Episode 236: Find Your Franchise

"My big belief is let's get off the sidelines, quit talking in hypotheticals and jump in...that's just where the magic happens."

You may not have everything 100% figured out, but movement towards the goal is always a step in the right direction. Jon got his start in non-food franchising around 10 years ago and it wasn't long before he began helping others do the same.

FranBridge Consulting will teach you the various ways to acquire a franchise, maintain it and what it takes to continue to scale. Jon and the team are here to serve YOU - and allow you to develop a new perspective around business ownership.

So what was the lightbulb moment for Jon that allowed him to transition from the corporate world to consulting and non-food franchising?

Tune in to episode 236 as Jon reveals his ideal client, breaks down why net worth is important in this industry and much more! 

For more information about FranBridge Consulting:

Website: https://franbridgeconsulting.com/
LinkedIn: Jon Ostenson
YouTube: @JonOstensonFBC

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

When you hear the word franchise, what comes to mind? Is this something that you want to do? Is this something that you're already looking to do? Maybe even want a little bit more information about it. And are you going the food route or the non-food route? For John, about 10 years ago, he chose to do non-food franchising. Came into the business to invest in them personally, and now he helps others do the same. One, multiple, you name it, the sky can be the limit. But he also talks about how to acquire these franchises. It may not be as hard as you think it is, but net worth is important because they have to make sure that you're well positioned, because owning a business does come with some hoops and some hurdles. But John, his company, they're here to make sure that they help you jump through all of them and be successful along the way. And on top of that, he even wrote a book that gives a lot of insight, and you know how we feel about books here at Down to Business. So without further ado, enjoy episode 236, find your franchise. What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Down to Business Podcast here with Tamar Turner. Is it July yet? I told y'all my birthday is around the corner, y'all. I'm very, I'm very just excited. I'm very much here and I'm I'm rushing a little bit. We're we're in the midst of summer. It's upon us. I'm not like y'all know me, y'all know I don't really like the cold weather, and I'm not the biggest heat fan, but I was born in July. So close enough, we'll do kind of the in-between, the spring, the summer. But nonetheless, I'm just grateful that I don't have to deal with any snow for the time being. So we'll knock on whip for that. But very excited to be sitting down with John today. Very excited too because this is his industry, his expertise, what he's here to speak about. It's actually something that I've been interested in. It's actually something that I'll talk to some friends about, some family members about. And you know, we did our research, we did our Googles, we kind of came up with our own conclusions and hypotheses, but it's nothing like really being able to hear it from the source. You know, I know some people in this industry and they've kind of told me their path and their route, and it's been interesting. So very excited to really see what John has to offer. He's provided a lot of insight on previous appearances. He's an author, so we're you know we're gonna get into that because I love books, y'all, and I love, you know, that's the path that I'm trying to travel as well. But before I let John take everything away, before I let him just steal the show and tell us why he's here today. John, how are you? Hey, Tamar, doing great. Excited to be here, appreciate you having me. Absolutely, absolutely. So, look, I know for the podcast, for your audience, for my audience, we're gonna have some people tapping in from your side, we're gonna have some people tapping in from my side, but then we're gonna have my favorite kind of people, and those are people who probably know nothing about either one of us, but somehow came across this episode. So, to put everybody on an even playing field, to bring everybody up to speed, can you just do two things for me? Can you one, just tell me a little bit about yourself, and then can you two just tell me what brings you on down to business podcast today?

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Yeah, absolutely. No, based here in Atlanta, Georgia, I've got a wife and three kids, very active in the community. And uh one of the areas that I'm passionate about that I know we'll dig into today is business ownership. And yeah, I believe everyone has that inner desire to become a business owner, but most people don't know what that looks like or how to connect the dots. And, you know, I was in that boat for many years. I spent many years in the corporate world and had a good run, very thankful for it, but always had that desire to build my own empire. And um, you know, it was about 10 years ago that I really um you know, circumstantially, you know, had the opportunity to step into what I now term non-food franchising. So, you know, working with franchise models, they're in industries outside of food. And uh, you know, I invest in those personally and then I help others as well. And that's where I spend most of my time today is helping others um go down the same path that I did and discover how franchising can be a good fit for them.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Love it, love it right off the bat. And you know, it's funny because I said in my previous kind of introduction that this was something where I've talked to a lot of people about it. And I feel like a lot of the times what it was the most common is the food. A lot of people kind of want to go into the food industries, a lot of people want to kind of that's where they want to go. I feel like it's what even appeals to us at the time. So, but for me, I've also talked to people who more specifically, I talked to a fraternity brother of mine who was in the UPS business. And I was curious about that because he actually had five, if I remember correctly. And what he was telling me was that one of the biggest things that he wanted when it came to franchising was non-food. He said that there was such a responsibility that there's just a different type of expectation when it comes to food and just a lot more that goes into it. Not to say that it's impossible not to steer anybody away from it, but for him, for his interest, for his path, that's really just what he wanted. So before we maybe even get into some of your decision making behind that and why you really chose that, you you also talked about the corporate route. At what point, and even you said circumstantially, at what point did you take that leap of faith? Did you really realize this is something that you wanted to go into full time and put the corporate world behind you?

