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
Franchise Growth Chronicles: Managing Commercial Accounts and Cashflow
Ever wonder what it's really like to own a franchise? Jack and Jill Johnson pull back the curtain on their first year as Pinks window cleaning and power washing franchise owners in this candid, unscripted conversation about the realities of business ownership.
The Johnsons tackle one of the biggest challenges facing home service business owners: balancing commercial accounts with residential jobs. While landing major HOA and model home contracts brings exciting revenue opportunities, they candidly discuss how the extended payment cycles (up to six weeks!) create cash flow challenges that new business owners rarely anticipate. Their practical advice on maintaining substantial cash reserves and strategically mixing in same-day payment residential jobs provides invaluable guidance for anyone in service-based businesses.
Beyond finances, Jack and Jill share their evolving approach to team management, revealing how they've implemented creative solutions like "floater days" to prevent burnout while scaling their operation. Their current dilemma isn't finding customers—they're generating 2-3 leads daily through social media—but rather finding and retaining quality team members to meet growing demand.
Drawing from their unique perspective as both franchise consultants and franchise owners, the Johnsons offer data-driven insights into today's most resilient franchise categories, with restoration, senior care, and power washing leading the pack. They emphasize how service-based businesses can thrive regardless of economic fluctuations, offering a convincing case for entrepreneurship even in uncertain times.
As they look toward their second year with plans to add a third van focused on higher-margin power washing services, their enthusiasm for business ownership remains contagious. The freedom to control their schedule, be present for family dinners, and build a valuable asset makes the challenges worthwhile. Ready to explore franchise ownership yourself? Text 305-710-0050 to start your journey with experienced guides who've walked the path themselves.
Text: 305-710-0050
Hi everyone, welcome back to the we Bought a Franchise podcast. I'm Jack Johnson.
Speaker 2:I'm Jill.
Speaker 1:Johnson, and we're here with you again. This time it's just Jill and I here to kind of talk to you guys about what's happening in the world of Pinks.
Speaker 2:So exciting.
Speaker 1:Jill looks so exciting. She looks so excited to discuss all this great stuff, and the truth of the matter is is that you know, I think that we we are, if we're diving right into it, a growing franchise. So we're pretty much exactly a year in now. I think we opened march of 2024 yeah, almost exactly um, and it's been hell of a ride. You know, learning, growing. I mean you'd think, being in franchising since 2008, we'd know everything, but we don't we get new surprises every day.
Speaker 2:No, it's been a really. I think it's been a really. I think it's been a really good year. Lots of learning opportunities for us. Yeah, I mean it's. It keeps us on our toes, that's.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, and I think the thing, like I knew, was out there and we probably talked a little bit about this last week with Mercedes, which, if you haven't listened or watched that podcast yet, with Mercedes from the Bacchonine Golf franchise, which is awesome, which apparently can be unattended no employees. So here's what we're learning is that we're starting now to play the chess game of commercial accounts and we're landing bigger ones. We landed a large HOA account and for the last three days we've been cleaning a large building and today they're doing a big model home development. So the it's great, right. So, like the billings on those jobs are awesome because they're high and yay, kudos to us and our team for landing big jobs.
Speaker 1:But the other side of it is managing accounts receivables, because some of those we won't collect for like six weeks. So, as I'm starting to look, it's like, okay, here we've got all these, these, these billings, and then some of them we're not going to see until the end of April. So it's really now learning to manage that. And so the first piece of advice I would have for all of you getting into home services, I think having about 50k in your business bank account is highly advisable. Give yourself room to grow as the business matures. Yeah, you'll have enough receivables to balance it out, but when you're like us and you're growing, it can be a challenge.
