September 25, 2024 • 34 mins
Are you dreaming of an early retirement but unsure how to make it a reality? In this episode of Retirement Without Numbers™, we dive into the transformative power of franchising as a pathway to financial freedom and a fulfilling retirement.
Join us as we chat with Linda Belford, a former healthcare professional who made the leap from burnout to becoming a successful franchise owner. Linda shares her journey of retiring at 52 and how franchising not only provided her with financial security but also gave her the purpose and control she craved.
Whether you’re considering a career shift, exploring franchise opportunities, or looking for ways to make your retirement more meaningful, this episode is packed with valuable insights and actionable advice. Tune in and get inspired to take control of your next chapter!
Entrepreneur Profile: : www.frannet.com/lmbelford/cq
Link to get in touch with Linda: https://linktr.ee/lmbelford
Visit us at www.myplankeeper.ai
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to my podcast and leave me a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Also, discover how MyPlanKeeper™ and our AI assistant Grace™ can help you plan a life you love with a plan you understand. Sign up now for exclusive access to Grace™ and take the first step towards a secure and fulfilling retirement.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Have you ever seen someone work their whole life,
save every penny and then retire, only to feel lost without a
sense of purpose?
Well, I've witnessed it toomany times People who follow the
traditional path, investing andsaving for decades, only to
enter a retirement feeling moreburned out than ever, unsure of
(00:34):
who they are or what they'resupposed to do next.
They really thought they werepreparing for the future, but
what they didn't realize is that, without a plan or for how you
want to live your life, thatfuture can feel pretty empty.
If you've ever worried thatthis could be you, if you're
(00:56):
wondering how to avoid that trapand create a retirement that's
truly fulfilling, that doesn'thave to start at age 65.
You need to listen to thisepisode.
I'm talking with Linda Belfort,who made the bold move to go
from healthcare to take controlof her retirement and design a
life that wasn't just aboutfinancial security, and she
(01:18):
didn't wait until she was shehit that mark of retirement to
do this.
She focused on living fully.
She's been where you might beheaded, so she's got some real
insights on how to make surethat your retirement is
everything that you've hoped forthrough franchising.
And if franchising was never onyour radar.
(01:42):
Just listen to what we have tosay and take notes.
So let's dive in.
This is an episode that Irecommend you take notes and
it's going to open your mind.
Linda actually went from themedical field to being a
professor, to being a franchiseowner when she retired to now.
(02:09):
She changes lives of manyretirees, one person at a time,
with her consulting business andI am going to welcome her to
retirement without numbers.
Linda, so happy to have youhere.
Thank you, it's a pleasure tobe here.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
You were part of corporate like an organization,
correct, I was a part of ahealthcare system in Michigan
and I started out there as aclinician and ended up as a
service line administrator sokind of like corporate America
and then as that administrator Iwas dealing with nursing staff,
physicians, regulatory entities.
(02:48):
I was just like losing my mindand that's how I it's kind of
how I made the transition.
It was during a time wherehospitals were laying off a lot
of people, but my reward foralways getting things done and
making sure we were accreditedand having good relationships
with third party payers andphysicians, my reward for that
(03:08):
was that every time someone waslaid off, I got more
responsibility.
So we've gotten to the pointwhere I was covering my service
line and two others with noadditional pay, no additional
compensation.
Bonuses were slim at that timebecause health care was
struggling and I was like Ican't keep doing this.
(03:29):
I was carrying, at that time,pagers.
I was carrying three differentpagers 24-7.
Both of my parents were elderlyand I'm just like I can't do
this.
I need more control, I needmore time for myself and I need
to get the heck out of healthcare because I was spending to
become a franchise owner.
I have family members who ownfranchises.
(04:08):
My sister and brother-in-lawwere in the McDonald's business
and they have 11 McDonald's andI'm like I don't want to do that
.
So long story short, I ended upbeing one of the early on
boarders to a franchise calledEdible Arrangements, which a lot
of people are familiar with,and I became a franchisee.
I took an early retirement atthe age of 52 and froze on my
(04:32):
retirement benefits and I wasvested in everything.
So I retired and became afranchise owner, but then I also
was teaching classes as aprofessor at a university, so I
was keeping very busy.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
I was keeping very busy.
I was going to ask you what agewere you.
You went from burnout to yournext venture.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yes, I was 52.
And then, about two years intoowning the Edible Arrangements
franchise, I was starting to getkind of antsy because it was
kind of a semi-absenteeopportunity, which we'll talk
about later but I was gettingkind of antsy so I started
teaching classes at theUniversity in Healthcare
Administration.
So I was wearing two hats atone time as a retiree with two
(05:14):
encore careers.
So that's how I went fromhealthcare to becoming a
franchise owner and to gettingwhere I am right now.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
So you definitely can attest the burnout is, and
really no matter the industryExactly.
I commend you for at 52, sayingenough.
Unfortunately, many people waitand wait Right, and they don't
freeze their benefits or theydon't go for something else
Right.
I'm very, very big at promotingthat.
(05:42):
If you don't feel fulfilled andyou're burned out, there's so
many options, yes, and you can'twait to not have fear, because
the fear will always be there.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Exactly, and I spent 27 years in health care, so you
know I was there a really longtime before I started to burn
out.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
I was there a long, long time long time before I
started to burn out.
I was there a long long time.
Yeah, definitely, definitely.
Well, this show is all aboutretirement wealth in the
wellness area.
It's removing the numbers sothat we can focus on the other
(06:22):
areas that are not planned for,on the traditional retirement
planning, in your case, as manyretirees continue to seek ways
to generate income and, at thesame time, have more flexibility
, more lifestyle, I want todiscuss what you do now in an
(07:03):
aspect of how it fulfills thelifestyle portion and how, at
the same time, it creates wealthin many areas, including income
.
So if we can talk about thatlike what you do now, and also
you know you come from owning afranchise, so you know what it
takes- Right, exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
So what I do now?
I actually own anotherfranchise.
