Franchise Secrets Podcast

Have you ever struggled with being in control? We all want to be in control. However, understanding both how to properly be in control and the depth and results that come with being in control of our surroundings is something we often are blind to. This week’s episode our guest is Bedros Keuilian. Bedros is the founder of the franchise, Fit Body Bootcamp. Bedros has an interesting background, followed by an immaculate outcome of success. He managed to turn his life around with hard work and control.  

Bedros shares with us his journey to the United States and the struggles he went through with his family. We get to learn the basis of what drives Bedros’s success and urge for control. Control is something we must be able to balance in order run a successful franchise. Bedros shares with us the many obstacles and struggles he experienced through opening and running a franchise. The endgame to his success leads back to how he overcame control in all areas of his life. In this week’s episode, we learn that we must have control over many different aspects in our life that will lead us to having success in our franchises or organizations.  

 

Outline of This Episode 

(04:42) Bedros’s Background and Inability to be a Fake Entrepreneur  

(08:26) How Fit Body Boot Camp Transformed 

(10:20) The Importance of Relying on Mentors 

(14:31) How Being Obsessed and Taking Control Leads to Success 

(24:09) How to Properly Obtain Friendships and Mentors 

(25:14) Bedros’s Outlook on College and Education 

(29:25) Taking Control and Balancing Your Foundation, Such as Family 

(32:20) How to Obtain a Regimented, Controlled Lifestyle  

(38:25) Work Life balance VS. Work life Mix 

(43:03) The Zone of Genius and its Affects on Taking Control  

 

From Struggles to Success 

I am excited to welcome Bedros Kueilian to this week’s show. Bedros is the founder and owner of Fit Body Bootcamp. I am inspired by Bedros’s story, because he was not handed success on a golden platter. Bedros shares his real-life experiences on how he turned his life around. Bedros and his family have an interesting story on how they made it into the United States. Life was not simple for them at first. They went through things, that most people could not imagine. Bedros took control of every situation in his life, leading him to success. He shares with us this week how to take control, what to take control over and his personal up and down experiences in the franchise world. His organization, Fit Body Bootcamp is now a successful business with 800 locations, they have hit the Inc 500 list for the last five years, as well as the magazine’s 500 fastest growing franchises in the last two years. We explore that even though Bedros started off with hardships in his life, he has developed some impressive work ethic, success and control over every aspect of his life, which has led him to be where he is today. Bedros is a perfect, real life example of how taking control can not only contribute to major success, but also allow relief to all aspects of your life while running a franchise. 

 

The Impact of Relying on Mentors 

One avenue to Bedros’s success, is his mentors. He shares with us the impact that the mentors have made in his life. Mentors are not always someone you pay to advise you. Mentors can be found through various platforms. Often times, we find ourselves feeling so knowledgeable or comfortable that we feel we do not need a mentor. Say we find a mentor, is this striping us of control, or is it contributing to our control? Where do we even begin to find a mentor? Bedros gives us an inside look on how he found his mentors that have helped him from the beginning, through transformations of his company, up until today. Listening to how he obtained his mentors, how he relies on them and the difference they brought to his life should encourage everyone to feel confident obtaining mentors to rely on.  

 

Obtaining a Regimented and Controlled Lifestyle 

Having a regimented and controlled lifestyle has brought success to Bedros. Many of us might be stuck on how to obtain this sort of control in our life and within our franchises. I am excited that Bedros expresses the steps to take to achieve this type of control. If you find yourself in over your head, muddled with so much work, loosing grip of your personal life, or being unable to separate or prioritize the facets surrounding you, I highly recommend tuning into this week’s show and picking up some vital pointers Bedros shares with us. 

Perspective is Everything 

Many of us struggle with work life balance, maintaining healthy relationships outside of work, channeling our obsessions, or even simple things, like properly communicating. All of these factors are important to take control over. The first step to taking control over these is, perspective. Minor perspective changes can make a world of difference. For example, rather than looking at employees, as employees, Bedros looks at them as team members. Rather than looking at his organization and trying to create a work life balance, he looks to create a work life mix. These perspectives of his alone illustrates his ability to change a challenge with his perspective and control.  Tune in this week to let Bedros help change our perspectives, while also inspiring and educating us on how taking control.  

 

Connect With Bedros

• Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Fit Body Bootcamp Website

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Medium
• Franchise Secrets Website

Public relations have a lot to do with obtaining successful franchises. How many of you are intrigued with the public relation side and how it helps contribute with franchises? This week’s episode we have two guests joining us, Brad and Sherri Fishman. The Fishman’s own an organization called Fishman PR. They help business owners all over the world. The Fishman’s not only own a PR company for customers to hire, but they also do conferences all over to help and educate current and future franchise owners.  

