The Franchise Insiders "Inside Scoop" Podcast
Jack and Jill Johnson are two of the most experienced franchise experts in the industry, and their podcast The Inside Scoop is a must-listen for anyone considering investing in a franchise. Here are five reasons why:1. Jack and Jill have over 20 years of experience in the franchise industry. 2. They sell franchises, so they know which ones are actually making money. 3. They're not afraid to tell it like it is - you won't find any boring interviews on this podcast. 4. Every episode is jam-packed with financials and data that you can use to make an informed decision about which franchise is right for you. 5. Their insights and observations about the franchise industry are incredibly valuable - you won't find anything else like it out there. If you're thinking about investing in a franchise, make sure to add The Inside Scoop podcast to your must-listen list.
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Text: 305-710-0050
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The Franchise Insiders "Inside Scoop" Podcast
From Finance to Fairways: Franchise Owner Mercedes Fonte's Journey with The Back Nine Golf
From Finance to Fairways: Mercedes Fonte's Journey with The Back Nine Golf
Discover how a former finance professional transformed her career by becoming the owner of The Back Nine Golf, an innovative indoor golf franchise that's revolutionizing the sport.
In this compelling episode, Mercedes Fonte shares her entrepreneurial journey, revealing:
- The pivotal moments that led her from corporate finance to franchise ownership
- How The Back Nine Golf uses cutting-edge technology to create accessible, engaging experiences for golfers of all abilities
- Strategic insights on cash flow management and corporate partnerships that drive business growth
- Her community-first approach that turns customers into loyal advocates
Mercedes offers candid advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on finding the perfect franchise fit and scaling a business efficiently, making this essential listening for anyone considering the franchise path.
Join us to explore the future of indoor golf and discover why it represents an exceptional opportunity for both passionate enthusiasts and business-minded individuals. Subscribe now!
Text: 305-710-0050
Hi everyone, welcome back to the we Bought a Franchise podcast. I'm Jack Johnson, I'm Jill Johnson and we are here today with our special guest, mercedes Fonte, who is the owner of two units of the BAC9 Golf franchise. Mercedes, welcome to the show, thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1:This is like we've been so excited for this because this you know, we spent like the last franchise uh owner we had on. We talked about power washing. Now we're here to talk to you about indoor golf. Talk to us about how did this come to be, how did you become the owner of such an exciting franchise?
Speaker 2:well, I'll tell you why I did not. I I never would have guessed that I would do this for a living. Um, this is actually my third career. So you know this is something that I didn't plan for, but it happened that I'm so thrilled.
Speaker 2:I started my career in hospitality and that's what I went to school for. Believe it or not, there's a degree for that, actually, in Fort Myers, florida. So down out by you guys, and I was in. I was in a country club at first and I was in a Ritz-Carlton hotel down there in Naples and then museum. I was at Dallas Museum of Art and loved it, but transitioned to finance for a little over 10 years and then I was in a position where I wanted to invest some money.
Speaker 2:I thought it was going to be real estate. I have a property down there in Florida and it's a rental and I'm like, well, that does really well, maybe I need another one. And my fiance actually said you know what? You should probably look at a business. So that's when the journey started and I started to search and I looked at mom and pops and I came across a franchise, not the back nine. I thought I was going to go with that, but I didn't.
Speaker 2:The good thing that came out of that was I realized that I wanted a franchise just because I've always been in corporate America I've never quite been a full-time business owner and it's kind of like a business in a box. So you have the training, the support, the structure. So that's when I really dove into the franchise world and, on my own believe it or not did a ton of research. My fiance did help me research and looked into different concepts and then we came across SPAC9. So my passion for golf and the fact that you know the business model aligned with what I wanted to do, that's how I ended up here. So long-winded answer, but that was great.
Speaker 1:I mean it's you know, jill and I, what drove us to become franchise owners is we have a franchise consulting business called the Franchise Insiders where we help people become franchise owners every single day. So one, you know you start to get a little jealous. You're watching all your clients, you know, build up assets and and and build scale these businesses. Being a franchise consultant is a lot like being a realtor, you know we we eat what we kill, but we don't build a ton of equity.