I sold the Edible Arrangementsfranchise and I became a
franchise owner of FranNet, andFranNet is a franchise
consultancy, but it's also afranchise.
So we have about oh, we've gotmore than a hundred franchisees
(07:39):
and we are consultants.
We are consultants and businessowners.
So I own a consultancy now andbasically we work very much like
executive recruiters, except weare executive recruiters for
the franchise industry.
So we help the franchisors findindividuals who are a good fit
(08:00):
for their model, for theirsystem, and, on the other hand,
we help educate our clients.
Most of the people who reachout to us are at a crossroads in
their career.
Many of them are retirees orpending retirement.
Some of them have only been intheir career for five, 10 years.
(08:21):
But they have an itch to domore, an itch to have more
control, an itch to have moreflexibility, more fulfillment,
and so we help those individualsunderstand their various
options for owning a business.
Franchise ownership is only oneof the options, but we help them
(08:41):
determine if franchiseownership makes sense and, if so
, we take them through a verydefined scientific process of
exploring what motivates them,what makes them tick, what their
interests are, what theirpassions are, and we do a
profile and from there we helpmatch them with a franchise
(09:02):
concept that aligns with all oftheir goals, their skill set etc
.
And so that's basically what wedo we educate and we advise.
We don't sell.
We don't try and sell any ofour clients.
In fact, many of our clientscome to us and we'll be very
honest and say you know what?
You've got a great skill set,you've got some great networking
skills, but I don't thinkowning a franchise is going to
(09:25):
be right for you.
And then we shake hands andthey go on their way and I go on
my way.
And so we're honest.
We want people to be successfulin whatever that next step is,
and sometimes franchising is theright direction and sometimes
it's not, and so we prideourselves on a very strict code
of ethics in terms of impartialadvisement and educating.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
So hopefully that makes sense that's some
executive leadership and itdefinitely it's more consulting
and more strategic than whatsomebody will perceive.
That Exactly, you mentionedsomething about an itch and if
we can talk about that itchbecause many people are
(10:14):
experiencing that itch- and ifthey go from having the itch to
getting burned out, to trying tofind an easier way by changing
companies or or just trying towork on the mindset, and then
they get an itch again.
(10:35):
How could you?
You know, people want morecontrol, people want more
flexibility, more fulfillment,they want freedom but sometimes
they don't.
even they the freedom might notequal what their true desires
are.
In your case, how would youthink, like people can recognize
(11:11):
that itch, or you know it'sbeyond the I don't like my job
or beyond I'm tired.
What are some things that youand I know?
You and I share a passion forretirement wellness in coaching.
How would you think?
Like that itch?
I like how you say that itchlike that itch.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I like how you say that itch.
Well, you know, I think peopleget to a point where they're not
feeling fulfilled.
It's not necessarily that theydon't like their job, but I
think people get to a point intheir lives where, either one,
they're just not feelingfulfilled, but also they're
feeling that they need morecontrol over their lives in
terms of flexibility.
I always like to tell peoplewhen you own your own business,
(11:49):
you're not necessarily workingless, but you have more control
and more flexibility of when youwork and how you work and as
you scale that business, you canstep back and step away from
that.
And so you know, when we talkabout retirees, in particular
people who are at that point,you know, as people who've
(12:11):
worked throughout their adultlife, they've gathered many,
many transferable skills.
You know things like leadershipand marketing and a real,
healthy network of people in thecommunity and so much more.
So you know, many retirees arelooking for a franchise or a
business that feels fun andexciting.
And so we tell them look forsomething that feels fun and
(12:34):
exciting, but also those skillsthat you'd like to transfer from
your former career into yourfranchise ownership journey, and
they need not be the focus ofthe franchise, but at least they
can help understand whatfranchise ownership you know
would be like.
You know, for example, you knowI tell people, you know, suppose
(12:56):
that you were in marketing andnetworking and you're really,
really excellent at that, youknow.
In that case, you know that ifyou own a franchise, you can
take on those responsibilitiessimply because you've already
got that skill set, and thenhire someone else or other
people to do the other aspectsof the job.
So of the franchise, so youknow again, people need to to to
(13:17):
get to a place where they justwant more control and more
flexibility and oftentimes,again with retirees, they're
looking for some residual income, you know, in addition to
whatever else they might begetting, whether it's Social
Security or whether it's apension or a buyout.
But they want some residualincome in addition to, you know,
feeling fulfilled and not just,you know, golfing every day and
(13:41):
it sounds good at the beginning, but a lot of people they find
after a month or two of thatthere's got to be more to
retirement.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Yes, yes, and you know how you say this scaling
part of it.
This is what I, I, I tell myclients and I advocate for you,
you, you have to have an openmind.
Most people have the cookiecutter mostly on on a lot of
(14:08):
things, on the planning they do,on the next steps and when it
comes to something like this, toto start pivoting and trying to
find alternatives to justretiring and having leisure time
, it could also mean starting toexplore your options when
you're 10 years away fromretirement or five years.
(14:29):
I tell people you don't have tostart planning a year away from
retirement or when you turnthat 65 age to really go and
find out what am I going to dowith my life.
You can start 10 years beforeyou can start five years before
you can start at any time whenyou have the itch or you're
burnt out.
There's a lot of things peoplecan do.
(14:51):
You've worked more than 15, 20years, you're full of
intellectual property, but inthis case, when people think of
owning a franchise, they quicklythink of and again I'm not
affiliated to anybody but owninga subway, owning McDonald's,
owning a retail store.
(15:11):
There's so much more.
So perhaps, as you mentionedthe scalability, there's the
people that want to be a silentowner or they want to really be
involved because they have apassion for pottery and they
want to open a pottery franchise.
But there's, there's options.
(15:31):
yes, in this case, if you canshare with us for someone that
it's considering creating a sideexit strategy what are some, if
you can give us an idea of whatwould be a franchise, that
anybody or not, you don't haveto say a name, but just like
what you're doing right.
Frannet, it's a consulting, butit's also a franchise.
