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A Wiser Retirement®
228. How to Choose the Right Franchise with Jon Ostenson
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Unlock the secrets to successful franchising with our special guest, Jon Ostenson, CEO of FranBridge Consulting and former president of Shelf Genie. Jon joins Casey Smith on the episode and shares his journey from the corporate world to franchising. He reveals the untapped potential of non-food franchises, which often boast lower startup costs and higher profit margins. They delve into the appeal of semi-passive franchise models and why aligning your personal interests with your business endeavors is crucial for long-term success.
Related Podcast Episodes:
- Ep 176: Tips to Grow and Scale Your Small Business
- Ep 138: Making Your Business Less Dependent on You
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- How to Reduce Taxable Income as a Business Owner
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- What should succession planning for a small business include?
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This podcast was produced by Wiser Wealth Management. Thanks for listening!
Welcome to the Wiser Retirement Podcast, where we believe the best financial advice should always be conflict-free. I'm your host, casey Smith, guiding you to financial freedom. Today is my co-host, john Ostenson. John is the CEO of FanBridge Consulting and former president of Shelf Genie, and today we're going to talk about franchising. So, john, thanks, for I don't know if we reached out to you. If you reached out to us, you're just here in front of me and I love talking about business. So, welcome to the Wiser Retirement Podcast. Glad you're here.
Speaker 2Casey, thanks for having me Love talking about the F word franchise, and what I found is when people say franchise, people think fast food, right, or maybe a hotel. But there's so many other opportunities that I know we'll dig into today. So excited to be with you. And yeah, just a quick blurb on my background. Like so many of your listeners, I spent many years in the corporate world with larger companies, had the desire to do something more entrepreneurial, step out on my own, kind of stumbled into franchising about eight years ago there on the franchisor side and that's when I had the light bulb moment where I saw all these different backgrounds getting involved in franchising and therefore business ownership. We helped them connect the dots and support them and really fell in love with the model and love helping other entrepreneurs and investors get plugged in.
Speaker 1So tell me how you got started in franchising. What was the because you said you were in corporate world. At some point you got tired of the rat race and you did what.
Speaker 2Yeah, no, it was with Accenture. And then grad school Went with Carter's Oshkosh Pagosh for many years and after a really good run and you know, could have done that forever. But I wanted to do something more entrepreneurial, stumbled into Shelf Genie through some mutual contacts, had the opportunity to come in, serve as their president, really supporting our operations day in, day out. All of these you know newly minted business owners all across North America and you know, really, as I said, that's where I fell in love with the model. But you know, long story short, I ended up partnering with the founder of Shelf Genie. We spun off, we've invested in franchises together on the franchisee side and you know I've got good people running my businesses. And allows me to spend most of my time helping other entrepreneurs and investors around the country get plugged into franchising and understand what their options are and how to go about finding the right one. And how to go about finding the right one.
Speaker 1So one of the things you talk about is you're in non-food franchises versus food. So what's the difference? Obviously, I understand one has food and one doesn't, but is there a structural difference? Is there a time commitment difference? Why do we distinguish this way?
Speaker 2Yeah, you know, a lot of guys do really well with food, and you know. But I think there are easier ways to make money. That's been my experience and that's my background. Where most of our clients come from is, hey, we want anything but food and some of the reasons and I'll say we need the food guys, we support them. But there are easier ways to make money in that oftentimes you have less capital expenditures on the front end, you're less susceptible to consumer whims Think frozen yogurt, that was big until it wasn't Oftentimes fewer employees, less operating hours and a little less trendy and such.
Speaker 2So you also don't have the food waste and therefore you oftentimes get higher margins in other industries. So, again, there are guys that do really well with food. But I think that some of these other categories whether it be home and property services or health and wellness or you know things like kids, pets, seniors, things that, regardless the economy people are going to spend on, you know that are a little more needs based in nature. That's just where we see most of the interest today.
Speaker 1Do you? You see non-food as being more passive. Is that what you're thinking?
