July 1, 2025 • 19 mins
Caroline Biesalski welcomes Jon Ostenson to explore franchise success stories and tackle misconceptions about franchise ownership. Jon provides guidance on matching individuals with the right franchises and highlights current trends and unique opportunities in the industry. He shares valuable tips for aspiring franchisors, drawing from his personal experience. The conversation emphasizes the importance of due diligence and Jon's consulting insights, along with advice on financing a franchise. Jon discusses the role of mentors and setting actionable goals in franchising. The episode concludes with final thoughts and special offers, encouraging listeners to consider franchising as a viable business path.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
You know, I get my validation not through thenumber of clients we place.
(00:03):
I mean, we place a lot, but through the clientsthat come back and buy additional locations or
additional brands or they refer their sister tome.
That that's what gets me excited.
I just love seeing those success stories.
And, you know, Caroline, it does not work outfor everyone.
Welcome to Inspire Choice Today.
I'm your host, Caroline Bizalzki, here to bringyou authentic stories, surprising lessons, and
(00:26):
powerful takeaways to fuel your journey inbusiness and life.
In each episode, I'll take you from oneinspiring guest to the next, blending their
experiences with my expertise to uncoverpractical strategies you can use right away.
Whether you're starting out or stepping up,stay tuned for insights and actionable tips
(00:48):
that make a difference, and stick around untilthe end for a special freebie just for our
listeners.
Hello, and welcome inspired podcast community.
This is your new episode.
My name is Caroline, and my today's guest isJohn Austenson, and I'm so happy that he said
yes to our interview.
How are you doing today?
(01:10):
Caroline, doing fantastic.
Excited to be with you.
What a great day today for a podcast interview.
I would like to introduce you, of course, tothe audience.
You are the founder and CEO of Friend BridgeConsulting, an Inc 5 1,000 company, and the top
one point what?
No.
(01:31):
0 point how do you pronounce this?
0.1% franchise consultant.
Sorry for that.
You will explain us later.
As the best selling author of non foodfranchising, you leverage your ex experience as
a former franchise president and multi brandfranchisee to help clients make strategic
franchise investments.
(01:52):
You frequently con contribute to Forbes, Inc,and Uber on franchising ins insights.
Welcome to the Inspire podcast.
I'm inspired, John Austenson.
Great.
Thanks so much, Caroline.
Excited to be with you.
Tell me how you it is 0.1%.
I had a little in my head, too too muchnumbers.
(02:13):
And this is embarrassing because I was anaccountant for the last 16 years, but I quit
this, and now I'm a podcast host.
So this is my excuse, 0.1 percent.
And this is what I aim I'm aiming for for mypodcast.
You know?
Now I'm 5 5 top 5 percent, and 0, I have topractice this.
(02:37):
Sorry for that.
My first question to you is, but I love it,what's the biggest misconception people have
about franchising, and how does non-foodfranchising create unique opportunities for
investors?
Absolutely.
And congrats on the the top 5%.
I know it's gonna continue to climb up thecharts.
That's not an easy feat, so congratulations.
(02:59):
No.
You know, Caroline, like so many of yourlisteners, I've spent many years in the
corporate world working for others, helpingthem build their empires.
And, really, it was 8 years ago that I left thebig public company world and stepped into a
smaller private company called ShelfGenie.
It's custom pullout shelving for your kitchensand pantries, and, you know, it's kind of a
niche-driven business, but it's a franchise.
(03:19):
That experience opened up my eyes to this worldof franchising that exists outside of food.
Oftentimes, when I say the f-word franchise,people think fast food, but there's so many
other industries and ways for people to getinvolved.
And it was really through that experience thatI fell in love with the franchise model.
I just saw how so many different backgroundscould find, realize their dream of business
ownership through a proven system and aplatform.
(03:42):
And, since then, I've invested in franchisesmyself as a franchisee, so I've been on both
sides of the table there.
Now I get to spend most of my time helpingothers step out into business ownership and
identify what are the top opportunities forthem in their market that are available that
could be a good fit based on their backgroundsand what they're looking to do.
(04:02):
So, you know, I just believe that franchising,it's not right for everybody, but for the vast
majority, it's a better path to businessownership when you've got a built-in team,
built-in system, proven business model, and alot more.
Yes.
That's so true.
Thank you for sharing.
That means you become a part of a greaternetwork with proven strategies.
(04:23):
You already talked about this.
And I remember I had a presentation while I wasin my studies of economics.
I had to pick a topic.
It was 20 years ago, you know, and I chosefranchising.
What is this?
