FOX Business: Company Seeks to Reduce Veteran Unemployment Rate

In 2011, when Army Veteran Jerry Flanagan noticed the struggle many Veterans had when coming back into civilian life, he and his wife created JDog Junk Removal & Hauling. He started with a Jeep and a trailer and hired a few Veterans from Coastal Hospital. They found immediate success, so the couple began franchising the brand so Veterans across the country could take on leadership positions and hire other Veterans in their communities.

“You need to pay attention [to Veterans] every day,” said Flanagan. “What we do at JDog is put Veterans into a small business ownership opportunity through a franchise. Put them right into a work environment across the country, and they, in turn, hire their brothers and sisters. Which hits our goal of a 1% unemployment rate for Veterans.”

JDog Brands has since expanded to carpet cleaning and floor care and has become the largest Veteran franchise system in the world. But Flanagan and his team at JDog Brands are still focused on growing, especially with the national Veteran unemployment rate rising to 2.7%. He knows how difficult it can be to acclimate to a civilian lifestyle and career. So the JDog Brands’ executive team focuses on training their franchisees in the “military way” to ensure their success and ability to hire other Veterans around the country.