Speaker 2:Right. I mean you want to be able to pay your staff, but you know you're not getting that money for weeks. So there has to be like a cushion and that's not a problem, we could do it. It's just, it's again, it's learning that. You know we're so excited. I mean you, you think, okay, we're gonna get these big accounts, which is great. But then you also think it's staffing, and not only you have to make sure you have enough people on staff, also can we still run the business on a day-to-day basis, so like for clients? So if our whole staff is doing an HOA for a week, that takes us off the calendar for anyone else. So it's, it's like it's exciting and the money is great and the opportunity is wonderful, but there's still a lot of like pieces to and so, while a lot of you are out there thinking, boy, I really want a business that lands lots of commercial accounts.
Speaker 1:I love that B2B we do too. But, um, we also love to to mix in those residential jobs, because they pay same day and, in our case, with pinks, if we're doing window washing and pressure washing, those jobs can get pretty sizable. Um, so, when you're cleaning a house the whole day but they're paying you, you know, um, you know, let's say, a 30% of what we'd like to do on a weekly basis with two vans in one day and they pay with credit card the same day, that is excellent. So what I would say to all of you is just as you're growing your home services franchise, just make sure you're mixing in residential with commercial for cashflow, I think, also being mindful with these big jobs not to burn your guys out. We've learned that lesson the hard way, because it's like, yeah, let's take on every job we can, but you know, it's work.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's also, it's Florida, it's hot, it you know. So it depends on, obviously, what type of business you have. But for us, like it's, it's a lot of work to wash windows, and so if you have big job after big job, you guys are like they're human. Yeah, so you have to be mindful of that. And then you know space between jobs. I mean, again, this is all things that we're really we're learning along the way.
Speaker 1:And we've got good guys. So what we came up with was let's give everyone a floater day. Right, monday through Friday, you take a paid floater day and you just give us notice, right? Don't just, you know, not show up. But we appreciate you, we appreciate you working hard for us, and so we want to make sure everyone feels recognized when we're asking them because we've worked Saturdays, we've, we've pulled, you know, done a lot more than the guys are, beginning at like five in the morning sometimes.
Speaker 1:So I think when people ask us what is the hardest part about, you know, owning a franchise, it's not getting the business. I mean, shoot with our social media. We're getting like two, three leads a day In fact, just keeping up with the amount of leads we get right now. That, with being as busy as we are and also helping our GM to understand, you gotta work on the business, not in it. You gotta get off that glass, and that's what we say in this business If you're shining windows, get off the glass and get on the phone and close deals and and help people get out there, network, build the business, trust the team to really help you to, to get out there and do the job.
Speaker 1:So all of us are learning this stuff together and, um, you know, uh, it's, it's very humbling, I would say, because Jill and I, as franchise consultants, you know we can control everything and it's a much easier business to manage. So it's uh it for us this has been really, I think, when you partner with the right franchise, like our resi brands, as we have, um, it's nice to have like I was on a session this morning where they were going all over all our numbers and sort of a quarterly catch-up call.
Speaker 2:It's great to have someone that's watching your back yeah, well, it keeps you accountable right um, if you're competitive like you are, keeps you 100 um, no, it's nice to have that extra support, and I think that's what we talk about all the time in these podcasts. Is that you get the additional support, like the franchisor wants you to win. They need you, yeah. So they're not going to, like, leave you high and dry. I mean the. So they're not going to leave you high and dry. I mean the good ones. They're not going to leave you high and dry because your successes are soon.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and as you're researching franchises, this again is where you want to work with someone like Jill or I. I know a lot of you out there are looking. You're interested in becoming franchise owners. Maybe you're already working with a great franchise consultant. If you're not find one, you can always text us 305-710-0050,. Shameless plug, but there's a lot of great franchise consultants out there, but, just like real estate agents, most of them probably look for a franchise consultant that has experience running a business, that can really coach you up on what it's like, but also has the connections to these franchisors. So for so, for example, you know Jill and I are known as top influencers in the industry, so we're on a first name basis. I'm not trying to, not trying to. She's looking at me like dude. You're totally name dropping. But it's true though. Right? Do we know all these guys?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, I think yes, it's not trying to name drop, it's saying that we have these relationships and that makes a big difference. And so when we give you advice, you really are talking to experts in the field.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean we are on a first name. Hey, we're on a first name basis. No, but we are, I mean, so we can help you guys in that regard. She's going to still give me shit for saying that later.
