By Dustin Zroka, Owner of TruBlue Home Service Ally of Edina and Prior Lake, Minnesota
After serving my country through my military service, I found a way to continue serving others, and in particular my community, through the handyman and senior focused franchise TruBlue Home Service Ally. With TruBlue, we offer quality home maintenance and handyman services to seniors and busy adults.
I served in the Navy as an Aviation Machinist’s Mate for five years in the early 2000s, and returned in 2019 to serve with the Navy Reserves in the Persian Gulf for two years. In between my time in active duty, I also worked as a nutrition coach and personal trainer for Lifetime Fitness in Minnesota.
While I was deployed in 2021, I began talking with my friend, Steven Milkovich, about the opportunity to open a business of our own. Our original passion was for helping better the community and improving quality of life for those around us. When we discovered the TruBlue Home Service Ally franchise, it gave us that feeling. We are protectors — we want to make sure that people are taken care of and the people who need assistance are being helped. That is why transitioning from the military to a community-based handyman service felt like such a strong fit. TruBlue combines our backgrounds in health, wellness, the military, real estate, housing and community service in a way that enables us to make a difference, especially for seniors and busy families.
Today, I see many parallels between my military experience and running my TruBlue Home Service Ally of Edina and Prior Lake franchise. The TruBlue business model relies on communication, teamwork, chain of command, hard work — that is something that the military definitely ingrained in me, and it applies to franchise ownership, as well. Veterans make great business owners because of our commitment to service, our ability to lead, and our experience in working within structured systems. We understand the importance of perseverance and community — values that are at the heart of our business
When it comes to the future, I plan on keeping that service-oriented mindset at the forefront while continuing to expand the business. We want to stay mission-oriented in helping as many people in the community as we can. The more we grow, the more people we can help. According to the National Council on Aging, 90% of seniors say they plan to remain in their homes for the next five to ten years. This gives us the opportunity to help these seniors improve their quality of life as they age, whether that’s handyman projects and to-do list chores, preventative home maintenance programs, seasonal work, or senior modification services.