Brad and Sherri have been in the franchise world for over twenty years now. They have in depth experience about public relations and how to help companies achieve greatness through various platforms. They share in this episode many contributing aspects. One being the major changes they have noticed over the years in the way that PR can affect franchises. They share their insight on the importance and success their company brings to franchisees.  

 

Outline of This Episode 

(05:54) Suppliers support and Relationships with Franchises Have an Impact 

(08:30) How Fishman PR Helps Their Customers 

(17:04) How Influencers Can Be a Businesses Backbone 

(20:56) The Importance of Ambassadors  

(24:18) The Fishman’s Process with Helping Customers  

(27:06) Talking to Franchisees Before Buying a Franchise is Key 

(31:19) How To Track and Obtain ROI (Return on Investment) 

(37:35) The Inside Look on Fishman’s Conferences  

(44:42) How to Handle Second and Third Generation Involvement  

 

Public Relation Support for Franchises 

This week we welcome the owners of Fishman PR, Sherri and Brad. In this show, we discuss the importance and process that public relation plays within a franchise. The Fishman’s have been in the franchise industry for over 20 years. They share they’re knowledge with us in hope that we can take away some great avenues to pursue when growing our franchises. Sherri and Brad dive into brand awareness, guidance and support, influencers impact and shares their companies outstanding process in assisting new or existing franchise owners.  

The Foundation of Fishman PR 

Sherri and Brad began Fishman PR from their bedroom, over the years they have grown to be a successful organization supporting franchisors all over the world. The passion that Sherri and Brad have in this process, is what brings such success to their company and clients. The Fishman’s do conferences solely to help spread valuable information to others seeking it. Fishman PR focuses of supporting franchises, building business models, understanding the customer’s goals and leading franchises to success.  

Ambassadors and Influencers 

As we dig into the platform of public relations, we discover how key ambassadors and influencers are to an organization.  In today’s society, social media and word of mouth play a big part in advertising a brand. Learning how to find influences in your own marketplace help franchises get in front their target audience, Sherri and Brad help us understand the tools with ambassadors and influencers.  

Fishman’s Process 

Fishman PR has been known for giving franchises the jump start they need. They go through a in depth and dependable process. This process consists of assistance with grand openings, press release, idea pitches, coordinating events, TV segments, media training, constant communication with clients and much more. After meeting the Fishman’s, I one hundred percent believe in their process and passion they bring to franchises. I encourage you all to tune into this week’s podcast to understand and take advantage of some of the opportunity’s PR has to offer a business. 

Connect With Brad and Sherri

• Website
• Facebook
• Brad's LinkedIn
• Sherri's LinkedIn

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Medium
• Franchise Secrets Website

In Franchise Secrets, Episode 38, we discuss many topics that dive deep into maintaining the growth of a franchise. Michael Bernoff, a good friend, businessman, sales coach and communication expert joins us to teach on key essentials such as marketing, proper sales techniques, personal influence and persuasion. Michael helps by role-playing real-life scenarios and how to overcome many of the obstacles when it comes to dealing with and building a clientele for franchises. Michael extends on important factors such how to handle presales, how to gain commitment from customers, how to get employees on board with sale tactics and much more. Michael has helped companies and owners really find a way to strive their businesses in a way many might struggle with.  

 

 Outline of This Episode: 

(01:34) The Importance of Communication  

(06:12) How to Handle Presales  

(16:01) How to Gain Commitment  

(18:00) How to Get Employees on Board With Sales 

(36:44) The Truth on Obtaining Referrals  

(42:55) Achieving Retention from Clientele  

(43:10) How The Mindset Plays a Role in Sales 

(54:46) Learning How Reframing Helps 

(56:04) Creating Momentum  

Customer and Sale Essentials 

Without steady momentum, how do we go about handling customers and sales? To successfully run a franchise, owners must be able to obtain and maintain customers. Often, this is an obstacle for owners. We know as franchise owners; we must market and educate. However, once we have done these steps, we must also be able to obtain customers, sell our product or service and most importantly retain these customers. Michael will help us in this episode to better understand how to obtain these essentials.  

The Importance of Communication 

Michael is an expert on communication and believes that communication is an underappreciated key when it comes to successfully running an organization. He helps to remind us of the important communication can play in our everyday life, especially in the business world. 

How to Handle Presales and Customer Commitment  

Presales is a factor that many franchise owners want to achieve. Many franchise owners want to get clientele informed and excited, even before a franchise may open. As an owner, we all want that guarantee and interest from customers. Michael helps teach us many unique and effective ways to go about keeping customers intrigued, while also keeping them pleased although the business might not yet be open. Commitment from customers before and after a business opening is something that keeps a franchise afloat. We discuss real life scenarios and learn effective ways on how to achieve customer commitment.  

