Pillars of Franchising magazine - Issue 5 June/July 2022

PILLARS OF FRANCHISING

June/July 2022

Franchising on Fire Special Strong Spreads Its Mission

Buy a Franchise

Find a Mentor

Ellie Mental Health

Makes Therapy Fun

Create Buzz June/July 2022 1

CONTENTS Franchising on Fire

June/July 2022

Cover Story 8 Special Strong Spreads its Mission Departments 4

Letter from the Editor

6

Calendar of Events

The Journey of Branding

12

44

Unit Economics for Multi-Unit Franchises

14

46

Summertime is the Time to Dream Big!

Top 5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Trying To Secure Funding

20

Top 10 Reasons You Need a Franchise Attorney to Buy a Franchise

22

How to Take a Summer Break and Still Keep Your Marketing on Track

24

Nationwide Legalization of Cannabis Spurs Industry Franchises

30

Life of Ray

34

Top 10 First Class HOT Customer Service Tips

36 38

Features 16

Ellie Mental Health Locations Spreading Like Wildfire

28

Franchising Pride Council

50

Featured Vendors

Adapt or Fail

52

Questions from the Audience

Can Being Unbalanced Help to Achieve the Elusive State of Balance?

54

Million Dollar Minute

2 Pillars of Franchising

Tune in Every Thursday!

The Pillars of Franchising Show

In this issue, we feature brands that are exploding. Special Strong franchised in 2020 and already has six locations with plans for expansion in several states in the west.

Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Denham Elizabeth@PillarsOfFranchising.com CEO Kristin Selmeczy Kristin@PillarsOfFranchising.com Designer Annie Malloy malloyab@gmail.com Proofreader Johanna Selmeczy jselmecz@gmail.com Contact us at YourFuture@PillarsOfFranchising.com Contributors Katie Bateman Nancy Friedman Michael Ianuzzi Dave Kajganich Harold Kestenbaum Laura Liss Andrea Mundle Michele Rempel Susan Scotts

What you will get: • Education • Entertainment • Resources • Opportunities

Live on Thursdays at 2:00 PT | 3:00 MT | 4:00 CT | 5:00 ET Broadcast on Youtube, Facebook, Blogtalk Radio, LinkedIn, Twitch and more!

June/July 2022 3

Letter from the Editor

Franchising

on Fire

Dear Pillars of Franchising Community: In this issue, we spotlight franchises that are on fire and in periods of exploding growth. Our cover story is about Special Strong which was propelled into the spotlight by a viral video that will move you to tears with its inspiring story. Daniel Stein uses his personal experience with special needs to offer adaptive and inclusive personal training.

Ellie Mental Health is also growing like crazy. Erin Pash has a creative take on mental health treatment, and as she works to destigmatize mental health conversations, she has more than 200 new franchise locations on the horizon.

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In our regular departments, we are introducing a section on The Life of Ray to show others how a successful franchise business can give you the life of your dreams. We will follow Ray Pillar and his wife, Daisy on their adventures in their brand new “Bus.” Stay tuned for a lot of fun!

As usual, we have a jam-packed issue with our regular contributors and our Million Dollar Mentors, Kristin Selmeczy, Jerry Akers, Ray Pillar and David Kajganich who share their perspectives on buying a franchise.

We also have informative articles from Nancy Friedman, the Telephone Doctor, on customer service; Susan Scotts on franchise education; Michele Rempel on marketing; Harold Kestenbaum on legal issues; Kelly Krueger on funding; Jae Pi on tax/finance; Andrea Mundie on women and finding balance and our very own Million Dollar Mentor, David Kajganich on leadership. We also feature Laura Liss, franchise attorney, who has recently joined the team.

Join us on our social media, subscribe on the website and join us every Thursday at 4:00 CT for the Pillars of Franchising livestream! We look forward to serving you, and remember…

The Dream Starts Here!

Elizabeth Denham Editor-in-Chief

June/July 2022 5

PILLARS OF FRANCHISING June 2022 Click on the event you are interested in to email us for the link to join!

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Pillars of Franchising So, You’re a FranchiLivestream see. Now What? – Lunch & Learn 22

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CALENDAR July 2022 Click on the event you are interested in to email us for the link to join!

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Pillars of Franchising So, You’re a FranchiLivestream see. Now What? – Lunch & Learn 20

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June/July 2022 7

Cover Story

Special Strong

Spreads its Mission

by Elizabeth Denham

W

Brandon’s Story

hen you look at the Special Strong website and click on the very first video of Brandon Neal walking for the first time in eight years, you will understand why Special Strong is growing by leaps and bounds.

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In June of 2019, Daniel Stein, founder of Special Strong, received a notification that someone was interested in trying out their free 7-day gym pass. It was Mandy, the mother of 17-year-old Brandon Neal. With issues from the start, Brandon was far behind as a baby and unable to sit up, roll over, stand or make eye contact. By age five, he was diagnosed with strabismus, a vision condition that required five surgeries to fix his eyesight. In 2010, they discovered that Brandon had a

gene mutation that was causing all of his problems, including his abnormal gait. After a few years of very abnormal walking, a doctor took x-rays and discovered scoliosis and that his right hip was misplaced. Brandon and his family were advised to have surgery to correct his hip and were told he would be walking normally again within six months.

But Brandon was not able to walk in the eight years since the hip surgery.

When his family heard about Special Strong and the special needs gym, they had a glimmer of hope. On July 15th, 2019, Brandon had his first training session. He came in with his wheelchair for an evaluation and got started. Working through fear, anxiety, disbelief and resistance, Daniel worked to gain Brandon’s trust and make progress.

On July 30th, they had their fifth training session. Brandon walked without his forearm crutches.

After a few setbacks, on August 21st, Brandon came into the session and said he was ready - and that’s when Brandon truly conquered his fears for the first time in his life.

June/July 2022 9

Daniel’s Story This story is one of many that Stein has been able to witness as the founder of Special Strong.

He was diagnosed with a learning disability at age 4, and his parent signed him up for sports.

This did wonders for improving his behavior. Still, he struggled in school to make friends and got bullied for being different.

In middle school, his parents got him a gym membership to the YMCA, and he started exercising. It changed his life, but by the age of 21, he had been diagnosed with a mood disorder and an autoimmune disease.

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Stein believes there was a clear correlation between playing sports and improved behavior.

He rode his bike to the local YMCA every day and started lifting weights in middle school.

“I didn’t know what I was doing, but I loved it,” he recalled.

Special Strong “I really can’t take any credit for how this was formed, and as a matter of fact, I didn’t even come up with the name, Special Strong,” Stein said. “That was given to me by a mentor.”

Stein said he had two different mentors in his life. The first, Rob Moore, was a mentor from church. On November 11th, 2011, he and Moore went to Starbucks, and Moore told him that he had a vision from God, and in this vision, he saw Stein working with kids and adults that had disabilities.