Speaker 2You know we certainly have opportunities to gear themselves towards more passive, and that's a big topic. There are only a couple that are truly passive, where the franchisor essentially runs it for you. But the nice thing is with franchising and a lot of these industries that we cover, there is that potential for semi-passive, where you're not buying yourself a job. Now I don't want to ever sugarcoat it. It still takes a lot of work to stand up a business right, whether it be franchised or non-franchised. Certainly with a franchise you start on third base. You've got a lot more figured out stepping into it. But you know that semi-passive or executive models we oftentimes call it if you have a good operator that you put in place, that franchise worker can really be a great support mechanism for their day-to-day needs, and so it takes some of the burden off of you, as you know. As the owner, you know the buck still stops with you, but you get a whole lot of support and allows you to either keep that day job or keep your eye on your current business.
Speaker 1So the you know I had this conversation with people not, I would say, frequently, but not, not, not real frequently. But it starts off with I want to own a business, or I just want to buy a franchise and I need to find one that has, you know, could generate some good cashflow. What I never hear is I have an interest in this and I found a franchise that does this. So what is the proper way to be searching for a franchise opportunity?
Speaker 2Yeah, we certainly have some clients, like you know. I think of a real estate broker recently that has a good size team that came to us and said hey, I'm interested in getting into property management. Do I get started on my own or should I buy a franchise? And ultimately he bought the franchise that we introduced him to and it's done very well with it. But I'd say, for the vast majority of people probably over 90% they come to us and say, hey, john, I live in Omaha and you know, I don't know what my market needs, I don't know what I'm interested in, you know, but I'd love to get your thoughts on it, and so what I'll come back to them with is hey, you know, after doing a little bit of research to check on a few things around availability, if I were in your shoes, based on what you've shared with me, based on your background, based on the role you're looking at taking the business, here are the top 10 or so opportunities that are available in Omaha that I would want to be looking at if I were you.
Speaker 2And you know, we certainly hit on different industries. But the benefit is we work with over 600 franchise brands and we see firsthand the franchisors, that leadership team. We see their track record, not only industry experience, we also want to see franchise experience, the financial models, the competitive advantages, all those types of things filter into how we evaluate them.
Speaker 1So basically you have a book and you go to a zip code and you say hmm, this is what is missing in this space. Perhaps we could open up this type of franchise. Do I have that correct?
Speaker 2It's a tag team approach and so we would know that that franchise doesn't have a presence there. I mean, you're always going to have mom and pop competition and different fragmented industries there in the market, but it's really kind of a tag team. The franchisor is going to help you understand who is the competition. How do we compete against them? You know, what I'm looking at primarily is, hey, assuming there's no seasonality component to where you live and such, has this business done well in similar markets across the US and does it align well with your investment range and what you're looking to do? You know, but I don't try to be too prescriptive in guessing which one out of the 10. Oftentimes, the three that I would have guessed they would choose to talk to end up being a totally different three.
Speaker 1Interesting. Ok, so it doesn't a lot of franchising or your. Your ability to choose a franchise doesn't have a lot to do with how much money, how much capital you have initially.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's a wide range of investment opportunities. Certainly we have some clients that are getting into seven-figure deals, but most of those that we work with when you look at the franchise fee, the startup cost and several months of working capital built into an all-in investment range, oftentimes they're in the call 150,000 to 300,000 range and some are using cash to fund it. Most are using cash plus leverage via an SBA loan. Sba lenders love franchising because it's more predictable. Obviously Some are using an old retirement plan, which you're probably familiar with this program, the ROBS program where they can roll over their 401k or IRA and set up a business as a C-Corp, purchase the business that way and then pay themselves a salary. So different ways of getting involved, but that's directionally where we see it.
Speaker 1Okay, and then what would you say? Is the average age of the person? Do you see young people doing this, or is it more post-career people looking to have an entrepreneurship streak? Or who's your normal clientele?