(15:53):
What is an example of somethingthat I'm not going to say a
lazy owner, but someone whoreally just wants a passive
transition and they just don'twant to be as involved.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I guess Exactly I know what you're saying.
So we refer those to thosemodels as semi-passive or
semi-absentee executive models,and there are so many of them
ranging anywhere from.
There are so many of themranging anywhere from pet care
(16:26):
I'll use that for example.
You know, 66% of the homes inAmerica own a pet and there is
such a demand and such a need.
And when we talk about a petfranchise, we're not talking
about PetSmart, a big brick andmortar store with thousands of
items.
We're talking about anythingfrom mobile dog grooming to dog
walking and dog sitting.
(16:47):
There's franchises that dothose that are purely, purely
semi-absentee, that a lot ofretirees are really, really
enjoying and the revenuepotential is really great if
it's in the right area.
We've got other things such asrecycling.
There's some recyclingfranchises that recycle goods
(17:11):
and work really closely withschools and donations to sell
and salvage textiles Totallysemi-absentee.
I would say that's probably oneof the ones that's almost
absentee because the bins workfor them.
You have school fundraisingconcepts that are semi-absentee.
You have fitness concepts.
(17:32):
You have travel and cruisecenters that are really very
semi-absentee and they also havea perk of the owner getting to
travel, you know, at reducedrates and then hiring travel
consultants who work for them,either remotely or in a small
brick and mortar.
(17:52):
There's a lot of retirees reallyget into some of the child
enrichment franchises involving,you know, after school
activities for children,enrichment activities for SAT
prep and coding and robotics.
I have a retired gym executivewho, after 25 years with General
Motors, just really alwayswanted to do something with
(18:14):
children, so he and his wifeopened up a Huntington Learning
Center in Tennessee and they areloving every minute of working
with kids after school, and youknow so that that's another area
.
Then you have your homeservices, which, again a lot of
those home service conceptsdon't require the investment in
a building.
You hire a good team, you hirea manager, two or three
(18:37):
employees and you basically workon the business and not in the
business.
Real good franchises that a lotof our retirees enjoy because a
(19:04):
lot of those businesses arelooking for relationship
builders, you know, buildingrelationships with other
businesses or people in thecommunity, and so you know
there's just so many.
I think I mentioned fitness.
You know there's mental healthfranchises that provide mental
health services.
There's floor covering, there'sfood truck franchises and
property management and homeinspection, and I could just go
(19:28):
on and on, but I think you getmy gist, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I want everybody to close your eyes, because you
want flexibility, you wantcontrol, you want fulfillment,
you have values that you caredeeply about, your family legacy
, you want to be happy, you wantto make impact.
That is purpose.
(19:54):
And if you can blend purposewith income and you can actually
use those gifts and thosetalents that you were given to
really fulfill a purpose, itcan't get any easier than that.
And you know travel hobbies,your hobbies, the things that
(20:17):
you love, your knowledge thatyou have your gifts.
She mentioned so many.
I wonder if people's minds arejust being open.
It's all about having those ahamoments or those epiphanies,
yes, and knowing that there's somuch more than the traditional
(20:42):
asset allocation and thetraditional.
You know I have to save acertain amount of money every
month so that then I canactually be free and retire.
No, this is.
There's so much more to it andperhaps we can, we can talk
about.
Franchises are known for.
You need to have a certain networth, a certain amount of
(21:05):
assets and we don't have to gothrough that.
What are, in your experience,the lowest amount of savings and
assets?
And I will definitely discussthe funding with your retirement
.
We can discuss that brieflybecause that's an option but
what type of cash or assets areneeded?
(21:26):
Okay, for for even goingsomething, just to start right.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Well, franchises range, invest, total investment
for a franchise can be as low as50,000 and it can go into, you
know, the millions.
But I would say the averagefranchise that someone could get
into would probably be between100 and 150,000 initial
investment and typically theindividual would need 20% of
that.
So let's say, you know, ifyou're looking at a franchise,
(21:55):
that's, you know, an $80,000total investment, and there are
some out there that are that low.
So, in order to, you know, get,get approved by the franchisor,
they would they.
So, in order to, you know, getapproved by the franchisor, they
would want you to, you know,come forward with those $80,000
investment.
You know $160,000, I'm sorry,$60,000 to $20,000 would be 20%
(22:17):
of the total investment.
And then there's, you know, thebalance would be through
traditional SBA loans and withthe, the balance would be
(22:46):
through traditional SBA loans.
And with the retiree population, there's funding through what
we call a rollover, where youcan basically invest access to
your retirement funds but alsofunding their business without
technically borrowing or cashingout their retirement account.
And that has been a very, verypositive experience for many of
our clients, so that you're justrolling over your retirement
funds for your own use, and soit's.
You know it's something that'svery much of an option, but I
(23:08):
would say for people who arelooking at a franchise, to just
when you, when you see totalinvestment, typically that total
investment is not the capitalrequired.
Typically it's 20 to 25%capital required for that total
investment and that's liquidity.
So that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
If you have a purpose and you want to open a business
, there are so many ways, yes,but when it comes to something
like you're close to retirement,you have all this money and
most people have it in pre-tax,which is they truly own a lot of
taxes Everything that they takeout is going to be taxed, but
they are ways where they canactually use those retirement
(23:50):
funds to create, to fund thebusiness, without penalties,
without taxes, all legally Right.
And you don't necessarily likeback in the days.
Oh, you have to have a minimumof $100,000 cash to get a
franchise Right?
Speaker 2 (24:07):
No, that's not the case anymore, in particular with
retirees, who can tap intotheir IRA or 401, they're
basically borrowing fromthemselves and you know, it's a
really great way to fund abusiness.
Yes, it's a really great way tofund a business.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yes, and this is something that also there's
mindset involved in it, becauseyou've worked really hard, you
saved this money, you followedeverything your advisor said and
in your mind you believe thatthat account, it's it.
This is your only way.
