Franchise Everything

Greg Nathan is recognised as a global authority and thought leader on the psychology of franchising, and notably to many, on the franchisee-franchisor relationship.

In 35+ years of researching the science of successful franchise relations, Greg and his team have developed widely used, world-leading tools and models in franchising.

An interest in Psychology and completing a degree and Masters in this, a PhD was next. Working in a bread shop to make money while at uni lead to a career defining change as a franchise business owner, all after becoming disillusioned with Psychology and it's rigidity.

Greg was writing a lot of letters to the franchisor about doing better, believing they did not know what they were doing, and as result, was eventually asked to work in corporate, selling his franchise.

Years of learning about franchise relationships happened in that environment, and when it came to an end, Greg was encouraged to educate and write.

A global-leading position in franchise Psychology and education was never the grand plan, yet it evolved over time.

Greg's story is one of passion and a strong desire to leave a lasting legacy on the franchise sector and in helping franchise business owners in particular.

0:00 Intro

0:18 Organisational Psychologist or Franchise Psychologist?

0:47 Didn’t start in franchising, where it all began

1:28 Finding Psychology

1:51 Disillusioned with the course as too scientific

2:58 Need to earn money while in Uni so worked in a bakery and an introduction to franchising

5:08 Not enjoying psychology so went into business with a partner as a franchisee

5:49 What the plan was initially and leaving academia and putting his heart and soul into running the business

7:26 Perceiving that the franchisor didn’t know what they were doing so started writing letters to them

8:16 Not finishing the PhD but maybe going back one day

8:38 Starting working for the franchisor and the transition out of being a franchisee, what this change was like

11:55 Be real in your dealings with people - be yourself

12:32 False confidence in the corporate world and trusting his own judgement

14:34 Getting sacked for questioning decision making of leaders and having his job back next day

16:06 A role in marketing and operations and the business getting into trouble and Greg being required to sack half of the office

17:22 What Greg observed went wrong with this successful bakery franchise

18:43 After 4-5 years Brumby’s handed over to franchisees and Greg was exhausted after the challenges of previous years

19:02 Knowing franchising inside out and thinking of how his psychology background could interplay

20:04 Greg’s first workshop on franchise relationships and starting to run some courses

21:27 Franchise Relationships just evolved and was not a grand plan in franchise education

21:55 Getting his first client, how that happened and what that was like

23:07 The prompting and inspiration to write ‘profitable Partnerships’ book after complaints from unhappy franchisees

24:28 Best-selling book, Profitable Partnership evolved over 10 years and company said a book on franchise relationships ‘wouldn’t sell’

27:37 Making a difference, and how that book has helped Greg to do that

29:29 How has franchising changed since he wrote Profitable Partnerships?

30:31 Where Greg’s business is now, and the next steps

32:05 The future of franchising and where Greg sees it

33:43 Wrap up

Podcast Produced by: www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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What are the simple mistakes that sellers of gym and fitness franchises are getting wrong?

These are the things that are having significant impact on their ability to generate the strongest return for their efforts.

Once again, Dustin Slypen, a business broker with 200+ transactions in the wellness niche and in fitness and gym franchises in particular, outlines these crucial components to a successful sale.

The four key components that were covered are;

• Sellers often won’t put their ‘buyers hat’ on,

0:00 Intro

0:40 The sellers not putting a buyers ‘hat’ on

1:38 Selling a business is not like selling a house

2:06 What does it look like to ‘put the buyers hat on’ in a fitness or gym franchise?’

3:23 Sellers to keep selling a secret and what impact does this have on staff

4:07 Not planning around the lease

6:07 Lease is scary for many people as they don’t understand it, so engage a specialist

6:46 Undervaluing the modernisation requirements in a gym or fitness business that is selling

7:29 Thinking about prices from years ago as a vendor when they bought the business - but it’s not the reality

8:28 Potentially the selling franchisee thinks that might be able to avoid updating the business equipment and fit out on a sale

8:52 What is the ‘normal’ requirement for modernisation in a gym or fitness franchise and what’s the difference between each business type

9:49 Are gym owners trying to extend the life of equipment or are they re-investing?

10:57 The positive impact of a modernised business

11:27 The challenge of the owner ‘being’ the business in a services business as the effective ‘goodwill’

13:11 Wrap-up

Podcast Produced by: www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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One of the fastest growing franchise brands in the Australian market, has also embarked on global expansion in NZ and the USA recently.

In this discussion, Jeremy hones in on a handful of factors he sees as largely significant in both the success thus far, and for building on this success into the future.

With no experience in franchising or the wellness industry previously, Jeremy and co-founder Tim, have leant heavily on mentors and advisers to grow the business. All the while moving the brand forward in a market niche that has evolved rapidly over recent years.

