For some of us, 1996 might not feel that long ago.
For others, it might be a lifetime.

Thirty years ago, the world was quite different. Google didn’t exist. Amazon was in its first year (and only selling books online). The Macarena was playing on nearly every radio station (and people were still listening to the radio). And franchises such as Blockbuster, RadioShack and Payless Shoesource were going strong.

Meanwhile, Jack Saumby was laying the foundation for what would one day become the eight largest cleaning company in Charlotte, North Carolina. From Motel 6 cold calls to growing a national franchise brand, Jack’s story is the Mint Condition story.

Perseverance (1986-1990)

In 1986, Jack moved from Houston to Charlotte with no money, no contacts, and little support.

It’s not often that franchise owners can say, “The President and Founder of our company has literally done every aspect of this job,” but our Master and Unit Franchise owners can. Jack lived out of a Motel 6 cold calling 30-35  businesses every day while his wife and daughter stayed with family nearby. He was working during the day and cleaning retail businesses during nights and weekends.

By 1990, Jack had a steady book of business.

Then, he hit a major blow. Retail clients Lechmere, Ames and 7/11 filed for bankruptcy and Jack lost 40% of his business. At this point, he was close to shutting down, but instead of giving in or giving up – he pivoted. Jack began serving commercial accounts (rather than retail) and business began to pick back up.

Grit (1995-1996)

Within five years, Jack had seen Mint Condition on the precipice of shutting down to grow to $1 million in revenue and over one hundred employees. On paper, it looked like success – but in reality, it was a much different story.

Jack was feeling the financial pain of high overhead and physical pain of nightly “firefighting” which only added to the overall stress of running a business. He found, like many business owners, he couldn’t work on the business when he kept getting pulled to work in the business. Jack quickly realized the traditional model of growing his business was not sustainable.

Looking back, Jack calls this time “growth without efficiency,” and it was getting painful. He needed to streamline the business in a way that was both profitable and sustainable. So he adopted a franchise model that had a proven track record on which he began to restructure the company.

And, after nearly a decade of grit and perseverance, Mint Condition was formally born.

Innovative (1996-2006)

After structuring this franchise model, Jack grew busy traveling, building his FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) and formalizing systems so that Mint was not just “another franchise model” but a best-in-class option for those who wanted to become a business owner. During this extremely busy time, some entrepreneurs might allow themselves to become buried under the exhaustion of pivoting the business (again) – but not Jack. He applied his hard-earned expertise to do more than just provide temporary solutions for daily operational chaos. Instead, he built lasting structural improvements to the system, including implementing a Revenue Replacement Program designed to improve franchisee retention.

Jack was not just building a company for profit – he was building it for people.

With the standard franchise model in place and humming along, ten years later, Jack, like most entrepreneurs, had energy to add another layer to the business: a Master Franchise model. This, again, required painstaking documentation and system roll-outs that could be repeated again and again. But the work paid off – in more ways than one.

Many of the early adopters of the Master Franchise model are still with Mint Condition today. Ted Aaron, Master Franchise owner in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, felt it was a “perfect fit” transitioning from a decades long career with IBM to Mint Condition. “Jack is very easy to get along with, and has great vision,” says Ted, “His vision helped give me confidence that I could do the same thing.”

Resilience (2010–2021)

While the industry of commercial cleaning proved to be “recession proof” during 2008-2009, the following years were still difficult with other outside forces taking aim at Mint’s reputation – and bottom line. Over the next few years, Jack faced broker challenges, failure to grow in new states, and finally – every business owner’s worst nightmare: litigation. While Jack triumphed over these hurdles (including in the courtroom), for Jack, the most important thing was that the integrity of Mint Condition’s reputation was also upheld no matter what others tried to do or say.

While no business wants to find themselves battling in court, the other side of that mountain was a prosperous next chapter. While the COVID-19 pandemic caused shut downs across the globe, Mint Condition added services or enhanced their already existing sanitary cleaning service. The company saw unexpected growth, and Jack set his sights on further growth – but this time with purpose.

Building a Legacy

Post-Pandemic has been an extremely rewarding time for Jack while the Mint Condition brand grows along with his leadership team. The company grew from nine to fifteen Master Franchisees (and seventeen territories) in just three years, and is poised for further national expansion. Not coincidentally, Jack has brought on the right people to support this growth as well as constantly reviewing and improving operational systems, software and programs that continue to elevate the Mint Condition brand.

In society, we often focus on the “happily ever after,” and forget – or maybe don’t even realize – there is a lot of grit and perseverance that comes with building a legacy. And while some entrepreneurs are made, in the case of Jack, we can confidently say he has always been built for this road. (Somehow, in all of his extra time, he holds swimming state records in freestyle and backstroke, and podium finishes across multiple years and age categories – no big deal).

Some people may have the genetic propensity to do a little more – or go a little further – than the average Jane or Joe. But if Jack’s story teaches us one thing, it’s that legacies are not built by avoiding the struggle, but by pushing through it with integrity – even when you don’t know how the end will turn out.

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