November 19, 2025 • 27 mins
In this episode of the Multifamily Real Estate Experiment Podcast, host Hutch the Marine Investor welcomes John Austinson, founder and CEO of Fan Bridge Consulting. Together, they delve into the unique business opportunities that franchising offers, particularly non-food franchising. John, an industry expert and author of 'Non-Food Franchising: The Better Path to Business Ownership,' shares insights on how franchising sits between entrepreneurship and investing, providing a proven system and established brand without starting from scratch. The discussion covers a range of topics, including the business model's appeal to corporate professionals, real estate investors, and military veterans, the benefits and challenges of franchising versus starting from scratch, and how to finance and manage a franchise. John also shares advice on selecting the right franchise opportunities and the potential financial returns. This episode is packed with valuable insights for anyone interested in diversifying their investment portfolio through franchising.
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
00:52 Introducing Today's Guest: John Austinson
02:25 John's Journey into Franchising
03:34 Who is Buying Franchises Today?
05:34 Non-Food Franchises: The New Trend
07:57 Why Real Estate Investors are Turning to Franchises
10:20 Semi-Passive Franchise Ownership
11:44 Franchise Investment Numbers
14:53 Pros and Cons: Franchising vs. Starting from Scratch
16:47 Evaluating and Scaling Franchise Opportunities
19:54 The Process of Getting Started with Franchising
22:46 The Five Freedoms and Final Thoughts
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Email me at:
hutch@hsquaredcapital.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Track 1 (00:00):
Okay Wah Gwan multifamily enthusiast.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Multifamily Real Estate
Experiment Podcast.
Now, you already know that thisshows about helping you own more
of America, and whether that isthrough apartments.
(00:20):
Funds.
Assets that create cash flow onLegacy.
we want to give you someinformation that will help you
own more of America.
what if I told you that there isa business model that sits
between entrepreneurship andinvesting?
one that allows you.
(00:42):
To own income stream backed byproven system and established
brand without starting fromscratch.
What if I tell you that was apossibility for you?
That's what today's guest isabout.
John Austinson is the founderand CEO of Fan Bridge
Consulting, a leading expert innon-food franchising.
(01:04):
Stick with us he has helpedthousands of investors identify
high performing franchises,opportunities in industries
like, property service, healthand wellness, and business to
business solution.
He's the founder of a Inc.
500.
Franchise executive author ofNon-Food Franchising, the Better
Path to Business Ownership andone of the most respected voice
(01:28):
in a franchise, investmentworld.
John, welcome to the Deal Labtoday, brother.
Hey.
Hutch appreciate you having me.
Yes, sir.
Now, before we get into all thisgoodness that you're about to
impart in us and and ourlisteners.
do you have, lemme ask you this.
What is one quote or principlethat drives the way you think
(01:49):
about business ownership andinvesting?
I would say I try to live mylife by to whom much it's given
much is expected.
And I think, stewarding ourtalents and treasures is first
and foremost.
I've learned a lot in investingover the years.
I've got a lot of criteria andfilters that I use.
I invest in a lot of differentasset classes, real estate
funds, real estate, directlyprivate credit.
(02:11):
crypto, all of those types ofthings, public markets, but also
in business ownership, which I'mexcited to dive into with you.
That is awesome, man.
so you built and scalefranchises.
you have led corporation,corporate system, and you now
help invested, diversified,through franchises.
Can you how you made thetransition, and what's your
mission at Fan Bridge Consultingnow?
like so many out there, I spentmany years in the corporate
(02:32):
world and very thankful for therun we had, but got into
franchise about nine years ago,as president of franchise system
and supporting all of ourfranchisees all across North
America and really fell in lovewith the franchise model.
I, saw how all these diversebackgrounds could come together
under a shared system ofsupport.
we launched, newly mintedbusiness owners that allowed
them to become successful withall our support.
fell in love with the franchisemodel.