“That moment was a complete game-changer for my entire life,” Stein said. “It completely changed the direction I was headed. I had a career in banking. I was doing very well as a

The initial investment for a Special Strong franchise falls in the range of $59,000 to $70,700. This low entry point reflects the fact that franchisees rent space from existing gyms or train clients at home. Currently, Special Strong is planning to open its first corporate brick-and-mortar location and add that as a franchise model option.

personal banker. I was moving up in the company. But I wasn’t satisfied with that career. I was making great money, but I wasn’t satisfied, and I wasn’t fulfilled.

So, when I received that vision from my mentor, I decided it was time to make a career change. I got certified as a personal trainer and the rest is history.”

“

“I didn’t know anything about business, and Josh just kind of held my hand like a child and said, here’s what you need to do. He gave me the steps and he made me go do it – things like hiring an attorney, drafting documents, etc”.

“It was awesome that so many people saw that video,” Stein said. “And they were touched by it, not because of the workout.

They were touched because of what they saw Brandon do in the video. They saw the second that changed somebody’s life.

Ultimately, we see our clients as little balls of potential.

And they’re just waiting for somebody to come up to them who believes in them and ultimately is going to shape their destiny based on that belief.”

Brandon and his team decided to franchise in 2020, and they have grown quickly. They have six franchise locations open in Texas, including three in Houston and three in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Locations in Arizona and New Jersey are also in the development pipeline.

Success is not the absence of failure; it’s the persistence through failure.

– Alisha Tyler

Stein said they left everything behind and invested all of their savings and investments into starting this business in McKinney, Texas.

A Second Mentor Through one of his first personal training clients, Stein met his second mentor.

“I started working with a mom.

Her name was Melissa, and she was just a regular client who wanted to lose weight and get stronger,” Stein said. “At one point I had shared with her the vision that Rob had, and she immediately introduced me to her husband, Josh.”

Josh took Stein under his wing and spurred him to form Special Strong.

One day, Stein and Josh were going to dinner, and Josh announced that he had bought the domain name for Special Strong.

That was seven years ago and now they have six locations with more on the way.

Franchising Once the video of Brandon was released it promptly went viral. At that point, people were reaching out from all over wanting to know where they could find a Special Strong. Stein said he couldn’t keep up with the messages and it broke his heart to tell people they were not available in their areas. So, they had to look at how to scale.

If you would like to learn more about Special Strong, visit https://www.specialstrong. com/. To watch Brandon’s video, visit https://youtu.be/ FCM-0lWOxoI.

June/July 2022 11

Finance

Unit Economics for

U

by Jae Pi

Multi-Unit Franchises

nit economics is an important measurement for all business owners, including multi-unit franchisees who are often very good operators and are skilled at knowing how to open multiple locations quickly and efficiently.

Tracking and measuring ongoing unit profitability is an essential part of running a successful multi-unit franchise. Unit economics are revenues and costs associated with a business model in relation to an individual unit. In the case of multi-unit operators, their unit economics may be the amount of revenues generated from each store or location or the amount of revenues generated from each product line. These units are analyzed to determine how much profit or loss they individually produce.

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Fin Unit economics are an integral part of planning for a company’s future. Understanding this concept helps franchisees accurately forecast the net profit and cash flow to determine a realistic picture of the timeline necessary to achieve certain goals.

Within the same franchise concept, each outlet will generate

“

compare those results to their own and see where improvements can be made. Many times, companies think the only way to make more money is to raise prices. While this could be true, sometimes managing overall costs and eliminating excess can help you achieve success more quickly. When your revenues in-

Tracking and measuring ongoing unit profitability is an essential part of running a successful multi-unit franchise.

different levels of revenue and overall profitability. There are key benchmarks that a franchisor can track and push back to the system so franchisees can monitor their performance against other franchisees in the system.

As an example for a quick service franchise, the average cost per ticket or average headcount during peak times could be an important key performance indicator. Multi-unit franchisees can

crease you will drop more profit to the bottom line. Franchisees could also incentivize their employees to monitor certain costs and up-sell products that have higher margins.

Unit economics is utilized to optimize a product line and to determine whether the product is overpriced or underpriced.

“Citrin Cooperman” is the brand under which Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, a licensed independent CPA firm, and Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC serve clients’ business needs. The two firms operate as separate legal entities in an alternative practice structure. Citrin Cooperman is an independent member of Moore North America, which is itself a regional member of Moore Global Network Limited (MGNL).

Jae Pi is an audit partner in the firm’s New York City office with over 10 years of experience providing audit, review, compilation, preparation, and business consulting services for a variety of businesses including QSR’s and restaurants, education centers, beauty salons, distributors, and other service providers. He specializes in working with clients in the sectors of franchising, distribution, and real estate. Jae is an integral member of the firm’s franchising committee and has had the opportunity to work with and advise franchise clients of different sizes on a number of diverse matters and technical issues, such as assisting with Franchise Disclosure Review, Item 19 analysis, corporate structure, and strategic tax planning. One of his primary responsibilities is managing the audit of one of the largest QSR franchisors in the world.

June/July 2022 13

Education

Summertime is

the Time to Dream Big!

W

by Susan Scotts

hat comes to mind when you think of Summertime? Do you picture yourself on a wonderful family vacation? Perhaps on a towel on the beach, relaxing and drinking a cold soda with your toes in the sand and a slight breeze flowing over you? It’s a vision I hear about often!

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Are you dreaming about doing this more often than the two weeks of vacation your job allows? Or are you thinking about the laptop back in the hotel room, just waiting for you to answer work emails that haunt you?

Even though you are on vacation, your boss may expect you to keep up with emails and assigned projects. If you are like many people, you might resent that. You may be won-

Edu dering how you will ever achieve your life’s dreams when you can’t even relax for a week or two while you are on vacation.

Summertime is the time to dream BIG!

Picture this: Imagine that every day could afford you the opportunity to achieve your income, lifestyle, wealth and equity goals.

You can work hard and have the flexibility you have always desired to do more of what makes

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aren’t alone. Feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, subject to ageism, fear of being downsized and worried about job security, with no real control over your future are common challenges. It is also common to prioritize job over family, work long hours, experience a long commute or be required to travel with no career stability or control. Or maybe you have been seeking a new role but are frustrated with the process or just can’t even get a job interview?

If you are currently feeling battered by Corporate America, you aren’t alone.

you happy, all while building your own professional goals rather than someone else’s. You can do this through self-sufficiency and becoming your own boss.

It is attainable to no longer have the non-stop pressures from your superiors, demanding you to return to the mass of emails you get while you’re out of the office — because you are the boss.

Even better, imagine being at your son or daughter’s baseball game and actually enjoying it, while your employees generate passive or recurring revenue while your child plays the game!