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, I've got a 24-year-old client that's been incredibly successful up in North Carolina. But the sweet spot, I'd say, where most of the people are, is somewhere in the mid-30s to mid-50s, where you know they know enough to be dangerous. They don't want to go work for someone else. Again, through the interview process, they say I want to build my own empire instead of someone else's. And so you know, for a lot of them, maybe their first time stepping into business ownership.
Speaker 2But, like I said, we do have a lot of existing business owners too that say, hey, I'm looking to either complement or diversify my current business and maybe franchising is worth looking at. Some of those are too entrepreneurial and I have to tell them that, hey, you would want to put your thumbprint all over everything and this isn't going to be the right fit. But the majority of them say, hey, john, we know the hard work that goes into figuring out your technology stack and optimizing your marketing and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah procurement. We would much rather start on third base. To be cliche, you know where it's all about going out and executing. And oftentimes they may have a young employee or a young guy in their church or what have you that they say hey, I want to give them some responsibility and kind of coach them and let them lead the charge.
Speaker 1Right. So what is you mentioned? Sba. So, other than SBA, is there any other route for financing?
Speaker 2Yeah, there are certainly some non-SBA loans. We work with a couple of providers on those, but I'd say SBA is most common and you can always pay that back early. But no, there are definitely some non-SBA opportunities. And then we have some clients that will use a margin loan against their portfolio or they'll use the HELOC. You know different ways to tap into funds.
Speaker 1Yeah, okay uh there, the ones that I've run into in in my experience have have have been very franchise or happy contracts, like basically they're going to get all this money up front before you get to make your money, and or or they're over promising and you start doing the math and you're like man, you gotta, you gotta have to go, you're going to go, and you're like man, you're going to have to go repair 30 car windshields a day to make 80 grand a year, and I don't know if that's the kind of work you want to be doing. What are some things to look out for in a bad franchise?
Speaker 2Yeah, absolutely. And just like any industry, you're going to have good players and you're going to have those you don't want to align yourself with. I mean, it's in every industry and that's certainly true in franchising as well, and that's where we come in to try to help our clients. So kind of hitting on your two questions there. One our whole exploration process is designed so that you really go in eyes wide open. So it's not just the FDD document that you read ahead of time, but it's also which stands for franchise disclosure document. You get to talk to other owners within their system that are living a day in, day out, asking them about their ramp up and their experience and what they would do differently. You know you're going to get a lot of presentations given to you on different topics. You know, technically, all the numbers in that FDD have to be ticked and tied by an outside accounting firm, but sometimes it may be a small sample size and if that's the case then I say hey, let's take a conservative approach in our performance.
Speaker 2As far as the FDD goes, the legal piece of it it is. You read it you say gosh, this is the most one-sided document in the franchise's worst favor. But I always encourage my clients to think, ask the question why, as you go through it, most of the provisions in there will A never come to pass. But the franchisor doesn't want them. It's to protect them. So if you bought that franchise in Omaha, well, if you're a neighbor in Kansas city besides, they're going to run the brand you know off the rails and that's going to end up hurting you.
Speaker 2You would want that franchisor to be able to step in and, after a lot of coaching, take back the franchise rights from them or come in and run. That Franchisor is not looking to come operate in your market. The only case they would do that is maybe if there was a national account that they need to preserve that relationship and you just haven't been receptive to coaching over time. So, yeah, I think understanding the why behind a lot of provisions in there helps you read it and understand better. As a former franchisor myself, I wanted to keep my franchisees happy. If I ticked off one or two of them, they'd talk to their buddies and all of a sudden I had a whole bunch of headaches and a really bad day, so a good franchisor is going to be looking to serve their franchisees and make them successful, because the better they do, the better they do.
Franchise Resale and Exit Strategies
Speaker 4Are you curious why annuities keep coming up as a potential investment option? People are often told that annuities can effectively mitigate investment risks and help secure their financial future. However, annuities often benefit the salesperson and might not be the best choice for you as a consumer. To learn more about the various types of annuities, the negatives of owning them and better investment alternatives, we have a free ebook on our website just for you To download our ebook. Buyer, beware, why Do they Keep Trying to Sell you that Annuity? Simply click the link in the episode notes or visit wiserinvestorcom slash guides. Now let's get back to the episode.
