Nationwide Lifts: A Business Opportunity Built for Elevator Technicians

By Averi Harris | January 6, 2026 |

A Message from our Sponsor:

If you’re interested in the opportunity to franchise, contact Jason Booher, the franchise manager, at jason@elevators.com or visit https://www.elevators.com/franchise to learn more.

Intro:

This episode of Elevator Tools & Tech is brought to you by Nationwide Lifts, a leader in residential elevators and one of the first companies in the industry to build a large-scale franchise model centered on local ownership and customer care. I interviewed co-founder Andy Darnley to talk about what sets residential work apart, how diversification has fueled Nationwide Lifts’ growth, and opportunities for elevator technicians to step into entrepreneurship through launching a franchise with Nationwide Lifts.

Transcript:

Andy Darnley (00:00)

We were taking on people that both were from the elevator industry… Really recently, I’m just seeing the people that have been in the Nationwide Lifts network and had that good elevator background and that good elevator passion are just, they’re taking off. I mean, things have just been growing exponentially and it’s really time for us to get out and find the right people to fill out the rest of the network.

Matt Allred (00:26)

Yeah, I would think so. So it sounds like from what I’m hearing at least, the kind of the pure entrepreneur that wants to buy in without elevator experience just may not be the right fit. Is that fair to say?

Andy Darnley (00:41)

That’s really what I’m seeing. As much as I want to say, you know, we could make it work for anyone. It’s the people that have that passion for, you know, for this industry that are successful. You know, to me, the ideal person is somebody who knows how to, is already a mechanic, you know, already really has a good understanding and then, has an entrepreneurial spirit, but just doesn’t know how to take that step.

Andy Darnley (01:09)

Somebody like that, we can show them all the things they need to just take off.

Matt Allred (01:14)

No, that’s awesome. I mean, honestly, I have those kinds of conversations all the time. I mean, it’s pretty regular that somebody’s saying to me, man, I really want an equity opportunity, right? I want a chance to kind of own and run my own thing. And, you know, for whatever reason, you know, there’s all kinds of hurdles. Sometimes they’re financial. Sometimes it’s maybe just having a little bit of coaching…

Matt Allred (01:39)

Hello, and welcome to Elevator Tools and Tech, a special series from the Elevator Careers podcast, where we spotlight the latest innovations, tools, suppliers and technology driving the vertical transportation industry. In each episode, we sit down with the creators, engineers and solution providers who are helping elevator companies work smarter, safer and more efficiently.

Matt Allred (01:55)

This episode of Elevator Tools and Tech is brought to you by Nationwide Lifts, a leader in residential elevators and one of the first companies in the industry to build a large scale franchise model centered on local ownership and customer care. I interviewed co-founder Andy Darnley to talk about what sets residential work apart, how diversification has helped create stability and growth, and opportunities for elevator technicians to step into entrepreneurship through launching a franchise with Nationwide Lifts. You can learn more about franchising at www.elevators.com/franchise. You can also contact Jason Booher, Jason@elevators.com, to learn more about the opportunity. Now let’s dive in.

Matt Allred (02:36)

Andy, welcome to the show.

Andy Darnley (02:38)

Thank you. It’s great to be here.

Matt Allred (02:40)

Thank you. I’m excited. I’ve always enjoyed our conversations and obviously today we get a chance to talk about Nationwide Lifts and kind of the beginning. I mean, you’ve been at this for how long now?

Andy Darnley (02:50)

I think about 25 years.

Matt Allred (02:53)

That’s a while, well and you told me you kind of grew up in the industry, right? A family adventure.

Andy Darnley (03:01)

Yeah, well, three generations of it. My grandfather started an elevator company in Buffalo, New York back in the 70s. And my father had his own elevator company in Lake George, New York and started in the 90s. So yeah, so I grew up in it, which a lot of a lot of guys in the elevator industry, that’s kind of how they get into it. You know, it’s kind of what runs in the family.

