From Federal Prison to Franchise Owner: The Project Lean Nation Story

What if a federal prison sentence was the beginning of your best chapter?

That's exactly where Tim Doherty's story starts. He joins Jack and Jill Johnson on We Bought a Franchise to share how fitness became his lifeline behind bars, how shame became a mission, and how showing up for one friend with meal prep and training quietly grew into Project Lean Nation — a health and wellness franchise built on discipline, empathy, and second chances.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

Project Lean Nation isn't another meal prep delivery service. Tim breaks down the "everything beyond the meal" philosophy: chef-prepared, dietitian-approved meals paired with nutrition coaching, accountability tools, and technology that transforms daily intentions into measurable results.

We get into the full customer journey — the low-barrier retail entry point, the in-store consultation experience, InBody composition scanning, and a structured nutrition framework that guides real behavior change without gimmicks or pressure.

For anyone exploring health and wellness franchising, we go deep on the business model too:

• Centralized manufacturing that eliminates kitchen complexity
• A lean staffing model built for scalability
• Recurring revenue through membership-based nutrition programs
• Community-first marketing that outperforms pure direct-to-consumer advertising

We also cover why protein-forward nutrition has never mattered more — including the GLP-1/Ozempic weight loss revolution and why preserving skeletal muscle is the longevity conversation your clients are already having.

This episode is for you if you're interested in: Health and wellness franchises | Healthy meal prep businesses | Franchise investing | Nutrition coaching franchises | Redemption entrepreneurship | GLP-1 and muscle health

🎙️ Subscribe for more founder stories and franchise investment deep dives. 📲 Share this with someone exploring wellness businesses or franchise ownership. ⭐ Leave a review — it helps us bring on more founders like Tim.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi everyone, welcome back to the We Bought a Franchise podcast. I'm Jack Johnson.

SPEAKER_03 0:04

I'm Jill Johnson.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

And we have an incredible guest today. We have Tim Dot Dorty. Is it is that how I say the last? You got it. Jill and I had a big debate before the podcast started. I was like, is it like Dotry like the singer or or Doherty like the like the actress? So

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:22

glad to have you, Tim. You guys were in for such a treat. Tim has such an incredible story. He's got an incredible brand, Project Lean Nation. And of course, we have our consultant, Catherine Allen, who brought us this opportunity, who told us we absolutely had to put this on the podcast. So, Tim, welcome to the show. We would just love it if you would give us an overview of you and Project Lean Nation.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Sure. It's a long story. But first, I want to say thank you so much for having me here. Longtime fitness guy, always uh fitness has always been an anchor in my life. You know, uh growing up, I had a challenging kind of run at things. And I think fitness was kind of the thing that saved my life. Like half my friends went one way and half went to the gym. And fortunately,

Tim’s Comeback Story Begins

SPEAKER_01 1:06

I ended up on the gym side. And I'll save you all the details, but um, early in my life, I had a financial career. So I raised money for public companies, and I came from limited means. So it was like the dream. And I was around all these guys, they were doing big things, uh, they had all the cool stuff I wish I could have. And they actually said all the right things. They said, uh, uh, you're gonna be great at this. And I just worked day and night for them. And they were right. In a couple of years, I had a big house, a beautiful wife, a couple children, um, portion of the garage, boat at the dock, uh, but I was still felt incredibly empty. You know, I was in a business where um for me to win, somebody had to be in a position to lose. And kind of the the crazy part of this story is in 2008, the FBI showed up in my office and they walked in like they were stopping in for a coffee. But really, what they did is they informed me that I was part of an investigation. I wasn't a target, I was just a subject. And ultimately, they said if I cooperated against my greatest friends, the only people that ever believed in me, then I would be free to go. And uh, I chose not to, but with that decision, they sentenced me to three years in federal prison. And I was waiting for my kids, wow, and uh it was tough, it was a tough ride.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

This is like something out of a movie.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Well, it's like it's like saying like Wolf of Wall Street to me in a way.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Like Well, uh, I came home, I assumed everything would be perfect, and it wasn't. It was a mess. And um, I was probably unemployable. I had a lot going on in my life, but I just went back to what was my first anchor was the gym. And right away I had a I did have a group of people in my life that like were rooting for me, and they had challenges, they wanted to get healthy, they wanted to get in shape. And um, a friend of mine, patient zero, Sam, asked if I would work out with him, if I would train him. And that's not something I did, but um, I started to do that, and it started to what's interesting was when I came home, I had all this shame. But showing up for Sam kind of started to make me feel something. And then the next question is it became the nutrition. And ultimately, lots of people in my life, people I loved, were struggling with their health. And it mostly boiled down to food. And just to take a step back, for since I was 24 years old, I always made these 30 meals for myself every week. And I wanted to look better, feel better, perform better. And looking back, I'm 47 now. Looking back at 24, I probably didn't have much control over anything in my life. So I just probably loved the control of that. And my friend asked me to make his food. Of course, I told him no because I thought I was like above it and below it all at the same time. Uh, but the next time he asked, I made his meals and I brought them to his house. And then that spread throughout my whole community. I didn't have customers, I had believers. They were like, I was showing up for them and they were rooting for me, and that became the foundation of this whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