Speaker 1So as you build a franchise up, you should be able to resell it. In most agreements that you look at, are you selling back to the franchisor or are you selling to another third party? That has to be approved by the franchisor. What's the exit strategy on these?
Speaker 2Private equity loves franchising. You do see some cases where they'll come in and buy individual locations. I can cite examples of that. Come in and buy individual locations. I can cite examples of that. But for the most part you're selling to another prospective franchisee. You would want the franchisor to have to approve them right Again to protect you from someone else reselling theirs. The franchisor's interest is for the continuity of that location. So unless this guy's a true knucklehead, I mean they're going to likely approve them. I don't see that as an issue too often.
Speaker 2A very natural exit strategy is to sell to adjacent franchisees or others within the system. I've personally sold to other franchisees. I've also bought from other franchisees to expand my footprint. So it is nice to have a natural exit and there's been research done in some studies that show that in like-kind industries franchises actually traded a higher multiple than non-franchised businesses in those same industries. So you know, I think there's value to a reseller because if you're going in and buying an existing franchise location, you know there can always be changes. You know day one you could lose a couple of key employees. You know, whenever you have a change in ownership let's say any business I think they take comfort in knowing that there's someone on the sidelines, that franchisor is supporting them and they're not in it all by themselves.
Speaker 1When you're going through the franchise selection process, are you coaching people? As you get to know people, do you find yourself yourself saying this wouldn't be the best fit for you, or are you just kind of letting people figure this out on their own?
Speaker 2Yeah, you know, I think it's a balance between the two. You know most of my clients want to know my perspective because I've seen a lot and I've been very blessed to actually do more placements than anybody in the country the last couple of years. So I just get to see so much and I've been a franchisor. I am a franchisee so I'm definitely offering up those perspectives. I will have clients sometimes that are headstrong, that want to. You know they're the smartest guy in the room and you kind of have to step aside let them do their thing. But by and large most of our clients are very receptive to feedback and looking to me to be that guide and coach for them.
Speaker 1What are some of the biggest challenges? You see, if you're either choosing or, just even after you've made the choice and you've started a franchise, you've decided to go down this path. What are some things that you think that that people are surprised about?
Speaker 2Yeah, I always tell folks that if you think it's going to take 10 hours a week running a semi-absentee, it's probably going to take 15. Early on it may even take 20. You know, I think there's. I think sometimes people go in thinking that hey, because it's an executive model, I'm not going to have to put much time in. And there are a few where you really don't have to put much time in. But by and large you're probably spending a little bit more time than you think. It may take a little bit longer to ramp up.
Speaker 2That's why I always want us to be conservative in our performance. I mean getting a business off the ground. You know there's a lot that goes into that, you know, but for the most part, just like with any business, I'd say, and the personnel side of it, right. You know, if you've got a great operator in there, life sees him. I've got think of a client that does about $40 million a year in revenue across six franchise brands. He owns about 30 different licenses in, you know, I think, 10 or 11 states. Every year he comes to me and says hey, john, let's do another franchise deal together. I've got a young guy that I want to promote to go run this. Well, he's not involved in the day to day, right, but I think early on you know for people, until you find good operators, you have to lean in a little bit more.
Speaker 1Yeah, ok, that makes sense. When you look at franchises and you think, you see, the business landscape is really changing. There's more online now than there were 10, 15 years ago. You think about AI and its role. I mean, that's a whole new industry. I get emails every day hey, let us come into your firm, and I have all kinds of great ideas of how AI can solve problems. For me, problem is the data is all in India or Pakistan and I'm like, yeah, not ready yet. We need to do this internally. We can't let our just go out there. But are there anything? Is there anything new that you've seen that you're super excited about that? This is a little different than than maybe what we're traditionally used to in franchising.