If you are currently feeling battered by corporate America, you

your personal dangers, opportunities and strengths, working in parallel with your personal income, lifestyle, wealth and equity goals. You receive coaching through education, awareness, and discovery experience that allows you to learn about all possibilities, even the different avenues to fund a business if you decide to explore business ownership further.

TODAY is the day to begin planning your better tomorrow. Don’t wait, your permanent vacation from corporate America can begin as soon as a few short weeks from now. Check in with me to learn the next steps in creating the future you’ve dreamed of and start to live every day like a summertime vacation as I do!

It’s a long list, and yet many of us understand these pressures.

Feelings like these have led many individuals to take part in the current Great Resignation.

Unfortunately, many took a leap without looking and are now regretting it. According to a recent NBC News poll, that number is one in five.

Don’t let your great resignation lead to great regret. A smart move is to have a strategic plan based on your personal and professional goals and explore the possibilities available to you that can help you reach them. That’s where a career coach can help!

Coaches strive to understand

Susan Scotts is a multiple award winning career transition coach with The Entrepreneur’s Source® and possesses three decades of experience in helping empower individuals to become entrepreneurs through franchise business ownership. For a complimentary consultation, she can be reached at 561-859-9110 or SScotts@EsourceCoach.com.

June/July 2022 15

Features

Ellie Mental Health Locations

Spreading Like Wildfire

O

by Elizabeth Denham

ver the last 15 years, Erin Pash’s work experience in local government and nonprofits led her to co-found Ellie Mental Health to bring more creativity and fill gaps in the mental health community. With the state of the world as it is with a global pandemic, political polarization, school shootings and multitudes of other stressors, it is almost unsurprising that the Ellie Mental Health franchise is experiencing growth.

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What is surprising, is just how quickly the business is growing.

Over the last six years, Ellie grew to 18 locations throughout Minnesota and provided services for more than 20,000 families. But here is the kicker -- in the last six months, the business has expanded nationally through franchising and in six months has sold more than 250 locations in 27 states. Why is this growth happening? A combination of a new take on an old system and good timing.

A New Take on an Old System “While there was no way we could have foreseen how great the need would be right now, I was excited to start my practice back in 2015 because I could see the way people were experiencing mental health,” Pash said. “There has always been a stigma around psychotherapy, and it has been plagued with the stigma that you can’t talk about your feelings, you can’t share your weaknesses. I felt like we could really do some cool things to shake up the industry to help destigmatize this thing that I love so much and so near and dear to my heart.”

Pash noted that Ellie Mental Health has a new approach to therapy. They try to bring humor and creativity and authenticity to the practice. They embrace com-

passion and put these qualities together to make mental health feel more relatable.

“Out of the gate in 2015, we were blown away by our success,” she said. “I was prepared that growth would be slow, and we would fall on our faces a lot.

We did fall on our faces a lot, but we had no time to wallow!

We just had to get up and keep running in this race as mental health became more popular and we saw tremendous growth with our new approach in an age-old industry. We had people actually getting excited about mental health and therapy!”

was able to get patients online within four days of the shutdown, and they were surprised at how well it went.

“The pandemic forced us all online, and that helped destigmatize telehealth and it actually reduced our no-show rates significantly and eliminated several barriers to attendance – having to leave work, sick kids, etc.,” Pash said. “So, now we have these two ways of doing therapy.”

Pash noted that the pandemic also reinforced some conclusions drawn in a study about hu-

Before the pandemic, it could be a struggle to get people into the office for appointments until they had learned about their different approaches, Pash mentioned. And with the pandemic, they were worried about getting people to participate in telehealth because people are less trustful of online security. But their team

June/July 2022 17

man connection and how badly we need it.

“Human beings care more about belonging to other human beings than we care about survival,” Pash said. “What the pandemic did was isolate us and made us lose that connection or sense of belonging. Many of us realized that we didn’t necessarily need to be mentally ill to realize that we needed help.

We have all been navigating this thing that we have never had to deal with before and we have become lonelier.”

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Strategic Scaling During Rapid Growth

“While there is a shortage of therapists in general,” Pash said.

“We capture a majority of them – we don’t really have a problem hiring. We do have to calculate the number of offices we open in areas based on the market and on therapist pools. We are working hard to be smart and strategic.”

Pash believes that one of the things that make Ellie unique is that they look for the right personalities in their franchisee but also that they have created a desirable employee experience.

She also noted that she and her partner and co-founder, Kyle Keller tend to be fiscally riskaverse. When they started off, they didn’t take money from an investment company. They

Pash marveled at the increase in Elle’s waitlist over the pandemic. They went from 20 or 30 on the list to now more than 1,000.

Seventy percent of those are children between the ages of 5 and 17.

“

We are changing the culture of mental health treatment.

didn’t want to be a nonprofit.

They grew and scaled by working hard and paying for it as they went. They started off seeing 40 clients per week, and half of every paycheck went back into the business.

Pash noted that they add locations at the rate they can support them, and they hire and train so that they are prepared well ahead of the need.

“We are only as good as the support we can give our brand

and as we can fulfill our promises and support our values and mission.”

Pash is excited about the growth of her business and looks forward to everything to come.

“I love getting to make a difference not only in the lives of our clients but also in the lives of our franchisees.”

To learn more about Ellie Mental Health, visit https://elliementalhealth.com/.

Ellie Mental Health’s Philosophy Ellie Mental Health strives to give mental health care a much-needed facelift.

The reality is that life can be really hard, and the last thing anyone needs is to feel weak or less than when you’re struggling. It’s okay to not be okay.

Their goal is to make getting mental health care the norm. And while they know that going to therapy and being vulnerable with someone you just met can seem scary, they do everything they can to make each session as comfortable and fun as possible. As your professional secret keepers, they aim to walk along this journey with their patients and provide them with a safe place to talk, decompress, and heal.

June/July 2022 19

Legal

Top 10 Reasons You Need a Franchise Attorney

to Buy a Franchise

A

by Laura Liss

lot of times, people think they can make a go of buying a franchise on their own.

They might consult a family attorney or friend who is an attorney. But franchise law is specialized, and if you don’t have someone who knows the ins and outs, you can have some issues.

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Evaluation and investigation services to check out a franchise

20 Pillars of Franchising

9

Expert guidance on how to buy a franchise

8

Franchise disclosure agreement review

A franchise attorney can make the process of purchasing your franchise a simple and hassle-free one.

They know what to look for, and they know when to bring in another specialist. Here are the top ten reasons you should hire a franchise attorney when buying a franchise

7

3

Negotiation of the franchise contract

6

Incorporation

4

5

Shopping center lease review and negotiation

Shareholder agreements

Financing agreements

2

Franchise disputes, arbitrations and litigation

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Complete business counsel

June/July 2022 21

Marketing

How to Take a Summer Break

and Still Keep Your Marketing on Track

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by Michele Rempel

h, summer. The time of backyard BBQs, time at the pool or the beach, maybe even a vacation. For business owners, the thought of a vacation is often met with some variation of these responses: “Vacation? What’s that?” or “Yeah, I’ll take a vacation when (insert ‘when we hire one more person’ or ‘when we get to x revenue’ or ‘when I die’).