I love that. Tim, there's so much to dive into here, but the when you first talked about, you know, one group of friends went this way with exercise and one didn't. Um, we went for a walk with our son Trey the other night. Um, we had a little bit of a miscommunication on homework, and um, needless to say, he was very upset. So we go for a family walk virtually every night, wouldn't you say? And um, at the end of that walk, I'm we walked a little extra that night. And I said to him, Do you notice something after we'd gone about two miles? I'm like, You feel better? He's like, Yeah, I do. I'm like, well, that's because you're out exercising. You're moving the body, you're producing endorphins. I'm like, I want you to remember this anytime in the future where you're feeling stressed out, worried, go for a walk. If you're angry, get in the gym and lift weights. Um, I like you believe fitness can be such an answer to so many things, along with nutrition. So we're so happy to have you here today. There's so many questions. Where should we begin?

SPEAKER_03 4:56

I mean, I guess can you tell us a little bit about Project Lead Nation? So we know obviously she's there, but what is the concept?

SPEAKER_01 5:03

I can share it with you. So um from that point on, when I started delivering meals out of my station wagon, I just kept showing up. And I just want to share that it felt like um there's something bigger at work here because every resource I would have ever needed to do this just showed up into my life. And there's been lots of change. I've been working on it for over a dozen years. Uh, but today, you know, you have your factors and

Project Lean Nation Beyond The Meal

SPEAKER_01 5:26

your trifactas of the world, and they do an incredible job of putting a box of food on your doorstep. But that's kind of where they stop, but that's where we begin. So we try to be everything beyond the meal. So support, education, coaching, accountability, and we uh use a piece of technology that takes like daily intentions in terms of into measurable wins. And of course, we have uh chef prepared, dietitian-approved, amazing meals. So we built a 35,000 square foot manufacturing facility, which is a long stretch from my garage. Uh, but our goal is a company is to be everything beyond the meal. So we believe everybody's gonna have a healthy meal at some point, but we create these stores that are, you know, essentially the healthy hub of the community. And when I started, I thought it was gonna be like fitness guys and all this, but really it's just general population. And the work is in supporting people and creating a unique relationship with them because it's easy to quit a box of food on your doorstep, but it's more difficult to give up on yourself when somebody else has invested in your journey.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

I just I I love it. And do you know what jumpstart MD is, Tim?

SPEAKER_01 6:36

No, I do.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

Okay, so jumpstart and MD, I uh it's in this area, it's in San Francisco. I don't know if it's a California thing, I'm not quite sure, but they have multiple locations. I go, I've gone for probably a year and a half. I go in person, um, and it's for overall health, weight loss, things like that. I do the in-body scan, just like you guys do. So when you guys had that, I was like, oh, I know this well. Uh, the in-body scan, and then the way they do it is um they you have these like little boxes of like what you're supposed to have in terms of carbs and all the things. Um, and then they suggest meals. And they have a supplement part of it too. But so one, I've been going for over a year and a half. It's a monthly membership. I love the accountability. I've made great relationships. I love the people that I get to see there once a month. Um, where it falls short, and I think where you guys win is having the meals made. Because at the end of the day, it's like, okay, I have to go into this app and they're telling me what the meals are, but I still have to grocery shop. I still have to prepare the meals. And as a very busy mom of young kids, and you know, I'm doing consulting and I have my own franchise business. Like, I, you know, the meal prep, it's it's it takes time. And so I just love that you have that part of it. Um, and I I would love you to speak to, because I know you talked to the direct to consumer. And when I first heard about your concept, I was thinking of the HelloFresh and the factor, but speak to like the customer stickiness a little bit more three times, right? When you're coming in.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Yeah, of course. So, you know, like for one, one of the things that's unique about our business compared to their business is well, one of the benefits of these direct-to-consumers is they're like flooding the market with ads, talking about this type of model and service. So that's beneficial to us. But one of the things that's unique about what we do is we can create community partners. So whether it's a spa, a gym, whatever, so our cost per acquisition is very low. So when we get people in, we we have a system and we we we don't want to train our people to be like salespeople. We want to solve, not sell. And that all begins with a relationship. So we've operationalized that whole process of bringing somebody into what we call lean consultation. We incorporate the technology. And I think that it's really important that I show that we meet everybody with empathy and compassion for where they are. So if they're want to lose weight, if they want to gain muscle, if they're on a medical weight loss strategy, so we meet them where they are and we take them through a process that essentially prescribes them a strategy and we meet them where they are. You know, if they say they have their breakfast is fine, then we accommodate that. And in terms of the meals, that's always been an evolution. And what we learned is that people really want to have a healthy version of what they want to eat on the weekends, right? So we really had to make the food not only um palatable and taste amazing, but it has to be science-backed. So we have a dietitian that audits everything we do, and I think it's the touch points. And in our business, how we measure a member experience is we've identified about five key things that have to happen in the first 30 days and we execute on them. But that also allows our partners to make sure that their employees are executing on the model. And all the things are surrounded about a relationship. So it's a consultation, a follow-up consultation, two coaching calls, and two fulfillments. And if we do that, we have like a 4x lifetime value than a direct-to-consumer company.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