(02:52):
I have invested in franchisesmyself over the years.
Started my consulting businessabout six years ago where we
educate and help others getplugged in as well.
essentially you can think of meas a real estate broker, but for
franchises.
we work with over 600 differentfranchise companies.
It's entirely free to work withus for our clients.
We simply get a referral fee onthe backend.
If you were to come to me, Hutchthere in Oahu and say, Hey,
(03:14):
John, I'm interested inexploring business ownership.
I'd get to know you.
I'd say, based on what you'veshared with me, based on
everything I've seen out there,here are the top 10 or 12
opportunities that are open.
Looking to expand into yourmarket, I think could be a good
fit for you.
And then kinda hold your handthrough the discovery process,
man, that is so cool.
Now, here's what I, here's whatI want to know.
(03:34):
who exactly is buying franchiseslike right now?
So a lot of folks.
Right now we're dealing with,we're dealing with the
government shut down and thegreat financial crisis, all the
good stuff.
So there, there's been a shiftin, in tactics and different
people, different financialstrategies as well too.
so let's start with the basic,we are seeing massive increase,
in the interest from corporateprofessionals real estate
(03:55):
investors and even some militaryveterans.
There's a famous lady, Sanchez,that is teaching people how to
buy business.
She's definitely a mover andshaker in this community, Maybe
not so much franchises, butshe's really teaching people how
to own more of America.
And on the business side.
Lemme ask you this, whoactually, who's actually buying
franchising today and what'smotivating them to choose, this
(04:17):
route instead of startingsomething from scratch?
you hit on a couple of thegroups.
the corporate refugees as Iwould call them, the Wall Street
Journal has an article every dayabout how AI is displacing white
collar jobs.
There's a number of reasons whypeople are leaving the corporate
world, we see a lot of interestfrom real estate investors, Over
the last couple years, you'vehad high interest rates, low
inventory, maybe fewer good realestate deals to be had.
these real estate investors aresaying, Hey, what are other tax
(04:39):
advantage alternativeinvestments that I can jump
into?
And there's a lot of synergywith, business ownership.
we're seeing a lot of interestfrom existing business owners.
they're saying, I'm ready toexpand my portfolio, and I
remember all the hard work thatwent into it first time around.
Maybe next time I add afranchise, maybe that's a better
path to get to that.
Point I want to be.
but no, you're exactly right.
Cody does a nice job out there.
(04:59):
Buying an existing business canbe a good option.
However, from where I sit,Hutch, I get calls day in, day
out from people that have beenlooking for an existing business
for three years, four years,five years.
Some have paid people to go outand find the business for them.
All that time they could havespent.
Building a business, they couldhave jumped into franchising day
one, built that up.
(05:19):
Meanwhile, they're looking foran existing business.
You can always buy a businessdown the road too.
that's one of the things I loveabout franchising is allows them
to jump in the game and getgoing.
Yeah, that's great, man.
look, yesterday I was talking tomy son what the podcast is about
this morning, about what hisinterview was about this
morning.
And I tell him franchising, andI had to explain the concept of
franchising, I had to give himsome example of franchising my
(05:42):
mind automatically went to afood brand, so a lot of people
to include myself.
Thing that franchising is justabout fast food and gyms, but
you're saying that's less than10% in your portfolio.
why are so many investorschoosing non-food franchises
and, which sector is growing thefastest that, a veteran,
(06:04):
accredited investors, maybe asmall business owner already,
may want to consider, thatsection of franchising.
Absolutely.
Great question.
And I'd say first off, thank youfor your service.
As we talked about before theshow, very, we love military
veterans, franchising.
Oftentimes we'll give, you'llsee discounts given to military
veterans because they've beentrained to follow a system and
execute.
That's what franchising is allabout, we've got nothing against
(06:27):
the food guys, subway,McDonald's, Chick-fil-A.
We need them in a big way.
However, my humble belief isthere are easier ways to make
money.