Getting Employees on Board 

There are many times that franchises must hire certain personnel for a job, which may not include sales experience or interest. For example, personal trainers, massage therapists, etc. Getting these employees excited and passionate about the sales portion of their job is an obstacle many owners may face. Michael helps us to look outside the box and find ways to get employees on board.  

The Truth on Obtaining Referrals 

Referrals are a major part of a successful business. Sometimes we may find it socially uneasy receiving or giving referrals. Many times, you may find that others look at referrals as a sale, or some may not know how to ask for referrals. However, we all know referrals is a great way of marketing. If you want referrals, you must be able to give outstanding services. If others are putting their name out there for you, and vice versa… the service must be incredible to keep both peoples, and company’s reputation good. Michael helps us get a little more comfortable with the referral process and guides us on how to properly approach referrals.  

Retention 

We all know that having clientele, or customers is the only way to keep a business functioning. Often, we are too focused on getting customers, that we put keeping the customers we currently have on the back burner. Retention is huge when it comes to a successful business practice. Having retention, not only gives you that guaranteed loyal clientele, it also provides people with the understanding that you know how to keep your customers happy. During this episode, we learn a lot from Michael on how to dig deeper and really achieve the retention that is so important for companies to have.  

Mindset, Reframing and Momentum 

Mindset, reframing and momentum are three aspects that Michael touches base on during this episode. All three aspects, pertaining to the growth and maintenance of a franchise. Michael shares the importance of the mindset from the owner, all the way down to each and every employee and even customers. Michael explains how getting everyone in the right mindset can result in everybody winning.  

Reframing is a term many might not be familiar with. We discuss what reframing means and what happens when you reframe your company in a customer’s eyes.  

Momentum is important to create through out an organization. Momentum can keep a company in constant growth. Michael states that, “I find the momentum is the key to franchisee’s success.” Let Michael help us get our mindset in the right place and help us increase our momentum for the growth of our franchises. 

Connect With Michael

• Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Medium
• Franchise Secrets Website

In Franchise Secrets, Episode 37, I bring in Jason Redman, to discuss leadership. Jason Redman is a former Navy Seal, who has written two books. One called Overcome and the other called The Trident. Both books inform the truths on life ambushes and how to overcome adversity.  Jason has also ventured into and has experience in the business owning industry. Leadership is a key component in being a franchise owner. Jason gives us excellent insight on leadership when it comes to family, military, business and other real-life instances. Listening to Jason’s stories and hearing his philosophies has really put leadership into a new perspective. Jason shares with us how his leadership skills were not always the way they are today, that he learned through experience, as well as trial and error. 

 

Outline of This Episode: 

(02:01) Leadership is a Never Ending Journey 

(08:56) Lessons Learned About Leadership Through Jason’s Experiences  

(19:53) The Three Rules of Leadership 

(33:36) Hard days Versus Life Ambushes  

(34:49) The Pentagon of Peak Performance  

(35:43) How Perspective Delivers Ability to Leaders 

(38:50) The React Methodology  

(45:26) How to go From Being a Leader to Being Led 

(48:32) The Pyramid of Change and How it is Critical to Leaders 

(51:17) Leaders at The 1% Level 

 

Lessons About Leadership  

I am excited to bring on experienced Navy Seal and book author, Jason Redman to episode 37 of Franchise Secrets. Jason is the author of Overcome as well as The Trident. While talking with Jason, he shared some very valuable lessons that he learned on leadership through his experience as a Navy Seal and business owner. Jason was not always an ideal leader, he struggled through ups and downs before tackling the achievement of being an ideal leader. He shares with us some unreal truths about his experience in the battle against Afghanistan and Al Qaeda. As well as his past mistakes with being a leader and how it has helped to mold him into the leader he is today. 

The Three Rules, The Pentagon of Peak Performance, The Pyramid of Change and The React Method 

Jason has a few philosophies that can help one achieve great leadership. One of these being, The Three Rules of Leadership. These rules consist of one, lead yourself. The second rule being, to lead others. The third rule is to always lead. Jason dives deeper into these rules in our episode.  

The Pentagon of Peak Performance consists of five key areas, physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual leadership.  

The Pyramid of Change is taught through one of Jason’s books and is critical because it helps to break down the different levels of leadership and how each one will result in a different amount of success.  

The React Method is broken down for leaders to understand the important that comes with recognition, evaluation, assessing, choosing and communication and taking action. 

