Keeping Your Franchise System Simplified with Mike Gould of Houndstown USA

In 1982, founder Michael Gould begins his canine career as a founding member of the NYPD canine unit. Later he went on to become the Commanding Officer of the Nassau County Canine Unit, going on to have a 15+ year career in police canine management. In 1999, as Mike is getting ready to retire from the police department, he has the idea to open a pet care facility after recognizing the need for reliable and honest pet care on Long Island. In 2000, Mike opens the first Hounds Town location, in a 1,200-square foot store in Port Jefferson, introducing the idea of interactive daycare to the area. The events of 9/11 in New York call Mike and his private scent detection dog company Canine Consultants to aid in the recovery efforts at Ground Zero. Mike gets deployed to Naples, Italy, as a member of the naval reserves to run the Military Working Dog program following the terrorist attacks. Since 2003, Hounds Town USA has grown as a franchise with more than 10 locations.   Key Takeaways: [0:18] Today’s episode of Franchise Euphoria is brought to you by IndyFranchiseLaw.com, a leading resource in the franchise space. Head over to IndyFranchiseLaw.com learn more! [0:59] Josh introduces today’s guest, Mike Gould, the founder and CEO of Houndstown USA. [2:36] Josh welcomes Mike to Franchise Euphoria. [3:20] Mike shares about his past career in the NYPD and his experiences working with police dogs. [11:15] Mike explains how when he was retiring from the police how he ended up establishing Houndstown USA. [14:03] Mike discusses what the transition from a career in law enforcement to becoming an entrepreneur was like. [17:27] For Mike, keeping their business model as simple as possible was the key to their success. [24:32] Mike shares what made him come to the realization that his business could be turned into a franchise. [31:05] Over the course of the pandemic, Mike was able to narrow down who the ideal Houndstown franchisee is. [34:44] If you want to learn more about Houndstown USA, visit their website listed below. [36:46] Thanks for listening, and please, reach out to Josh anytime through email at [email protected]. If you enjoyed this interview, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.   Mentioned in This Episode: [email protected] www.indyfranchiselaw.com https://houndstownusa.com/ https://www.facebook.com/hounds.town/ https://1851franchise.com/houndstownusa/info https://www.linkedin.com/company/houndstownusa/