Level Up with Nick Lopez

On this episode of Level Up Show, we have the pleasure to speak with Kim Daly, the founder and host of Kim Daly TV. As a renowned franchising expert who has helped many individuals to break free from the corporate rat race, she is a guide to those who want to take control of their lives and build something they can be proud of. In this video, Kim Daly shares her valuable advice for new franchise owners. According to Kim, franchising isn't just about owning a business; it's about being passionate, motivated, and driven. She encourages new franchise owners to dream big, commit to their goals, protect their headspace, and most importantly, have fun catching the momentum. Kim's expertise in franchising and her infectious energy is sure to inspire new franchise owners to step out of their comfort zone and chase their dreams. So, whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or a stuck 9-5 professional, Kim Daly's and Nick Lopez's advice and insights can help you take control of your life and become a successful “franchisepreneur”.

Mitchell Nolan and Christian Horn have been in the home contracting business for years and they understand the needs of the customers as well as the struggles that contractors face. They know that to stay ahead of the game, they need to offer advanced solutions to their customers. That's why they developed a platform that enables contractors to operate every aspect of their business in an advanced way, providing the best service possible. One of the key elements of their platform is offering financing options to customers. By leading with financing, Mitchells and Christian give their franchisees a winning advantage when talking with the customers. This makes it easier for contractors to offer solutions to their customers that are not only the best possible option but also affordable. Their platform is simple and easy to use, making the entire process more streamlined. This not only benefits the contractors but also the ultimate client by offering them multiple options to choose from. Customers are no longer just a target but a participant in the home improvement process. Through their platform, contractors can offer financing options that best suit their customer's needs. This ensures that customers get the best possible solution without worrying about affordability. By enabling contractors to offer advanced solutions, Mitchells and Christian are changing how the home contracting business operates. Their focus on offering advanced solutions has not only made their franchisees successful but has also made their customers happy. By providing a better experience, contractors are able to establish long-lasting relationships with their clients. This ensures that they will be the go-to contractors for their clients whenever they need a job done.

Tony Taveras and Nick Lopez sat down for an exclusive episode to discuss the incredible journey of Linear Roofing. What started as a small business has now grown into a million-dollar insurance restoration organization. But what is their secret to success? According to Tony, the answer is simple: build your company one person at a time. By doing the right thing and establishing a strong company culture, Linear Roofing has created an independent contractor model that invests in its people. The key is to have a team that can get the job done while embodying the company's values. Tony also discussed what sets high-performance sales representatives apart from the average ones. He explained that it's all about pursuing your daily goals, working hard, and not settling for anything less than the best results. But building a great company isn't just about working hard. It's about creating a culture that rewards, showcases, and invests in the team. This creates good character and a solid team that consistently delivers amazing results. Through their hard work and dedication, Tony and the team at Linear Roofing have proven that with the right mindset, anything is possible.

What is it like to own a franchise with recurring revenue? What does it take to get there? Sharing how he has done it, Mosquito Hunters Founder and President Andy Fuller joins Nick Lopez to discuss the founding story of Mosquito Hunters and how he and his team built it into an industry-leading brand. Andy started the business bootstrapped and grew it to eight locations across seven franchise partners before joining forces with Happinest Brands. Today, Mosquito Hunters has a national footprint spanning 130 locations and 90 franchise partners. Andy joins the show to dive into what makes the Mosquito Hunters model so appealing. From its recurring revenue to its simple yet sophisticated business model, Mosquito Hunters provides an industry-leading franchise opportunity for those eager to get into business for themselves but not by themselves. Specifically, as a part of the Happinest Brands portfolio, Mosquito Hunters is backed by some serious support, resources, and industry expertise. Andy goes on to share how specific support for his franchise partners sets their franchise system apart from your ordinary franchise opportunity that ultimately attracts the highest quality franchise partners.

Ken Walker’s accounting background laid the foundation for his skill sets as a CEO. His incredible ability to trust his people empowered talented individuals to build the world’s largest auto holding company within the franchise space. After turning around Maaco, Ken Walker and his team began acquiring complimentary auto brands to deliver more value in the marketplace. In doing so, Ken Walker and team grew the system from $350M to north of $900M. Through the journey, many team members grew their skill sets and expanded their abilities as they climbed through the ranks, wearing many hats and sharing their talents to make the vision for the organization a reality. This conversation sheds light on the world-class skills of Ken Walker as an executive leader. His ability to find the talents of others and to put those talents on display by empowering and supporting them is impressive, to say the least. We cover the strategies and tactics carefully executed by Ken throughout his leadership tenure as CEO of Driven Brands. This show is a must-watch if you are interested in right-sizing and taking brands to the next level.

