The Wall Street Journal
By Angus Loten

Small business lenders are demanding hard assets to back up their loans. How one man risked the family farm -- and won.

"Take Two" is an ongoing series about first-time business owners over 50 by Angus Loten, a small-business reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

Craig Holman is betting the farm on his new business -- literally. After getting laid off from a high-level job in the steel industry, the 58-year-old engineer put up his share of the family farm as collateral for a loan to open an emergency home cleanup service in Columbus, Ohio. "Having the farm on the line has made me pretty focused," says Holman, who launched the business early last year with his wife as a partner. The hardwood tree farm has been in Holman's life for years.

Owner: Davis Watkins
Previous Occupation: HVAC Professional
Territory: Kennesaw, GA

Like many other AdvantaClean owners, Davis Watkins made his living in the HVAC industry. And, like many other HVAC managers, he grew tired of his success constantly bringing in big profits for someone else. He was looking for an opportunity that would allow him to use his more than 20 years of experience in the field of indoor air quality while retaining his independence and flexibility. AdvantaClean offered that freedom plus the peace of mind that comes with owning a company in a recession-resistant industry.

Owner: Terry Thomas
Previous Occupation: Corporate Attorney
Territory: Bellevue, WA

The theme of scrapping the corporate nine-to-five and starting a small business is nothing new for AdvantaClean franchisees. In fact, in today's economy, it's a trend happening all over the world of business. Success in many industries means our franchisees have gained a wealth of valuable knowledge and experience they bring with them to help grow their AdvantaClean businesses. For Terry and Cindy Thomas of Mukilteo, Washington, a Seattle suburb located on the Puget Sound, that departure from corporate America came after a conversation with the owner of a painting franchise who left behind his days at the office to become his own boss and never looked back.

Huntersville Herald

HUNTERSVILLE – AdvantaClean Systems, Inc., a Huntersville-based national disaster restoration company was in place on the North Carolina seaboard and along the East Coast, ready to help homeowners and commercial property owners clean up after Hurricane Irene.

Bloomberg Businessweek
By:Karen E. Klein

Keep calm, communicate clearly, and install a system to share resources across business locations, says the founder of an emergency cleanup service

Since Hurricane Irene rampaged up the East Coast last weekend, calls for service have more than doubled at AdvantaClean, the Huntersville, N.C., emergency water removal service Jeff Dudan founded in 1994. The 30-employee business, which Dudan says has revenue of $15 million to $20 million annually, started franchising in 2006 and now has 75 locations in 20 states. Dudan spoke recently with Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein about keeping service consistent during weather-related spikes in business. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow.