In the aftermath of disasters—whether fire, water, mold, or other forms of property damage—people often find themselves overwhelmed and unsure of how to navigate the path to recovery. It’s during these challenging times that the importance of reliable and efficient restoration services becomes paramount. Enter Nick-Anthony Zamucen, a serial entrepreneur and adept leader who recognized this need and founded Best Option Restoration (BOR) as a trusted national leader in the disaster restoration industry.
BOR stands out as a beacon of hope amid the chaos. Committed to the highest standards, their certified technicians specialize in a range of restoration services, from mold and sewage remediation to fire damage restoration and debris removal.
The Making of a Serial Entrepreneur
Nick-Anthony’s journey into entrepreneurship was shaped by humble beginnings and an unwavering drive for success. Growing up in a financially struggling household, he intimately understood adversity. His family’s unwavering love and support provided the foundation for resilience. Nick harbored a burning ambition for success. He recognized that succumbing to circumstances was not the answer; instead, he sought to transform his challenges into strengths.
Best Option Restoration is Nick’s fourth franchised organization. He had three prior national brands which he developed and sold to private equity companies over the past 15 years. He has created a pizzeria franchise, a non-medical home care franchise, a bio franchise, and now the Best Option Restoration franchise.
“I enjoy helping young entrepreneurs begin their new life of business ownership. To be able to pluck someone from their corporate life and show them had to build a business bigger than their wildest dreams is something that excites me daily. I love seeing the moment it becomes all real for them, the moment their hard work has paid off. It’s an exciting time for everyone,” he says.
Helping in Recovery
Fueling his desire to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by disasters, Nick envisioned a path of restoration and renewal. Thus, Best Option Restoration (BOR) was conceived—a lifeline for individuals in dire need. Despite entering a fiercely competitive industry, Nick’s unwavering determination propelled BOR to the forefront with its superior services and efficiency, swiftly earning a reputation as a trusted leader in the field.
BOR is a Water-Mold-Fire and Contents cleaning franchise. When a pipe breaks or a bathtub overflows, mold is found in a home inspection, etc. Nick’s highly skilled and trained franchisees spring into action. They build drying chambers and use their patented thermal technology to heat structures up to around 95 F -105 F and force evaporation from the wood studs. They also use BOR’s patented Serum solutions to clean mold in places no one can get to, cutting out labor time and demolition costs. They’ve just used new technology to their advantage over the competition. These factors are why they win and their franchisees win big.
“We have the ability to place 1700+ franchises in the continental United States. Now, why would could place 1700, we only want to do this with around 400 owners. Our vision is to have each one of our franchisees own multiple locations. If I had my druthers, I’d have all my franchised units producing 1 million dollars a year and growing 20-25% year over year. This would be life-changing for our franchisees and great for their locations,” says Nick.
Technology is at the forefront of BOR. They use thermal technology on every water job the franchisees do. This is the core of the business. They also use the most state-of-the-art Mold chemicals for cleaning in the market.
Learning from Challenges
Nick feels that if one is in business, one has problems, it’s part of the game. Problems aren’t all inherently bad, they’re there to tell you something needs to be improved. Nick has had franchises not follow the model and have to shut down, losing money, and costing the system time and energy trying to help them.
“The fact of the matter is in franchising you can’t force everyone to work as hard as you’d like them to. Hard work to some is part-time to others. I wish I could find a magic pill where I could give it to someone and they would instantly work as hard as our number one franchisee in the company. The unfortunate reality is some people aren’t cut out for entrepreneurship. They just don’t have what it takes and they should just stay in their corporate life because they need to be told what to do on a daily basis. Some people can’t take responsibility for their own success. To me, that’s a shame, but again, not much I can do when people won’t help themselves or get out of their own way,” he shares.
Managing his Roles
Nick’s job ultimately is to grow and support his franchise organization, Best Option Restoration. However, he has an even more important job and that is to be a husband and father. There is nothing he spent more time on and nothing more important in his life than being a family man. His priority is always his wife and three kids. Everything he does in life is for them.
