From Vision to Legacy, a Journey to Building a Billion-Dollar Franchise Empire with Jeff Oddo

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation! JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, the only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we'll be breaking down from vision to legacy, a journey to building a billion-dollar franchise empire. To drop these value bombs, I brought Jeff Odo into EO Fire Studios. Jeff is the CEO and owner of Citywide Facility Solutions, a management company in the facility maintenance industry, leading 104 franchises across the US and Canada, targeting$2 billion in system-wide sales by end of year 2030. In today's foundation, we'll talk about instilling the entrepreneurial mindset in the next generation, why franchising is one of the most powerful paths to building wealth and legacy, and oh, so much more.

0:43And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Jeff and our sponsors. Want to learn how to get booked and paid to speak? Great news. I've arranged direct access to my good friend, Graham Baldwin's proven speaking business system from the Speaker Lab. Go to eofire.com slash speaker to grab your spot for our live training on May 28th and learn how to get booked and paid to speak. Do you have the right mentor in your life right now? For the first time in seven years, I'm opening up a few mentorship slots for individuals who know they need the guidance and accountability to take their business and life to the next level.

1:21Email me at john at eofire.com with a subject line mentor, and we'll schedule a 15 minute chat to go over the program and see if it's the right fit for you. Jeff, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What's up, you old Fire Nation? Man, I'm happy to be here. Super excited. I love what you do, John, and I'm glad to be a part of it. And my advice, it might not be what you want to hear or what you want to promote, but you're asking my opinion. And my opinion is, stop listing all these influencers out there who tell you, you can accomplish anything you want.

2:01If you'll just work hard enough, if you'll try more than anyone else, I just think it's bad advice. And in fact, my advice is it's okay to quit. If you're not having success, quit, tweak the model, bring in a partner, learn a new skill. But I'm never going to be the starting forward in the NBA, no matter how hard I try. And sometimes you just have to quit and try something else. From vision to legacy, a journey to building a billion dollar franchise empire. And Jeff, you believe that we need to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in the next generation. I mean, I so believe in the same, one of the reasons why 13 years ago, I started this podcast seven days a week, but how do we go about this brother?

2:43Yeah, I think it starts with a beginning with the end in mind. If parents would just really focus on helping their kids and then helping themselves rather than making somebody else money and working hard for the next guy, if we would, people would just start focusing on themselves. And there's so many opportunities today with the internet and AI and just creating your own business. So I love it. But I just think it starts with the end of mind. If that's what you want to do long-term, then now's the time to start focusing on it. I'll tell you, I love it down here in Puerto Rico. I live in Palmas Del Mar.

3:20It's just a little gated community. and it's really built up of a lot of other successful entrepreneurs that have moved down here. And so what happens with successful entrepreneurs, they kind of instill this in their kids because this is what they do. And it's so cool to see, like, it seems like every weekend, there's just like some cool event that kids are putting on in this entrepreneurial way to like try to do X or Y or Z. They're trying different businesses, like to your point, like they're failing, but then they're learning and they're pivoting and they're adjusting. And they're just so excited by it.

3:49You can see the fire in their eyes. They're not just like, you know, doom scrolling, you know, on YouTube. Like these kids are out there like trying to build businesses because they're seeing their parents do it. They're seeing their neighbors do it. It's such a cool environment. And the following is a pretty bold statement, Jeff, but I want to say it anyways. You believe franchising is one of the most powerful paths to building both wealth and legacy. Tell us more. I just think that franchising is an amazing business model where it's a proven plan. It's a business in a box and not all franchises are created equally.

4:25And you don't need franchising necessarily for wealth and legacy, but I sure would argue it's a lot easier when somebody's already created the system and the processes and policies, and all you have to do is kind of execute the plan and build the team. Man, that's a great way to get to where you want to go. Now, I talked a little bit about this in the introduction, but I want to kind of expound upon it now. Citywide franchisees, they've achieved long-term success, which isn't always the case with a lot of franchisees. I mean, across the board, there's a little bit of a mixed back when it comes to success and failures.

