Franchisee Profile: Peter Baldschun, Franchisee of Cleveland, TN

Franchisee since: March 2011
Location: Cleveland, TN

Peter always knew he wanted to own his own business, so when the opportunity to franchise with ASP arose he jumped at the chance. Already familiar with the brand from working with his brother and brother-in-law at ASP of Chattanooga, Peter opened for business in Cleveland, TN in March.

Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I grew up in Macon where my family was actually good friends with the Vernons. I also spent some time in Atlanta before relocating first to Chattanooga and then the Cleveland area.

Q: Before franchising, what did you do?
A: Before joining ASP I was working in the insurance industry for Northwestern Mutual. That was a great experience but I’ve always wanted to be a small business owner. The idea of being my own boss, setting my own scheduling and really being the master of my own ship has always been very important to me.

Q: How did you hear about ASP?
A: Being from Macon and knowing the Vernons, I was already familiar with the ASP name. I started to really learn more about it when my brother and brother-in-law opened a franchise in Chattanooga. I went to work for them and started to discover how much I liked the concept.

Q: Why was this brand the right fit for you?
A: ASP was a good choice for me for a number of reasons. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and being outside and working with ASP let me do both. It also gave me the chance to own my own business, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. What really sealed the deal was the opportunity to go into business with my family. Being able to work with my brother and brother-in-law made it an easy decision for me.

Q: What have been some career milestones for you/your business?
A: Although my Cleveland location is just getting started, while I was working at my brother’s location in Chattanooga it became the highest grossing first-year franchise in ASP’s history. I feel like I have a strong support system in place with those guys. It’s great to be paired with a couple guys that are very successful.

I’m also very excited to be opening in Cleveland. After working in Chattanooga, it seemed like a natural progression to move into the Cleveland market. There’s a lot of exciting development going on here like a new Volkswagen plant and an Amazon factory, so it’s an area that’s really growing.