Over the course of time, franchise enterprises have transformed significantly. Initially, a majority of these businesses leaned on conventional business strategies like mouth-to-mouth/verbal communications and distributing printed materials. Yet, with the advancement of technology and the ever-shifting trends, these businesses have adjusted to more contemporary approaches.
In the modern competitive landscape, the success of franchises lies in their ability to offer aspiring business owners a balance of entrepreneurial opportunity and established support. This allows individuals to embark on their own business journey with the backing of a trusted brand and a proven roadmap for success. Rolling Suds significantly expands upon these more contemporary positive characteristics by always placing the franchisee first, and it’s paying off.
More than three decades ago, Rolling Suds Power Washing was founded with a vision to become the largest power washing company in the world. It has grown as the premier franchise in residential and commercial power washing. It has also earned its reputation with excellence and customer satisfaction as one of the trusted names in the industry.
Rolling Suds is a family-owned business that provides residential and commercial power washing services. The company was originally founded by Brian Wendling, Sr., in Warrington, PA. Seven years ago, his son, Brian Wendling, Jr., took over the business to give back to his parents and the brand that gave him such a positive life growing up. Anchored by years of unmatched results, Rolling Suds aims to make power washing one less thing to worry about for customers across America within a franchise model.
To date, it has helped over 200,000 residential and commercial customers. It has built a great reputation by hiring the best people, using the best equipment, and providing the best experience in the industry. It wasn’t long after deciding to franchise that they sold their first in Austin, Texas in February 2023, the first of many to come in a very fast period of time.
Synergy of a Powerful Partnership
In January 2023, the Wendlings partnered with Aaron T. Harper (CEO). Prior to joining Rolling Suds as the Chief Executive Officer, he started his franchising career as a Franchise Development Director for Chem-Dry. When Belfor Franchise Group acquired Chem-Dry, he was promoted to Senior Director of Franchise Development. He oversaw part of the franchise development team for Chem-Dry and did franchise development for The Patch Boys. In that role, he was integral in rebuilding the infrastructure for training, marketing, and ongoing support for franchisees.
During his tenure at Belfor Franchise Group, he sold and helped open over 400 territories across two brands in just a few short years. Aaron was sought after for various leadership roles but he knew, based on his extensive experience building two brands for companies he’d worked for, and helping hundreds of franchisees become business owners, it was time do it for himself.
Aaron was seeking a simple business that was recession-proof, did not require skilled labor, and had minimal competition in the franchise market. In September 2022, he met Brian Sr. and Brian Jr. at a conference for emerging franchisors called Springboard. He forged a partnership with the expertise of Wendling’s in the power washing space and Aaron’s success as a seasoned professional in the franchising space together. They decided to move forward with franchising Rolling Suds; the rest is history.
The partnership also created a powerful mission statement– “This is a relationship.” Everything Rolling Suds does is centered around the franchisee’s success, leading the company to commence operations in 44 territories in 12 states in just 7 months. Moreover, it has become very realistic to become the largest power washing company in the world with its unique business ability and unparalleled potential.
‘Responsible Franchising’ for Success
Aaron dedicated his entire time and expertise to building the franchise the right way, believing that ‘Responsible Franchising’ was the key to ensuring clear expectations for both the franchisee and franchisor. Accordingly, he tailored the approach to each individual’s abilities, adopting a solution-based and forward-thinking mindset regarding technology, scaling, lead generation, support, and all other facets of the business.
After years of experience working with some of the biggest brands in the world, he understands that a franchise needs to be agile, transparent, and adaptable, evolving alongside the franchisees’ changing needs. This forward-thinking approach is what sets Rolling Suds apart from other franchises. Additionally, Aaron’s commitment to excellence ensured turning away those franchisees who didn’t align with the values of Rolling Sud’s or couldn’t commit to the standards he had set for franchisees –knowing that the right people are crucial for the franchise’s success.
The power of a mighty team in building recognizable brands cannot be underestimated. However, choosing the right people with an aligned mindset and vision can sometimes be challenging. With that being said, Rolling Suds successfully overcame this obstacle under Aaron’s leadership and guidance.
To build the right team, Aaron leveraged relationships and people he trusted for their input and their referrals. With this, he built a great group of employees and partnered with the right suppliers through these recommendations. To date, Aaron emphasizes, “It was, and still is, important that the people and businesses we work with have the ability to scale, strive for growth, and undergo a thorough vetting process. This is our due diligence to the franchisees and customers of Rolling Suds.”
Setting the Bars High with Distinction
Rolling Suds is a recognized industry player for its commercial and residential power washing services. The company aims to make power washing ‘one less thing’ its customers have to worry about. Power or pressure washing can be a dreadful task, and Rolling Suds is on its mission to change the perception and don’t want their customers, or anyone for that matter, to feel that way. Therefore, it provides training and other necessary support to deliver on the promise.
To stay faster and ahead of the competition, Rolling Suds continues innovating to ensure it consistently provides its franchisees with the best support and experience. The company provides 6 months of lead generation–residential and commercial–with push-and-pull marketing tactics. It also leverages advanced marketing practices that utilize SEO and targeted digital marketing to reach ideal clients.
The Professional Wash Method is the proprietary cleaning process that Rolling Suds has developed utilizing state of the art equipment, top of the line truck builds, a specific dilution ratio, and specialized training program that allows them to boast:
- Cleaning 2-3x faster than their competition
- Reaching 4-5 stories while standing on the ground, no need for a lift
- Billing by the job, not the hour, there’s never a surprise
- Guaranteeing every job, they return for any complaint
- 96% customer satisfaction with over 200,000 customers served
Rolling Suds pays keen attention to the industry’s trends and is attentive to its customers’ wants. Aaron believes the customers’ needs will keep evolving, so the company needs to stay ahead of the needs of both customers and franchisees. He further adds: “It is also important that if we add a product or service, it must align with our current goals and mission. We do not want to stray from what we are good at just because others are doing it.”