The key areas of the business model that were focused on included;

• Industry of wellness is growing and it’s not just City Cave educating the market

0:00 Intro

0:42 Early on, basically the were the only one doing what they do in ‘wellness’ and now it is bigger with the space growing

1:42 Now with competitors that is also good thing with the market being educated by others as well

2:07 Does he worry about competitors and makes him want to grow faster?

2:52 Building their own float tanks and how it works, and why they designed and built their own

3:48 Started the business with two capsule then through popularity, float pools became the popular choice

4:31 How they developed the tanks and early days or cabling to the front counter and growing pains of figuring out how it needs to work and more

6:38 The value of mentors in the growth and leadership team of the business

8:30 Developing culture in the business and the focus and importance of it

9:44 The great culture example of ‘work from home’ post covid, and adjusting head office where only in office two days in a row

11:03 The concept of ‘proud and grateful’ that the entire office participates in every month

12:32 The thought process around making it hard to be a City Cave Franchise Partner and how important it is to get along with them at a human level

13:22 Opinion on advice to new franchisors - go to the customers who buy your-product everyday, they are your first franchise owners

14:27 Selling a bunch of franchises that have no ‘buy in’ to your product and business, but buying your pitch instead

16:03 Wrap up

Podcast Produced by: www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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What has made the PACK & SEND franchise what it is today? The brand has been in the market for 30+ years and seen the role it plays transform before our eyes.

We asked Kate Fellowes, Head of Learning & Development, to hone in on 5 key things that have been crucial to the business.

The PACK & SEND brand originally was focused on individual customers coming to them in their retail locations. What Kate explains in particular is a whole other market that opened up to the brand some time ago with the B2B market and helping SME’s with freight solutions on a larger scale.

The key things Kate covered are;

• Initial and ongoing training and development for franchise partners

0:00 Intro

1:11 Initial and ongoing training and development for franchise partners

2:35 Building on initial training with an existing franchise partner in their centre before opening their own

3:19 Ongoing training and its focus to build on especially the business development side of things

4:25 Needs-driven approach to the training where some have experience, and others don’t

5:00 The impact of the brands change from being a traditionally B2C business earlier, to now also a B2B service business

6:57 How they go about delivering the training to develop skills

8:21 The solutions provider focus of the brand in particular which comes through the B2B market

10:45 Building relationship with customers and understanding their needs

12:21 Technology and the varying platform investments by PACK & SEND that have been crucial in the business

14:44 The newest system being introduced is a new CRM giving the franchise partners much greater visibility of customer behaviours to enable them to focus their B2B selling focus

16:21 The concept of ‘store connect’ with nearing 150 store units across ANZ and the network helping each other in order to customers done - franchise partners are both suppliers and customers of each other

19:50 Wrap up

Podcast Produced by: www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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The World Options Franchise Business Model with Malcolm Rees, CEO.

With the explosion in e-commerce across the market in recent years, businesses of all sizes are looking for the simplest and most cost-effective solution. World Options is one such option, described by CEO Malcolm Rees as ‘the Trivago of shipping.’

The key aim of the business through its franchise partners, is to streamline the process of shipping for SME’s in the market via multi-carrier online platform.

Franchise partners are the relationship face and connection and key business development arm who operate in a non-exclusive territory basis easing frustration and costs for SME’s.

0:00 Intro

0:26 Describing the World Options brand and what role it plays

1:20 Franchisees act as consultants for shipping and freight for SME’s

1:48 The challenge of shipping for many with insurance etc

2:16 What a day looks like for a franchise owner

3:34 The multi-carrier platform for a solution for shipping to streamline the process

4:27 How their franchise owners find customers in the SME market

5:35 The types of people best-suited and the varying walks of life of franchise owners

6:16 Main value proposition in ease of use and pricing to customers to ensure margins with the discounts from carriers

7:51 Why customers stick with franchise partners - price AND service 

9:26 Frustrations of customers with shipping in general

10:47 What training is involved in becoming a World Options franchise partner

13:03 Knowledge base being created within the business for ongoing training

13:43 Launching after being trained and in-field training and support

14:29 Part-time v full time in the business and the importance being ‘all in’

15:33 Some franchise partners with teams of people as opposed to just a single operator, and the importance of taking a holiday with HQ managing your customers while you are away

17:05 Wrap up

Podcast Produced by:  www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website):  www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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It’s never an ‘easy’ time to buy a business or franchise, as after all, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it! Peter Knight is The Franchise Accountant, and he has seen a thing or two when it comes to advising hundreds of buyers of franchises on how to proceed.

Knowing the biggest challenges is one thing in going about the process of buying a franchise.

But how to overcome them are key securing your business if that is the journey you are on.

Peter identifies and focuses on several factors that he sees in the market;

• Difficulty in securing finance for your franchise or business

Peter gives his usual no nonsense take on all of it in this practical, information-filled episode!

