From DoD Employee to $14M Franchisee
From DoD Employee to $14M Franchisee
What does it actually look like to scale a franchise from zero to $14 million?
Not the theory. Not the sales deck. The real thing.
Scott Romero was a GS-9 with the Department of Defense when he left a stable federal job to buy a janitorial franchise. No MBA. No sales background. No business ownership experience. Today, he runs a CityWide location with 23 employees, national accounts, and an org chart built to scale past $45M.
This episode of the Tracer Franchising Podcast is a masterclass in what the right owner can do with the right model. But Scott didn’t get lucky. He made five key decisions that any franchise buyer should study.
Click here to listen to the episode on Spotify
Click here to listen to the episode on YouTube
1. Start With the Win
Most people look for a franchise first, then decide if it fits. Scott did the opposite.
He asked: What kind of life do I want to build? What does success look like for me and my family?
Only then did he search for the model that could get him there.
“If your goal is to retire early, great. Be honest about that. But don’t say you want to build a multi-generational business if what you really want is a passive income stream.”
This sounds simple, but it’s where most buyers fail. They fall in love with a brand, a product, or a sales pitch—without knowing what they're actually trying to solve for.
2. The Right Franchise Still Needs the Right Fit
Scott isn’t a classic CityWide candidate. He had no B2B sales experience, no operations background, and had never managed a P&L.
So why did it work? Because he had something even more important: the leadership skills to build a team. And CityWide’s model rewards that.
“If I couldn’t be the salesperson, I knew I had to hire them. My job was to lead, to coach, and to build something bigger than me.”
Great franchises aren’t plug-and-play. They’re vehicles. You still need the right driver. That means validating more than just the economics—you need to validate whether you belong in that seat.
3. A Real Franchise Comes With a Real Playbook
Scott didn’t buy a brand. He bought a system.
From day one, he had a roadmap: when to hire, who to hire, what his org chart should look like at each revenue level. That’s what made it possible to scale so fast—and not burn out doing it.
“If I’d started this from scratch, I’d still be figuring out how to build a sales process. Instead, we passed $3M in revenue in year two.”
CityWide gave him revenue milestones and step-by-step directions. When he hit $3M, the next moves were already defined. That’s what a franchise should do: give you a model that earns back your franchise fee in years shaved off the learning curve.
4. Leadership Scales. Sales Doesn’t.
Scott makes this clear: you don’t have to be the top rep. You just have to build the team.
He was never the best salesperson. But he was the best recruiter, the best manager, and the one who created the culture and systems.
“Lots of salespeople burn hot and stall. You can’t scale a business that’s built on one person. You need a machine.”
If you think your job as an owner is to do everything yourself, you’re thinking too small. Franchising is about building an engine, not being the engine.
5. You Won’t Succeed if You’re Looking for the Exit
Scott worked 60–70 hour weeks when he launched. He slept in his office. Not because he had to—but because he wanted to. And even now, with a GM running day-to-day, he chooses to come in every day.
“I laugh when people say, ‘I’ll grow this and then step away.’ That’s not how this works. If you’re not in it for the long haul, don’t do it.”
This is the part that separates serious operators from lifestyle buyers. You don’t have to grind forever—but if your first instinct is “how do I hire my way out,” you’re not going to build something worth owning.
Final Thought
Scott’s story is about clarity, grit, and a system that matched his skill set.
If you want to buy a franchise, you need all three:
A clear picture of the life you want
A system designed to scale
And a mindset that treats business like a sport, not a retirement plan
Franchising works—but only if you do.
Want help finding your Scott Romero moment?
→ Book a 1:1 call: Go to www.tracerfranchising.com
