When franchise professionals transition to ownership, they know exactly what they are getting into. John Anderson of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has that edge. For nearly 20 years, he’s lived franchising from multiple angles as a successful multi-unit franchisee, advisor, consultant and someone who’s helped hundreds of entrepreneurs find their fit.
Now he is taking that expertise into staffing. John, his wife Melanie, and multi-unit operator Josee Minero just launched a new AtWork® location in Tulsa. It is the kind of opening that signals real momentum when experienced operators commit to a brand.
AtWork is an award-winning staffing franchise known for helping businesses find dependable talent and helping people find meaningful work. The brand provides comprehensive workforce solutions, including temporary staffing, temp-to-hire and direct hire services, supporting companies across a wide range of industries.
John’s path to this moment is unconventional. After graduating from USC in 1989, he entered mortgage banking and met Melanie in the industry. But when they had triplets, priorities shifted. In 2006, they made what John calls the “reverse Beverly Hillbillies move,” leaving California for his hometown of Tulsa. He knew he did not want to return to mortgage banking and instead turned to franchising, first opening a children’s entertainment business. By 2016, he’d pivoted to franchise brokering, helping others navigate the same decisions he’d faced.
“In staffing, relationships drive everything,” John says. “I have spent two decades learning franchising from every perspective. Now I am applying that to building something meaningful here in Tulsa.”
His background and varied experience matter. John has been number one in his market with BounceU, a children’s birthday party franchise, since year one. He expanded that concept to multiple locations, sat on the franchisor’s advisory council for six years and added three Knockouts Haircuts locations to his portfolio. Since 2016, when he earned the nickname “That Franchise Guy,” he has run Lakeport Franchise Group, helping entrepreneurs navigate opportunities. Now Melanie is joining him in that work, as they look to support candidates’ understanding of AtWork and the opportunities it offers.
But franchising experience alone doesn’t make a staffing business thrive. That is where Josee Minero comes in. She spent 35 years at a staffing firm, building deep expertise but no ownership stake in her future. She knew she wanted to stay in staffing, and then a LinkedIn advertisement introduced her to AtWork franchising.
“Franchising solved a problem I didn’t even know I had,” Minero says. “I spent 35 years building someone else’s company. I wanted to create something for my family.”
She opened her first AtWork location in Southern California over eight years ago and has since expanded into Missouri and Florida, even winning an award within AtWork in February of 2025. Her journey from corporate employee to multi-unit franchisee is exactly what makes her an unconventional partner in this expansion.
“Matching the right person to the right role does more than fill a job,” Minero says. “It transforms careers and strengthens businesses. Having a partner who understands franchising strategy combined with decades of staffing expertise accelerates everything we’re trying to build here.”
Melanie rounds out the team with leadership and culture expertise. Together, the three bring something most new franchise locations do not: clarity of roles and proven execution across multiple business concepts.
For more than three decades, AtWork’s mission has been to connect people with jobs and jobs with people. With 100 locations nationwide, AtWork puts over 30,000 individuals to work each year in manufacturing, administrative, light-industrial, accounting and finance, hospitality, IT and management-level positions at some of the nation’s largest and most recognizable companies. AtWork’s strong growth and franchisee support have secured its place on Franchise Business Review’s Top 200 Franchises for eight consecutive years, along with induction into the FBR Hall of Fame for more than 10 years of outstanding performance.
Tulsa is the right market at the right time for AtWork, thanks to the region’s economy which now spans manufacturing, aviation, oil and gas operations and tribal enterprises. This diversity creates staffing demand across light industrial, commercial, logistics, accounting, finance, clerical and banking roles. It is a growing market with a business community hungry for reliable solutions. John and his team are not just opening another location. They are bringing combined expertise in how franchises scale, how staffing operations succeed and what works on the ground.
“I have owned several businesses, but this one is different because it touches people at a pivotal moment in their careers,” John says. “Helping people find positions where they can really thrive is so rewarding. When someone’s skills and values align with the right opportunity, they do not just show up. They excel. And that strengthens teams, supports local businesses and makes our community stronger.”
With AtWork Tulsa’s opening, the brand now operates two locations across Oklahoma. For more information about AtWork Tulsa, visit AtWork.com/Tulsa.