Beyond 9-to-5: Creating Multiple Income Streams through Franchising w/ Matt Stevens, The Franchise Guy

Known as "The Franchise Guy," Matt Stevens is a seasoned expert in the franchise industry, having owned and led multiple businesses including successful turnaround projects. With over three decades of experience, Stevens has assisted more than 900 individuals in transitioning from corporate roles to franchise ownership, offering strategic franchise consulting and personalized assessments to guide emerging entrepreneurs. His deep understanding of franchise dynamics makes him a valuable advisor for high-performing professionals contemplating business ownership.

Franchising is examined as a strategic path for diversification, offering stability against the fluctuating job market, particularly for high earners facing career transitions. Stevens brings his wealth of knowledge to the fore, demystifying the franchising process and helping professionals cut through the clutter to make informed decisions.

The episode is rich with strategies and stories that provide clarity on the often daunting choices professionals face when contemplating franchise ownership. Discussing the allure and pitfalls of various franchise models, Stevens emphasizes the importance of a strategic, measured approach. From understanding franchise benchmarks to evaluating one’s suitability for different business models, this episode equips listeners with the foundation needed to navigate the intricate world of franchising. 

Key Takeaways:

• Franchising as a Strategic Pivot: Transitioning from corporate to franchise ownership can be beneficial if approached strategically and early enough, offering viable options for maintaining and elevating lifestyle standards.
• Importance of Timing: Stevens stresses the importance of engaging in franchise opportunities early, before job security becomes a concern, to better harness the benefits of growing a business alongside a corporate career.
• Control and Contingency: Owning a franchise is not about ease but about gaining control over career contingencies, with successful franchising based on replicating proven behavioral models.
• Leveraging Franchise Knowledge: A strategic advantage of franchising lies in the ability to bypass the lengthy learning curves associated with starting a business from scratch, thus accelerating paths to success.
• Leadership and Culture in Franchising: Stevens highlights the paramount role of cultivating a constructive culture and investing in employee growth, associating these factors with franchise success.

Notable Quotes:

• "You’re buying down the learning curve. So do you want to spend seven years figuring this out on your own or learn from others?" – Matt Stevens
• "We are living finite lives, and franchising allows you to get where you're going faster." – Matt Stevens
• "Franchising is about controlling the behavior of what you can, and having the measurement on the uncontrollable." – Matt Stevens
• "Hire for attitude, train for skill. There is a lot you can accomplish with the right team culture." – Matt Stevens

Resources:

• Visit Matt Stevens' website: heisthefranchiseguy.com for more information on franchising opportunities.

All episodes and guest requests can be found at:
www.leadershipmomentspodcast.com
Follow Stacey Caster on Instagram @staceycaster_
Follow Tracy-Ann Palmer on Instagram @tracy_ann_palmer

Transcript

Walk The Talk As A Leader

SPEAKER_02 0:01

You have to walk the talk. You have to be authentic as a leader.

SPEAKER_00 0:04

If you're not doing it, they see that.

SPEAKER_01 0:07

It is entirely universal. There's other people who are going through this.

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For me, a great leader needs to be able to marry three things: vision, systems, and people.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Welcome to Leadership Moments. If this is your first time, and if you are returning, thank you for your support.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

This show is about leaders from all walks of life, leadership tips, and maybe even a little of what you wouldn't expect to help you in leadership.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

We would appreciate it if you tell someone else about our podcast as we strive to support all leaders that want to just be better. Let's get on with the show.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Welcome to Leadership Moments, where we explore the decisions, the mind shift sets, and the defining moments that shape extraordinary leaders all around the world.

Corporate Success To True Ownership

SPEAKER_02 0:55

And today's conversation is one I think so many people, especially high-performing professionals, are going to lean into because it sits right at the intersection of leadership, risk, and ownership. So, what does it really take to move from corporate success into owning something of your own? It's a conversation I've actually had with a lot of people over the last 12 months as there has been so much transition in the corporate industry. And more importantly, how do you make the right decision when there are thousands of options and so much noise? Matt Stevens, also known as the franchise guy, has owned multiple businesses. He's led multiple turn major turnarounds, and today helps professionals cut through the hype and confidently choose the right franchise path. And I really wanted to have a conversation with Matt because of what I'm hearing, certainly in my coaching sessions, is people are doing a lot of transition and they're not sure what to do next because the job market isn't just open for opportunity. All right. So, Matt, welcome to Leadership Moments. So grateful to have you here. And I can't wait to dive in.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

Tracy, and thank you so much for having me. I've been looking forward to this. And I'm great, great to see you this morning.

