As many of you may know, I am a veteran of the U.S. military, serving in the Marine Corps for eight years. One of the biggest challenges facing those leaving service to return to civilian life is finding a new career. For me becoming a franchisee helped me find my place, use the leadership I learned in the military as well as belong to an organization where I could learn from the sharing of best practices.

Running a franchise business is an opportunity often well suited to veterans once they're back on home turf and ready for their next opportunity. Franchise ownership provides the freedom of running their own business but with all the support of a national organization. We have the VetFran program which offers financial incentives for servicemen and women to embrace taking on any Dwyer Group franchise.

We are committed to helping those transition careers by building their own franchisee. For more information on this program see http://www.leadingtheserviceindustry.com/VetFran.asp.

This is also something Drain Doctor in the UK is supporting.

"Since it launched in the United Kingdom in 1993 Drain Doctor has become the country's largest emergency plumbing and drain repair service. A number of these businesses are owned by former servicemen, franchisees like Jason Hawkins and Allan Rook.

"Jason, a former Royal Navy physical training instructor and a member of the Fleet Air Arm Field Gun Association, purchased the Norwich Drain Doctor business in 2007. In the past four years he has gone from strength to strength. He said: "Before purchasing the Drain Doctor franchise I looked at a number of other franchises in various business areas. However, the customer-focused mentality of Drain Doctor was a key deciding factor for me. "The support is reassuring and with on-going training we continue to expand and grow our business."

"Allan Rook, who owns and runs an award-winning Drain Doctor franchise business, began his career in the Army. He served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) as an aircraft engineer in Malaya, Singapore and Germany between 1963 and 1979. After the Army, Allan owned and operated a number of businesses at home and abroad prior to purchasing his Drain Doctor franchise in 1996". To read more about these owners, check out http://draindoctor.wordpress.com/.

Here's wishing you a world class day!