Saving Homes from Water Damage and Mold, Rytech Franchise Builds a Recession-Proof Business
When thinking about franchising opportunities, or business opportunities in general, Rytech Inc. is probably not the first company that comes to mind. But if your home suffers any kind of water damage—busted pipes, a leaky roof, flooding from rain, sewage backups—then to you at least, it quickly becomes the most important company in the world.
“We knew the business was recession-proof, that’s why we decided to invest”
Rytech specializes in rapid responses—24 hours a day, 365 days a year—to every kind of water-related damage. Again, it’s not fast food chains or convenience stores, but the business benefits are undeniable. Unlike those other options, this is a service that’s always critical.
“We knew the business was recession-proof, so even though we wanted to start our own company, not get a franchise, this is what we decided to do,” says Dylan Brankovich, who offers Rytech services in San Diego County, CA. He’s had the business for barely two years and already experienced considerable success.
Despite being born and raised in the U.S., Mr. Brankovich has lived the immigrant entrepreneur ethos. His parents moved here from eastern Europe while they were still quite young, and subsequently experienced all of the challenges many new immigrants face. They didn’t speak much English and didn’t have marketable skills. But they persisted: his mother in real estate, his father in construction. Over time, the senior Mr. Brankovich created and ran his own construction company, which thrives to this day.
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Young Dylan joined the family business, as did his close friend Milan Djokich, who had a very similar upbringing and work ethic. Eventually, as with many first-generation Americans, the two aspiring entrepreneurs looked to go their own way.
Investing in Rytech
At first, given their history, they considered a construction firm of their own, but soon found related options. In particular, their experience had exposed them to the dangers of water damage, and the business possibilities of this field emerged rapidly. Here, too, the budding businessmen didn’t really care for a franchise at first, but the advantages of such an arrangement became clear as well.
They talked to other franchisers in the water damage and mold recovery business in search of the best option. Eventually, they settled on Rytech, and then the work began.
Getting Started & Finding Customers
This is an industry with some serious capital expenditure requirements. “We had to buy a lot of equipment upfront, and for that we needed money,” Mr. Brankovich notes. Fortunately, he and his partner had good credit, which they leveraged with banks to open business credit lines, and Mr. Djokich got a second mortgage on his house. Together, they raised around $70,000.
There’s no single trick to finding customers—this Rytech franchise gets leads from:
- Insurance agents and claims adjustors
- Positive Yelp reviews, and pursues networking opportunities.
It’s definitely working: The company made $180,000 in 2015, the year it launched. By the second year revenue had spiked to $950,000 and it was named Franchise of the Year by the parent company, the first time such a young franchise received the award. This year, it’s on track to pass $1.5 million.
The work is definitely satisfying—“Customers are usually freaking out when we arrive, and then we get to work,” Mr. Brankovich points out—but it’s also hard. Today he mostly creates the estimates for each project and supervises the work of eight full-time employees and other contractors, he’s been known to get in there himself. “I’ve cut moldy dry wall out and done extraction work at 2 am,” he emphasizes.
This entrepreneur who initially resisted the notion of a franchise now loudly praises the support he gets from the corporate side of Rytech. He and his partner received:
- Mandatory training, which included going out on projects with other teams.
- The company provided field coordinators, technicians, business-specific software, and assistance in estimating and billing.
- Perhaps most importantly, he got help learning to negotiate and create solid contracts.
To this day, that’s the one tip he offers to aspiring franchisees: “Create a good contract, and get a lawyer to read it over.”
Mr. Brankovich should have many more contracts in the near future. While he’s still only in San Diego, look for him to expand into Orange County, Riverside and beyond.
Benefits of being a Rytech franchisee:
- Large, exclusive franchise territories offer significant earning potential.
- No office or building requirements mean you can start and run a Rytech franchise from your home and expand your business as you see fit.
- Rytech provides the software and training to run and manage your business and provides the benefits of a full turnkey customer service program with billing and payment organization, accounting and payroll services.
- Rytech’s business development relationships with our insurance carrier partners drive business directly to you and your team.
- Our claims cycle is one of the fastest in the industry, which means you receive payment sooner.
- Rytech actively supports its franchisees with initial and ongoing local marketing/sales training.
