IAM2377 – Franchise Development Manager Helps Aspiring Entrepreneurs to Achieve their Dream of Business Ownership

Jason Henshaw is a seasoned professional in franchise development and operations, currently working as a Franchise Development Manager at Authority Brands for Mosquito Squad and Monster Tree Service.

Jason’s career spans corporate training, leadership development, business consulting, project management, and earning accolades such as Franchisee Satisfaction Awards and Franchise 500 rankings.

His experience has ranged across various brands before landing at Authority Brands, he works with home service franchises like Mosquito Squad and Monster Tree Service.

Jason emphasizes the value of economies of scale within Authority Brands, helping franchises access the best pricing for services like insurance, equipment, and fleet management.

He emphasizes the importance of building long-term relationships with franchisees and providing them with the guidance they need for success.

Linkedin: Jason Henshaw

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Transcription:

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Jason Henshaw Teaser 00:00

Authority Brands is one of the largest home service network of brands in the United States. And that's all they do, right? They don't have an ice cream brand or a restaurant brand.

They just have all home services, right, from plumbing to air conditioning, et cetera, et cetera, that provide a varied list of home services within their portfolio.

And so Monster Tree and Mosquito Squad are just two of those. I think we're up to 16 brands total.

Intro 00:28

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:55

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast, and I have an awesome guest on the show today. I have Jason Henshaw. Jason, excited to have you on the show.

Jason Henshaw 01:02

Exactly. Thank you for having me here. I'm excited as well.

Gresham Harkless 01:06

Yeah, absolutely. Jason's doing so many awesome things. So I'm super excited to have him on, talk a little bit more about all the awesome things that he's working on.

But of course, before we do that, I wanted to read a little bit more about Jason so you can hear about some of those awesome things.

And Jason is a seasoned professional in franchise development and operations, currently serving as a franchise development manager at Authority Brands for the Mosquito Squad and Monster Tree Service Brands.

A certified franchise executive from the International Franchise Association and holding a certified franchise management certification from Georgetown University, Hoya Saxa, a career marked by dedication to franchise operations and development evident from previous roles spanning across corporate training, executive coaching, leadership development, negotiation, team building, brand consulting, business consulting, and project management.

With a commitment to excellence, earning accolades like Franchisee Satisfaction Awards, Franchise 500 Rankings, and many, many more.

And he's passionate about economic empowerment, which reflects diverse interests and causes. And he also is on a professional journey that is a testament to an ability to drive growth and foster entrepreneurial success within the franchise sector.

And one of the awesome things that I really appreciated about Jason is he has had a wealth of experience.

So I'm super excited to kind of delve in a little bit deeper in that and franchising and being a franchisee and just all the things I think he provides really a 360 degree He had a landscape design business, if I heard correctly.

And he also was a self-proclaimed, I think you said tree nerd on one of the interviews I was listening to you.

And last but not least, I have to say he scored a hundred on his IFA CFE final exam. So Jason, excited to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Jason Henshaw 02:47

Absolutely. And you can add franchise nerd to that as well, right? Whenever you get involved with any particular thing, whenever I do anyway, I go in all the way, right? I want to learn every facet of that thing.

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And so when I got into franchising, the thing that you kind of read off about my bio, Just basically saying I have a ton of franchise experience and I've been on, like you said, on all sides.

I've been a franchisee. I've worked for franchisors. I've basically done everything except be a franchise broker. That's all I think. I haven't done yet. Maybe that's in the cards in the future.

Gresham Harkless 03:22

Yeah, absolutely. Stay tuned, right? I always say whenever my wife, I have a cliffhanger, I always say tune in season two.

So season two, that might be you talking about that. Absolutely. So I know we touched on a little bit. Let's rewind the clock. I want to hear a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your ultimate story.

Jason Henshaw 03:39

Yeah. So I always like to say franchising, anybody that's been involved like yourself and any other people I meet, they always have a very similar storyline.

The fact that You didn't just wake up one day and go, hey, I want to be in franchising, right? There's no school, not really.

There's no degree or things like that. It's not really a track that you can pursue starting in life. It's something you kind of just fall into.

And so I'm no different in that respect, right? I fell into it. I had my own landscape design architecture business, did that very successfully for over a decade.

But then franchise opportunity appeared and I jumped in and I purchased a franchise, an early stage emerging franchise.

And basically they were sending candidates to me for what they call validation, which is where they go, hey, we want to talk to owners to get some feedback about what it's like to be in the system, right?

What performance looks like, what support looks like, et cetera, et cetera. Well, they were sending people to me for validation and they were immediately going back and closing and becoming franchisees.

So like, well, whatever you're saying, you're doing something right. So long story short, came on board, brought me into corporate, grew them from six locations, I was franchise number six, to over 150.

And then we got attraction of private equity, which happens in franchising a lot. And we got bought and then left that brand, went to various other brands, until I landed myself at Authority Brands, which is the first time working for a home service network or home service types brands.