And I explained it to the others, and it'strue.
Most of the people think it's about food.
(04:45):
It's not.
There can be so many opportunities as well.
Thank you for doing this.
And, of course, I have another question.
What advice would you give someone exploringfranchise ownership but unsure where to start?
You know, it can be very overwhelming.
There are over 3,500 franchises out there, andthat list is always growing.
(05:06):
And just like any industry, there are goodplayers, and there are ones that are not worth
the investment.
Right?
And so that's where we come in, and it'sentirely free to work with us.
We're essentially a real estate broker, but forfranchises.
So we simply get a referral fee from the brandon the back end, and none of that's passed on
to our clients.
So it's a nice clean model.
But, yeah, certainly someone can start googlingaround.
(05:26):
The challenge is there's so much noise outthere.
What they'll find is, you know, lists of thetop 100 franchises or top 50 franchises from
different publications.
But the challenge is, oftentimes, companies payto be on that list.
It's a PR move for them.
So it's really hard to decipher through thenoise what's going on, what's it look like
behind the scenes.
And that's where we come in to hold ourclient's hand and say, hey.
(05:48):
In Chicago, if we're in your shoes with yourbackground, looking to do, you know, play this
role in the business, here are the ones thatare available that we would stand behind and
want to look at ourselves if we were you.
So, yeah, we have a very defined process thatwe take clients through that matches them up
with the top opportunities in their markets.
Yeah.
But some of the things we're looking for, thatdifferentiate good opportunities from those
(06:12):
that aren't as good.
You know, obviously, the financial model's gotto be there.
Right?
You know, but we take a heavy look at theleadership team.
I want to see a good blend of franchiseexperience on that team as well as the industry
experience.
You know, we're looking at their track recordsand their backgrounds.
You know, and then it's competitive advantages.
It's what are current owners and their systemssaying about their experience so far.
So, you know, there's a little bit of art, alittle bit of science to it, but, you know, we
(06:34):
have a proven methodology that we take clientsthrough to help them identify the right
opportunities.
Oh, I love what you said about matching theright franchise to the franchisee and also to,
you function as a filter, so to say, to crowdout all the noise or the people who buy into
(06:55):
those lists.
I don't know if one can say this.
You mentioned PR reasons.
Yes.
I understand what you mean, and I love what youdo because you help the people from the
beginning.
And most of the people are diving into theirbusinesses not knowing what they are doing, in
fact.
Right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And, you know, what's really interesting,Caroline, I'd say 90 percent of those that we
(07:18):
work with end up going with an opportunitythat's in an industry that was never even on
their radar.
So we love exposing people to the possibilitiesof what's out there and helping them, you know,
think about things very differently.
There are so many different niches under theselarge industry umbrellas that they oftentimes
would never have thought about on their own.
You know, people are attracted these days tothings like home and property services or
(07:42):
health and wellness or categories like kids orpets or seniors.
I'd say the general theme that we see out thereis, you know, what are those understandable
cash-flowing industries that aren't gonna goout of style?
They're not trendy.
They're not sexy in some cases, but they're,you know, businesses that people are gonna
continue to spend on.
You'll always spend on your kids, your pets,your aging parents, your homes, your health.
(08:05):
Right?
So, you know, businesses that cater to thosekinds of constituencies are the ones that we,
really, you know, are attractive to us.
I understand.
And what about the podcast franchise?
Does this exist already?
Hey.
Never say never.
We see all different types of business modelsthat are coming under a franchise.
(08:26):
You know?
I mean, just to rattle off a few that I'mpersonally invested in.
I'm more of a property services kind of guyjust as far as my own personal investments, but
I've got an asphalt paving and line stripingbusiness.
So for parking lots, I've got a business thathas temporary walls, like containment walls
around renovation projects and constructionsites, like an equipment rental business.
You know, on the health and wellness end, Ipersonally own a franchise that does custom
(08:50):
orthotics.
It's the insoles for your shoes, and we use 3Dprinting to mold those.
And, so, again, that's just a small sampling,but there are so many different niches out
there that people are jumping into.
Wow.
That's so amazing.
And how about the people who invent or have theidea for the franchise?
So they are selling the licenses, so to say.
(09:12):
And it is what they sell is the process.
Right?
That's right.
And so, you know, for some companies, it's agreat way to expand.
And, obviously, private equity lovesfranchising, so there's that exit potential
down the road.
You know, it's a good way to expand with otherpeople that have skin in the game, that know
their local markets that are highlyincentivized.
You know, I would caution new franchisors, youknow, just make sure that you're well
(09:36):
capitalized going into it.
