All across America and around the world, this
is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. Good
day. I'm Jim Fosson. I'm the Officer of the Deck
today here on Veterans Radio and thanks for joining
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to thank National Veteran Business Development
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both service -disabled and veteran -owned businesses.
You'll find out how they can help your business
by going to NVBDC .org. We want to thank Legal
Help for Veterans. Legal Help for Veterans fights
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nation. You can reach them at 800 -693 -4800
or on the web at legalhelpforveterans .com. And
finally, PuroClean. PuroClean is the paramedics
of property damage. It provides water damage
remediation, flood water removal, fire and smoke
damage remediation, mold removal, biohazard cleanup.
It also has a focus on veteran franchisees. You
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So listen in wherever you're at to veteransradio
.org and its podcasts. We want to welcome you
all to Veterans Radio. Today, we're going to
talk to a couple of folks with Puro Clean, and
you're going to learn more about them. I'm Jim
Fossone. I'm the host here on Veterans Radio.
We like talking to business owners because so
many veterans get out of the military and move
into business and find that a great way to go.
So we're joined today by two special guests.
Joseph or Joe Ortiz, a proud Army veteran who's
now a PuroClean franchise owner, and also with
Paul Edelstein, who is the director of PuroVet,
which we're gonna talk about in sort of a unique
aspect that I really like about PuroClean is
its focus on veterans. And that's something its
vice chairman of Puro Clean, Frank Torres, has
really been focused on. He's really a tremendous
supporter of veterans and he's really been the
driving force behind this Puro Vet program that
you'll hear a little more about that supports
men and women getting out of the military who
want to go into a franchise business. But Joe,
Paul, welcome to Veterans Radio. Thank you so
much, Jim. Appreciate it. So Joe, let's start
with you. Tell us a little bit about your military
background. Well, again, thanks so much for the
opportunity. So basically I served in the military
from 2002 to 2006. I'm an aviation fanatic, so
I enlisted as a 15 Juliet. This is Kiowa Armament
System, electronic system repairman. My duty
station was Fort Drum, came straight from Puerto
Rico, and they sent me to the coldest place.
Oh, no, no, no. I was in Alaska. There are colder
places. There you go. Well, it was for me. Well,
how did a nice kid from Puerto Rico end up in
the Army? Basically, I needed that structure.
I knew I had a lot of good skills, but I needed
to develop as a professional, as an individual,
my discipline, and all that. Yeah, I had some
good mentors before. I've seen some people, recruiters,
actually people that were serving and then transitioned
to the National Guard down in Puerto Rico. I
kind of like that. I want to be like that. I
think I can use those tools and that character.
and the way that they go about business and implement
that in my life. So as soon as I had the opportunity,
I did one semester in college, and then I just
enlisted. And it was probably the best decision
ever. I think a lot of us go through that transition
where we go like, you know, I need the structure.
I got to get some leadership skills. I got to
get some real world experience. A little money
in my pocket will help too. And then you get
to the point where you say, okay, I've done my
service, you did your four years, and you think,
what am I gonna do now? How did you mentally
work your way towards, I wanna be a business
owner and find your way to PuroClean? Well, it
was hard. First of all, just making that decision
that it was the best for me to leave the service.
I was so comfortable. I was actually really good
at what I was doing in the military. Basically,
I had to stick with the plan and the plan was
to get the skills to fill up like I call it my
toolbox of as a professional, just just learn
the skills and then go out and implement that
and create an impact for my community and everybody
around, especially coming from Puerto Rico. I
kind of wanted to go back and set up something
out here. I was raised by a single mother with
three kids and the way that she took us from
the place that we were at. and get was a really
good living, it was because of a small business.
So I saw the impact that a small business can
have on a community, on the island. So obviously,
since I was young, I knew that I wanted to be
an entrepreneur and a business owner. I wanted
to create the same impact, but with a better
structure, using all my tools and everything
that I got, all the resources that I had available.
So yeah, so I kind of knew it. But it was tough.
It was hard. And you don't. military kind of
does a good job of keeping you comfortable. Even
if I was in Iraq for 14 months, I was still good
and I wanted to realize those are my brothers.
So making that transition, it was hard, it was
scary, but I decided just to stick with the plan.