Speaker 2You know certainly I'd say some of the ones just to you know that we've seen the most action in recently. You know it's businesses that I'm invested in one of these in Minneapolis myself, but it's a business that does concrete paving and line striping. I mean talk about non-sexy niches, businesses like containment walls, where it's almost more of an equipment rental business around construction and renovation sites, little niches, dumpsters, insulation, which is a $50 billion industry, highly fragmented. Most people can't name a brand. So it's things like that. It's men's health, it's mental health. You know health and wellness is on everyone's mind these days. It's in-home senior care. And then I just had some clients in Boise that came back after buying an in-home senior care business with us last fall. They just purchased a business that does wheelchair ramps and stair lifts and mobility solutions within a restaurant bathroom, for instance. So, um, you know, a great compliment to that business.
Speaker 2But I think people want to age in place. What are those macro dynamics that are going on? You know everyone got a pet during covid. You know that they're always going to be needs, needs. We've had clients do very well with dog training. People are always going to spend on their kids. You know youth soccer. We've placed six or seven clients there. They've all come back and bought additional locations, have done very well. So you know it's a wide variety and what I found kind of to your question earlier over 90 percent of our clients end up choosing something that was never on their radar. So it's I really enjoy the validation of seeing them have that light bulb moment running with the idea and then when they come back buy additional locations or additional brands. It gets me excited.
Speaker 1It's interesting, I tell my kids all the time you go to college, you get a degree in something and people are going to push you to be a doctor or a lawyer, a financial guy, all these traditional things. But from my position, I work with hundreds of families and I see where wealth is generated and typically has very little to do with anything related to college. Now, all my kids are going to college. But the point is, when you say concrete, I mean yeah, we have a family here that does concrete work and he does some really cool projects. This is big boy stuff, like raising interstates, that kind of that kind of that kind of stuff, right, and um, uh, it's amazing how much revenue he he generates from that. But you just need to understand how to operate a business and you know, does this franchising help you do that? Because you can have. Here's my fear. My fear is that someone buys a franchise that buys themselves a job.
Speaker 1We talked about Michael Gerber earlier in the e-myth. They had this entrepreneurial seizure. They buy themselves a job. How do you coach them into? Hey, you have to learn how to run and scale and grow this thing. You don't buy it and then clients just show up right. You still got to be a salesperson. You still got to get there and move the brand right yeah.
Speaker 2It absolutely can be a job For most people, though they understand that, coming in, you put that business owner hat on instead of that employee hat. You're buying an asset that's going to once you run it well, it's going to cash flow. You're going to have an exit one day. So you're not just you know you couldn't do that in a normal W-2 job, right, but you also get tax strategies. I mean, the fact is, the tax codes run in favor of business owners and real estate investors, and so there's so many things you can do against an active income expense standpoint when you own a business on the side. It can really be a big help that way. So that's one thought. As far as those that are most successful in franchising, I say it's two things. It's not your background or your experience. Obviously, some of that can help, but most of our clients are getting into things they have no background in Doctors getting into. We just had one. You've got to be good with people right To be in business in general. You've got to be someone that people want to work for, somebody that people want to work with, and then, secondly, follow the system.
Speaker 2I had some clients recently. I keep talking about home services here, but it was a gutter business, which is a $6 billion a year industry. It's not gutter cleaning, it's gutter installs. Well, I've had 10 clients purchase this business. One of them did 1.3 million in their very first year. I've had clients do very, very well, but I did have a client that decided to go out of business. Every now and then that happens, not very often, but in his case I spoke with the CEO of the franchise and said what happened.
Speaker 2You know all my other clients are doing well. He said John, we've come in, We've coached him, We've done everything we can. He won't follow the system. He just doesn't listen. And so it sounds cliche, but when I was at Shelf Genie and I looked across all of our owners running the same business across different markets in the US, our best franchisees were the ones that followed the system.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah. So a true entrepreneur probably is not going to want to listen to other people telling them what to do. So you're an entrepreneur, but at the same time, you're willing to follow the mold of those who figured this out prior to you. So I think that's a good takeaway there. You're not going in to be your own boss necessarily. I mean, we all have bosses. I have thousands of bosses. Right, it's the client, but it's the. Yeah, you got to be able to play well in the sandbox.