The Motivations Behind The Leap

SPEAKER_02 2:27

When we think about the thousands of professionals, all right, um, what is the moment when someone realizes I don't just want to lead inside a company, I want to own something. And maybe there's some dissatisfaction there. Uh, maybe there's sort of upfront, not upfront. I know you've worked with so many unique individuals, all very different, and you've had your own experience personally. What do you do in these situations when you're talking to these individuals?

SPEAKER_03 2:56

Yeah, very well. I mean, people are um people are motivated by by pain and pleasure. And sometimes it's despair, sometimes frustration, uh, sometimes life situations. Every single person I've ever worked with has their own very unique situation that is motivating them to look somewhere. And they may have had a similar motivation in their past, but it wasn't strong enough to kind of push them away from what they're doing. So we're all in a constant flux of figuring out is this the best opportunity for me? Uh, you know, how can I get from here to there with with the with the least challenges, let's say, or with the greatest opportunity. Um, right now I'm I'm simply finding a lot of people motivated by challenges in the workforce. I consulted with a gentleman yesterday who he says he's put out 50 applications, he hasn't had a single response, and he was earning well into six figures at his at his prior situation, not just 100 or two, but well above $300,000 a year. He can't find those opportunities. Other people have called me because their state tax situation is so enormous, and they want to they have an opportunity, maybe they're empty nesters and they want to move out. Um, often these people are 35 and older, many of them 45 to 60. And so we simply get into the reasons why they're feeling this way at all. Why are they investing time with me? Because that itself is a motivation. And then what do they hope to find at the other end of that? And we do a full assessment. I do a quick one right off the bat, and then we do a much more thorough one as time goes on to figure out if there really are viable opportunities in franchising for them. Knowing all along, franchising is one option. They could find a job, they could start their own business, they could buy an existing business, they could work with another company, et cetera.

Young Owners And A New Alternative

SPEAKER_02 4:52

And you know, the other opportunity when I think about franchising, and as I put my entrepreneurial head on, is there's a lot of young people that don't want to go into a corporate job. I have a very good friend of mine whose whose son is, oh my gosh, he's just exploding in his own business, you know. And he's carved out an edge for himself. And it's wonderful to see. I get so excited. I get so excited when I see that. So I'm sure you see, you know, um, even when you're talking to the parents, these opportunities potentially for for their kids to start young and get into that their own business.

SPEAKER_03 5:32

It's interesting. As I'm now my youngest is a senior, and we're looking at the college expenses. And there is a viable argument for forgoing all of that and investing it in a business. I have placed a 24-year-old. I've placed a 22-year-old with their parents' help who did extremely well. I was 19 when I signed my first franchise agreement, and that laid for me the foundation to do all kinds of things I never dreamt before that that I would do. So there's uh I do think people have seen their parents. I once placed a person who had been downsized eight times, he said. Um I think young people have seen their parents do what they've done, and the payoff is often um uh lack of gratitude by the employer. So there's a hole in the marketplace for that. And I would use that advice to share with people looking at being a business owner. Wow, if you bring in people who are of your culture and who uh where you've shared the vision with them and they agree, and then you give them an opportunity to grow on their own accord, you can go a long way with some key people. So there's there's all kinds of aspects to this.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

Yeah. Now,

How Smart Buyers Pick Wrong

SPEAKER_02 6:49

one thing I know uh that that you know very well as the expert is that even when you have you know wealthy, successful, smart individuals, uh sometimes they can choose the wrong franchise. I'd love to just know a little a little about that. Because I I personally, over the course, you know, of my life, I've always, you know, I get these opportunities where I sort of look at the franchise and I'm like, I I don't know, what are they good at there? You know, like I always look at that and I think to myself, there's hundreds and thousands out there. It's hard to know which one's gonna work or not, right?