There are opportunities thatrequire fewer employees or less
operating hours or less CapExinvestment, or maybe they're
less susceptible to consumerwhims.
Where we see people gravitatingtoday.
is into industries that areunderstandable.
Cash flow and businesses, thingsthat aren't going outta style,
(06:48):
non trendy.
In some cases they're non-sexy.
I joke that non-sexy is the newsexy when it comes to business
ownership.
Everyone wants that boringbusiness, right?
it's things like home andproperty services.
There's so many different nicheswithin that, from insulation to
flooring, to cabinets, to poolcleaning, to, Asphalt paving and
line striping.
That's one of the ones I'minvested in.
Parking lots, dumpsters,non-sexy to things like health
(07:10):
and wellness and there's some.
Maybe sexier businesses inthere.
there's some cool recoverymodality type opportunities,
Health and wellness is big.
Categories like business tobusiness services, which could
be everything from freightbrokerage to, industrial hoses
to business coaching, to costreduction consulting, categories
like kids or pets or seniors.
Seniors is a huge area.
(07:31):
we all know the demographics,right?
And yes, there are a lot ofdifferent ways to tap into
supporting, people in thatconstituency.
And there's a community aspectand a feel good aspect to a lot
of these as well.
that's what we're seeing.
Amen.
Yes.
And so there's so many thingsthat there, that, that will,
that can satisfy somebody's,vision of their life, the
purpose they want or the impactthey want to make in the
business world, most of ourlisteners understand real
(07:53):
estate, they understand how toleverage cash flow and systems,
So let me ask you this, man.
Why are so many real estateinvestors turn into franchises,
and how does owning franchisescompare to owning the
multi-family properties in termsof return and controlled and
stability?
Or scalability.
Yeah.
I think there are macro factorsgoing on in the real estate
world, but why are theyattracted to franchising?
(08:15):
I think that a, again,franchising, which is ultimately
business ownership, you open upthe tax playbook, you can offset
active income with active lossesand do many different things
right through the tax code andthe new buildup passed, only
further supports that.
So I would say that's one.
They have a tax mindset fromreal estate that they bring with
them.
But then like a lot of theindustries I touched on home
(08:36):
services and property services,things that relate directly to
real estate, they understand.
I think there's a lot ofsynergies there.
from an ownership standpoint, Inever wanna sugarcoat it, Hutch.
If business ownership was easy,everyone would be doing it.
It does take work.
There's a reason why you canmake outsized returns.
It's because you're putting insome effort to do if it's a
passive multifamily syndication,like I have invested a lot in,
(08:59):
There's gonna be a lot moreeffort that goes into business
ownership, but if it's one thatyou're actively involved in,
there are a lot of models thatcan be recurring revenue
businesses that aren't gonna bedisrupted by Ai, they're not
gonna go outta style things thatwill always be needed, just like
commercial real estate.
so I'd say in both of these,oftentimes there's getting
involved in the community andbuilding, synergies with other
adjacent businesses and businessowners.
it really goes hand in hand.
(09:20):
Probably two thirds of ourclients invest in real estate as
well.
I personally do, an all of theabove approach.
Most people are, one of thethings I've been trying to, I've
been really did talk to peopleabout like when you hear certain
things, one thing that I've beenlistening to recently and I find
to be super hilarious, and Ithink a lot of folks might find
hilarious as well, if they'refamiliar with some of these
little stories.
(09:41):
And it's this guy on socialmedia and he had this thing that
said, do it lady.
he says, do it lady.
'cause this lady's birthday, hewrite her card, and it says, do
it lady.
It's do what?
And his rebuttal was all of itall at once on your birthday.
And I'm like, okay.
So when you listen to that andyou adapt the concept that we
all have two lives, the secondone begins when I realize that
(10:03):
we only have one.
Then you realize that you can doall of it all at once on your
birthday.
So there's really no limit, tothe things that we can
accomplish in our life.