Speaker 2:And for using swear words.
Speaker 1:As long as I check the box that there's profanity, put the little E next to our.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no. But what you're saying is right and I think that you know there's hundreds of franchises out there and we don't introduce you to hundreds, thousands.
Speaker 1:Yeah, probably only hundreds of good ones.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, but we, we really keep it to. You know that. You know that this is because again, we took a chance a little bit on me too you know it wasn't fully. We love resi and you know pinks was doing really well in austin but we still didn't really know. So you know, if you are a risk taker and want to do that, we'll show, show you those options.
Speaker 1:We love the newness of the brand, but let me just give you guys an example. I was talking to a client yesterday. He is looking at two franchises, both in spaces that people really have not bought over the last couple of years, and so I showed him the data Jill and I have the data of all the franchises that have sold to our franchise broker network of over 700. It's franchise consultant, not broker. We're franchise consultants. So, anyways, I said, look, let's take the data of the last year and let's look at what are the categories that people are investing in was like number one, restoration was number two, senior care was number three, power washing was number four. That's what people are investing in.
Speaker 1:And as we look at where the world is right now and I think everybody needs to relax I'm talking to you stock market. Trump is trying to knock down some of this trade debt that we have, which was nearly a billion last year and I'm not or excuse me a trillion last year. I'm not trying to get political here, but this stuff, ultimately, if you look at stock markets and things like that long-term, don't freak out. And the same is true of franchising. We've been in it since 2008, when all that was going down. I was at a home healthcare franchise. It didn't affect our revenue. So, if you stick to services that aren't relying on steel and aluminum imports, if you stick to services that aren't relying on steel and aluminum imports, you're fine.
Speaker 1:So, if you're looking at franchises but you're worried about politics, don't let that slow you down, because I'm going to tell you something If you just stay in the job, you're playing the same game of Russian roulette there. If you own a business, but you own the right business, that is, more people and service-oriented, versus buying and selling aluminum, you're going to be okay, but that's just it. Use the data and again, talk to a professional. You have all these resources out there that know what works in franchise and we just gave you some great data right there. And here we are this week in a service franchise and we've got to hire more people. That's our biggest challenge. It's not, oh my God, are we going to get more business? No, we're still getting three new leads a day. It is keeping up with that demand and it's keeping the people to handle the business, and that really has been our challenge as business owners is keeping up with that demand.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which is not. I mean, it's a good thing, it's a good problem to have, but you know it's still challenging getting you know people to hire the right people and get those people to stay. But yeah, the business is there. But that's like the nature of owning your own business, right, it's like one day you're worried about the leads and getting you know interest and then the next you're worried about keeping up with them. So it's just like you know it's juggling every single thing.
Speaker 1:But the coolest part of all of it is we control our schedule 100%. We get to do what we want, and to us that's important. It's important that like we trade off, like I take Trey to school, jill picks him up, that's not a have to, that's a want to, because I'm not so good in the morning.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know I mean listen, but it's bonding time and it's important time and we're home for dinner. We're together for dinner most every night. No one's on the road traveling. So when I look at, what I'm grateful for is in all of this is that we have that control, we get to be home with the family and also we get to help people. I mean helping all of you with your franchise search, that's anyone out there who hasn't yet done a franchise consultation with us. It's worth a try because we're we're. We love to help people do this, and even if you don't end up investing in franchise, that's okay. It's fun to kind of walk this path alongside people.
Speaker 2:And you might come back. We've had plenty of people that once we have our initial conversation with them, it's not for them, it's not the right time, and then you know, a few months later, a couple of years later, they're back. You know, it's great to just at least have the conversation, know what is out there, and then you decide on your time.