Speaker 1:And so for years and years, jill and I are searching for a business and finally we found the one that we wanted to invest in and having that diversification, which is what that key piece that I heard you say you've got the rental property. Now it was time to add a business and sort of start to round out the portfolio, and I think that's great. And so, with a business like yours, what does an everyday what does it look like? I mean, it looks like you're sitting at home right now, like what does an everyday sort of life look like for you running this franchise?
Speaker 2:Yes, I am sitting at home today. I do office out of my home, so that's wonderful. Today we had a snow day here in Omaha. No school for the kids, so my son's home, and this gives me the flexibility where I can do that. Of course, my concept the back nine doesn't require full staffing full-time. As a matter of fact, some of these run staff less but, I.
Speaker 2:That gives me the flexibility to decide and be able to control. Like, hey, what does my day look like? So a day in the life? I mean, all my computer stuff, all my virtual meetings, all my phone calls happen at home. I try and work out every day. I try and play a little golf every day on simulators. But I spend a lot of time in the community and I love that. When I was in finance I loved acquisition and I still do so. I do spend a lot of time building relationship in the community, telling people about BAC9, how we're different, what are the benefits of coming into the BAC9, not only as an athlete but also as a business owner, because all the networking and all the entertaining that happens in there is great. So I spend a lot of time in the community, a lot of time in the facility. I just enjoy being there, love meeting the members and that's what my day looks like, honestly.
Speaker 1:So okay. So the next thing you said that's really interesting is that there can be events in that space. People can from a corporate standpoint, I'm assuming rent out the space for a period of time what and I don't know if you can share this or you have the data. I have a feeling you probably do. What percentage of revenue comes from more sort of corporate gigs at the back nine corporate gigs at the BAC9?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so my facilities. Well, specifically now both of them. I just opened the second one in January, so now it's on the data there, but my first one I opened in August and about 25% of my membership comes from corporate and I think that's not typical of a BAC9. It's beginning to be because other franchisees are saying, wow, this can be more of a partnership with other business owners versus just individual membership. So that's starting to grow in that. But a lot of those relationships that I had for my previous roles I was able to integrate into this to say, hey, for business owners, do you want to entertain your employees? We have some leaks that come out of employee engagement opportunity. We have private events, whether it's with clients or employees. So there's a lot of different opportunity, but about 25% of my revenue comes from the corporate side. So mostly membership, but also events and leagues.
Speaker 1:Amazing. So we just, in fact, right before we got on the podcast with you, we were talking to our GM. We just landed a really big HOA client and what we're going to do is do power washing all throughout the neighborhood for their sort of neighborhood space. It's a big, big job, $25,000 job that we will finish in about six days. And so you know, yay, big job. But it's like they don't. As part of the deal, they didn't want to do a deposit and they wanted to pay in full once the job is complete and their terms are like 14 days.
Speaker 1:So one of our challenges was was how are we going to do this while we're paying, accrue and keep cashflow coming, because that's I mean again, as a business owner, you know this this might be. All of our biggest sort of sore spot, especially in the first year, is cashflow, and so we were looking at the calendar. We're like, okay, what we have to do is we have to sort of mix this job in with other days where our residential clients they pay us the minute the job is done. They pay us in credit card. So we we determined that, okay, over a two week period we're going to stick these six days in there, interspersed with residential jobs that will pay us to sort of mitigate that, the sort of cashflow challenge that it presents, and I think we came up with a solution that works. So now this is leading into my next question for you. When you do corporate events like that, do they do a similar thing with how they're paying you, or do they pay instantaneously for those types of events?
Speaker 2:Most of the time when I require 50% on front, and so then they pay the day of the event, the rest of it.
