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Everyday Heroes, Merry Maids
Like Father, Like Son: A Franchising Legacy
At ServiceMaster Brands, our mission is Making Everyday Heroes More Heroic™. That’s why we love featuring the bravest of everyday heroes: our military. We’re proud to support veterans and active-duty military members. In honor of Veterans Day, we’re highlighting the service members who joined our family of franchise owners.
Mike Blomker has been in the franchising business for 34 years. He owns two Merry Maids franchises: one in Albuquerque and another in Santa Fe — both in New Mexico. Besides owning those franchises, Mike had an opportunity to join the National Franchise Council (NFC), an advisory committee of franchisees who are elected to represent the interests of the entire franchise system. He just completed his term as a chair of the NFC, a role he had been in since last year.
For Mike, being a veteran brings him great honor. He’s glad to have had the chance to be a part of an all-volunteer force that chose to serve our country. He admires others like him who belong to the group of people who raised their hands to protect our nation. Besides his fellow veterans, Mike also holds another person in high regard: his wife, Paige. He considers her his everyday hero. She operates their Santa Fe location while being the mother of a busy sophomore in high school. In addition, she engages with her community by volunteering for many organizations. “She manages to do it all, and make it look easy,” Mike describes.
Mike is no stranger to franchising because he’s seen it from a young age. Some might say it was in his blood. His father was already in the franchising business with Merry Maids while Mike was in college. After graduating, Mike joined the U.S. Army as an active-duty military member and remained there for a while. Once his term was up, he decided to manage his dad’s Merry Maids franchise. Mike showed the lessons he learned in the U.S. Army made him a good leader, so he eventually became an owner. At first, he didn’t know he would continue with Merry Maids for so many years.
Being a franchisee has been great for Mike, especially because the Merry Maids business plan clearly showed him how he could be successful. He saw people running small businesses who were smart and hard-working, but the flaws in their plans sometimes made it challenging to succeed. For veterans transitioning into franchising, Mike advises leaning on the skills they’ve learned in the military–mainly discipline and accountability. He also says running a business is a chance to choose your own direction. “The structure and regulations in the military can be a barrier to doing something different,” he explains. In contrast, it’s easier to change things when owning a business, and Mike really enjoys that freedom.
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