It's it, this is your only way,and perhaps even if you want to
(24:45):
do something else, just thethought of using that money to
do something else, there's amental blockage and what I want
people to understand is thatretirement is 30 years at least,
you know 20, 30, 40 years, andit's it's just the next chapter,
filled with many chapters.
(25:06):
And if you can actually usepart of the money to grow
personally, emotionally,financially, it's.
There's a process for it andthere's people like yourself,
like myself, who can really sitdown and determine what is the
best process for it, and there'speople like yourself, like
myself, who can really sit downand determine what is the best
strategy for you Right and andthere are definitely pros and
(25:29):
cons to deciding whether or nota ROB strategy is right.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
You know again, you know, using a ROB means no debt,
no interest payments on moneythat you invest.
But there are some pros andcons and that's why we always
recommend that someone wants toconsider that that they work
with you know, someone who is anexpert to make sure that the
qualifications are met and thesteps in the process that must
(25:53):
be followed to the letter of thelaw, literally, because
compliance is really, reallyimportant when you, if you, opt
to go through with a ROBS-fundedbusiness.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Just for the listeners that don't know ROBS,
r-o-b-s it's Rollover Business,startup Right, which is done
with your 401k.
There's checkbook IRAs.
There's a lot of options.
Yes, definitely.
Consult it with a financialprofessional or somebody like
myself, like Linda.
Linda, I have a question Isthere a silent franchise?
(26:29):
Is there a pool of like ifsomebody wants to invest and
fund a franchise?
Is there such program at all?
Just curious for the peoplethat really don't want to work
but they want to have something.
Just curious for the peoplethat really don't want to work
but they want to have something.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Well, you know, sometimes there are what
everyone has heard of in angelinvestors.
There's not an organizationthat I'm aware of, but you know
there are angel investors outthere, no particular place of
(27:17):
finding them.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
It's kind of by happenstance, but oftentimes,
you know, angel investor can besomeone as simple as getting a
cash injection for a familymember or a co.
Lot of the baby boomergeneration.
There's the biggest wealthtransfer happening in the
history of the US history.
More than $65 trillion are beingpassed from the baby boomers,
(27:38):
which are the wealthiestgeneration today to the hands of
the next generation, and manypeople struggle with the type of
legacy they're creating fortheir grandchildren, and this
would be a great way for you tobe able to not only leave a
legacy like live the legacy,help them find something where
(27:59):
they can be productive, whereyou might be involved as a
mentorship and you might be ableto fund their you know, their
not career, but their nextventure Right, and at the same
time, you know, you see it cometo life, versus leaving
everything on a life insurancepolicy, for example, but just
(28:19):
great ideas.
Life insurance policy, forexample, but just great ideas.
There's, there's obviously abig world out there when it
comes to retirement, retirementplanning, and what would be the
next like, let's say, for you,how can people reach out to you
and discover if this is, if theyalready have it in their mind?
(28:40):
There are.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I usually tell people there are a couple of questions
.
First, you know, ask yourself,you know, are you serious about
finding the right business, theright franchise for themselves?
And if so, if there is afranchise business out there
that will give you what you want, you know, is it worth really
looking for and doing your duediligence and speaking with the
(29:02):
right people to get educated?
And if that's so, I recommendthat people invest time in
completing what we call ourentrepreneur profile, which is a
self-assessment to helpindividuals determine their
readiness to own a business.
And so that, I think, would bethe first step is to complete
(29:23):
this profile and it's verysimilar to the Myers-Briggs
personality inventory Just tokind of again tap into your
readiness and what your skillsand your motives really are from
a real subject or a realobjective viewpoint.
That's really the first step.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Oh, I love that.
Yes, is there a way for me toput a link at the podcast
description, or is thissomething they have to go to
your website?
Speaker 2 (29:47):
No, I can give you a link to put at the.
I mean it's kind of a long link, but I can give that to you.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Okay, well, I'll have a link for them to connect with
you.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Yes, you can have a link for them to connect with me
, but also I'll give them adirect link to that profile
assessment and they can justcomplete that assessment if they
prefer to do that beforeconnecting with me.
So I'll give you the both ofthose links, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Linda.
Thank you so much.
Anything else you want to sharebefore we conclude?
Speaker 2 (30:15):
No, I always just tell people, you know, my
parting words are that you know,if something is worth reaching
for and working for, then pursueit, Because if you don't follow
your dreams, you'll end upworking for someone who did
(30:36):
follow their dreams.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I love that.
I love that and, as you can see, I did not ask any questions
about what type of income it'spossible with this, because it
should never be, and the incomewill come.
Because you can open afranchise and just be terrible
and it doesn't feel good andyou're not going to make
(31:06):
anything.
Or you can open a franchise anddo amazing.
It feels so good and justtriple what the neighbor did.
So don't focus on the numbers.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Exactly.
It can be a very rewardingexperience post-retirement, you
know, and when approachedthrough the right lens and with
consideration, you know, andwhen approached through the
right lens and withconsideration, you know, you can
make a decision and furtherbuild up your nest egg and also
possibly leave a legacy for yourfamily and your children.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Wonderful, linda.
Thank you so much.
All right, thank you for havingme.
My pleasure, linda.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, my pleasure, linda,thank you so much.
Thank you.
Linda's story is a powerfulreminder that retirement isn't
about having enough money.
It's about living the life youlove, designing the life you
(31:53):
love.
And too many people reachretirement only to realize that
they haven't really planned forhow they actually want to live.
So don't let that happen to you.
I like what Linda said If youdon't follow your dreams, you
will end up working for someonewho did so.
(32:15):
As Linda said, if something isworth reading and researching
further and it's worth pursuing,do it.
Let that sink in.
Life is too short to live inthe shadow of what could have
been, and I see this often withretirees.
(32:36):
Don't let fear or uncertaintykeep you from chasing the life
that you've always wanted, nomatter where you are in life.
Now here's the thing Retirementisn't the end of your story.
It's the start of a new chapter,one that you get to write.
You have the power to shape afuture that's not just about
(32:57):
financial security, but abouttrue fulfillment.