Speaker 3:Well, I thought it was interesting that you said that. Um, they can run without someone. So how does that work and what is your staffing situation look like?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So this um concept is the best way to describe it. It's kind of like a 24 hour fitness for golfers. So basically, um members, they uh, we we provide an app for members. They book online or on the app and then there's a button right on the app or a button that gets texted to the person that doesn't have the app to open the door. So basically they're securing their booth or their bay online the whatever time they want to come in and then they get in with this button and then, once they're there I mean it's pretty much self-service they turn on the simulators.
Speaker 2:Some people have an account where they report all their stats and kind of stay on top of that, and then other people just want to play, just want to practice or play a round of golf. So that's been huge because that means that we don't have to have somebody there all the time. Do you have someone there during like normal business hours or just as needed? Sometimes we do have some franchises, some franchisees, I mean, that do have staff there full time during the day. My locations I don't have somebody there full-time, but we do give free demos, so we want to be there when somebody schedules a demo. We do have public tee times, so it's not member only. So sometimes people when they come in for the first time, they kind of want to see what it's like, and so we do have somebody there for those things, but not all the time. No, yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1:And we can play a number of different real-life courses right, virtually. Is that the thing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's super cool. We use full-swing technology, so one of the top, if not the top, in the industry Not sure if you've seen the TGL Tomorrow's Golf League Tiger Woods out there in Jupiter Florida they use the full swing, so it's top-notch technology and it's cool because almost every month we get one course that's new, so it's kind of fun to see what courses out there. But there's courses from all over the world. We even have a Nebraska course, dismal River. That's really well known. It's one of the top courses out here and in the nation and so it's kind of cool that you can play these courses and potentially then go out there and actually book a tee time in the actual course and see how you do.
Speaker 1:That is super cool, and do you? You think like so for me, like I'm a terrible golfer but I would love to be to be better at it, right, but, um, is this something? Obviously I see the appeal, just like the gym for someone that works out every day, clearly I see the appeal, especially. I think I would also think being in a cold weather state where you guys deal with snow days, um, to go play around, you know, in the comfort of a retail environment, is wonderful, but are there specific programs for beginner golfers as well?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I love that we give the opportunity for people that are, you know, intimidated by going out on a golf course. It's not the same when you're learning out there and there's like people behind you and you're kind of nervous that maybe you'll hit somebody or hit somebody's house, so I think, and then lose all your golf balls, yeah, yeah. So this gives a perfect environment for people of golfers of all skill levels. So if you're a beginner, you can go in there and practice where you know it's semi-private, nobody's really watching, nobody's really pressuring you.
Speaker 2:The other thing is we do have golf pros that teach in our facility. So, even if it's like your first lesson, or we have programming where sometimes we have group lessons, so just getting in there figuring out, hey, what is it that I want to work on, whether it's by myself or partner, with a pro that can teach me some, give me some pointers, and then I can go in there and practice every day if I want to. And I've gotten a lot of feedback from our members that they have. Actually, we've had a couple of nice days here this winter, but they've been able to go out into the course and play outside and they see the difference. So that's super exciting that it's actually making a difference for people and not just fun, but improving their games.
Speaker 1:And how does the franchisor help you facilitate those relationships with local pros? Or is that something you have to do Like? How does that work?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting because, boots on the ground, it's like you're running your own business. I don't know how it is in the power wash world or with your franchise, but boots on the ground. This is my business, this is my baby. All of the relationships are locally, are facilitated through me and my team. Now, um, the franchise does do a great job, um, in going out there and partnering with big organizations like Titleist, um, you know, I know that there's a partnership there. Obviously, with Full Swing there's a great partnership, um, and among others, you know, um, even Travis Matthews, some of the golf apparel brands. We have partnerships with a lot of these different organizations and businesses, so it's nice to leverage those. But locally it's really boots on the ground getting out there, meeting these people, connecting, so that's. They do a lot of training but at the end of the day, it's all on you, like any other business.