Perspective Changes Leadership 

Perspective plays a role in our everyday lives and being able to fully understand what is going on around us. Just like in our everyday lives, perspective is important when it comes to leadership. Perspective allows us to see all sides to something, allows us to relate, understand and learn. These are all things that can make or break one as a leader. Let Jason tell you about how he was able to flip the switch on his perspective and the difference it brought to him. 

How to Be A Leader and Be Led 

Most find that when they are the leader, they are in charge. It is hard to be a leader and still have the ability to be led by others. However, everyone needs leading sometimes to be successful. I asked Jason about his obstacles when it came to being able to balance both being a leader and being led. Even with all of Jason’s experience, knowledge and success in the business world, he is able to provide us with the importance that comes with letting your leader walls down and allowing others to take the lead. Jason shares extraordinary stories relating to leadership through family, friends, military and the business world.  

Resources & People Mentioned

• Overcome book
• Trident Book

Connect With Jason

• Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Medium
• Franchise Secrets Website

In Franchise Secrets, Episode 36, Erik Van Horn dives into expressing and teaching the secrets that come with buying and growing a franchise. Erik has owned multiple franchises for over 20 years. Erik shares not only some of his personal stories, experiences and hardships with the Franchise owning process, he also shares necessary tips on how one can become a successful franchise owner. A widespread attraction many people seek when becoming a franchise owner, is the ability to be semi absentee owner. This is a common attraction for future franchise owners, because many people want to own a company, but still have freedom and flexibility for their personal life. In this episode, Erik conveys proper steps to take in order to achieve a successful franchise, while also obtaining the semi absentee role as a franchise owner. 

 

Outline of This Episode

(01:27) Semi Absentee Ownership 

(07:26) The difference of a first, second and third franchise 

(15:39) Planning Properly For a Franchise 

(16:40) Responsibility of the Franchise is on You 

(17:54) What type of person you must be to be Successful 

(21:58) Picking and Paying the Right Employees 

(26:16) Hands off or on ownership 

(29:48) The Danger of Consultants 

(33:48) Ask yourself if you are able to be a Franchise Owner 

 

OWNING A FRANCHISE 

Erik Van Horn shares his excellent experience as a franchise owner with the public. From his episode, we are able to dig deeper on the truths of franchise owning. Eric shares some important advice and tips when it comes to purchasing and owning a franchise. Franchises are open to the public for purchase, anyone can own a franchise. However, not everyone can maintain a successful franchise. It takes a major level of devotion and hard work to be a successful and semi absentee owner. 

 

WHAT MAKES A SUCCESFUL FRANCHISE? 

No one franchise will be the same, even if an owner owns multiple franchises, they must be prepared for each to have different outcomes. So much goes into what will make a franchise successful or not, such as market location, franchise consultants and employees. Franchise owners must be prepared for ups and downs. They must learn from their past mistakes, understand that revenue will fluctuate, learn how to balance employees with new franchise locations that may open, and learn how to keep employees satisfied and eager to contribute to the success. All of these key points that Erik touches on in this episode, and are important for impacting successful franchises.   

 

ALLOWING YOURSELF TO BE A SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISE OWNER. 

As we learn about the different factors that contribute to being successful in owning a franchise, understanding what kind of person you are plays a major role. Erik talks about how he is a delegator and how that has helped him become successful. He expresses the obstacles that come with micromanagers.  

As many of us know, the choice of employee selection is crucial, but what is hard for many people is taking a risk on employees. Erik dives into the importance of properly paying, training and treating employees to promote in successful business practice within the franchise world.  

A major red flag that Erik speaks on in this episode, is the danger of consultants. Many times, a consultant is more of a salesperson. Consultants do not always have to have a certain criteria for their job, and do not always require certain criteria from franchise buyers. This can tend to lead to a dysfunctional or unsuccessful franchise. A franchise buyer must be aware and alert of the type of consultant they are dealing with.  

 

ASK YOUSELF IF YOU ARE READY TO BE A FRANCHISE OWNER. 

Walking away from this episode with Erik and hearing about his personal experiences, ask yourself… will you be achieve these key points Erik has shared with us? Can you do what Erik has done to allow yourself to not only be successful, but have the freedom and flexibility that comes with being a semi absentee franchise owner? Are you able to devote and put in the work that Erik has? Tune in and find out!  

 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Franchise Secrets Website

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Medium

Are you interested in the fitness industry, but a brick and mortar franchise just isn’t within reach? My guest this week, Drew Manning has created a franchise program that might be the answer! Drew is here to share how his mission to change the fitness industry led to the creation of a franchise with a low barrier to entry and focus on empathy and support to set franchisees and their clients up for success. You will definitely want to hear about what Drew is doing in the fitness and franchise worlds!

