Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2015 | Page 28

MULTI-BRAND 50
BY HELEN BOND

A Brand for All Seasons
Taxes and mosquitoes provide year-round revenue

W

hen it comes to operating multiple brands,
Craig Comer has discovered that differences
can attract—profits, that is, for his two
very different service brands.
Comer, who owns five Liberty Tax
stores in Detroit and the surrounding
suburbs, was itching to diversify when a
postcard arrived in the mail from Mosquito
Joe. Comer had considered the pest control company as a potential brand. Then
a summertime phone call to his dad to
discuss the opportunity sealed the deal.
“My cell reception in the house wasn’t
very good,” says Comer. “So I went outside in the evening to talk and I got bitten
alive by mosquitoes.”
In July 2013, Comer took a road trip to
Virginia Beach to meet company founder
Kevin Wilson, who had launched the franchise system earlier that year. Comer was
quickly sold on Mosquito Joe’s system,
leadership, and a seasonal operation that
begins when the need for tax services ends.
“I liked the concept—and that I could
take my employees from the Liberty side
and give them year-round employment,”
says Comer, who has a background in acNAME: Craig Comer
TITLE: President of Liberty Tax
(franchisee), and area developer
for Liberty Tax; managing owner of
Mosquito Joe
COMPANY: Comer Inc.
NO. OF UNITS: Liberty Tax, 5 units;
Mosquito Joe, 6 territories
AGE: 39
FAMILY: 4 kids and 2 dogs
YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 13
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 13

with Liberty Tax, 1.5 with Mosquito
Joe

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