Minnesota is well known for its cold weather and the Twin Cities region is a prime market for USA Insulation.
It entered the state’s major metro area when franchise partners Matt and Tiffany Miller signed on for three territories, opening their first in 2022. Now, the husband-and-wife team are expanding their operation with another two territories.
In their first deal, the Millers acquired the Minneapolis, St. Paul and northwest suburban markets. Then, to round out their business, they signed on for the northeast and southwest suburb territories. For the Millers, their venture into franchising came after careers in sales and finance.
Matt Miller was in sales for 25 years, beginning with the Yellow Pages and the pharmaceutical industry before going into the medical device business for two decades. Tiffany Miller, after homeschooling their kids through middle school, went into financial coaching and handled financial management for a small business.
USA Insulation franchisees Matt and Tiffany Miller
After more than 20 years in the corporate world, though, Matt Miller said he was ready for a change, and found an opportunity to own a business. During a meeting in Chicago, Matt Miller said he met another USA Insulation owner and was intrigued.
“I asked about the business and became really interested,” he said. “I visited the website and immediately called Tiffany to say, ‘this could be our opportunity.’”
That opportunity, USA Insulation, was founded in 1985. In 2006, the insulation concept began franchising and today has 130 territories across 27 states. For the franchisor, Minnesota had long been on its radar.
“The Millers are our first franchise owners there and it’s really big when you think about that state and the cities there,” said Suave Brachowski, brand president. “There are so many houses in Minnesota, especially in the Twin Cities, that need services and it’s great that we’re now able to get those services to everybody with them having a bigger reach.”
Tiffany Miller said their choice to buy into the insulation concept was made easy by the conversations with corporate and franchisees.
“Every person we came into contact with at USA Insulation was top notch,” Tiffany Miller said. “The support they offered and continue to offer has been amazing. But it’s not just them, it was also meeting the owners. It’s a fabulous community, which is a big bonus.”
The Millers said over the long term they always intended to expand their territories in the Twin Cities metro, but waited until they were well established.
“Financially, we didn’t do it right away because we knew it would be a big investment,” Tiffany Miller said. “After a couple years of operation, though, it seemed right to lock in those territories. We’ve already serviced some of those areas and our customers are super happy with the services we offer.”
One of those services is insulated foam. “It’s a great opportunity for homeowners with houses built prior to 1980. We have homes here from the 1940s and 1950s that can benefit a ton from our work,” Tiffany Miller said.
The injection foam insulation the brand provides is a major advantage over other methods, Brachowski said.
USA Insulation Brand President Suave Brachowski
“If you have an existing home today, you don’t have a lot of options to insulate your walls because the alternate is to take all your drywall off and remodel for six to eight months with all the dust and dirt,” Brachowski said. “Whereas we can come in from the outside, drill in and use our foam, and get it done usually in a day.”
Brachowski said having a husband-and-wife team like the Millers for franchisees gives the brand another edge.
“It’s one of the coolest things when they’re able to complement and support each other,” Brachowski said. “You tend to see a lot of growth in that environment, and they’re both growth-minded. They see the bigger picture and know where they want to go, and they’re not afraid to put in the hard work that it takes to go from one size of operation to the next.”
For new franchisees, the initial investment is between $265,000 and $410,000.
Brachowski said along with Minnesota, the brand has a strong presence in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as the Northeast. Moving forward, Brachowski said they’re looking at other Midwestern markets, like Kansas City, Missouri, as well as the South like New Orleans, which also need insulation for air-conditioned homes.
“Many homes are under-insulated,” Brachowski said. “A lot of folks don’t realize how much the weather outside impacts the inside, especially with older homes. There are millions of homes nationwide that are under-insulated.”