A looming recession seems to be in everyone’s lips. What could this mean for you as a franchise owner? Christian Dadulak joins us on the show to share his take on this. Christian is known for his matchmaking skills as a franchise consultant. He owns the franchise consulting firm called The Franchise Guys, which is a part of one of the top franchise consulting networks in the world in IFPG. Christian is widely respected for his plethora of knowledge in the franchise space and the brands that he represents to his clients. Christian is most certainly a student of business and franchising, but what is not as known is his curiosity for the economy and history. Specifically, he has been studying the recent trends towards a recession and how they stack up to in previous decades. His worldview of franchising and business gives him a very unique educated opinion about the current landscape for franchising and that is why I was so excited to have him on the show. Listen in to hear about Christian's passion for franchise matchmaking, his journey to partner up with IFPG, his view on the current state of the economy, and how he thinks that could impact business ownership given history. You definitely don’t want to miss this episode.

Chris Valdes talks about the dynamics of corporate America and why corporate burnout is so common. Chris was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness that gave him perspective on how short life is, but more importantly, how valuable time is. With that newfound perspective, Chris has turned that fuel into the drive that has helped him to take the leap into business ownership where he can work for himself—where he no longer trades his time for a paycheck working for someone else. Rather, Chris is taking his life into his own hands and paving a legacy for his future. Today, Chris is a high-performing franchise owner who has firsthand knowledge of the ins and outs of what it takes to transition from corporate America to building personal wealth through the franchise model. Chris is a franchise consultant with one of the world's top franchise consulting networks, where he, year in and year out, places some of the most franchise owners with brands all across the United States. His wealth of knowledge for finding the right fit amongst the 4000+ opportunities is how he makes an impact, helping to change people's lives through franchise ownership.

This episode features a special pioneering entrepreneur that is consistently leveling up and chasing excellence and greatness. Scott Abbott, the founder and CEO of Five Star Painting and the current CEO of Five Star Franchising, joins the Level Up Show to drop some bombs related to scaling a startup from scratch to international success. Scott talks about what led him to founding Five Star Painting and the opportunity that he exposed in the market. He then goes on to share how he poured gasoline onto the growth by digging into the unit economics and understanding the ideal trajectory of a franchise location and when and how to provide marketing support to take it over the top. Scott also built a call center that supported the franchise network, and, today, that call center is ProNexis, which does the same for many home service brands in franchising. Scott’s vision and execution are rare and truly special. This episode demonstrates the genuine humility and service he shows up with that clearly translates to leadership and performance from those that he stewards within his organizations.

Today, he is building his next vision of creating the next great franchising platform in Five Star Franchising within the home services space. Five Star Franchising is backed by deal maker of the year award winner Princeton Equity Group and the combination of the two certainly bodes well for franchise investors due to the operational experience and franchising excellence that is made up of the Five Star Franchising platform. Scott speaks to the vision behind the quickly growing home services platform and how the ecosystem of support, resources, and human capital is transforming the way that home service brands show up in the marketplace. This is most certainly an episode that you don’t want to miss.

Nick Lopez features a special guest on the show in Red Boswell, who not only helps bring franchisors into the IFPG but brings over 25 years of experience. Red and Nick dive into Red’s background, which is rich in entrepreneurship. Red shares his days as a franchisor and the lessons learned from his days of scaling a franchise organization to nearly 150 units. Red also dives into his days as a consultant and how he has helped level up many organizations, from marketing to executive leadership development. Red is also very actively involved in the IFA as a certified franchise executive, of which, Red elaborates on the benefits of franchising as a whole and how the world of franchising has transformed his life. Today, Red’s children are integrated into his love of franchising. He shares how he is able to balance and include his family in his franchise family as well. This conversation is jam-packed with action, which is no surprise being that it features Red, who is widely acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and creative minds in franchising.

Nick Lopez is joined on this episode by Zack Fishman, the Chief Growth Officer of Fishman PR. Nick and Zack dive into what has made the Fishman PR company successful within the space. The Fishman Family’s humility and service to the industry are apparent as Zack dives into all of the ways that the Fishmans provide networking events with the basis of cutting-edge technologies and best practices for the franchise space. From UnConference to YoungConference and Springboard, Zack dives into the differences between each conference and the benefits each one provides for franchising throughout the year. Additionally, the Fishmans are contributing to a new way for the franchise community to work with vendors through the revolutionary Franchise Supplier Network. What makes Fishman PR and Franchise Elevator two PR firms that are perfectly positioned to take a franchise brand to the next level? Let’s dive right into the episode today!