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Mar

Since it’s difficult for many business owners to truly feel comfortable about taking a real vacation (meaning: actually not working), we’ve often seen business owners chill out on their marketing during the summer.

We get it. Marketing and sales can feel relentless. We all feel the pressure of creating content, measuring KPIs, and getting all those notifications from multiple channels on our phones, computers and watches. Sometimes it’s hard to see through all of the noise to even understand if there are benefits to everything you’re doing marketing-wise.

Rather than take a break from sales and marketing, which could ultimately hurt your pipeline, let’s talk about some things you can do personally to give yourself a pause and reset this summer.

Reduce your screen time It is possible to continue with your marketing while reducing your screen time. Set a time to check on your marketing activities (whether it’s being done by your team, a staff member or you) and all the resulting notifications. Commit to that time, follow up with whomever you need, and then take the rest of the day off. Assign someone else to handle immediate comments or inquiries for a period of time

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(and if this is something you’ve been doing yourself, maybe this person can continue beyond the break).

This is also a good opportunity to reduce your screen time spent reading the news or even just surfing the internet for leisure. Many studies have shown the benefits of reducing screen time on stress levels, cardiovascular health and sleep quality.

Get outside Business owners are notorious for working both on and in the business, often spending too many hours indoors. Many of us have low levels of Vitamin D and don’t move as much as we should.

Commit to spending time outdoors every day for at least 15 minutes. Studies have shown that being outdoors can lessen anxiety, naturally promote movement and improve the quality of our sleep. Let everyone on your team know about your designated outdoor time and stick to it. Bring a book, listen to some music, have a cup of tea, or take a walk.

Spend more time marketing your business — in the flesh!

The pandemic pushed us all into the world of digital communications, whether we wanted it or not! Zoom meetings are often

Yeah, I’ll take a vacation when (insert ‘when we hire one more person’ or ‘when we get to x revenue’ or ‘when I die’).

the default method of meeting with team members or new prospects. Have you gotten into the habit of meeting everyone digitally? If you feel safe meeting people for coffee or dinner, get back out there and attend those networking events!

Get old-fashioned with your marketing We’ve talked about reducing screen time and meeting people in person. One marketing tactic we’ve noticed that is working well for some businesses is to send out honest-to-goodness hand-addressed letters to prospects and then following up with a phone call to invite them for coffee or lunch. We’re all so inundated with emails and notifications that something in the mail gets attention. Rather than taking a break from marketing, consider doing something that doesn’t involve as much screen time.

Michele Rempel is the founder and managing partner of Westvyne, a marketing and website design firm based in California and Illinois. For almost a decade, she and her team have been guiding their clients in what to say, how to say it, where to say it, and who to say it to in order to attract and retain customers. For more information about Westvyne, visit www.westvyne.com.

June/July 2022 23

Legal

Nationwide Legalization of Cannabis

Spurs Industry Franchises

A

by Harold Kestenbaum

s legal use of marijuana gains traction in legislatures across the country, one franchise brand is ready to capitalize on the market.

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The inevitable legalization of cannabis isn’t too far in the distant future.

From The Earth is a cannabis dispensary with the market knowledge, vendor networks and legal compliance to dominate the growing indus-

try. Currently headquartered in California, where it has several dispensaries, From The Earth also has operations in Missouri and Michigan. With so much potential on the horizon, From The Earth partnered with Cannabis10x to help franchisees get in on the future success of the industry while it’s still early.

“We thought that franchising would be the best way for us to scale up the brand,” Dan Zaharon, Chief Executive Officer of From The Earth, said. “Franchising also served as a way for us to mitigate our risk in an industry that is inherently risky, and working with Cannabis10x to find franchisees who have strong connections to their local markets would put the brand in a much better position to expand as legalization continues to spread.”

Cannabis10x is a franchise brokerage that works with brands in the cannabis industry to find franchisees and offer a turnkey business that can capitalize on the growing demand for cannabis.

“We offer wrap-around services for clients like From The Earth, helping them secure banking, lending, funding, raising capital and getting through the legal

June/July 2022 25

boundaries of the industry,” Jason Tropf, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cannabis10x, said.

Also on the team helping to expand the brand is Holly Ford, co-founder and the vision behind Cannabis10x. Ford emphasized the significance of getting in on the cannabis franchise industry now, saying that the country is at an inflection point and on the brink of a huge boom amid legalization.

“The safety of being a part of an already established franchise brand like From The Earth is going to be critical,” Ford said. “Investors weren’t investing a year ago because they were afraid, but now there are franchise opportunities in the industry like those with From The Earth, and the return will be tenfold.”

From The Earth provides its franchisees with unparalleled franchise support. The brand offers training, hiring and staffing support, an in-store “shadow” program, marketing support, design and construction support and a consultant team that includes attorneys, accountants and marketing professionals.

However, perhaps the most crucial support element offered in

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the highly fragmented industry is the assistance with applications, licenses and permits.

With the expected upward trajectory of the industry, From The Earth is laser-focused on the franchising of the brand.

Also helping the brand navigate the muddy waters of the cannabis market is Spadea Lignana Franchise Attorneys.

“Spadea Lignana has been our attorney from the beginning of the franchising process, helping us with the franchise disclosure document, vetting potential candidates and coordinating with local law firms across the country so we know the different regulations that may exist in different states,” Zaharoni said. “They also review all contracts and provide us with whatever legal advice we may need.”

Since marijuana has only been in the “legal” world for six years, and it remains illegal on the federal level, there’s a lot to untangle in preparing to expand as a franchise. “When you’re one of the first franchises like we are, it’s difficult to understand things and how to make it all work,” Zaharoni said. “They have been instrumental in helping us understand the nuances of differ-

ent states and jurisdictions and got us to market a lot quicker than we would have on our own or with any other firm.”

“It’s a challenging but very exciting time to be in the business,” Zaharoni said. He, along with the team from Cannabis10x, is excited about the future of franchising in the cannabis industry, and he’s looking forward to asking the team at Spadea Lignana a lot of questions that haven’t been asked before.

Harold L. Kestenbaum joined Spadea Lignana in 2019, having unrivaled experience in the franchise industry and in franchise law. He founded and served as President and Chairman of the Board of FranchiseIt Corporation.

Harold also authored the first book dedicated to the entrepreneur who wants to franchise called “So You Want to Franchise Your Business.” Contact Harold at hkestenbaum@spadealaw.com or call at 215.774.3365 x136.

June/July 2022 27

Features

Franchising

J

Pride Council

by The International Franchising Association

une is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, and leaders within the franchise industry want to spread the word that it embraces diversity and offers unlimited opportunities to entrepreneurs without prejudice. Pride Month

28 Pillars of Franchising

commemorates the Stonewall riots of June 1969, when patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in New York City, staged an uprising to resist police harassment and persecution that LGBTQIA+ Americans have faced.

