Couple found niche in biomedical cleaning business

FORT COLLINS – Ten years ago, Ben and Marquita Romero were struggling to keep their heads above water, financially speaking.

Today, the Romeros are owners of their own successful specialty janitorial business and franchising success opportunities to others.

But in 1998, Ben was a longtime grocery store employee and Marquita, who had recently given birth to a daughter with kidney problems, was a stay-at-home mom. Mounting debt was pushing their backs to the wall.

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“We had financial problems,´ said Ben. “Marquita was selling plasma and I had two jobs. It was a struggle.”

Romero said one day he went to a men’s Bible study meeting and heard that a local surgery center needed someone to come in and clean. With a little advance research on the types of cleaning products used for medical environments, Ben – who had no previous janitorial experience – was able to get the job.

And with that, Bio-Medical Janitorial was born.  

“That $200-a-month account was our first, and now we’re at $72,000,” he said.

It was an instinctive notion about what little extras needed to be done – dusting dirty air vents, cleaning under beds and around doorknobs – that translated into a janitorial business with an emphasis on creating an extra-clean environment where patients, nurses and doctors would feel more comfortable.

And word of their extra attention to those details spread in the local medical community. But the Romeros decided not to limit their business to the medical sector and now also take on clients in all fields, especially where there is a high human contact within the business environment.

“We take that attention to detail to places that come into contact with people all day long,” Marquita said.

Franchising next step

The Romeros’ business has now reached the stage where they are beginning to franchise it, with the first sold to a couple who are hoping to duplicate Ben and Marquita’s success story.

Jeff and Tavi Whitham purchased a territory that includes Boulder and Broomfield counties, meaning they have exclusive rights to operate under the name Bio-Medical Janitorial in those counties.

“We were looking for a franchise opportunity for maybe close to a year,´ said Jeff. “The fact that it’s a specialized business serving the health-care and medical industries makes us believe it will continue to expand as time goes on.”

Like the Romeros, the Whithams had no background or experience in janitorial work. But through the franchise, they’ve been able to pick up a business template that they can use to move into the business quickly while avoiding the missteps made by the Romeros.

Jeff said he’s glad to have the franchise template – along with constant advice and guidance from the Romeros – to get his business up and running.

“Certainly having the franchise background and support makes it easier so you don’t make the same mistakes,” he said.

The Romeros started working on franchising their business about three years ago, tapping Dave MacDonald, a Denver franchising consultant who started his business in 1992. MacDonald said taking a business to the franchise stage is not always the best path. “I talk more than half my clients out of it,” he said.

“There are a number of cases where they probably shouldn’t do it,” MacDonald said. “Before anyone franchises they should get a solid look at the weaknesses in the company and advice on the time and money it will take to solve those problems. The systemization of a business is a huge undertaking for any business.”

MacDonald said the Romeros’ business success was unique. “They operated off instinct and common sense and I took it and pressed it into an operations manual that someone can use and take step-by-step.”

MacDonald said another thing to consider before franchising is whether it’s better to turn a business model over to others to try to duplicate or simply buy more business locations and operate them themselves.

“If profit is the No. 1 objective, there may be more profitable venues to take than franchising,” he said. “Some companies might be better off to own 30 or 40 units as opposed to franchising where they only get a royalty of 4 to 7 percent.”

But for the Romeros – who now have 45 employees and several cleaning crews – MacDonald said franchising made sense. “I think they’re big enough to do it,” he said. “Their Fort Collins business is very profitable and their franchising vision is very controlled.”

The Romeros say they’re hoping to sell five franchises along the Front Range by the end of the year, with plans to slowly spread the business across the region – and nation – after that. “Right now we want to keep it close so we can keep it hands-on and drive out to help people when they need it,´ said Ben.

Infusing their business and franchising is a desire to help others down on their luck succeed as they have, the Romeros say.

“That’s why we wanted to do the franchises – to help other people change their lives,´ said Ben.