Matt Allred (03:25)

Right, right. Well, how did you get started with Nationwide Lifts? Obviously, you kind of had the DNA, you had the family support, you had a knowledge of the industry. What was it that kind of helped you launch Nationwide?

Andy Darnley (03:38)

Well, it was more looking for something, something, a different path. So slightly different path than, you know, than what my father and grandfather had done, but still in the same, same realm. And my brother and I really saw an opportunity in the residential area and we decided to take a crack at it. And the internet was just, it was just in its infancy back then, you know, it was, it was right around 2000, and so there really wasn’t a whole lot of competition out there at the time. You know, obviously there were home elevators and all, but the marketing side wasn’t really there. And, and we just, it really just took off. I mean, we, got, had a great opportunity to get some great web presence and,

I was in California at the time. He was in New York at the time. And we quickly realized we weren’t going to be able to handle all the leads and all the business that was coming our way. So that’s when we decided that franchising might be the best opportunity.

Matt Allred (04:42)

Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that franchise model. I mean, obviously you kind of started with that from the get-go. Were there any other franchise models in the elevator industry that you were aware of, was that kind of a pioneering move for you?

Andy Darnley (04:57)

There was nothing like that at the time. really, so it was a very different approach. A very different approach. And it was a little bit of a chance and all, but really we saw it as the best way to grow. It’s tough to give customers the attention they need from afar and to manage an office from afar.

So we felt the best way to do that was to have independent owners in each of those territories really giving it the attention it needed. It was really about a year or two after we got started where said franchising’s gotta be the way.

Matt Allred (05:42)

Well, especially if you’re in California and he’s in New York and I don’t know the, you know, the kind of breakdown of the industry, right? But like you said, there wasn’t a lot of competition. And so if somebody in Indiana wants a home elevator and you guys are in two opposite parts of the country, yeah, you gotta think intuitively about that.

Andy Darnley (06:02)

We found a way to make it work for a while. And so we started getting, filling in some areas. Yeah.

Matt Allred (06:07)

Yeah, so you started pretty early on with that franchise model, but then you also told me that at some point you really felt like that model needed to evolve. And I think that’s where we’re at right now is kind of a chance to build it, rebuild it, remodel it?

Andy Darnley (06:25)

Yeah, it’s a restart for us. I guess there’s probably a better term for that. But essentially we were growing for about 10 years or so. We just got to a point where something wasn’t working. Some of our franchises were doing great and others maybe not so much. Really, after a lot of thought and coming back around to it, it really came down to

the people who, when we first started franchising, we were taking on people that both were from the elevator industry. Really recently, I’m just seeing the people that have been in the Nationwide Lifts network, and had that, that good elevator background and that good elevator passion are just, they’re taking off. I mean, things have just been growing exponentially and, and, and it’s really time for us to get out and find the right people to fill out the rest of the network.

Matt Allred (07:26)

I would think so. So it sounds like from what I’m hearing at least, the kind of the pure entrepreneur that wants to buy in without elevator experience just may not be the right fit. Is that fair to say?

Andy Darnley (07:40)

That’s really what I’m seeing. know, as much as I want to say, you know, we could make it work for anyone. It’s the people that have that passion for, you know, for this industry that are successful. You know, to me, the ideal person is somebody who knows how to be a mechanic, you know, already really has a good understanding and has an entrepreneurial spirit, but just doesn’t know how to take that step.

somebody like that, we can show them all the things they need to just take off.

Matt Allred (08:13)

What are some of the biggest mindset shifts that it takes to own and run a business versus run a route or versus do a heavy repair or something like that?

Andy Darnley (08:55)

You know, a lot of people would say it’s about, you know, being able to sell or, or being able to manage the books or do the marketing, things like that. But really we have all that under control for people. I mean, we can help them get sales. We can help them with all that. So the toughest thing for somebody. And I did have to deal with it myself and I’ve seen others coming up as a somebody who knows how to turn around to somebody who knows how to do the,

the mechanics is to hire those first employees and to train those first employees, and to let them go. Because elevator guys are kind of wired in a certain way where they’re out in the field. Every call is like some puzzle to solve and you got your way of solving it.