So, Tim, just to be clear, even if I don't have a background in this and I want to bring this to my town, this is a franchise I can own and I can deliver healthy meals, shakes, protein balls, uh, all

Retention Through Relationships And Coaching

SPEAKER_00 10:14

of this in a retail environment as well as delivered to the home. Is that is that do I have that right? 100%.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

So it most people aren't like just standing in line to jump into the food business because of the complexities of kitchen. We remove all of that. So we have centralized manufacturing. So they're stepping into the, you know, if they have a heart to serve their community, and health is important to them, they're not going to be in the food business, they're going to be in the reoccurring revenue business, supporting the health of their community.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

You know, I can tell you're a financial guy, by the way, you said that, because our who so it's funny, when I talk to people, what do you guys do at franchise insiders? We really do a couple of things really well. One, we help people identify franchise ownership's right for them. Two, what franchise fits? And then three, we we coach them. And then four, if one day they build a business with an EBITDA north of a million dollars, we can introduce them to capital partners who can help them uh to recapitalize or even exit. Um, and so the way that you said that, our friends in that world love recurring revenue. Yeah, they love businesses that are not going to be impacted by what's going on in in Tehran or or or the world. And um, so what you've built here and and it this this focus now on health, wellness, longevity, eating healthier, working out more, it attracts such a just a very sort of um an investor who is willing to pay for it, right? Like I want to I want to live a long, happy, healthy life. So if that means I need to to be more focused on my breakfast and my lunch so I can eat what I want at dinner, this is a perfect solution.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Yeah, I I totally agree. And I think that um never before has health been more top of mind. I think COVID really exposed the kind of challenges that we're facing in our country. Plus, our country, 75% of our people are either classified as obese or overweight. And the more uh troubling statistic is one in five of our children, right? So we see this as the ability to kind of supplement the family and try to create some more healthy habits. And I I can also share this like about 60% of our um member base are women. And if the mom is exercising healthy habits, it just has a way to just have a ribble effect on the whole family.

SPEAKER_03 12:34

So, as a customer, how does it work? Do you have to set up a membership? Can I walk in and buy whatever I want? Do I come in and get a week's worth? Like how, if I were to walk in right now, what would my experience be?

SPEAKER_01 12:48

100%. So we have a couple different ways that we acquire clients, some online and some in person. But if you walked in this store, you would be met with what we would call an educator. And the first thing we're trying to do, so like we have a low barrier of entry because we have retail. So we have shakes and meals and supplements, right? So you're not going to feel like pressured to step into some type of membership on day one.

SPEAKER_03 13:11

But if you came in and grab a shake.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Yeah, 100%. So about 25% of our sales are derived from retail sales. But the real kind of driver of the business is what we call PLN plus. So they would be qualifying you, asking you, hey, tell me a little bit about your nutritional strategy today. And most people, when asked that question, we find an opportunity. Then we move them right into the consultation. And really, we had to really operationalize the consultation process. So we created something called the clear framework. So we connect. It's the first thing we want to do. So what brought you into here today? Why is it important to you? And then next thing we knew, we tell them the good news. L, lay the groundwork. So it's like, hey, we help people just like you every single day. Then it's explore. Hey, tell me about your activity levels because all these things go into the information we need to make a recommendation. Then we assess the lean body or the in-body 270. We use that information. The most important number is the basal metabolic rate, how many calories we burn at rest, and then we recommend, right? So then it feels like they're not there buying lunch, they're there. We want to solve something for them. So to solve something for them, we have to establish that there's a gap in where we can support them and identify that. And so what we try, and we would do that for anybody. So that's a free to anybody, even if they don't sign up. But then we make a recommendation to try to see if we can meet them where they are, and there's no commitment because we don't want to have like handcuffs on them. We want them to be so impressed and supported by what we do that they want to stay.