Speaker 1:Franchise owner makes the business, makes the franchise special. It's always been the case, you know it's. It's what you do as a franchise owner. You know, frank, a great franchisor can give you all these tools, structure support, but ultimately you've got to be the one with the urgency to go build that business, and that's you know we were. We were talking to another franchisor about this and that we have a term called resales, so when somebody doesn't want to own their franchise anymore, they sell it to someone else. And you know, historically I think we on the franchise development side have sort of looked at resales. As you know, not an ideal thing, and I really do think that's changing. Inherently in any franchise, you're going to have five to 10% that wants to sell their business or isn't a fit for the business, and so I think it's taking a more proactive stance. And a lot of people out there say well, if I sign a franchise agreement, am I locked in for those 10?
Speaker 2:years. I can't do anything.
Speaker 1:well, if I sign a franchise agreement, am I locked in for those 10 years? I can't do anything and you can absolutely sell your business as long as the franchisor approves the new buyer and the transfer fee is paid. Anyways, I don't know why I went down that path, but it does just. It goes back to what you said. Ultimately, we, as the franchise owners, we're the ones responsible for making the business go.
Speaker 3:Well, I think maybe what you were getting at is that, um, a business could be listed for sale, and it's not just selling business, it's the business owner right, no, yeah for you networking and do like you said. You're out most of the day just around people and getting involved in the community, and it could be that the previous business owner was not yeah so their sales were struggling.
Speaker 3:So sometimes it does make a big difference of that business owner and what they're willing to put into it and things that they can change. So resale is not always a bad thing. No, it's a great opportunity for someone to come in and say you were doing it this way. And I think if I do it this way, we should see a dramatic increase.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I think that's really well said, and it's why I mean Mercedes, full disclosure. When we contact franchisors about pairing us with franchise owners, we say give us top performers, because we want people who listen to our show, who are thinking about becoming franchise owners, to learn from top performers. And so the thing that I think a lot of business owners can agree on and maybe where the back nine has cracked the code is that the hardest part about running a business isn't getting the business, it's managing and keeping great employees.
Speaker 1:Especially when you get those really good ones, it's like, oh my gosh, look at how much better the business runs. So my question to you is without this need to have a lot of full-time employees, what is that like? That's got to make things quite a bit easier in terms of running the business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think it's still bringing it all together, even Because just to address your previous point too, at some point we need to start hiring people if we want to scale right, like so, for me, scaling means growing and in locations, and then eventually, like I'm not going to work forever, right, so there might be one day that I build this and I scale it enough to where it's you know, like you said earlier, building equity for me and for my family, so something that I could potentially sell down the road 20 years. I mean, I'm going to want to retire one day, but maybe, who knows. But at the end of the day, you do have to start scaling it at some point so that you can leverage your skill set in the right way, because, as a business owner, you're learning and you're growing. So you can't, of course, how do you, how do you promote yourself? Right, and that's kind of where I'm getting to like, at some point you have to hire staff so that you can promote yourself to think at another level and to run and execute things at another level. So I do have a couple of you know, quote, unquote salespeople that are out there with me. I'm training, kind of getting them in the community, getting them involved, spreading the word about BAC. And I'm here in the Omaha Metro. And then I just hired a facilities coordinator. So this is like a right-hand gal, somebody. She's in the golf industry, she's an athlete, she's somebody that really loves golf, but you know, so she'll help me with programming, like different events, different training classes, different. We do kids clubs in the summer.
Speaker 2:So I'm at the point where I'm like, okay, well, I'm getting ready to open a third. Can I handle this all on my own? And, of course, you can hire an accountant, you can hire a social media company, you can hire, like these, different professionals. But at the end of the day, you want to build a core team to help you execute so that you can go to the franchise conference, like we're going to tomorrow. You know, otherwise you're stuck, just like any other business owner would be. So I think it's it's timing. You have to time it right, like when is it? But it's almost like one of those questions, like you know, when you're getting ready to grow a family, it's like when's the perfect time to have a kid. You can't really time it, you know. You have to kind of feel like, okay, you don't want to wait too long, because then you're in the weeds. You don't want to do it too early. So you figure it out and it works out, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, you're really ahead of the game.