0:00 Intro

0:41 The first key challenge is difficulty in securing finance and banks lending against criteria

1:27 The first thing banks look for - do they have a home

2:01 Then look at the business if there are assets there for separate loans in the business

2:29 Splitting loans across the business depending on the needs of equipment in the business

3:12 Risk getting higher with loans closer to being unserviceable despite still wanting the franchise

4:21 Second key thing at the moment - the awkward information being provided to assess a business purchase

6:35 The other end of that is that some brands don’t provide any financial information

7:11 How does he handle when brands don’t provide good information in his advice to buyers

8:01 Third key challenge is overwhelm in too many opportunities to choose from in Australia and which is the right one for that buyer

9:03 A client previously ran a call centre but soon found when he had to make direct sales on his own in his own business, he struggled

10:51 Fourth key challenge not having the figures when buying an existing business - the red flags

13:21 How he works with existing operating clients to help them through equipment and refit costs budgets

14:16 Sellers of business pitching different figures to buyers on and off the books

16:15 Wrap-up

Podcast Produced by:  www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website):  www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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Starting in branding and marketing with King Gee workwear clothing, being a young female in a male dominated space, through to capital raising and managing a forestry business in Nicaragua, Sonia Shwabsky brings a diverse career experience to her role as CEO of Kwik Kopy.

Starting out in clothing retail while at University soon saw Sonia enjoy the opportunity to travel the world attending trade shows and factories in clothing and apparel. On a fast promotion track through the Pacific Brands business meant a variety of roles through to GM with working with a varied range of clients from large corporate client accounts, right through to small businesses.

A desire for a broader working experience and a sense for adventure ending up in Latin America, and Nicaragua specifically running a forestry business after initially just raising capital for it in and around the GFC in 2008. The first taste of franchising came a time after through attaining the Dale Carnegie Training license for the country.

A quick departure from Nicaragua came after internal turmoil, and re-entering corporate Australia in the print and digital franchise space, which soon led to the role of CEO Kwik Kopy Australia.

0:00 Intro

0:53 Key career start and experience in clothing with King Gee work wear

1:27 The start in clothing while working in retail at University

2:26 Seeing the world with trade shows globally in clothing and apparel

2:48 Starting with King Gee as a product and brand manager to GM

4:06 Working on large client corporate accounts for clothing workwear and everything in between

4:40 Working with small businesses while managing accounts with corporates

7:44 Offshore manufacturing of clothing and price points

9:24 A young female in a male dominated industry and finding that an advantage

10:49 The decision to be made to stay with corporate or move for more experience - looking for adventure overseas

13:28 Traveling and the entrepreneur in them finding an opportunity in lumbar in Nicaragua, raising capital then the GFC sees them having to run the business

15:00 What’s involved with running a forestry business in the 3rd world

16:48 Learnings from the Nicaragua experience and problem solving

18:38 Exiting the forestry business and into the training space and the entry into franchising with Dale Carnegie Training

20:35 Starting the franchise in Nicaragua as a new territory for the brand

22:35 The core training products being delivered

23:12 Leaving the training business and working in a digital marketing agency as COO

24:07 Nicaragua turmoil and time to leave

24:59 Moving back to Australia in 2018 in a hurry from Nicaragua and having to leave everything behind

27:42 Got into franchising with another print franchise as Chief Marketing Officer working on digital transformation and e-commerce

28:51 The appeal of the print and digital marketing space

30:02 Coming across to Kwik Kopy as CEO and the desire to get back into senior management

31:05 After 11 years overseas did Sonia feel any disconnection with corporate Australia

32:05 What’s the day to day like as a CEO of Kwik Kopy?

34:03 Keeping on top of tech development for the future

35:33 What is being worked on for the future of Kwik Kopy business

37:49 Wrap up

Podcast Produced by:  www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website):  www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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Franchise owner journey: Chenna Kuppyreddy is a multi-store owner at PACK & SEND in Sydney, and started his working career in India on the family mango farm, moved onto mechanical Engineering in the global oil and gas sector, where he spent a lot of time on projects in Australia.

A desire to get to Australia and run his own business saw life here commence as a street sweeper in late 2016, and then eventually into his own franchise.

Chenna has probably seen more of Australia than many people born here! This is after the amount of times he travelled here as part of his role in the oil and gas industry.

Logistics was in his blood even before he realised it, when young, as part of the family  he had to get tonnes of mangos trucked across regions in India in 45deg heat to be in a condition for sale.

Eventually working on multi-billion projects in India, and experiences giving him a launch pad to enter Australia for permanent residency, his path lead to business ownership, and a franchise with support was a key factor in that process.

Now a multi-store owner with PACK & SEND, you’ll hear how Chenna has carved out a highly successful base here in his adopted home with a growing family.

