Franchise QB

Episode 30: Coaches Corner with Marc Magerman- CEO, Elite Franchise Advisors

• Mike Halpern • Season 1 • Episode 30

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In this episode of the Franchise QB Coaches Corner, host Mike Halpern interviews Marc Magerman, Certified Franchise Consultant with FranServe and President of Elite Franchise Advisors. They discuss Marc's background in multi-unit franchise ownership with Five Guys Burgers and Fries and how he got started in franchising.

Marc shares his passion for helping others and his role as a franchise consultant, guiding aspiring entrepreneurs through the process of finding the right franchise opportunity. They also discuss the importance of passion and motivation in franchise candidates and the process of matching candidates with the right franchise brand. Marc also shares his involvement in volunteering and community service.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and the Role of Franchise Coaches
09:49 The Importance of Passion and Motivation in Franchise Candidates
14:00 Matching Candidates with the Right Franchise Brand
15:57 The Value of Franchise Consultants in Avoiding Pitfalls and Mistakes
16:26 Marc Magerman's Involvement in Volunteering and Community Service

Marc Magerman can be reached at marc@elitefranchiseadvisors.com
and you can schedule a free franchise consultation @ https://calendly.com/elitefranchiseadvisors/franchise-consultation

Free Resource for Franchise QB Listeners:

The Franchise QB Playbook will guide you through the process of finding your perfect franchise fit.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XlbD8oyl3uyeiqaM73poH67BX1jRRyCGR7l7qB-3Nz0/edit?usp=sharing. Also, you can view the Franchise QB podcast at www.youtube.com/@franchiseqb.

Contact me and my team with any questions along the way. www.calendly.com/franchiseguy
Mike Halpern, CAFC
mike@franchiseqb.com