The Franchising Pride Council, which was established in September 2019, is spearheading the International Franchise Association’s efforts to support diversity and inclusiveness among its franchisors, franchisees and employees — at every level and in every corner of franchising.

The council was established in September 2019 as a subgroup of the IFA Foundation’s Diversity Institute. Pride Council co-founder Paul Pickett, chief development officer for Wild Birds Unlimited, said the council was formed as a way for the franchise industry “to be active rather than passive, reinforcing the idea that the IFA embraces diversity of all types, including the LGBTQ community.”

When the Franchising Pride Council was established in September 2019, franchising’s leaders came together to promote the initiative. Shown here, from left to right, Catherine Monson, IFA Chair and CEO of Propel Brands; Mark Jameson, Chief Support and Development officer of Propelled Brands; Robert Cresanti, former President and CEO of the IFA; Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire; and Paul Pickett, Chief Development Officer for Wild Birds Unlimited.

The next major goal for the Franchising Pride Council is to develop a strong charter.

Paul Pickett is one of two current leaders of the Franchising Pride Council, which also boasts support from fellow co-founder, Mark Jameson, who is chief

support and development officer at Propelled Brands (an umbrella company that includes FASTSIGNS Inc.). Together with Suzanne Beall, who is vice president of government relations and public policy and counsel for the IFA and Rikki Amos, executive director of IFA’s Educational Foundation, they are working to raise awareness about the council, increase participation and networking opportunities, and define a mission that will enrich the franchising sector’s journey in the diversity, equity and inclusion space.

If you would like to learn more about the Franchising Pride Council or have questions about it, contact Paul Pickett at PickettP@wbu.com.

June/July 2022 29

Life of Ray

W

hen you are a Million Dollar Mentor, your life could look something like The Life of Ray. Ray Pillar, owner of Molly Maid franchise locations in the Chicago area has handed off the day-to-day business to the next generation, and he and his wife, Daisy, spend time in their new “bus” on the road for Pillars of Franchising. As our roving reporter, Ray will let us know what is going on out there, and introduce us to franchisees he meets along the way. Stay tuned for road reporting in our Life of Ray section!

30 Pillars of Franchising

On the Road with Ray and Daisy!

June/July 2022 31

32 Pillars of Franchising

June/July 2022 33

Customer Service

Top 10 First Class HOT Customer Service Tips

N

by Nancy Friedman o matter what type of clientele you service, customer service is critical.

But as we all know, high-end clients for luxury events take a bit more time. While all these tips can be used for every customer, they work especially well for the high-end clients. Not because they have more money, but because they value good service immensely!

1 3

Pick out a few and practice them until you don’t need to think about what you’re saying or doing. It then becomes second nature.

When someone is complaining, use sympathy more than empathy.

Don’t ever argue with the customers. You will lose every round! Don’t even get in the ring with them. The old saying ‘the customer is always right’ is not really true. It should read: The customer always thinks they’re right!

34 Pillars of Franchising

2 4

Say something nice to people you come in contact with in this area. Everyone enjoys a compliment. No need to go overboard. A simple “I like the earrings you’re wearing” or “That’s a great looking watch” could go a long way!

With every transaction, see if you can add some sort of nicety. “Enjoyed working with you,” or “Thank you for staying with us.”

Something that makes them feel special.

5 “ 6 7 8 9 10 Be the first one to say “Hello,” and “Hi, how are you?” is NOT rapport building.

It’s social noise. USE: “Nice to see you,” “Thank you for coming by” or “Thank you for staying with us. ” “Hi, how are you” is nothing/does nothing.

Try keeping the fences low for everyone.

Yes, making all sorts of rules is frustrating to everyone, especially high-end clients.

Review your ‘fences’ now. Are some of your rules unnecessary?

No matter what type of clientele you service, customer service is critical.

If your attitude stinks, change it! No one else can do that for you. And no one wants to work with anyone with a bad attitude. It’s YOUR CHOICE. And don’t ever forget it!

Respond rapidly. No one enjoys waiting. But if you’re serving a high-end class of folks, well, it’s different.

Be prepared. Expect things to happen. Think in front of it. Be prepared is more than the Boy Scouts motto!

Keep that SMILE on your face NO MATTER WHAT. Remember the Telephone Doctor motto – A phony smile is better than a real frown!

Nancy Friedman is a popular speaker in the franchise industry and a highly respected customer service expert. Email: Nancyf@telephonedoctor.com. During COVID, call her cell at 314-276-1012 or office: 314-291-1012 (central time) and visit www.nancyfriedman.com.

Need a company Zoom meeting?

Or a 30-minute RX Shot in the Arm for your team? We’d love to share our tips, ideas, skills and techniques with you and your team.

June/July 2022 35

Leadership

Adapt

by David Kajganich

I

or Fail

Whaaaa…everything is so different now. Why can’t it be the way it always was?

have news for you. Nothing is really all that different; it just seems that way. We fool ourselves into thinking things were better before. Sure, in some ways, it may have been. But, when it comes to team building, it’s the same. I know, I know…people don’t want to work, they are lazy, they have different demands, they want certain things, they have no attention span, yadda, yadda, yadda.

36 Pillars of Franchising

Is that true? Because my Dad’s words are still ringing in my ears from 50 years ago… ”Kids today don’t want to work.” Hmmm…maybe it’s a generational thing? Just a thought…

Let’s get one thing out of the way immediately…THERE ARE GREAT PEOPLE EVERYWHERE, OF ALL AGES. Whew…sorry for yelling…just wanted to get your attention and snap you out of the common narrative.

Is it difficult to find great people? Yes! And…it always has been! This notion that it is a new phenomenon is silly. I have heard managers and owners say it, well, since my dad said that he needed to find someone else to cut the grass better than I did, since I apparent-

Lea There are great people “everywhere, of all ages.

ly couldn’t cut it with perfectly straight lines.

Here’s the thing…it is absolutely up to the owner, manager, leader to adapt to the employee/team. To expect people from different generations to respond to the same things is too simplistic. Never going to happen.

The team I need to build and the skills I need to find are completely different than my previous business. However, the basic principles do cross generations. People will always want to be appreciated and positively recognized for their efforts and respected as valuable members of the team. They will want to know that their leaders care for them and can help them. It is my job to make a connection with them and show them that I care.

It is also my job to realize that the needs of the younger generation are much different than the needs of my generation. This isn’t an industrial worker “do what you’re told” generation.

It’s up to me to adapt, without compromising the values, character traits and skills I want in a superstar high performer. See, the key is to know exactly what you are looking for and hire only those who meet the criteria.

They are out there. And guess

what? They only want to work with others that are at their level.

Many companies hire people without a clear definition of what they are looking for and then try to “change” the employee into what they want. Never going to happen.