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Yeah, no, I I'd gotten to the point I was in my mid-30s and you know, had gone to grad school, gone to MBA, started off in consulting, had worked for a large public company for a number of years, and you know, they gave me increasing levels of responsibility. I was managing about $300 million in annual sales, uh selling in to some of the largest retailers in the country, and um again had a great experience, but you know, I was working hard building someone else's empire. And uh, you know, through a connection that was made, I had the opportunity to step in as president of Shelf Genie franchise system. So um it's custom pull-out shelving for kitchens and pantries, and had the opportunity to step in and run our home office. So I was supporting franchise owners all across North America. I probably had about a hundred or so. And for me, that was the light bulb moment where I saw firsthand how you know, you know, diverse backgrounds could come together under a shared system of support and become business owners and live out their dreams of independence and you know, showing their family, you know, that they can do it and take a risk and bet on themselves and build something.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Take that risk and then build something. And you know, it's nothing like being able to be surrounded by others who they motivate you in a sense. You see that it really is, even talking to my my fraternity brother that I mentioned, it was just like, you know, to to have walked in some UPS stores and to realize that they were franchised or that other people were really running these, it seems almost not unrealistic, but it's like, wow, like you probably have to put in a lot of work to really do this. You probably, you know, from the ground up, I don't really know what your story was. But to see you here now to think about how global UPS is, for example, it's just amazing to see. But when you really kind of talk to somebody and they walk you through that step by step by step, it's like okay. Whereas this kind of seemed maybe harder than what I thought. When you really break it down like that, yes, there's definitely gonna be some trial and error. There are definitely gonna be some obstacles, some hoops, and some hurdles, but it's not impossible. It's definitely attainable, it's definitely something that you can do. So, with working with such a diverse background of people, what did that what did that kind of teach you? Did it did it complicate things a little bit because you were in so many different, did you feel like you were in so many different realms or industries? Does it make things easier because it kind of gave you a little bit of everything at once? What was that experience for you?

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Yeah, well, I think you hit on something there, and that's the power of community, right? You know, I'm a big believer in masterminds. It's about who you surround yourself with. You know, you want to be in the room and you know, be surrounded by people that are smarter than you or further down the tracks that makes you better, right? And oftentimes I think that gets overlooked because we think of franchising, and yeah, you've got the support of the franchise or and their team on the sideline helping you, training you, all of that. Uh it's your end business for yourself, but not by yourself to be cliche. But you also have this group of other franchisees that are running the same thing all around the country. And uh, you know, you're learning from each other. And you know, if someone makes a mistake, hey, let's share that so others don't make the same mistake, right? And um, you know, and I'll say this tomorrow. I mean, franchising is just like any industry, you're gonna have great franchise systems that provide great support, and you're gonna have ones that don't provide as good a support. I mean, that's obviously where we come in to help our clients identify the right ones. But, you know, I think, you know, oftentimes you'll hear me say, if you're in with a good franchise or and they really support their franchisees, they create communities, you know, for them to learn from each other. I mean, it's just such a benefit because you really can kind of get to third base a lot faster than you know, if you were just trying to do it on your own. Certainly if you if you were just doing a startup and you know, first off, you go in, you're hoping there's product market fit, you're you're trying to build a playbook, you're put piecing together a technology stack, you know, you're having to learn everything marketing-wise for the first time, right? You can't use someone else's playbook or their marketing data and you know, optimize, you know, if for you. And um, and again, you're you're by yourself. So there's is and I'll ramble just one quick minute here because I think this will uh you know resonate with a lot of your listeners. So a lot of people are out there looking to buy an existing business. That's an idea that um, you know, we find a lot of folks have. They reach out to us and they say, hey, John, we'd love to buy an existing franchise that's up and running. And that could be a great proposition. And certainly we do some of those deals, but they're few and far between because most of the time those opportunities are bought by other franchisees in the system. You know, they never hit the open market. Um, that's a very common uh dynamic. And so um, you know, there are trade-offs buying an existing business can be a good proposition out there, but oftentimes you are paying a premium, you're assuming everything's gonna stay the same. And, you know, that you know, whenever there's a change in ownership, usually there's some mixed up in the team, right? Or you may lose key clients. And um, so I don't know. There are a lot of trade-offs that you know I feel franchising wins out on, and a lot of times people will come around to that way of thinking when we have those discussions in more depth.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Community is powerful, we're always gonna be better together than you know, trying to work alone. And nothing wrong with that startup culture, nothing wrong with that world. But it's almost like, you know, you genuinely have to prepare for the worst, but pray for the best, you know. So it's just like you, whereas kind of as that blueprint can already be laid or as that playbook is already out there, you just kind of get in where you fit in, and you're slowly but surely putting those pieces to the puzzle together. So stepping into your lane specifically, the non-food, was food always off the table? Was it just something where you maybe have started in there and realized it just wasn't for you? What was that like coming in initially?

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Well, my background, I if I heard the F-word franchise, you know, I would think of fast food, Subway, McDonald's, you know, Chick-fil-A, it's where everyone's minds go, right? Um, so it was eye-opening to me to realize, oh, there are a lot of industries and there are things I never would have thought of, which we can certainly dig into here. But uh we've got nothing against the food guys. I've got a lot of good friends that have done very well in food. Um, but what I found is for most people, you know, just when you look at the capital, capital investment on the front end and you look at uh within food, it's all about the brand, right? And customer whims change. You know, I always say frozen yogurt was big until it wasn't. So to me, that's some degree of risk for this large investment you're making. And you know, oftentimes you have lower margins. You know, you're dealing with hourly employees and you know, a large number of hourly employees and operating hours, and um, you know, and you may have pieces of those in other industries, but to me, it's just my humble belief is there are easier ways to make money that appeal to more people, including myself.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Absolutely. And I I I'm so glad that you kind of brought that perspective in there because prior to me even having that conversation with my UPS person, it was just like I really you always think about the food. You always think about even on the websites, like I feel like if you scroll down far enough, it's just like franchise opportunities, interest to give us a call. So it's always just like that. Like I never thought about, oh, I could have a brick and mortar. And what was even more interesting, where I kind of sparked another bell in me, was when I was in Tampa for four years, so from 2020 to 2024, I worked downtown Tampa, and literally right across the street from us, and I used it multiple times, was a UPS store, and it was franchise. So to meet him to really, and even it just gives you a different sense of pride too, because you know, this person really did what needed to be done to make it happen. So, you know, they're more personable. He gave his car, they gave discounts, they we sent people there with referrals. It was really just a beautiful thing, and so it's just it's so it's just such a cool thing to see that you know, something can be started by somebody else, a vision, a purpose, and you can really still keep that same, you know, those those missions, those values, but also tailor it to you and what you like and where you want to go. So for people that are listening, for people that may even be in the franchise business, but I more so want to kind of curtail this question to those who are interested. What are some what are some things to consider when getting into franchising, especially when it comes to non-food? Like what are some things to think about? What are some things that you should be prepared for? What are some questions that you should be asking before you're just ready to kind of jump right into it?