I do see that coming into play sometimes.
I would encourage them to really make sureyou're buttoned up, that you've got those
processes ironed out.
You've got a proven business model.
You know, it's not just an idea, but it's aproven model in at least one location, if not
more, because you're inviting people to come inand invest in a significant way, and you've
(09:57):
gotta be ready.
You've gotta have the team to support them.
You know, so either do it the right way ordon't do it is my advice.
I love having those conversations with, youknow, business founders that are thinking about
expansion, and they're saying maybe franchisingcould be a good path.
I love chatting with them as well.
Oh, okay.
I see.
So where can we find you when people want toreach out to you after listening to this
(10:20):
episode?
Yeah.
Come out to our website,FranBridgeConsulting.com.
That's FranBridgeConsulting.com.
And, yeah, you know, we'd love to share a free,downloadable copy of our book Non-Food
Franchising with any of your listeners.
So if you come out there and share your emailaddress, then my system will reach out and give
you the links to the downloads.
And certainly, if anyone would like to take thenext step and book a call with me, you know,
(10:43):
I'd be happy to jump on and have a briefconversation to talk about your situation.
And then if it makes sense to partner up and godeeper, again, it's entirely free to work with
us.
So I always encourage people to get off thecouch.
You know, it's a very low-risk situation here.
You're not committing to anything, but, youknow, learn a little bit more, read the book,
(11:03):
is a good starting point.
Wow.
That sounds great.
So please reach out to Jon.
He's amazing.
Shares his wisdom and insight and get on a freecall.
I like this.
So I just visited your website.
I'm impressed.
Thank you so much.
Of course, I have another question for you.
(11:24):
How has your experience as both a franchiseeand consultant shaped your approach to helping
clients find the right franchise fit?
You know, I get my validation not through thenumber of clients we place.
I mean, we place a lot, but through the clientsthat come back and buy additional locations or
additional brands or they refer their sister tome.
(11:45):
That's what gets me excited.
I just love seeing those success stories.
And, Caroline, it does not work out foreveryone.
You know, I don't wanna sugarcoat it.
I wanna be real here.
But for the vast, vast majority, it does.
And so much higher percentage than just, youknow, traditional startups.
And, you know, the data's proven that out.
So, you know, love seeing the successes of myclients.
(12:08):
Love it when they come back and buy more.
And, you know, fortunately for us, I mean, wedo just about as many placements as anybody out
there.
And so I'm able to see firsthand, you know, howare those franchisees that have been placed
doing, and that helps inform how I work withfuture clients.
You know, but we just get to see so manydifferent backgrounds.
You know, I'll have doctors reach out to me ormiddle management in the corporate world.
(12:28):
And it's like, I'm like, I've seen this storybefore and here's how it plays out and here are
the different paths that you can take.
So, you know, when we're working from a largedata set and we get a lot of exposure to these
brands, obviously, because of the volume thatwe do, you know, we've got a lot of
relationships with a lot of brands out there,just really allows us to be a little more
scientific.
I mean, we work with over 600 differentcompanies.
(12:50):
But again, they're not all created equal.
And, you know, I'd say at any given time, thereare probably 50 or 60 that I feel strongest
about.
Just looking through the lenses that I evaluatethem.
So I love narrowing those down to what'savailable in our client situation and
introducing them to the top 10 or so in theirmarket.
Wow.
That sounds amazing what you shared.
(13:10):
So you have the overview to all this what'sgoing on in the business or in the franchise
world as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Pretty good perspective.
And, you know, we always encourage people.
Hey.
We've got a perspective, you know, but we'reflying at 30,000 feet to some degree.
You know, once you say, hey.
Here are three that I'm interested in.
Let's have conversations.
(13:31):
You know, you'll have those calls with thefranchisors, and you'll eventually get to talk
to franchisees in their system, hear abouttheir experience, ask them questions.
You'll get a ton of information from thefranchisor.
Really, the goal is for you to get so muchinformation that you go in eyes wide open into
making that purchase decision.
And, of course, we're there on the sidelinesholding your hand throughout the process,
helping you figure out funding resources.
(13:52):
A lot of people will use, you know, a smallbusiness loan to fund the business.
You know, you still have to have maybe $50,000or $60,000 of cash to put into the business,
I'd say, but you can usually leverage the restthrough, you know, through a loan.
Some people will use an old retirement plan tofund the business through what's called the
ROBS program.
So we educate clients on all of that, and thenwe've got partners that we can pull in to
(14:13):
support them as well.
Wow.
