After bravely serving their country, many soldiers face physical, mental, and social issues that make them vulnerable to poverty and homelessness. In fact, nearly 13% of America’s homeless population are veterans.
To help address the needs of this population, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchises across the country will once again partner with schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations to collect and deliver essential care items to local veterans’ charities during the week of Veteran’s Day. Called Movers for Military®, this program is now in its 11th year and gives local TWO MEN AND A TRUCK locations an opportunity to give back to veterans in their own communities.
The international moving company, which has been franchising since 1989, now operates more than 405 locations and 3,000 trucks throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, and continues to be committed to supporting America’s heroes, said Cheryl Ackley, franchise development specialist for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK. The company is also a member of VetFran, an organization that helps transition veterans to franchising. Although veterans make up only about 7% of the population, they account for a whopping 14% of all franchisees in America. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK is proud to provide its veteran franchise owners with a 10% discount on its franchise fee.
Mary Ellen Sheets, founder of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, built community service into the company’s core values, and it continues to be a core value today. At the end of her first year in business, Sheets made $1,000 in profit and donated all of it to charity. Movers for Military is just one of five franchise-wide TWO MEN AND A TRUCK cause programs – along with Movers for Moms®, Movers for Meals®, Movers for Mutts®, and Truckload of Warmth®. To date, franchise owners have collectively donated more than $3.3 million in charity dollars and have collected more than 365,000 items for those in need across these programs.
“Keeping community service top of mind continues to be a priority within the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK system, just like what Mary Ellen had in mind all those years ago,” said senior content manager Lindsay Dow. “Using the resources our franchises have nationwide, just makes sense when it comes to giving back to others who need it most.”.”
Franchising Group Extends its Reach through Movers for Military
The IA5 Franchising Group, which owns nine TWO MEN AND A TRUCK locations in Omaha, Lincoln, Kansas City, San Antonio, Albuquerque, San Marcos, and Santa Fe, has participated in Movers for Military for the past five years. Steve Newman, along with his brothers Curtis Newman and Kevin Newman, bought their first TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchises in San Antonio in 2014. In 2016, these two franchises earned just over $3 million in revenue. Today, the group is on track to make $35 million in revenue across all of its locations. Each year, the team is committed to giving back 1% of its revenue in donated moves and local charity efforts, said Brian Beadle, marketing director for the I5 Franchising Group. Movers for Military is one of the ways in which the franchise network reinvests in local charities across its communities.
“One in 10 homeless individuals are veterans. They risked their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today,” Beadle said. “It only seems right that we do everything in our power to help them just as much as they’ve helped us.”
In the first year of the campaign, IA5 Franchising partnered with a Texas-based homeless veteran’s organization that had rented storage units across town and was collecting furniture and other belongings to help get vets back on their feet. Beadle said that TWO MEN AND A TRUCK was able to reach out and collect in excess of 5,000 items that year, filling four storage units. Today, most of the group’s locations have their own storage units, which help them store goods in addition to delivering them.
Movers for Military has helped IA5 Franchising become more aware of the veteran population in each of its locations—and has made local veterans more aware of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK. Recently, the group expanded its efforts to help conduct free moves for the Veteran’s Community Project in Kansas City, Missouri. The Veteran’s Community Project operates a “tiny house village” where veterans can live temporarily until they are able to find permanent housing. Through the program, a veteran came into contact with Miranda Marshall, community relations specialist with IA5’s Missouri and Kansas TWO MEN AND A TRUCK locations. Not only was the veteran able to find housing in the village, but he worked as a driver with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK – Kansas City and recently was able to move out not long ago.
“We’ve also partnered with a local food pantry and collected food for them (the Veteran’s Community Project). We’ve worked with different realtors to deliver and pass out more than 4,000 yard signs that veterans could put out on their yards and keep them up for Veteran’s Day or longer,” Marshall said.
During this year’s Movers for Military campaign, IA5 Franchising looks forward to partnering with local charities to collect items for homeless veterans, particularly furniture and other household items customers are willing to donate.
“It not only helps our community, but it’s part of our advertising, it speaks to our core values, and our local involvement shows how much we care,” Beadle said.
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK: A Good Franchise Opportunity for Veterans
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK passionately supports its country’s heroes. As members of the Vet Fran organization, it provides veterans of the U.S, the Armed Forces, and their spouses a 10% discount off of its $50,000 franchise fee.
The moving company also receives high scores from its owners. Along with its 96% customer referral rate, 94% of its owners say they would invest in a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchise again. Voted a “Top 50” franchise by Franchise Business Review for 16 consecutive years, the organization made FBR’s list of Top 200 Franchises of 2022.
Best of all, investing in TWO MEN AND A TRUCK could be a lucrative post-military business opportunity. Nearly 10% of Americans move every year, generating $86 billion in revenue annually, according to Oncue. More and more people are entrusting their moves to professional movers, who manage an estimated 650,000 movers per year. At the same time, average annual sales across The TWO MEN AND A TRUCK system are more than $3 million and continue to increase, allowing franchisees to expand or invest back into their businesses.
If you’re interested in making a move to TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchise ownership, you will have to fulfill a few financial requirements and make a considerable investment in your business. Your investment will vary according to your market size.
Mini markets (100,000 to 225,000 people):
$100,000 to $242,100 initial investment – includes at least two brand new trucks, a physical location, and moving equipment.
$80,000 in liquid assets
$160,000 minimal net worth
Standard markets (420,000 to 600,000 people) – include at least two brand new trucks, a physical location, and moving equipment.
$164,000 to $435,600 initial investment
$150,000 in liquid assets
$400,000 minimal net worth
Regardless of the size of the market you plan to operate in, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK also charges the following fees:
$30,000 to $85,000 franchise rights fee, depending on market size (included in initial investment)
6% royalty fee
1% advertising fee
$5,000 annual franchise renewal fee
While existing TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchises in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest have experienced the most growth, the company is looking for new owners to expand its moving services in the following locations: California, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia.