So don't wait until it's toolate to pursue it.
Financial security, but abouttrue fulfillment, so don't wait
until it's too late to pursue it.
Ask yourself are you going towatch others live out their
dreams or are you ready to stepup and create a life that's
reaching purpose and passion?
The choice is yours.
If this resonates with you,take the first step today.
(33:18):
Now, don't forget to follow ourshow like comment, and let us
know what's on your mind, sothat we can bring the stories to
you and just keep going.
Start building a future thatexcites you, because you have
earned it.
Thank you, thank you.
Have you ever seen someone work their whole life,
save every penny and then retire, only to feel lost without a
sense of purpose?
Well, I've witnessed it toomany times People who follow the
traditional path, investing andsaving for decades, only to
enter a retirement feeling moreburned out than ever, unsure of
(00:34):
who they are or what they'resupposed to do next.
They really thought they werepreparing for the future, but
what they didn't realize is that, without a plan or for how you
want to live your life, thatfuture can feel pretty empty.
If you've ever worried thatthis could be you, if you're
(00:56):
wondering how to avoid that trapand create a retirement that's
truly fulfilling, that doesn'thave to start at age 65.
You need to listen to thisepisode.
I'm talking with Linda Belfort,who made the bold move to go
from healthcare to take controlof her retirement and design a
life that wasn't just aboutfinancial security, and she
(01:18):
didn't wait until she was shehit that mark of retirement to
do this.
She focused on living fully.
She's been where you might beheaded, so she's got some real
insights on how to make surethat your retirement is
everything that you've hoped forthrough franchising.
And if franchising was never onyour radar.
(01:42):
Just listen to what we have tosay and take notes.
So let's dive in.
This is an episode that Irecommend you take notes and
it's going to open your mind.
Linda actually went from themedical field to being a
professor, to being a franchiseowner when she retired to now.
(02:09):
She changes lives of manyretirees, one person at a time,
with her consulting business andI am going to welcome her to
retirement without numbers.
Linda, so happy to have youhere.
Thank you, it's a pleasure tobe here.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
You were part of corporate like an organization,
correct, I was a part of ahealthcare system in Michigan
and I started out there as aclinician and ended up as a
service line administrator sokind of like corporate America
and then as that administrator Iwas dealing with nursing staff,
physicians, regulatory entities.
(02:48):
I was just like losing my mindand that's how I it's kind of
how I made the transition.
It was during a time wherehospitals were laying off a lot
of people, but my reward foralways getting things done and
making sure we were accreditedand having good relationships
with third party payers andphysicians, my reward for that
(03:08):
was that every time someone waslaid off, I got more
responsibility.
So we've gotten to the pointwhere I was covering my service
line and two others with noadditional pay, no additional
compensation.
Bonuses were slim at that timebecause health care was
struggling and I was like Ican't keep doing this.
(03:29):
I was carrying, at that time,pagers.
I was carrying three differentpagers 24-7.
Both of my parents were elderlyand I'm just like I can't do
this.
I need more control, I needmore time for myself and I need
to get the heck out of healthcare because I was spending to
become a franchise owner.
I have family members who ownfranchises.
(04:08):
My sister and brother-in-lawwere in the McDonald's business
and they have 11 McDonald's andI'm like I don't want to do that
.
So long story short, I ended upbeing one of the early on
boarders to a franchise calledEdible Arrangements, which a lot
of people are familiar with,and I became a franchisee.
I took an early retirement atthe age of 52 and froze on my
(04:32):
retirement benefits and I wasvested in everything.
So I retired and became afranchise owner, but then I also
was teaching classes as aprofessor at a university, so I
was keeping very busy.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
I was keeping very busy.
I was going to ask you what agewere you.
You went from burnout to yournext venture.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yes, I was 52.
And then, about two years intoowning the Edible Arrangements
franchise, I was starting to getkind of antsy because it was
kind of a semi-absenteeopportunity, which we'll talk
about later but I was gettingkind of antsy so I started
teaching classes at theUniversity in Healthcare
Administration.
So I was wearing two hats atone time as a retiree with two
(05:14):
encore careers.
So that's how I went fromhealthcare to becoming a
franchise owner and to gettingwhere I am right now.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
So you definitely can attest the burnout is, and
really no matter the industryExactly.
I commend you for at 52, sayingenough.
Unfortunately, many people waitand wait Right, and they don't
freeze their benefits or theydon't go for something else
Right.
I'm very, very big at promotingthat.
(05:42):
If you don't feel fulfilled andyou're burned out, there's so
many options, yes, and you can'twait to not have fear, because
the fear will always be there.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Exactly, and I spent 27 years in health care, so you
know I was there a really longtime before I started to burn
out.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
I was there a long, long time long time before I
started to burn out.
I was there a long long time.
Yeah, definitely, definitely.
Well, this show is all aboutretirement wealth in the
wellness area.
It's removing the numbers sothat we can focus on the other
(06:22):
areas that are not planned for,on the traditional retirement
planning, in your case, as manyretirees continue to seek ways
to generate income and, at thesame time, have more flexibility
, more lifestyle, I want todiscuss what you do now in an
(07:03):
aspect of how it fulfills thelifestyle portion and how, at
the same time, it creates wealthin many areas, including income
.
So if we can talk about thatlike what you do now, and also
you know you come from owning afranchise, so you know what it
takes- Right, exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
So what I do now?
I actually own anotherfranchise.
I sold the Edible Arrangementsfranchise and I became a
franchise owner of FranNet, andFranNet is a franchise
consultancy, but it's also afranchise.
So we have about oh, we've gotmore than a hundred franchisees
(07:39):
and we are consultants.
We are consultants and businessowners.
So I own a consultancy now andbasically we work very much like
executive recruiters, except weare executive recruiters for
the franchise industry.
So we help the franchisors findindividuals who are a good fit
(08:00):
for their model, for theirsystem, and, on the other hand,
we help educate our clients.
Most of the people who reachout to us are at a crossroads in
their career.