That sounds amazing, and especially the aspectthat you hold hands with the clients.
And I would like to know if you have coachesand mentors for yourself and who was the best
coach you ever had.
Great question.
So I have had coaches over time.
At the moment, I don't have one particularcoach, but I have in the past.
(14:35):
Bob Lewis was fantastic.
A guy named Jack Daly, I'd probably point to.
He's kind of a big figurehead out there.
He's written a lot of books, done a lot ofspeaking.
That was a big investment.
But the year that I spent with him, I learnedso much in that one-on-one coaching.
So, yeah, big supporter of coaches.
That's one of the things I love about thefranchise models.
When you become a franchisee, you essentiallyhave a coach on the sidelines in that franchise
(14:56):
org.
I still encourage people, hey, have someoutside guidance too.
One thing that's been very helpful for me in myentrepreneurial journey is I've been a member
of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, EO.
Now you've gotta have at least a $1 millionbusiness to be a part of that, but there's just
such a variety of industries.
I've got a small group that I meet with everymonth for about five hours.
(15:16):
There's seven others, everyone from a differentindustry.
And we go deep on each other's businesses andexchange best practices, and we also talk about
investments that we're doing and, you know,kind of the personal family side as well, so we
blend it all together.
But I heard a quote recently, you know,spending time with other business owners, you
know, is a huge investment that pays off justbecause the conversations are so different.
(15:38):
You know?
And that's what I found.
They can relate to you.
They understand you're going through the samethings.
You know, if you're just talking with someonethat's a W-2 working for someone else, the
conversation's not the same.
Yeah.
That's so true.
And that reminds me of the mastermind principleintroduced by Napoleon Hill.
I don't know where he got this from.
(15:58):
Maybe Andrew Carnegie.
You know this book, "Think and Grow Rich," thebusiness bible.
I used to study it every day.
It helps a lot.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiencewith your coaches and mentors.
And my last question to you is, do you setgoals for yourself or intentions, and what is
(16:19):
one of your next projects?
Yeah.
No.
I absolutely do.
I've been very goal-oriented my whole life.
You know, it's interesting over the holidaybreak recently, my wife and I were looking
back, and it is so neat to see goals from 15years ago shortly after we got married.
And just how many of those have transpired towhere we are today, you know, living in the
neighborhood that we want to live and going onthe trips, raising our kids the way we want to.
(16:43):
It's just, you know, kind of that vision whenyou put it on paper.
Right?
It goes from a dream to a goal, and it's beenso neat now looking back and seeing those
realized.
But now as I've refined my process over time,and now I set quarterly goals, you know, what
are those rocks that I'm going after?
You know, then what are the smaller initiativesas well?
But, you know, I think about it in fivedomains, faith, family.
(17:07):
You know, I put friends in with family as well.
It's kind of relationships.
You know, finances, so investing and taxes andeverything that goes within that.
And then fitness.
You know, health is very important to me.
And then the fifth one would be franchising,which, you know, some people might call
business, but, yeah, I kinda like havinganother f in there.
So, yeah, in franchising and business.
(17:28):
So, you know, for me, we succeed when ourclients succeed.
And, you know, like you said, we were number584 on the Inc.
5000 last year.
It's something I'm very proud of.
But that simply represents how many clientsthat we were able to help get into business
ownership.
So I love what I do.
Love, you know, being able to help othersrealize their dreams.
(17:49):
Wow.
I love it.
I love what you do.
I love your success as well, and I heard it.
Someone said a goal is a dream with a deadline.
You mentioned this, something like that.
Dreams turn into reality.
Thank you so much for our interview.
And now it's time for your final thoughts tothe audience, please.
(18:10):
Yeah.
You know, I would say I love the line activitybreeds activity.
You know, I think in my life, oftentimes, youknow, I haven't known the answer or maybe I'm
at a crossroads.
But what I find is if I start moving towardsoption A or option B, oftentimes option C comes
out of left field.
So I'm a big believer that get off the couch,get in the game, start moving, and good things
(18:32):
open up.
So as it pertains to our conversation today,again, if someone has an interest in what we
talked about, you know, with franchising, youknow, take a first step, download the book from
our website.
And then, like I said, more than happy to jumpon a call and help out as well.
Be brave and reach out to Jon.
I would add to that because it's so, soimportant to find your purpose and calling.
(18:57):
I would say thank you so much for ourinterview.
Enjoyed it.
Thank you, Caroline.
And see you in the next episode.
Thank you for listening to Inspired ChoiceToday.
I'm thrilled to have you on this journey ofgrowth and transformation.
