As human beings, we have certain basic needs like food, water, air, and a safe refuge, without which we cannot survive. However, ever since economies were formed a few centuries ago, leading to the creation of society, these “basic” needs became sizable and the quest for the bigger and better began. Furthermore, home ownership is a large part of the American dream and the global economic boom has been responsible for improving our spending ability like never before.
Convenience generally comes at a cost, though, and with modern homes, come modern problems. Right from the smallest of things like the grass getting too tall or the television not receiving a signal, to the bigger ones like washers not working or a power outage, homes need constant attention, care, and maintenance. This in itself is a significant feat to accomplish because there are so many different elements that come together to make a house. Plus, as good homeowners, every time something stops functioning or needs repair in our homes, it becomes our responsibility to have it taken care of.
Having said that, the modern world does provide solutions to our problems. We have maintenance professionals to paint our garage, fix blocked pipes, repair the fridge, and so on. But finding the right company in the area has always proven to be more difficult than it sounds. With the scores of home and commercial maintenance companies out there, it has become increasingly difficult to identify and vet the best service providers for our homes. What’s worse, is that there has never been a sole platform where the entire home maintenance service catalog is covered, until now!
Providing exceptional home maintenance and upkeep service, while creating paths to become successful business owners in the home service industry, are Texas-based Neighborly. Established 40 years ago, this company is on the mission to build a service community that enriches people’s lives by delivering amazing experiences. Neighborly has revolutionized the service industry by providing home and office maintenance solutions of the highest standards.
Maintaining Your Home, the Right Way
Neighborly is a local network of home service brands that connects its users to very specific, vetted, and local experts. It is an online marketplace for trusted, local home services professionals who work with rigorous quality standards to repair, maintain, and enhance your homes. These maintenance experts are trained, uniformed, and well equipped to provide the most exceptional customer service. Additionally, with local professionals serving the community, scheduling is convenient and the turnaround time is quick. Neighborly.com and the company’s new Neighborly app are tools that consumers can use to locate service brands who have the highest quality of service professionals in their respective trade, to provide first-class home maintenance in their area, schedule multiple services from multiple brands, plan home improvements, and skip the gruelling process of searching for trustworthy home service providers. Neighborly.com offers helpful home tips and checklists, designed to provide homeowners with useful insight on seasonal maintenance projects and general upkeep of their properties.
Bradley Stevenson is the Chief Development Officer at Neighborly. He shares that the biggest inspiration for the company is to provide such remarkable service that Neighborly becomes a beloved household name. To accomplish this, on the one hand, the company is guided by the “R.I.C.H.” founding principles: Respect, Integrity, Customer Focus, and Having Fun in the Process while dealing with customers, and on the other hand, service companies all over the world want to partner with Neighborly because of the depth of their support service.
“The locally owned, nationally acclaimed, Neighborly home services franchise companies near you are backed by our Neighborly Done Right Promise™. If the job’s not done right, we will make it right.”
– Bradley
Since its inception, Neighborly has been dedicated to providing premium, professional home services that cover all of a homeowner’s potential needs. Not only do they take the stress out of home maintenance and guarantee customer satisfaction, but the Neighborly community of service professionals is renowned to take great pride in the work they do. The company is deeply entrenched with homeowners and constantly seeks to expand its reach by looking for new brands to partner with.
From Humble Beginnings to Soaring Heights
The story of Neighborly started back in 1981 when Don Dwyer Sr. founded the organization under its original namesake, the Dwyer Group. Dwyer Sr. soon realized the power of franchising, and right after college, started working for a franchisor in Waco, Texas; where he quickly rose to the rank of Senior Vice President. Soon thereafter, Don seized the opportunity to create his franchise by the name of Rainbow International®, Neighborly’s original and flagship brand.
Despite his untimely death in 1994, Dwyer’s dream for the company to become a powerful conglomerate of franchise brands continued and reached unparalleled new heights. What began as a single brand back in 1981 has since grown to a global franchisor of 29 brands and more than 4,800 franchise locations, 1,500+ employees across nine countries, serving more than 10 million customers worldwide.