SPEAKER_03 14:41

Okay. And talk to us about you sure?

SPEAKER_00 14:46

I'm gonna go if one of you doesn't go.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Catherine, you're up. I was just gonna flip it a little bit. Like, talk to us about the staffing model. Like, what does that look like? And who's the like who are you hiring? How many people are in the store? Talk to us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Yeah, the the

Franchise Model And Real Economics

SPEAKER_01 15:03

good news is um we don't have any like specialized labor model, right? And we try to keep it lean. And my first wave of franchise partners were you know, things have diversified a little bit. First wave was like these, you know, there were other gym guys who, you know, had a lot of passion, maybe not a lot of capital or business acumen, but they were heavily invested. And early in our system, like passion filled the gaps. You know, we're like figuring things out. And as we get further down the road, we found that a lot of our candidates and a lot of our current franchisees wanted to have a GM model, right? So this is kind of a lead the leader type model. We have educators, which are like our frontline people. We have what's called a key lead, which is essentially the best educator that ever walked the earth, and then we have a GM. Or if it's going to be an owner operator, they would hold that seat. And, you know, even our most uh our highest performing store may have seven employees, and maybe three of them are full-time. So the good news about our business is as it accelerates and as your revenue accelerates, like it doesn't take that many more people to go and grab a box of food and sit down and talk to somebody for 10 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

And what uh what do you guys show in your item 19, Tim?

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Yeah, so our um we just submitted so uh you can get into this, which we want to keep it cost effective. Like everything we do is value engineering, we want to make this open to the most amount of people. So I think it's 254 to 354 all in. Um top third of the systems doing 1.2, our C students doing 700. We got a couple guys trying to figure it out. Um course, top line store. So we in our item 19, we have our uh HQ store. It did 1.8 last year at a 24% EBITDA. It's done that for like seven years in a row.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

Where is that located again? Where's that located?

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Rochester, New York. And if you know anything about the world, this is kind of a gritty place. Like my feelings are if it can work here, it can work anywhere with the right operator.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Um, okay. And then when I watch, so the reason I'm gonna ask this is we had a another franchise on a few weeks ago called HB Protein Smoothies. And um, their whole sort of focus is every smoothie is 250 calories or less, 35 grams of protein to 50 grams of protein, and it tastes like ice cream. Um, they've got their own proprietary blend. I promise I'm not trying to sell another franchise on your podcast. I'm setting it up to ask about the smoothie portion of Project Lean Nation. When I walk into a Project Lean Nation and I'm picking up my meals, if I want to get a smoothie, is it the same sort of thing? You guys make it there or is it pre-made? How does that work?

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Great question. So, for one, we would always call it a shake because the kind of in the to the consumer, a smoothie might be something that in their mind has added sugars and things like that, right? So, what we do is we have about eight standardized shakes that would do anything from like, hey, I need some energy, I'm post-workout, meal replacement. So we walk them through that, and all the shakes are gonna be in the 40 plus grams of protein because we feel that that's what you can metabolize in a single serving, and they taste amazing.

SPEAKER_02 18:11

And people think about the orange one, amazing, so good.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

So, like if a store that does, you know, a million bucks and 25% of their retail is gonna be um, or 25% of the revenue is gonna be retail, half of that is chase, and it's like low barrier of entry, super high margin. And it's when somebody comes in, they're coming in. But another thing that's important is 80% of our member base, they come in to pick up in a time when everybody wants everything delivered. So we know that the member experience is sticky, but when they come in, the first thing we say is, hey, we're gonna go grab your box. What shake would you like? So they, you know, it's it's implied in in it drives the lifetime value, which we're not chasing money, but lifetime value is a affect of retention, and retention is means results for our clients.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

So given 80% of people come in to pick up, if I'm coming in uh as a franchise owner, is your like what does your territories look like? When you know, like when do you set up another one? You know, I what does that look like? Like what's the radius around the store?

SPEAKER_01 19:24

I I do leave all most of those decisions to the pros. So we did a white space analysis. We invested heavily in Site Zeus and identified how far people were traveling to come to our stores, which is actually less than I thought.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Uh, but we provide to everything five, five miles, ten?