Don't forget to hit follow or subscribe to stayconnected and never miss an episode.
(19:19):
And here's something special.
Grab your free 20-minute breakthrough sessionwith me.
It's designed to help you kick-start or levelup your business.
Just check out the show notes for more.
Until next time, keep making those inspiredchoices.
See you in the next episode.
You know, I get my validation not through thenumber of clients we place.
(00:03):
I mean, we place a lot, but through the clientsthat come back and buy additional locations or
additional brands or they refer their sister tome.
That that's what gets me excited.
I just love seeing those success stories.
And, you know, Caroline, it does not work outfor everyone.
Welcome to Inspire Choice Today.
I'm your host, Caroline Bizalzki, here to bringyou authentic stories, surprising lessons, and
(00:26):
powerful takeaways to fuel your journey inbusiness and life.
In each episode, I'll take you from oneinspiring guest to the next, blending their
experiences with my expertise to uncoverpractical strategies you can use right away.
Whether you're starting out or stepping up,stay tuned for insights and actionable tips
(00:48):
that make a difference, and stick around untilthe end for a special freebie just for our
listeners.
Hello, and welcome inspired podcast community.
This is your new episode.
My name is Caroline, and my today's guest isJohn Austenson, and I'm so happy that he said
yes to our interview.
How are you doing today?
(01:10):
Caroline, doing fantastic.
Excited to be with you.
What a great day today for a podcast interview.
I would like to introduce you, of course, tothe audience.
You are the founder and CEO of Friend BridgeConsulting, an Inc 5 1,000 company, and the top
one point what?
No.
(01:31):
0 point how do you pronounce this?
0.1% franchise consultant.
Sorry for that.
You will explain us later.
As the best selling author of non foodfranchising, you leverage your ex experience as
a former franchise president and multi brandfranchisee to help clients make strategic
franchise investments.
(01:52):
You frequently con contribute to Forbes, Inc,and Uber on franchising ins insights.
Welcome to the Inspire podcast.
I'm inspired, John Austenson.
Great.
Thanks so much, Caroline.
Excited to be with you.
Tell me how you it is 0.1%.
I had a little in my head, too too muchnumbers.
(02:13):
And this is embarrassing because I was anaccountant for the last 16 years, but I quit
this, and now I'm a podcast host.
So this is my excuse, 0.1 percent.
And this is what I aim I'm aiming for for mypodcast.
You know?
Now I'm 5 5 top 5 percent, and 0, I have topractice this.
(02:37):
Sorry for that.
My first question to you is, but I love it,what's the biggest misconception people have
about franchising, and how does non-foodfranchising create unique opportunities for
investors?
Absolutely.
And congrats on the the top 5%.
I know it's gonna continue to climb up thecharts.
That's not an easy feat, so congratulations.
(02:59):
No.
You know, Caroline, like so many of yourlisteners, I've spent many years in the
corporate world working for others, helpingthem build their empires.
And, really, it was 8 years ago that I left thebig public company world and stepped into a
smaller private company called ShelfGenie.
It's custom pullout shelving for your kitchensand pantries, and, you know, it's kind of a
niche-driven business, but it's a franchise.
(03:19):
That experience opened up my eyes to this worldof franchising that exists outside of food.
Oftentimes, when I say the f-word franchise,people think fast food, but there's so many
other industries and ways for people to getinvolved.
And it was really through that experience thatI fell in love with the franchise model.
I just saw how so many different backgroundscould find, realize their dream of business
ownership through a proven system and aplatform.
(03:42):
And, since then, I've invested in franchisesmyself as a franchisee, so I've been on both
sides of the table there.
Now I get to spend most of my time helpingothers step out into business ownership and
identify what are the top opportunities forthem in their market that are available that
could be a good fit based on their backgroundsand what they're looking to do.
(04:02):
So, you know, I just believe that franchising,it's not right for everybody, but for the vast
majority, it's a better path to businessownership when you've got a built-in team,
built-in system, proven business model, and alot more.
Yes.
That's so true.
Thank you for sharing.
That means you become a part of a greaternetwork with proven strategies.
(04:23):
You already talked about this.
And I remember I had a presentation while I wasin my studies of economics.
I had to pick a topic.
It was 20 years ago, you know, and I chosefranchising.
What is this?
And I explained it to the others, and it'strue.
Most of the people think it's about food.
(04:45):
It's not.
There can be so many opportunities as well.
Thank you for doing this.
And, of course, I have another question.
What advice would you give someone exploringfranchise ownership but unsure where to start?
You know, it can be very overwhelming.
