A Family Affair: Families Who Own and Operate Franchises Together

By Pamela Gold

"Our Maui Wowi franchise has brought us together as a family and it's been a bonding experience for us. We've learned that we really can work together, achieve goals, and have fun. Our son and daughter have also learned how to start a business, build a business, work with other people, and they've learned about networking. It's taught them more than I think they even realize", stated Joan Basilo, a Maui Wowi franchisee from Wisconsin

Family businesses have always been popular. In the franchise community, it seems like the popularity of families partnering together to own franchise locations or to start their own franchise companies is increasingly popular. Dependability on one another, learning experiences for younger members of a family, family bonding, and the influence that family values has on a business all play a role in why families and franchises work well together.

The Sweet Taste of Working Together

Joan Basilo was a registered nurse who wanted a change. We looked at a lot of options. I didn't want to work 40-80 hours a week, I wanted to have fun, and I wanted my whole family to be able to participate in the business. I wanted flexible hours, and my husband has been in the food business for over 20 years. Food seemed like a natural road to take, but I'm not into fatty fast food. I wanted a business that sold something healthy. When we found out about Maui Wowi, we had our kids try the products. They loved it and it seemed like the perfect match for us, explained Joan.

The first event Joan and her family worked at was Jazz on the Park, in Milwaukee. It took place once a week throughout the summer, and the family had a great time. Joan remarked, My son, who's almost 20, worked every single event and my oldest daughter, who's almost 21, worked most of them as well. It was a family bonding experience. My children attracted the customers and took the orders while my husband and I made the drinks.

After working for the family's Maui Wowi business, Joan's daughter, a senior in college, planned and executed a fundraiser for graduation. She thought out and planned the entire fundraiser. They worked a concession stand and my daughter worked it out on her own with a major venue. From her experiences with the Maui Wowi franchise, she has learned how to deal with others with business-sense. It has been a great learning experience, commented Joan.

Not long ago, Maui Wowi had their annual franchisee convention. Joan and her husband couldn't attend, so their son Joe went on their behalf. Not only did everyone adore him but he had a great time there as well. Joan stated, Joe's a musician, and as he tries to succeed in music, I think Maui Wowi will be a great side-business for him. He really enjoys working at our Maui Wowi and I think it is something he will continue to enjoy, and possibly pursue in the future.

Maui Wowi is a great choice for families looking for an ideal opportunity; Franchising with Maui Wowi is a great way to go. We really enjoy working together and bonding as a family. There are not many businesses out there that are truly fun. Maui Wowi requires hard work, but it is truly fun to own and run. It's been a great experience for us, stated Joan.

Strong Family Ties

For some families, like the Blacks of Morrison, Illinois, family values and ties have made a great idea into a brilliant franchise company: With just $17.42 in their checking account, Robert (Bob) and Mary Black went to the bank in 1976 for a loan to start the Town's Edge Car Wash. Thirteen tries and thirteen banks later, and with the financial help of Bob's parents, Robert and Mary received their loan and were able to open their first car wash in November of 1976. Family values are strong within Super Wash. With such a difficult battle to gain financing, we really tried to help others. In the past, we've had about 60 people that made less than $10.00 an hour and my dad has gone to the bank with them and gotten them the financing they needed to own a Super Wash Car Wash. We've even had prospective franchisees that had to borrow gas money to get to our Corporate Headquarters, explains Susan Black-Beth, Director of Franchising for Super Wash, Inc., and daughter of Bob and Mary.

Today, Bob, Mary, and their two daughters run Super Wash, Inc., which has emerged into one of today's most unique and successful franchise opportunities. Susan's sister, who was a successful certified public accountant, joined Super Wash in 1997 and today Jennifer is the company's Chief Operating Officer. Susan joined the company after graduating from college to lead their franchising department.

The Super Wash opportunity is completely turn key and one-of-a-kind. Changing from a licensor to a franchisor in 2001, Super Wash offers franchisees everything they will need to run their business with ease. Full-service, in-house departments include a real estate department, a permitting department, a construction department that builds the Super Washes, installers who install all the equipment, plus they supply sub-contractors in areas far from company headquarters so that any problems can be fixed right away. They also have on-site management and advertising departments as well as a complete parts and service warehouse, and a training facility, all located in Morrison, Illinois

Everyone in the family and most of our employees understand what it's like to own a Super Wash facility. We can truly say, 'Yes, we've been there.' In fact, we love to own our business. Bob and Mary own the company so they own the company-owned car washes, but they also own 50 additional Super Wash car washes. My sister and I own three Super Wash facilities. We have an employee-owned company that owns eleven locations, plus many of our employees own their own Super Wash car washes as well. Not only are we the franchisor, we're also fellow franchisees, explained Susan.

Our roots are deep. Many of our employees have been with the company for 10, 15, or more years! The town of Morrison, Illinois is a small town with a population of 4,500 people. We have about 70 employees, most of which are from the local area. We have many connections here: It turns out that the man at the bank that finally secured my parent's first business loan for them, worked as our COO for many years and today Joe owns four Super Wash locations. And my uncle was the head of our construction team for many years and today he is part of our real estate team. There are many stories to tell and many ties, said Susan.

Super Wash, clearly influenced by strong family values and a desire to help their Super Wash extended family succeed, keeps business personal: Susan said, Family is the greatest thing about our company! Every franchisee that has come into our system has had two hours of Bob's time. In the past, all deals were done on Bob's couch. Franchisees had a direct line to him. As we've grown, we've been able to maintain this great sense of personal service and family involvement, allowing franchisees to reach someone with the last name of Black whenever they need to. I think this means a lot to our franchisees, explained Susan.

Super Wash's attention to the details and concern for their franchisees is evident. Susan stated, My father has personally looked at over 6,000 potential sites for car washes. We have built over 700 washes. From all of our locations, less than 10 car washes in the history of Super Wash have failed. That's a pretty amazing number and we attribute this success to our completely turn key opportunity, the closeness and loyalty of our employees here at corporate, and our family connection.