Speaker 2Exactly, and a good franchisor is going to give you some leeway to innovate, try new things, yeah, but by and large you're going in, you're executing.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, interesting. Okay, so what? Can you tell me, what your favorite one is? What's your favorite franchise?
Speaker 2My favorite one.
Speaker 1There's one, yeah, this is just me thinking is that I get up in the morning and I'm super excited about making a difference in people's lives as a fee only advisor. That's not selling crap to its clients, right. It's like we're actually making a difference. I get excited about that. But if I had to get up in the morning and I had I knew that I had 10 annuities. I had to go sell, and I don't care who I sold them to, just the system only works for me. If I sell my 10 annuities, I would be miserable. Yes, I wouldn't do it for one, but two. It'd be a miserable experience. So there's got to be something you're passionate about. Obviously, it's connecting people with franchises. That's your business, right. But for you personally, is there one that, as far as running a franchise, you, you, you would, you would say is is this, is this is top of my list?
Speaker 2Yeah, you know I love the in-home care senior space. You know. I just think that that's a way that you can truly serve and get back, and obviously there's, you know, if we could, financial returns too. But we had probably a dozen clients last year around the country that bought into in-home senior care and I mentioned the ones that do the wheelchair ramps and stair lifts as well. There's so many businesses that are complementary to that, where it's just more ways to serve and you're getting involved in the community. You know, certainly if you want to get involved in the Chamber of Commerce or sponsor, you know local teams I mean, just again, the out there.
Speaker 2But with the in-home care I mean there's a business that I'm invested in on the franchise or site that's actually based out of Marietta, art of Drawers, which is custom-pulled-out shelving for your kitchens and pantries. Our target demographic is on the older side and it's providing accessibility solutions, helping people age in place, have access to things in their kitchen and pantries, and people love that product. It just puts a smile on their face. You could say that's a little more discretionary, but it's a niche business. It's probably a $60 million industry in the US and they do a good chunk of that.
Franchising
Speaker 1So yeah, I love the niches, I love kind of the macro trends around areas where you're able to serve people, like in-home. What common mistakes do you think that new franchisees make?
Speaker 2Yeah, I think not following the system and maybe underestimating the time that they'll need to put into the business.
Speaker 1Okay, and what was the best advice you have for people looking to get into this?
Speaker 2Yeah, you know, first off, it's entirely free to work with us. I'm essentially a real estate broker, but for franchises we simply get a referral fee on the backend. None of that's passed on to our clients. So you know, really there's no downside to getting off the couch and starting to learn and educating yourself. I'd say come out, order our book.
Speaker 2Feel free to order our book Non-Food Franchising, or I'll give a free copy to all of your listeners too, if they reach out. There's a link below. It's a great primer. It'll help you fill in the gaps in understanding how franchising works, what's going on on the franchise landscape today. So I'd say, take a step. I always say activity breeds activity and I think when you start moving towards option A or option B, that's when option C comes out of left field and surprises you. So yeah, I encourage people. Just take your first step, educate yourself and find out what so many other entrepreneurs and investors are doing. I mean, we've never seen so much interest in what we're doing and I think there are a lot of macro reasons for it.
Speaker 1Yeah, we have a little over. It's growing. Now it's probably greater than a third of our client base are airline pilots and, yeah, a lot of guys. It's very lucrative to pick up extra trips right now, but a lot of them don't and I'd say being an airline pilot is the best part-time job a person can have, especially right now. So this fits well with something that they would be doing and immediately I thought about are you talking about just more blue car type things? But fencing, temporary fencing Is there a franchise for temporary fencing?
Speaker 2Temporary walls around containment sites for renovations and such, but we've had clients do very well in traditional fencing as well. So, yeah, okay, gosh, it's those businesses you don't think of until you see them in front of you.
Speaker 1It's like exactly yeah, exactly, I love that. I'm trying to think of, uh, trying to think of others. Um, you know the people around here at least in Marietta, where we're based, we have, I think, three or four, uh like rock and rock yards. You know you can come and get different types of rock stone. Uh is, is that something that ever gets franchised, or is that pretty much a local thing where people are just sourcing from the local quarry and and and wood?
