Unit Franchise Focus Alvin Flanagan

Before Alvin Flanagan, of Valrico, Florida, bought his own
Stratus Building Solutions franchise his life was completely different. He
was in the cleaning industry, cleaning his clients’ office buildings. OK, it
wasn’t that different — after all, Stratus is a leading
green
commercial cleaning business. For about 14 years, Flanagan was
running his own custodial service that he called Cleaning 101. Obviously, he
could have kept doing only that, but his wife, Leah, heard about Stratus
Building Solutions, and it intrigued her. She mentioned the business to
Flanagan, who was also eager to learn more. As he puts it, “I went and talked
to Kevin (Martinez, a Stratus
Master Franchisee in Tampa), and that’s pretty much when he laid it
on the line, explaining what Stratus was about and what Stratus could do for
me.”

What could Stratus do? Flanagan says that by buying the Stratus
Building Solutions franchise he could drastically simplify his life. Not
having to wear seemingly a million different hats would give him more time to
do the janitorial
services that pay the bills rather than spending precious time
working on the paperwork side of the business. For instance, Flanagan says,
“They do the invoices, man. The more customers you have, the more you have to
invoice clients, and that can eat up a lot of time.”

But, of course, if you don’t invoice, you’re
cleaning for free. If you put it off, you’re upsetting your cash flow. Simply
put, invoicing has to be done. Because Flanagan was stretching himself so
thin with his cleaning business, he felt stuck. He wasn’t growing fast
enough. That, however, has changed.

Flanagan has been a Stratus Building Solutions franchise owner for
a year now, and he is glad he made that decision.

“I thought it would be a good idea, and I was right,” he says.
“I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Stratus.”

In the last year, Flanagan says that his income has increased
significantly from where he used to be. He doesn’t want to say by how much,
but he says, “I’ve been able to do something for my family that I haven’t
been able to do. Little things and big things.”

He still runs Cleaning 101 — in other words, he didn’t give up his
old clients, some of whom he has had for 14 years, when he became a Stratus
Building Solutions owner. “I don’t mix the two businesses together,” Flanagan
says.

Still, as far as Flanagan is concerned, of the two businesses he
owns, Stratus Building Solutions is the one that has added jet-fuel to his
career and life. Anyway, we had a nice conversation with Flanagan about his
relatively new business. Here are a few highlights:

The most disgusting things he has had to
clean. Sadly, for those who like hearing cleaning horror
stories, Flanagan disappoints. While he provides top-notch commercial cleaning
services for all kinds of customers, so far he hasn’t walked into a
client’s office that looked like a junkyard, for instance. That said, he
admits, the bathroom toilet can sometimes be somewhat terrifying.

“You never know what you’re going to find,” he laughs. “That’s the
only surprise. Everything else is a breeze.”

Working with clients. “Clients can
sometimes be pretty moody, and that can be challenging. Sometimes somebody’s
having a good day, or a bad day, and you have to adjust to the person you’re
dealing with now,” says Flanagan, who tends to be very positive and upbeat.
He says that one of his clients, who liked his sunny disposition, tried to
hire him for a full-time position. While Flanagan was flattered, he was happy
with his current businesses’ growth and so he declined the
offer.

Cleaning when he gets home. The
hardest part of his job may be off the job. When Flanagan comes home, he
isn’t exactly excited to clean.

“We try to do it together,” he says, referring to his wife, Leah,
and his three kids, who range in ages from 11 to 20. “I’ve got three kids, so
I try to put them to work, but it can be a chore sometimes, telling them to
do their chores.”

His advice for anyone thinking of buying a Stratus
franchise. “Whatever you put into it, that’s what you’re going
to get out of it. The entrepreneur way is truly, to me, the best way. Nine
times out of 10, if you think about it, the people you’re working for had to
start somewhere – maybe at the bottom, themselves. Self-worth is very
important, and owning your own business gives you that. So I just feel you
roll the dice, put your best foot forward, and you’re on your
way.”

Investing in Stratus Building Solutions, a reputable
brand that is committed to empowering franchisees, is a great first
step in the entrepreneur lifestyle.