W
hen emergency response is your business, a pandemic like Covid-19 offers an upside. Business is booming at PuroClean, which provides 24/7 restoration services to businesses and residential properties damaged by water, fire, mold, biohazards, and now offers cleanup services for coronavirus outbreaks. PuroClean President and COO Steve White says his team has adapted and learned to stay in touch “in more ways and more often” during the crisis—both internally and with customers. The results, he says, include exponential system growth, all-time record sales, and every indication that these trends will continue in the coming year. White has been a franchise industry stalwart for more than three decades. The former U.S. Army Captain spent 5½ years at Domino’s Pizza, then logged 18 years with Allegra Network where he served as COO and president of the company’s Signs Now brand. Seven years ago he was recruited by PuroClean. With a diverse set of experiences at franchise organizations of varying sizes, and also as a franchisee, he has demonstrated an ability to lead, build teams, and drive new growth for franchise brands. He describes his key area of focus at PuroClean as strengthening the processes that will ensure sustained system growth.
DYNAMIC GROWTH AHEAD!
PuroClean is thriving during the pandemic Written By KERRY PIPES
President, COO
Company: PuroClean Units: 325 Age: 63 Years in franchising: 35 Years in current position: 7 FRANCHISEUpdate
White considers his time at PuroClean both his greatest challenge and his greatest success. “When I joined the company, franchise owners were unhappy and angry,” he says. “The sale of the company to Mark W. Davis and Frank Torre enabled us to achieve tremendous success and record growth, and the franchise owners are happier than they’ve ever been. My career has had a lot of turnarounds and difficult situations, but PuroClean has given me the most rewarding experience yet, and the greatest is yet to come!” LEADERSHIP What is your role as president/COO? To lead the growth of PuroClean to become a world-class brand by relentlessly serving our existing franchise owners and attracting more franchise owners to the brand across North America. How has Covid-19 affected the way you lead your brand? We have learned how to communicate in more ways and more often. We became Zoom experts, launched a virtual Meet the Team Day, enhanced our online learning academy, and held daily calls with our franchise network to keep the lines of communication open when so much was uncertain. Overall, many things didn’t change for our brand. I believe that crisis reveals character, and that was certainly true across PuroClean. Our franchise owners and corporate headquarters continued to move forward at our usual pace, stepping up to help communities in their time of need because serving others is what defines our brand.
STEVE WHITE
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One way the brand has grown under his leadership has been through multi-unit franchising. “We were inspired to develop it by one of our leading franchise members. After piloting the model with him, we now have more than two dozen franchise owners who own more than one unit. There really is no greater compliment than a franchise owner willing to double their investment in our company,” he says.
Describe your leadership style. My leadership style can be defined by servant leadership. I strive to lead boldly with the heart of a servant. ISSUE 4, 2020