Speaker 2shop. You know, yeah, I haven't seen that one in particular. Uh, out there on the market. Um, yeah, but you will have some that are, you know, unique. Um, there's so many, just little niches out there, and when you think about like entertainment or family related, um, there's a lot oh, the jumpy houses.
Speaker 1I see those all the time.
Speaker 2I wonder if that's a franchise yeah, they're jumpy houses, they're, they're photo booths.
Speaker 3You know, I have a client in Marietta.
Speaker 2I don't do food often right we talked about that but I do have one that's done very well with donut trucks, donut food trucks and super high margins, because there's very little food waste and you're selling high margin items like coffee, lemonade. You know the donut batter doesn't go bad for a year. There's a viewing window. They make the donuts right in front of you. There's some novelty to it, right?
Speaker 1Yeah, it's done. Well, that's cool. Now are they driving themselves, or they put somebody in there to work at.
Speaker 2Yeah, put someone in there. And you know you typically have two employees. You know sometimes occasionally just one, but you know you can take these to events, to high school football games, to carnivals, but you can also just leave them parked outside an outlet mall. Up 75, you've got some of those.
Speaker 1In small towns. I go to a lot of small towns In small towns. Many years ago we all lost Radio Shack. That was where we went for local electronics. Every time I'm in Starkville, mississippi, or I'm up in Highlands, north Carolina, and I forget my Apple charger. I'm like there should be a small electronic store that just is in every small town and obviously it didn't work because the internet can deliver it, but Amazon takes two days to deliver. I needed it yesterday. Do you see any franchises around tech at all? Is any of that emerging?
Speaker 2Yeah, there's some that will buy back your tech. More of a reseller type play um. You know, like the buyer used iphones, there's certainly some that will fix your iphone or what have you, I don't see to me they're pure play retail where it's, you know again, because you can get it from amazon same day these days, so um not in rural towns, not in rural towns most of our clients like things that won't be disruptive. But in a rural town you probably don't have the population base to support a business either.
Speaker 1You know, so sometimes you have to have a large territory right to support it.
Speaker 2So you know, the franchise order looks at all the demographics at the zip code level to make sure that you're going into a market that you should be set up for success in.
Speaker 1That's cool. Well, what is your web address? How do our clients find you if they're interested in learning more about franchising?
Speaker 2Come out to franbridgeconsultingcom that's F-R-A-N. Bridgeconsultingcom. You should have a pop-up there. Leave your email address and we'll reach out with multiple options for downloading our book, and then, if you'd like to take the next step again, it's entirely free to work with us. I'd be happy to jump on a call and we can share some thoughts back and forth and see if it makes sense to take more steps.
Speaker 1All right, john, thank you for your time today and helping us learn more about franchising it's I guess I do have one last question as we head out here the benefit. What's the benefit of doing franchising versus if you just start the business on your own?
Speaker 2Yeah, you know, I said it before but you start on third base, and what I mean by that is you know you've got marketing that's already somewhat optimized because it's been run in other markets. You know that they're going to be running for you. You may have that supply chain. You're buying in bulk, whether it be for services or product. You've got a coach on the sidelines in that franchise or you've got other franchisees, you know. So there's some community there where you're exchanging best practices and learnings.
Speaker 2You know, I think that you know, over time, you know that brand you know may be recognizable, but I'd say it's less about the brand, it's more about the support that you're getting. It's more about the support that you're getting. It's more about, um, you know again, being in business for yourself, but not by yourself, having that support mechanism. You know, yeah, you pay a royalty back to the franchise, or, but in most cases those are for things that you would be paying for anyway as a small business owner. It's just that it's being funneled through the franchise war. So, yeah, I think for anyone that's looking to get into business ownership, it's at least worth it to take a look at franchising and see if it might be a fit Sounds good. Thanks again, john, enjoyed it. Casey, thank you.
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