The Franchise Champion Show

Home care caregiver turnover runs around 80% a year. Scott and Candi Mickiewicz’s Seniors Helping Seniors franchise in Utah came in at 19%. Here’s how they did it.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎤 Episode 61 - Alan sits down with Scott and Candi Mickiewicz, owners of Seniors Helping Seniors in Utah, a non-medical in-home care franchise built around mature caregivers who serve seniors in their own homes. Scott and Candi walk through how a couple of COVID layoffs and 13 years at home with four kids led them to franchising, what their stressful first year looked like starting from zero, and how they grew into a team of more than 300 caregivers.

Learn why their caregiver turnover was 19% last year when Scott says the national rate is around 80%, how a mistake in Scott’s budgeting spreadsheet led them to hire an admin before they needed one, why Scott’s number one piece of advice is to secure any loans or credit before you leave your W-2 job, and how they built a team that lets their staff take real vacations with their phones off. Whether you’re weighing your first franchise or wondering what it really takes to run a people-first business as a husband-and-wife team, this conversation shows what the first few years of ownership look like, the hard parts included.

⏱ Video Chapters

0:00 - Meet Scott and Candi Mickiewicz, Seniors Helping Seniors Owners in Utah
0:55 - Life Before Franchising: Software Layoffs and 13 Years at Home
3:10 - Saying Yes to 15 to 20 Recruiters Before Finding the Right Brand
5:05 - What Seniors Helping Seniors Does and Why Mature Caregivers Connect
11:15 - 19% Caregiver Turnover When the National Rate Is Around 80%
16:45 - The Stressful First Year and How They Split the Work
20:55 - Building the Team: A General Manager and Care Coordinators by Territory
26:40 - What 21 Years in the Army Taught Scott About Leading 300+ Caregivers
28:35 - Freedom Inside the Franchise: Adapting the Model to Their Community
35:40 - The Cash Flow Mistake That Turned Out to Be a Blessing
41:05 - The Numbers: $237K, $1.1M, and a Best of State Award
43:10 - Life Now: A Team That Lets Everyone Put Family First
47:35 - Running a Business and a Family of Six
53:20 - Advice: Secure Your Credit, Go All In, and Hire People Better Than You

🔗 Resources & Mentions

▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit
▸ Download The Franchise Fit Playbook for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook
▸ Interested in learning more about Seniors Helping Seniors? Reach out to Alan for an introduction.
▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform
▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode. We appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:

▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala
▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner
▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner
▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/
▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the right franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if this path is right for you.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisor #franchiseownership #seniorcare #homecare #SeniorsHelpingSeniors #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchisecoach

Kyle Mercer, creator of The Inquiry Method, shares how present satisfaction, clear accountability, and a coachable mindset help owners lead stronger teams and prepare for franchise ownership.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎤 Episode 60 - Alan sits down with Kyle Mercer, creator of The Inquiry Method, a question-driven approach that helps business owners find and clear what’s holding them back. Kyle isn’t a franchise owner, and that’s exactly why Alan wanted him on the show. He walks through how he went from living in a cabin he built on Baldy Mountain to advising entrepreneurs, and why so many owners end up becoming the bottleneck in their own business.

Learn why Kyle believes every owner is the bottleneck in their business, why “wanting is not having” changes how you set goals, how transferring accountability turns a raise conversation into a career plan, and why humility and coachability matter so much when you step into a franchise system. Whether you already own a business or you’re deciding whether franchising fits you, this conversation shows how much of an owner’s success starts with the owner.

⏱ Video Chapters

0:00 - Meet Kyle Mercer, Creator of The Inquiry Method
1:03 - Life Before The Inquiry Method: A Mountain Cabin and a Classroom
5:08 - Finding the Point of Contraction
7:20 - The Inquiry Method in 30 Seconds
11:55 - Getting Past Resistance to the Emotional Side of Business
14:22 - Live Role-Play: The Owner Who’s Too Busy to Hire
21:03 - Why Always Chasing an A Keeps You Feeling Behind
24:58 - Wanting Is Not Having: Building From Present Satisfaction
30:59 - Every Owner Is the Bottleneck: How Leadership Trickles Down
34:00 - Transferring Accountability to Your Employees
37:59 - Where’s the Leverage in Franchising?
44:49 - The Coachable Mindset Franchise Ownership Takes
49:39 - Build Something New or Run a Proven System?
51:20 - Alan on Finding Freedom Inside a Franchise

🔗 Resources & Mentions

▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit
▸ Download The Franchise Fit Playbook for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook
▸ Interested in learning more about The Inquiry Method? Reach out to Alan for an introduction.
▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform
▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode. We appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:

▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala
▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner
▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner
▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/
▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the right franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if this path is right for you.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisor #franchiseownership #leadership #businessmindset #TheInquiryMethod #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchisecoach

Jesse Rorvig left school counseling to buy a Fitness Machine Technicians franchise in Portland. He shares how sales, cash flow, and hiring shaped his first seven years.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎤 Episode 59 - Alan sits down with Jesse Rorvig, owner of Fitness Machine Technicians in Portland, a franchise that maintains and repairs the small fitness centers found in apartment buildings and hotels. Jesse walks through his path from moving to Oregon to learn to surf, to a decade as a school counselor, to buying into a brand that was still taking shape.

Learn why Jesse says sales had to come before organization, how 200 tiny quarterly maintenance contracts became the foundation of his business, why cash flow forecasting turned out to be very different from budgeting, what it was like to help shape a developing franchise system, and why hiring the right people matters more than any SOP. Whether you're weighing a franchise decision right now or wondering how the skills from your current career might carry over, this is an honest look at the first seven years of building a business you own.

⏱ Video Chapters

0:00 - Meet Jesse Rorvig, Owner of Fitness Machine Technicians
1:24 - Life Before Franchising: Surfing, Jet Engines, and School Counseling
3:54 - Shopping for a Franchise and Landing on an "Unsexy" Brand
9:15 - What Fitness Machine Technicians Does and Who It Serves
13:25 - The First Years: Sales, Cash Flow, and Labor
16:02 - From Counselor to Salesperson: Reframing Sales
18:48 - Part of the First Crew: Building With a Developing Brand
27:56 - The Early Adopter Advantage of a Large Single Territory
29:33 - Hiring, Firing, and Why People Come First
33:58 - What Life Looks Like Now: Sprints, Surf Days, and a Wave Pool Goal
40:25 - Why Franchising Works Like a Working Man's MBA
43:50 - Advice for Anyone Considering Franchise Ownership
48:38 - How an Athlete's Mindset Shows Up in Business

🔗 Resources & Mentions

▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit
▸ Download The Franchise Fit Playbook for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook
▸ Interested in learning more about Fitness Machine Technicians? Reach out to Alan for an introduction.
▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform
▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode. We appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:

▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala
▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner
▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner
▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/
▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the right franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if this path is right for you.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisor #franchiseownership #fitnessindustry #maintenanceservices #FitnessMachineTechnicians #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchisecoach

Scenthound co-founder Tim Vogel almost quit six months into mobile grooming. He explains why franchise brands stall before 100 units and how his got there in four years.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎤 Episode 58 - Alan sits down with Tim Vogel, co-founder and CEO of Scenthound, a dog hygiene franchise built around a monthly membership covering skin, coat, ears, nails, and teeth. Tim walks through the mobile grooming business that nearly broke him, the conversation with a neighbor that revealed a gap between vets and groomers, and why he decided to stay two years ahead on infrastructure before he started franchising.

Learn why franchise brands that stall before 100 units usually have a support problem, why Scenthound's Item 19 builds in a paid manager other than the franchisee, how an entry-level employee career path turns single-unit owners into multi-unit operators, why coachability is the number one trait Tim looks for in a candidate, and why he says to start with a brand's mission and values before you dig into Item 7 and Item 19. Whether you're weighing what your role would look like as an owner or how to tell a well-supported brand from one that's growing too fast, this conversation shows what it takes to build a franchise system that holds up as it scales.

⏱ Video Chapters

0:00 - Meet Tim Vogel, Co-Founder and CEO of Scenthound

1:04 - Leaving Corporate, Moving to Florida, and Almost Quitting

5:12 - The Neighbor's Labrador and the Gap Between Vets and Groomers

6:37 - What SCENT Stands For and the Dog Health Report Card

10:49 - Why Tim Franchised and Why Brands Stall Before 100 Units

15:23 - The Employee Career Path Blind Spot

17:00 - Building a Market Around a Problem Customers Don't Know They Have

22:28 - What a Scenthound Owner's Week Looks Like

25:20 - Territory Size and the Road to Opening Day

28:53 - Coachability and Baking the Cake Before You Change the Recipe

32:08 - Hire Your Weaknesses: Where Owners Struggle and Where They Win

35:31 - Where Tim's Grit Came From

38:30 - Start With the Mission and Values, Then Item 7 and Item 19

42:00 - Tim's Advice: The Leap of Faith Has to Be About You

🔗 Resources & Mentions

▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com

▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit

▸ Download The Franchise Fit Playbook for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook

▸ Interested in learning more about Scenthound? Reach out to Alan for an introduction.

▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform

▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode. We appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:

▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com

▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala

▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner

▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner

▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/

▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the right franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if this path is right for you.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisor #franchiseownership #petindustry #petfranchise #Scenthound #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchisecoach

Ty McBride built Preservan, a franchise that repairs wood rot with epoxy instead of costly window and door replacement, often finishing the job in a single day.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎤 Episode 57 - Alan sits down with Ty McBride, Founder and CEO of Preservan, a franchise that repairs wood rot on windows, doors, siding, and more using a proprietary epoxy system instead of tearing anything out. Ty grew up in a three-generation construction family, left a corporate job to come back into it, and spent years running the business on chaos before a mentor and a well-known book on systems changed how he thought about the whole thing.

Learn why Ty considers undercapitalization his single biggest mistake and how a 45-day payment gap on one commercial job taught him more about cash flow than anything else, why he believes work-life balance is the wrong goal and "work-life integration" is the right one, how he and his wife April split responsibilities in the business using the Predictive Index tool, and why his advice for anyone leaving the corporate world is to find a real guide, not ChatGPT. Whether you're weighing a franchise decision, thinking about bringing your spouse into a business with you, or just want an honest account of what building something from scratch actually costs, this conversation covers all three.

⏱ Video Chapters

0:12 - Welcome to the Show & Meet Ty McBride

0:58 - Life Before Franchising: Growing Up in Construction

4:33 - A Mentor, a Book on Systems, and the McDonald's Model

8:33 - What Preservan Actually Does for Homeowners

11:28 - Repair vs. Replace: The Real Cost Comparison

12:38 - From Running the Business to Deciding to Franchise

16:51 - Seven Years from Idea to Franchise-Ready

17:39 - What the Franchise Model Looks Like for a New Owner

20:34 - Ad Break: Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching

23:38 - Building the Business Alongside His Wife, April

26:21 - Work-Life Integration Instead of Work-Life Balance

32:15 - The Biggest Mistake: Undercapitalization

40:30 - "Just Keep Going": The Power of a Franchise Community

44:09 - Find a Guide, Not Just an AI

🔗 Resources & Mentions

▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com

▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit

▸ Download The Franchise Fit Playbook for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook

▸ Interested in learning more about Preservan? Reach out to Alan for an introduction.

▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform

▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode. We appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:

▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com

▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala

▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner

▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner

▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/

▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the right franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if this path is right for you.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisor #franchiseownership #homeservices #woodrepair #Preservan #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchisecoach

Steve Anschutz signed with Square Cow Movers back in May. Since then: federal delays, a lease that changed overnight, and a launch date that keeps moving.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎤 Episode 56 - Alan sits down again with Steve Anschutz, a returning Square Cow Movers franchisee last on the show in Episode 43, mid-loan-process. Since then Steve finished training and got funded, but he's hit one delay after another on the road to actually opening. He and Alan dig into what's been in his control, what hasn't, and a landlord situation that nearly went very wrong.

Learn why a federal system change pushed his opening date back by over a month, and why his insurance has kept charging for a business that still isn't open. Hear how a landlord quietly rewrote a lease after weeks of friendly talks, and why Steve walked away without a lawyer in the room. Whether you're weighing franchise ownership or already signed and waiting on your own opening date, this is an honest look at the months between signing and opening.

⏱ Video Chapters

0:14 - Welcome Back: Steve Anschutz Returns for Round Two
0:53 - Quick Recap: Who Is Steve and What Is Square Cow Movers
2:32 - A Federal System Change Costs Him a Month
3:16 - The State Adds a Second Round of Delays
3:59 - Refusing to Sit Still: Marketing While Waiting to Open
5:06 - A Realtor Responds in Two Hours and Offers Him a Job
6:33 - The Hardest Part: A Launch Date That Keeps Moving
7:42 - Paying for a Business That Isn't Open Yet
14:37 - The Day He Was Set to Resign, His Boss Passed Away
23:49 - Controllables vs. Uncontrollables: How He Handles Setbacks
27:31 - Leaning on AI and Experts to Fill the Knowledge Gaps
34:04 - The Landlord Who Changed the Lease at the Last Minute
36:14 - His Advice: Do the Research, Then Dive In
38:08 - Alan's Takeaway and Closing

🔗 Resources & Mentions

▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit
▸ Download The Franchise Fit Playbook for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook
▸ Interested in learning more about Square Cow Movers? Reach out to Alan for an introduction.
▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform
▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode. We appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:

▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala
▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner
▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner
▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/
▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the right franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if this path is right for you.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisor #franchiseownership #movingcompany #homeservices #SquareCowMovers #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchisecoach

Jim Dunn built his consulting practice completely on his own, no franchise, no system, just an LLC and a website. Six months later, once it was already working, he joined FocalPoint Business Coaching anyway.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎤 Episode 55 - Alan sits down with Jim Dunn, a FocalPoint Business Coaching franchisee running LD Human Capital Consulting after two decades in corporate HR, including six stints as a sitting Chief Human Resources Officer. Jim walks through the family emergency that pushed him out of corporate for good, and why he built his practice on his own before ever joining a franchise.