I know my life is much easier when the person who applies for the job knows exactly what the mission, core values and purpose of the company are upfront. They need to know the character traits, attributes, culture, and skills we seek. If they know all that and still proceed to interview for the job, then we are on the right track.

However, don’t miss this… that is everything that I want. What about what they want?

Now, it’s up to you to adapt. And you better. By 2025, millennials will make up 75% of the workforce. Gen Z currently makes up the largest percentage of the population. If you are outside of those groups, as I am, you must adapt to them. Because you are competing with them for talent!

And they know what makes each other tick!

I never compromise on what I am looking for. You can’t win the championship with mediocre players.

However, the person I want also has needs of their own. It is my job to meet those needs; whether it is schedule flexibility, performance pay, the opportunity for advancement and growth, being part of something with a higher purpose than just a job, a collaborative environment, etc.

Whatever it is, it is up to me to find it.

Adapt or Fail.

David Kajganich is one of Pillars of Franchising’s Million Dollar Mentors. He began his career in franchising in 1992 when he became the first franchisee for Buffalo Wild Wings. Within the first year, he reached more than one million dollars in revenue, and for nearly three decades, he successfully ran multiple units until he sold the business in 2020. David was also involved as an area director for a quick service sub sandwich concept as well as for a fitness franchise. Through his experiences, he honed his skills in the areas of leadership, performance coaching, influence and persuasion to help franchise owners get the most out of their managers and employees. He is currently a performance coach through his business, Eagle Status Performance, LLC. You can reach David at david@davidkajganich.com.

June/July 2022 37

Pillars of Women

Can Being Unbalanced Help

to Achieve the Elusive State of Balance?

I

by Andrea Mundie

s balance possible for women? We’ve all read articles about the mental load, and how women typically carry more per family unit. The same goes for the average amount of housework per week, with some studies showing women, on average, do up to two hours more housework per day! Then there’s multitasking and the argument of whether women are better multitaskers. Or do they take on the responsibility for more and are conditioned to multitask to keep up? All of this relates to balance, and the constant conversation about how to find it.

38 Pillars of Franchising

Pilla “ And sometimes, the chaos hits…

In thinking about this topic, I had to laugh remembering a friend’s Facebook post from a few years ago: There are two types of people who preach ‘balance’. The ones who have succeeded, forgotten about the hard times, weathered the storms, and earned the right to talk about balance in their lives. They’ve paid their dues.

The second is those who own Startups. They are doing nothing and feeling good about balancing their life!

But her post provoked further thought, because the concept of ‘Balance’ is subjective, and much has been said about the correct and incorrect ways to achieve it.

clear boundaries and time restrictions are an imperative part of them feeling balanced.

I’ve come to embrace this way of managing things because it’s helped me tap into highly effective times of the day and allowed me to leverage ‘slivers’ of time. I leverage the capacity of my brain at its optimal times.

Creative and strategic work is done early in the day when I’m sharp, motivated, caffeinated and optimistic. Administrative and task-related work midday, and then another surge of strategic and brain-powered work at the end of the day. Evenings, my

brain is operating with a low battery, and that’s when I organize the next day or reply to social messages. Flexibility throughout the day, to optimize how my brain functions, allows my workdays to be more effective.

In turn, my non-work time feels more rewarding.

I apply a similar principle of fluidity to my life to feel balanced. A week is a fluid event.

While I focus on meetings and business needs during business hours, I allow for a blending of work, social and personal time.

This is where leveraging ‘slivers’ of time comes in. A full life

I’ve come to realize, after 19 years of running, then exiting my own company, 2 years of consulting and working within many companies, having 4 children, becoming a single parent, and managing a cancer diagnosis and treatment schedule, that being unbalanced…meaning not always carving out specific times for specific parts of my life, is how I prefer to manage the quest for balance. Being what many would call ‘unbalanced’ is okay for me. I enjoy my work, family, and personal life, and feel stressed out and limited by rigidity and routines. For others,

June/July 2022 39

means fitting in healthy habits like exercise can be challenging.

When my brain is tipping into a lull, I go for a 30-minute walk or run to power my thinking or just give my mind time to rest. I use driving time to handle catch-up and social calls with friends. Or I arrange to meet friends while my kids are at sports practices to use these ‘slivers’ versus losing the time sitting in the car waiting or feeling frustrated when I can’t regain the right focus.

ing helps reframe priorities and inspires us to release things that no longer serve us. I let into my personal time some of the work I do because I genuinely love it.

I will find joy in working on some things on a Sunday morning.

And sometimes that means I gain an hour or two later in the week. That flexibility is a balance to me. And I create fluidity between work, social and personal time, which means in general, I feel less unbalanced.

sometimes the very best way to feel balanced is to simply stop and just let go. Go against the instinct to rush, and slow things down one by one. Because what happens during these times, is we learn the world goes on and continues to spin and we accept wholeheartedly that we didn’t get it all done, and everything is absolutely fine.

Perspective is an important part of feeling balanced and feeling balanced is just that -- a feeling.

Much of what we have put in our life is our choice. Remember-

And sometimes, the chaos hits.

All of life’s major events coincide and sleep is lost, in part due to worry about how to get it all done. And in these moments,

Andrea Mundie andrea@coltivarestrategy.com

When we get to that point, we’ve found balance.

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By UniFi Equipment Finance

Leveraging 39 years of experience implementing finance programs for the partners, UniFi has taken a bold new step in adding ease of use to their process.

We are pleased to announce DigitalEdge, a fully digital end-to-end funding program offering franchisees a fast, easy and secure financing experience while offering franchisors a streamedlined process to accelerate development. Digital Edge features DocuSign technology, the global leader in e-signature technology.

RJ Grimshaw CEO, President UniFi Equipment D: 734-794-4250 IM: 315.529.2903 rgrimshaw@teamunifi.com UniFi Equipment Finance, Inc - 3893 Research Park Dr. - Ann Arbor, MI 48108 - T: 800.748.0015 - www.teamunifi.com

40 Pillars of Franchising

Andrea is the Principal of Coltivare Strategy, a Consultancy she founded to help businesses in the areas of Franchising, Retail, Cosmetics/ Beauty, Marketing and Strategic Planning in order to scale efficiently.

She has worked with some of the best brands in Franchising, recently Massage Heights, and is currently Head of Marketing at Woven Brands. Andrea is the former CEO and President of skoah, a Vancouver based skin care company with locations in Canada and the US. She co-founded and co-owned skoah for 19 years, before exiting in January 2021. You can reach her at: andrea@coltivarestrategy.com

PILLARS OF FRANCHISING Looking Forward Coming in August: “Back to School”

www.PillarsOfFranchising.com June/July 2022 41

Contact Us

Let us help you grow your brand. Find out how we can target your next franchise owner.

