How husband-and-wife duo Chris Vandenbosch and Jennifer Bleau traded their government roles for franchise success with Express Employment Professionals
By Stefanie Ucci
With roots dating back to 1983, Express Employment Professionals was born in Oklahoma City in the U.S., and has since expanded globally, entering the Canadian market within its early years with the first location in London, Ontario.
The brand’s vision is clear: “Help as many people as possible find good jobs by helping as many clients as possible find good people.” That’s what franchisees are equipped to do and highly passionate about.
Bringing the brand to Canada back in 1989 meant unlocking a new franchise opportunity for eager entrepreneurs. It’s one that offers a unique business model, and an opportunity to hold standard office hours with the freedom and flexibility of being a business owner. For those reasons—and so many more—Express was the perfect opportunity for husband-and-wife duo, Chris Vandenbosch and Jennifer Bleau.
The couple made the leap into franchising in 2013, opening their franchise in Ottawa, just east of the downtown core. This new business venture emerged from a shift out of the standard office job—perhaps unsurprising for two Ottawans, both Vandenbosch and Bleau previously worked for the Government of Canada. Itching for a new opportunity, their search for the perfect franchise fell into place when Vandenbosch discovered the Express brand.
The food industry wasn’t their thing, and the hours can be demanding. But Express was offering an opportunity to continue working their core office hours while being in control of their own business, staff, and ultimately, success. It was a match made in heaven for the duo.
Defining the roles
Now 13 years into their franchise journey, Vandenbosch and Bleau have defined their partnership and developed different roles to play within the business. It’s a matter of knowing each of their own strengths and weaknesses, and how they complement each other as business owners. In fact, many highly successful franchises in the Express network are a husband-wife duo, so they’re in good company!
Vandenbosch’s strengths are in sales and meeting with customers. “I personally make an effort to meet every single customer we work with,” Vandenbosch explains. “First, to let them know that we are highly appreciative of even being given an opportunity to work together. And second, to build some rapport and get to know their companies better so that I can bring some different angles to how we service them, and make sure that we bring as much value as we can.”
He’s out in the field meeting customers every day, cold calling, making sales, and putting his best foot forward to generate more business for their growing firm. Clients come and go depending on their hiring needs, and they may not reach out again for years after successfully filling a role. That means the couple must constantly network and expand their partnerships to get the brand name out into their community and grow with new customers.
Back at the office, Bleau does more work on the back end of the business. She’ll interview candidates for open roles, present prospects for consideration, and coach and mentor their own staff. With a tiny but mighty team of just under 10 people, stepping in and stepping up is vital to keep all the gears moving. That means that Bleau also handles administrative tasks such as accounting, website maintenance, and developing recruitment strategies for filling certain jobs.
Spending so much time out in the field and interacting with customers allows Vandenbosch to develop personal, trustworthy connections with the clients they serve. “As an owner, I have the opportunity to engage with our clients, and that can be pretty powerful,” he explains. “Customers will often feel as though they can share feedback with me that they wouldn’t have shared with a rep within a staffing firm somewhere else. I appreciate that.”
The power of a network
One of the things Vandenbosch and Bleau appreciate most about being a part of the Express brand is the robust training and ongoing support.
A franchise of this nature deals with a lot of personal information from their clients—think social insurance numbers, addresses, and phone numbers. So, it’s important that their computers and systems are equipped with the highest security to keep everything safe. “While buying IT equipment is a local responsibility, supporting it on the backend is the franchisor’s responsibility,” explains Vandenbosch. “The fact that we don’t have to stress about the sensitive information that’s held within our systems because it’s handled by security teams at our head office is a big peace of mind.”
Beyond IT support, he also points to dedicated human resources and legal teams that are available every day to help out with any tricky or unfamiliar situations with clients.
As for initial training, that takes place at head office in Oklahoma City. It’s a one-week hands-on experience that touches on a wide array of topics that franchisees need to know before opening their doors. It’s a very thorough exploration, says Vandenbosch, with a lot of focus on trying to make sales as fast as possible. Putting a sign up for a new Express Employment Professionals in your community doesn’t necessarily mean people are going to immediately come through your doors. “For us, it’s very much a sales play. We have to understand how to position ourselves, how to sell, where to find leads, and so on.”
After the doors officially open, training and continuous improvement never stops. Conferences and training are hosted across the company, and head office is always exploring how to tweak things, be more efficient and effective, and develop new ideas to tap into certain areas of the market.
There are also learning opportunities at regional levels too. “It goes from a large scale across the company to small regions that are a little more customized to our markets,” says Vandenbosch.
A moment of honesty
Looking back at their more than a decade long franchise journey, their learnings and advice are diverse.
Vandenbosch shares an honest reflection on hiring and leading a team. “You can’t buy a franchise, pay somebody to run it for you, and expect it to be successful,” he declares. “You have to be passionate about it, put in the time, lead by example. The best way to retain staff is by showing them that you’re willing to do the same work that they’re doing too.”
And, if he could distill three main pieces of advice, it would be this: first, buy into a franchise that you believe is going to play off of your strengths and is something that you could actually see yourself being passionate about.
Second, choose a business model that works with your lifestyle. For example, many food franchises are open seven days a week. If you’re not prepared to work that much, you shouldn’t get into that line of business.
Lastly, develop the right expectations for owning a franchise. “A franchise is not a get rich quick scheme,” says Vandenbosch. “Be prepared to be hands on, and put in long hours. The best time for bookkeeping and administrative tasks is not during your core hours. That’s done after-hours so that you can capitalize on your 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. time with your team.”
If you can find your niche, your “why”, and your passion, you can be well on your way to franchise success.
Learn more about franchising with Express Employment Professionals