Well, actually, you used a word that I was going
to put into my next question to you. It's a scary
proposition to say, I'm going to become a small
business owner. I'm going to use my And you obviously
have a lot of mechanical aptitude, electronics
aptitude, and go into a small business. How did
you zero in on PuroClean? So basically, I started
my entrepreneur career doing other stuff related
to the aviation. So I started getting really
good at running business, even though you have
to learn like so many different skills. And I
just didn't have them, but I had the drive and
I had the tools and I knew the market needed
that product at that time. So I created a small
company and that kind of kept running and did
excellent, did really good as an aircraft maintenance
company. Then at some point I was missing that
connection basically from the business standpoint
and connecting with the people. So I started
researching and doing... Checking out to see
if I can do some construction. I enjoyed construction
I saw the impact that you can have in a community
by just doing construction and development and
But then I ran into what restoration is that
I've never been from Puerto Rico though We get
hit by hurricanes at least three times a year.
Yeah We didn't have that concept of what restoration
was up there We just basically got cleaning companies
that will come in and other people will come
into the island to restore afterwards But there
was nobody there station and set up up and ready
to go at all times. So when I learned about the
concept of what restoration was, I'm like, okay,
so this is something because I can use my technical
skills. I can run a really good, smooth company,
but I can help the community. I can be involved
out there. I can be proactive. I can educate.
I can do so many things without industry. So
I just kind of fell in love with it. And I started
doing my research. All the way around, I understood
what a franchise structure is. It's a really
good business model, especially for a veteran
or somebody transitioning and not knowing a lot.
Basically, you get the full skeleton and a brand
and everything all together for you, right? So
I was sold on that. I just needed to find the
right company. And at the moment that I... I
saw Pure Clean and I visited the headquarters
and then that was it. It was a wrap. Well, you're
right. One of the things that a franchise gives
you is training and mentorship and financial
resources. Yep. And when you got to Pure Clean,
you found it, I take it to be pretty veteran
friendly. Oh, a hundred percent. All right. So
first of all, we got Frank Torre that I want
to give a shout out. I mean, this guy is the
first One of the guys that I find the most in
the entrepreneurship and CEOs and all these business
players that I've gotten to know all these years,
this guy is honestly the most passionate person
that I've ever seen in regards to veterans. Like
this is not no show. This is something that he
does on the side before this program was even
running. Like he really cares about what veterans
do. So that, I mean, Frank is the best on that
part. But having a program like that is so valuable.
Especially with somebody transitioning because
you're going to see all these franchises all
these business models but now everybody understands
the process and the stuff that we're dealing
with and it takes some special training to get
out of that military mindset and to use the right
tools that you learn in the military to succeed
here. So it takes a different transition than
just a regular person who's trying to just jump
in and start a business, get a loan and get going.
So Pure Abed allows you to do that. And you got
a group of amazing owners. They got experience,
all level experience from all branches, all the
military. So you feel like you're back in a family.
You're back in a crew. And we're talking about
now our stories about the military past. how
we can implement what we learned and then just
dealing with the business day to day. They're
all from different parts of the country, dealing
with the same stuff that you're doing. So this
is an amazing group of people to have, but that
structure and that support and that training
is key for you to just to get running. You're
still going to encounter a lot of challenges
and that's normal, but when you have that support
group, it feels so much better. So Joe, are you
the only pure clean franchise on Puerto Rico?
Well, actually, I own two franchises, and there's
a third franchisee. I was the first one with
Pure Clean of San Juan, and I just opened a new
one in Pure Clean in Cahuas. And we got some
partners, Peter and Sharon, running the Pure
Clean on Maya West. So basically, the point is
to have coverage and quick response all across
the island. It's a small island, but there's
more than 4 million people living out here. And
because of the infrastructure, we still haven't
Being able to recuperate from Maria. That's a
hurricane that was 2017. We got a horrible power
grid infrastructure, old buildings. So yeah,
little by little we're here doing a lot of work.
And one of the reasons I wanted to point that
out that you have multiple locations now is that's
the best testimony I can hear from somebody who
says I like it so much. I invested some more
and I had some more family and buddies invest.
Paul, you know, Joe's a great example of what
you're trying to do with PuroVet. Tell us a little
bit about the PuroVet program, Paul. Absolutely.
So, Jim, thank you. And kind of like to parlay
what you were talking about previously. So it's
it's obviously it's a program that we created
to empower veterans to become business owners.
So we understood early on that veterans have
inherent skills, leadership discipline that can
easily be parlayed into this very successful
business. So for listeners that don't know, it's
a booming $210 billion industry. And currently,
at Hero Clean, one in seven of our owners are
actually veterans. And we're trying to drive
this as hard as possible. So as Joe mentioned
previously, and you did, one of the owners, Frank
Tory, His heart is in this he's a descendant
of a veteran who served in the Carlson's Raiders.