Contact us at YourFuture@PillarsOfFranchising.com

42 Pillars of Franchising

PILLARS OF FRANCHISING The Dream Starts Here!

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Sponsor

The Journey

of Branding

by Katie Bateman, FranchiseShow247 Let’s start with “What is brand consistency?”

Brand consistency is about keeping the brand image the same and continuing this through the journey of the business. Whether you introduce new marketing strategies, launch new services or products or adapt to trends, the business still needs to remain identical.

44 Pillars of Franchising

Having consistency in your brand is vital, as this provides customers and followers on social media awareness of what the business does, along with creating connections to the audience you are reaching out to.

A story about the brand should be formed by the company to tell customers or potential customers what the brand stands

for. Customers or potential customers should understand the brand and create a journey to encourage them to purchase the business products and services.

Advantages of keeping a strong, consistent brand Brand recognition. If your brand is changing features like fonts, images, themes and messaging,

then it can be difficult for customers to distinguish what your brand is. Having consistency provides a purpose for what you are doing and what you provide.

Brand reliability. Reliability is defined as the quality of being trustworthy or of performing consistently well. Providing a trustworthy presence that performs consistently through the business assets and features such as logo, values of the business and communications. This also includes a consistent performance from the team that works for the business.

Brand Trust. Brand consistency goes further than providing the same logo and messaging and repeating this time and time again on your posts, website, merchandise, etc. It’s more about the understanding of the business and providing connections to the audience you are attracting to form a relationship with the customer and the business brand. People pull towards a brand that they feel content with and have a positive memory of rather than a changing, uncertain brand. A reliable, trustworthy brand means that customers receive a great customer service experience. Customers trust the brand because they know that they’ll get what they want when they need it.

This results in repeat business, and customers recommend the brand to others.

Having an established back-

ground for the basis of the brand provides the business with a foundation to build on.

How to maintain your brand consistency.

Brand strategy is key and building this for the future is vital for a business to grow. Giving customers a familiar brand but not being outdated and working with marketing trends is a method to build a strong brand.

Analyzing the brand includes looking at the business, such as its website, communications, social media accounts and appearance. Do all these reflect your values? Does it clearly explain what you do? Do they reflect what the business stands for? What is the audience saying about the brand and can they recognize you easily from your marketing content and campaigns?

Audience, are you attracting the right target audience? What are they looking for? Are you delivering this in a clear, consistent way via your branding? Who is your audience? The language the brand is using; is this matching your assets? Is your audience connecting with your messaging? All these questions need to be clearly defined and set out.

Brand guidelines are very important in establishing a strong base

“

and a set of guidelines needs to be looked at. Be consistent with: • • • • • • •

Fonts Colors Values Purpose Marketing campaigns Themes How the logo is displayed on the website, social media, printed material, etc.

All these guidelines need to be followed by the team so everyone knows what is expected and what will be implemented with marketing, sales, customer experience and values.

Communications within the team of your company need to be followed by the branding guidelines, communications with a strategic plan and forming a clear understanding of what the brand is all about. Documenting these guidelines and having regular meetings so communication across the team on the branding is reinforced and consistent.

Brand consistency can be difficult but defining the above points and spending time on these is time well spent in creating a strong brand that will grow and be successful.

Having consistency in your brand is vital…

June/July 2022 45

Funding

Top 5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

When Trying To Secure Funding

U

by Kelly Krueger

nfortunately, there’s no easy button for obtaining funding to start a franchise. At Benetrends, we’ve encountered our fair share of horror stories from clients who came to us after having a bad experience somewhere else.

Not only can the process be frustrating and arduous at times, but success is not guaranteed.

46 Pillars of Franchising

Regardless of the type or size of the franchise, the mistakes most entrepreneurs make when securing funding are similar. To help, we’re going to share the most common mistakes we’ve seen to better increase your chances of success.

Fund

Top 5 Small Business Funding Mistakes

1 2 3 4

Not Evaluating All Your Funding Options. Many entrepreneurs come to us dead set on pursuing an SBA loan. While SBA loans do have their place, they aren’t always the best option, especially when there are timeline hurdles.

There are a wide array of funding strategies and options available, and the key is to find one that is the best fit for you based on your timeline, risk tolerance, credit history, background, etc.

Giving Up After Being Rejected by One Bank. We see this ALL the time!

Someone was looking to start a business but was turned down by the bank and was going to give up on their dream of business ownership. What they didn’t realize is that it could just be that bank wasn’t interested in the concept or type of business they were pursuing. All lenders have different credit boxes and appetites for particular concepts, so knowing which lender prefers your “flavor” is vital to ensuring you don’t waste your time on the wrong banks and getting denied repeatedly. Additionally, going back to the first point, just because one bank might reject you doesn’t mean you wouldn’t qualify for other options that may even be a better fit for you.

Waiting to Secure Funding Until You’ve Found the Right Franchise. Ideally, you should look into funding options as early as possible. You can even pre-qualify in advance with some funding providers to determine what types of funding you’d qualify for and for how much. This could help you narrow down your franchise options quickly. In addition, you’ll be able to jump on an opportunity more quickly if you have a funding plan in place. (Benetrends offers a FREE pre-qualification tool on our website to help.)

Underestimating How Much Funding You’ll Need. Undercapitalization is THE MAIN REASON small businesses fail, especially in the current economy.

Most new business owners need more working capital than they anticipate, so making sure you have enough of a buffer to help with any unexpected operating costs is critical.

June/July 2022 47

5

Expecting All Funding Providers to Be the Same. Not all funding providers are equal! Determine which one is the best fit for you by researching and talking to one of their representatives. See how much experience they have, read reviews, identify if they offer more than one type of funding and see what their percentage of success is.

there’s no easy button for “ Unfortunately, obtaining funding to start a franchise.

Conclusion Securing business funding doesn’t have to be elusive, especially if you do your research, find the right funding partner, and avoid common funding mistakes.

About Benetrends: Benetrends Financial has been funding America’s most popular brands for over 35 years. Our innovative, fast and economical suite of funding solutions is designed to help franchisees secure the capital needed to successfully launch their dreams.

Contact us for a complementary funding consultation at benetrends.com/funding-consultation or contact Kelly Krueger at benetrends.com/kelly-krueger.

Kelly Krueger is a Senior Consultant at Benetrends Financial with over a decade of franchise and business funding experience. Benetrends has been a leader in the financial services industry for nearly 40 years, helping entrepreneurs understand their funding options and develop smart capitalization strategies. Kelly has a well-rounded, empathetic approach to assisting her clients.

Prior to her position as a Sr. Consultant, Kelly was a Financial Services Professional with Prudential where she earned the following professional licenses: Series 6, Series 63, Life & Health. She also worked as a Pharmaceutical Specialty Sales Professional for near 14 years for both Schering-Plough and Sanofi-Aventis. Contact Kelly at 267.328.1296 or kkrueger@benetrends.com.