5:02So how did they accomplish this? But I want to start with, you know, what exactly is a citywide franchisee? And then how do they achieve that long-term success? We provide facility maintenance solutions to commercial properties. So anything from the rooftop to the curb and anything in between, whether it's janitorial or lawn landscaping or window washing or handyman services, all those services, we provide it through a host of vetted independent business owners who do what they do best. That's all that they do. And so we focus on that and focus on the end user, the customer, and the contractors provide all the services themselves.

5:45So that's what the franchise owners do. So let's talk about specifically the franchisees. Now, give me a real world example of a success case. We don't have to use specific name or locations. We can if you want, but we don't have to because I understand privacy purposes. Maybe this is your personal experience. Maybe this is just one of your favorite stories, but give us a real world story of a citywide franchisee having long-term success. Father and son, husband and wife and brother. So three individual, I'm looking at their faces right now. All three of them came in to become partners with us.

6:20Now, legally, we're not allowed to call them partners, but effectively, they are very much like partners in the franchising world. All three of them basically sold their businesses or sold their homes. I mean, they went all in on Citywide to create the dreams of their future. And each one of them did it in a different path, but each one of them believed in the Citywide model and each one of them were able to go out there and make things happen. And so that's pretty rewarding when you see different types of folks be able to accomplish their objectives in many different ways. And of course, you don't have to have a husband and wife or brothers.

6:58We have individuals as well, but lots of people who go out there and make an impact in their community by following the citywide model. So you mentioned going all in. I want to hang on that for a minute. Is that something that you think is a key ingredient, a must have in order to have success? No, I don't think you have to bet all your chips on black or red. I do think you have to have the drive and the desire and the work ethic and the skill set. And that's more important than going all in. So, as a matter of fact, we would hate to see somebody sell everything and do that. But it certainly, in the early days when we first started franchising, that was kind of the kind of person, the maverick that we would get that's like, all right, let's do it.

7:44And we've come a long way from then. Now we have much more professional, sophisticated, well-financed franchise owners that are more in a better position to start a business rather than what we were doing in the early days. Talk about the first three to six months. I mean, what does somebody expect in that first time frame? I mean, maybe even start in the negative three-month time frame of like when somebody makes a decision that like, hey, I'm going to become a franchisee? We can maybe talk specifically about citywide or just in general, but what are the steps to go from just saying, I'm going to do this to actually now having a franchise?

8:28And then what are those first three to six months look like on a practical level? Let's talk in general rather than just citywide, but certainly, and when somebody is searching for franchising or a franchise model, there are great franchise broker networks out there. And anybody who's interested should contact the big five franchise networks out there and find somebody who really does a good job. And then they're going to introduce you to a bunch of franchise concepts. Then you're going to narrow it down. And then you're going to go visit with a few and talk to a few and then talk to the franchise owners in there to validate what the franchisor is saying.

9:02And then you're going to sign an agreement. And then there's going to be some sort of a timeframe on how long it's going to take you to open your doors. And whether it's if it's food and retail, you know, it might take you a year to 18 months to find the pad site and to build the building and all those things. Whereas somebody like citywide, it might take three months on average or less to open your doors. And so depending upon which concept you invest in will dictate the startup process. Once you open your doors, then I think that, you know, it's really a matter of any business, which is just building your team and sharing your vision.

9:40And for us with Citywide, it's all about vision, mission, and values. Our long-term success is all because of the belief that we are making an impact on others. And it's really wonderful. And so, I think that when people do open their doors, they have to realize that there's a grind is what we call it. It's going to be months of long hours building a business from scratch and starting something by yourself or with a partner is hard. But boy, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and that light is freedom that allows you to go from being just financially successful to being significant in the world.

10:21And I just love that we're able to teach people that it's not good enough to be just financially successful. You have to be significant. and by owning a business and employing people and sharing your vision and making them feel like they're part of something bigger and giving them the autonomy to believe that they're accomplishing something great, that's what business ownership is all about. I love that message, Fire Nation. I hope you're just taking that in and realizing it's out there, it's possible. Take ownership of your dream and then just go after it, you know, with that dogged tenacity and make it happen.

