Episode 406: How to Franchise a Skilled Trades Business with Jack Clark

When Jack Clark talks about building 180 Water Franchising, he focuses on one core idea: creating a replicable model in an industry that has never had one. The water well business has always been built around owner-operators — small crews, no national presence, and a retiring workforce with no clear succession path. Jack saw that gap and built the first franchise in the industry to fill it.

In this episode of the DealQuest Podcast, Corey Kupfer sits down with Jack Clark, founder and owner of 180 Water Franchising, to discuss what it actually takes to franchise a skilled trades business from the ground up — and why this particular market is uniquely positioned for franchise growth.

Jack breaks down the full investment and fee structure for franchisees, from the approximately $250,000 startup cost covering a fully stocked service truck to the 6% gross sales royalty, 2% brand fund, and $45,000 franchise fee. He explains why the first franchisee in each new state gets that fee waived, and why suppliers are set up with 90-day terms to ease early operations.

The conversation also covers the internal dynamics of running a franchise network, including Jack's weekly Thursday calls with all franchisees, why the direction of learning inside the network has shifted from franchisor to franchisees, and what he calls the "stupid rule policy" — the principle that if a rule has to exist, the underlying system needs to change.

Corey and Jack also discuss the emotional and financial reality of investing ahead of growth, including the bittersweet experience of outgrowing your original banker and building an entirely new team to support the next level of the business.

This episode is packed with practical insights for entrepreneurs considering franchising as a growth vehicle, skilled trades business owners wondering whether their operation has a replicable system inside it, and anyone evaluating franchise investment opportunities in industries outside the traditional food and service categories.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Why the water well industry is structurally positioned for franchise growth right now

How Jack identified the moment his business became genuinely franchisable

The full investment, fee structure, and territory model for 180 Water franchisees

Why most franchisees stop worrying about having enough work within their first thirty days

What the "stupid rule policy" means in practice and why it matters for franchisee satisfaction

How investing ahead of growth temporarily dips profits — and why that's unavoidable

Why being first in an untapped industry is a competitive moat, not a warning sign

THE FIRST FRANCHISE IN THE WATER WELL INDUSTRY

Jack confirmed it directly in this conversation: "No one's ever franchised the water well industry. I think a lot of guys have talked about it, but it's one of those things that until you really start to unfold it, you don't really realize how many layers there are to it."

180 Water now operates in five states with ten franchisees and is expanding nationally. When demand outpaced their Texas truck supplier, Jack didn't accept the bottleneck — he started manufacturing his own service trucks under the PumpEx Voice brand, turning a supply constraint into an entirely new business line.

FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:  https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/jackclark

FOR MORE ON JACK CLARK

Company: https://180waterfranchise.com 

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER

https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker with more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where entrepreneurs and business leaders share insights, challenges, and success stories around deal-driven growth strategies. The show covers mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, strategic alliances, joint ventures, franchising, and more.

Episode Highlights with Timestamps

[00:00:00] - Introduction: Jack Clark and 180 Water Franchising 
[00:04:08] - Buying a drill rig sophomore year of college and never looking back 
[00:09:24] - Running four drill rigs and thirty-five employees — and being miserable 
[00:19:45] - Finding the first franchisee through Ranch World Ads 
[00:21:25] - Ten franchisees across five states and manufacturing their own trucks 
[00:27:37] - Why concerns about getting enough work disappear within the first thirty days
[00:29:57] - Staffing ahead of growth and building a whole new team
[00:46:45] - The "stupid rule policy" and why Jack would have been a terrible franchisee

Guest Bio

Jack Clark is the founder and owner of 180 Water Franchising, the first and only water well franchise company in the United States. After scaling the business to four drill rigs and thirty-five employees, he recognized that the pump service side of his operation had a genuinely replicable system — and launched 180 Water Franchising to bring it to the industry. 180 Water Franchising now operates in five states with ten franchisees and is expanding nationally. Jack also founded PumpEx Voice, a manufacturing company producing service trucks for the franchise network.

Host Bio

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker with more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Related Episodes:

Episode 333 - Greg Mohr: Franchising as a Path to Financial Freedom and Wealth Building
Episode 329 - Cliff Nonnenmacher: How Franchise Brokers Evaluate Systems and Match Buyers
Episode 330 - Pete Mohr: Building Enterprise Value and Exit Readiness in a Service Business

Keywords/Tags:

water well franchise, 180 Water Franchising, Jack Clark, how to franchise a skilled trades business, franchising a service business, blue collar franchise opportunity, skilled trades franchise, franchise investment, franchise fee structure, water well industry, franchise model for entrepreneurs, franchisee success, service business scaling, first franchise in an industry, PumpEx Voice, franchise system design, franchise territory, home services franchise, trades business growth