 

Drew noticed a disconnect between himself and his clients as a personal trainer and couldn't figure out what was going on. He was an athlete and had all of the technical knowledge that should help his clients lose weight and get fit, but nothing seemed to stick. So he decided to intentionally gain weight to really understand what his clients were going through. He documented his journey online which led to a TV show, book deals, a massive following, and now his franchise all called Fit to Fat to Fit. His mission is to change the way we approach weight loss through connection and empathy— and he is using the franchise model to make that impact.

 

Outline of This Episode

[01:56] Drew’s journey to gain 75lbs and then back to fitness

[03:56] How Drew began building his audience

[06:06] The emotional connection to food and how empathy can help 

[10:21] Why cultivating empathy can create a better franchise program

[12:25] Using franchising to increase impact

[12:25] How Drew and his business partner came up with their unique franchise program

[16:05] How the Fit to Fat to Fit franchise is monetized

[18:00] What makes Fit to Fat to Fit unique

[22:56] Who is a good match for this franchise model

[24:56] What steps Drew took to build his audience

[28:02] Using click funnels and ebooks to monetize his brand

[32:33] Drew shares how his low points led to finding his purpose

[33:48] Using authenticity and vulnerability to find your tribe

[40:33] Learning how to rewire your neural pathways to reach your goals

 

The path from fitness leader to franchisor

I am excited to welcome Drew Manning to the show to talk about his innovative franchise model for Fit to Fat to Fit. Drew is the bestselling author of Fit to Fat to Fit. as well as a hit TV show and podcast. Drew was an athlete growing up and decided to become a personal trainer as a natural extension of his knowledge and experience in the fitness realm. He soon realized that he had all of the technical knowledge to help people get fit, but there was a serious disconnect and he couldn’t seem to help his clients stick to a fitness and nutrition regime. He decided to intentionally gain weight and then work through his own steps to try and bridge the gap and understand what was truly holding his clients back. He documented his journey online and his brand took off. He wanted to figure out a way to make the greatest impact possible through his empathy-based system of serving clients and decided creating a simple, affordable franchise program focused on intensive training and support for franchisees was the best way to do that. 

 

I am seriously excited about Drew’s franchise model and you won’t want to miss the details we discuss!

Empathy is the key to connecting with clients

Drew’s secret sauce to success has been his mission to understand and empathize with his client’s experience. He talks about how coming down from the mountaintop and seeing the path from his client’s perspective helped him see the deep emotional connection to diet and weight loss that he couldn’t see before. His empathy-based philosophy has helped him create a franchise system that recognizes what tools, training, and support franchisees need to be successful. Drew is passionate about his brand and mission and has created a truly unique and accessible franchise. You will definitely want to listen to find out more about his process and incredible journey!

Using vulnerability to build an authentic tribe

I was really interested to learn how Drew built such a strong brand. Drew emphasizes the importance of vulnerability in building a truly authentic and loyal tribe. Drew didn’t have a master plan or strategy to get book deals or book interviews on the Dr. Oz show. Instead, he focused on being raw and real from the beginning. He says his ex-wife filmed his original weight gain journey and those videos with his kids in the background! This realness made him and his brand relatable and helped him gain the following online that eventually led to bigger opportunities to increase his reach. 

 

Giving yourself permission to grow

As we dig into vulnerability and authenticity, Drew talks about how he walked through low points in his life personally and financially. When asked about mentors and resources, Drew shared some amazing insights into personal development and growth. Yes, there are coaches out there to help you with specific systems and programs and help you achieve your goals. But Drew was also quick to point out Brene Brown’s work, Tim Ferriss and Joe Rogan’s Podcasts as resources that have made a huge impact in his life. 

 

Addressing limiting beliefs and learning to view vulnerability as a strength does not need to be unattainable. You don’t have to hire a life coach or sit down with Tim Ferriss in order to learn and experience personal growth. Drew describes all of these people as important mentors in his life although he’s never worked with any of them directly. We have tons of incredible information at our fingertips, but the change starts to happen when we actually give ourselves permission to grow. 

 

Drew shares some amazing insights into the fitness industry, practical steps for personal and business growth, and his incredible journey. You won’t want this episode to end!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Fit2Fat2Fit Website

Connect with Drew Manning

• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Medium

In episode 34 of #FranchiseSecrets Erik Van Horn welcomes Aaron Gillaspie to the show. Erik and Aaron met at a discovery day for a brand Erik was a part of but ended up talking about salon suites. The two have stayed in touch over the years and even become competitors at times.  

 

Aaron shares how his father and grandfather influenced his entrepreneurial path through their own business ventures. Aaron opened his first business in college and discovered his skill and love of being a visionary and founder of new ideas and systems. Aaron walks us through his unlikely start in education and how creating new curriculums and studying best practices in education was a perfect training ground to become successful in business and franchising.  