And so one way or another, you have to solve it, you figure it out and you do it. But then to turn and trust somebody to take that and solve it on their own, and fail, and learn, and everything. That’s one of the toughest things, but in order to grow, you do need to be able to scale and you do need to be able to hand over the reins to other people. So that was one of the toughest things for me.

Matt Allred (10:22)

Thank you for bringing that up. I mean, I’ve noticed that in my own business, right? That in order to grow, in order to allow somebody, I have to let go of my desire to control, you know, exactly how it’s going to go. And then I have to have my hands in everything. It’s like, no, it’s definitely a mindset, definitely just an awareness that, okay, I’m going to have to really going to have to do that. And I’m going to have to probably, you know, keep doing it because…

It’s so easy to just latch back onto it and let me take that.

Andy Darnley (10:53)

But you know, once you get to that point where you have a team that’s out there performing and the calls get fewer and fewer, and next thing you know, they’re just out there doing their own thing. And Monday through Friday goes by and you didn’t even hear from them. It’s a great feeling at the end, you know, that you have a successful team out there getting that stuff done and that’s how you can really scale.

Matt Allred (11:18)

Well, and I know for myself, especially early on, it can be a little unsettling, like, do I need to be doing something? I start to question, okay, why is it so quiet? Is that good? Is it…

Andy Darnley (11:30)

Yeah. I’m so lucky to have just some great teams and, that’s what it’s all about, it’s all about the people. That’s, that’s really what makes the biggest difference.

Matt Allred (11:41)

Yeah. Yeah. Well, and you’ve obviously gone through the same evolution, if you will. Were there any other things that you kind of had to learn or even unlearn as you went from kind of those early days to having franchises to leading a nationwide organization? I mean, certainly those are different shoes to wear.

Andy Darnley (12:03)

Yeah. Yeah. But it’s, each thing is a challenge. You know, we’ve over the, over the years, you know, we’ve, there’s been, I can’t even, I don’t think we have enough time to cover even half of them, but yes, you know, certain things we’ve, on the marketing side over the years, we’ve dealt with the ups and downs of Google and all of their, their algorithm changes and,

and I feel like we really have that down. The marketing at first was the thing that I saw as our biggest advantage and it still is a huge, huge advantage. You know, we have elevators.com. mean, it’s as good of a URL as you can get, and 23 other websites out there that are constantly bringing leads into our network. We’ve always had a great

CRM system, which is basically managing all of the leads and getting them out to people. But one thing that we struggled with over the years was the project management side. We were so, we still are very good at managing leads through the quote system all the way through the sale. Then after that,

we didn’t have a really good solution for managing the service. And so now we have that in place. So that was another big hurdle for us to get through. So, it’s just, we, we listened to the, you know, to each of the offices, each of the owners, we have a monthly call every month and, and they’re really the source of, of where our marching orders should be.

You know, so they’re saying, ’cause everybody will be like, Hey, do any of you guys have this problem? Do any of you guys have this problem? And when there’s this consensus, it’s pretty clear. Okay. I got an actual item here I got to go solve, you know, we do a great job of, of, bringing the leads in, providing all the tools to close on those and, you know, follow it all the way through the cycle. But, yeah, that’s a huge part of getting started is the sales, you know, building that pipeline.

Matt Allred (14:23)

Right, do I have the work to do? Well, let me go find it. Let’s talk a little bit about the VRCs. You’ve talked about these vertical reciprocating, I think you called it.

Andy Darnley (14:35)

Yeah. Yeah. Vertical reciprocating conveyors. Yeah. It’s like a freight elevator essentially. So it’s something that a lot of elevator guys don’t necessarily get into. It’s kind of strange, it’s a strange piece of the elevator industry in that it’s not quite regulated the way that the traditional passenger elevators are. So.