Many of them are retirees orpending retirement.
Some of them have only been intheir career for five, 10 years.
(08:21):
But they have an itch to domore, an itch to have more
control, an itch to have moreflexibility, more fulfillment,
and so we help those individualsunderstand their various
options for owning a business.
Franchise ownership is only oneof the options, but we help them
(08:41):
determine if franchiseownership makes sense and, if so
, we take them through a verydefined scientific process of
exploring what motivates them,what makes them tick, what their
interests are, what theirpassions are, and we do a
profile and from there we helpmatch them with a franchise
(09:02):
concept that aligns with all oftheir goals, their skill set etc
.
And so that's basically what wedo we educate and we advise.
We don't sell.
We don't try and sell any ofour clients.
In fact, many of our clientscome to us and we'll be very
honest and say you know what?
You've got a great skill set,you've got some great networking
skills, but I don't thinkowning a franchise is going to
(09:25):
be right for you.
And then we shake hands andthey go on their way and I go on
my way.
And so we're honest.
We want people to be successfulin whatever that next step is,
and sometimes franchising is theright direction and sometimes
it's not, and so we prideourselves on a very strict code
of ethics in terms of impartialadvisement and educating.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
So hopefully that makes sense that's some
executive leadership and itdefinitely it's more consulting
and more strategic than whatsomebody will perceive.
That Exactly, you mentionedsomething about an itch and if
we can talk about that itchbecause many people are
(10:14):
experiencing that itch- and ifthey go from having the itch to
getting burned out, to trying tofind an easier way by changing
companies or or just trying towork on the mindset, and then
they get an itch again.
(10:35):
How could you?
You know, people want morecontrol, people want more
flexibility, more fulfillment,they want freedom but sometimes
they don't.
even they the freedom might notequal what their true desires
are.
In your case, how would youthink, like people can recognize
(11:11):
that itch, or you know it'sbeyond the I don't like my job
or beyond I'm tired.
What are some things that youand I know?
You and I share a passion forretirement wellness in coaching.
How would you think?
Like that itch?
I like how you say that itchlike that itch.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I like how you say that itch.
Well, you know, I think peopleget to a point where they're not
feeling fulfilled.
It's not necessarily that theydon't like their job, but I
think people get to a point intheir lives where, either one,
they're just not feelingfulfilled, but also they're
feeling that they need morecontrol over their lives in
terms of flexibility.
I always like to tell peoplewhen you own your own business,
(11:49):
you're not necessarily workingless, but you have more control
and more flexibility of when youwork and how you work and as
you scale that business, you canstep back and step away from
that.
And so you know, when we talkabout retirees, in particular
people who are at that point,you know, as people who've
(12:11):
worked throughout their adultlife, they've gathered many,
many transferable skills.
You know things like leadershipand marketing and a real,
healthy network of people in thecommunity and so much more.
So you know, many retirees arelooking for a franchise or a
business that feels fun andexciting.
And so we tell them look forsomething that feels fun and
(12:34):
exciting, but also those skillsthat you'd like to transfer from
your former career into yourfranchise ownership journey, and
they need not be the focus ofthe franchise, but at least they
can help understand whatfranchise ownership you know
would be like.
You know, for example, you knowI tell people, you know, suppose
(12:56):
that you were in marketing andnetworking and you're really,
really excellent at that, youknow.
In that case, you know that ifyou own a franchise, you can
take on those responsibilitiessimply because you've already
got that skill set, and thenhire someone else or other
people to do the other aspectsof the job.
So of the franchise, so youknow again, people need to to to
(13:17):
get to a place where they justwant more control and more
flexibility and oftentimes,again with retirees, they're
looking for some residual income, you know, in addition to
whatever else they might begetting, whether it's Social
Security or whether it's apension or a buyout.
But they want some residualincome in addition to, you know,
feeling fulfilled and not just,you know, golfing every day and
(13:41):
it sounds good at the beginning, but a lot of people they find
after a month or two of thatthere's got to be more to
retirement.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Yes, yes, and you know how you say this scaling
part of it.
This is what I, I, I tell myclients and I advocate for you,
you, you have to have an openmind.
Most people have the cookiecutter mostly on on a lot of
(14:08):
things, on the planning they do,on the next steps and when it
comes to something like this, toto start pivoting and trying to
find alternatives to justretiring and having leisure time
, it could also mean starting toexplore your options when
you're 10 years away fromretirement or five years.
(14:29):
I tell people you don't have tostart planning a year away from
retirement or when you turnthat 65 age to really go and
find out what am I going to dowith my life.
You can start 10 years beforeyou can start five years before
you can start at any time whenyou have the itch or you're
burnt out.
There's a lot of things peoplecan do.
(14:51):
You've worked more than 15, 20years, you're full of
intellectual property, but inthis case, when people think of
owning a franchise, they quicklythink of and again I'm not
affiliated to anybody but owninga subway, owning McDonald's,
owning a retail store.
(15:11):
There's so much more.
So perhaps, as you mentionedthe scalability, there's the
people that want to be a silentowner or they want to really be
involved because they have apassion for pottery and they
want to open a pottery franchise.
But there's, there's options.
(15:31):
yes, in this case, if you canshare with us for someone that
it's considering creating a sideexit strategy what are some, if
you can give us an idea of whatwould be a franchise, that
anybody or not, you don't haveto say a name, but just like
what you're doing right.
Frannet, it's a consulting, butit's also a franchise.
(15:53):
What is an example of somethingthat I'm not going to say a
lazy owner, but someone whoreally just wants a passive
transition and they just don'twant to be as involved.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I guess Exactly I know what you're saying.
So we refer those to thosemodels as semi-passive or
semi-absentee executive models,and there are so many of them
ranging anywhere from.
There are so many of themranging anywhere from pet care
(16:26):
I'll use that for example.
You know, 66% of the homes inAmerica own a pet and there is
such a demand and such a need.
And when we talk about a petfranchise, we're not talking
about PetSmart, a big brick andmortar store with thousands of
items.
