Spencer Esmond, Zach Serafine, Zachary Gonzales, and Terry Bruns all come from different walks of life and have different business backgrounds, but the four of them all shared one thing in common: the desire to own a business.
In December, the group did just that when they partnered together to open the Twin Falls, Idaho location. It’s one of the newest chapters in the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchise model, which allows franchisees to open smaller operations in smaller territories. And it’s gaining traction — and success — quickly!
Bruns was the only existing franchisee of the bunch, as he owned the Boise, Idaho location where Gonzales – the location’s general manager – and Esmond – a former mover and office staff member – also worked. Serafine spent over 25 years in the food industry as a general manager, bringing his business expertise over to the world of moving when he partnered with Bruns more than two years ago at the Boise location.
Together, the four have teamed up and are tackling their goal of expansion throughout the state of Idaho.
“Our goal is to grow the Twin Falls market as much as possible over the next few years,” Esmond said. “We’re in a fast-growing city that’s in high need of our services, and we want to take every opportunity possible, hit the ground running, and take the area by storm over the next five years. Our goal is to get operating with four to five trucks consistently and have a fully staffed office.”
The group is hoping this shows what’s possible in the fast-growing state of Idaho for the moving industry. As they expand their franchises, they hope to become a destination for employees looking to start new careers.
“Echoing some of what Spencer said, we’re taking the formula we’ve already used here and just operating our business and with our core values, we’re thinking the future is bright. With everything going on in our state, we have very high expectations, and I believe confidence is at an all-time high. I think we can be very successful.”
For Serafine, Esmond, and Gonzales, this is a new experience for them as they become official franchisees with the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK brand.
Each brings a different flavor to the vast franchisee network of our brand which will be beneficial with new voices and new ideas involved.
“For me, I’ve always wanted to be a business owner and work for myself,” Esmond said. “I never had an opportunity or knew how to do that on my own, and in the couple of years leading up to this, I had a few big life changes, got married, and had a kid. I was looking to the next step in my professional life to start a business and do something as a career. When this popped up, I thought it was ideal because I love the moving industry, and I love working with Terry and Zach.”
The three new franchisees also pointed to the excitement and passion of Bruns, who painted a picture of success for them and sold the idea of partnering together to achieve big things.
“When I was hired, speaking to Terry in the interview process, there was talk of potential growth and how great of a company TWO MEN AND A TRUCK was as far as promoting that growth,” Serafine said. “When you have an owner who’s excited to branch out and bring other people on, it’s infectious, and for myself I don’t know how you could pass up that opportunity. It’s a natural thing. I’ve been a general manager for twenty-something years, so the potential for ownership was something I always wanted to do.”
For now, with the Twin Falls location being so new, the group is still working on the initial steps of opening a franchise that include building out a strong team, tweaking their internal processes, and raising awareness of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK in the Twin Falls community.
It’s a never-ending grind, but the group is more than ready to deliver. Bruns recommends franchising with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK to anyone who feels they are good fit personally with the brand, as fitting in with the company’s goals will go a long way in helping a new franchisee find success.
He also stressed the importance of making sure you have a good relationship with the people you partner with in the business, as there are many tough decisions which need to be made as franchisees.
“I really believe you need to make sure you’re a fit with your franchise,” Bruns said. “It’s a very close relationship, and you want to make sure you’re on the same page with everything. You’re not going to agree on everything. You’ll disagree on decisions, but you need to have more positives than negatives, and if you pay attention to having your core values aligned – that’s important. I don’t always agree with everything, but I wouldn’t do it any other way because the positives outweigh the negatives.”
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® is the first and largest franchised moving company in the United States. Let us help move you forward! For more helpful tips and information on moving services subscribe to our blog and like us on Facebook.
