My Franchise Journey…Momma Told Me There’d Be Days Like This

Note: Post #32. Imagine being 61 years old with a Ph. D. and 35+ years of non-profit administration experience, most as Vice President or Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement in colleges and universities. Now I am in my first few months of small business franchise ownership. This is my story.

As you know by now (even if you have only been spot reading about my journey), I own the Mosquito Hunters franchise in parts of Camden and Burlington Counties, NJ. The mosquito control business is very much weather dependent. Our primary treatment consists of blowing a mist mixture of water and mosquito control product. My product of choice is an organic, all-natural mixture of various oils that has been well researched and does a remarkably good job when it comes into contact with mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are pesky, annoying creatures that have been around for millions of years. Mosquito control is possible because of their fairly predictable behavior. We know from personal experience that dusk and dawn are the worst times of the day for getting bit. That’s not true for all mosquito species, but is for most. Turns out, mosquitoes don’t like the hot sun any more than we do. During the day they seek shelter in the shade. Shade with nutrition is even better. They love to hang out under the leaves of trees, shrubs, bushes, etc. That is why we apply the mist to those areas and not to lawns. The mist includes a sticking agent that causes it to adhere to the underside of foliage. Mosquitoes are killed pretty much on contact over a 21 day-period. However, the product needs a good 30 minutes to dry in order to stay in place that long. If it rains too soon after application then the product is washed off and mosquitoes live to bite another day. As a result, I am inside at the moment rather than out treating properties because it is pouring now and will continue through tomorrow. It’s like a snow day for Mosquito Hunters, only not nearly as much fun!

The pending rain and an upcoming holiday weekend meant packing a week’s worth of treatment into three days. Not so bad until you consider that those three days would be the hottest days of the year with temps in the mid-to-upper 90’s and the heat index well over 100. It might as well have been raining for as drenched as I was, but that’s another story! These 10-hour days felt even longer because of the heat. I drank 1 ½–2 gallons of water or Gatorade throughout the day and was pleased for the time in the van between properties where I could crank the AC and cool down. I walked about 10,000 steps (4 miles) each day; most of it with a 30-lb. mist-blower on my back. And it was uphill both ways! Ok. I’m kidding about the uphill both ways stuff, but you get the picture. At 61 I’m not necessarily old, but I’m definitely not young so I felt pretty accomplished in getting through those days relatively unscathed. I found myself very grateful to be 45–50 lbs. lighter than I was 8–10 months ago! When I finally am able to hire a Technician to take over most of the mist-applications they won’t be able to complain to me about working in the heat! I’ll give them my best, “well I remember when…” speech and then tell them to get off my lawn!

Some nice things have happened over the past week and a half. I’ve mentioned Google Reviews at least once in previous posts (#23). The goal has been to get to 50 reviews (preferably 5-star) by the end of June. On June 20th I was stuck at 34. A few clients had tried leaving a review but for whatever reason never made it past the Google Review publishing police. A few others had told me they would leave a review but hadn’t yet. With time running out I sent an email to all my customers who had not yet left a review. I thanked them for their business, reminded them that they were helping a small-business start-up, and asked them to leave a favorable review. A week later the number of reviews grew to 45 and I wrote an update e-mail to all my clients. I again thanked them, told them how much I enjoyed hearing their stories of how the service has helped them, and asked one more time for their help to get to 50. We finished the month with 54! Now I’m working on a video thank you to everyone so they can hear and see me say thank you and wish them a happy 4th of July.

I met a new client near the end of the day yesterday — did I mention it was hot??? They had called for a one-time special event treatment in preparation for a 4th of July event they are hosting. They had mentioned getting some landscaping done prior the event, but it was clear when I arrived that had not yet happened. We had pushed their treatment up a couple of days because of the expected rain. But, if the bushes get trimmed after I treated then the product is no longer present to kill the mosquitoes and the desired effect for their event will be greatly diminished. For a variety of reasons, these folks are not likely to become a multi-service client. This single treatment is quite possibly the last I will hear from them. It was near the end of a very long, very hot day. The easy thing would have been to treat their property, get paid, and not worry about anything. In this case, the easy thing was not the right thing. I told them how/why I thought treating prior to landscaping would be a waste of their money. I asked them when the landscapers would be there — three days later on a Saturday of a holiday weekend one day before their event. The last thing I want to do that day is work, but I asked them to call when the landscapers were done and I would come out and treat their yard. I share this not to toot my own horn (as my father would say), but as an example of the kind of business I want to own and operate. One that will connect with clients and treat them right. I believe these kinds of choices come back to you in some way. Not always in ways measured with dollars, but in ways measured with good will, kindness, and heart.

The very last stop of the day was at a client’s I had treated once. I had worked with the husband to make the arrangements but had not yet met him. Since it was 6:00 before I got there he was home from his work day. He came out to greet me when I was done. We got to know one another a bit, talked some about the service I provide and the reasons behind my “retirement job.” He told me he and his wife have been in their house less than a year and they really appreciated being able to sit in their back yard on the patio in the mornings and evenings. They could not be happier with the service. In the conversation I asked him about the Marine decals on his truck and learned he is a Marine vet. He did not ask, but I offered him our veteran’s discount. Again, I didn’t need to do this, but it is consistent with how I want to do business. I’d have happily given him the discount if he had asked, but why make him ask? Truth is, I got more satisfaction out of offering it without being asked.

Here’s the last client story of the day. I get home, showered, have some dinner, and then start my paperwork for the evening. My phone dings with a text from one of my clients, a retired law enforcement official who has taken an interest in the business and who I am trying to talk into being a part-time Technician. He asks if I could move up his next service so it happens a couple of days prior to his daughter’s 7th birthday party. He’s having a number of community people over to celebrate. He closes the text by inviting me to stop by if I’d like as it might be good exposure for the business. I’m touched to be asked. I respond with an offer to make an appearance at the party with Gunther the Mosquito Hunter mascot and he thinks that’s a great idea. So I’m now working on the arrangements to get my “Gunther-guy” to join me for a quick appearance at a 7-yr. old’s birthday party. We might even get some new business out of it. At the very least we will make one young girl happy (I have a 7-yr. old granddaughter so I am admittedly biased!) and gain some new friends. That too is bound to come back to us.

As the old saying goes… “Mama told me there’d be days like this.” Here’s hoping for some more…minus the heat!