Jan-Pro steps up franchise sales

Tim Salyer is hoping to clean up as a master franchiser for Jan-Pro Cleaning Systems of Northern Nevada.

In a little more than three months, he's sold two franchises one in Carson City, one in Reno.

Salyer and his wife, Tatiana, opened the first regional Jan-Pro franchise in early January. Tim Salyer retired in 2007 after 30 years of running a successful concrete restoration and coatings company in California and Nevada. His retirement investments soured along with the economy in 2008, however, leaving the couple searching for new avenues of income.

Jan-Pro of Northern Nevada, located in Washoe Valley, provides commercial and construction cleanup services and has picked up several dozen large and small contracts in Washoe County and Carson City. Salyer purchased the rights as the master franchiser for Carson City and Washoe, Douglas, Storey and Lyon counties.

Salyer hopes that licensing the concept to people interested in owning a small business proves equally lucrative.

"We probably make a minimal amount of our income off the cleaning and more off the franchise development part of it," he says. "We do go get the accounts and do the billing, collections, training and inspections on cleaning. All people really have to do is basically go out and clean or have people go out and clean, and the business repeats itself over and over again."

"There are a lot of people out there that need supplemental incomes, and this is a good way of getting it," he says. "They don't need to learn the business on their own; we provide most services other than cleaning."

Entry costs for a Jan-Pro franchise license start at roughly $1,700 with cleaning equipment and supplies and come with a small number of accounts in place. Franchisees can purchase a license with cash or finance it with a down payment.