SPEAKER_03 7:29

Right. Yeah, there's there's over 4,000 brands out there, and uh they're just like human beings. They're they're tall, they're short, they're wide, they're skinny. I mean, some of these require more sales activity, some more management activity, some require more or less money. Some have a longer, more drawn-out time frame to make money. Some have expansion capacity and scalability, others don't. Any way you can imagine it, they come that way. And each to each person their own. What I do with my candidates and why someone might make a mistake is maybe they get caught up in, hey, that's a fast-growing franchise. You know, there's a sandwich shop out there who we'd all know the name of, who used to advertise during the Super Bowl, and they grew tremendously, and so many people in that system lost everything they invested in that sandwich business. Well, we certainly want to avert that. And so we make sure people don't get caught up in that whole excitement. We make sure they're being objective in their research. And bottom line is this we have a thorough research process designed for someone. I call it the very best of deliberate path. And if people follow that program, what they're gonna find out is they're gonna have a bunch of conversations uniquely with the franchiser, after which they have time to ponder and ask new questions every time. They're given opportunities to understand the model, opportunities to understand the funding, speak with franchisees, good, bad, or indifferent, and learn from them. Here's the behavior it takes to succeed, and here's what I've avoided. And if the candidate can look at three, six, seven of those conversations and realize what those challenges and opportunities are, replicate the positive, ignore or avoid the negative, they might become a successful franchise owner. If they can't do those things, then maybe they should reconsider. So I think a lot of people get into the excitement of the decision without really thinking what it takes to be on the other side of the counter, if you will. Um, and and uh that's the challenge. What is the day in the life of a franchise owner versus how popular it might be right now to customers? Because it may not be something you want to endeavor every day. You know, getting up at 4 a.m. to make the donuts isn't exciting for everyone.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

It's

Lifestyle Fit Beats Shiny Revenue

SPEAKER_02 9:50

so funny you say that because I I I have so I love the concept of like a B and B to take care of my guests because I love, I love even in my own home. Don't laugh at me. My rooms have got guest names. When my guests come, they get champagne. Um I go all out, okay? Because I just always wanted to be like, oh, I'd love to own a little bit of B and B. But I think, oh my gosh, I have to get up at four o'clock in the morning and start cooking. I can't stand the smell of food at four o'clock in the morning. Can you imagine? Like I'd be a complete failure.

SPEAKER_03 10:25

I'm telling you, when we get behind the curtain, and sometimes we get behind very quickly. Uh, yesterday I had a first conversation with a gentleman who was all excited about two different businesses that could really make a lot of money, and they're known for that. And and and generally speaking, he's totally accurate. However, what I quickly uh engaged with him was in one of them, you have to make that money, you need probably a hundred or more employees. And in the other one, to make that money, you need to be on call 24-7 or his emissary. Now, okay, you can you can hire someone to do that. Uh, question is then it increases your investment level. So we had a very candid 10-minute discussion about that. And he said, Yeah, let's keep those in mind, but let's also look somewhere else. And frankly, it usually that's all it takes is let's look at the biggest challenge in that business. Are you still up to looking at it? Because you're going to invest 50 to 100 hours in review of that one concept before you say yes to it. So let's figure out right now if we're even up to that task.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

Yeah, I love that. And I love the fact that you are helping individuals make those decisions because everything looks great on the surface. I think about timeshare. I mean, talk about the pressure sale, okay? But people get really, you know, captivated in those conversations because they're only hearing all the pros, they're not hearing about the cons, which are significant. For example, you know, if you're not going to take advantage of those opportunities, right? Um the cons can can outweigh the pros, for example. Uh, and in your case, what I love is that you're able to sit down with someone and talk about their lifestyle. Because you're talking about lifestyle, yeah. Okay. Is that person gonna want to get up at 4 a.m. in the morning, right? Uh, do they understand that to get to that that number, whatever that revenue number is, uh, there's a lot that they've got to do. They've got to be on call 24-7. Yeah, some people may not want to do that, Mike.