Matt Allred (15:02)

Because nobody is on them, right? It’s just…

Andy Darnley (15:04)

Yeah, because you’re hauling strictly freight. So, it’s just, it’s just different. But over the years we found, you know, we do great with the home elevator market. That’s where we got our start. We go through, we do a lot of commercial wheelchair lifts. We do all the way up to a LULA elevator, which is basically a limited use type of commercial elevator.

So we’ve done all that over the years. We’re probably about maybe 70% residential and 30% commercial now. But then there’s, we also, we’re always looking to be diverse so that no matter what, what is thrown at us, we are going to be able to, stay busy, stay profitable and all of our offices. We really knocked down the barriers there and help our offices get set up with that. So now they have something that’s

also going to help them be diverse and a little bit more protected from any kind of recession in one area or another. But they also have a good baseline of maintenance business. And in the elevator industry, maintenance is huge. So by getting this VRC business as a solid maintenance, it just helps to have that bottom line.

Um, to, go along with all of the other installation and service business on the residential and commercial sites. So this is something we’d been doing for about four or five years and it’s still growing. So it’s becoming a big part of our business. And some of our, some offices more than the other, just depending on the region are just killing it.

Matt Allred (16:42)

It’s interesting you say that because there’s an Amazon warehouse not too far from my house and it’s like four stories high and I’ve never been inside, never been invited, right? But in my mind I’m like, what does it look like up and down to get things moved around? But it sounds like they may have some of those VRCs going on to move products from floor to floor. If you have a big enough organization to actually tap into some of those and then you can…

like I said, hand them out to individual franchisees to, you take care of this one and Billy Bob’s gonna take care of that one. Like you say, then they’ve got service business and installation business. How long have you, as a company, been in the VRC business, if you will?

Andy Darnley (17:26)

About five years, I’d say. Yeah. So it’s still relatively new to us, but it’s growing and we’ve become very good at it.

Matt Allred (17:36)

That’s awesome. Yeah. And you’ve said that, yeah, it was kind of a hidden gem as it were, just that it, you know, maybe you didn’t really know about it and all of a sudden there’s this huge opportunity and, you know, might as well take advantage of it. So I want to talk a minute about your territories, right? Because it sounds like in the early days you had maybe, you know, just a few and they were probably pretty big. And so it sounds like you’re kind of focusing on

And as I recall from our conversation before, you talked about how sometimes the smaller territories actually perform better. So I wanted to talk a little bit more about why that would be.

Andy Darnley (18:18)

Yeah. In the beginning, our territories might’ve been two states. I mean, they were, they were absolutely huge. And, what we found over time is that, several of the offices, even though they might’ve had a full state or a couple would really focus in on something that maybe was a two hour or three hour radius. And they would be doing just as well in that two hour radius as if

they had the entire state or somebody else had the entire state. They’re much more efficient. I’m doing it much more the more difficult way right now because I’m seeding a lot of future territories. And so my guys are on the road a lot. They’re staying overnight in the hotels. They’re away from their families. It’s a tough gig.

Versus the guys who are within a two, three hour radius, they’re able to, their guys are able to stay at home at night, but then they also don’t have a lot of those that extra travel expenses with hotels and per diems, and wear and tear on all the vehicles and the service calls. In other words, they’re getting service calls five hours away and it’s an urgent thing.

Matt Allred (19:34)

In the middle of the night,

Andy Darnley (19:36)

But really what I’ve found is, that the business is there, you know, and if you do focus in, if it’s the right type of territory, but if you focus in on, on that, that particular territory, you can keep yourself completely busy in a two or three hour radius, and be perfectly happy. So we’re seeing several of the franchises really growing and bringing in just as much revenue as somebody who’s covering a state or two.

And so as we grow, that’s what, I’d really like to see more of that, you know, where I used to say, well, just run with the entire state. I’d really like to maybe break the states into two, and give people an opportunity to really go deeper into those regions.

Matt Allred (20:25)

For sure, for sure. Yeah. I mean, just, think it speaks to the opportunity of the industry overall, right? That there’s more density there in need and you might as well hit the ones that are close versus drive, like you say, driving four or five hours when you’ve passed, you know, however many opportunities in the meantime.