SPEAKER_00 11:53

You know, I'd say in food and hotels, it's all about brand, right? In a lot of these other industries, you know, they'll never become a household name brand wise. You know, I think of insulation, it's a $52 billion a year industry. Most people can't name a brand of insulation, right? But there are franchises in that space. It's all about the support that's being provided by the franchise or um it so when I'm evaluating franchise opportunities, and there's you know a couple thousand out there, right? And there's always new ones coming on board. Um, you know, we're looking at competitive advantages, we're looking at uniques in the business, we're looking at financial model, we're looking at um that leadership team that's big. You know, oftentimes we may be working with newer franchises because they still have territories available, right? I mean, that's just it is what it is. I mean, franchising is incredibly popular right now, and good markets are selling out fast. Like you're in DC, I'm in Atlanta. Those markets go very quickly. So we're always looking at what's coming down the tracks, what's going to be that next thing that's gonna resonate with our clients. So in that case, we're looking hard at the leadership team. We want to see not only industry experience, but good franchise experience represented on that team. People that have been there, done that. Um, you know, obviously we want to hear from current franchisees, you know, that they've been supported, that they've been pleased with their decision. Um so there's a little bit of science, a little bit of art to how we think about it. Um, you know, the challenge is if you start Googling around, you're gonna see every company putting their best marketing foot forward. And um it's really important to understand kind of what's going on behind the scenes. You know, who are the people behind that business? What is their track record? You know, what are other veteran, industry veterans like myself saying about it? You know, what because I've got a lot of peers out there that do what I do, and um, you know, we're constantly trading notes and experiences and sharing with each other, almost like a franchise in a way. Um, you know, one one thing I'll point out real fast here is it's entirely free to work with us. You know, I'm not trying to give a plug here, but it is entirely free. It's like if you're buying a home and you use a real estate broker, they get a referral fee from the seller and none of that's passed on to you, right? It's the same model. That's how we run it. We work with hundreds of companies. So I'd say whether it's us or someone else that has deep experience, that has been there, that's been on the franchise or side, that's been on the franchisee side, like I have, um, you know, that's been in consulting for a long time, has the relationships, has the reputation, it's just so important. And then lastly, I'll say keep an open mind. You know, most of the people we work with say, hey, we came to you because we're a blank slate, we don't know what we're looking for. Maybe we know we don't want to do this, or we kind of like the idea of this. And nine times out of 10, Tamara, they end up going into an industry that was never even on their radar. So when we expose them to, hey, if we're in your shoes based on what you've shared with us, here are 12, 13, 14 different companies that are looking to expand in your market across different industries, everything from home services and property services, that's a huge area, different niches within that to B2B services to health and wellness to seniors. That's a huge area of interest these days to categories like kids, pets, um, so many different niches within each of these broad umbrellas, again, that people would never think about. So keep an open mind.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

That's important. And look, I know when he said the insulation piece that some people started Googling, some people started trying to look up some things. I don't feel bad. I don't know any insulation companies as well. So you can join me. That's okay. Am I gonna Google after this episode? You're absolutely right. So, but I I think that that is important too, and something that I want to kind of clarify for those out there who kind of heard the working with you part. I I know we love the F-word franchise, but we also love the F-word free. So when it comes to who exactly is working with you and what they're doing, would you say that you're on the on the both on both sides of things? Are people kind of coming to you looking for franchise opportunities? And then is it other companies as well looking to expand into other markets? Is that about right?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Yeah, so we work with over 600 different franchise companies that are looking to expand. I mean, most of the ones we like out there, and we're always adding to that. Um, but yeah, I would consider my client to be that individual that's looking for uh, you know, looking to find the right opportunity. And yes, we get a referral fee from the brand. It's again just like a real estate broker model where your agent, they're gonna consider you their client, even though they get a referral fee from the seller. So um, you know, for us, you know, I try to expose my clients to probably a lot more opportunities than a lot of my peers do. A lot of them will show three or four. I like to show 12, 13, 14, and we can always iterate from there, but it gives us a good starting point. I want my clients to get in the game. Let's start having some conversations with real companies. That's where the magic starts happening. You're able to compare and contrast businesses. The more conversations you have, the more you're able to prioritize in your mind the characteristics that are important. So, my big belief is get off the sidelines. Let's let's quit talking in hypotheticals and jump in, and that's just where the magic happens.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

You gotta, at some point, you just gotta do it. You just gotta put your foot in there and make it happen. I love that. All right, so this made me think about something even more now. So you're based in Atlanta. Now, is it is it fair to make the assumption, and I you know I don't like making assumptions, but uh just just stick with me here. Is it fair to make the assumption that you're obviously working with people that are in different markets outside of Atlanta? East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, Northeast, everything of the sort.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

100%. And ironically, I've done an insulation deal in Washington, D.C. where you are. I did one last year, so uh that I just thought about that. Um, yeah, no, in every state done many deals in California, the state of Washington, I mean New York, every and everything in between. Yeah, I'd say just about every state except for maybe six or seven that have incredibly low populations, you know, I've I've done a placement in. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

So now follow-up to that. Is is this the part where community comes into play? Because, you know, obviously you're not, and correct me if I'm wrong, you may not be as well versed in these markets, in these places. So is this where you're having to do your own research? Is this where you know you know other people maybe in California? So you're looking and saying, hey, does this make sense to be out there? Is this an opportunity that could work? What does that look like being in markets where you're not necessarily an expert?