SPEAKER_03 12:31

Absolutely. I I like opportunities where, well, let me step back. I I know what I'm capable of every day. And if I can control my own behavior, and so I like opportunities where if you control your own behavior and proven successful behavior is X, Y, and Z, and you can and are willing to replicate that, maybe that's a great opportunity to consider. But if there are things, you know, I once had a person who opened up a business, he opened up a pizza franchise, he had one successful one, he had the rights to three of them. Uh, this was a friend of mine, his father actually. I did not place them, but when they opened up the second one, within weeks, the city dug up all the road in front of his place to put in lines, and it cut his business down by more than 50%. And that location ended up going under. He had no control over that. So I personally I'm I'm a big fan of avoiding that. Uh, and yeah, that's a unique situation. Doesn't happen every storefront for sure. Uh, but I'm a big fan of let's control the controllables and and figure out if we can put a measurement on the uncontrollables and and deal with it. If we can't, let's let's just work on things that we can affect ourselves every single morning.

Multiple Income Streams Before You Need

SPEAKER_02 13:44

Now, the the other thing that I wanted to talk about was, you know, I mentioned this at the beginning. We have a lot of people who are in their later years. Um, they are in corporate today. I mean, just last year in the tech industry, yeah, I've been in the tech for a long time, it was over 250,000 layoffs. Those jobs aren't coming back, they're not they're not resurging, right? So I had people who, you know, they're still paying kids college, okay. They have a certain lifestyle that they've been accustomed to because they're six-figure earners, okay, uh, and they've lost their job and they are now in transition. And one of the pieces of advice uh that you know I've been sharing is it's it sometimes means that you have to have multiple streams of income. We've never thought about that in the past, at least on a corporate level, right? And so what I have seen is I've got some friends who have corporate jobs, but they have franchises. Okay. Uh that is multiple streams of income, especially if they're single parents, for example. But they have the right franchise, okay, uh, that helps them, you know, generate the kind of revenue they want to generate, but not take up enough more time, if I can call it that, right? So they've got the right infrastructure with that franchise. The second is I don't want to be in corporate anymore, just to your point. You know, I've gone through multiple transitions, I'm done. Now I want to go, you know, get into a franchise. Do you see that increasing? Now, what's what's your perspective on that?

SPEAKER_03 15:32

Yeah, it the unfortunate part of that is I get a lot of calls from people in corporate who call me when I'm going to use the term it's it's too late for them to create security. Um, meaning they're scrambling. Their job is in peril, or they lost it, or they're interviewing for their next one, knowing this one uh that for the one they currently have, there'll be an impending loss. Um, the successful ones think of it this way. I I worked, uh, I used to golf with a corporate exec who started with one haircutting salon. He didn't have much hair, he didn't cut the hair, but he started with one. By the time we were golfing, he owned 41 of them in three states. He also had his corporate income. Another friend I had I have in Indiana is a high-end manager of a manufacturing company being paid very well. He also owns six stores of a franchise. Three of them are in a college town that do extremely well. So he set each of those gentlemen set these things up prior to ever even thinking they were going to leave their career employment. So you do what you got to do, but the best time to get into this stuff is before you ever need it. So you can establish it, you can build it, you can have it running in your in your rearview mirror for three years before you ever worry about losing or moving out of a corporate position. Um, the folks who really kind of struggle with the decision are the ones who've already lost their position and now they realize that they've got to start from scratch or they've got to overpay for a resale opportunity so they can get some or or or all of their income on day one, but they have to pay for that. They essentially buy their income rather than buying time. Uh so great points. Uh, I love working with corporate expats. I have a lot of candidates, 50 plus, who are in those situations. But I'll I'll emphasize the best time to start is before you need it. It's when you can build up, build up the replication of income and then find a jumping off point and jump ship.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

Love that. I absolutely think that is the greatest advice. And if there is one thing that our audience should take away from this entire conversation, that to me would be it. That to me is what I call the money slide. Okay. You know, you're in corporate, you're doing well, the time to actually get into the multi-stream revenue opportunity is now, not later. So, you know, I I work with, I coach a lot of people who are in, you know, mid-career, right? They're not, you know, they they probably still got about 20 years left. To me, that's the kind of advice I would like to give them, right? You got the job, you got corporate, go and you know, go and create an opportunity in multi-stream income, right?

Buying Down The Learning Curve

SPEAKER_02 18:30

And franchising, we'll talk about this in a minute. Uh you know, they call it the easy button. We're gonna talk about that. Because uh I I think you and I would agree that's not the truth.