48 Pillars of Franchising

The Dream Starts Here Pillars is now a full-service consulting firm.

We help you select and buy a franchise, grow it to profitability and make your dreams a reality.

If you are a potential or current franchisee, we can help you with: • • • • •

Finding the right franchise Navigating the purchase process Finding a mentor Building a network Reaching your goals

If you are a franchisor, we can help you with: • • • • •

Attracting new franchisees Marketing your business Lead generation Generating visibility Reaching your goals

YourFuture@PillarsOfFranchising.

www.PillarsOfFranchising.com June/July 2022 49

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UniFi/Ervin Leasing has been a proud member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) since our inception in 1978. The two companies share a mission for quality service, strong credit culture and a commitment to build our communities. For more information, visit: www.teamunifi.com

50 Pillars of Franchising

Spadea Lignana Franchise Attorneys Unlike many franchise law firms, we take a balanced approach by representing both franchisees and franchisors (not of the same system of course). By knowing both sides, our franchise attorneys are better able to help our clients navigate difficult issues. We have a deep understanding of the relationship dynamics that underpin all franchise systems. Many of our partners have held senior leadership positions for national franchise brands and some were franchisees themselves. That experience has proven invaluable in advocating on behalf of clients. We know franchising and we can help.

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Telephone Doctor Years back, Nancy Friedman phoned her insurance agent and said, “Cancel all my policies!” She was upset after repeated episodes of poor customer service. So, the agent invited Nancy to teach his staff how to improve their telephone skills. Combining the service techniques pioneered at an earlier startup business with the presentation skills acquired from a background in professional theatre, Nancy’s customer service training program proved to be extremely popular. Word spread and after a series of Fortune 500 corporations hired her, a company was formed to market these skills and techniques.

Nancy began delivering workshops to corporations and associations across North America. Today, ServiceSkills and Telephone Doctor® are both respected brands in the corporate learning space. We’ve helped over 30,000 organizations improve the Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSat) of their Customer Service Reps, Help Desk Staff, Call Center Agents, Tech Support Staff and other team members. Learn more at www.telephonedoctor.com

June/July 2022 51

Questions from the Audience

Questions

from the Audience

T

he Pillars of Franchising show airs live every Thursday at 4:00 CT/5:00ET. Because we are a live show, we encourage viewers to call in and ask questions of our guests or our Million Dollar Mentors. Going forward, we will feature some of your

questions in every issue of the magazine.

If you have questions during one of our shows, we welcome you to call in during showtime at 323-580-5755 or email us ahead of time at yourdream@pillarsoffranchising.com

What are some of the best growing franchise verticals to buy?

vertical is now expanding into a lot of other personal care things like cryotherapy and new medical services.

Kristin Selmeczy: Right now, I know we’ve talked in the past about looking at service businesses because there is such low overhead and a growing demand including personal services, home improvement services, etc.

Jerry Akers: I agree that personal services is one of the fastest-growing and, honestly, we don’t see any end in sight to growth on that side. We are a society that loves our stuff. We love to get massages and we love to get chiropractic care. We love nails and hair and you know, the whole thing. That

52 Pillars of Franchising

KS: We don’t like cleaning our own house. We don’t like doing our own plumbing. Those categories are not going away. They’re going to continue to grow. There is also a lot of moving going on in the United States. So I think anything related to moving and shipping is going to be something that will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

And, while Fred gets grumpy when I talk about it, food is not going away. We’re going to continue to eat. We’re going to want new things to eat. I watch that really closely.

Do you have tips on reducing liability workers’ comp insurance?

What is the biggest issue you have faced in running multiple locations?

KS: I have probably one of the lowest rates in our group in the Chicago market for our workers’ comp. We fall under residential home care cleaning. We have also run under the janitorial code before. A ton of training goes into how to work safely and how to protect their backs, avoid slipand-falls, etc.

JA: I think running multiple locations is pretty easy.

So, I will tell you the thing that I think people have to pay attention to is keeping everything the same.

It’s like a franchisor does, except you’re a franchisee with multiple locations. Make sure every location feels like you’re paying attention to them.

You don’t want to be portrayed as liking the location closer to you more than the one farthest away.

Make sure you keep your culture where it needs to be. We do a lot of virtual meetings and we’ve got private Facebook pages for each of our organizations. I can create short video snippets and post them to keep everybody’s momentum going and keep them excited about what they’re doing.

JA: You also have to make sure that you work with your employees if they get hurt. Go to them right away and find out what the problem is. Is it something that can be dealt with by using first aid versus, going in an ambulance? You have to start with understanding how that system works. It is primarily based on occurrences. So you want to try and limit the number of times people get in situations where you have an occurrence where somebody gets injured. Slip and fall is one of the worst accidents in hair care. They get spray conditioners and things in hair that fall on the floor and they can slip on that. They can trip over things, slide on hair, that’s on the floor, all kinds of things.

And what many people don’t understand is they also cut themselves quite often with those sharp shears. We had a situation where we just had the, go directly to the emergency room and get stitched up because we’ve found that’s the lowest cost way to do it.

Preventative measures are important. We make sure they’re cleaning the floor quite often and they’re paying attention to what they’re doing. We try not to let them get tired because when they get tired, things happen. So, taking breaks. In my opinion, you manage it by first understanding it.

There are logistical things to consider. For instance, if you’re running multiple locations, you have to have a bank in each of those locations.

The bank that you use may not have branches there. So you have to set up sweep accounts with a local bank. So you all the money’s deposited and swept into your account, wherever it might be. You have to deal with different utilities and all those landlords. Hiring can be a little bit dicey because if you’re not in that market, you either have to do it virtually or have a general manager there that does it.

In my business, we’re about 10 hours from one end of our market to the other by car. We are scattered over two states. So, we don’t have a bunch of them in one location. Frankly, we don’t see it as a real issue. In fact, I’d recommend from a diversification standpoint, having multiple locations because different markets (blue-collar, white-collar and gray-collar markets) experience an economic impact on those three categories differently. That way, you’ve got a nice balance and ebb and flow between all of them. So, I think there are way more positives than negatives.

June/July 2022 53

Million Dollar Minute

Top 10 Things You Should Do

When Buying a Franchise

by Elizabeth Denham This month we asked the mentors the what people who are looking for a franchise should do. Here are their answers courtesy of Million Dollar Mentor David Kajganich!

1. Contact Pillars of Franchising to get a mentor!

2. Look for a business that fits the lifestyle you want.

3. Determine the amount of support, growth and financial strength of the Franchisor.

4. Contact current Franchisees.

5. Review the FDD and complete thorough due diligence of the Franchisor.

6. Determine the longevity of the industry in the marketplace.

7. Find a great real estate broker.

8. Understand the capital requirements and exceed them.

9. Plan to exceed the initial marketing requirements.

10. Be honest with yourself regarding your management and leadership abilities.

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805.202.8127 June/July 2022 55

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