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'd say very few people even in that market would be an expert, right? And so here's how we think about it. You know, if you're Joe in Wichita, Kansas, and you say, hey, John, here's a little bit about me. We get to know each other. I'm like, hey, Joe, I come back to you. You know, here are opportunities I think could be a good fit. You know, what I'm looking at are markets similar to Wichita, right? Markets I know that have the addressable, you know, they've got the addressable market characteristics from a population standpoint, from a demographic standpoint, you know, household income, you know, type thing. And so, you know, Joe may say, oh, we're saturated in this one. I know off the bat my wife was saying that the other day. I mean, that that may happen in some cases, but by and large, we're looking at businesses that will do well in markets of that size. And then, you know, from there, you know, the franchise got information at the, you know, when I reach out to them, they say, hey, that's a market we want to expand it into right before I ever show it to a client. They've got information at the zip code level around demographics saying, hey, that that'd be a great market for us, or here's some things we have to watch out for. And then once you're further along, I'd say, hey, Tomart, do do a little secret shopping, you know, get to know, yeah, call on some companies out there, go visit them, you know, just so you know what you're up against, right? But not until you're further down the road. So again, we try to keep it pretty light touch for our clients. You know, most of those that I work with are in you know, middle, senior, upper level management, don't have a lot of bandwidth. And so I try to keep it fairly simple for them. So, yeah, again, a little bit of science, a little bit of art, but sometimes it surprises you. Like we've done multiple pool cleaning deals in the last couple of months. You know, it's a great recurring revenue business. Well, the company that we like in that space that clients have been getting into started in Canada. You never would have thought that, right? But there's a need for it. There's pools in Canada. So, you know, oftentimes, uh, you know, again, keeping an open mind, there may be businesses, you know, and there are certain ones. I mean, just from my experience, I'm not going to show you anything, mosquito uh, you know, companies. I'm not going to show you home cleaning. To me, those are already somewhat saturated with big brands. I like the niches. Like some of the ones I own. I've got one that's asphalt paving and line striping, like parking lots. I've got another one that's uh temporary containment walls around renovation projects and construction sites. You know, those are niches, and our competition is unsophisticated, highly fragmented. They don't have other big brands that we're up against, right? So we can come in and kind of bring a more professional approach to those industries. And that's how that's what we personally like, and what I like for my investments, and what most of our clients do as well.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

But niche is important. I well, I there are pools in Canada, y'all. But it was crazy because when you had mentioned that, the first my my mind just went to Florida. I, as I said, I was in Tampa for four years. So I just remember year-round, that was always something that was happening. Or it was even too with the hurricanes. And it was just a lot of those repairs or those getting the Lana's installed or getting those enclosed. So that's interesting. So it's it's it is very, I would say that this is probably something that as you continue to do your research and look at different markets, you probably have learned things that wow, I wouldn't have expected that to be something popular there or that to be a need there. But it's something that you can now even show more credibility to your clients because this is something where they're looking at you to be the one to guide me, to show me the way. So you're kind of even open, as you said, you're not kind of trying to limit them, you're giving them double-digit options to choose from. And I think that that's even better too, because it just opens the door for a little bit more opportunity. But niche, niche is so important because you know, I feel like we live in a time where everybody's trying to do a little bit of everything, and that's quickly how sometimes things can become oversaturated. But little do you know, there there is still a lot out there to be done. Now, the money aspect when people are coming to you, you know, we I feel like we all know the $10,000 to get the Chick-fil-A, or the um, well, that's really the most common example that I know, to be honest, and that's a food example. So when is there would you say a budget, a range, a price point that you suggest people come ready with? Does it really heavily depend on the industry? Is there just kind of like a comfortable amount that you could have and kind of work with to start?

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Great question. So, first off, every franchise system is going to have a required minimum and uh net worth minimum, right? They want to make sure that you're comfortable getting into business ownership, you're not gonna be too strapped, right? Because it takes a little effort, a little bit of investment to get the business off the ground, right? So you want to make sure you're well positioned. And so I would say there are quite a few opportunities where the net worth minimum may be 150,000. There are some that are a little bit below that. Um, but I'd say, you know, if your net worth Right now is below 100,000, it may not be the right time to get into business ownership. You know, maybe work towards that. Um, you know, but I'd say quite a few opportunities at 150, 200. And it's not that you're putting all that in as cash. Um, most franchises, if it's a retail customer-facing, brick and mortar style business, you're all an investment, your franchise fee, your startup cost, your working capital, you're probably in the 300 to 500,000-ish range. If it's a service-based business, which is about probably more than half of our clients are getting into the some of the home services or the in-home senior care businesses like that that are more remote-based, consulting, different types of consulting, um, you know, all an investment on those, including working capital, would probably be more like $100,000 to $200,000. And the way most people are purchasing those is using an SBA loan. So you would oftentimes put in about $50,000 of cash. I'd say that's the most common. And then you use an SBA loan to fund the balance. And obviously, banks prefer lending to franchises. So it we really don't have any issues with our clients landing those loans all day, every day. And another form is to use a retirement rollover. It's what's called the ROBS program. You can actually take a 401k or IRA, roll it over, purchase the business that way, avoid the tax implications by following a few different steps that you have to follow. Another way, be HELOCs or you know, a lot of ways to make it happen. But I'd say SBA loans with about 50,000 in cash is probably the most common.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Understood. All right. No, money talks, but look, it doesn't always have to come all out of your pocket and your bank account is good to, you know, have options and it's good to diversify too. I think that's an important point that you made there, just the same. Now, okay, going from one to multiple, what does that look like? What are some things to consider? Would you as somebody who may have worked with you and got their first? If they're coming to you and they're wanting to go, you know, get a second, get a third, get a fourth, get a fifth, do you diversify them? Do you keep it niche? Do you keep it very specific, dependent, or does it kind of depend on the person? What does it really look like going from just a single franchise to now multi?