Speaker 1:We had a client just last week, Sam, who bought a healthcare franchise. We've been working with him since last March. Took us a while to find the right thing.
Speaker 2:I mean, I don't mind that, because that means this was finally right for him. He's not jumping into something. You know, we're making sure we find it for him, so it was a good time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like today we had a guest that was supposed to come on I think he had some sort of something came up but he is the owner of a franchise that the average franchisee does $7.8 million per year. Top one does 40. So we can't wait to get him on the show because we want to hear about this. We have future owners coming from a franchise that currently you can buy with $1,000 down because they've got, like this promo that expires at the end of March. So these are things we can share with you guys and, by the way, so in that regard, let's talk about how.
Speaker 1:So when that franchisor with the $1,000 down and pay the franchise $1,000 a month approached us, I was like this sounds weird to me. We got to have a conversation, you got to tell me how this works and, as it turns out, this company is affiliated with multiple other franchises. It is backed by a well-known franchise private equity firm. So, just so all of you guys know, we do this due diligence on the back end to kind of look at all these things that we may talk to you about, to make sure that you're looking at great franchises and keep you on the right course.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're doing the dirty work for you. You know, as best as we can. So you know no-transcript, especially being franchise owners ourselves. Now we know a lot more.
Speaker 1:Well, and the truth of the matter is we can't run the franchise for you. No, once you become a franchise owner, it is on you to make it successful. You make or break it, you choose. So that's where you got to choose wisely, because you're going to be the one that chooses whether you want to be a top performer, a middle performer, a bottom performer. The thing I would say to ease anyone's mind is on any given day, we're helping people sell their franchises too. Sometimes it's not a fit, and sometimes people just want to know that they can't when they're going through hard moments.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I think that's really important to know. It's not a forever thing. Some people buy a franchise with the intention of flipping it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right Like two to five years, and some people want it as an asset. So again, we'll help you find, but also just know coming in. No, this isn't the end of your life. If it doesn't work out, we can help you find someone else. You can sell it. There's so many options, and so that should just ease your mind a little bit as you're doing the search. It's not a forever thing, it can be, but it doesn't happen.
Speaker 1:Right and here we are. We're looking at another business to buy right now, so totally unrelated to banks, because we like them. They're addictive and we like diversification and for us it's about putting those pieces in place. That sorry, it's about putting those pieces in place. I mean, I'm not using the word absentee here, but I want to be unnecessary in our businesses, eventually, meaning to where they can run without me, but they can benefit. And Jill, where we can still benefit. We can help make decisions, but without us they can run. They can still run. Great, that's what we want to help people do.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, that's the goal, that's what we're working towards, that's with all of this, and that's the thing that, when I go to bed at night, that makes me feel great about the Pinks investment is that it's building, it's getting stronger. If you look at our revenue trending and ChatGPT said this we're getting stronger and stronger. We're growing every month. The value of our business is getting so we are getting better. Sometimes, when you're in it, it doesn't always feel that way, but when you really look at it, when ChatGPT tells you it is.
Speaker 1:ChatGPT is not always right, but in this case I think it is. Next month will be a record month for us, big time record month. So it's great to see that growth. But that comes because we're paying attention, because we are purposeful and because we want to grow the business and we're doing our best to lead. We're not perfect, although Jill thinks she's perfect. You're pretty hot and pretty smart, it's true. So I don't know, I mean, I think that's this was um, just full, just full disclosure for you guys. We were supposed to have a guest today and, um, the guest has not arrived. So we're just kind of getting real with you and just kind of shooting from the hip.
Speaker 1:Uh, you know, I would say that, before we break from this podcast, the questions that I get, because a lot of you guys reach out to me because you text me at 305-710-0050. People want to know how do you balance it? How do you do it? What's best? Do I hire a GM? Do I not hire a GM? I think you can start a franchise, certainly while you keep your job, but I think, if you're working from an office, if you are a doctor or something like that, where there are moments throughout the day where you are just not available. I don't know that that's advisable. I think you want to be available to your business and it is your business. You're investing a lot of money in it. You should want to be involved in your business.