Speaker 1:When we advise our clients and for any of you that want to learn more about the back nine or get a franchise consultation, text us at 305-710-0050.
Speaker 1:When we consult with our clients, it's always talking about yes, we're going to look to identify the right franchise for right now, but we also want to think about the business you want to be and we want to make sure you understand running your business in a way that's going to make it more valuable and, ultimately, the more a business can run without the business owner and I'm not saying we buy a business for it to be absentee All of us know that businesses require a lot of time capital in the beginning, but ultimately, business owners need to build the business to run without them If they want to have a successful exit, meaning that they can sell for three, four times multiple. So those things that you're saying are very wise and very true, and we looked at it the same way. We bought all of Palm beach County for pinks and we hired a GM and and he he's worth every penny, is a great guy, but we pay him a great salary because we wanted to build a company that could grow and ultimately have 15, 20 trucks one day, definitely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I feel like I tell everybody I'm in growth mode right now. I'm in growth mode because you know not only time but money, you know so it takes. If you want to grow, you have to invest in it, but then you also have to build it so you can scale. So it's a fun. It's almost like a fun little math equation.
Speaker 1:Yeah it really is. It's every day is an adventure, but you know it's not. I don't know about you. I mean, I think we probably spend about two hours a day on Pinks. Be my guess. You know, some days more, some days less. I think we're thinking about it, we talk about it at the dinner table every night, but it, you know, it doesn't take like 12 hours of grinding per day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah and I think, um, when I'm ready to hire that GM, I think that's going to be, it's going to be nice to have somebody to kind of run the business and then I can be business owner. Hat versus in the business, that's another thing. I mean, when I was in finance and I was recruiting financial advisors, I would talk about in the business and on the business and in the beginning you kind of feel like you're in the business a lot, but you do have to take a step back and kind of talk about it at the dinner table and have those conversations of what does tomorrow look like, what is three months, what is a year, what is five years look like? Cause you don't want to be stuck in the business forever.
Speaker 3:Right, and I think getting that experience in the business is really good. I think knowing what your GM will potentially do will make it easier for you to find the right person and then train them. And you know, jack and I always talk about it with our franchise consulting business that you know we were having a great time doing a great job consulting and telling people which franchises to go into, but we hadn't owned one ourselves.
Speaker 3:And now that we're in it for that business now that we're in it, we now know, and so we can better advise and talk to our clients and really prepare them for what's ahead of them. So we've kind of done it that way. But I think it's really important to do, like really what you're doing. You know, be in the business now and grow it to the point where you can step back and bring someone in and you're fortunate that you know this business allows you to do that, because that's really that's you have to grow and grow steady and you know be, be solid, have solid foundation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I think, yeah, I totally agree with like it depends on the business, right? Like not every business is going to allow you to do that. Um, that's why it's so important to talk to people like you guys, um, to figure out, like, okay, what is my, what do I want to commit? Like time, money, mental, you know, clarity, like what do I want to commit? And then maybe it's someone that's like no, I want to be in there every day. Maybe it's someone that's like, no, I kind of want to run this semi-passively. Is there something out there that can help?
Speaker 1:me do that. Yeah, the simple answer is the more capital, the easier you can do it.
Speaker 1:But the truth of it is is that no one can replace the hustle of the owner, and it does take. You know it's like. And, by the way, as leaders we want to show our you know the people that work for us that we're not afraid to roll up our sleeves and work alongside them. And for Jill and I, that doesn't mean we're out there washing windows or power washing we're all about scaling versus scrubbing but what it does mean is to give our GM reprieve on the weekend. Jill and I will handle the first contacts on the new leads that come in. And that's not a big deal because we've got a great CRM.