This is the Franchise QB Podcast, where we empower entrepreneurs to win big in franchising. We huddle up weekly to educate our audience about the most successful small business model ever created. Franchise it! Welcome to the Franchise QB Coaches Corner. This is where we highlight franchise coaches, the unsung heroes of the franchising space. They go by coaches, consultants, and brokers, and they play a vital role in the franchising ecosystem. Similar to buy -side real estate agents, franchise coaches guide entrepreneurs through the overwhelming landscape of thousands of franchise opportunities. They assist with everything from franchise search guidance to FDD interpretation. funding strategy, to recommending franchise attorney for legal reviews, and much, much more. And most of them offer 100 % free services to the franchise buyer and will coach them step by step through the due diligence process. They assist with both franchise startups and resale acquisitions. Let's meet a franchise coach and learn how they are changing lives through franchise ownership. Joining us today in Coach's Corner is Marc Magerman, President of Elite Franchise Advisors and certified franchise consultant with FranServe. Welcome to the show, Marc. Hi, Mike. Thanks. Great being here with you. So you have a rich history of multi -unit and multi -concept franchise ownership. You and your partners invested in a 20-unit. I mean, that's a huge development agreement. Way back in 2008, with Five Guys Burgers and ultimately opened 13 locations over that period of time, doing north of 20 million annually in sales and had a successful exit in 2019. So tell us a little bit about your background and how you found franchise. It's actually kind of an interesting story and it's really more luck than anything else. I have a partner who's a very high level guy, Harvard MBA guy. He's been a CEO his whole career. And he was between opportunities. He had bought and sold companies and, he was actually living in the Virginia area. Okay. And I had stayed close. We always wanted to, you know, get involved and do something together. And it was really him that decided, you know, franchise. He educated me on the benefits of franchising. Okay. Really in a, in a small nutshell, find a really good company, a business that does something really, really well and overlay your own business acumen, but don't mess up with what, with, with a good thing. So we were looking for franchise opportunities. We really didn't know where to start. So his name's Peter. He was down in the Virginia area. Five Guys is really big there. We threw a through an a mediary at a company called FranSmart. We were introduced to the brand at the time. Five Guys was really big in the mid Atlantic states, but they were expanding and that's how we were introduced to it. And one thing led to another and we put our. plan in place. And we took the steps one at a time and it took a while, but we became franchisees. We were very enamored. What we said was they make the best hamburger and french fries in the Market. We're pretty smart businessmen. Let's combine what we know and what they know. As long as we're okay following the playbook, let's go ahead and do it. So that's how we started. And that was back in 07 and 08. Yeah. Well, that's interesting. And you and I realized we had that connection because my first. I mean, I've been in franchising since 2001, so it's been 23 years and I started with France Mart. I was the first employee when they kind of converted a restaurant development company into France Mart. I was there five years and the Five Guys phenomena was happening while I was an employee there. And it was just so exciting to see it because at the time, Marc Mosley, who they brought in as their franchise development specialist, He was new to franchising. He had his own burger shop called Mosley's Burgers. And he was kind of recruited by the owners of Five Guys and Fransmart to kind of help spearhead their development and get things going. So while I was there for five years, we put the first hundred, 125 units in development. And, you know, I'm from the Philadelphia area, so I was relatively new to Northern Virginia at the time. And that concept was so unique in that it was very simplistic. The product was just superior. They had great, and they have great fries, great burgers, and they just keep it super simple. So that's just awesome that you guys were able to lock down such a big development area and kind of get that going. So. Yeah, actually, you know, an offshoot of it. I don't want to waste too much of your time with it, but we actually talked to them initially about Virginia, because that's where my partner lived at the time. And that was sold out. So that's probably due to a lot of your efforts. and up in the Northeast was relatively untapped. So that's how we kind of pivoted. I lived in the Northeast. You just had to have one partner live in the area. So that's kind of how it played out. And that was pretty common back then. I mean, Five Guys was the hottest concept we had in our inventory. And it was the first brand I've been around where it was just so much inbound interest. Once people realized it was a franchise system, they wanted to be a part of it. And that's pretty rare. A lot of times you have to do a lot of outbound Marketing efforts to kind of educate people about why your franchise is unique, how it's differentiated, et cetera. With Five Guys, once they flip that switch and allow, and I think a part of that was because they operated from the 80s all the way through the early 2000s as an independent business. And they just developed this reputation and this cult following. I was just going to say the exact same thing. I think 86, they opened up their first location. They didn't start franchising till 03. I don't really believe, I mean, I've met them. obviously the family a few times, I don't think their plan initially was ever to be a franchise company. It was to be a really good burger place. So they were, they perfected their model before they rolled it out and we were the beneficiaries of that expansion. Yeah, I think you're exactly right. That was my experience as well. You've had a family that was just focused on excellence in terms of their product and their process. And, you know, they didn't, at least my experience was they didn't do this to become a billion dollar business, which is what happened. They did it because they had something that worked and there was so much demand for it. They said, okay, well, let's help other entrepreneurs get in this and replicate our success. And it's a perfect example of a family business becoming a really successful model. So thanks for sharing that story with us. So now let's kind of pivot to where you are today. So you are a franchise consultant with FranServe. If you are in the same franchising network, that's how we met. And I'm really curious. I know that this kind of segment of your franchising career is relatively newer. But tell us a little bit about what you do as a franchise consultant and the types of people you work with to help them kind of achieve their goals of getting into business ownership and franchise. Sure, Mike, sure. So I don't know. I think you can concur with this or not. But I think once you're in franchising, it's like a sickness. You get kind of addicted to it. And I mean that in a positive way. And we were fortunate enough