Two's Company This pair went on a cleaning spree, sweeping their former jobs under the rug for good.

When husband and wife Ty and Jane Branam decided to become entrepreneurs, there was nothing that could sway their decision. Jane, a professor at Johnson C. Smith University, was seeking financial independence. Ty, a team coordinator with the local Department of Social Services, was unhappy and wanted a change. They were ready to take a leap of faith, but they knew that they needed the support of a franchise. "My Ph.D. is definitely not in business," says Jane, 53. "We needed something where someone would show us how to be successful in business."

After six months of research, they decided on ServiceMaster, a commercial cleaning franchise. "We kept coming back to ServiceMaster," says Ty, 48.

In 2001, they set up shop in their Charlotte, North Carolina, home and immediately started offering services, ranging from carpet cleaning and tiling to post-construction cleanup.