10:57We have a lot more to talk about around this topic. when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Speaking from stage is one of the most impactful ways I found to share my message and grow my business. But if you've never done it before, it can seem intimidating. How do you get booked and paid to speak if you've never done it before? Great question. And to answer it, I've arranged direct access to my good friend, Grant Baldwin's proven speaking business system from the Speaker Lab. This is a live training where you'll learn the proven five-step process that led Grant to over 500 paid gigs. Current paid speaking opportunities you can pursue right now, plus the number one marketing tool that's working for his students in 2025.

11:37The Speaker Lab is committed to helping 1 ,000 new speakers land paid gigs this year, and I'd love for you to be one of them. This live training is going down May 28th, and there are limited spots available, so head over to eofire.com slash speaker to grab your spot on this live training where you can ask questions and get them answered, plus learn how to get booked and paid to speak. That's eofire.com slash speaker. Question for you, Fire Nation. Do you have the right mentor in your life right now? For me, mentorship was everything. From when I was just getting started in podcasting, webinars, course creation, book writing, you name it, I hired a mentor to guide me every step of the way.

12:20For the first time in seven years, I'm opening up a few mentorship slots for individuals who know they need the guidance and accountability to take their business and life to the next level. It's a three-month program and together we will achieve massive results. If you're interested in learning more, email me at john at eofire.com with the subject line mentor and we'll schedule a 15-minute chat to go over the program to see if it's the right fit for you. That's john, J-O-H-N at eofire.com but only if you're prepared to ignite. Jeff, we're back. And I want to talk about Citywide for a second because Citywide has been transformed into a franchise system with an 8 million average unit volume.

13:08Now, I don't know for sure, but it sounds like that can't be standard. That can't be normal. So how the heck did you accomplish this? Well, it is definitely not normal. I think that the average franchisee and system out there has something closer to a four or$500 ,000 average unit volume. So citywide is different. And I think it, we're able to accomplish that because we are incredibly picky when it comes to choosing franchisees. So the general manager of Kansas City Royals, his name was Dayton Moore. And he taught me that one of the most important things that you do when selecting anybody on your team is that you've got to choose people who you want to hang out with, somebody that you want to have over for dinner and have dinner with your kids.

13:52And no matter how talented they are, how skilled they are, if they aren't just good people that you want to hang out with, with the kids, then you're not a good fit. And so that's how we have chose our franchisees. And then we've taught our franchisees how to go out and choose their employees as well. And their contractors, because at the end of the day, you know, services are services. Business is business. And the only thing that truly differentiates us is the people. Now, we've got a great business model. Don't get me wrong. But when you've got the best business model, which is franchising versus corporate owned, and you've got the best people, which comes from being incredibly picky, and then the best contractors, which comes from following the system and following the system, we're just going to, we're just, that's why we are so much better.

14:41But I do want to say, again, it goes back to vision, mission, values. Hardly, I don't think anybody cares about painting buildings or cutting grass or cleaning buildings. What they're passionate about is our vision, mission, and values. And that's what everybody listening to this should be seeking is a model or a business that you connect with at a heart level. Now, I'm not pushing back at all on that because I hear what you're saying about people don't get excited about, you know, like mowing the lawn, etc. But at the same time, there's a feeling about getting a job done and doing it well and seeing that visually because so many things that we do in this world today, you know, we're putting in the quote unquote work, we're doing our quote unquote job, we don't see any results from that.

15:27I mean, I know when I get out there and I'm like mowing my lawn and I'm like trimming and I step back and I'm like, dang, that looks good. And I, it's like a sense of accomplishment. Like I feel good about that. Like there's certain things that you can feel good about when you're creating something that's making a positive impact on what you're doing. So something to think about as well. Now, Jeff, if Fire Nation's like leaning forward a little bit here, because they like what you're saying. They love the motto. They love the mission, the values. let's talk about leveraging franchising to create financial freedom and generational wealth.