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Yeah, it's like three miles.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Three. For all of you listening, uh Tim has partnered with a group called Limitless Franchise

Shakes Retail Strategy And Territories

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Group, which has an incredible team that have been in franchising for years. They franchised concepts like um Club Pilates, like Yoga Six, Cycle Bar. So, I mean, this is a group of serious heavy hitters. Uh so Tim, you partnered with some of the best. Um, we've worked with them for years. So, yeah, I mean, this, you know, it's so interesting. Jill and I have always worked out really consistently, but we uh after our son was born, we had a couple of years, and then maybe after COVID, we had a couple of years where we kind of went up in weight, we got a little bit more puffy. And it really, when we when we changed our diet, when we focused on more protein-forward things, which is why when I saw Kennedy flip the food chart upside down, I'm like, thank you. Um, because all these things that our doctors told us to run from for years, you know, healthy fats, steaks, you know, eggs, don't eat eggs. Oh my God. Um, so my doctor told me a couple of years ago, hey, you know, Jack, you're you're almost 50. It's time to stop eating eggs and stop eating steak and um go more vegetarian. So I, of course, do that, and what happens? My cholesterol goes up, my blood pressure goes up.

SPEAKER_02 20:57

And so I Were you living on were you living on vegetarian pizza? Is that what you were doing though? Vegetarian pizza? I just go. I know you.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

I know okay, but so check this out, Catherine. You've I don't know if you've heard the story. So I started seeing this this doctor on Instagram say, don't listen to this stuff. Eat three eggs a day, eat, eat steak, you know, four or five times a week. So I'm like, you know what? I'll try it. I lost 20 pounds, go to the doctor, cholesterol's down like 50 points. Ever since I started focusing on good, high quality, grass-fed protein, lots more shakes, um, it totally changed my life. My workouts are the same. So, nutrition, the reason I'm saying this in such a long-winded fashion is this is why I love concepts like Project Lean Nation is nutrition is really the difference in in your health and wellness.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

It's so true. And I have I have three hard boiled eggs waiting for me upstairs, like they're ready to go. I'm not kidding.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

Speaking of waiting, I was at the last conference I was at was right around the time they made that change to the food pyramid. And what was really great about that is it's validated the foundation that we built this whole company on. And I'm I I eat steak every day. And uh I feel like a healthy guy. But for for our consumers, we see a lot of this too. Like people come in with a goal, and it's really rewarding to help take them there or provide that vehicle. So for like a partner, like and me personally, there's so much equity in helping somebody do accomplish something that maybe they think they can't on their own. And I think that like that is a key differentiator for our business because you can find money lots of places. But if you're looking for impact and something that can scale, this is it.

SPEAKER_02 22:45

I um I couldn't agree more. And I think I I own soccer stars, which you know,

Protein Mindset And Family Health

SPEAKER_02 22:51

Jack uh they they introduced me to. And um, you know, for me, community impact was huge, leaving the world a better place. Uh, you know, with them when I found it is huge. So I I love Project Lean Nation because it's just it's a win-win. Like it's like soccer for kids, it's teaching healthy habits, all these things. They're getting out, they're running, they're making friends. Project Lean Nation, like if I'm the owner of that, um, being able to impact, you know, people's health and their longevity. And then you speak about the goals and you're talking about, you know, adults, but if you're if I'm the customer, like my kids, like talk about the piece, like the kids eat these meals, right? Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Like so many families get more meals so they can share them with their children. Because at the end of the day, like we're all trying to buy a little bit of time, right? So not only are they improving their health, but they're buying a little time and convenience, and they're not at Chick-fil-A. Not that you should never be at Chick-fil-A, but you know, so many parents make decisions based on limited time and convenience when they really want to make, you know, better decisions, and we can help them do that.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

So I eat like a kid. I'm very picky, and I've always had issues with a lot of like the pre-made meals because I'm picky. There's certain things in there. So how like can I customize my meals or is there just a menu? Like, how does that work to ensure that like you keep someone maybe who's more difficult like me on board?

