For the Halladay brothers, “work hard, play hard” has been the motto over the last 10 years with The Glass Guru. Ted, 47, and Aaron, 42, always had a close relationship growing up in northern California. After years of working in the corporate world, Ted took his career into his own hands and started a company that helped with satellite installation in Utah. At the same time, Aaron was working in northern California building swimming pools. The two entrepreneurs saw opportunity out in Texas and decided to see what the market had to offer. When Ted and Aaron arrived in the Lone Star State, they opened a landscaping business and also worked for a window washing company. After constantly discovering smudges on glass on a daily basis, Ted thought that pursuing his own glass business could be the right fit. “Every night, I could not stop thinking about all these smudges on windows that wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard we tried to remove them,” Ted said. “It was at that moment that we began seeking out franchise opportunities and found The Glass Guru.” After visiting The Glass Guru’s headquarters in Roseville, California, and meeting the brand’s leadership team, the brothers knew it was the right fit. Their enthusiasm was reciprocal. The franchisor thought highly of the brothers as franchise candidates, eventually awarding The Glass Guru’s first franchise territory in Texas to the Halladay brothers. Now 10 years later, The Glass Guru of Frisco, Texas is thriving. “It is a brand that allows us to grow our customer base and establish new relationships every day,” Aaron said. “Glass is a material that most people are around on a daily basis, whether it be windows, doors or mirrors.” Together, the brothers have seen their territory increase over the past decade. Their market has expanded from Frisco to as far north as Sherman, Texas. Along with growth, the two have also seen a staggering 95 percent of their client leads being generated online. The tech-savvy market helps the duo reach people through social media and allows them to get their business in front of a younger audience of new homeowners. “Working with each other has been really great,” Ted said. “We are franchisee partners, but more importantly, we are great friends. We believe that work should be fun and we have developed a ‘play while you work’ mindset that has allowed us to see great success with The Glass Guru.” Since 2008, Frisco has been one of the fastest-growing communities in the U.S., topping the U.S. Census Bureau’s list of fastest-growing big cities in 2018. Both Ted and Aaron expect to see that trend continue in 2019 and beyond. “When we first moved here, it was all cow pastures,” Ted said. “Now, there are businesses everywhere you look. The Professional Golf Association (PGA) is relocating its headquarters here and the Dallas Cowboys already have their practice facility here. Frisco is a community that will continue to grow.” Looking ahead, Ted and Aaron are excited to utilize the new resources being implemented by The Glass Guru corporate team to help manage financials and price points in the market. The two hope to continue using their forward-thinking approach to improve customer satisfaction and service. “At the end of the day, if our customers are happy, so are we,” Aaron said. “We want to be the go-to guys for all your glass, window repair, restoration and window replacement needs.” BY MATT PUTTIN 03:30 PM • 04/29/19 Franchisee Spotlight- 1851Franchise.com