0:00 Intro

0:20 What's it like owning two (2) PACK & SEND locations

0:57 Came from India and was a Mechanical Engineer in the oil and gas sector and where he used to travel

2:13 Does Chenna miss any aspects of mechanical engineering?

3:09 When he came to Australia and got permanent residency in 2016 after being in the family business owning and operating mango fields

4:35 What Chenna loves about having his own business and not staying in the family business

5:35 Learning logistics in mango farming as a child to make sure the mangos remain in a condition to be sold

6:27 Working on a $2.5Billion project for 4 years and learning so much

7:23 Arrives in Australia 2016 and the family remained back in India, his impressions

8:15 Started working in Australia sweeping streets as had $4,000 in the bank and a recession in mining sector

10:25 Taking every opportunity on offer and the 'dignity of labour' in Australia

12:16 Quitting his job and deciding it was time to get his own business and how he went about finding one

13:51 When he found PACK & SEND and the steps to starting thew process

15:11 First impressions of PACK & SEND and the support in particular being a focus for him

17:16 Chasing more and more information to support the decision to buy the business

18:17 What it was like when he opened the business after the training period

20:25 The vision and path to a second store with a partner

22:04 Buying out his business partner from the second store

23:17 What the future looks like, and the warehousing and retail focus difference between his stores, and possibly a third store as well

25:20 Wrap up

Podcast Produced by:  www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website):  www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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The City Cave health and wellness brand is already a success story in the Australian market in a very short space of time. Tim Butters, Co-Founder, explained the planning and circumstances around the deacon to enter the American market - and how they’re doing it.

Commencing franchising in 2019, and now with 70+ locations grown across a period of significant disruption, the brand is well-positioned for the future.

With strong growth in both Australia and New Zealand, the US expansion is clearly a magnet for many brands Tim explains. However, having ‘zero ego’ as he puts it, is important.

Tim addresses why Florida was the place for the first location, the strategic planning rationales, and the significant differences between the labour structure they have found, and the impact on the business’ profitability in comparison to Australia.

An inspiring and informative story of a ‘young gun’ brand on a mission.

0:00 Intro

0:35 City Cave making the decision to enter the American market

1:37 In Australia we can learn a lot from doing business in America, and what City Cave do

2:18 How and who decided to expand in the USA, in a post-COVID market in particular

3:00 Developing a very tight franchise partner community within the business

3:38 The first step to enter America - zero ego

4:07 What Tim has found most different in the USA, and as an example the job roles within the business compared to Australia

5:22 How he sees the breakdown differences in costs to the point that it levels out

5:49 The reason to start in Florida partnering with the right franchisee

7:18 What the main challenges are that Tim has found, particularly in the franchise documents and legals

8:42 The work in the strategic approach exerting the country and doping themselves and not via a Master Franchise structure

9:57 Managing the growth in Australia v America between the two founders of City cave

12:02 The current status in America and the goals going forward

Podcast Produced by:  www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website):  www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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How do you get megastar to represent your brand? What’s that secret sauce that can lock the deal away?

John Dwyer (JD), has a proven track record for consistently being able to present a case for involving celebrities with whatever it is he is doing, and here's his approach and why he went after Jerry Seinfeld to front a small regional bank - and got him!

In this chat, JD gives us the background and key takeaways from his experience with Jerry Seinfeld and how he was able to boost a brand campaign with Jerry’s creative and brand power is a masterclass in marketing.

The campaign ran over 3 years, involved building a Newcastle born bank branch in a little town in the USA just north of New York, and having Jerry Seinfeld create enough content and brand assets for dozens of TV adverts.

JD’s vision and clarity for how his challenger brand needed to approach the market to build a point of difference is a must-see.

0:00 Introduction

0:31 JD’s background in marketing

0:50 The thinking behind securing Jerry Seinfeld for the Greater Building Society

2:41 Presenting to the board to get a spokesperson for the brand

3:13 Jerry was not always as accessible as he is now

3:48 Contacting Jerry’s management and the brief

4:30 The secret to why he did it if it was not for the money as at the time he only had done ads for two other large corporates

5:08 Extrapolate learnings from getting Jerry to rep the brand

6:22 The logistics of filming in the US for the adverts north of New York

7:51 What was Jerry like to work with?

8:51 How long the contract working with Jerry was and his tour to Australia

9:51 What was the impact of the campaign and having a brand representative

10:37 The mechanics of ‘the happy meal toy’ approach

12:29 Even with the success, why the campaign finished

14:23 Key takeaways in securing brand representatives

16:20 The formula to getting people to at least consider your brand

17:22 Hadn’t even watched much of the Seinfeld show before filming the campaign

18:01 Wrap up

Podcast Produced by:  www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au

Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website):  www.franchisebuyer.com.au

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