Speaker 1:So we were at dinner on Sunday night. New lead comes in. I'm able to send a quick text and an email through our CRM. Here's responding to them. Here's our openings. Boom, it was done in two minutes. It didn't take that much time and it wasn't that hard and frankly I mean I kind of like to do it. There are other PINX owners that may not be their thing, but they want to get out there with their team and wash windows right alongside them for an hour to show that they're solid with them in the business. I think that's the cool thing, is that as a franchise owner, you get to choose how you want to lead. It's your chance to be the leader of the show and run the company.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's. It's definitely game changing compared to corporate America where, um, you're given like, here's the plan for this year and go execute. Um, so it's, it's very different. Yeah, you get to choose.
Speaker 3:It's not for everybody and we know that, but to your point, you know, I know you did all the research before finding the right one for you. We love when people come to us because we can walk them through all this too, because there are some franchises where you do, you can get a playbook and this is how you do it and there's not a lot of flexibility, and we want to find the right match for people and that's so important to do that. And hearing your story is also great for our clients to hear and for everyone to hear that you can do it. You can have a work-life balance, you can take a snow day and it's okay. The business is still running and still doing well and it's really important for people to see all the different types of franchise opportunities that are out there. Yeah, it's really important for people to see all the different types of franchise opportunities that are out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's been your biggest surprise so far as a franchise owner? What's the thing that you weren't prepared for?
Speaker 2:Oh man, that's a good question. Let's see, I wasn't prepared for growth this quickly. I wasn't anticipating that I was going to have an opportunity to open a second and then a third. I really thought it would take me more time to even think about it. Even think about it. That has been the absolute biggest surprise, to be honest, and I think it all stemmed from the amount of interest in this brand and in this concept, because there are so many people out there looking at this opportunity, and once I brought it to market, I was the first in the Midwest. And once I brought it to market, people were like Whoa, what is this? I want to do this too. So I had to make a choice of like, hey, do I want to? If I'm able to do, I want to move forward with the second and third location, and luckily I was. But yeah, that was. That was surprising.
Speaker 1:That brings up another question that I've received in regards to the back nine. When I've showed it to two, to prospective franchise owners, they've said to me oh man, I feel like those things are popping up on every block now. Yeah, what's your thought when you hear that comment?
Speaker 2:I think, um, I think we're different. I think obviously, the back nine is different. Um, and I'll kind of I can get into why, but I also feel like these, this concept, we're right at the beginning of this, this opportunity so based. What I'm trying to say is golf is going to be around forever. Right, people are going to want to golf forever. Right now, I mean, golf simulators have been around for a really long time. Right now they're mean.
Speaker 2:Golf simulators have been around for a really long time. Right now they're kind of exploding and I feel like it's because people are seeing it as a training facility, not just something they do in the cold season or when it's too hot outside. So now it's almost like a fitness center for golfers where they get to go and work on their game. They book their tee time, they can go every day, 24-7, any time of the day, and stay up on their game year round, and even when it's like beautiful out and they're playing the course, they want to come in and train three times a week so that they don't like we said earlier, you know go out there and lose every golf ball, like I usually did, you know. Now I'm losing about half as many. So I think that there's a market for it A hundred percent there is.
Speaker 2:I think that there's a market for it A hundred percent. There is Um. I think that our concept is different because it's not a bar, so some people want to go, use them to have fun and play with their friends and, you know, have a drink and have a couple bites to eat. Other people are are actually wanting to work on their game and like train Um and we're we're really um. That's more of our clientele. Of course, you can come on the weekend play around the golf with your friends in the simulator, but a lot of our members and the people that come into BAC 9 are golfers or they want to be golfers and they really want to work on their game. So that's kind of there's a market for it yeah, Training versus like a social.