SPEAKER_00 24:04

Yeah, you know, certainly it's kind of like choose your own adventure. There are different strategies, and so it does pertain to the person, to the brand, all of that. Um about half of our clients, I'd say half of our clients will start out with just one territory or one location. Um, and territory may be defined as like 250,000 in population, let's say. So, you know, city of Atlanta's got a good handful of territories, right? Um, about half will do one territory, about half will do multiple territories, and that sometimes that's two, three, four, five, seven, nine, ten. Like, um so let's just say either way, maybe you start out with two, one, two, three territories. You know, you get year or two in, you're like, hey, I'm ready to expand. A couple of options. A, maybe there's still territory that's open, um, you know, but odds are it's probably sold around you. And so there could be the potential to buy other franchisees in the system. That's very common. Um, there's the potential to come back to us and say, hey, we're ready for our next rodeo. I've got so many case studies of clients, they'll come back and buy a second franchise, you know, within a year or two. Um, and sometimes those businesses complement each other. I can share examples of that. Sometimes they diversify from each other. Um, you can always buy an existing business. You can always start a business. So I always encourage people to think about like take some of the pressure off of yourself. Whatever you do next probably won't be the only thing you ever do. So think about what's right for the next season, what's going to provide you with a platform that you can build off of. Um, it and that helps people just in their lens through which they're evaluating opportunities. It's like, yeah, what's going to give me a good building block? And I think of some clients of ours in Boise, Idaho recently, they got into an in-home senior care business. They came back to me, this was only like three or four months later, two business partners, and they said, Hey, what's something that complements this? And I introduced them to one that provides um wheelchair lifts and wheelchair ramps and steer lifts and you know, mobility solutions in the home, kind of retrofitting because people want to age in place. Well, it's a perfect complement to their in-home senior care business, right? Um, but then others will be totally diversified. Like I had some clients in Dallas recently that uh started a youth soccer franchise two years ago, have done very well, have a great team in place. And they said, hey, it's not taking much of our time. What's another business that we can get into? And they ultimately went with one that um it provides like advertising solutions. It's uh largely like uh billboards or small TVs, if you will, in the waiting rooms of doctors and dentists and oil changes. You know, you always see these, right? And then the local advertisers, um, and they thought that could be a neat kind of semi-compliment, but also diversifier for them.

SPEAKER_01 26:36

I like that. All right. So now that we are so in thinking about, because I hear you mentioning clients a lot, are most of the times when people come into you, are these multiple people trying to go in business together for a franchise? Is a lot of a is it a lot of is it a lot of single ownership things that then eventually expand? Are your clients kind of does it really vary?

SPEAKER_00 26:57

I'd say about a third of the time it is business partners. They're looking to go in together. Uh, that is very common in franchising. You know, two-thirds of the time it's probably more of an individual. Oftentimes that individual may be a couple, um, or maybe, you know, she's gonna keep her W-2 job, he's gonna go do this, and um, you know, she's gonna keep the health benefits, but she's also gonna lend a little bit of time and encouragement, you know, on the on the business side. You know, sometimes they have complimentary skills. Sometimes they go all in. We just had uh a couple last week. They they went all in, just the two of them. And let me hit on that real fast. Um, in franchising, oftentimes the question gets asked you know, do you have to leave your day job to run this business, or or can you get it going on the side? And you know, a lot of franchises, I'd say the majority of them, not all, but but quite a few of them, will allow for what's called they call a semi-passive or semi-absentee ownership style. The idea is you put a manager in place. And I like to call it semi-involved. I think that's a better term. You're still going to be involved in. Um, the beauty of it is if you have a strong franchise or on the sideline and you have an operator that is capable, that you've incentivized, that franchise or can carry some of that daily support water for you and be the go-to for a lot of the questions and allow you to keep your job or whatever else you're focused on. However, if you don't have the right operator in place, you're going to find yourself leaning in until you do. So, you know, I never want to sugarcoat it. I want people to go in eyes wide open as they think about just, you know, end of the day, if business ownership was easy, everyone would be doing it. You know, there's a reason why you get rewarded with the potential of outsized returns and tax benefits and you know everything else, it's because you know it does take effort in most cases.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

You're absolutely right. And I love that line. If it was easy, everybody would definitely be doing it. So I I think that we have talked a lot about the buy and things, the buy just getting acquiring. When it comes to selling, do you work with that at all? Do people come to you looking to sell, or what does it even look like to sell a franchise? How does that what is that process?

SPEAKER_00 28:59

Yeah, no, it very common. At the end of the day, these are small businesses, right? I mean, so the only difference is technically a franchise or has to sign off on whoever you sell it to. And in my experience, it's pretty rare for them not to sign off on that person. Um, it's gotta be some knucklehead because they want continuity of the business, right? I mean, unless you're selling it to someone that's going to take the business off the rails, you know, they'll usually sign off on it. They want to make sure that person's gonna be able to put time in the business and all that. Um, but no, I mean, end of the day, there's a huge market for resales. And there's been research done, some studies that have shown that franchises actually traded a slightly higher multiple than non-franchises in the same like kind of industry. And so there's a lot of value to that in that resale buyer's mind when they're purchasing a franchise because you know, there's gonna be some unknowns, right? Whenever you buy a business and they like the idea of, hey, at least I've got the franchise over on the sideline, I've got a community of other franchisees, so I'm not all by myself trying to figure it out. Um, so you know, it's a small percentage of what we do, probably five or 10% are resales. And it's not that there's lack of demand in the market, it's just that, again, lack of supply, and that most of the time the good opportunities that are resold are bought by other franchisees.

SPEAKER_01 30:08

Makes a lot of sense. Now, and you you kind of even my my mind is flowing here. You're you're probably just reading it as I'm thinking. But the okay, demand. So obviously, there are very popular industries, food, non-food. But I could also imagine that some of the best opportunities could come from where the demand is not that high. Uh industries that people may not know much about, industries that people may consider just boring or not. Like this is not something I'm interested in. But that could be a lot of opportunities. So, what are some industries that people don't really know about, but they're great opportunities?

