No Excuses. Just Grit.

by Elizabeth Denham

Have a dream. Set a goal. Find a way. Don’t give up. These are the elements of Laura Spaulding’s personality that have led her to running a successful franchise system and to earning the respect of those in the franchising industry.  

“When I started my business, I didn’t leave myself any other options,” Spaulding said. “I rented out my house, lived with friends, had cheap business cards and a crappy website. I did guerilla marketing and went door to door. There was no Plan B.” 

Spaulding is Founder and CEO of Spaulding Decon, the fastest growing franchise specializing in crime scene cleanup with 24 locations. Her “no excuses” attitude coupled with the grit and drive to get things done got Laura through more than a few tough times – including not being approved for loans as a woman. 

“After I started a training class for crime scene cleanup, I went to the bank for an SBA loan. I had spoken to two guys who had the same income, same assets. They walked in a got a loan. I was denied. I tried four more banks – same thing. When I asked for a home equity loan to replace some windows, I was approved. I used that little bit of money to start my business, and I have never had a business loan. I have tried – but I have had to bootstrap my way into business and then into franchising.” 

Spaulding said not being able to get business loans was a humiliating experience, and it didn’t just happen to her.  

“Through networking and speaking to other women, I found out that only two percent of venture capital goes to women. I when I applied to help with franchising my business, I was profitable. There was no reason I should not have been able to get a loan.” 

Spaulding has used her struggles as motivation to help others. Initially, her goal was to share the wealth with like–minded people through her business. Now that goal has evolved. 

“I want to be the brand that gives to minorities and women,” she said. “We are giving away a franchise territory to a veteran, and we would love it if it were a minority or female veteran.” 

Spaulding believes that mindset is everything in determining your success.  That, and making a plan and getting it done. 

“My pet peeve is when people say, ‘I wish, I wish, I wish,” Spaulding noted. “I want to say, “Quit wishing and do something!” 

Spaulding believes this attitude is behind her ability to achieve her goals.  

“It’s 100 percent mindset. If you really want something, you will make it happen,” she said adding that you have to make an executable plan and then do it. “It is often when you are struggling the most that you can do the best. No excuses. You can’t deposit excuses, so I don’t tolerate them.” 

Spaulding keeps focuses on her goals by writing them out each year. At the end of the year, if she hasn’t met some of them, she moves them to the next year’s list and figures out why they didn’t happen. She has also learned that asking for help is critical. 

 “I had a terrible experience with picking some wrong franchisees,” she said. “But it took some time to figure out that was the problem. I hired someone to assess what was going wrong in the business. They told me I had a great system, but I wasn’t getting franchisees that were a good fit. It was a good lesson in asking for help and hiring out the things I wasn’t great at. Learning to hire out your weaknesses is a definite strength.” 

Over the years, Spaulding’s goals have evolved. Now, her greatest goal is to help make 100 people millionaires through her franchise system.  

“I want to share this business with others,” Spaulding said. “I was just a poor police officer, and this business has changed my life. I have learned that things in life don’t happen to you, they happen for you. Some really hard stuff had to happen to get me where I am today. And I love to see when people join this business and go from making $50,000 a year to making up to $200,000 in a month!”