Driven Brands Chairman and CEO Ken Walker and Maaco franchisee Steve Keel of Catonsville, Md., were featured in a recent
USA Today cover story. Small businesses – which create an outsize share of jobs – appear to be launching and expanding again, the article said.
It continued:
Franchise company Driven Brands, which owns Meineke and Maaco, sold more franchise licenses in November than in the past five years combined, says CEO Ken Walker. "We are beginning to get businesses financed," he says.
Franchisee Stephen Keel, who owns a Maaco auto body outlet in Catonsville, Md., sought for a year to move it to nearby Randallstown and add a Meineke repair shop at the new site. But he couldn't get a $1.7 million loan from seven banks despite a $2.2 million appraisal of his planned new land and building.
Recently, he snared a loan from Susquehanna Bank and plans to add four to seven workers to his 12-employee staff after he opens the new location in April.
More information:
Maaco Franchising
Read the full story in USA Today