Behind every seamless service, be it unlimited streaming, same-day delivery, or hassle-free car washes, lies a revolution in how businesses think about value. Subscription models aren’t just about convenience; they redefine relationships, making businesses indispensable parts of their customers’ daily lives. These programs turn casual users into loyal advocates by fostering trust, offering flexibility, and building a sense of belonging.
At the forefront of this revolution stands Jason Milen, Principal – Keynote Speaker at Milen Growth Partners LLC. He is an innovator with a proven track record of turning traditional businesses into recurring revenue powerhouses. Rooted in a family legacy dating back to 1953, Jason took a forward-thinking approach to transform his car wash business into a thriving membership model, growing subscribers from hundreds to thousands per location. Today, he shares his expertise globally, showing businesses how to craft membership programs that don’t just increase revenue but forge lasting customer connections.
The Win-Win Subscription Model
Jason explains that recurring revenue membership programs function like subscription services that most people already use today, such as Netflix or a car wash membership.
For businesses, recurring revenue provides a steady, predictable income they can count on and budget for. Customers also benefit from discounted rates, convenience, and the ability to plan their expenses. Jason points out that this model removes the decision-making upon each visit and eliminates the hassle of having to pay each visit.
He shares a personal example: Jason uses a subscription service for a pet supplement. Every 60 days, a fresh supply arrives at his doorstep without any extra effort on his part. Drawing from his experience in the car wash industry, Jason explains how customers sign up for membership plans, starting at $25 per month, for unlimited washes. They don’t worry about weather or timing; if it rains, they can wash their car again the next day at no extra cost.
Jason emphasizes that this approach benefits everyone. Businesses gain reliable revenue, and customers enjoy a stress-free, convenient experience, a perfect balance that delivers value to both sides.
Turning Legacy into a Lasting Impact
Born into the car wash business, Jason’s journey began in a family legacy that started in 1953 when his grandfather opened a single car wash in Detroit, Michigan. Over the decades, the business expanded to as many as 11 locations, with Jason’s father taking over operations in the 1970s. By 1990, Jason had stepped into the business full-time, having previously contributed part-time during his earlier years.
One of the pioneering initiatives introduced by Jason’s grandfather was a membership program launched as early as 1956. Customers could pay annually with cash or check, granting them unlimited washes, a forward-thinking approach well ahead of its time. By the time Jason assumed a leadership role, he had identified an opportunity to modernize and amplify the program. His vision transformed it into a win-win model, implementing monthly credit card billing to ensure steady, recurring revenue while providing customers with affordable, unlimited access to washes.
In 2022, the family business reached a pivotal moment when it was sold to private equity. Jason remained at the helm as CEO for a year and a half before stepping down. With decades of experience and a passion for membership-based models, he launched ‘Recurring Revenue Builder,’ which is dedicated to helping other businesses design and refine their own membership programs.
Today, Jason travels across the globe as a keynote speaker, sharing insights on the benefits of membership models. He works with companies to enhance their offerings, drive sales, reduce churn, and deliver greater value to their members, creating long-term customer loyalty and a sustainable revenue stream.
Empowering Businesses to Grow and Thrive
Jason’s professional and personal mission revolves around inspiring business leaders to explore the untapped potential of membership programs. He aims to open the eyes of those who haven’t yet discovered how a membership program can bring immense value to their companies and customers alike.
For companies already running membership programs, his goal is to guide them in refining and improving their approach. He finds great satisfaction in helping others grow their programs, drawing from his own experience of developing a highly successful one. For Jason, it’s not just about the financial rewards, it’s about the sheer joy and fulfilment of building something impactful and seeing others succeed through it.
The Roadmap to Membership Excellence
Jason’s success in building and scaling a membership program within the car wash industry might lead some to question whether his methods are transferable to other industries. However, the truth is quite the opposite. The tools and strategies he shares are versatile and applicable across various sectors.
In his keynote speeches, Jason emphasizes the crucial role of having team members fully aligned with the concept of membership programs. He highlights how understanding the benefits to both the company and its members is essential for success. Attendees walk away with actionable insights, including understanding the value of implementing a membership model, creating a pathway to launch or improve a program, and establishing specific steps to achieve measurable results within 90 days.
This roadmap includes assessing the value of the product, embedding the brand into the daily lives of members to foster loyalty, and measuring success effectively.
As an example of his expertise, Jason shares his proudest accomplishment, which is growing the membership program in his car wash company from 216 members per location to over 6,000 per location. This transformation resulted in a revenue increase of over $13 million per year, a staggering 3,000% growth.
Jason is passionate about guiding others toward similar success, showing them how to create thriving membership programs that elevate revenue, loyalty, and long-term business growth.
Turning Setbacks Into Business Comebacks
In 1998, Jason and his father, Bruce, faced a pivotal moment in their journey when they sold their car wash chain to a company consolidating car washes across the country. However, the unexpected happened, they lost half their customer base under the new management. Three years later, in 2001, they bought the company back for pennies on the dollar, regaining control but inheriting a diminished customer base and two abandoned sites.
Rebuilding trust with Detroit’s community became their top priority. Bruce, Jason and their team worked tirelessly to show their customers that the business was once again family-run, focusing on customer satisfaction over quick profits. They believed that by putting the community and service first, financial stability would naturally follow, and it did.