SPEAKER_00 30:42

Yeah, we just had a client that got into a business that does floor recoding. They've got proprietary ways of doing it. They can do it in 24 hours without all the dust. Um, you know, cabinets, it's all just kind of think of different categories here. You know, cabinets are huge. I mentioned pool cleaning, you know, certainly um, you know, team driving school. How about that? It's required in 36 states, highly fragmented industry. This there's only one franchise that does it. Um, you know, for seniors, maybe you don't want to have a large team of in-home care providers, right? Even though that's a much needed industry out there. Well, we we just had clients up in Minnesota that got into a business where they're essentially the expert on all the senior facilities in their market, and then they meet with people and kind of guide them through the process. Because you know, when your aging parent needs to go into a senior home, it's for your first time going through it. You don't know where to start. So they kind of guide you through and then they get a referral fee from you. So it's almost like a broker relationship. You know, speaking of which, freight brokerage um is one insurance adjusting, um, you know, cost mitigation consulting. Um, you know, I mentioned youth soccer, uh, you know, certainly pet grooming, pet boarding. Um, you know, I always go back to what are people going to spend on? They're going to spend on the things they care about, their kids, their aging parents, their pets, to some degree, their homes, their health. Um, we just had a client get into one. If you're familiar with Gary Breca, he's a big personality out there. He partnered with uh SQL brands and um and Tony Robbins, a great like the Tony Robbins and so longevity franchise. And I mean that one's selling out in the US like fast. We just had a client get into that one. Um, everyone cares about health. I'd say most of our clients say, hey, we care about health. I don't know that we want to run a business in that space just because things are changing quickly there. Um a lot of evolution there, but people uh some of the macro trends I see people care about their health. Um I mean, right now people want things that are AI resistant, right? Things that AI is not gonna replace tomorrow. They're feeling that feeling the pressure, you know, all these headlines are real. We're seeing that play out on the ground. People are concerned about their jobs or they're being asked to do more with less, or uh they, you know, and so they're saying, help us find businesses and industries where AI is not going to replace anyone, but it could only enhance, again, because we're up against unsophisticated competition. And say like the idea of franchises that embrace AI, you know, whether it be in their marketing or their truck routing on the back end, you know, just their operations. Um, it's a huge opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

Yeah, you're definitely reading my mind because I was going to the AI route next. So yeah, you you you you're you're on it, John. I love that. Now, all right, with what you do, with your industry, with your your company, with even that the clients that you're working with, does AI pose any threats? Is there something that you, you know, a lot of times we think of the automation side of things, we think of the workflows, we think of, you know, what AI can do, but also the dangers of it and and what it, you know, what it what it really can do as we as we continue to delve more into it, teach it more. So for for where you are, for even as you've gotten into it and now you've watched things kind of evolve and transcend a little bit, are there any things to worry about when it comes to artificial intelligence and franchise opportunities?

SPEAKER_00 33:55

Yeah, you know, I think most franchises are somewhat immune because you think of AI, where is it going first? It's disrupting the uh kind of the knowledge jobs. Like I did a couple of things legally, you know, create a legal document. It's just amazing. I'm like, why do you need paralegals, right? Like, I mean, it it was amazing. Um I mean, what I do on the consulting side, yeah, it a couple of years from now, I think it's gonna look very different. I still think people are gonna want consultants that have been there done that to hold their hand through the process. Like they're not gonna trust big decisions like this just to you know, you know, to AI. And but I do think that, you know, others that don't have maybe the experience that I have been blessed to have are going to get weeded out. And I think that's the case in a lot of industries. I mean, I think the same thing in real estate, right? You know, 10% of the people do 90% of the deals, that's how it is in franchise consulting. So um, you know, I think it it will definitely disrupt things. I mean, I'm using it in my practice, you know, it's helping me on the back end in a lot of ways make things more efficient, allowing me to work with more clients. Um, but yeah, that's one of the things I really love about franchising. And I think that the conversations I'm having, people are saying, hey, we want these industries, you know, plumbing, electrician, you know, the things that are top of mind, but then they say we don't want those necessarily, but we want other things with those characteristics that are in high demand, that aren't going out of style, that are non-trendy, not I joke that non-you know, non-sexy is the new sexy when it comes to business ownership. I've I've got clients that have done incredibly well with dumpsters. Again, highly fragmented, unsophisticated industry. You can go in and take a white-collar approach to a blue-collar industry and really disrupt it, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

I hope y'all are taking notes. He's given a plethora of industries, probably things that you weren't even thinking about today that could really just be of benefit, of use, of something to consider. You know, we we know what's presented to us, we know what's right in front of us, and I I would say food and non-food. So it's it's definitely a lot to think about here because you've even named some things and even some places where it was just like, wow, I wouldn't have really thought that. But you you you never really know. As you said, what are what are people spending money on? And what are some like those non-negotiables, like yourself, your kids, your parents, pets, especially? I feel like there's so much with pets, and there's so much just happening, travel, everyday life. So, yeah, no, I would say it does too. It it definitely depends and it makes more sense as to where you live and just the area in which you're doing. But I love that now. Obviously, with this, there has to be credibility, there has to be long-standing relationships, referrals, what have you. What would you say is the main way you and your company, how are you guys discovered the most? Like, how are people finding out about you guys? How are people wanting to work with you guys? How are people really coming to you looking for more opportunities? Is it like word of mouth? Is it social media? Is it referrals? Is it is it a little bit of everything combined?

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Yeah. More than half of our business is referrals, you know, past clients, others that know who we are, you know, been very blessed to have a reputation out there that that I think, you know, it has helped us garner a lot of great clients. And those are always your best clients, right? The ones that are referred. But I've also been blessed to go on a lot of shows. And uh, you know, I do a lot of speaking engagements. And um, you know, again, those are the people they've raised their hand, they've they've been educated now. Most of them have read my book by the time we get on the call, which you know we'll speak more about. Happy to share that with all of your listeners. Um, and then LinkedIn. LinkedIn's been, I, you know, I've I don't do Instagram, I don't try to do everything, but I've really gone deep on LinkedIn over the years and um provided a lot of content and built a following, and that's been a great um, you know, great source for great clients for us.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

If I didn't know any better, y'all say it sounds like he found his niche. Less is more in a sense. So sometimes you just need to capitalize on what's good rather than spreading yourself thin in so many different places, especially with how social media is now. Everybody's just trying to keep up with everything, everything is always ever changing, and this A-word, this algorithm, which I can't stand. I'm I'm tired of it. But I do feel like LinkedIn is definitely a very, very resourceful place from jobs to just connections to just events, work, sales, anything of the sort. The book. Come on, y'all. Y'all know I want to write a book one day. I want to write multiple books. We've talked to so many authors, so many best-selling authors. So, all right, please give us the breakdown of the book from the inspiration behind it, the name, what people can expect when getting into it, what type of insight is is is inside of that.