 

In this episode, Erik and Aaron cover a lot of ground including: 

 

✔ The importance of having a plan 

✔ Knowing enough to answer questions, but being ok with not knowing everything 

✔ Making tough decisions 

✔ How to know when it is time to give up on an idea and minimize your losses  

✔ Keys to determining which franchising consultants you can trust 

✔ How to look beyond the FDD to make the best decision for your market 

✔ Removing emotion from business decisions

 

And much more!

 

The importance of having a plan

Study the environment and know it.  You got to be on the same page somewhere.  At least know where to start. The key is make sure you have something to plan.

Before I ever bought into our first franchise, I'd read over 50 FDDs.  I'd been to over 15 discovery days. I went to knowing I wasn't even going to invest in their companies because I wanted to gain as much information in my arsenal about things that I could, to know as much as I can and talk to as many people, because this is your livelihood. This is something you're signing up for. You want to have every training you can, but the opposite is sooner or later you got to pull the trigger.

You got to do enough to have your plan in place to have answers.

How to look beyond the FDD to make the best decision for your market

You want to get to know more than just an FDD document. You want to know the people. You want to understand the finances.

The biggest question I always wanting to understand is "what about in my markets?"   If I'm looking at markets, what about things like this? You got to manipulate the data to form the story that you needed to understand.  You can't take it at face value. I think the best consultants out there will tell you that and they'll give you the questions to ask and poke around.

Everybody, in my opinion, is spinning those FDDs and, as the person looking at it, need to know the questions to ask to see what the truth is behind it, even though it's accurate numbers, there's a slant to it.

Removing emotion from business decisions

This isn't an emotion. This is business. Focus on the winners.  It's okay. You're going to make it. And even if that means a loss, by the time you do all the transaction fees and the lawyer fees, just don't spend all your time on it. Get rid of the the loser or the low thing and go to the high thing and focus on that.

Some of these things that make money, if your goal is to make money, are not sexy, then there's other people with their ego that need it to be sexy. There's nothing wrong with that. But sometimes you can't have both and you gotta be honest with yourself. I think that was the thing I struggled with most. I think in my head I still wanted to be sexier, even though I thought it was about money when really I should've been focused on the end result and the scalability of what the money and the systems could do versus the sexiness of it.

To hear more about Aaron's journey as a franchisee, listen to the whole episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• My Salon Suite

Connect with Aaron Gillaspie

• LinkedIn

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Medium

Are you interested in buying into a quick-service restaurant (QSR) franchise but unsure if it’s the right fit for you? My guest, Hannah Lukowski, is a multi-unit franchisee with Firehouse Subs as well as Chicken Salad Chick. She’s here to share why she chose the QSR industry and what the day-to-day looks like. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

Hannah earned a bachelor's degree in Public Relations, but quickly realized it wasn’t the right field for her. She dove into sales and after 5 years in the private jet industry was ready for a change. She wanted to be a business owner and loved the structure a franchise offered her. Her first purchase was a Firehouse Subs location in St. Louis—and she hasn’t looked back. 

Outline of This Episode

• [0:35] Quick Service Restaurants
• [3:05] Hannah’s transition into franchising
• [4:25] Why did Hannah choose the food industry?
• [6:50] Why Hannah prefers hiring from within
• [10:20] Getting started with Chicken Salad Chick
• [12:40] Letter of Intent and lease agreements
• [15:30] Smaller vs. larger franchises
• [18:20] How to get your voice heard
• [20:10] Cultivate relationships inside the franchise
• [23:40] Managing businesses in different states
• [29:55] How to do things the right way

The upsides of the QSR industry

I don’t talk about the QSR industry often, so was happy to have Hannah on the show. When she decided to get into the world of franchising, she wanted to start with something that would be an easy transition from her current job. Most restaurants have good hours (closed by 9 pm) and would allow her to spend time with her family. 

The food industry seemed pretty straightforward, was within the price range she was looking for, and had availability in her market. She was only 28 when she opened her first location, and she spent the first year working as the GM in the store. It allowed her to learn the ins and outs of the restaurant and the industry simultaneously. 

Hiring from within motivates your team

Hannah has been very transparent with her team from day one—if they work hard, there will always be an opportunity for advancement. She believes hiring from within motivates employees because they know that it doesn’t just have to be an “hourly job”. It can also help eliminate constant turnover because they can make this job a career.

Hannah’s very first interview as a franchisee was done at a Panera because she didn’t have an open location yet. The hire was a 20-year-old girl—Shelby—who was looking for something better. Now, she is Hannah’s Director of Operations for both brands that she owns and Hannah’s biggest success story. She desires her team to succeed, and people like Shelby are critical to the growth of your business. 