Learn why his father's cancer and his mother's dementia diagnosis were the real reason he left corporate, why he built an LLC and a website on his own before he ever considered franchising, what made him join FocalPoint six months later anyway, and how he built a 20 to 25 person coaching team inside a single franchise territory. Whether you're weighing franchising against going fully independent, this is an honest look at both paths.

⏱ Video Chapters

0:30 - Welcome to the Show: Meet Jim Dunn, FocalPoint Franchisee

1:29 - From Chemistry Research Scientist to an Accidental HR Career

5:22 - The Real Reason He Left Corporate: His Father's Cancer and Mother's Dementia

7:43 - The Subway Deal That Fell Through and How FocalPoint Found Him

9:52 - What LD Human Capital Consulting Does Today

10:58 - Building a 20-25 Person Team Inside One Franchise

14:11 - How Much Brand Freedom FocalPoint Franchisees Actually Get

19:23 - Facing the "Who Is Jim Dunn?" Identity Fear

24:46 - The Mickey Mouse Ears Story: A Plane Conversation Becomes a Client

33:41 - The Biggest Misconception About Executive Coaching

38:19 - Advice for Anyone Considering Leaving Corporate for Ownership

39:57 - Alan's Takeaway and Closing

🔗 Resources & Mentions

▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com ▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit ▸ Download The Franchise Fit Playbook for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook ▸ Interested in learning more about FocalPoint Business Coaching or LD Human Capital Consulting? Reach out to Alan for an introduction. ▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform ▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode. We appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:

▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com ▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala ▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner ▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner ▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/ ▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the right franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if this path is right for you.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisor #franchiseownership #executivecoaching #businesscoaching #FocalPointCoaching #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchisecoach

Hallie Savannah spent 15 years in freight logistics before a layoff. Three weeks into her ERA Group franchise, she shares the real, unfiltered start of building it.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the free Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎙 Episode 50 - In this episode of The Franchise Champion Show, Alan sits down with Hallie Savannah, a 15-year freight logistics veteran who never planned on owning a business. After a layoff ended her corporate career, Hallie discovered ERA Group, a global network of independent consultants who help companies find savings in non-core expenses, through the Athlete to Owner newsletter. The model requires no employees, no storefront, and lets franchisees tap into over 1,000 consultants across 60+ countries.

Just three weeks in, Hallie shares what the early days actually look like: training in England, networking before her first client, how she knew ERA was the right fit when she caught herself saying "we" before she'd even signed, and what validation calls with owners at three different tenure levels taught her about starting strong.

⏱ Video Chapters
0:20 - Meet Hallie Savannah, ERA Group Franchisee
0:55 - 15 Years in Freight Logistics: What the Job Really Looked Like
4:35 - The Layoff That Changed Everything
6:44 - What Is ERA Group and How Does It Work?
10:48 - Why ERA Group: Helping Companies Keep Their People
16:55 - Exploring Multiple Brands Before Choosing
20:35 - Mid-Roll: How Franchise Coaching Works
21:17 - The "We" Moment: How She Knew It Was the Right Fit
25:13 - Validation Calls with Three Owners at Different Stages
27:32 - Training in England: Two Weeks, Seven Franchisees, No AC
30:01 - Week Three: Networking, Research, and Building the Foundation
34:42 - Advice for Corporate Professionals Thinking About Franchising
37:44 - Passion vs. Purpose: Connect with the Need, Not Just the Product

🔗 Resources & Mentions
▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ Take the free Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit
▸ Download "The Franchise Fit Playbook" for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook
▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform
▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode, we appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:
▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala
▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner
▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner
▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/
▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the perfect franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Visit https://athletetoowner.com to get started on your path to greater autonomy, wealth, and purpose through business ownership.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisecoach #corporateexit #ERAGroup #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchiseownership #careerchange

Jon Sieber didn't know how to play chess when he started Story Time Chess. It's now a Time Magazine winner and a mobile franchise with very little overhead.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

🎙 Episode 53 - Alan sits down with Jon Sieber, co-founder of Story Time Chess, the mobile children's chess enrichment brand that won Toy of the Year and was named one of Time Magazine's Kids' Inventions of the Year. Jon walks through how he accidentally built a national franchise system from an unlikely background, and what he's learned about who actually succeeds in franchise ownership.