Speaker 2:I think that's a misconception. I think a lot of people think this. You know we don't use the word absentee but whatever. Not being involved every minute of the day, having a GM. You're still involved, but you should want to be, you know, especially as you're building, as you're growing. I think ultimately, you know, five years down the line, yeah, you can let it run and pop in here and there, but at that point you have such a stable and experienced staff. But initially you should want to see how it's working, you should want to reach out, you should want to talk to customers, you want to talk to your employees employees because the more you learn, the better you can be, the more you can improve.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think if we were not already business owners, working pinks full-time would have been definitely the best thing to do. But we have another business, we have two businesses and having businesses it's like having kids. It ain't predictable. There's ups and downs, but the ups are better than the downs. But I think for all of you out there it's worth it to take this chance on yourself and to get into the business. And if you GM it yourself, you can pay yourself that GM salary. So again, you don't have to not pay yourself. I think if you're running the business, pay yourself. Especially if you're rolling a 401k, they're actually going to mandate that you pay yourself a salary. So those are all things to keep in mind. There's plenty of funding avenues from a home services point of view. Even with all the stock market craziness this week, our demand is still fine. It's fabulous. I mean, again, like I said, we're just trying to keep up with it. So that's a good place to be. We're trending. For all of you that have kind of been riding shotgun with us on this pinks journey, we expect April to be our best month of all time, surpassing our previous best month, um, and we're going to try and give those boys up and are down. And where's austin to us? I guess they're up for us because we're very south. We're going to give those boys in austin a little run for their money. Yeah, that's our plan. We we want to overtake austin here. I would love to do it by the end of the year. They have three vans, we have two. Really, the goal for us this is not an earnings claim, this is just a goal we want to be consistently at $10,000 a week. We're getting close. We're not there yet. Once we do that, then we'll get the next van. We've also learned that we love power washing jobs. Jill and I are going to be recording videos at the end of this month for more content, that is, more power washing centric. Because, again, let's just say, our average power washing job is probably five times more than the window. If a window washing job is three 400 bucks and a power washing job is a thousand to 8,000 on a large, you don't always get $3,000 jobs, so the power washing jobs. And if to a thousand on a large, you can always get three thousand dollar jobs, so the power washing jobs. And if we can get all of it, the windows and the power washing and the paper ceiling. That's huge. So for us, I think we're probably on our van number three, do another power washing van. Sure, that's the plan, but we're trying to get the. For those of you interested in pinks, you should work with us, by the way, um, to get introduced to PINX, because we can save you money $10,000 with our rebate. I think that's the plan for PINX as a whole is to find a way to get the cost of the power washing rig down for you guys, for you future PINX investors and you current PINX franchisees who listen to our podcast.
Speaker 1:Jobs are bigger. So that's the other side too is pay attention to your numbers, pay attention to your jobs so you can scale your business appropriately. We also know, as Florida franchisees, our slow season is in the summer, whereas a lot of the East Coast you know colder markets are getting out of there coming into spring, where they're going to start kicking ass. So we know focusing on those larger jobs can be better for us, as half of our population which is happening, my voice there is half of our population goes back up North. So that's what I've got. That's what's happening. What about you? Anything else we missed? No, you said a lot. I try. Well, this has sort of been an impromptu shoot from the hip kind of podcast. Hope you guys enjoy it. In fact, we'd love to hear from you this was boring or, if you liked it, text 305-710-0050. In fact, that's what we'd like to know from you.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Do you want more other franchisees on the show or do you want to just hear Jill and I keeping it real?
Speaker 2:I mean, I think both are good. But yeah, tell us what you think we're doing this for you guys, so you know any feedback we get helps.
Speaker 1:Yeah, A lot Helps everybody. Well, that's it. I think we've said it all. All right For this week. I'm Jack. I'm Jill Talk to you next time. Bye.