But the challenges didn’t stop there. Detroit’s unpredictable weather created months of financial strain, particularly during rainy stretches when business slowed. To combat this, they modified a program, carefully crafted to resonate with customers who typically only washed their cars twice a year. By showing them how affordable it could be to wash as often as they liked, Jason’s team turned occasional customers into loyal members.
The result? The average customer now washes their car three to three and a half times per month instead of twice per year. This not only stabilized revenue during tough months but also strengthened their relationship with their community, proving that adapting and prioritizing customer needs can weather any storm.
Inspired by Integrity and Shared Wisdom
When reflecting on lifelong mentorship, Jason attributes much of his guidance to his father. Described as a highly astute businessman with steadfast principles and integrity, Jason values the lessons he learned from his father. These values have shaped not only his professional endeavours but also his personal approach to life.
While his father remains the most significant mentor, Jason acknowledges the impact of others in his journey, particularly those within the car wash industry. Many industry peers became informal mentors, exchanging ideas and insights over time. Their shared wisdom and camaraderie left a lasting impression, contributing to his growth and success.
Turning Experience Into Impactful Strategies
What sets Jason apart as a keynote speaker is his unparalleled hands-on experience. Unlike many speakers who focus on theory or support businesses from the sidelines, Jason has spent over 15 years personally managing and perfecting a membership program. Through this journey, he has continuously fine-tuned and optimized every aspect of the program, learning firsthand what it takes to succeed.
This deep, practical knowledge gives him a unique edge, allowing him to share proven methodologies that can rapidly improve membership programs. Jason doesn’t just deliver insights; he conveys them in a way that’s fun, energizing, and highly engaging. His presentations leave audiences inspired and equipped with actionable strategies to achieve tangible results.
Perfecting the Membership Experience Blueprint
Jason follows a well-defined process to create effective membership strategies for his clients. It begins with ensuring that clients understand the unique benefits a membership program can bring to their business. From there, Jason dives into assessing the client’s operations and brainstorming ways a membership model can provide maximum value. This phase is also when he invests time in learning the intricacies of their business to tailor the program to their specific needs.
Once the foundation is set, Jason collaborates with clients to develop a clear strategy. This includes designing pricing and packaging that offer strong value to members, encouraging them to remain loyal over the long haul. Jason emphasizes focusing on the lifetime value of customers rather than short-term gains, striving to build relationships that extend for years.
With the strategy in place, Jason turns to implementation. He helps clients integrate the necessary software into their website or point-of-sale systems, ensuring smooth management of the membership program. He also provides staff training to align the team with the program’s goals, ensuring they understand its benefits and are motivated with fair compensation for driving membership sales.
Finally, Jason oversees the program’s launch, often starting with a pilot to test its effectiveness with a small group of customers. From there, he monitors performance metrics and gathers feedback, continuously tweaking the program to ensure it achieves its intended results. This hands-on approach ensures that every membership program he creates not only meets expectations but surpasses them.
The Human Side of Business Metrics
Jason believes that evaluating the success of a client relationship requires a balance of financial performance and customer satisfaction. According to him, the most critical indicator of success is the overall increase in a company’s profitability, specifically reflected in its EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). “If the business isn’t making more money by the end of the year, then the effort wasn’t successful,” Jason emphasizes.
Beyond profitability, Jason points to specific metrics tied to membership programs as essential. He considers factors such as the lifetime value of customers and the churn rate.
The capture rate, or the percentage of potential customers who convert to members, is another key metric that Jason tracks. Additionally, he stresses the importance of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) in gauging member satisfaction. For Jason, customer happiness is the cornerstone of a successful membership program. “If the members aren’t happy, they won’t stay, and the program is going to fail,” he says.
When it comes to gathering feedback, Jason explains that the approach depends on the type of business. For brick-and-mortar businesses, personal interactions with customers often provide a clear sense of their satisfaction. In web-based businesses, surveys typically serve as the primary tool. Jason underscores the value of staying in tune with customers’ feelings and experiences, regardless of the method, to ensure the success and sustainability of the business.
Turning Passion Into Keynote Magic
When asked to share advice for aspiring keynote speakers, Jason reflects on how rewarding and exciting this career path can be. Public speaking often ranks among people’s top fears, some studies even suggest it’s feared more than death. However, Jason emphasizes that when you’re passionate about a subject and have a deep understanding of it, there’s nothing to fear.
Approaching the audience as though they’re friends and you’re there to help can immediately ease the tension. For Jason, the fear dissipates within the first 15 seconds of speaking, making the experience not only manageable but genuinely enjoyable.
Future Possibilities Through Collaboration
Jason envisions a future where he connects with a wide range of industries and sectors, sharing his expertise on launching impactful membership programs. His goal is to demonstrate how companies can leverage these programs to create meaningful change and growth.
He sees himself partnering with a business in a completely untapped industry, one that has never considered a membership model before. Together, they would challenge traditional norms, introducing a fresh, disruptive approach that redefines what’s possible for the industry.
Name: Jason Milen, Principal – Keynote Speaker
Organization: Milen Growth Partners LLC dba Recurring Revenue Builder