woman with her arms crossed while smiling

Office Pride Commercial Cleaning Services has been listed among Franchise Business Review’s Top 50 Franchises for Women. The list is based exclusively on franchisee satisfaction ratings and reviews.

“We are so pleased to be recognized for the unique opportunity we offer to our smart, successful female franchise owners,” said Todd Hopkins, founder and CEO of Office Pride Commercial Cleaning Services. “The women in our brand prove every day that with a flexible business model, they can, indeed, do it all and do it well.”

Franchise Business Review, a franchise market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisees, collected data from 8,453 women franchisees representing 289 leading brands to determine the top franchising opportunities for women. About 30 percent of single-unit franchises are owned by women.

FBR reported that 88 percent of women surveyed said they enjoyed operating their businesses, and 75 percent said they would recommend their franchise brand to others. Women in the Office Pride system bear out those statistics.

“The biggest thing for me is the flexibility that Office Pride provides,” said Ashley Winkle, a multi-unit owner who launched Office Pride of Shoals-Florence in 2017 and Office Pride of Birmingham-Homewood in 2019, both in Alabama. “You really can change your schedule as you need to, day to day. I can go to all my kids’ school activities and still do the work I need to do later in the day.”

She added that technology and the Office Pride system’s flexible requirements supported her work-life balance goals. 

“Office Pride provides a lot of encouragement and support to keep you moving forward in your business without mandating how you do it. It’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all franchise."

Franchise owner Kim Burckhardt, who launched her Office Pride franchise in Eldersburg, Maryland, in 2020, also cited a flexible schedule as a factor in choosing to buy an Office Pride franchise. She said she wanted a rewarding career but also wanted to be able to be there for her four children whenever they needed her. She suggested women who were interested in franchising do their homework, including making validation calls.

“I kept calling franchise owners until I got in contact with some women who were like me, with kids,” Burckhardt said. “You have to do your homework. Read the FDD. Ask all the questions. And keep calling until you find someone you can relate to. You need to be able to put yourself in their shoes and be confident that you can do it before you take that step.” 

Office Pride has been listed among Franchise Business Review’s Top 200 Franchises to Buy for 14 years and is a member of Franchise Business Review’s Hall of Fame.

To read Contracting Profits' 2018 cover story profiling Hopkins, click here.