It's a legendary unit a Marine Raider unit during
World War two and that passion drives his push
to really grow this program So basically some
of the things that we do for veterans is of course
We provide an exclusive financial incentive in
the form of a discount which we take off of the
franchise fee But we don't stop there. We provide
just like Joe said hands -on training, mentorship,
support. We've launched numerous programs. For
example, we've launched something called the
Peer Vet Forum. That is an internal program that
is a monthly meeting with our veteran franchise
owners where we train them, empower them, and
really give them the tools they need to succeed,
really to succeed in the industry. Now one of
the more powerful initiatives we launched this
year is an exclusive partnership with the National
Veteran Business Development Council. So what
that enables our franchise owners that are veterans
to achieve is get certified as a SDVOB. Jim,
of course, you know about this program very well.
We are, you know, NDBDC is one of your supporters
as well. And through this program, we provide
access to what's called supplier diversity. So
it's a huge $122 billion supplier diversity marketplace.
Similar to the government contracting program
where there is set -aside contracts So our goal
is to create another revenue stream for our veteran
franchise owners to really help them scale In
that scale is with You know, I'll call it fortune
500 companies it is it creates at least if if
you are a certified veteran -owned business through
somebody like National Veterans Business Development
Council, nvbdc .org, to go find them. You get
networking and access to buyers from these huge
corporations. It always shocks me when I talk
to its founder, Keith King, about this, but Paul,
have your veterans from PuroClean and PuroVet
had some success there? Yes, we have numerous
franchises that have been certified and they're
able to access this very lucrative supplier of
diversity procurement pipeline. We've also partnered
with numerous corporate members of NBBDC to offer
a free service to our certified veterans and
zero clean franchises are actually part of this
program and that's called supplier mentoring.
So we put them one -on -one with our corporate
members at NVVDC so they can really understand
how do you maximize and how do you leverage this
new certified status. And Jim, just like you
said, it's major Fortune 500 corporations from
Bell to Stellanus to Jones Langley South, all
of them who have needs, all of them have facilities.
And Frank Thorie's vision was that let's create
another power for revenue stream. for our certified
veteran franchisees to really help their business
grow. Joe is obviously a perfect example of multi
-location owner. That is, like you said, one
of the best testaments. We want our franchisees
to grow and one of the best ways they can grow
is, of course, opening up other locations. And
this additional pipeline of supplier procurement
gives them that capability to really scale their
business. Hey, Joe, let me come back to you,
and let's expand a little bit about what property
restoration and remediation is. PuroClean's tagline
is the paramedics of property restoration. Explain
that a little bit. What does that mean on a day
-to -day, boots on the ground, trucks and convoys
moving? What are you really doing? So let me
put you in the perspective of where we're at
in my market, which is Puerto Rico again last
week. We had a hurricane come in this way, deviate
it. Thanks God we had no issues. We got two more
coming right now. So basically what we're offering
out here is an emergency service. We got trained
personnel with the technicians with certification.
We got the equipment that we will jump and stabilize
and jump on any type of fire, water, mold, remediation,
damage. We deal with lead. We do reconstruct.
just basically we're the one -stop shop for everything
needed in your property. Not only commercial,
but we do a residential. We work in 24 -7, and
we're the paramedics because... Just like if
you're dealing with a person that had an injury
and you call 911, you got the paramedics coming
in, right? And the first thing they're going
to do is they're going to stabilize in order
to avoid any further damage until they can transfer
that person to the hospital, right? So it's kind
of the same thing with the properties. You've
got to be there. You've got to respond quick.
You've got to stabilize it the right way because
you can make things worse. So that's why we got
trained personnel. We follow the standards and
we go out there, we stabilize, make sure that
there's no additional damage. And then we just
restore like in... ever happened right and so
that's that's basically what we do but on this
market We also add a little twist because it's
a little bit different in Puerto Rico when you're
doing business. It's a territory and a lot of
people are underinsured, right? So it's a lot
of prevention, preventive maintenance, education,
and having people how to do the repairs that
need to be done on these older properties in
order to avoid the issues whenever they do get
the damage with the water damage. There's a lot
of bad construction with the lack of codes in
the islands. So that creates a lot of hazards.
and we're getting a lot of fires. We're the primary
right now on the entire island during fire remediation.
We're averaging seven, eight a week. So we used
to week it through. basic. So there's a huge
need here on top of this market, which is huge
in the United States. And pure claim not only
gives you the tools, it gives you the training,
you get the certification that but they also
network and connect you with all these insurance
companies is something called the program work.
