expands.”

It’s this commitment to franchisee success that has garnered strong franchisee satisfaction reports through third party surveys conducted by Franchise Business Review, and allowed the brand to grow significantly across the country.