We're talking about anythingfrom mobile dog grooming to dog
walking and dog sitting.
(16:47):
There's franchises that dothose that are purely, purely
semi-absentee, that a lot ofretirees are really, really
enjoying and the revenuepotential is really great if
it's in the right area.
We've got other things such asrecycling.
There's some recyclingfranchises that recycle goods
(17:11):
and work really closely withschools and donations to sell
and salvage textiles Totallysemi-absentee.
I would say that's probably oneof the ones that's almost
absentee because the bins workfor them.
You have school fundraisingconcepts that are semi-absentee.
You have fitness concepts.
(17:32):
You have travel and cruisecenters that are really very
semi-absentee and they also havea perk of the owner getting to
travel, you know, at reducedrates and then hiring travel
consultants who work for them,either remotely or in a small
brick and mortar.
(17:52):
There's a lot of retirees reallyget into some of the child
enrichment franchises involving,you know, after school
activities for children,enrichment activities for SAT
prep and coding and robotics.
I have a retired gym executivewho, after 25 years with General
Motors, just really alwayswanted to do something with
(18:14):
children, so he and his wifeopened up a Huntington Learning
Center in Tennessee and they areloving every minute of working
with kids after school, and youknow so that that's another area
.
Then you have your homeservices, which, again a lot of
those home service conceptsdon't require the investment in
a building.
You hire a good team, you hirea manager, two or three
(18:37):
employees and you basically workon the business and not in the
business.
Real good franchises that a lotof our retirees enjoy because a
(19:04):
lot of those businesses arelooking for relationship
builders, you know, buildingrelationships with other
businesses or people in thecommunity, and so you know
there's just so many.
I think I mentioned fitness.
You know there's mental healthfranchises that provide mental
health services.
There's floor covering, there'sfood truck franchises and
property management and homeinspection, and I could just go
(19:28):
on and on, but I think you getmy gist, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I want everybody to close your eyes, because you
want flexibility, you wantcontrol, you want fulfillment,
you have values that you caredeeply about, your family legacy
, you want to be happy, you wantto make impact.
That is purpose.
(19:54):
And if you can blend purposewith income and you can actually
use those gifts and thosetalents that you were given to
really fulfill a purpose, itcan't get any easier than that.
And you know travel hobbies,your hobbies, the things that
(20:17):
you love, your knowledge thatyou have your gifts.
She mentioned so many.
I wonder if people's minds arejust being open.
It's all about having those ahamoments or those epiphanies,
yes, and knowing that there's somuch more than the traditional
(20:42):
asset allocation and thetraditional.
You know I have to save acertain amount of money every
month so that then I canactually be free and retire.
No, this is.
There's so much more to it andperhaps we can, we can talk
about.
Franchises are known for.
You need to have a certain networth, a certain amount of
(21:05):
assets and we don't have to gothrough that.
What are, in your experience,the lowest amount of savings and
assets?
And I will definitely discussthe funding with your retirement
.
We can discuss that brieflybecause that's an option but
what type of cash or assets areneeded?
(21:26):
Okay, for for even goingsomething, just to start right.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Well, franchises range, invest, total investment
for a franchise can be as low as50,000 and it can go into, you
know, the millions.
But I would say the averagefranchise that someone could get
into would probably be between100 and 150,000 initial
investment and typically theindividual would need 20% of
that.
So let's say, you know, ifyou're looking at a franchise,
(21:55):
that's, you know, an $80,000total investment, and there are
some out there that are that low.
So, in order to, you know, get,get approved by the franchisor,
they would they.
So, in order to, you know, getapproved by the franchisor, they
would want you to, you know,come forward with those $80,000
investment.
You know $160,000, I'm sorry,$60,000 to $20,000 would be 20%
(22:17):
of the total investment.
And then there's, you know, thebalance would be through
traditional SBA loans and withthe, the balance would be
(22:46):
through traditional SBA loans.
And with the retiree population, there's funding through what
we call a rollover, where youcan basically invest access to
your retirement funds but alsofunding their business without
technically borrowing or cashingout their retirement account.
And that has been a very, verypositive experience for many of
our clients, so that you're justrolling over your retirement
funds for your own use, and soit's.
You know it's something that'svery much of an option, but I
(23:08):
would say for people who arelooking at a franchise, to just
when you, when you see totalinvestment, typically that total
investment is not the capitalrequired.
Typically it's 20 to 25%capital required for that total
investment and that's liquidity.
So that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
If you have a purpose and you want to open a business
, there are so many ways, yes,but when it comes to something
like you're close to retirement,you have all this money and
most people have it in pre-tax,which is they truly own a lot of
taxes Everything that they takeout is going to be taxed, but
they are ways where they canactually use those retirement
(23:50):
funds to create, to fund thebusiness, without penalties,
without taxes, all legally Right.
And you don't necessarily likeback in the days.
Oh, you have to have a minimumof $100,000 cash to get a
franchise Right?
Speaker 2 (24:07):
No, that's not the case anymore, in particular with
retirees, who can tap intotheir IRA or 401, they're
basically borrowing fromthemselves and you know, it's a
really great way to fund abusiness.
Yes, it's a really great way tofund a business.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yes, and this is something that also there's
mindset involved in it, becauseyou've worked really hard, you
saved this money, you followedeverything your advisor said and
in your mind you believe thatthat account, it's it.
This is your only way.
It's it, this is your only way,and perhaps even if you want to
(24:45):
do something else, just thethought of using that money to
do something else, there's amental blockage and what I want
people to understand is thatretirement is 30 years at least,
you know 20, 30, 40 years, andit's it's just the next chapter,
filled with many chapters.
(25:06):
And if you can actually usepart of the money to grow
personally, emotionally,financially, it's.
There's a process for it andthere's people like yourself,
like myself, who can really sitdown and determine what is the
best process for it, and there'speople like yourself, like
myself, who can really sit downand determine what is the best
strategy for you Right and andthere are definitely pros and
(25:29):
cons to deciding whether or nota ROB strategy is right.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
You know again, you know, using a ROB means no debt,
no interest payments on moneythat you invest.
