Aaron Harper of power washing company Rolling Suds is not your typical CEO. An outspoken and no-nonsense leader, Harper is building the foundation for a rapidly expanding brand while also launching a movement for self-regulation in the franchise industry based on corporate responsibility.
“What I’m talking about is deciding how we as an industry are going to be responsible,” Harper said. “We say these are the problems we see today, but how do we solve those problems in the future? And how do we standardize the solutions? Who needs to be involved to enforce this?”
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Chem-Dry and the Patch Boys
Mr. Harper’s experience in the franchise sector includes stints at major companies such as Creative Artists Agency, and nearly 10 years ago at Belfour Brands, where he was senior franchise development director, working with Kem Dry and The Patch Boys. It started with my involvement in the brand.
Harper quickly showed a knack for guiding brands toward unprecedented growth and played a pivotal role in Chem-Dry’s expansion. Similarly, his involvement with the Patch Boys helped them grow from their modest beginnings to a national force.
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rolling sad
In 2023, Mr. Harper joined Rolling Suds, a family-owned power washing business, as CEO. Under his leadership, Rolling Suds recently surpassed 100 stores, with more in the planning stages. This major expansion, coupled with Harper’s commitment to responsible franchising, underscores the potential of ethical business practices in driving sustainable growth.
“I am personally responsible for all franchise development,” Harper says. “I’ve turned away 51 people who wanted to be franchisees but weren’t a good fit for our system. That doesn’t matter.” They want me to write a check for $200,000. If they were in my system and making a mess, not only would I have to spend more money to get rid of them, but the amount of damage they would do culturally would make them even more expensive than they are worth. there is no. ”
Harper’s philosophy pervades Rolling Suds. “We don’t allow our franchisees to scale up too quickly,” said Prue Rosarius, vice president of marketing. “That’s not what we want them to focus on.” Rosalis should know. She started out as a franchisee in the food industry and believed so strongly in Harper’s vision that she took the plunge in 2023, selling the franchise and joining Rowling’s Suds corporate team.
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Responsible franchising
In his years of experience, Harper has seen the best and worst the franchise business model has to offer. But instead of ignoring the bad and taking advantage of the good, she decided he needed to speak up. “Responsible franchising starts with the franchise development process and then continues into the operational side,” he says. “Irresponsible franchise businesses tell people it’s easy, they don’t have to work, they can hire someone to run the business for them, and they’ll make tons of money. Really, they’re rats. It’s at lecture level. “
According to Harper, this dishonesty has created a situation where franchise brands are growing too fast and are built on shaky foundations.he uses a hypothesis An example of a franchisor and FSO aiming to grow to 150 units in one year. “The franchisor should never have been a franchisor in the first place,” he explains. “But now we’ve sold 150 units, and the people who bought those units think they can run the business part-time and never quit their jobs.”
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growing movement
Harper is driven by a vision to fix these systemic flaws and enable responsible franchising across the industry. Central to his strategy is education. There are knowledge gaps that perpetuate unethical franchises, and Harper is dedicated to sharing his insights and best practices through his social media and various speaking engagements. “I post content every day,” Harper says. “The franchisor contacted me [every] Since it’s weekly, it’s already built an audience in the franchise community. ”
Harper says that since he started posting daily about responsible franchising in 2023, his number of X followers has increased sevenfold.
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future
Rolling Suds’ expansion reflects more than just growth, it reflects a commitment to growth done right. Harper’s leadership emphasizes the need for a responsible expansion strategy and ensures new locations align with our core values of community, integrity and quality.
Harper’s journey has been a blueprint for success that balances steady growth with ethical practices. As the franchise industry continues to evolve, his commitment to responsible franchising becomes more important in guiding future entrepreneurs toward sustainable and ethical business models. “This has to be a topic of discussion with enough thought leaders to come up with solutions that we propose to the entire industry,” he says. “No one wants this situation to continue for decades to come.”