“We take wild trips that make memories for a lifetime. Paris, London, Rome, Athens, the Bahamas, Mexico, and everything else in between. I love making memories with my kids because these are the times do to so. I love to spoil my kids with private jets, 5-star restaurants, opulent suits in the finest resorts around the world, private VIP cruises, front row tickets to their favorite artists which lately for my girls has been Taylor Swift. I go on boys’ trips every year with my son, just him and I, so we can connect and talk about life as father and son and just as one man to another. I take my daughters shopping and we go on dates to fine restaurants so they understand how a man should treat a woman. I even bought my daughter their first Louis Vuitton’s this year and they’re nine and seven,” he shares with excitement.
Nick feels that work-life balance needs to be intentional and scheduled. It’s a key to massive success. When you’re working, work your face off and when you’re not working and you’re spending time with your loved ones, be fully present and love every minute. You’ll never get the time back for either, so go all out is what he suggests.
Taking Decisions as a Business Leader
The number one core principle that guides Nick’s decision-making is honesty, gut-wrenching, brutal honesty. It’s not that he wants to come down on people or be unnecessarily harsh with someone, it is more because he never wants there to be confusion about what he means or what he wants. Too many leaders tend to treat people with kit gloves and then turn around and get upset when someone doesn’t do or act or respond the way they want. Being overly nice and trying to get everyone to like you is a quick recipe for disaster. As a leader, he feels one has to be OK with shaking the trees, letting people know what they really think, and at times not being distracted when feelings get hurt.
“Be honest, be true to yourself and what the situation needs and most of all, be effective. Again, trying to be too nice causes confusion and hesitation and hesitation causes your worst fears to come to life. Make decisions, the right ones, and move forward,” he says.
With all that being said, there are times when a leader can be wrong, make the wrong move, hire the wrong person, say the wrong thing, or make the wrong call. When this happens, he must be the first to jump on the grenade. “Take full responsibility, say with confidence it was your call and it was a wrong one. Be accountable and intentional with handling mistakes, own them, and move forward,” he says.
Being the Change
BOR is the change to the industry. Nick shares that he doesn’t think the other companies saw BOR coming and they’re paying for it now. Everyone in the industry was so used to doing the same old thing, singing the same old song. Nick came in and changed the music on them and left them standing there not knowing how to respond. This is why Best Option Restoration franchisees have been dominating in every market they open in.
“I love this stuff, I love shaking people up, it’s what I live for. Placing fear, causing confusion and chaos in my competitor’s boardrooms is what sweet dreams are made of. I’ll continue to do so for another decade or so. Buckle up and pack a lunch people, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for you all. I’m here to stay,” he says.
Today, BOR stands as a testament to Nick’s resilience and vision, ranked as the fourth-largest company nationwide. But Nick’s impact extends beyond business profits. His initiative, Project Penny Pickup, aids the homeless and embodies a commitment to social responsibility. In the coming years, Nick is looking forward to continued domination in the marketplace. He plans to grow this franchise to over 1000 units. “We won’t stop until Best Option Restoration is a household name, whereas every homeowner thinks of us when disasters happen. We want it all and we’re willing to work for it. Adding new service lines and expanding our portfolio is something each and every Best Option Restoration franchise is striving to do,” he says.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Nick concludes our interaction with the following message:
“One of the best things I think I could tell a young entrepreneur is that nothing in business that’s sustainable happens as fast as you want it to. Good things take time to build and great things take years. There is no overnight success, not even me. I’ve been in this Entrepreneurship game for over 25 years and while it’s exciting and financially rewarding, it didn’t happen overnight. It didn’t even happen in a year. My success has been years of planning, proper execution, and some smart decisions, not to mention major perseverance. All great things take time. Anything worth doing isn’t easy and you are never proud of anything that came easy. Work to be proud of yourself, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Quote: “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.”
Quote: “Technology is our life. We’re not just a man in a van with a fan, we are thermal technically experts.”