But there are some pros andcons and that's why we always
recommend that someone wants toconsider that that they work
with you know, someone who is anexpert to make sure that the
qualifications are met and thesteps in the process that must
(25:53):
be followed to the letter of thelaw, literally, because
compliance is really, reallyimportant when you, if you, opt
to go through with a ROBS-fundedbusiness.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Just for the listeners that don't know ROBS,
r-o-b-s it's Rollover Business,startup Right, which is done
with your 401k.
There's checkbook IRAs.
There's a lot of options.
Yes, definitely.
Consult it with a financialprofessional or somebody like
myself, like Linda.
Linda, I have a question Isthere a silent franchise?
(26:29):
Is there a pool of like ifsomebody wants to invest and
fund a franchise?
Is there such program at all?
Just curious for the peoplethat really don't want to work
but they want to have something.
Just curious for the peoplethat really don't want to work
but they want to have something.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Well, you know, sometimes there are what
everyone has heard of in angelinvestors.
There's not an organizationthat I'm aware of, but you know
there are angel investors outthere, no particular place of
(27:17):
finding them.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
It's kind of by happenstance, but oftentimes,
you know, angel investor can besomeone as simple as getting a
cash injection for a familymember or a co.
Lot of the baby boomergeneration.
There's the biggest wealthtransfer happening in the
history of the US history.
More than $65 trillion are beingpassed from the baby boomers,
(27:38):
which are the wealthiestgeneration today to the hands of
the next generation, and manypeople struggle with the type of
legacy they're creating fortheir grandchildren, and this
would be a great way for you tobe able to not only leave a
legacy like live the legacy,help them find something where
(27:59):
they can be productive, whereyou might be involved as a
mentorship and you might be ableto fund their you know, their
not career, but their nextventure Right, and at the same
time, you know, you see it cometo life, versus leaving
everything on a life insurancepolicy, for example, but just
(28:19):
great ideas.
Life insurance policy, forexample, but just great ideas.
There's, there's obviously abig world out there when it
comes to retirement, retirementplanning, and what would be the
next like, let's say, for you,how can people reach out to you
and discover if this is, if theyalready have it in their mind?
(28:40):
There are.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I usually tell people there are a couple of questions
.
First, you know, ask yourself,you know, are you serious about
finding the right business, theright franchise for themselves?
And if so, if there is afranchise business out there
that will give you what you want, you know, is it worth really
looking for and doing your duediligence and speaking with the
(29:02):
right people to get educated?
And if that's so, I recommendthat people invest time in
completing what we call ourentrepreneur profile, which is a
self-assessment to helpindividuals determine their
readiness to own a business.
And so that, I think, would bethe first step is to complete
(29:23):
this profile and it's verysimilar to the Myers-Briggs
personality inventory Just tokind of again tap into your
readiness and what your skillsand your motives really are from
a real subject or a realobjective viewpoint.
That's really the first step.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Oh, I love that.
Yes, is there a way for me toput a link at the podcast
description, or is thissomething they have to go to
your website?
Speaker 2 (29:47):
No, I can give you a link to put at the.
I mean it's kind of a long link, but I can give that to you.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Okay, well, I'll have a link for them to connect with
you.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Yes, you can have a link for them to connect with me
, but also I'll give them adirect link to that profile
assessment and they can justcomplete that assessment if they
prefer to do that beforeconnecting with me.
So I'll give you the both ofthose links, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Linda.
Thank you so much.
Anything else you want to sharebefore we conclude?
Speaker 2 (30:15):
No, I always just tell people, you know, my
parting words are that you know,if something is worth reaching
for and working for, then pursueit, Because if you don't follow
your dreams, you'll end upworking for someone who did
(30:36):
follow their dreams.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I love that.
I love that and, as you can see, I did not ask any questions
about what type of income it'spossible with this, because it
should never be, and the incomewill come.
Because you can open afranchise and just be terrible
and it doesn't feel good andyou're not going to make
(31:06):
anything.
Or you can open a franchise anddo amazing.
It feels so good and justtriple what the neighbor did.
So don't focus on the numbers.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Exactly.
It can be a very rewardingexperience post-retirement, you
know, and when approachedthrough the right lens and with
consideration, you know, andwhen approached through the
right lens and withconsideration, you know, you can
make a decision and furtherbuild up your nest egg and also
possibly leave a legacy for yourfamily and your children.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Wonderful, linda.
Thank you so much.
All right, thank you for havingme.
My pleasure, linda.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, my pleasure, linda,thank you so much.
Thank you.
Linda's story is a powerfulreminder that retirement isn't
about having enough money.
It's about living the life youlove, designing the life you
(31:53):
love.
And too many people reachretirement only to realize that
they haven't really planned forhow they actually want to live.
So don't let that happen to you.
I like what Linda said If youdon't follow your dreams, you
will end up working for someonewho did so.
(32:15):
As Linda said, if something isworth reading and researching
further and it's worth pursuing,do it.
Let that sink in.
Life is too short to live inthe shadow of what could have
been, and I see this often withretirees.
(32:36):
Don't let fear or uncertaintykeep you from chasing the life
that you've always wanted, nomatter where you are in life.
Now here's the thing Retirementisn't the end of your story.
It's the start of a new chapter,one that you get to write.
You have the power to shape afuture that's not just about
(32:57):
financial security, but abouttrue fulfillment.
So don't wait until it's toolate to pursue it.
Financial security, but abouttrue fulfillment, so don't wait
until it's too late to pursue it.
Ask yourself are you going towatch others live out their
dreams or are you ready to stepup and create a life that's
reaching purpose and passion?
The choice is yours.
If this resonates with you,take the first step today.
(33:18):
Now, don't forget to follow ourshow like comment, and let us
know what's on your mind, sothat we can bring the stories to
you and just keep going.
Start building a future thatexcites you, because you have
earned it.
Thank you, thank you.
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