Learn why chess grandmasters make bad kids' teachers and storytellers make great ones, what "two repeatable loops" run any Story Time Chess franchise day to day, why Jon looks for mission alignment as the top criterion in a franchisee, and why "what keeps you up at night" is one of the strongest signals about how a franchisor treats the people who buy in. Whether you're exploring franchise ownership for the first time or curious how someone builds a national brand from an unexpected background, this conversation shows what actually determines success in a franchise system.

⏱ Video Chapters
1:37 - Philosophy, Law School, and NYC Children's Theater
5:16 - How a Preschool Class of Twenty Changed Everything
6:08 - The Vicious Cycle of Chess and Widening Who Gets In
8:39 - King Shakey and the Trojan Horse Method
11:43 - Learning to Lose with Dignity
16:06 - The Grandmaster from Belarus and the Two Unlocks
21:35 - What Story Time Chess Actually Is
26:25 - The Two Loops Every Owner Runs
31:02 - What He Looks For in a Franchisee
35:38 - What Keeps Him Up at Night
39:05 - Toy of the Year and Time Magazine's Kids' Invention
42:41 - Beautiful Life, Hard Path: Advice for Career Changers

🔗 Resources & Mentions
▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit
▸ Download The Franchise Fit Playbook for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook
▸ Interested in learning more about Story Time Chess? Reach out to Alan for an introduction.
▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform
▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode. We appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:
▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala
▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner
▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner
▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/
▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the right franchise match and prepare for championship-level success. As a franchise coach, he works one-on-one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if this path is right for you.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchisor #franchiseownership #mobilefranchise #childrensenrichment #StoryTimeChess #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #franchisecoach

Alan spent 14 years building ShelfGenie into a multi-million dollar exit, and neither picture matched what year one looked like. In this solo episode, he breaks down the real hours, the hiring mistakes, and the mindset shift that made the difference.

⭐ INTERESTED IN FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment today at https://athletetoowner.com/fit

📋 Episode 52 - In this solo episode of The Franchise Champion Show, Alan pulls back the curtain on his own first year as a franchise owner, the year that eventually led to a $4.8M exit from ShelfGenie. He walks through why the franchise model he bought into still had real gaps, why he stayed close to 40 hours a week instead of 80, the two hiring mistakes that taught him the most, and the reframe that changed how he thought about the entire first year.

Learn why every franchise model has gaps you'll need to fill yourself, how hiring people early protects your time even when it feels like it's costing you money, why experience can work against a new hire in year one, and why year one isn't the year you scale, it's the year you build the foundation everything else gets built on.

Whether you're weighing franchise ownership for the first time or already deep into your own first year, this episode is an honest look at what the work really looks like, not the sales pitch version and not the horror story version.

⏱ Video Chapters
0:00 - The Franchise Pitch vs. The Real Year One
0:51 - Two Myths About Year One (And Why Both Are Wrong)
1:38 - The Gap ShelfGenie's Model Never Filled
4:12 - Why He Stayed At 40 Hours A Week, Not 80
6:52 - Free Resource: The Franchise Fit Playbook
7:15 - The Two Hiring Mistakes That Cost Him
9:27 - Why Mistakes Are The Job, Not The Failure
11:38 - The Real Reframe: Building The Foundation, Not Scaling
12:59 - Free Tool: The Franchise Owner Fit Assessment

🔗 Resources & Mentions
▸ Athlete to Owner Franchise Coaching: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment: https://athletetoowner.com/fit
▸ Download "The Franchise Fit Playbook" for free: https://athletetoowner.com/playbook

▸ Subscribe to The Franchise Champion Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform
▸ Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review if you enjoyed the episode, we appreciate your support!

Connect on Social Media:
▸ Website: https://athletetoowner.com
▸ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alanregala
▸ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthleteToOwner
▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthleteToOwner
▸ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleteowner/
▸ Email: [email protected]

⭐ READY TO EXPLORE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP? Alan helps successful professionals find the perfect franchise match and prepare for championship level success. As a franchise coach, he works one on one with qualified candidates to navigate the entire franchise selection process, completely free of charge. Take the Franchise Readiness Assessment at https://athletetoowner.com/fit to see if franchise ownership fits where you are right now.

#franchise #entrepreneur #businessowner #franchising #franchiseownership #hiringmistakes #FDD #TheFranchiseChampionShow #AthleteToOwner #corporatetoowner