September 2012
| Business World Magazine | 75
dow cleaning industry the same way many of
their franchisees do.
“
I just looked at all options,” he says. “I
ruled out food and retail – those were of no
interest to me based on the dollar commit-
ment to start, and the time commitment as
well. You’re working all morning to get your
trucks unloaded, and 11 o’clock at night your
restaurant is still open. That didn’t appeal to
me.”
Nonelle settled on the service business,
and discovered that window cleaning was
“
one of the last great service areas.” It was
dominated by the independents, and when
he started in 1994 there were no national
competitors in the industry. Window clean-
ing, as a franchise concept, did not yet exist.
From the beginning, Nonelle’s intent was to
“
start it, build it, and grow it.”
“
We knew if we did it right, and got a lit-
tle bit lucky, there would be an opportunity
to franchise the concept,” he explains. “That
was the goal from day one.” Today, they have
over 100 locations in 22 states.