Andy Darnley (20:45)

Yeah, you know, and some of this, this VRC opportunity, there’s so much, so much business in just a couple of sites to keep a team or two busy full time. And the other side of that is that service wise, they expect to see a more immediate type of service. And so you do want to be local.

Matt Allred (21:07)

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. The residential elevator industry, just residential, right? It almost sounds deceptively simple, but obviously it’s not the same as commercial. But I think the hard part for me, in my mind, right? I’ve not worked on one. What makes working in someone’s home uniquely challenging?

Andy Darnley (21:31)

Yeah. If you haven’t done it before, it’s definitely like, if you’ve been working in the commercial industry, it’s a totally different animal. Because you’re used to, they’re going to be open. You’re going to show up and do your monthly maintenance and the nine to five, you can walk right in, get your keys from the front desk and go in and take care of it. And that makes it easier to do routes. But on the residential side, you’re dealing with, oh no, I got a doctor’s appointment.

You know, I got to pick up the kids, you know, you actually have to, the scheduling becomes a much more important side of things. And then, just the personal side of things, you know, when you’re in somebody’s home, there’s just a higher level of respect, you know, taking your shoes off, you know, the, the pleasantries, getting to know people and so on, it’s definitely, it’s just a more personal side of things.

But it’s just as rewarding, and in some ways it’s even more rewarding because you, you really do change people’s lives. I mean, we’ve installed elevators so many times where the person hadn’t been upstairs in two years, like they literally like have been sleeping downstairs. Didn’t remember what their upstairs looked like. And you see that, you know, the emotion when you actually bring something to their house that allows them to start using the whole home again. It’s, it’s rewarding.

Matt Allred (23:00)

It’s very personal, right? So it’s personal whether you bang your toolbox on the wall and put a divot in the sheetrock, or like you say, taking someone where they haven’t been in years and really giving them that freedom. So yeah, it’s, yeah, just that important space, sacred space, whatever, kind of comes to mind with that, being in someone’s home. So have you had any…

any experiences you want to share where because of that personal space, somebody maybe saved the day or maybe they cost a client because they just weren’t respectful enough in that space?

Andy Darnley (23:42)

Yeah. Like any elevator guy, I’ve got lots of stories. But I mean, we’ve definitely had situations where, you know, somebody wasn’t respectful enough or for one reason or another, we were basically asked, you know, don’t send that person back again. I mean it happens, and it could be something as simple as leaving a cigarette butt somewhere or, you know, something of that nature.

But you deal with things that are a little bit more touchy. But many more experiences as far as just really changing people’s lives. Really just, like I said, they hadn’t been upstairs in a long time. They thought that they were going to have to move. So many stories about people who really…

They thought that they had to move. They didn’t even think about an elevator. But then they started shopping. They couldn’t find a home in their area. And then someone finally said, why don’t you get an elevator? And we were able to do that. And it just changed their life. They had spent 40 years in this home and they basically wanted to spend the rest of their life there. And now they can, you know.

Matt Allred (24:57)

That’s their dream home, right? And the kids grew up there, and you got all kinds of memories. And I mean, I was thinking, you when we first started talking, you said, you know, what was it, 24 years ago, there were, I mean, granted, I grew up kind of rural Wyoming, right? Elevators in homes just didn’t exist in my mind. And so, like you’re saying, some people just don’t know it’s an option. It’s, I mean, I think more and more it’s becoming, you know, people are becoming aware of it, but…

I don’t know, it never crossed my mind that long ago.

Andy Darnley (25:29)

It’s definitely propagating. Back when I first started, down in the Southeast, all across the South, just the retirement areas, that’s where you would see them. You would see a lot more of it in the Carolinas and Florida and Texas, but not where I’m at in New York, and so not upstate or up in the Northeast. But over time, it’s propagated and we’re seeing it more and more.

