The Smart Franchisee - Franchise, Business, Lifestyle

Today I’m speaking with Scott Burr a successful Your Pie Franchisee. 

Scott’s professional career was in golf. But as his daughters were growing up he realized he wanted to be able to spend more time with them. That’s when he decided to get into business and franchising seemed like a good fit. 

So he started off on his franchise journey interested in getting into a frozen yogurt concept. After months of trying to finalize a location things just weren’t working out with the frozen yogurt concept and that’s when he was introduced to fast casual pizza. 

Scott says he researched 13 different brands and tried all of their pizza, because you need to like the product you are going to be selling! There was only one problem, there was a slice he hadn’t tried yet that was all the way in Georgia, he lives in California. So like a Smart Franchisee Scott flew all the way to Atlanta for his last pizza tasting, and the rest is history. 

Scott and I talk about what it’s like to be the only Your Pie Franchisee in California (for now) and how he is able to keep his business profitable and growing being so far from the corporate office. We talk about the challenges Scott faced in business, the advice he would give a new franchisee, and how he hit profitability 4 months after opening his location.

Today I am speaking with Joe DeMarco a successful franchisee with CycleBar. Joe and his wife had experience in the fitness industry before getting into CycleBar. They owned and operated 3 Local Barre Studios, which they started from the ground up. Nick’s wife did all this while starting a family, every new studio came with a child. (I think that’s why they stopped at 3!). They decided to include spin classes into their 3rd Barre studio and soon realized that they needed a system to really make it work. Not to mention CycleBar could put his spin class out of business. 

Joe says he didn’t have a positive impression of franchising at first and so he started to research different franchises to partner with. He realized CycleBar and the system provided was the best fit for him. Joe needed a business partner, and happened to meet Nick at the International Franchise Expo in NY. Nick had experience with CycleBar and was ready to open his own. 

Since then Joe and Nick have been taking the east coast by storm. They have purchased existing distressed locations and have opened new locations from the ground up. 

Joe and I talk about what it was like to open a business without franchise support and the learning curve they went through. We also talk about what it’s like to purchase distressed studios, how you create a culture in your business, how they manage locations that are out of state and most importantly what his experience has been like owning a franchise. 

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Today I am speaking with Lisa Locker a successful franchisee with CycleBar. Lisa has spent a few decades working in corporate America. First working with big tobacco, then real estate and then lastly as a consultant in the cannabis industry. While Lisa traveled for work she would take spin classes wherever she could find them. 

Lisa started to realize that she loved spin and that there was a lack of presence in the Denver area, where she lived. What happens when you love spin and there are no studios in your area? You open your own! Lisa went all in and purchased 4 territories in the Denver market. 

While looking for a space for her first location an opportunity presented itself to buy 2 existing studios. Lisa shares with me what it was like to take over studios that were not doing well and how she turned them around, all as a brand new franchisee. We discuss challenges she faced and still faces in business as she opens new locations, how she finds instructors with passion, and her advice for a new franchisee. 

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Today I am speaking with Ryan Junk president of CycleBar. If you haven’t heard about CycleBar, don’t worry you will soon. With a total of 200 locations to be open by the end of 2019 and 400 franchise locations sold CycleBar is leading the way in the boutique fitness space. 

If the name didn’t already give it away CycleBar is offering a premium indoor cycling experience (not to mention a low impact high intensity workout). Ryan says “we trick people into working out” because it’s so fun. During our chat with Ryan we find out why he is so passionate about his Franchisees. 

Ryan shares with us his core belief that Franchisees are his customers, and his soul mission is to make sure they are successful. CycleBar has no corporate locations so they can focus solely on working with and developing great franchisees. 

Ryan shares with me what he is looking for in a franchisee, how Cyclebar helps franchisees create recurring revenue and protect their investment from day 1, and what gives CycleBar the competitive edge in the boutique fitness space. 

Today I’m speaking with Kate Oster a successful The Maids Franchisee.

Kate, along with her sister, owned and operated her own residential cleaning business, Maid to Clean. Kate got into the cleaning business by accident, she was working as a social worker and needed to make a little extra income. She started by cleaning friends and families homes and grew the business to 70 clients.

Kate soon realized that she couldn’t keep cleaning homes all day and she needed to have a system behind her, so she could hire a team to grow her business.

Kate transitioned her business into The Maids Franchise. She now services 11 zip codes and has over 350 clients. She has been able to take a step back from cleaning homes to creating teams that help her grow her business. 

Kate has learned a lot in her 13 years as a franchisee. She shares with me the benefits of owning a franchise, the support she has gotten from the corporate office, and how she finds the right employees. 

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Bruce wasn’t looking to get into the cleaning business. Having worked for McDonald’s and Best Buy he knew what it took to make a business run. He was looking for a business that provided residual income, that had the potential for growth, and was easy to differentiate from the competition. He said he found all three when he found The Maids. 

Bruce purchased three existing territories and focused on building teams and increasing clientele. Bruce talks with me about the challenges he faces in the business, how he is able to grow his business, and how he learned to motivate people. 

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Today I am speaking with Colin Bishop, President and CEO of The Maids International Franchise. The Maids is famously known for its bright yellow cars, ever see one in your neighborhood? With approximately 117 franchisees who own 1200 territories, there is still room for growth with The Maids.

If the name didn’t already give it away The Maids offers residential cleaning services. Their goal at The Maids is to improve lives! The focus is always on their franchisees, their employees, and their customers. 

Colin shares with me what differentiates The Maids from the competition and how their partnership with Amazon and P&G benefits their franchisees.

Colin and I also chat about how The Maids sets their franchisees up for success, what they are looking for in a franchisee, and how they provide financing options to help get new franchisees up and running.  

Russ Allen an Anytime Fitness Franchisee shares with me how he almost gave it all up. The advice and guidance of a fellow franchisee has led him to 9 locations. Russ talks about where he spends 80% of his time to grow his business. He shares how he was able to scale rapidly after operating three locations for a few years. He created a system, hired the right staff and built the infrastructure for rapid and profitable growth. Visit us at www.thesmartfranchisee.com Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe! 

Jeff O’Mara was tired of running his gas station and grocery store that required 16 hour days on a regular basis. He was seeking a change. Unable to take a day off without losing money in his business Jeff saw an opportunity with Anytime Fitness. What was different about Anytime Fitness? Freedom, a welcoming atmosphere, great team of trainers and happy club members. 

After a year and a half of training at Anytime Fitness Jeff decided to buy his own. How? By mortgaging his house. That was 11 years ago, Jeff now owns 11 locations spanning Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Georgia.  Jeff shares with me how he developed a team and partnered with trainers to expand his business without having to be present at the locations. He talks about the challenges he faced early on and how he handled them, why he sold 2 locations and what it did for him, and how he has been able to get involved in real estate since starting this business.

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Kyle Henning quit his senior year of college to open his first Anytime Fitness location. His story of how he stumbled into this business is very interesting. Now Kyle runs 2 successful Anytime Fitness locations. Kyle talks about how he funded his first location and bought the second location within 6 months of owning his first. He talks about how he grew to 4 locations but then scaled it down to 2. It wasn’t about the money but about having more time and a better lifestyle. He is passionate about interacting with his clients and providing exceptional customer experience. Learn how his passions turned to more profits even though he reduced the number of locations. Visit us at https://thesmartfranchisee.com/
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