Charlotte Ranks Among Top 5 Best Places to Start a Business, New Franchises Available

Charlotte is home to more than 859,000 residents, and over the last few years has truly established itself as a desirable destination for many companies looking to grow. In fact, a recent report from GoBankingRates ranked Charlotte as the fourth best place to start a business (out of 20 total cities). This puts Charlotte in the company of Portland, OR, Miami, FL, Austin, TX and San Antonio, TX to round out the top 5.

There are a few areas that led to Charlotte’s number four ranking, including the fact that the market is currently tied with Dallas, Fort Worth and Kansas City for its overall rate of new entrepreneurs (No. 13 overall). The market also boasts a 74 percent growth rate for startups and comes in at No. 5 for business tax climate, making it an ideal location for companies expanding in the region.

Because of the business climate in Charlotte, Buzz Franchise Brands is looking to expand its residential cleaning franchise Home Clean Heroes, and pool service franchise Pool Scouts into the Charlotte area.

Home Clean Heroes, currently operating in the Virginia Beach and surrounding area, is committed to cleaning up your home and freeing up your schedule. Whether you need recurring cleans, a one-time specialty clean, a move-in, or a move-out clean; their superhero clean team has got you covered. The company recently added its eighth transit vehicle, doubling its fleet from a year ago, to support its growing customer base in the Virginia Beach area. In addition to capturing more market share, the brand also received a great consumer-voted local accolade in 2018: Coastal Virginia Magazine Best of Readers’ Choice Award: Overall Gold, which demonstrates that the brand’s focus on customer experience is paying off in the market.

Pool Scouts provides pool cleaning, maintenance and minor pool repair services for residential pool owners. Within the first two years of business, Pool Scouts has seen steady expansion, with 43 territories sold.

According to Timothy Holadia, Director of Development for Buzz Franchise Brands, the Charlotte market includes five territories in which both Pool Scouts and Home Clean Heroes could thrive.

“Residents who decide to open Pool Scouts or Home Clean Heroes in Charlotte will have a great support system,” said Holadia. “We currently have a Pool Scouts franchisee, Tiffiny Consoli, nearby in the Raleigh, NC area. Tiffiny was actually our first Pool Scouts franchisee and has seen great success in her territories since opening in 2016. Knowing our corporate office is only about a six-hour drive from Charlotte and we have a presence near the region, franchisees in the market will have many resources at their disposal.”

According to Michael Hall, Principal/Senior Consultant of FranNet Carolina, there are several things that make Charlotte a good place to start a business.

“The population continues to grow at a steady clip and this includes all demographics and income levels,” said Hall. “There are customers for products and services offered by smaller businesses, and space for lease is relatively inexpensive when compared to many other mid-to-large cities in the country, so the retail environment is favorable for those businesses needing some sort of space.”

Hall notes that Charlotte also has a great support system for businesses within the region. This includes a strong Chamber of Commerce and several strong incubator and startup mentoring efforts and initiatives that are available to work with small businesses.

“We have a significant number of residents that work in larger companies, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Duke Energy, Lowe’s and more,” said Hall. “These companies continue to let go of their over 50 employees as part of their earnings growth strategies and that puts into play more candidates that are willing to consider business ownership. This includes a number of micro-breweries. Personal service and fitness businesses continue to see growth in the area as well.”

Holadia and Pool Scouts President, Michael Wagner will both be attending the Great American Franchise Expo in Charlotte on April 13 and 14. The expo, taking place at the Charlotte Convention Center, will host individuals in the market looking to start their own business, while also providing seminars to learn more about franchising.

“Throughout the Charlotte market, we have roughly 35-40,000 target consumers who could utilize the services of both our brands,” said Holadia. “Overall, Charlotte is known to be a city with hard-working families, who don’t want to give up their weekends to clean and service their pool and clean their home. The goal of both Pool Scouts and Home Clean Heroes is to give families their time back, so they can enjoy more moments together.”

If interested in starting your own business in Charlotte, you can visit both Pool Scouts and Home Clean Heroes for more information on franchising, or visit the upcoming Great American Franchise Expo.