Aaron Harper of pressure-washing company Rolling Suds is not your typical CEO. A forthright, no-nonsense leader, Harper is building the foundation for a rapidly expanding brand while simultaneously embarking on a campaign for corporate responsibility and self-regulation of the franchise industry.
“What I'm saying is, as an industry, we have to decide how we're going to take responsibility,” Harper said. “The problem that we see today is: How do we solve these problems going forward? And how do we standardize that solution and who needs to be involved to implement it?”
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Chem-Dry and the Patch Boys
Harper's experience in the franchising sector began nearly 10 years ago when he worked for major companies such as Creative Artists Agency before joining Belfor Brands as Senior Franchise Development Director, working on brands such as Chem-Dry and The Patch Boys.
At Chem-Dry, Harper quickly demonstrated a talent for connecting with franchisees and building systems. Similarly, his involvement with The Patch Boys allowed him to further develop these skills and become a better listener to franchisees' issues. Harper left these brands with a vision for making the franchise industry better, and he quickly put it into action. “I learned a lot from both brands about what not to do in franchising,” he says.
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Rolling Suds
In 2023, Harper became CEO of Rolling Suds, a family-owned pressure washing company. Under his leadership, Rolling Suds recently reached 100 locations with further expansion planned. This major expansion, coupled with Harper's commitment to responsible franchising, highlights the power of ethical business practices to drive sustainable growth.
“I personally handle all franchise development,” Harper says, “and have turned away 51 people who wanted to become franchisees but were not a good fit for our system. They're going to write me a check for $200,000. If they're in my system and they fail, not only will it cost more money to get them out, but the damage they'll do culturally is just not worth it.”
Harper's philosophy permeates Rolling Suds throughout the company. “We don't allow our franchisees to grow too quickly,” says VP of Marketing Prue Rotarius. “We don't want them to focus on that.” Rotarius knows this. Having started out as a food franchisee, she believed so strongly in Harper's vision that she took a leap of faith in 2023, selling her franchise to join the Rolling Suds corporate team.
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Responsible Franchising
In his years of experience, Harper has seen the best and worst of the franchise business model. But rather than ignoring the bad and embracing the good, he decided he needed to speak out. “Responsible franchising starts with the franchise development process and then continues with the operations side of things,” he says. “Irresponsible franchisors are telling people this is easy, they don't have to work, they can just hire someone to run the business for them and make a ton of money. That's Ponzi scheme level talk.”
Harper says this dishonesty allows franchise brands to grow too quickly and build on shaky foundations. He gives a hypothetical example: An example is a franchisor and FSO trying to scale to 150 units in one year. “The franchisor should never have been a franchisor in the first place,” he explains, “but now 150 units are sold and the people who bought the units think they can run the business part-time without quitting their jobs. The franchisor can't support the franchisee, and the franchisee isn't even involved. Then all of a sudden a private equity firm comes along and pays a pittance for the brand.”
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A growing movement
Harper is driven by a vision to right these systemic flaws and make responsible franchising a reality across the industry. Education is at the heart of his strategy. There's a knowledge gap that perpetuates unethical franchising, and Harper is committed to sharing insights and best practices through social media and various speaking engagements. “I post content every day,” Harper says. “Franchisors reach out to me. [every] It's once a week, so it's already building an audience in the franchise community.”
Harper says X's follower base has grown sevenfold since it began posting daily about responsible franchising in 2023.
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future
Rolling Suds' expansion reflects a commitment not just to grow, but to do it right. Harper's leadership emphasizes the need for a responsible expansion strategy, ensuring each new store aligns with the company's core values of community, integrity and quality.
Harper's journey serves as a blueprint for success in balancing consistent growth with ethical practices. As the franchise industry continues to evolve, his work to promote responsible franchising is becoming increasingly important in guiding future entrepreneurs towards sustainable and ethical business models. “This needs to be something that enough thought leaders are talking about to come up with solutions that we can propose to the industry as a whole,” he says. “None of us want to see this continue for decades to come.”