So automatically with your CIP code you once
you get qualified and you're certified, you'll
be able to get jobs automatically from the major
insurance carriers in the United States. And
that's some thing that as an independent operator,
you're not going to have it. You're just going
to sit there and market and market and try to
get jobs. But Pure Clean sets you up. They teach
you how to sell. You go out there and get your
jobs. But they also are going to feed you some
work. And they're going to do advertising for
you. And you're part of this huge network of
things. So it's an advantage, definitely. I want
to touch on one more thing, Joe, because I think
this is something we veterans have in common.
sort of this idea about service to our community,
right? I mean, we joined up for service to our
country. We come home. You know, we really get
some roots in our community. It's it's kind of
feel good that what you're doing helps your community
so much. Can you can you talk? I mean, I know
that's not dollars and cents kind of thing. But
tell me about the pride that that generates for
your workforce. A hundred percent is that nothing
more that I'm so proud of the fact that we are
here and we are actually part of the some people
use it as a slogan you're part of the community
but not not with us I mean we got local vendors
schools politicians people that are reaching
out in order because they're we're educating
for free part of our marketing strategy and strategy
that I have to expand the business is just to
go out there and educate you just just let them
know there's a standard there's a way to do things.
There's a way to prevent or minimize damage or
lower the chances of you to have a bigger damage
if you just do these little things. So we're
going out there, and now they appreciate that.
They expect you. They're calling us. Just, hey,
can you guys come please go talk to the people
in this school? Buildings out here. We have a
lot of buildings that are high risk. We're getting
calls weekly for us to speak to basically everybody
on the board. So they can educate. They can come
up with a plan. We're doing evacuation plans.
We're doing EMPs. We did so many products, and
it's just... It feels like now we're the partner
that they needed and they got somebody that they
can call without having to worry about pain or
nothing. We're part of the community. My cell
phone is available for everybody and they would
just give me a call at 11 o 'clock at night.
ladies in a condominium that they had a leak
on a water heater. They called me up and I'm
like, all right, I'll give you some guidance
and I'll send some guys over and that's just
it. You build that community and that report
and it's just so rewarding. Making money is good,
but when you can make money because you're putting
a product together that is helping a community,
that's a different thing. It really moves it
to a whole other level. And it's important for
the community when they have a disaster and when
you have a Water or mold or wind damage or electrical
fires in your house. That's your that's your
natural disaster You want to call somebody who's
in the community not somebody who's just running
into town for the hurricane and running back
out later And we've seen that all over the country
But Paul, I want to turn back and ask you From
your perspective. Why do veterans make? good
franchisees Absolutely. It goes back to, you
know, their inherent skills that they got from
the military. It's, you know, like you said,
service to community. In fact, like Joe said,
one of our taglines for the company is, be the
hero of your community. So, our system is very
SOP driven and veterans naturally excel at following
an existing process. Like Joe said previously,
Puro Clean provides tremendous support to our
franchisees. So one of the, as you know, one
of the biggest factors in being successful in
business is your support system. There's a reason
why 90 % of startups fail. And the reason our
PuroVet program, our PuroQueen program, our support
system works so well is that we've developed
a very robust ecosystem to really help both non
-veteran and veteran franchisees excel. Now the
reason, to go back to your question, why do veterans
excel? in this field. Very mission driven. Like
Joe said, that 11 o 'clock, 2 a .m. call, my
water heater broke, like you said, electrical
fire, they charge in. They charge in, they get
the damage mitigated, and they're out of there.
And it's that service to community mentality
that drives, you know, successful franchise owners
just like Joe. So, as we conclude here, I guess
I want to ask both of you guys, what advice would
you give veterans listening today who are thinking
about that next step as I've gotten out of service
or maybe I've been out for a little while and
I'm now ready to go into maybe my own business?
Joe, what advice do you give your fellow veterans?
I mean, I'm old. I wish I would have known about
this before. So but just just believe in yourself.
I think you have the skills you have what it
takes. If you had a successful career in the
military, you got some tools that can be implemented
in any industry whatsoever. It makes it easier
for something that you enjoy doing that you're
helping people that you can. There's a profitable
industry and if you have the backing or somebody
that can help you because we don't come with
those skills marketing. Selling all that stuff.
It's kind of hard. You got to learn as a business
owner But when you have the backing of a company
like like pure claim, it makes it so much easier
So do your research but believe in yourself.