SPEAKER_00 38:15

Yeah, absolutely. No, the the book came out about three years, just over three years ago. We've sold thousands of copies, but um given away even more than that. And would love, definitely love to share a free downloadable copy with all of your listeners if they come out to our website for Embridge Consulting, which I'm sure will be in the show notes. Um, it's about 90 pages, and I really wanted to make it readable. You know, I wasn't trying to win the paperweight test. Instead, you know, I get into case studies, I talk about how do you, you know, the different funding mechanisms, the different industries. Uh, we talk about you know the franchise disclosure document, how to read that. Um we talk about franchising versus startups, franchising versus entrepreneurship through acquisition. So again, it once someone is able to make it through it, whether they listen to the audio version, read the PDF version, or the hard copy, um, you know, they've really they they have a running start. And it's awesome when they've done that by the time we get on the call together because we could just kind of start on second or third base rather than uh starting at home. And I'll mention this too. Like if you go on Amazon to buy it, um, all the proceeds go to Hope International, which is a great nonprofit that we support that we believe in, been on mission trips with them and uh it they're first class.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

Nice. We love meaningful, and I'll definitely be sure to include that as for sure. As I said, I've I've had this conversation with a few friends of mine who were who were looking for just joint ventures and are looking for things to do. So I feel like this will probably be a perfect fit and a perfect opportunity. So now the myths, the I guess the misconceptions, the what people may read, or what people may Google, or what people may put into AI and then spits back out, or maybe even previous experiences. With this industry, what are there there can be instances in any industry where one bad apple spoils the bunch, where one bad opportunity just makes you kind of shun or shy away from something in general? What are some things, or what are maybe even some questions that you've been asked, or some things that you've been presented with that is just not true of this industry? It's just not true of what you do, and it's just not, you know, it's not really the franchise model.

SPEAKER_00 40:11

Yeah. Well, you know, franchising is like so many other large industries. I mean, there are literally several thousand companies participating in franchising, yet it gets grouped together, right, as one. And so, and anytime you have something like that, you're gonna have some businesses that that don't do as well, or they uh, you know, don't provide in this case the support that they ex lead you to believe up front, right? And yet there are a lot of others that provide outstanding support and exceed expectations. So, you know, we do our very best to help help our clients and very proud of our track record as well uh in helping them identify the right ones. Um, but I'd say that's one myth is again, franchising can just get grouped together, right? So if you have one company that gets headlines because that they didn't do a good job supporting their franchisees, you know, obviously, you know, that could be a negative. Um, you know, within a given franchise system. Again, if you have a couple hundred franchisees, you're bound to have a few slip through the cracks that never should have been in business ownership. And typically they're the ones with the loudest mouths and will share their opinions in Facebook forums or what have you, right? So um, but then you know it's really fascinating because you have a lot of folks who when they're like, gosh, I you know, the the I would do this again in a heartbeat, right? And and a lot of our clients, you know, send me other clients, and you know, that's always my that's my validation when I have our clients come back and buy additional locations, additional brands, they send their brother-in-law to me. Um, you know, it and that just happens all the time. And that's where I get my validation. That's what gets me excited here in the case studies and the success stories. So, you know, those are some, and I'd say finally, the the other misnomer would be kind of what we hit on that the franchise is going to run itself, right? Just because you're, you know, buying into a franchise system and a lot of things have been figured out that it's just gonna run itself and it's not gonna take as much work. End of the day, it still takes a lot of hard work and uh just allows you to kind of have a running start and maybe not have to figure as many things out. Instead, you can focus those efforts on execution, right? You know, your your competition's gonna be doing their best to execute. At least you've got some things figured out they have to spend their time on on their end. But um, you know, it's all about going out and executing. And franchising is not right for everyone. There are individuals that are so entrepreneurial in their mind, and they, you know, they they want to do everything differently, and they think they're the smartest guy in the room, no matter what room they're in, and they're not willing to have the humility to follow a system. And you know, when I was at Shelf Genie, I looked across our franchisees, our top performers followed the system the closest. And that sounds so cliche, but it was true.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

Yeah, the minute, the minute you start trying to kind of veer off and and and making your own, it it could it could come to bite you. So sometimes it really is, not even sometimes, nine times out of ten, ten times out of ten, listen to the read the book, listen to those who have done it. Time after time after time. Again, the work speaks for itself, the reviews speak for themselves, the success speaks for themselves. You know, John spoke about case studies. Case studies take take a lot of time, a lot of research, a lot of just you know, putting it all together, what worked, what didn't work, what can you do from that? Going back to square one a little bit and not just necessarily and sometimes even having to revamp, you know, what what he what franchising looked like 10 years ago is not what it probably looks like today, and then what franchising will look like five to ten years from now, which segues me into my next question, of course. The future of franchising, what does that look like 10 years from now, 15 years from now? Are industries phasing out? Are new industries being developed? Is it is it becoming more popular as based on the outlook that you have right now, based on the research, based on kind of what you've done, what does that look like moving forward for people who are trying to get involved?

SPEAKER_00 43:40

Yeah, well, I I mean I'm seeing as much interest as I've ever seen. Our biggest challenge is that territories are selling out really fast. It's I'm always trying to position our clients ahead of other candidates in the pipeline and leverage my relationships. I mean that that's what I do every day with it's reaching out to franchise orders. Hey, can I call in a favor? Can I call in a favor? Um, so from where I sit, it it looks very bright. And I think there are a whole lot of tailwinds, a whole lot of tailwinds. I think AI is going to support those both from a demand standpoint as well as an operational standpoint. There's been a lot of research. There was a big study put out just a couple months ago by the IFA International Franchise Association. It was talking about kind of the state of franchising and looking forward. And it was incredibly optimistic and positive. So I'll lean on them. They've done the heavier lift on the research side, you know, across across all of franchising, including food. But no, there's just so many characteristics of franchising in general. I mean, the smart money. Like I spoke at a private equity conference this past year in Cincinnati where the comment was made by one of the PE firms that hey, it's it's sexy to have a franchise in your portfolio. You know, even if it's a non-sexy one, right? Um, you know, private equity loves the franchise model. They're investing more and more in brands, primarily and you know, kind of the platforms, you know, helping um you know them provide better support to their franchise. It's mainly strategic capital. I mean, it's it's private equity in a positive light, and groups like Princeton Equity and others uh out there. Um, I always say look at where the smart money's flowing, and we see a lot of smart money flowing in the franchising.