A Dedicated Leader Charting the Course
At the helm of Rolling Suds, Aaron is responsible for ensuring that the franchisee is always put first. He also invests significant time in figuring out how to continuously lead the company by reinforcing behaviors indicative of his priority, the Rolling Suds Franchisees. He firmly believes in growing together and considers the franchise-franchisee relationship. As a leader, he also spearheads the team of Rolling Suds and guides them towards success.
The Rolling Suds’ dedicated team of experts has over 50 years of combined experience in franchising and is completely hands-on with every franchisee throughout their entire journey through entrepreneurship. It regularly communicates and collaborates with the designated standards to drive revenue. “We’re not just a franchisor, we’re a FRANCHISEE company and we are in this together!” quotes Aaron.
Going above and beyond with Excellence
Rolling Suds stands out as the leading national franchise for power washing. The company refers to itself as a ‘franchisee company’ instead of a franchisor, as its main goal is to offer services and assistance to franchisees to aid in their business growth. It believes that the key to their happiness is through the contentment of the franchisees.
The company’s exceptional commitment to setting high standards in an industry without strict regulations sets it apart. With a strong emphasis on both residential and commercial power washing, Rolling Suds remains dedicated to its core service without getting sidetracked. This approach is designed to instill a sense of trust and assurance in customers. With a simple yet highly efficient business model, which is operational in as little as 10 weeks, the company promises high margins by offering low overhead and efficient systems.
Become a Rolling Suds Franchisee
The global pressure washing market is estimated to reach $3.9 billion in 2023! Rolling Suds is creating highly profitable opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to significantly benefit from the market in this billion-dollar landscape. The company offers several options for ownership, and franchisees can select any option that best suits their needs.
Most importantly, there are certain criteria that a partner must fulfill in order to become a franchisee of Rolling Suds. For instance, a partner must understand the importance of the company’s mission statement– “this is a relationship”. It has worked hard to earn the trust of fellow franchisees and customers. Therefore, a partner must have the ability and desire to scale a business and business acumen, and who want to grow.
Here are 3 major reasons to franchise with Rolling Suds:
1. Franchisee support: Rolling Suds is a franchisee company focused on the franchisees success and happiness. The company’s 10-week power launch program prepares each franchisee for the structured in-person training program that occurs nearly monthly for new franchisees. Additionally, it provides:
- 6 months of commercial and residential lead generation support, SEO and website setup and support, a dedicated call center, and reputation management services
- Weekly Power Hour Calls with all new franchisees to discuss progress and for franchisees to hear successes from each other
- Ongoing coaching sessions to ensure each franchisee is achieving their goals and is guided on improvement if changes are needed.
2. Differentiators: Beyond its strengths as a franchisor, one of Rolling Suds’ biggest differentiators is its product offering. Franchisees get to offer a proprietary service to their customers–named “The Professional Wash Method”–allowing the company to be 2-3x faster than the competition and reach up to 5 stories while standing on the ground. Rolling Sud’s state-of-the-art equipment is modified to perform even more efficiently and uses a cleaning solution that requires fewer chemicals than its competition.
3. Expansion: Rolling Suds has expanded across 42 territories across 12 states in just 7 months! Led by Aaron, the company has grown significantly by forging a path to profitability. It has grown as the largest power washing franchise in the nation.
In addition to these, Rolling Suds constantly assists its franchisees, particularly through crises such as a pandemic or economic recessions by listening and being attentive. The company has business coaches who are specifically trained to help and guide in situations of turmoil, conflict, crisis, and many similar situations. Moreover, the rest of the team is fully engaged with the franchisees, maintaining a constant flow of open communication during crises.
Envisioning a Future of Innovation and Advancement
Aaron is recognized as an expert in building relationships and developing brands. He believes that the younger and next-generation franchisors, suppliers, and franchisees will continue to reshape the modern franchise landscape. While it is a refreshing narrative, franchising should be perceived as a way to help business-savvy people become entrepreneurs for the first time by providing the tools and support necessary for succeeding.
Aaron perceives a bright and proliferative future for Rolling Suds. When asked about the future of the franchising industry, he envisions it heading towards more transparency between the different sectors, whether it’s the brokers working with new franchisees or the suppliers working with franchisors and, ultimately, franchisors working with franchisees.
Today, transparency on all levels is crucial to success, and the best partners either have this in place already or are getting there. “I see this largely through Operations and Franchise Development communicating regularly and staying very aligned with their capabilities and messaging to franchisees from the beginning,” adds Aaron.
As a seasoned franchise leader, Aaron advises the following to aspiring entrepreneurs in the franchise sector:
- Get plugged into the franchisee community at large – watch podcasts and read articles. There is content everywhere
- Attend franchise conferences such as Springboard, a conference for emerging franchisors, to learn and network
- Talk to franchisors who have done what you are trying to do, seek out mentors you trust
“The franchisees know that we will work together to figure any situation out. This is a relationship – our mission statement.” “The franchisee-franchisor relationship is a partnership. At its core, a franchisor is a service company providing service At Rolling Suds, we believe that if we teach franchisees to be obsessive about the customer experience while we stay focused on the franchisee experience, everyone’s business will grow.”