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Yeah, for sure. And I think that so if we if we learned anything, um, taste and flavor is very personal, right? So it's it's uh we had to create an ever-evolving menu. So we have two product lines we have the lifestyle and we have the athlete. And the athlete is just 1.5 times the portion for people who want a bigger, more protein, things like that. But our core menu

Menu Variety For Picky Eaters

SPEAKER_01 24:48

is 24 meals. And when I started the business, I was like heavy into the CrossFit community. So I was like, everybody has to eat paleo, and if they don't, then they're get out of here. But um, as time went on, we started putting ourselves in positions where kind of like the diet of the month came up, and we we started having to figure out how to educate people on how to tell the difference or the benefits of either. So we threw that out the window. Everything we do is backed by science, dietitian approved, and we do something that's close to the zone diet. And then within that, within these 24 SKUs, we'll have meals that are dairy-free, grain-free, plant-based. So we cover all the um kind of most strategies. And then in terms of flavor, so we have a huge culinary team that is always doing RD, and we're trying to identify what people love to eat and try to make the healthiest version of it. So in our app, we have about in a menu cycle, which is about eight weeks or 10 weeks, we have like 5,000 pieces of feedback that come to us. So it kind of tells us and we ask our community, what would you like to see? And then we rotate out the meals and we turn that also into a major marketing strategy because we have people that are leads that we want to engage, we have people that are with us that we want to re-engage, and then we have members that get what you would call like menu fatigue. So if we say, hey, a new menu is coming, it gives them something to look forward to. And uh we have lots of picky folks, and it's interesting, we can watch the the behaviors of how they select meals because some people might get 24 meals and they only get two different meals and they eat the same thing all the time, and then some people get one of each.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

One thing I love, like so in the retail space, Jill, um, they have the menus like up on the walls. So you have the picture, the the carbs, like all the nutritional details and what's in them. And for me, I'm such a visual person. So I really enjoyed that because, like, I don't know, if I just heard what it was versus not, I don't know. I just think that was a really brilliant marketing piece and way to engage people. You can take it off the wall, you know, talk about it right.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

I can I want to share a quick story about that. So when I first started this model, I would put all these coolers in the store and we put the meals in there and people would grab the meals. And then COVID kicked off, and we had to eliminate that process. So, like for a retail person, rather than coming in to grab two or three, we put the pictures on the wall and we gave them a form, right? And guess what happened? They bought way more meals because they didn't have to hold them in their hands when they were making their selection. So we learned that they were making, they were the the limit in which they were buying is how much they could carry. So it's like we had all these little learnings that came from the front lines, that came from a franchise partner.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Do you remember? So when Jill and I lived, when we were just kind of starting off our married life in downtown San Diego, we used to go to a um a gym called Fit. Fit Meals Fit was awesome because it like overlooked Petco Park. So you could go watch a baseball game. Anyways, I'm I'm kind of the point is that they would sell these meals and you would pick them up like every Tuesday and Thursday, and they and they were okay. Um, but for us at that time, it was so great because we were both, you know, young, working full-time jobs, not a lot of time, not very good cooks at the time. Um, so it it really worked out really well. I think these are all so fabulous. Um, and and it's so again, you imagine you could bring something like this to your town when there are so many food franchises out there that are not providing healthy meals. This is something you could really feel good about. And with those numbers and the item 19, this is something your bank could feel good about. And I'll tell all of you guys that, you know, what we love so much about our team, Catherine is the one who went out there who really went and looked at this thing. Catherine's always out there researching franchises for us, going and meeting people so that we can bring this stuff to you guys. Um, and so I just think this is excellent. And uh, Tim, I will tell you that we have never been so busy as franchise consultants in our life as we have this year. I think AI is changing things, but the reason I'm saying this to you is most of our leads come to us looking for health, wellness, longevity businesses, to the tune of sometimes, you know, 20 people a day, 50 people a day saying, please help me find a health wellness longevity franchise. So this is very much in need right now. So

Store Design Lessons From COVID

SPEAKER_00 29:08

your timing is perfect. And for all of you listening, if you want more information, definitely text us at 305-710-0050. Um, we'd love to get you in touch with Tim's team so you can learn more. Um, but Tim, we gotta talk about some spicy stuff, dude. I gotta know. Let's go. What was it like? What what what what is what is prison actually like? No, I don't think it was an adjustment. Okay, first of all, what is the food like?