The other side of this I should throw in there too is, you know, we do a lot of elevators that are for people who need them, you know, in normal houses, but then we also get to do some really cool stuff. So we do some really high end, the multimillion dollar houses and the one of a kind type of elevators.

Really, back around the bubble, the 2008, right? That really hurt us, know? There were certain areas that really dropped quite a bit. But what we found was the higher end stuff was still there. Even with the housing market really dropped, the higher end type of need or desire was still there. And so we launched a product called Artisan Elevators back then.

And it’s, for the custom, the ultra-custom type of elevator. And, over time we, we moved from partnering with people to make it for us, to where now we actually make it ourselves. And so our franchises get an opportunity to do that type of product as well, which is just really, whatever you can dream up, you know, glass elevators, bird cage elevators, just one of a kind type of stuff.

Matt Allred (27:26)

I was going to say, that sounds really exciting because yeah, people like saying the multimillion dollar houses, they want it to look right, to feel right, to act right. I mean, they’re not going to, you know, go for the cheap one when you can get one that looks right and it compliments the house, and the designer gets to weigh in on it. And I have looked at your website. Those are some beautiful machines you’ve got there. So yeah, it’s a…

Andy Darnley (27:52)

Thank you.

Matt Allred (27:54)

That’s fascinating. And you talked a little bit about the bubble of ‘08 and obviously you’ve weathered the bubbles, the recessions and COVID. What did each of these downturns teach you about the resilience in this industry?

Andy Darnley (28:07)

It’s about diversification really, you know, like I mentioned that the 2008 bubble hit all of us quite a bit, but some areas more than others. And that’s where we said, you know, we cannot just be in this one area with the standard type of elevator. We really need to double down on other markets. And so that’s where we…

We really pushed on the Artisan and really made a name for ourselves there. Then COVID, obviously like everybody else, really, it shut down a lot of our installations, our new installation type of business. You know, we tightened our belts and left a lot of stuff in the warehouses, but the service side still had to be there. I mean, people still needed their elevators, you know?

So we did a little bit more of maintenance oriented stuff around the residential. We’ve pushed a little bit more on the maintenance side of the commercial. And that’s about the time when we started pushing on the VRC. So the VRC works and that maintenance helps to make us be able to weather these types of storms that might come along. So with each of these things that are thrown our way, we’re…

finding ways to deal with them, but also grow that new knowledge to help us in the future.

Matt Allred (29:40)

How do you prepare your franchisees for, if they haven’t been running a business, for example, and they’ve got the elevator knowledge and the passion, just that there are business cycles for them. How do you kind of help them think through that and be okay with kind of the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows?

Andy Darnley (30:00)

You know, I think a lot of it is just helping to build up the confidence, you know, and the confidence is really built through the successes of the other offices. I mean, they don’t have to listen to me. You know, they could call up any of the other owners and they would gladly talk to them about, you know, about how it was getting started and…

And some of the challenges that they’ve had and help to build up some of that confidence and, just let them know, you know, you will get through this and you’re going to be better for it. We get everybody together once a year. The NAEC organization, the elevator constructors organization, has a conference every, every September. And so when they do that,

we get all the franchise owners together as well. We do about a day of meetings and going over new products and tools and stuff like that. But we also spend a couple of days just, you know, having a happy hour together, going out to dinner together. And, and that’s where, more stuff happens during the happy hours and the dinners than the PowerPoint stuff, you know.

Matt Allred (31:21)

Absolutely. Well, and just having that built in support network, if you will, right? So maybe you’re three states away, but hey, here’s what I’m experiencing. And, you know, I met you last month at the NAEC event and want to see if you got a minute to help. I’m sure there’s a lot of just kind of helping each other through that.

Andy Darnley (31:41)

There’s so much. Sometimes the guys will fly out and help them. I mean, it’s amazing how it’s like a family. It really is like a family. And you know, it’s not uncommon for somebody to say, well, you know what, I have some time or one of my guys has some time, we’ll send them out to help you for a couple of days. Yeah. But definitely all the time,they’re always available on the phone.

