She Turned a Temporary Post-College Job Into Starting a Business at 23. Then Some 'Eye-Opening' Advice Helped Her Grow It to $5 Million.
When Brooke Wilson graduated from college with a degree in graphic design, she imagined a future full of ad campaigns and client pitches. "I wanted to be a creative director at an advertising company," she says. "That was my goal." But first, she needed a paycheck.
Just out of school and living in Durham, North Carolina, she took what she thought would be a temporary summer job with a local Two Men and a Truck franchise. Then something surprising happened. "I fell in love with the business," she says. "It was very dynamic; every day is different. You're solving problems and working with the staff and the customers — it was kind of exciting."
That excitement grew into ambition. Wilson quickly rose through the company's ranks and, at just 23 years old, opened her own Two Men and a Truck franchise in Durham in 2017. But at first, success came at a steep cost.
As a first-time business owner, Wilson ran into a common problem: burnout. She tried to do everything herself, and often did. "I was working in the business from 7:30 in the morning until at least 7 at night, and then I had to be the owner of the business after that," she says. That meant doing the books, handling payroll and everything else that fell outside day-to-day operations. "I was wearing myself out."
She wasn't just tired — she was stuck. Growth had stalled, and the business was showing signs of strain. Then she got an unexpected opportunity: MBA students at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business were looking for local companies to evaluate. Wilson agreed to let them dig into her business, but it wasn't easy. She had to open her books and have candid and frank conversations about how the business was running.
Their assessment was blunt — and life-changing. "They said, 'You're holding your business back because you're trying to do it all,'" she recalls. "'You need to let go.'"
The students advised her to hire people for bookkeeping, finance and human resources. "They said to find the things I'm really good at and delegate the rest," Wilson says. With that outside perspective, she began hiring and trusting others to lead. That single moment, she says, is what finally unlocked growth. "It was incredibly eye-opening," she says. "That feedback changed everything."
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Learning to lead the right wayOnce she stepped back, Wilson's business stepped up. She added two more territories in the "Triangle" area of North Carolina, comprised of Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, in the past five years, and today those franchises generate more than $5 million in annual revenue. Wilson credits her long-term success to the same thing that saved her from burnout: her staff. "If we focus on our people, then our people will focus on the customer side of things," she says. "The employees will take care of the business, and then the business will grow from there."
When hiring, she looks for cultural fit first — not just ambition. "A lot of leaders think every hire needs to be someone who wants to climb the ladder," she says. "But there are people who just love their job and contribute in a meaningful way. They have just as much value to the organization."
Two Men and a Truck brand president Randy Shacka, who started with the company as an intern in 2000, concurs. "Finding somebody that has that amazing attitude, that wants to be part of the team culture and fits with our purpose of moving people forward is what's most important to us," he says. "It's about finding the people that believe what we believe, first and foremost."
Moreover, Shacka says 40% of the brand's franchise owners started in their home office, working on phones or working in the field on a truck.
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Content, but competitiveAs the Durham area has grown, so has Wilson's business, but she isn't rushing to expand for expansion's sake. "I wouldn't say I'm interested in buying more territories just to grow," she says. "But if the right opportunity came along, I'm always listening. That competitive nature is instilled in me."
Wilson says she never saw herself as an entrepreneur, and that's why franchising worked. "There's a demonstrated brand and process. It's almost like a cut-and-paste template," she says. "It still needs to be customized by market, but it's a great way in." Her biggest advice for others looking to step into an unexpected opportunity? "Be open and always take care of your employees. Because the employee is the backbone of any company."
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When Brooke Wilson graduated from college with a degree in graphic design, she imagined a future full of ad campaigns and client pitches. "I wanted to be a creative director at an advertising company," she says. "That was my goal." But first, she needed a paycheck.
Just out of school and living in Durham, North Carolina, she took what she thought would be a temporary summer job with a local Two Men and a Truck franchise. Then something surprising happened. "I fell in love with the business," she says. "It was very dynamic; every day is different. You're solving problems and working with the staff and the customers — it was kind of exciting."
That excitement grew into ambition. Wilson quickly rose through the company's ranks and, at just 23 years old, opened her own Two Men and a Truck franchise in Durham in 2017. But at first, success came at a steep cost.
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