to build a really good business. We learned so many lessons about what to do. We also learned a few lessons about what not to do in the franchising world. And you almost can't help if you build a successful franchise business to become kind of quote unquote expert at it. So when we sold our business in 2019, we thought we were experts at it. We said, well, what do we want to do next? And, you know, so we took some time. We didn't jump into anything right away. Then all of a sudden the pandemic hit and that obviously no one could plan for that. Luckily we sold our business before that. Yeah, you timed that really well. Yeah, we did. We can't take one bit of credit for it. And so what I wanted, I wanted to stay in the franchising world. It's what I knew. It's what I was good at. It's what I've most probably what I liked. And, you know, we became very successful, more successful than we probably ever thought we ever would have been because of franchising. And I thought, I didn't really have the appetite, Mike, to start over again and do another multi-unit. It's a very draining, it's hard. It was lucrative, but let's not kid ourselves. It's hard work. It's a lot of work. To be successful in any capacity. I wanted to stay in franchising and I met a few people. You were one of them as a matter of fact. And I started, I'd met people along the way, Dan Roe at Fransmart was another one. And I started understanding the role that franchise consultants play in the industry. And honestly, there was really not a lot of franchise consultants back in 2005 when we started. And essentially what a consultant gets to do is help people who were like us. They think they want to own their own business. They don't really know what they want to do. They think they want franchising, but they don't know. And I'll tell you what, the franchise world is full of problems if you don't avoid them. So as a consultant, we get to work with people who are passionate, who have worked hard and they're trying to get their own future. And we get to guide them down that path so they could avoid pitfalls, avoid mistakes. And we get to work with them and kind of corral them towards their dream. And it is one of the more rewarding things I've ever done in my career. Yes, I've only been at it for a few months. No, I don't have your level of success yet, Mike, but you can see that. by being sincere and honest and smart and educated about the industry, people want that. They appreciate the advice we give them. And as long as they're willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work, I'm willing to roll up sleeves and work with them. So I find that so rewarding and very comforting because you know that the people that you're dealing with are in good hands because you know you're gonna steer them in the right direction. Yeah, and you come with a very unique skillset because... Anytime you open one franchise and then you scale it to two and you guys build it to 13 locations across a pretty large metropolitan area, you have a perspective that you can share with your candidates that a lot of them don't have. So when they have these concerns and fears and doubts about how can they do it? Well, the franchisor is going to do a lot of heavy lifting to educate them about the model and how you get there. And they'll have owners that they can connect them with. But you've done it in a very challenging business. I mean, anything in food service. When I have candidates that are in food, If you can do that, you can do anything, right? Because the margins are tight. It's a lot of labor. There's a lot of moving parts. It's a tough business. It's cut through a lot of competition, a lot of vendors, et cetera. So to me, like I have a ton of respect for people that come out of the food space. I spent a good part of my career in it. And, you know, so that's a lot that you can translate into, you know, coaching tools to help candidates get franchising. And it doesn't have to be in restaurants, right? You know, I've spent, like I mentioned, a lot of my career in food and the majority of the brands that my clients invest in are non -food. So, let me ask you this, like what characteristics do you like to see in a franchise candidate that might give them an advantage when you're kind of coaching them through a search? Are there any personality traits or anything that kind of give you, like when you find this person, you're like, wow, I'm going to really be able to help them be successful and find the right business. It's a great question. And again, it's fun for me because, you know, 60 years old, but this is a totally new area of business. So I'm learning every day. But what I look for in the candidates initially when you have that first consultation is passion and emotion and enthusiasm. Do they really want something? And you can tell really quickly. And I guess if I could go to a little anecdote, you know, there are a bunch of people there who are working in a job that they don't really like. They come home at night and maybe they had a particularly bad day. And the first thing they say is, you know what? I'm done. I'm going to quit my job. I'm going to find a business. And, and they kind of go around and maybe they find me somehow, but that's not really their passion. They just had a bad day. You can tell the difference between that person, Mike, and the person who, when you ask them why they're looking at it, they say, they give you all the right answers. It's time for me to step out on my own. I have enough confidence. I've gained a lot of experience. I've been able to put a lot of money away and do a good job of saving. And now it's time to invest in my future. So if they have that right attitude, I'm thinking you can overcome almost every one of the obstacles. If they don't have that, you're really going to ask questions about it because do they really want that or do they just want to get away from whatever happened to them that day? Yeah. It's not that subtle. It's really kind of obvious. That's a really good observation. You can't teach grit. You can't teach hustle. You can't teach motivation. So, you know, if you don't have, and look, we've all had like super low energy candidates that might be good at. like an accounting franchise or something, but in terms of like a, you know, customer facing kind of sales, you have to put the right person with the right brand. So that's interesting because you're right. I mean, sometimes people are really, they're just reactive, right? I mean, it's like you catch them on that one specific day, but if you have someone that really has great, a great why they're really great to work with. So that's great. So tell us a little bit about your process. You find a candidate that kind of checks that box. What's it like working with you? How long does it take for you to identify the right franchise? It's a separate conversation as to how long it takes them to launch the business, because that depends if it's a brick and mortar versus a service base. But your process, what's that look like when kind of engaging with somebody? I think the most important... The most important thing to find out about the candidate is where their passions lie and where their skillsets lie, and more importantly, what their desires are. And you just talked about an accounting franchise, and maybe the candidate is really destined to be an owner operator and invest in a business, and