Matt Allred (32:05)

That’s very cool. And you mentioned in previous conversations that having the franchise model isn’t one in which you force one vendor or force one way of doing things and you’ve chosen flexibility over control. Has that ever backfired or do you feel like that’s really the right way to go about it?

Andy Darnley (32:27)

Yeah, a lot of people thought I was crazy because we don’t, we’re not like a typical franchise type of network. The franchisor is trying to make money on the sale of goods and everything like that. We’re not, we’re not doing that. You know, we’re, basically, we just want to have a broad pipeline of the right stuff. And ultimately, we want

the customer to get whatever is best for the customer. So if one of the offices, if one of the owners says, Hey, I’d really like to try this product. It’s not something that’s in our catalog or something that, that you’ve negotiated a deal with. We’re totally supportive of it, because I look at it as,

This owner is going to invest his time into finding out if this product is good, is going to install it, work with the customer and report back to the team and let us know what he thinks. Many times that’s actually proven to be a win. On the monthly call, everyone will ask and then next thing you know, it becomes a part of our product line.

Matt Allred (33:47)

Like everybody else is doing it, I heard about that, It went really well.

Andy Darnley (33:53)

Yeah. And it really, you know, ultimately we have a set group of products that we work with that we’re marketing in our catalog and on our website. If somebody, you know, if they had a relationship with a different manufacturer and wanted to use that, it’s not a problem. We encourage whatever product makes the most sense for the customer ultimately. That’s always the answer to the question.

Matt Allred (34:23)

And I like that. I mean, obviously it’s, you know, it gives, like you say, it gives people an opportunity to get what they want. At the same time, it gives your franchisees a chance to try new things and ultimately better the entire organization. Very cool. So I got a couple more questions before we end, but you know, the first one, if you were to, you know, envision a licensed mechanic, maybe they’re listening right now, maybe they’re tired of…

not just long hours, but kind of working somebody else’s dream, if you will, and they’re dreaming of independence. What would you tell them about the first six months of running a franchise and what emotions might be coming up? Because it’s gonna be a little bit different.

Andy Darnley (35:11)

Yeah. Yeah. It’s a roller coaster ride, it’s definitely a roller coaster ride when you’re starting a business. But what I can tell you is, that starting a business with us on your side, there’s a real safety net there that this roller coaster ride is going to end in a great way. But it’s going to be exciting, you know, it’s going to be stressful.

It’s definitely going to be a mix of emotions along the way. But the first six months, typically it’s all about the sales. Like, give me more leads, give me more leads. And trying to ramp up as fast as you can. And that can take even longer than six months. First sales would happen within six months.

But to really build up that pipeline and to get it where it’s really rolling, you know, it takes a little bit more than a year. But you wouldn’t have to be worrying about how you’re going to manage all of those leads, you know, how should my quotes be formatted, you know, how should my terms and everything be formulated, how… we’re there to help coach along the way and get them over that hurdle. And then, before long, you know, after about the first

year or two and you got the pipeline going, then it’s all about the products and we got to improve this product, make this better, make that better or whatever. It’s been really interesting over the years. Early on, we had all these franchises and it was really about leads. That’s all we talked about was marketing and how do we get more leads, and we don’t talk about that anymore.

It’s, right now, it’s more about how do we improve, you know, the processes for the service? How do we improve some products and so on? So it’s interesting to see how, I think, the way that it’s gone with our franchises over many years is how the experience with the new franchisee would be going from worried about leads, to worrying about sales, to worrying about now, just how just the operations, employees.

Training up their new mechanics, right? So yeah.

Matt Allred (37:33)

Yeah, yeah, and I’m sure, yeah, for the new person, there’s, you can say a roller coaster of emotions and kind of figuring out what’s the groove. And then, you know, after a while, things kind of click and it’s like, oh, okay, that was the right decision, but you kind of got to get through that. So, and like I say, definitely a bit of a leap of faith.

So Andy, talking about the mechanic, maybe they’ve started and become a franchisee, what’s the moment when it clicks and they know that they’ve made the right call?