And I think the combination of my plant nerd experience being in that world, along with authority brands and the pest control and the tree business aligns me perfectly, right? It's like the perfect lineup of experience for both those brands, really.

Gresham Harkless 05:31

Yeah, that makes so much sense. And so I wanted to drill down a little bit more, hear a little bit more about those two different brands.

Can you take us through a little bit more about what they are and how they're serving the clients they're ultimately working with?

Jason Henshaw 05:41

Yeah, so both brands, Mosquito Squad, Monster Tree Service, they're very similar in the fact that they were both first to market.

So Monster Tree Service, first tree service franchise in the United States over a decade ago. Mosquito Squad, same thing. Hard to believe there's probably like many mosquito or pest control franchise opportunities, but they invented the model, right, over 20 years ago.

And so they both have that accolade that they were first to market with a wealth, what comes along with that is a wealth of experience, right?

You're getting involved with a brand, this is not their first rodeo, they just came up with this five years ago, they've been doing it a long time.

And so both brands have really evolved and become the best in their space over those decade and two decades of experience with Mosquito Squad.

And I think that's we look at differentiators. That's a really important one, right? Experience and length of time in the industry are things that you just can't buy, right? You can't hire someone. You can't, that's something that you just have to earn.

Gresham Harkless 06:40

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's one of the things around, franchises, because you get the opportunity to kind of buy into that kind of where you get to invest in that and you don't have to, thump your head against the wall over and over again.

Somebody else has already done that for you. You get to kind of get the fruits from that. I feel like, and I don't know if you've heard of the book, the E-Myth, where there's such a misconception around entrepreneurship and business and what it actually is. And I think so many times you think I have to know all the things before I jump in.

But I think if you have your superpower, your secret sauce, and you can marry that with ability to execute and tap into those resources, then I feel like you're kind of off to the races. Absolutely. One hundred percent agree. I couldn't agree more.

Jason Henshaw 07:19

And, we can get into, if you like, into, like, the individual kind of unique support apparatuses that each brand provides.

But, we're part of an umbrella system that's called Authority Brands. Authority Brands is one of the largest home service network of brands in the United States.

And that's all they do. Right. They don't have an ice cream brand or a restaurant brand. They just have all home services, right, from plumbing to air conditioning, et cetera, et cetera, that provide a varied list of home services within their portfolio. And so Monster Tree and Mosquito Squad are just two of those.

I think we're up to 16 brands total. Nice. There's a few things that I would point out. You hit the nail on the head. One is economy of scale.

So things like insurance, things that whether you're an AC brand or you're a pest control brand, you need insurance. Right.

And so we have that we use within our system that allows you to get the best pricing on all of those particular things that you need to operate your business.

You're gonna have access to that, whether you're with Mosquito Squad or an AC brand, that's gonna give you that economy of scale, get you the best pricing on those particular services.

And that's just not vendors, it's also equipment, right, like trucks or vans, things like that, fleet services, you have access to that.

Gresham Harkless 08:44

Absolutely. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to kind of put your advice for franchise owner or potential franchisees hat on.

And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or even a habit that you have. What's something that you've leaned on that has made you more effective and efficient?

Jason Henshaw 09:00

And this may sound super simple, but it's worked for me, and it's kind of been my philosophy. Be yourself, right? Don't put on airs. Don't try to be something you're not. People have that BS detector in their head, right, when they meet someone for the first time.

You can tell, right, when someone is who they say they are, if they're kind of selling you, selling you like a bunch of crap, for lack of a better word.

So, be yourself, be honest, have integrity, and listen, like I said. I could sell a lot of franchises if I didn't have integrity, or I could just be out here to make money, but it's not about that for me.

It's about creating those long-term relationships of people that today, that I sold a business to over a decade ago, still when they come into town, we go out and have dinner together, right?

Because we created that relationship, and they'll never forget that I'm the guy that introduced them to the brand, that introduced them to their future.

Because this is life-changing, right? You're buying into something that's going to change your life. You're going to be doing this today, but now you're doing this tomorrow, and it's going to be completely different from anything you've ever experienced in your lifetime.

So it's important. And so, like I said, I'm not afraid to tell someone that they're not a fit, right? I'd rather do that than try to just be out here trying to make money and sell them a franchise.

There's a buzz going around now in the franchise world, responsible franchising. Some do it better than others, but there obviously there's room for improvement.

And I think that most people in franchising would agree that we all want to be on that same path. We all want to make sure that we're doing the right thing by our candidates. And we're making sure that they're set up for the long term.

Gresham Harkless 10:44

Yeah, absolutely. So I want to ask you now for what I call a little bit more of a nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. I like to say it might be advice we give to a potential franchisee, or if you were to hop into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self this.