SPEAKER_01 45:14

I hope we're peaking some interest. I hope we're I hope the whole people are listening, rewind if you have to. I hope you took those notes on those industries because I still don't know the insulation, and I'm gonna find one out, y'all. And he said he just did a deal out here. So we're gonna do that, we're gonna get to that. But no, I we love to hear that things are just in that upward trend. We love to hear that money is still gone. We love to, because you know, I I feel like across this almost seven years of doing this podcast, there have been times where people weren't the most confident in their industry, people weren't the most confident in the future outlook of things, people were even maybe going out of business or trying to venture off into different things or bringing that entrepreneurial mindset in rather than just sticking to a one-track mind, which I mean it's nothing wrong with adjustment and adapting just the same, but it's it's also good to know that you're kind of in a place and you've been in a place that's it's gonna continue to climb. You're gonna continue to be able to build that foundation, and if not, just add more to it. Now, what can we, and I don't want to spoil anything, I don't want to give anything away, so so don't feel like you have to disclose anything that you don't want to disclose. But when it comes to you, when it comes to being an author, when it comes to friend bridge consulting, when it comes to, and I asked this question more so for people who are looking to maybe work with you now, who are looking to inquire, who are now kind of curious about what to expect. Is there anything in the pipeline? Is there anything that you guys are working on? Is there anything that we can expect moving forward? Are there any more books in the works? What's going on?

SPEAKER_00 46:33

Yeah, you know, I always no books in the works. That was a labor of love. Um, you know, and I think it's evergreen content, but you know, I've always got shiny object syndrome, and I have to fight it. And uh there's so many things we can do, and I keep going back to hey, keep doing what's working. I mean, we've been blessed the last two years, you know, we were an Inc. 5000 company, you know, two years ago, incredibly highly ranked on the list. And you know, that's a testimony to the number of clients that we've been able to help. And and um, you know, again, that's what I'm passionate about. That's what I love doing day in, day out. And so we're trying as much as possible to stick to the core. But um, no, like I said, we just see higher and higher level of investors getting involved. And um, you know, it's encouraging, right? It's very validating. And um, so no, I'm doing my best to block and tackle and keep doing a good job for our clients.

SPEAKER_01 47:25

All right, I love that. Look, shiny object syndrome is a real thing, trust me. It it I sometimes I'm like a deer in the headlights when you just see something that just seems, oh, it's just like, yeah, I want that a lot. But no, I love sometimes too, just sticking to your guns and just realizing that hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If this is the model, if this is what we kind of put into play, it's the same thing. Because, like you said, it's not, this is not something where it just runs itself. This is not something where you buy into it and you just kind of put your hands up. No, you still have to work, you still have to build that team, you still have to kind of be meaningful and do everything with intention. So I do love that. And you know, from down the business to to you to Frambridge, we are definitely, you know, we're wishing you guys a lot of success. I have quite the the audience and quite the um the market in Atlanta. So I'm I'm curious to see, you know, once this episode is out, once it's aired. I'm just curious. You know, I got a lot of people who listen to Atlanta. I actually need to take a trip back to Atlanta myself, so we will definitely be in touch and in contact soon. So before I close out, before we tell people where they can find you, best places to reach you, everything of the sort. Do you feel like there's anything that we have not touched on today? Even any last words that you want to leave for the listeners, anybody out there who may be interested, who's doing it now, um, anything for the people?

SPEAKER_00 48:31

Yeah, no, I think we covered a lot of ground, and uh, you know, I just encourage people, hey, you know, grab the book. I mean, and get off the couch. I mean, you know, I'd say start moving in in a direction, whether it be franchising, whether it be you know, some other direction. You know, I'm a big believer that activity breeds activity. So I think um, you know, when you start analyzing option A and option B, you know, just start moving towards one. That's when option C comes along. So um, you know, just want to leave people with that word of encouragement.

SPEAKER_01 48:58

That's that's a gem. Oh, it's oh, it's no better way to end it than that one right there. But no, just get moving. I feel like in so many ways I've said it, but that's the thing. So that's I I love that. It's just you have to start somewhere, you have to do something, you have to realize what doesn't work to then realize what works, or you have to realize what works to then realize what doesn't work. So I love that. So, no, from me to you, thank you so much for joining the podcast today. Thank you so much just for the insight. Thank you so much for everything that you're doing, even for other people out there, Atlanta and beyond. And I I love that. I'm looking forward to you know, bringing my people together, putting some things together, and and and Franbridge will definitely be on the list because yeah, we can't do this alone. So for everybody out there tapping in, for everybody out there who's curious, as far as you know, trying to reach you, we know you're on LinkedIn, but as far as like a website, as far as the best places to reach you, get in contact with you, just give us everything you got.

SPEAKER_00 49:47

We'll keep it simple. Come out to our website, Franbridge Consulting.com, F R E N Bridge Consulting.com, share your email address. My assistant will reach out, share downloadable links to the book, um, and then uh she'll send a link to my calendar as well. So if you're in a place where you're ready to take a next step and dig in further, I'd be happy to jump on a call.

SPEAKER_01 50:05

Absolutely. All right. Well, John, thank you so much for everything. I appreciate it. Look to everybody who continuously taps in with us. I appreciate y'all. Like I said, July is here. I'm gonna keep saying it literally until my birthday, y'all. So every episode, that's what you're gonna get. But no, I appreciate y'all, everything that y'all have done since we've, you know, come out of our hiatus, since we did a little bit of a rebrand and a revamp. It's it's just been amazing. The energy has been there, the guests have been amazing, and John is no different. So, thank you all to everybody who's listening. This has been another episode of the Down to Business Podcast here with Tamar Turner.