When David Boza, the Peruvian-born immigrant to the U.S. via Spain, landed a technician job with a Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions (Filta) franchisee, he knew he was on the path to building something his family could call its own.
“Within weeks of being hired, he came home and said, ‘I’m gonna own that business one day.’ So this has been in the works for 10 years,” said Laurie Boza, his wife and business partner.
Filta technicians clean and recycle cooking oil for restaurants and commercial kitchens, and David found the work rewarding. Now as a franchise partner with Filta, which extends the life of cooking oil before transforming it into eco-friendly biodiesel, he’s his own boss running a business that kitchen managers love.
“I really enjoy working and doing it right, as best as I can, very quickly,” David said. “But I don’t like the pressure of a boss telling me what to do.”
The advantage of running an in-demand business like Filta didn’t hurt in their decision-making process either.
“As soon as people understand what we offer, it’s pretty much a guaranteed sale,” Laurie said. “Nobody likes to clean their own fryer — it’s a dirty job that guarantees you keep your job.”
The couple plans to expand their business, aiming to add at least one more van in the next two years as they triple their customer base. A fourth van isn’t out of the question.
It’s all in service of supporting a growing family with an entrepreneurial father Laurie says is a great role model.
“It’s impressive to me that David grew from childhood poverty to owning his own company,” she said. “He never let his circumstances dictate his standards. We have six children of our own — and four foster kids — ranging from 10 months to 17 years old, and he sets a great example.”
And when it comes to providing advice for others considering launching their own business, David says it’s a no-brainer.
“Restaurants are so happy with us,” he said. “If someone’s thinking about doing it, I’d say just do it. Clean the fryer, clean the oil, make it easy for the restaurant, and they will love it.”
To learn more about becoming a Filta franchisee and available territories, contact Rob Totten at rtotten@filta.com or visit filtafranchise.com. To learn more about Filta’s services including fryer cleaning, microfiltration, and waste oil removal/recycling, call 866-51-FILTA or visit GoFilta.com.