There are over 3,500 franchises out there, andthat list is always growing.
(05:06):
And just like any industry, there are goodplayers, and there are ones that are not worth
the investment.
Right?
And so that's where we come in, and it'sentirely free to work with us.
We're essentially a real estate broker, but forfranchises.
So we simply get a referral fee from the brandon the back end, and none of that's passed on
to our clients.
So it's a nice clean model.
But, yeah, certainly someone can start googlingaround.
(05:26):
The challenge is there's so much noise outthere.
What they'll find is, you know, lists of thetop 100 franchises or top 50 franchises from
different publications.
But the challenge is, oftentimes, companies payto be on that list.
It's a PR move for them.
So it's really hard to decipher through thenoise what's going on, what's it look like
behind the scenes.
And that's where we come in to hold ourclient's hand and say, hey.
(05:48):
In Chicago, if we're in your shoes with yourbackground, looking to do, you know, play this
role in the business, here are the ones thatare available that we would stand behind and
want to look at ourselves if we were you.
So, yeah, we have a very defined process thatwe take clients through that matches them up
with the top opportunities in their markets.
Yeah.
But some of the things we're looking for, thatdifferentiate good opportunities from those
(06:12):
that aren't as good.
You know, obviously, the financial model's gotto be there.
Right?
You know, but we take a heavy look at theleadership team.
I want to see a good blend of franchiseexperience on that team as well as the industry
experience.
You know, we're looking at their track recordsand their backgrounds.
You know, and then it's competitive advantages.
It's what are current owners and their systemssaying about their experience so far.
So, you know, there's a little bit of art, alittle bit of science to it, but, you know, we
(06:34):
have a proven methodology that we take clientsthrough to help them identify the right
opportunities.
Oh, I love what you said about matching theright franchise to the franchisee and also to,
you function as a filter, so to say, to crowdout all the noise or the people who buy into
(06:55):
those lists.
I don't know if one can say this.
You mentioned PR reasons.
Yes.
I understand what you mean, and I love what youdo because you help the people from the
beginning.
And most of the people are diving into theirbusinesses not knowing what they are doing, in
fact.
Right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And, you know, what's really interesting,Caroline, I'd say 90 percent of those that we
(07:18):
work with end up going with an opportunitythat's in an industry that was never even on
their radar.
So we love exposing people to the possibilitiesof what's out there and helping them, you know,
think about things very differently.
There are so many different niches under theselarge industry umbrellas that they oftentimes
would never have thought about on their own.
You know, people are attracted these days tothings like home and property services or
(07:42):
health and wellness or categories like kids orpets or seniors.
I'd say the general theme that we see out thereis, you know, what are those understandable
cash-flowing industries that aren't gonna goout of style?
They're not trendy.
They're not sexy in some cases, but they're,you know, businesses that people are gonna
continue to spend on.
You'll always spend on your kids, your pets,your aging parents, your homes, your health.
(08:05):
Right?
So, you know, businesses that cater to thosekinds of constituencies are the ones that we,
really, you know, are attractive to us.
I understand.
And what about the podcast franchise?
Does this exist already?
Hey.
Never say never.
We see all different types of business modelsthat are coming under a franchise.
(08:26):
You know?
I mean, just to rattle off a few that I'mpersonally invested in.
I'm more of a property services kind of guyjust as far as my own personal investments, but
I've got an asphalt paving and line stripingbusiness.
So for parking lots, I've got a business thathas temporary walls, like containment walls
around renovation projects and constructionsites, like an equipment rental business.
You know, on the health and wellness end, Ipersonally own a franchise that does custom
(08:50):
orthotics.
It's the insoles for your shoes, and we use 3Dprinting to mold those.
And, so, again, that's just a small sampling,but there are so many different niches out
there that people are jumping into.
Wow.
That's so amazing.
And how about the people who invent or have theidea for the franchise?
So they are selling the licenses, so to say.
(09:12):
And it is what they sell is the process.
Right?
That's right.
And so, you know, for some companies, it's agreat way to expand.
And, obviously, private equity lovesfranchising, so there's that exit potential
down the road.
You know, it's a good way to expand with otherpeople that have skin in the game, that know
their local markets that are highlyincentivized.
You know, I would caution new franchisors, youknow, just make sure that you're well
(09:36):
capitalized going into it.
I do see that coming into play sometimes.
I would encourage them to really make sureyou're buttoned up, that you've got those
processes ironed out.
You've got a proven business model.
You know, it's not just an idea, but it's aproven model in at least one location, if not
more, because you're inviting people to come inand invest in a significant way, and you've
(09:57):
gotta be ready.
