November 5, 2020
The Image One franchise network has evolved quite a bit in the past decade. Our franchisees come from all walks of life with different experiences to bring to the table that help us grow for the future. We appreciate all of their hard work — it’s personality, work ethic, and character that make a great franchisee. And when it comes to those three qualities, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone as unique as Bob Caramusa.
Getting to Know Bob Caramusa
Bob has an absolute sparkplug personality that is apparent after one conversation. Bob decided he wanted to take his three decades of sales and marketing experience and bring those to his own business. His qualifiers, while unique, helped him set the framework for his ideal cleaning franchise opportunity.
“I did some research; I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I knew I didn’t want to do the restaurant thing cause I’d probably eat myself to death.” said Bob with an audible grin on his face, “Chicago is a big city and a big market, and there are lots of big commercial buildings. So I kinda narrowed it down to cleaning.”
Bob knew nothing about the industry, so he needed a partner that would help him transition his existing skills into a cleaning franchise opportunity that would be worth his time. Franchising seemed like a no-brainer, and his next goal was to find the perfect fit. What he wanted was a partner that would help him learn about the business, support his growth, and allow him the opportunity to apply his existing sales and marketing skills. Image One checked off all of Bob’s grocery list.
“I looked at a couple of companies; then I looked at a company ran by Tim Conn. I really bought it because of him. Sharp guy, he’s aggressive like me, so I took a chance on us.” said Bob, “It’s one step after another; it’s not rocket science. It’s like anything, you work hard, you try to learn from your mistakes, and you have to discipline yourself to grow. You can’t talk about it; you can’t wish about it; you need to do it.”
As time went on, Bob took in the tricks of the trade, continued to build on his existing skills, and grew his business with the help of his strong work ethic and willingness to learn.
Turning Around COVID-19
What he might not have foreseen was the tumultuous twist that 2020 took. Small businesses were brought to their knees, which led to an unprecedented wave of closures across all industries. Image One was forced to adapt, which started our new chapter offering electrostatic spray disinfecting services to businesses that needed them to stay open. We wanted to position our company as both a resource for guidance and a solution to tackle any problem that no one person had an answer for. With true brand ambassadors like Bob by our side, we knew that the future wasn’t as bleak as it might have seemed in March.
“A lot of our customers look to us as trusted advisors. They look to us as a group of people to answer questions,” said Bob. “Like any engaged owner, you need to be talking to your clients daily. In a pandemic, especially where we are in a situation that nobody knows. We were all learning together.”
Bob credits his ability to turn around a bleak situation to his partners at Image One. As a franchisor, it’s our responsibility to give franchisees like Bob the information they need to provide effective electrostatic spray disinfecting services backed by facts.
“The group at the home-office was very quick and helpful to us,” said Bob. “With that trusted advisor status, you can really make in-roads and really build a high level of credibility with customers.”
The relationship we have built with franchisees like Bob is how we differentiate ourselves from the pack. Our team is close-knit — they know that we have their back no matter the circumstance because they always have ours. Today, Bob is continuing to provide electrostatic spray disinfecting services to his market, and we look forward to his continued growth as a valued member of the Image One family.
If you want to learn more about Image One’s cleaning franchise opportunity or our electrostatic spray disinfecting services, please feel free to contact a member of our team at any time.
