“We have a great network of communication with the other owners and we’re like a giant family. This is a franchise that is really driven by the owners.” - Miriam Frick
have a great network of communication with the other owners and we’re like a giant family.” The Fricks agreed: “This is a franchise that is really driven by the owners.”
Managing the Managers Franchising has helped the Fricks leave their financial struggles behind, but it took a lot of hard work to get there. We put in some long hours the first year, but they were fun hours and we were together,” said Miriam. “There were new challenges almost every day, but I liked what I was doing a lot more than working for someone else,” said Todd. Miriam credits the franchise systems, like the Management Tools and the Basecamp Training Portal, with making training great staff members easier and more consistent. With the Training Portal, for example, she is able to teach a new hire the fundamentals of the computers, store layout, and job expectations through interactive videos and quizzes – a benefit she attributes to saving her and her store managers significant amounts of precious time. Like most retail businesses, the Fricks have busy seasons where they put a lot of time in their stores. Other times of the year, they are able to pull back, work from
home, or even take time off and let their managers run the day-to-day operations of the stores. With four children at home, ranging from a first grader to a recent high school graduate, the Fricks have had to work to find a balance between owning multiple successful businesses and a busy family life. “We love having the flexibility to go to the kids’ games and events,” Miriam offered, and Todd agreed. “I would never go back to working for someone else, that’s for sure.” A balanced family life is a big part of the reason the Fricks have been diligent about developing good managers and staff. Having multiple stores means they can’t be involved too heavily in the daily operations of the stores, Miriam said. She likens herself and Todd to conductors, where they manage the store managers who manage the staff. “We follow the Kid to Kid system, hire good people and teach them how to use the franchise tools,” Miriam said. “In turn our managers do a great job of providing structure, management and support for our team members in all three stores. This has made our lives much easier and has allowed us to expand our business and income, while continuing to make our family the top priority.”
Recession Proof Growth Above all else, the Fricks are happy to be in an industry they term ‘recession proof.’ “Now that the economy is rebounding, our business continues to succeed,” said Miriam. “I’m not going to lie to you—when the economy tanked, we were really scared. But we found that children will always be growing and always be in need of new clothing.” The trend toward cutting down on waste has helped propel store sales and the Fricks believe they have just broken the surface of the growth and profit that is ahead for their business. “We haven’t even reached near the potential of what our stores are capable of,” Miriam said. When asked about their secrets of success, the Fricks are quick to give credit to their ‘fantastic franchise family’. “If you follow the system and ask for help, the support staff at Basecamp is tremendous and has been absolutely vital to our success,” said Miriam. Miriam and Todd often think about what could have been, “We just feel so lucky to have stumbled onto this opportunity and to have had this once-in-a-lifetime chance to build a successful business and change the future of our family so much.” www.kidtokid.com/franchising
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