Jason Henshaw 10:58

Yeah. So I think what I would say is if you're looking at franchising, we have to do some self-evaluation on not only just to find the right model that works for you and also be an openness, have some openness because maybe you're thinking on the outside, pest control is not sexy, right?

I want something more exciting, but sometimes that's not the best thing for you. So working with a broker, is going to help you figure that out, right? You have vast experience and you have access to all different brands that you work with.

You can pair that personality and I think the best brokers out there are the ones that are willing to challenge the thinking of their candidates and go, hey, I know you want to get into the skydiving franchise, right?

I've got this pest control franchise. It's not as sexy, but I think it's a better fit for you, and these are the reasons why.

And that's happened to me so many times that I've got on the horn with a candidate for the first time and go, hey, my broker sent me here. I don't think it's something I'm very interested in.

They told me to come. Honor our first call together. But I think I'm probably, and then long story short, they want to become a franchise owner, right?

Because they get to understand something that ordinarily they may not have may not have even looked at, right?

So, that's a big part of it. And so the nugget that I would say is, be open to the different franchise opportunities out there.

But once you do find one, when I said do that self reflection, um, there's such a thing as being too entrepreneurial.

So what do I mean by that? Like Steve Jobs, right? Steve Jobs would not make a good franchisee, right?

He's too much of a visionary. He's always going to do what he wants to do. He's not going to follow any system, right? And there's people that are out there like that.

So I would say do that self-reflection, go, am I the type of person that's going to sign into a business, into a franchise model and follow the system, right?

And do how to follow those rules and things that they've created to help you be successful because that's what you're paying for folks, right?

You're paying for that model. So the last thing you want to do is pay your franchise fee and invest and buy equipment, et cetera. Just not follow the model and make the mistakes that you would have made if you went on your own anyway.

So if you're not prepared to follow a model, follow a system, that's the highest goal of a franchisee, is to follow the system as closely as possible, right? Close to perfection. You're not going to be perfect, right?

You're going to make mistakes still. We're all human. But the better you can stick to the system, the better off you'll be.

Gresham Harkless 13:35

Yeah, absolutely. Success leaves clues. And I think that's the biggest part of being able to kind of tap into that collective success and understand what people are doing, just ultimately, kind of go from there.

So now I want to ask you one of my absolute favorite questions, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO.

And our goals have different quote unquote CEOs on the show, you being a business owner and talking with so many franchisees and being able to introduce that. What would you consider being a CEO means to you?

Jason Henshaw 13:58

Being a good leader, being a good mentor. Lord knows, along the way, I've had plenty of help, right?

No man's an island. I had plenty of people help me along the way to help create my success. I wouldn't be here without that.

And I think all of us, if we really look at our heart of hearts, that's what makes a good CEO. That makes a good leader, is someone that's willing to take the time, no matter how long it takes, even if it's just a few minutes, right?

Just honor that the person that's working with you or that's under you needs help and help them identify what potential solutions might be there.

Gresham Harkless 14:41

Yeah, absolutely. What's the, I'm a king of butchering quotes, but it's like you want to, you want to go fast, go alone. You want to go far, go together.

And once you kind of tap into that and you understand that, especially as a leader, that a lot of times it's being a quote unquote servant leader is giving and providing impact and doing all those things so that you can see that impact happen.

And it just reverberates, just like throwing a rock in the water, in the ocean, it starts to reverberate further and further. So it's really great to kind of hear that.

Jason Henshaw 15:06

Absolutely. Absolutely. Couldn't agree more. I think that hit nail right on the head is, yeah. Servant leader. That's exactly how I would describe it.

Gresham Harkless 15:13

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Jason, truly appreciate that definition. Of course, I appreciate your time even more.

So what I wanted to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know.

And of course, how best people can get a hold of you, find out about all the awesome opportunities you have.

Jason Henshaw 15:28

Yeah. So what I would say, what I kind of leave you with is if you're interested in home services and in particular outdoor service brands, right, I've got you covered, right?

I've got the lower end investment, which is the SkidSquad, which is like less than less starts at less than $200,000.

And I've got the high end, Monster Tree, that's $800,000. Right. So you kind of got both ends of the spectrum covered. The beauty of Monster Tree and it being expensive, it's a high barrier to entry.

Not anybody can do it. Right. So a lot of opportunity to gain market share. But my SkidSquad doesn't do too bad.

And so, yeah, if you want to learn more about the performance and all about the model, yeah, please reach out to Gresh. I'm sure he'd be happy to connect us, and I'd be happy to walk you through our discovery process.

Gresham Harkless 16:14

Yeah, absolutely. And I'll definitely make that even easier. We'll have the links and information as well in the show notes so that you can reach out, hear about Jason and all the awesome things that him and the team are doing. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Jason Henshaw 16:25

You too. Thanks, Gresh.

Outro 16:26

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase. It's a community.

Check out the latest and greatest apps, books, and habits to level up your business as CEOhacks.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.

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