It's definitely you can you can do it Hey Paul,
what would what would you add to this? Basically
just to say that if you're a veteran or you know,
you're transitioning out of the military This
is an incredibly good business opportunity lot
of veterans become entrepreneurs and you know
to circle back on what we were talking about
earlier, success depends on a support system.
And the support system that we created through
PiroVet and of course PiroClean is like none
other that I've seen in the industry. The leadership,
both Frank Tory and Mark Davis, as you know our
president of PiroClean, Steve White, is an Army
veteran. So it's the backing of a giant company
that wants not only veterans but really all franchise
owners to be successful but we have a very special
place in our heart to really help veterans succeed
and I think if veterans are looking for this
next opportunity whether they want to start their
own business or they're transitioning out of
the military this is an incredible program with
tremendous support all the way from the leadership
to like Joe said the marketing support, the sales
support, the ability to contract with insurance
companies and become a preferred vendor. All
of these things matter. And again, if you're
a veteran looking for your next opportunity,
we very much encourage you to take a look at
our program. You can, of course, visit PureOVet
.com. You can call 855 PureOVet. We have specialized
veteran assistants that can really help you understand
the system, work with you step by step from helping
you access funding. uh and all the way to train
you and you know get you really to hit the ground
running hey before we go because we've mentioned
him a couple of times and and you know sometimes
uh somebody might be listening oh these guys
they're you know they're just homers they're
just of course they're going to say the good
things about a guy like frank tory vice chairman
of puro clean but then you get validated you
find out that this guy's been validated for his
the work by outside organizations. And I saw
recently that Frank was identified by D Business
Magazine. Tell us a little bit about his string
of accolades here that were recently highlighted.
Absolutely. So Frank has been recognized now
for the eighth consecutive year as one of the
most powerful business leaders in Metro Detroit.
It's an amazing accolade, but really, the power
behind that accolade is, again, his service to
the community. So, of course, outside of being
a business owner, an entrepreneur, Frank gives
back a lot. So, as an example, one of the things
that is very close to his heart is being able
to provide that opportunity to what we call impoverished
youth. So, one of the organizations that he heads
called Boys Hope, Girls Hope, Through his efforts,
he raised close to $13 million to provide scholarships
for kids over the past eight years. That's just
one thing. As you very well know, he's also very
involved with the Rehabilitation Institute of
Michigan. So there's a foundation as part of
that institute that also drives fundraising in
order to provide patients with TBI access to
the newest and latest technology to help them
improve their quality of life. Through that foundation,
Frank has driven close to $15 million over the
past 10 years to help this organization. So he's
not only just an incredible business leader,
but it's that service to community that creates
that recognition, such as the D Business Award.
Well, I'll tell you, we veterans, Joe, you can
confirm this. We like following leaders who have
heart. This recognition certainly, you know,
confirms for those who might be wondering, does
the company really have heart? And the guy at
the top when the leader has heart, everybody
else can feel it. Joe, I really appreciate the
time Ortiz that you've given us today to talk
a little bit about Puro Clean of Puerto Rico
and your service back to the community and Paul.
As Director of the PuroVet program, again, thank
you for your time here on Veterans Radio. Thank
you, Jim. Thank you. And I want to thank everybody
for listening to Veterans Radio today. I am Jim
Fossone. It's been a pleasure to be your host.
I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help
for Veterans, and you can reach us at 800 -693
-4800 or legalhelpforveterans .com on the web.
You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and
listen to its podcasts and internet radio shows
by visiting us at veteransradio .org. That's
veteransradio .org. We would again want to thank
our national sponsors, the National Veterans
Business Development Council, nvbdc .org. Legal
Help for Veterans, a veterans disability law
firm with a national practice before The VA can
help you on your claims and your appeals. It
can be reached at LegalHelpForVeterans .com or
1 -800 -693 -4800. And PuroClean, a leader in
property emergency services. It's the paramedics
of property damage, providing water damage remediation,
flood water removal, fire and smoke damage remediation.
mold and biohazard cleanups. You can reach them
at puroclean .com or 800 -775 -7876. We also
want to thank our local sponsors. This would
include the Charles S. Kettles chapter of the
Vietnam Veterans of America. That's chapter 310.
VFW Graf O 'Hara Post 423, the American Legion.
Erwin Preskin, Post 46 in Ann Arbor as well,
the VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, and certainly
the National Vietnam Veterans of America Association.
You can be a sponsor by going to veteransradio
.org, clicking on the About Us in our sponsors,
and help us out. Keep this program alive for
the 21 and 22 years. Keep us going for another
20. Thank you.