SPEAKER_01 29:40

The food is the worst, right? And um, you know, I was living a great life, and all of a sudden I was in the biggest federal prison in the United States, Fort Dix, New Jersey. The the bow on it is 10 years later, I went back and opened a store right down the street from there in Marlton, New Jersey. But uh, I'll share this. When I was there, um it took me a lot, it took me less time to adjust being there than to coming home. Because it's like groundhog day. You just do the same thing every day. And I'm like a disciplined guy. So, you know, I I just go to the library, I take the shower, I fold the towel, I read the book, and time goes on. And I also think that um I'm I like to have a good time. I'm a pretty my um I'm a positive guy and I have a good time. After 60 days, it was like nothing. You know, I had a couple friends, I just lived life. The things that were really difficult, uh, that you you think there's there's gonna be all this violence and things like that, and that does exist, but the things that you don't um prepare yourself for is when your family gets sick and you miss your kids. And those are the things that were really difficult. And um, I'm thankful to the people that supported me when I came home. And I also think without that kind of season of my life, none of this would have happened. And now what we're experiencing today is puts a bunch of meaning behind something that I didn't even have the courage to bring up in the past.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

So thank you for asking. You know, we have a um, we've got a good friend who he was injured in in combat, severely injured, um, to the point that a lot of people who would have had his same injuries might not have come back. He was told he couldn't get, he he lost both his legs. And so he was told pretty much they couldn't fit him for prosthetics because of the extent of his injuries. The only way they could do it is if he could regrow what was it, like a quarter of an inch of his femur or something like that. So he went to work, he figured all of it out, and he did. He regrew that portion of his femur, and now he walks on prosthetics you would never know. This guy, we went to Baja Mark Kathy. Remember, we went to we met you in Baja Mark too, which is a resort in the Bahamas. And when you go on these water sides, you have to walk up like 10 stories of stairs.

SPEAKER_02 31:46

Oh, yeah, I was winded.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

It goes with just his arms. And the reason I bring this up, Tim, I bring this up because Tim, you took you took an experience that could could really could really set a lot of people back, right? And you came out and you came out positive and you built something. And it's it just goes to show why entrepreneurship is such a great path. Because if you have the desire, if you have the discipline, if you want to change your life, there's no better path than entrepreneurship. And I'm not saying it's easy. We all in this room know that there are hard parts. But again, I'll go back to lessons with Trey when we go when we go on these walks with Trey. We always have these conversations. Dad, how do I, how do I, uh how am I able to come back to you know, a fancy resort or drive a cool car, have a great house when I'm older? How can I make a lot of money? And I think the most simple answer I can give him is build, scale, and sell a business. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

And I think it's the I think it's the meaning too. I think, you know, with a lot of these corporate jobs or you know, when it any job that you just you don't own the business yourself,

Prison Reality And Building Meaning

SPEAKER_02 32:51

it's like you're going through the motions. And I think like when I talk to, you know, so many, most of my friends, right, work in in corporate America a lot for the tech companies in San Francisco. Obviously, I'm in the Bay Area. They have great jobs, they get paid well. But the meaning, they they are going through the motions, they are doing the bare minimum to it's just I hear it, just I have these conversations and it's like, wow, life is so much more than that. Like, life, I don't know. For me, I want to experience the most joy and make the most, the most positive impact I can. I mean, and that's just me that I can in this world. And when you're working for someone else, that's really hard, I think, to find.

SPEAKER_01 33:34

I can share this. So, like our highest performing franchise partners, all the people that have joined our mission today, purpose and meaning is important to them. And they've experienced the other side of it. And this is a great vehicle for that. And anybody who spends time with myself and my team, it like oozes out of us because this wasn't a business for me. It felt like a responsibility and it felt like like a comeback. And I invest my whole heart into it.

SPEAKER_03 34:00

I love that. And I love that you you were saying, you know, you you kind of invest in these people that come in too. Like you want to see their progress and and then they're so thankful to you too. It's more than just thank you for giving me healthy food. Like you can actually change their life by doing this, and that's such like an amazing feeling. Um, when, you know, even if it's one or two people call and say, thank you so much, you know, like I finally can keep up with my kids, or you know, whatever their their health goal was and they reach it or are, you know, approaching it. Um, it's such a good feeling inside. So it's, you know, it's kind of like you kind of get it all in one.

SPEAKER_00 34:37

Well, and the other side, I mean, it the other side of this too is, you know, Tim, there are so many people who now are utilizing um, you know, Zapic GLPs, and and they don't have the appetite, right? But they still need to get the right amount of protein. They still need to work out. And so your meals are not, these aren't massive meals. So for people that are um on these types of peptides, it's a great solution because your body still needs all that protein. You still got to get what 0.7 grams of protein per pound. Um,

GLP-1 Nutrition And Longevity

SPEAKER_00 35:09

and so but you get what I'm saying. Yeah, I this fits today's lifestyle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

Yeah. And I can speak to that a little bit too, because when all these I just read an article that they've written 100 million subscriptions prescriptions for uh GLP1s. And when it first came out, I'll I I wouldn't be lying if I didn't think I was a little concerned about it. But as I did more research, um one of the downsides is is it has an impact on skeletal muscle mass, which is the number one marker for health span, longevity. So nutrient-dense high protein meals aren't optional for them, they're essential.