To find out how she got into Chicken Salad Chick and what that process looked like, be sure to listen!

How your voice is heard in small franchises vs. large franchises

Hannah gave an example of how change goes into effect in a smaller organization (Chicken Salad Chick). With every single meal, each customer gets a small cookie. If the meal is dine-in, team members had to unwrap this pre-packaged cookie to put on a tray. It was a complete waste of their time.

Most people didn’t even eat the cookie with their meal, but wrapped it in a napkin and took it with them for later.

When Hannah saw the labor being wasted unwrapping these cookies, she suggested the franchise change the practice and leave the cookies wrapped. Two short weeks later, the recommended change was instituted. If she had made the recommendation to Firehouse Subs, a change like that would take months. They would have to do case studies, and a change would likely never happen.

A smaller franchise system may give you more opportunities for your voice to be heard, but are their downsides? Listen to find out!

The pros and cons of managing your franchises remotely

Hannah recently moved from St. Louis to Phoenix and has now begun transitioning to working and managing her franchises remotely. Before the move, she was within half an hour of all of her businesses. She would often grab her laptop and find herself working in some part of the restaurant throughout a day. She built a rapport with her team, but they also learned to depend on her.

She’s realizing that she can be a more effective owner when she is not enmeshed in the everyday workings of the business. She can do weekly meetings with her GM where they go over goals and marketing. It can be intimidating, and comes with a learning curve but is completely doable. It’s a process that I’ve learned as well. 

To hear more about Hannah’s journey as a franchisee in the QSR world, listen to the whole episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Chicken Salad Chick Franchise
• Firehouse Subs Franchise
• Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz

Connect with Hannah Lukowski

• LinkedIn

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Social media influencers are the newest trend in the marketing world and something franchisees need to embrace in their marketing mix. But where do you find and connect with influencers? How do you know if it’s a marketing platform that will work for you? Sarah Kurtenbach, a social media expert, is here to answer questions about finding and using social media influencers. 

Sarah launched her career in the social space with BLiNQ Media (now Cofactor Digital). She worked her way through the ranks and was VP of Sales before getting married and moving to South Dakota. She launched the KB group and works as a consultant helping businesses navigate social media and influencer marketing. 

Outline of This Episode

• [1:55] Influencer marketing with Sarah Kurtenbach
• [3:55] How has influencer marketing changed?
• [5:30] The basics of influencer marketing 
• [7:25] Influencer Marketing on a local level
• [10:10] What could a social media campaign look like?
• [15:30] How to find social media influencers
• [21:30] Standard of pricing and negotiation
• [23:35] Engagement vs. likes
• [25:50] Exploring the concept of nano-influencers
• [33:15] What does a consumer look for?
• [36:40] Why franchise owners should give it a shot

The basics of influencer marketing

If you’re not familiar with the concept, influencer marketing is when a brand partners with trusted people to promote the brand on the influencer’s unique channels. This includes Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, a personal blog, etc. Influencers are people who have a following that trusts them and they offer content of value to the consumer. 

As a brand, it’s hard to gain traction when you’re the one constantly advertising that you’re the best, have the best product, and so forth. But if you work with an influencer who is unbiased and they are the ones advocating for your brand—it’s completely different. They can tap into a different market with their followers that you wouldn't normally have access to. 

What could a social media campaign look like?

I’m opening a yoga studio in Denver and am in the presales and construction phase. Right now I just have one location and I wanted to pick Sarah’s brain on how I would go about working with influencers. Sarah pointed out I need to focus on two things: What is the goal of the campaign? Who is my target market?

She helped me further narrow target categories to college-aged women, moms, and fitness influencers. So what women in Denver fall into those categories and have a social media following? Sarah said she’d aim for finding 2 influencers in each of those categories to reach my desired audience. 

Sarah takes a deep-dive into influencer analytics and how to attract customers in this next segment—so keep listening!

How to find social media influencers

Finding social media influencers is a very manual process that consists of working with people over a platform. Sarah has a few recommendations for sourcing influencers:

1. Influencer Databases: Sort by location, gender, age and the specific keywords you’re looking for. 
2. Instagram: Search on the platform by location or hashtags. 
3. Google: Google “top yoga instructors in Denver” to find options and then search for them on Instagram. 

Once you have a list of potential influencers that you’d like to work with, you have to reach out to them. It’s a process of inquiring about their rates, informing them what their role would be, and providing guidelines. It’s not quick or easy, which is why many entrepreneurs outsource to consultants like Sarah. 