16:01Like how can our listeners do that? How can they leverage franchising? How can they create financial freedom? How can they create generational wealth? I just want to touch really quick on what you just said. I'm glad you pushed back because I think what I was referring to was the entrepreneurs and from the entrepreneurs themselves, they're focused on this building this big business. Now, what they have to do is go find what you're talking about, contractors and employees who have this great value of a sense of accomplishment. And so I was talking to the audience, but I'm glad you pushed back and gave me an opportunity to kind of clarify that position.

16:36Because I agree with you that, man, our team, the employees and the contractors, they love it. Our owners are building a big business on significance. And that's the distinction. Yeah, no, thank you for clarifying. That's great. Yeah. So how do you use franchising to build wealth and legacy? I'm going to go back to kind of this philosophy. You start with the end in mind. And if you want to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in my world, I'll tell you this, because I'm not sure what the best way is. I can just tell you what my way is. My grandpa moved here from Italy and he was the world champion, Arabian Western pleasure horse champion in the United States.

17:15And it was absolutely fabulous. and he came with his brothers. And then my father and uncles, nobody has ever worked for anybody else. Nobody. They've all been entrepreneurs. And my dad wanted to work with his kids. I wanted to work with my daughters. And we use business and entrepreneurship and now franchising to build wealth and generational wealth. And so, what we teach our franchise owners, and again, I would say it's a little bit unique. Most franchising concepts are retail and food and, you know, it's not an entrepreneurial, multi-generational type of a model, but we are quote unquote selling our model and our model is my grandpa started it.

18:02My dad is in it or my dad technically started, but working with his father, then me and all three of my daughters are in the business. And so we're teaching this model and franchising just because it is that proven business in a box is so beneficial and will increase the chances of likelihood that you can have generational wealth if you choose the right model that's good for you and your family. Man, Fire Nation, if you're not just a little fired up right now, I don't know what's going to get those fingertips tingling right there. So Jeff, take us home. What's the one key takeaway that you really want Fire Nation to get from our conversation today?

18:45And then share the best way that we can connect with you, with your team, with Citywide, if we want to learn more. life's too darn short to be unhappy. And if you're not happy, then it's you own it. It's you're in control of what you're in control over. And the less time we spend focusing on everybody else and what's outside of our control, the better off we're going to be. What you are control over every day is where you work, what you do and what you're passionate about. And so I encourage you and your listeners to get out there and really decide in 10, 15, 20 years from now, do they still want to be doing what you're doing, if you still want to be doing what you're doing in 20 years from now, keep doing it, brother.

19:26I'm happy for you and sister. But if you are miserable today and you think in 20 years from now, you're going to be any happier, chances are it's not going to happen. Take charge, take control of your life, go out there, find a coach and find a mentor and find a partner because not everybody is qualified to be a business owner, but a partner or two, John, will make all the difference in the world and you'll break the chains of corporate America that they have on us. Bam. And if we want to learn more about Citywide, what's your call to action there? GoCitywide.com. That website will point you in the right direction, whether you want to be a partner with us, a minority partner, a full franchise owner, and buy a city, invest in a city, or you want employment or contract work.

20:10We've got lots of different things at www.gocitywide.com. Fire Nation, you're the average. Of the five people you spend the most time with, you've been hanging out with J-O and J-L-D today. So keep up the heat. For links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type Jeff in the search bar and the show notes page will pop right up. And Jeff, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thanks, John. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Jeff for sponsoring today's episode.

20:43And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we're now accepting applications for EO Fire. If you want to learn more, visit eofire.com slash guest, and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Want to learn how to get booked and paid to speak? Great news. I've arranged direct access to my good friend, Graham Baldwin's proven speaking business system from the speaker lab. Go to eofire.com slash speaker to grab your spot for our live training on May 28th and learn how to get booked and paid to speak. Do you have the right mentor in your life right now?

21:24For the first time in seven years, I'm opening up a few mentorship slots for individuals who know they need the guidance and accountability to take their business and life to the next level. Email me at john at eofire.com with the subject line mentor, and we'll schedule a 15-minute chat to go over the program and see if it's the right fit for you.