A Breakout Franchise Development Year for STCM

Making the Right Choices - Sam the Concrete Man's Breakthrough Development?

Sam the Concrete Man recently shared the results of a breakthrough year in 2021, during which we more than doubled the size of our franchise network, surpassed 50 franchises for the first time in company history, and more than doubled our systemwide sales. Since sharing this exciting news, I’ve found myself repeatedly being asked, “How did you do it?”?

When considering how to respond to this question, a quote from the late Steve Jobs comes to mind: “Great things in business are never done by one person; they're done by a team of people." In the case of Sam the Concrete Man, every choice we’ve made to get us to where we are today has come with its own respective rewards and consequences. By working together, we’ve figured out game-changing approaches to growing our business that ultimately led to last year’s success and is paving the way for us to take things to the next level with each new year.?

Below, I’ve outlined the key factors that have collectively landed us where we are today:?

Taking the Marketing Path Less Traveled?

One of Sam the Concrete Man's most significant changes in 2021 was a shift in our marketing strategy. Rather than following traditional marketing plans from social campaigns to SEO, we shifted our marketing focus to more "non-traditional" sources. Our marketing is done under one plan for the entire company - a rarity in franchising. To overcome obstacles in our world, like a restricted hiring market, we advertise aggressively to find the right candidates for our open roles. As a result of these efforts and so much more, our updated online marketing strategy ended up generating over 30,000 leads in 2021.

Building the Right Culture with the Right People

We strongly believe that culture eats strategy for breakfast, so building a culture of growth and expansion has become a major emphasis for Sam the Concrete Man. Our goal from now on is to grow at a rate that we find ourselves referring to each new year as our best year yet. That goal is only accomplished by ensuring our people fit into our culture. To do this, we put a high emphasis on scaling our "people growth" internally.? We have awarded franchises to some of the savviest and most driven people I’ve encountered in all of my career. Our network is filled with elite individuals who have built an inclusive and prosperous culture for the company. Our franchisees are trailblazing by growing our unit numbers and the revenue as well as customer base at each location. In order to foster this type of culture, we look for the following in each of our candidates:?

1. The ability to manage and cultivate meaningful and lasting relationships with customers, their teams, communities, and the Sam the Concrete Man network. Franchise development is a 24/7, 365-days-a-year kind of job. You have to be available when your customers need you. You have to bring the right attitude every day and build the trust of those around you. Doing what benefits the customer doesn’t always directly benefit us, but it’s worth it in the long run. And the right Sam the Concrete Man franchise candidate recognizes that.?

2. The relentless pursuit of growth – both professionally and personally. One of my go-to lines is, "If you don't grow, you go." I'm looking for people who emphasize growing their business and their role as a parent, a spouse/partner, a community member, etc. Sam the Concrete Man wants to invest in people who view that investment as an opportunity to better themselves and those around them.?

3. An endless desire for success. Developing and growing a sustainable franchise requires a lot of repetitive activity that can be taxing. But by committing to reaching as many people as possible, franchise owners push their needle forward and create their own success. Someone whose hunger to succeed is apparent is someone we can trust to put in the work that it takes to make this business model work.?

?When I joined Sam the Concrete Man in 2019, there were four corporate employees. Today, we have some of the world's best and brightest minds and personalities among our franchise owners and corporate staff. Our people enabled us to start as a small, local business that grew into a nationwide franchise, striving toward 100 units in the U.S. very soon.?

By choosing to make our people (customers and staff) our top priority, we've built an established culture that focuses on providing the highest quality service and best customer service experience.

Embracing What Makes Us Unique

Our final key factor was to lean into our uniqueness. We are pretty much one of a kind as the industry's leading flatwork franchise. Franchising in this industry offers an opportunity to leverage marketing, cutting-edge technology, and the backing of a brand that has set expectations to provide the best available service to our customers. Sam the Concrete Man is the first and only franchise in our industry nationwide that does what we do or follows our particular business model. Our system allows self-starters and entrepreneurs to access all the resources that would enable them to compete with larger companies. All franchisees have to do is execute the proven successful system; they don't have to figure everything out independently.

?Sam The Concrete Man Moving Forward

Sam the Concrete Man plans to continue with our growth and expansion over the next couple of years. In 2022, we hope to award 40 new franchises across key markets where we are not already established. Beyond that, I think the possibilities for the brand are endless. Like I said earlier, I want every year moving forward at Sam the Concrete man to be a record-breaking one. By expanding across the nation with aspirations of going international, Sam the Concrete Man is soon to be a household name, and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for our team and network in the near future.?