SPEAKER_00 35:47

Yeah. That's it's so true. Um, and and again, I think it's and what's interesting is they don't, I mean, the health benefits from GLPs beyond just weight loss, like reducing inflammation, improving improving blood pressure, things like that. So point is um this brand, Project Lean Nation, I think is a great investment for so many reasons. It is fitting with today's consumer. Um, and you're doing something good for people, you're working with good people. It's just a win the whole way around. And we are seeing, again, like I said, this space explode. So I'm so glad we could have you on the podcast today. Tim, what haven't we asked? That's it, that's an important thing for people that's gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

I think there is something that I'd like to hit home. And when I started this, this is about supporting people in a unique way. And I think that's important for anybody, any candidate that's looking at any system, that support is critical. And it's not like we're like putting up fences one day and supporting franchisees the next. The same framework that we utilize to support someone through a health journey is the same framework

Franchisee Support And Leadership

SPEAKER_01 36:49

we utilize to support a franchise partner. So it essentially all the same levers. They have goals, we have a system, we support them through the timeline. It's the same thing. So I think for anybody out there that um support is important to them in their journey in business ownership, that's foundational to what we do in our core business. So I think that's a great consideration.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

Oh, it's it's that's why people buy franchises. They want the support, they want the the tell me what I'm gonna do to grow this business step by step by step by step, and let's make sure we're checking in on a weekly basis and I'm hitting my numbers. And you know, the great thing about franchising is everybody's goals are aligned. You guys, as a franchise or want your franchisees' royalties to be as high as possible. In royalties high, the franchisee's revenue has to be as high as possible. Everybody's goals are perfectly aligned, and that's what makes it so different from corporate America is that in corporate America, hey, we're gonna pay you 150 grand a year and we're gonna grind you into the ground. With franchising, it is we are going to work together and we all are going to achieve by achieving maximum results. And the nice thing is, if someone buys a project lean nation and it isn't for them, they can sell it to another project lean nation franchisee who really gets it and who's great at it. So this sort of built built-in sort of infrastructure is there for people from all walks of life, which is what makes the franchise model so bringing agreed. Catherine, what else what have we not covered that you think we should cover?

SPEAKER_02 38:17

I mean, I I just the just to hit home again on the support, I mean, and the leadership. Uh, I mean, Tim, I just I love your your leadership style. You're so positive, you're inspirational. Um, that's huge. You know, it's having like an executive team that's going to continue to innovate, push the boundaries. Um, you know, it's not just about selling franchises. That's very clear. That's not what you're about. Um, you're about making a difference and supporting your owners and helping them succeed. And so that's super important. And when I hear franchises aren't and Jack and Jill and our team like aren't supporting their franchise as well because it happens. Um, I'm not gonna sh recommend that franchise. So that's I mean, that's crucial. Um and I think I I did have a question. Like, what was there a life lesson you learned in prison that you apply to your business today? Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:13

I mean, I think well, you know, I have a PhD in patience. So I think that I had to, you know, sitting on the bunk thinking about your life and what you're gonna do. It it gave me, I think, a longer vision for what I was gonna do next. Like I'm not thinking day to day, like I know how to do the time. And I think that that gave me the perseverance. And I think that I had a small group of people who believed in me and I just want to prove them right. And I work hard every day to do it.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

That's so cool. Tim, this has been awesome. Uh, I think our audience is absolutely gonna love all this great content. Uh, how can people find Project Lean Nation? How should they contact you directly?

SPEAKER_01 39:51

Yeah, um, if they want to check out the business, they can check out Project Lean Nation.com. If they want to send me an email, Tim at Project Lean Nation.com, or if they want to learn about my life, PLN Tim on Instagram.

SPEAKER_00 40:02

Excellent. And all we ask at the franchise insiders

How To Connect And Closing

SPEAKER_00 40:05

is if you learn about Project Lean Nation through this podcast, please just let them know that you did find them through us. Um, we'd be forever grateful for that and for your subscription. Um, Tim, this has been wonderful. Thank you for being on the podcast. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 40:19

Well, I think this has been great. Thank you so much. Thanks, Tim.

SPEAKER_00 40:22

Well, I think we've solved it all for today's episode. I'm Jack Johnson.

SPEAKER_03 40:26

I'm Jill Johnson.

SPEAKER_00 40:27

And we'll talk to you next time on the We Bought a Franchise podcast. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 40:30

Bye.