SPEAKER_03 18:42

Right. Um I I don't know as I'd ever call it easy. I might refer to it as easier than some things in comparison, but uh, you know, I've placed over 900 people into franchises, Tracy Ann, and not one of them, they've invested anywhere from a mid-five figures to well into seven figures. These are astute, intelligent, motivated, critical people who are comparing options. And every one of them knew none of them needed a franchise to get where they were going. The reason they got into franchising is numerous, but basically, when you get into a franchise, you're buying down the learning curve. You're writing a franchise fee check to get all of this information that other people have experienced. They've been through the challenges, they've taken advantage of the opportunities, they know what works, they have benchmarks and so forth. So you're buying that knowledge and you're buying down the learning curve by years. And since we are all living finite lives, do you want to spend seven years figuring this out on your own, making untimely, costly mistakes, or do you want to have all these people on your side and learn that stuff up front? The second major reason why people get into franchising is because they see other people like them have done it and they can question those people before ever making their decision. So they can find out what attitudes work, what behavior works, what habits work. And again, they can determine if they want to replicate those things or not. And if they're not up to it, that might not be the business for them. But if they are up to it, and these are the behaviors that generate specific results, the question is then why can't they do the same thing? And it's a real simple, uh, it's a real simple dialogue, internal dialogue, once you have the information. So it isn't easy. There's always time, money, and effort, right? Everything has a price. Uh you know, I think Scott Adams had the quote, the the the writer of uh Dilbert, the uh the cartoon. He said, Um, uh, success in anything is simple. When you learn what it is that you want, figure out its price and then pay it. And the price is going to be time, money, and effort. And you're gonna pay for it one way or the other. You figure out which one is to your best advantage. But um, folks in franchising get there faster with the franchise than they would ever do it on their own, and that's why they jump on board.

People And Culture Drive The Outcome

SPEAKER_02 20:57

What do you think is the most overlooked factor when you speak to people?

SPEAKER_03 21:03

Wow, what a great question. The most overlooked uh well, the first thing is this franchising a lot of people come to me wanting something part-time or semi-absentee, and I'll admit to everyone there's nothing in franchising that mimics the stock market. Meaning, can you get the gains the stock market provides? Yes, you can. Um, and we can show that time and time again. Is it no maintenance? You just send in money and forget about it? Absolutely not. Someone has to be managed, some behavior has to be managed. I think the most overlooked thing are the simple realities that even if there's a quote, a big player in your market, they don't own the market. In most service businesses, for example, someone is out there getting incredibly wealthy with just two to four percent of the market. That's it. I've placed people who have a quarter of 1%, a half of 1%, 1% of the market, and they are replicating an executive six-figure income and building net worth. That's one big thing. The second big thing I'll say is this, and people see it right out there right now. A lot of white-collar people might never have worked with blue-collar employees before. And for those who have, there's an advantage. For those who haven't, there's an opportunity. And that is this ask any, ask blue-collar people if they've had a champion in their lives. And I think respectfully, a lot of them said no. I started with a painting business. And the moment my general manager, my advisor in the franchise told me to look at my workers differently and afford them opportunity and share with them the achievement of their own vision and give them a path to run to achieve those visions and be their champion, is the word I use. Behavior changed immediately. My turnover rate dropped from 84% down to 14% virtually overnight. There is opportunity out there to bring other people with you. And if you provide them um proper outcomes of their own, they'll help you generate a significant income of your own. And I think a lot of people overlook that or forget about it, or have never considered it.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Well, there's there's a leadership lesson right there. Right. How you bring your people along the journey, how you lead, um, how you, you know, they're not an employee, they're an investment, is the way I look at it.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

They're a partner. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

Your partners, you can't do it without them. Uh, and that trust, uh, that loyalty, that mutual respect. I I've always said how you treat your people is how much you're gonna get out of them.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

Right, right, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Just as human beings, right? If people are kind to us, treat us with respect, help us, support us, you know, you get that call at two o'clock in the morning, Mike, because someone wants help, you're gonna go do it. You will do it. Right. Right? Right. Because that's intrinsically for us, um, that that that is how we're we're built. I mean, relationships are important, but bringing someone up with you that that is leadership. If you don't do that, that's not leadership in my mind.