Speaker 2:You know, like you guys are focused more on the training and the the skills yeah, because, like you said, come have a drink and, yes, it's not a party scene, it's family oriented, it's professional, it's um, and then at the end of the day, um, yeah, absolutely have fun with it. I have people invite their friends and come play and get ready for playing outside, or you know, but it's more of a year round thing. It could get oversaturated, I don't know. So that's where it takes, like our strategy and like how can we be different, how can we be better so that we can stand out among the others? But yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 1:If you think about it, how many different gyms are there? There's a different kind of gym on every corner and people have their brands that they're loyal to. Equinox members are different than 24-hour fitness members. So, like you said, I mean there's room for growth. And the other thing that you said, um, golf's going to be around forever. I mean, look at it as, as I feel like anytime we're landing in a plane, no matter what city we fly into, we fly over big, beautiful golf courses and even in cold weather, we see people out there, Um, and it you know, it just occurred to me that, um, and and this audience, people who golf is important to, I would argue that that is an audience that's probably pretty insulated from economic ups and downs.
Speaker 1:Um, they probably have the type of disposable income that's pretty consistent and predictable, so you probably won't see much fluctuation, um, with your business.
Speaker 2:and for the right consumer it, just like fitness, is it's need versus want yep, yep, that's um, you know golfers, golf is expensive, so, um, you need to have that disposable income and, um, that's really our target market. The cool thing with back nine, though it does make it affordable, um, because it's not as expensive as going to join a golf course. It does make it affordable for somebody. I think about it like what I put myself in the shoes of my client, right? So when I was in finance at the time I was building my book of business, I could not go join a golf course, but there was so much business done on the golf course so I was like I can't go out there and look like a fool, you know, um, swinging my club and not getting the ball anywhere. So I think about it as like that was me.
Speaker 2:You know some of my members. They are young professionals, they want to do business, they want to be out on a golf course and they don't want to look ridiculous. So they come in. It's affordable. Prices start at 140 a month, so they get to go in there, you know, book an hour, practice and up their game, have fun and be able to go outside and and do business on the golf course Like everybody else.
Speaker 1:And it's all app based, right? We don't have to call anybody, we can just do it all via the app. Right, we don't have to call anybody, we can just do it all via the app. Yes, amazing, I love that. Yeah, don't have to talk to people, don't have to look foolish in front of people. I'm telling you, um, we may have to buy the, the franchise gone here for sure that's a lot for your um, for your confidence.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you that much yeah, well, it is.
Speaker 3:I mean, in south florida, golf is huge here and we belong to a golf club and we don't golf, and it's exactly that reason. Yeah, we were just talking to friends the other night. We were saying come with us, it's fun. We're like what do you mean that you know, but maybe we could secretly get good. Yeah, and then when we finally accept the invitation, they'll be blown away.
Speaker 1:Right Now we'll show up. Here we are. I love that yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, it's interesting to think of it that way. You know, you don't get the ability to practice every day. When I see the fees for even just being members at all our country club, it's a lot. So you're not going to be out there golfing every single day. It's going to rack up a lot of money. So if you could do something in the meantime and practice and keep your skills up, you know, then, like you said, you're not wasting the one day that you do go out there.
Speaker 1:I mean, I do still like going for the restaurants. That's for me, it's fine, that's really cool. Hey, can we talk the cool?
Speaker 2:thing is. I was just going to say something real quick that I think it's fun, but, um, a lot of people get really excited out here because there's not much to do outside of golf. There's like golf hunting and good restaurants, and you know, there's these really cool courses that are really hard to get into and it's like imagine you pay all this money to go play at this really cool course and then your ball doesn't. I mean you can't even play because you're being pushed, because you're taking too long. So it's a game changer. It really is.
Speaker 3:I've really never thought of it that way.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 3:I love that.
Speaker 1:You're in Omaha, right? Yes, we've heard that now multiple times, that the restaurants in Omaha are fabulous.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And like beautiful. Like I mean I'm going way off track now, but like great looking communities and houses, Like I don't know that enough of the country is aware of how cool Omaha is.
Speaker 2:You need to come to Omaha. Believe it or not, I'm from Miami, florida, and, um, I've only been here for three years and I was so pleasantly surprised. Like, the restaurants are great, the people are amazing. Um, we're in the middle of the country, so I'm from South Florida. It's hard to get out of Florida.
Speaker 3:You know it's a long travel day.