You've gotta have the team to support them.
You know, so either do it the right way ordon't do it is my advice.
I love having those conversations with, youknow, business founders that are thinking about
expansion, and they're saying maybe franchisingcould be a good path.
I love chatting with them as well.
Oh, okay.
I see.
So where can we find you when people want toreach out to you after listening to this
(10:20):
episode?
Yeah.
Come out to our website,FranBridgeConsulting.com.
That's FranBridgeConsulting.com.
And, yeah, you know, we'd love to share a free,downloadable copy of our book Non-Food
Franchising with any of your listeners.
So if you come out there and share your emailaddress, then my system will reach out and give
you the links to the downloads.
And certainly, if anyone would like to take thenext step and book a call with me, you know,
(10:43):
I'd be happy to jump on and have a briefconversation to talk about your situation.
And then if it makes sense to partner up and godeeper, again, it's entirely free to work with
us.
So I always encourage people to get off thecouch.
You know, it's a very low-risk situation here.
You're not committing to anything, but, youknow, learn a little bit more, read the book,
(11:03):
is a good starting point.
Wow.
That sounds great.
So please reach out to Jon.
He's amazing.
Shares his wisdom and insight and get on a freecall.
I like this.
So I just visited your website.
I'm impressed.
Thank you so much.
Of course, I have another question for you.
(11:24):
How has your experience as both a franchiseeand consultant shaped your approach to helping
clients find the right franchise fit?
You know, I get my validation not through thenumber of clients we place.
I mean, we place a lot, but through the clientsthat come back and buy additional locations or
additional brands or they refer their sister tome.
(11:45):
That's what gets me excited.
I just love seeing those success stories.
And, Caroline, it does not work out foreveryone.
You know, I don't wanna sugarcoat it.
I wanna be real here.
But for the vast, vast majority, it does.
And so much higher percentage than just, youknow, traditional startups.
And, you know, the data's proven that out.
So, you know, love seeing the successes of myclients.
(12:08):
Love it when they come back and buy more.
And, you know, fortunately for us, I mean, wedo just about as many placements as anybody out
there.
And so I'm able to see firsthand, you know, howare those franchisees that have been placed
doing, and that helps inform how I work withfuture clients.
You know, but we just get to see so manydifferent backgrounds.
You know, I'll have doctors reach out to me ormiddle management in the corporate world.
(12:28):
And it's like, I'm like, I've seen this storybefore and here's how it plays out and here are
the different paths that you can take.
So, you know, when we're working from a largedata set and we get a lot of exposure to these
brands, obviously, because of the volume thatwe do, you know, we've got a lot of
relationships with a lot of brands out there,just really allows us to be a little more
scientific.
I mean, we work with over 600 differentcompanies.
(12:50):
But again, they're not all created equal.
And, you know, I'd say at any given time, thereare probably 50 or 60 that I feel strongest
about.
Just looking through the lenses that I evaluatethem.
So I love narrowing those down to what'savailable in our client situation and
introducing them to the top 10 or so in theirmarket.
Wow.
That sounds amazing what you shared.
(13:10):
So you have the overview to all this what'sgoing on in the business or in the franchise
world as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Pretty good perspective.
And, you know, we always encourage people.
Hey.
We've got a perspective, you know, but we'reflying at 30,000 feet to some degree.
You know, once you say, hey.
Here are three that I'm interested in.
Let's have conversations.
(13:31):
You know, you'll have those calls with thefranchisors, and you'll eventually get to talk
to franchisees in their system, hear abouttheir experience, ask them questions.
You'll get a ton of information from thefranchisor.
Really, the goal is for you to get so muchinformation that you go in eyes wide open into
making that purchase decision.
And, of course, we're there on the sidelinesholding your hand throughout the process,
helping you figure out funding resources.
(13:52):
A lot of people will use, you know, a smallbusiness loan to fund the business.
You know, you still have to have maybe $50,000or $60,000 of cash to put into the business,
I'd say, but you can usually leverage the restthrough, you know, through a loan.
Some people will use an old retirement plan tofund the business through what's called the
ROBS program.
So we educate clients on all of that, and thenwe've got partners that we can pull in to
(14:13):
support them as well.
Wow.
That sounds amazing, and especially the aspectthat you hold hands with the clients.
And I would like to know if you have coachesand mentors for yourself and who was the best
coach you ever had.
Great question.
So I have had coaches over time.
At the moment, I don't have one particularcoach, but I have in the past.
(14:35):
Bob Lewis was fantastic.