SPEAKER_03 24:31

You know, it's critical. It's critical. And literally, I I mean, I was a painting contractor at age 20. And uh I was terrible at the beginning. I still write when when I when people become franchisees who I place, I send them a packet of information. And on the very first page is how I regret so many of these very awkward newsletters I'd written and how many meetings that I I remember now still, they haunt me to this day, 40 years later, of how horrible and unproductive they were. But I got better and I was rookie of the year. And here I was at age 20 with 21 employees at my peak and five crew leaders. And when I flipped that switch to showing them, here's how you're gonna get from here to there, here's how you are going to achieve your goals, here's how I'm gonna help you, here's how I need you to help me help you. That relationship changed dramatically. My turnover went down. Uh, I stopped falling asleep at 3 a.m., fully clothed in a well-lit room, but out of exhaustion, and could, you know, uh take the afternoons off starting at 2 p.m. Everything changed. Everyone was happier, everyone made more money, the customers were happier. It was a brand new world. And you can change. And in my case, I changed overnight, and I would argue that anyone can do that.

SPEAKER_02 25:44

Yeah, I love that. I love that. I think that's such a great lesson. And having that many employees at the age of 20, uh, that's something certainly to be proud of. And the fact that you turned that around is is is pretty incredible.

SPEAKER_03 25:58

I I recall it with great pride, and I do remember those exhaustive days, and I remember those panic days and the days where uh I had to get things done within the next 24 hours, or maybe someone wasn't going to be at a job site. Um, you remember that? We did what we call Bob and Weave, but it it really causes you to bring out the best in you and uh a great learning experience, great experience altogether, and really laid the foundation for my uh business life ever since.

SPEAKER_02 26:27

I'm curious now. Did that come through self-awareness or did your you know, mentor, whoever it was, offer the advice? I'm kind of curious how that happened.

SPEAKER_03 26:39

Uh, great question. It was both. The self-awareness was I need to do something different. There has to be a better way. A great question to ask yourself. Uh, there has to be a better way. Uh, but my general manager had tactics and approaches that he taught me probably twice, Tracy, and by then, because we had these very long training sessions. But you know, the human mind can only absorb so much in 27 hours on a three-day weekend. And uh, so he would bring these things up again and say, remember when we talked about that? In this one case, regarding my change in labor results, it was a two-hour session where he just basically put his arm around me and said, We need to talk. And he saw the potential was there, he saw my commitment was there. And he said, I'm gonna share with you uh memories of our training session and give you new ideas as well, where if you if you implement them, you're gonna have different results. And that's exactly what happened. And he's right, he trained me all this stuff before, but I needed a refresher. And now that I had 80% of the learning curve underneath my belt, I could now employ these new ideas that worked wonderfully. And it was those marginal changes, simple marginal changes that changed the world for me and my workers and my customers, frankly.

SPEAKER_02 28:02

You know, um in in environments where you work might be a great opportunity. It's not always a great fit because of who you're working for or with, right? And I think that is one thing that is so critical for for any employee, the environment and the leader has to fit that um the trust, the support, right? Because all of us need work, like none of us. You know, I I actually had a boss once who said, I when I when I when I promote people, I'm promoting them knowing that they only know 50% of the job. They go they're gonna grow into the other 50. It's very rare you you know you bring someone in who knows how to do everything because they've already outgrown that position, if that's the case. Right?

SPEAKER_03 29:00

Right.

SPEAKER_02 29:01

So they only know a certain amount. So your leader and how they support you um becomes critical. But you learned those lessons really early on in your life, which I'm sure had a huge impact on you.

SPEAKER_03 29:13

I think so. And and we had a mantra regarding our people, and that was, and I'm sure others have heard of this, but it's hire for attitude, train for skill. There's you know, you don't want your surgeon to be that. But uh there's a lot of roles in life where if you you hire for attitude, train for skill. And I didn't, I didn't know. I painted once as a 16-year-old for several hours one week, right? I mean, that was my experience. So I hired someone who had a great attitude and would train my other people. And there were two two workers, three, three workers, two guys and a girl who I hired who would train their crew leaders and they were excellent at that. They had great attitudes. I'd hire the workers for their attitudes and then they'd learn the skill. Hire for attitude, train for skill works. And I would implore anyone listening or watching to really study and understand what's called the human learning curve or the transition curve. And what that is is a model that takes every person's mind in any new endeavor from first cast, just learning about it, to really experiencing it and understanding, okay, here's what works and here's what doesn't, and gaining confidence in that whole experience. Uh, that's a piece of material I send to every person I ever place in the franchise. And and you can find it on the internet, it's the learning curve or the transition curve. And it looks sinusoidal and it just takes you through five stages of growth in any endeavor so that any person, you or your employee, can be prepared for what's next because you've consciously managed uh that expectation.