“I am convinced that franchise ownership is the best way for the first-time entrepreneur to get started in the business.”
– Don Dwyer Sr.
In 2017, the company launched Neighborly.com to unite all of its home service brands through one easy-to-use, consumer-facing platform which led to a 39% increase in multi-brand customer penetration. Neighborly’s 2020 acquisitions of Dryer Vent Wizard, HouseMaster, ShelfGenie, and Precision Garage Door Service added entirely new verticals, expanding their home service portfolio even further.
Throughout the pandemic in 2020, Neighborly’s family of brands proved their essential nature as they continued to deliver excellent maintenance and upkeep service to homeowners who found themselves spending more time than ever in their homes. To ensure the safety of their customers and their professionals during Covid-19, Neighborly developed and implemented a number of new service protocols including virtual estimates via video chats, contactless paperwork and payments, and more. Constant adaptations, innovations, and franchise integration over the past few decades have led to Neighborly staying a cut above the rest and becoming the world’s largest holding company of home service brands.
Codes, Values and the True Power of Franchise
40 years ago, Neighborly started as one brand. Today it has evolved into a globally spread system supporting thousands of franchise owners worldwide. The business is driven strongly by the core values of courtesy and integrity, something that is deeply inculcated in each professional associated with the company. Although Neighborly is an enormous global franchise system, its organizational culture is as close-knit as a small family business.
Over the years, Neighborly has attracted masses of diverse franchise owners in the home service space. The franchising community has always believed that diversity is an important step toward business growth and success, and Neighborly continues to strive for it. “Because we nurture relationships among our franchise owners and invite them to participate in corporate-level decisions, we have been successful at developing an effective franchise business model that works well for everyone involved,” explains Bradley. Furthermore, the reinforcement that Neighborly provides to franchise owners is unlike that of any other franchisor in the home service industry.
When someone becomes a Neighborly franchise owner, they receive access to a wealth of business resources, right from training programs to marketing strategies to dedicated coaches. Additionally, from cross-promotions to a distinctive consumer-facing digital platform to drive leads, the structure of Neighborly lends their franchise owners a boost that they can’t find with any other company. The website and app also act as unique franchise marketing tools that feature all of the brands associated with Neighborly, strengthening their brand recognition and capabilities in the eyes of the consumers.
“Whether you’re an existing business owner, an entrepreneur, or an investor, becoming a part of the Neighborly family means receiving all the ongoing training and support you need to find success and serve your community’s needs.”
– Bradley
Starting Ahead, Staying Remarkable
Despite the pandemic, Neighborly has continued to witness scalable growth, attracting more franchise prospects from all areas of home maintenance. Their continued success is driven by their ability to deliver excellent experiences not just to homeowners, but to franchise owners as well, earning Neighborly a favourable reputation. The cross-marketing capabilities and proven franchise systems of the family of brands have furthered the organization’s expansion, with 19 of its 29 brands being acquired under the leadership of CEO Mike Bidwell, who assumed his role as the company’s chief executive in 2014. The company’s Own The Home initiative was responsible for almost 400 new franchise agreements, setting a new record for signed agreements in a year. Also, Neighborly was acquired just this year by one of the world’s leading investment firms, KKR.
Behind the scenes at Neighborly headquarters, teams of employees collaborate very well with our franchise owners who together work tirelessly to continually build the company database of customers, which fuels their cross-brand marketing campaigns. What this means is, if you are looking to start a franchise in your city, Neighborly will help you tap into the customers of other brand partners in the area. Backed by their unshakable code of values and breakthrough franchise strategy, Neighborly is poised to be nothing but the best in the home and commercial services space.
“We want to be remarkable and serve our customers by doing what WE do best.”
– Bradley
Looking forward, Neighborly presses on, strengthening their operational support for the franchise owners by adding stronger capabilities through infrastructure building, training, support, and cross-marketing opportunities. With the resources made available through the new private equity partner, coupled with the steadfast commitment to providing exemplary home service, for Neighborly, the best is surely yet to come.
