Strong Foundation

JAY FROSCHEISER CO-OWNER, CLUB PILATES OMAHA/PAPILLION

It takes hard work and dedication to build any business startup into a successful company but buying a franchise can give entrepreneurs a running start.

Why Buy a Franchise?

Froco Pilates, LLC, operates three Club Pilates studios in Omaha with a fourth opening in Papillion this summer, according to Jay Froscheiser, who owns the firm with his wife, Angelia.

“My wife and I were looking to diversify our income as my corporate job of 30 years started to show signs it was no longer aligned with my principles,” Froscheser said. “With the help of a franchise broker, we came across Club Pilates and fell in love with the business model. We liked the idea of having a proven system and brand that had shown success in multiple geographies and demographics.”

The Froscheisers have found marketing support is the biggest advantage of owning a franchise. While driving their own marketing initiatives, they have a vast amount of assets to draw from in creating marketing campaigns.

“Networking with other owners is an incredible advantage as well,” Jay Froscheiser said. “At least once per week, I have calls with other Club Pilates owners to collaborate on problem-solving or learning best practices from each other.”

Play It Again Sports started in the Minneapolis area about 40 years ago and now has almost 300 stores across the United States and Canada, according to Omaha franchise owner Richard Messina.

The company buys, sells, trades and consigns brand-new and quality used sporting goods and fitness equipment.

“There was no way I’d have been able to open up just Messina

Sporting Goods,” Messina said. “I wouldn’t know where to start. I didn’t have any retail experience or a business degree.”

Play It Again Sports was a good fit. The franchise was a proven model, and the franchisor offered training and many established vendor relationships. Messina opened his Omaha store in September 2014.

The Grounds Guys of Gretna and Elkhorn is a personal groundskeeping company for both residential and commercial properties. Its services include landscaping, wall gardens, lawn and yard maintenance, holiday lighting, snow and ice services according to Gary Maes, who owns the franchise with his wife, Tish.

After retiring from the U.S. Army, Maes wanted to own a business where he could make a positive impact on his customers’ lives.

“The Grounds Guys not only offered me to be part of a great structured system that has been successful, but it also offered the ‘family’ I lost when retiring from the Army,” he said. “Their core values matched my values and what I stand for.”

Mark Fredrickson owns two franchises — Clothes Bin, a clothing and textile recycling company, and Redbox+ Dumpsters of Omaha, which provides large roll-off containers for job sites.

“Going with a franchise helped ease the point of entry into a new business,” he said. “It gives you a lot of resources at your fingertips. It is really all laid out for you. You still have to execute but the roadmap is there.”

Nikki Wulff recently celebrated the five-year anniversary of her franchise, Assisted Living Locators. The company is a no-cost service to help primarily Omaha area seniors transition to another living