Speaker 2:So anyway, yeah, you guys should come out and visit us.
Speaker 1:We have a client.
Speaker 1:I'll book you a tea time. Yeah, for sure. We have a client. I mean, Omaha is kind of a little franchise, Like there's Franchise Fastlane is there, Horsepower Brands is there. We have a client that bought a franchise called Gatsby Glass here in Boca Raton and so he had to go out to a discovery day in Omaha. And he was, he was nervous. He's like what, what is in Omaha, what's that going to be like? And he came back and he's like no, it's really cool there. So we we've now heard that multiple times. Okay, here's my last question for you how long have you been open?
Speaker 2:So for you, how long have you been open?
Speaker 1:So my first location was July was soft open August was grand opening Okay, 2024.
Speaker 2:Okay, so here you are you're almost a year.
Speaker 1:What advice would you have for people considering franchise ownership? Now that you're almost a year in, what would be the best advice you would have for someone that's considering franchise ownership?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I'm biased because of course I'm in it, right, but I really do believe that if you want to be a business owner, obviously look at all your options.
Speaker 2:I think either buying an existing business or buying a franchise is the best way to go.
Speaker 2:Starting a business from scratch is really difficult to get funding, to figure it all out, to create the wheel right here you don't really have to recreate the wheel because you get that playbook right, that business in a box, like I call it.
Speaker 2:So I think the best advice would be, like do your research to make sure that you have the right one for you, because it could go, um fantastic or horribly wrong if it's not the right franchise, not the right, not only like the business model, but also like the team, like the corporate team behind it. Um, you have to make sure that, like, there's a lot of synergy with what they want to accomplish in the future and what you want to accomplish in the future, and how can you be a part of that team, you know? So I think maybe that's the biggest piece of advice. I choose wisely and luckily there are people like you out there that can help them, but I think that's because it's a phenomenal opportunity I mean, especially for somebody that's never been a business owner because you know you have everything you need and then you can really shine locally, but you have the support back in home base.
Speaker 1:You know why we invested in the franchise we did because when we met the people and, again, being franchise consultants, if there's been any founders that have come up in the last 15 years, we likely know them on a first name basis. We know all these people, we know the teams, we know who's investing in their support and we know who's a mess on the back end. And one of the main reasons we invested in the franchise we did is because we like the layers of support the team. I mean I text with the founders of our company on a consistent basis.
Speaker 3:And they're always so helpful and encouraging. I mean, everyone wants the same thing, Everyone wants to win when you buy a franchise you have a whole team of support behind you.
Speaker 3:They want you to succeed, you want to succeed. You just have a whole team of support behind you. They want you to succeed, you want to succeed. You just have like a big group of people that all want to do well. So you know you love that, you love having that, you know positive energy and the support behind you. You know, and you don't get that when you start your own business, it's just you.
Speaker 1:No, I mean, that's so. Jill made an awesome point. Franchisors don't make any money off franchise fees. That 50 grand that we pay for a franchise fee that goes towards training. It's a symbiotic relationship in that they make money off royalties and the only way they make good royalty money is if your franchise is collecting a lot of gross revenue. So we all sort of are on the same team and we all sort of have the same goal, like Jill said. So where's your guys' franchise conference? Where are you going?
Speaker 2:St George, utah, cool, perfect, what a perfect place for a golf franchise to have a conference. Yeah, that's where our home base is, that's where the home office is. So awesome. Yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 1:Well, enjoy it. Thank you for being so generous with your time. For all of you out there who'd like to learn more about the BAC-9, please text Jill and I at 305-710-0050. We'd be happy to get you connected and figure out if your territory is still available. I know it's moving pretty quick, so don't mess around, Mercedes. Thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate spending some time with you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me Appreciate it.
Speaker 1:And that's it for the. We Bought a Franchise podcast for this week. I'm Jack Johnson.
Speaker 3:I'm Jill Johnson.
Speaker 1:And we'll talk to you next time. Take care.