A guy named Jack Daly, I'd probably point to.
He's kind of a big figurehead out there.
He's written a lot of books, done a lot ofspeaking.
That was a big investment.
But the year that I spent with him, I learnedso much in that one-on-one coaching.
So, yeah, big supporter of coaches.
That's one of the things I love about thefranchise models.
When you become a franchisee, you essentiallyhave a coach on the sidelines in that franchise
(14:56):
org.
I still encourage people, hey, have someoutside guidance too.
One thing that's been very helpful for me in myentrepreneurial journey is I've been a member
of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, EO.
Now you've gotta have at least a $1 millionbusiness to be a part of that, but there's just
such a variety of industries.
I've got a small group that I meet with everymonth for about five hours.
(15:16):
There's seven others, everyone from a differentindustry.
And we go deep on each other's businesses andexchange best practices, and we also talk about
investments that we're doing and, you know,kind of the personal family side as well, so we
blend it all together.
But I heard a quote recently, you know,spending time with other business owners, you
know, is a huge investment that pays off justbecause the conversations are so different.
(15:38):
You know?
And that's what I found.
They can relate to you.
They understand you're going through the samethings.
You know, if you're just talking with someonethat's a W-2 working for someone else, the
conversation's not the same.
Yeah.
That's so true.
And that reminds me of the mastermind principleintroduced by Napoleon Hill.
I don't know where he got this from.
(15:58):
Maybe Andrew Carnegie.
You know this book, "Think and Grow Rich," thebusiness bible.
I used to study it every day.
It helps a lot.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiencewith your coaches and mentors.
And my last question to you is, do you setgoals for yourself or intentions, and what is
(16:19):
one of your next projects?
Yeah.
No.
I absolutely do.
I've been very goal-oriented my whole life.
You know, it's interesting over the holidaybreak recently, my wife and I were looking
back, and it is so neat to see goals from 15years ago shortly after we got married.
And just how many of those have transpired towhere we are today, you know, living in the
neighborhood that we want to live and going onthe trips, raising our kids the way we want to.
(16:43):
It's just, you know, kind of that vision whenyou put it on paper.
Right?
It goes from a dream to a goal, and it's beenso neat now looking back and seeing those
realized.
But now as I've refined my process over time,and now I set quarterly goals, you know, what
are those rocks that I'm going after?
You know, then what are the smaller initiativesas well?
But, you know, I think about it in fivedomains, faith, family.
(17:07):
You know, I put friends in with family as well.
It's kind of relationships.
You know, finances, so investing and taxes andeverything that goes within that.
And then fitness.
You know, health is very important to me.
And then the fifth one would be franchising,which, you know, some people might call
business, but, yeah, I kinda like havinganother f in there.
So, yeah, in franchising and business.
(17:28):
So, you know, for me, we succeed when ourclients succeed.
And, you know, like you said, we were number584 on the Inc.
5000 last year.
It's something I'm very proud of.
But that simply represents how many clientsthat we were able to help get into business
ownership.
So I love what I do.
Love, you know, being able to help othersrealize their dreams.
(17:49):
Wow.
I love it.
I love what you do.
I love your success as well, and I heard it.
Someone said a goal is a dream with a deadline.
You mentioned this, something like that.
Dreams turn into reality.
Thank you so much for our interview.
And now it's time for your final thoughts tothe audience, please.
(18:10):
Yeah.
You know, I would say I love the line activitybreeds activity.
You know, I think in my life, oftentimes, youknow, I haven't known the answer or maybe I'm
at a crossroads.
But what I find is if I start moving towardsoption A or option B, oftentimes option C comes
out of left field.
So I'm a big believer that get off the couch,get in the game, start moving, and good things
(18:32):
open up.
So as it pertains to our conversation today,again, if someone has an interest in what we
talked about, you know, with franchising, youknow, take a first step, download the book from
our website.
And then, like I said, more than happy to jumpon a call and help out as well.
Be brave and reach out to Jon.
I would add to that because it's so, soimportant to find your purpose and calling.
(18:57):
I would say thank you so much for ourinterview.
Enjoyed it.
Thank you, Caroline.
And see you in the next episode.
Thank you for listening to Inspired ChoiceToday.
I'm thrilled to have you on this journey ofgrowth and transformation.
Don't forget to hit follow or subscribe to stayconnected and never miss an episode.
(19:19):
And here's something special.
Grab your free 20-minute breakthrough sessionwith me.
It's designed to help you kick-start or levelup your business.
Just check out the show notes for more.
Until next time, keep making those inspiredchoices.
See you in the next episode.
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