he's the only person who's going to work there, and he's going to have a great career, and it's going to be his. Or maybe that same person really needs to have a multi -unit business and needs to be the CEO of that business based on their skillsets, based on what they like to do and what they're good at. You find out how much time do they want to spend in the business. Are they looking for a full -time venture? So if you do a really good job of qualifying them and finding out where their goals are, it becomes easier. And as you know, being affiliated with FranServe, we have over 700 franchises at our disposal. Obviously, no human being can go through 700 of them. So we get to work with them and narrow that down based on their input. So if we do our jobs right, I think you could probably concur if I'm right about this, but if we do our jobs right, it's very easy to find a brand or a franchisor that the candidate's interested in, because we're giving them back based on their input. So if you're a good listener and you ask good questions, I think finding the right brand for them is not that challenging. Now, the long way away from that and them signing up to become a franchise owner. But conversely, if you don't listen, and you don't know what they want, you're going to be spending all your time just throwing different franchises at them and you're not going to really get one that they're going to be passionate about. So to me, it's upfront how much work you do upfront to really understand what their goals are. And it's not just asking questions because they're on a sheet of paper. It's caring about what they're trying to accomplish in their lives. So they have young children. Do they want a legacy business? Are they trying to save them for the next five years and then sell? All those things are the questions that we were asked of when we got involved. And it's just makes sense to do a good job of asking those kinds of questions to get to know them. And it also helps with the candidate because if you're asking questions and you're sincere, then you're building credibility with them out of the gate because they can tell that you care about their interest. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. That's great. So I appreciate that. So let's shift gears a little bit. Tell the audience something interesting about Marc Magerman. What outside of your franchising life and your franchising expertise, let's learn a little bit about you. okay. I, I'm very passionate about volunteering and community involvement. Okay. and I used to, when my kids were growing up, I'd be in youth sports and I'd coach them and give my time to the local sports, like almost every other dad in America. And once my kids got a little bit older and I still wanted to give back, I just bid on giving back time. I've been very fortunate in my life. I like to give it back. And as the pandemic was kind of raging, I got involved with a company called Bay Path Senior Services. And what they are is they're a company that works with seniors who don't know how to manage their own finances. Maybe there's a widow or a widower, they'd never have to pay their bills, or they're getting a little bit older, they're still in their home, they still have responsibilities, financial, but they don't know how to... take care of it and it's the world is fraught with people who are scamming these people out of their life savings. So I joined this company and I've been able to work with seniors on their money management program. And I'll be honest with you, Mike, it's the most fulfilling thing I've ever done in my life because you're building up relationships with these folks. They get to count on you, they rely on you. And it takes, I don't know, it takes me an hour every two weeks with this candidate. You go over to their house for half an hour, 45 minutes. You make sure their bills are paid. You make sure you're helping them with what they need. I'll be honest, every once in a while I do break the rules and I go to the bank for them and catch a check for them, which hopefully nobody sees this that answers that. But again, for me it's kind of giving back a little bit and I can't think of a better group of people than the people who really need your help. So yeah, that is so cool man. I'm glad you shared that. That is so nice. I mean, I'm sure that you know. that is a group of people that greatly benefit from your services. And it's a great way to volunteer your time and just get back and help out. Like everybody wants their parents or grandparents to like not be taken advantage of. And this service sounds like something to really help those folks out there in a bind and don't have that financial. And not only that, these are the people who don't have children to help them. They're alone. They're all by themselves. It's very scary. It's very intimidating for these folks. So. Yeah. I'm very happy. Well, thanks for sharing that. I didn't know that about you. That's really, that's wonderful that you do that. So anything else that you want to kind of add to the mix before we wrap up today? No, you and I have talked again, so I'm kind of repeating myself, but I'm relatively new to the franchise consulting world, but I can already see it's going to be a fantastic decision that I made because again, if, if you've learned a lot in your career and you're, you want to give some of that back. I really can't think of a better position or better career choice to be in this consulting business that you and I are in. Because if we do it right and we've chosen the right candidates, they're gonna be very successful. It's gonna be a life -changing forum. So I'm just thrilled to do it. I'm glad to meet you and I'm glad to meet all of our other colleagues. Very, the feeling's mutual. So if anyone listening would like to connect with you, what's the best way for them to do that? Can you share your? Your email or anything else website the company name is elite franchise advisors. That's with an O so Marc at elite franchise advisors is my email and I'll put my phone number, but I don't think people write that down (508) 816-8100. yeah I'll put it up in the notes so they have the number and You know what we say to our candidates Mike is no obligation no cost All you're gonna do is commit a few minutes of your time and maybe when the call is done. You'll be a little bit smarter than when you started so No risk, why don't you give us a call? That's great. Well, Marc, thanks for taking the time to join us in Coaches Corner. And really appreciate you taking this time with us and appreciate you coming on. And this was a lot of fun. Likewise, Mike. Thanks for asking me. I'll talk to you soon. You got it, Marc. Take care. Bye now. Thank you for listening to the Franchise QB podcast, where you're at the helm of your future as a franchise owner. If you enjoyed the content, please rate the show and recommend it to anyone that might be interested in franchising. Make sure to visit FranchiseQB.com to subscribe to my newsletter and for an actionable playbook to go from walk -on to legend in your new business. Follow us on Twitter @QBFranchiseQB and join us every week for a new episode. See you next time. Visit FranchiseQB .com to take the next step of your journey towards wealth, independence and franchise ownership. And remember when working for the man gets old, you must do something bold. Thank you for listening.