Andy Darnley (38:05)

So I’d say that there’s probably not like a single moment, but there’s so many little moments where, even myself from time to time feel, just feel just really grateful or thankful that I made some of these choices. And I know that the guys have done it too, cause I’ve talked to them. So like, one thing is just,

You go into a sales call and you know that there’s been two or three other elevator companies in there, and you’re talking to them. And then, there’s that moment you realize: I’m the only one that has a solution. And it’s just like, you know, we have such a thorough product line and there’s so many times where, because of some of the custom stuff that we do, I just look in there and I’m just…

We literally, I know that we are the only one with a solution, and it just feels great. It feels great to be able to give them an answer, and the look on their face when they’re like, are you kidding me? You can actually do all this? You know, I’ve had so many people that have that type of expression and that type of feedback. So that feels great.

And then the next part of that is because I’m the only one that can do that solution, I know I’m going to have a really nice margin on it too. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just the nature of the business. Because it’s going to be something really custom, you know, and it’s going to be something really special. So then the other thing is that then I’ll hand the card, the business card, and it’ll say andy@elevators.com.

And I love that when the customer is like, @elevators.com? They just, they just love that. So, so that’s one nice thing that all of the, you know, all of our sales guys just absolutely love when, you know, they get to use that. I guess just, the kind of more personal type of thing is just, you know, after hours around the weekend, just walking through the shop and, just looking around and looking at all the

You know, all the tools, all the equipment and just knowing, know, yeah, this is something that I’ve built, and it just feels good. You know, it just, so those are, it’s times like that where, you know you’ve made the right decision, and I really hope that some of your listeners, some of the new people are going to have a chance to feel that way.

Matt Allred (40:49)

Awesome, thank you.

Matt Allred (40:51)

So last question, let’s say I have the exact profile, experienced mechanic with an entrepreneurial streak, interested in seriously exploring this opportunity, where would I start? What’s kind of the first step?

Andy Darnley (41:06)

The first step would really be reaching out to Jason. Jason Booher is our franchise manager. His email is jason@elevators.com. So really easy to remember.

He has a bunch of material that he can share, some links to a part of our website that talks about the franchise opportunity. So usually engaging with Jason’s the best way to get started, get some of that documentation right up front. And then, pretty quickly on, we do a zoom or two, where me and Jason get on the phone and just,

We just get to get to know each other, you know, try to understand what the person’s interests are, what experience he or she has, and just to find, try to figure out if there is a good fit. And then, I really like to do face-to-face before too long too. It’s just, we really are like a family, and we’re really looking for people who are going to really, you know, want to be part of that family.

Matt Allred (42:21)

For sure, yeah, and I’m sure it’s a little bit like, yeah, evaluating a new employee or adopting someone. It’s almost like, all right, this is a big risk for us too, right? You gotta make sure that, hey, I like you and you like me and we think this is gonna work. And so it sounds like a bit of a get-to-know-you period that we’re willing to both sign on the dotted line, as it were.

Andy Darnley (42:42)

Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, it’s a long-term relationship.

Matt Allred (42:51)

With a lot of skin in the game on both parts. Very cool. Yeah. Well, Andy, thank you for being with me. It’s been a lot of fun to, obviously, talk to you, to get to know Nationwide Lifts a little bit better, and anything you’d like to say before we finish up?

Andy Darnley (42:55)

Exactly. No, I just really appreciate the opportunity to talk with you, to share some of this information. And I really look forward to hopefully speaking with some of your listeners. So thank you for giving me this chance to share some of our experiences.

Matt Allred (43:24)

It’s been great and my pleasure, thank you.

Matt Allred (43:26)

Thanks again for listening to Elevator Tools and Tech from the Elevator Careers Podcast. If you’re interested in learning more about Nationwide Lift’s franchise opportunities, please contact Jason Booher, the franchise sales director at Jason@elevators.com, or visit www.elevators.com/franchise to learn more. The link will be in the description below. Please like and subscribe, and until next time, stay safe.

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