SPEAKER_02 30:53

Any any role you play, whether it's a franchise owner or whether it's a you know leader in corporate, it doesn't matter. Your people are the key to your success.

SPEAKER_03 31:04

Absolutely. Uh people are here, culture is enormous. And I I'll I'll admit my first uh knock me in the head experience regarding culture uh was uh when I went to to college and and tried out for the baseball team. And uh every single coach, every single school, every single path of academia at different schools had its own culture. And I learned there that that was extremely important. And uh if you have great culture, you can you can go far with a lot of people. If you don't, you're gonna be scrambling every day.

SPEAKER_02 31:41

Yeah, that's exactly right.

Fear, Facts, And Taking The Step

SPEAKER_02 31:43

So we're coming to the end here. Any additional words of wisdom for our audience? I love the fact we've gone from, you know, sort of, hey, here's what franchising looks like, right through to, I think some of the amazing lessons that you have learned as a leader. And certainly uh I'm I'm I know you have more, a lot more, to teach all of us because of what you've seen, quite quite frankly, not just your own experience, but I think just working with, I mean, you place 900 franchise owners, right? Those those are all you know leaders and CEOs of their own companies who I'm sure have made have done a lot of good uh and also made a lot of mistakes at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 32:28

Correct. Yeah, I and I've taken a lot of lessons from those people and the ones who haven't gone forward. I mean, I'll run into candidates who I absolutely know that if they would, I'm gonna focus on the word fear here. If they would get past that fear, everything in front of them screams that they could do extremely well and change their lives in business X or whatever it is. And it's it's I can share with them and ask them all the questions in the world, but they have to take that step. Fear is a massive driver of behavior. For some people, it keeps them going to work uh every day. For other people, it it makes them jump into a business where they can have something better down the line, even if they're starting at zero. So I would just have people really assess their own ability to address facts and deal with fear. Because boy, when 27 other people are right in front of you doing exactly what you would need to do to succeed, and you just can't imagine yourself replicating that, that's that's unfortunate. And I do believe what one person can do, another can do with limitations. But when one person, what one person can do, another can do, you just have to learn what those levers are and figure out how to push them.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Uh yeah, I love that. That's amazing. It's excellent advice for sure. So,

How To Reach Matt Stevens

SPEAKER_02 33:55

to all of our audience, uh Matt is the franchise guy. Uh, he is a wonderful human being as well. Uh, he has got great advice uh for all of you that are out there, uh, whether you're you're interested in franchising or not, it's certainly a conversation. Remember, get in early. Don't get in late. Matt, I it's been such a pleasure having you on the show. Uh, we will definitely have you back for sure, because we can catch up on some more. I know there was so much more we could have talked about, but time goes so fast. And Matt, how can people get hold of you? What's the quickest way for them to get hold of you?

SPEAKER_03 34:34

Very good. Go to the website heisthefranchiseguy.com. It's all written out. Heisthefrancheguy.com. I have been Matt Stevens, the franchise guy, for over 30 years now, and that's the best way to run a train.

SPEAKER_02 34:47

Fantastic. So he is thefranchiseguy.com. There you go. And Matt, just fantastic to have you on the show today. Thank you for joining us.

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SPEAKER_02 34:58

If you enjoyed the show, please go to LeadershipMoments Podcast.com to subscribe to the podcast or on your favorite player, as well as follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_01 35:09

You can also send us a message on what you like and don't like or what guests you want us to have on the show. So until next time, this is Stacy Caster, and what does it challenge you won't change you.

SPEAKER_02 35:19

And I'm Tracy M. Palmer. Be the change you wish to see in the world.