Franchisee Success Stories
We hear from people who want to own an ADU business because they’ve watched the market grow and know their city’s permitting queue is longer than it should be. The owners who do well here share three habits: they read the drawings before the meeting, they answer the phone like a neighbor, and they don’t mind paperwork when it protects a client. If that sounds like you, these stories will sound familiar.
Meet Our Owners
Bethany A. - Sacramento Metro
Bethany spent nine years as a city plan reviewer before joining Ellery ADU Studio. She knew exactly where ADU permits stalled: incomplete site plans, missed utility clearances, roof-height calc errors. She chose Ellery because the design-build model meant she’d own the fix, not pass it back to a designer across town. Today she runs a two-crew operation across Sacramento County, and her background shortens plan-check cycles in ways she can show clients in writing. “The drawings from our design team still arrive on my desk with a permit-readiness checklist attached,” she says. “I check the same nineteen items I used to check at the counter.” Her crews carry the license number on every truck, and every client receives the documented photo record. Ownership turned a desk job into a business where her name is on the permit set.
Daniela R. - Portland Eastside
Before Ellery, Daniela ran interior finish crews for production builders in the Portland area. She had watched garage conversions go sideways when the structural review came back late or the utility trench got moved without a change order. She joined Ellery ADU Studio because Haven Standard Clause 1 matches how she already ran her jobs: a written price before the first tool bag opens. Her Eastside territory now covers Milwaukie, Gresham, and the inner neighborhoods where 1920s garages need full re-framing before they become livable space. “The one-contract model is the reason clients trust me,” she says. “There’s no designer in another state pointing at the builder. It’s my name on both sides.” She adds that the documented photo record has ended more disagreements than any conversation she’s ever had about what happened on a Tuesday afternoon.
Daniela S. - San Jose / South Bay
Daniela S. came from commercial construction management, where she spent years compiling RFIs and pricing change orders. The idea of running her own ADU business in the South Bay came from seeing six-figure remodels get delayed by scope creep. She chose Ellery because the written-quote guarantee was a discipline she didn’t have to invent. “I’d spent a decade negotiating against myself in commercial contracts,” she says. “Here, the price is set before mobilization, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise is in writing.” Her San Jose clients include homeowners in Willow Glen and Campbell who bought before 2020 and now need rental income to justify the mortgage. Daniela runs background-checked crews and sends the photo evidence on every visit. “The evidence system is what makes my word count,” she says. “I don’t ask a client to believe me.”
Elena M. - North Denver Suburbs
Elena worked in mortgage processing before she bought her Ellery ADU Studio territory, so she understood the financial side of an ADU decision before she ever swung a hammer. Her background helps clients in Arvada, Westminster, and Thornton connect the written bid to what they’ll actually pay, and she walks every homeowner through the permit package line by line. She joined Ellery in part because the brand’s prefab fluency, across Abodu, Cover, Dvele, Mighty Buildings, and others, let her offer modular options without becoming a factory rep for any single system. “I can compare three systems honestly because I’m not married to one,” she says. “The clients get a spec sheet and a price for each, in writing.” Her territory’s growth comes from referrals, and she credits the 365-Day Done Right Promise for that. “People tell their neighbors the bad stories. They don’t have one to tell from my jobs.”
Your Story Starts Here
If you’re ready to own a business where the price is written before the work starts and the evidence is documented when it’s done, call (971) 497-2402 to talk with a live person. Or request the info kit below and we’ll send you the details.