26 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs: Mark Melton

Mark Melton Melton Franchise Systems

for giving immigrants their shot at the American Dream

Mark Melton has turned his master franchise from Coverall Cleaning Concepts into a tidy $9 million empire by supplying training, marketing, sales, and other services to his 250 franchise owners, many of them Hmong and Hispanic immigrants. Cleaning offices, says Melton, 46, “is not glamorous work. But it’s stable, year-round, and highly sought after, and no technology is going to make the industry obsolete. It really impacts owners’ lives.”

What makes a Melton franchise an accessible route into the ownership society is the low barrier to entry. One midlevel package, available for an investment of $11,750, with $6,000 down, guarantees $2,000 in monthly income from clients provided by Melton. After insurance, finance costs, and a 15% royalty fee, franchisees can expect to pocket two-thirds of their billings. Some go-getters have boosted their monthly billings to $10,000.

“I bought the $1,500 package with my income tax refund and started with three clients. Now I have 13,” says Francisco Reinoso. An X-ray technician in Guatemala, he’d had to settle for work as a janitor in Bakersfield. “At church, people look up to me and ask, ‘Francisco, can I have a job?’ Owning a business, that makes me feel like part of the United States.”

Patrick J. Sauer

1. Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Omnimedia

   because she took one for the team

2. Richard Branson, Virgin Group

   because he’s game for anything. In fact, everything.

3. Michael Dell, Dell Computer

   for being brilliantly straightforward

4. Jim Sinegal, Costco

   because who knew a big-box chain could have a generous soul?

5. Diane von Furstenberg, Diane von Furstenberg Studio

   for staging an elegant comeback

6. Julie Azuma, Different Roads to Learning

   for offering hope and help to the parents of autistic children

7. Fritz Maytag, Anchor Brewing

   for setting limits

8. Ray Kurzweil, Kurzweil Technologies and other companies

   because he is Edison’s rightful heir

9. Craig Newmark, Craigslist

   for putting the free in free markets

10. Jack Mitchell, Mitchells/Richards

    because his family business makes an art of customer service

11. Frank Robinson, Robinson Helicopter

    for whipping an entire industry into shape

12. Mark Melton, Melton Franchise Systems

    for giving immigrants their shot at the American Dream

13. Michelle Cardinal & Tim O’Leary, Cmedia and Respond2

    for rewriting the rules for husband-and-wife teams

14. Mike Lazaridis, Research in Motion

    because someone had to stand up for all those frustrated engineers

15. Trip Hawkins, Electronics Arts and Digital Chocolate

    for still scrapping

16. Warren Brown, Cake Love and Love Cafe

    because only in America will someone quit a secure job as a lawyer to start a bakery

17. Muriel Siebert, Muriel Siebert & Co.

    for being a notable first with a worthy second act

18. Chuck Porter, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky

    for verging on reckless

19. Katrina Markoff, Vosges Haut

    for setting a completely unreasonable goal for her business

20. Barry Steinberg & Craig Sumerel, Direct Tire and Auto Service

    for showing the power of the peer group

21. Victoria Parham, Virtual Support Services

    for serving as a mentor to military spouses

22. Tom LaTour, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants

    for staying at fleabag hotels so that we don’t have to

23. Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams, Mitchell Gold

    for creating a true comfort zone

24. Izzy & Coco Tihanyi, Surf Diva

    for kicking sand in the face of conventional wisdom

25. Tony Lee, Ring Masters

    for saving 16 jobs, including his own

26. Rueben Martinez, Libreria Martinez Books and Art Galleries

    for simultaneously building a business and nurturing Latino culture