How Two Women franchised Two Men and a Truck.

Perhaps you have noticed that there are two kinds of people in today's work force. Those who have employee mindsets, who do best when someone else provides them a job and tells them what to do. Then the other, who have an entrepreneurial mindset. These people do better being their own boss. They are the people who, when push comes to shove, would rather create their own opportunities to generate an income, instead of relying on someone else to provide them a job. When opportunity knocks, these people not only answer the door, they throw it wide open in eager anticipation.

The latter kind of entrepreneurial minded person is what we found when we explored the start-up beginnings of the largest moving franchise in U.S. history, called Two Men and a Truck. The company got started back in the early 1980's during a recession not a whole lot different than the most recent recession of today. When Mary Ellen Sheet's, two high school aged sons, needed to earn extra income, they could have gone out and landed a job flipping burgers for the King, but what they decided to do is the epitome of entrepreneurial ingenuity.

Instead of becoming employees, Mary Ellen's boys, Brig and Jon Sorber, hired out their services to local residents to move their furniture or other heavy belongings using an old 1969 Chevy pickup truck. Their mother drew the unique stick figure logo that the enterprise still uses to this day, and advertised it in the local newspaper. The advertisement, along with excellent word of mouth referrals, got customers calling!

It worked so well that the phone continued to ring off the hook for more business even after the boys graduated high school and went off to college. Certainly, Mary Ellen thought, the demand would drop off eventually, but it never seemed to do so. Brig and Jon had provided such effective customer service, that the word continued to spread about their moving services being the best around to use.

So, Mary Ellen, not being one to leave an opportunity alone, used $350 of her own dollars to purchase an old 14 foot panel truck and then hired two local guys to do the moving for her. Business was great! In fact, business was so good a business associate recommended to Mary Ellen that she consider franchising her business as a way to get more people to take on some of the load and provide more revenue opportunity for her family.

So it was that Two Men And a Truck awarded its first franchise to her daughter Melanie Bergeron, down in Georgia. Today, Melanie is now chairperson of the board and Two Men and a Truck has more than 200 franchise outlets in 32 states around the country. The main headquarters is in Lansing, Michigan, where Mary Ellen's boys first started the business. Now her sons are done with college and have returned to help carry on the family business, serving as the CEO and President of the company.

Not only did they succeed in building their own business, but this family has succeeded in assisting hundreds of other budding entrepreneurs to start up their own moving business.

Solid Gold Performance...

It takes an opportunity that presents itself when and where found. To seize it, you must set High Expectations for what is to be accomplished and, as importantly, Execute Brilliantly — move after move after move.

How Did Two Men And a Truck Become a Gold Mine? By Superior:

Operations...     Administration...     Business Cycle Management...

Click on Function... Insert a Do It in your Strategic Plan... then Just DO IT!

Your Thoughts and Observations...

"Treat everyone the way you would want your Grandma to be treated." ~ Mary Ellen Sheets, Company principle