summary
After dropping out of college, Jim Cavanaugh founded Jani-King in 1969 with a $3,000 loan from a school friend. Nearly 40 years later, his commercial cleaning business has over 12,500 franchises in 19 countries and was ranked by Entrepreneur as the #1 Homebased Business for 2007.
jani-king’s success story
- While studying business as the University of Oklahoma in 1969, Jim Cavanaugh also worked at a Holiday Inn as a night auditor. Jim eventually befriended a husband and wife who would come in nightly to clean the common areas of the hotel. From this couple, Jim saw the big potential in the commercial cleaning industry and began working on ideas to franchise it.
- Despite the protests of his friends and even the husband and wife team who cleaned the Holiday Inn, Jim borrowed $3,000 from a friend and established Jani-King. He decided not to begin franchising immediately, opting instead to learn about the cleaning business for the next 5 years.
- In 1974, Cavanaugh placed an ad an Oklahoma City newspaper offering a Jani-King franchise for $2,500 plus a small royalty. In return, Jim would find clients and provide cleaning equipment and supplies. Within 3 months, Jani-King had signed up five franchises.
- By the end of the 1970s, Jani-King relocated to Dallas, TX and had expanded to Tulsa and Fort Worth. This was followed by a slew of new locations in the 80s, as well as expansion into international markets by the 1990s.
- Today, Jani-King has over 12,500 franchises in 19 countries, held together by a network of 120 regional offices. The commercial cleaning industry will likely reach $117 billion in revenues by 2009, of which Jani-King no doubt earns a considerable share.
did you know …
- … Jani-King owner Jim Cavanaugh never finished college? He made several attempts at the University of Oklahoma, but was so driven to be an entrepreneur that he finally gave up and started Jani-King instead.
- … Jim made many mistakes in his early days? He limited the number of franchises in Oklahoma City to five, which became a problem when Jim had more contracts and clients than his franchisees were willing to take on. Jim also charged too little in royalties and fees, leaving him broke and evicted from his apartment.
- … one franchisee, Martha Llama started off as a cleaning lady making $5.50 an hour? She now owns her own Jani-King franchise, employs 60 people and grosses over $1 million a year.
- … Jani-King was rated as the #1 Homebased Franchise in 2007 by Entrepreneur? It was also ranked #2 among low-investment franchises, with a fee between $8,000 and $16,000. Franchisees have the option to work part-time or full-time, and are supplied with clients by Jani-King.
- … Jani-King is an avid supporter of sports? They’re the official cleaning company of the PGA and Champions Tours, and are also involved with NASCAR and USAR Pro Cup auto racing.