Nano-influencers and the role they play

When most people think about an influencer, they think of a celebrity or people with hundreds of thousands of followers. Sarah notes that instead of focusing on large numbers of followers, you want to focus on their engagement level. It does your brand no good if no one cares about what the influencer is posting!

There is also a place for what she termed “nano-influencers”.

They typically have anywhere from a few hundred to a couple of thousand followers. They’re great if you’re looking for an influencer that has deep roots in a specific community. A restaurant in that neighborhood could offer them a gift card to eat their food and post about it on Instagram—and they could grow in popularity quickly. 

Sarah and I continue to chat about specific examples, common misconceptions, guidelines and what consumers look for. Don’t miss this engaging episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Bitly
• Influence.co
• Upfluence
• Gannett
• Bedros Keuilian
• Ed Mylett
• GaryVee

Connect with Sarah Kurtenbach

• The Kurtenbach Group
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn

A fragmented industry has no real major players that dominate the industry. There are few barriers to entry, and it allows you to become a disruptor—someone who comes in and shakes things up. If you implement a platform that does a better job of meeting demand, you could be well on your way to becoming a power-player in the market. 

Alex Samios is the VP of Franchise Development with Dogtopia, the fastest growing franchise in the Pet Industry. Alex boasts over 25 years in the industry with experience on every side of franchising, from franchisee to franchisor. He shares his wealth of knowledge in this episode of Franchise Secrets.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:35] Alex Samios of Dogtopia joines me
• [1:35] His background in franchising
• [4:15] Pet grooming to Health and Wellness
• [5:45] The purchase of Dogtopia
• [8:40] Acquiring a brand: Day one
• [12:30] Building a dream team
• [14:50] humanization of the dog 
• [16:55] What is Dogtopia?
• [23:35] Real estate and construction
• [34:30] Managing a changing industry
• [37:55] The concept of emotional Intelligence
• [40:00] Sales process of the emerging brand
• [45:35] Alex’s final advice

Growing emerging franchises

Alex got his start working with Papa Johns as a franchisee. In 4 short years, he had grown to 34 franchise locations. After 11 years in the pizza business, he was ready for the next thing. He knew he enjoyed the emerging franchise world and launched his own franchise, which he grew and sold 6 years later. 

4 years ago, the investment group he is a part of purchased the Dogtopia franchise. At the time, it consisted of 26 locations. The founder wasn’t at a point where they could continue to grow the franchise. Alex and his fellow investors knew they could take this franchise and help it become a key player in the industry. 

To hear their growth projections and how he made it happen, check out the episode!

What does acquiring a brand look like?

When you acquire a brand, there is an immediate level of distrust that must be overcome. They let the entire leadership team go and began to implement proper support for their franchise. Alex and his team went out into the field and built trust by spending time just listening to the franchisees. 

They are constantly improving their model to better serve their franchisees and customers. 

To do that, they wanted to source a leadership team that served the business. Their current CEO has 40 years of experience in franchising. The next closest comparison to their industry is childcare. Dogs have become humanized—they’re our babies, right? They found that sourcing their team from the childcare industry was the best fit for their company’s growth and culture. 

Building a dream team in a fragmented industry

A fragmented industry can be tough because there are so many small players (Rover, Dog Vaycay, etc.). There’s a lot of competition in the space. One way to combat the competition is by building a business with systems and processes in place, with great people, and a great sales process. Once your business establishes itself as a key player that’s scalable, you begin to disrupt the industry.

In their case, they needed to hire people with a love of dogs paired with a love of sales. 

80% of Dogtopia’s revenue is their daycare service for dogs. They also offer boarding and spa services. If a customer were to bring their dog for a trial run and anything happened to their beloved pet, their business would be lost and they’d blow up social media. That’s why it’s important to build a dream-team of well-trained staff who are emotionally intelligent and love what they do.

Alex and I talk more details about Dogtopia and the concept of emotional intelligence—keep listening!

What new franchisees don’t consider: Real Estate and construction

Franchisees buying into the brand (any brand, really) need to deal with real estate sourcing and construction. For those new to the industry, they don’t realize how long of a process this can be. Alex mentioned that executing a lease can take up to 6 months, permitting up to 3 months, and 3 months to build out the space.

Local laws and permitting have to be taken into consideration in this type of business.

In this area, Dogtopia offers unparalleled support to its franchisees. For an extra fee, they will handle the process from finding the real estate to the complete build-out. But for every single grand opening of one of their locations, they send out a support team to assist with the opening for 10 days. This is unheard of in the industry!

To hear more about this successful franchise and how Alex Samios led its growth, listen to the whole episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Dogtopia Franchising
• Rover

Connect with Alex Samios

• LinkedIn
• Dogtopia

Connect With Erik

• Facebook
• LinkedIn