No one lifetime except for theones that we place on ourself,
so with the franchise inconcept, right?
it, the big misconception infranchising is that it's a job,
(10:24):
but you specialize in helping.
People find semi passive orfully managed option.
can you break down what thatlooks like and how a busy,
professional or investor canbuild a franchise income stream
without quitting their day job?
Because that's one of the thingsthat we pride ourself in, um, in
real estate for passiveinvestors.
About half of those we work withdo go with that semi-passive
(10:47):
route.
You'll hear franchises marketthemselves as semi-passive,
semi-absentee executive model.
It all means the same thing.
The idea is you put a manager inplace that you're managing but
the franchisor is alsosupporting that manager.
Now again, I never wannasugarcoat, so I would say It
still takes a lot of hard work.
If you've got a great manager inplace, then you could be very
hands off.
You could put in almost no timein the business.
(11:08):
I personally do that, and I seeit firsthand with a lot of our
clients.
But if you don't have the rightmanager, then you're leaning in
a whole lot more than youexpected, putting time in.
So much of the success of themodel comes down to having the
right person.
Right level of incentives setup.
But if you do have that rightperson, then franchising makes
it very doable because they cango to that franchisor for a lot
of their daily support needs andtheir questions and leave you
(11:30):
alone.
So ultimately the buck stillstops with you as the owner.
But that's the beauty offranchising is it does allow for
that model.
And a lot of our clients willbuy multiple franchise brands
over time, so it builds out thatportfolio within franchising as
well.
That is awesome, man.
so let's get into the numbers,John.
so let's get a little bit deeperinto the numbers, because a lot
of folks, want to make somemoney.
(11:50):
and if they can do it in minimaltime, I think there's also a
really a good thing.
what's a typical franchiseinvestment look like, from
startup costs, expected cashflow and, long term return, how
do you compare to real estatesyndication or buying a small
business?
Outrights.
all in investment.
end of the day, these arebusinesses.
You have a lot of differenttypes of businesses, and we have
(12:11):
clients that do things well intothe seven figures.
$4 million trampoline park as anexample, right?
But I'd say probably 80% ofthose that we work with, when
you look at the franchise fee,the startup cost, and several
months of working capital, allbuilt into that investment
range.
Oftentimes you're between150,000 and 400,000.
I'd say that's the sweet spot.
Quite a few, on either side, butthat'd be the sweet spot.
Many people are using SBA loansto help fund that.
(12:34):
Banks obviously prefer lendingto franchises.
It's just much more predictable.
Probably two thirds of ourclients will use SBA loans to
fund about 80% of theirpurchase.
Retirement plans can be anotheroption if you have a 401k from a
previous employer.
You can roll that over throughwhat's called the Robs program,
And purchase the business with aretirement plan.
Then you pay yourself a salaryfrom that.
Some people do that inconjunction with the SBA.
(12:55):
So certainly HELOCs are anotherway.
as far as returns go, again, alot of different types of
businesses, a lot of differentsetups.
if you were running thebusiness, so you're not having
to cover the overhead of ageneral manager, I gave a talk
in Dallas to an investor groupthis past week, and the example
I gave them was, let's just sayyou bought two territories of a
franchise.
You have some.
Associated cost as well.
(13:16):
You're all on investment.
On the high side, you might be300,000.
That could be a property servicefranchise, maybe in-home senior
care, something along thoselines where you don't have the
retail component.
Gotcha.
All on investment.
300,000.
I would say.
you probably won't hit a milliondollars in your first year, but
you could be at that run rate bythe end of the year going into
year two.
So top line revenue, about amillion dollars.
(13:36):
Again, assuming you're focusedon the business.
Bottom line margin, you'reprobably somewhere between 15
and 25%.
That's a lot of what we see outthere model wise.
So that would be 200,000 hittingthe bottom line on an investment
of 300,000.
So that's a 67% cash on cashreturn right there.
Obviously you're building anasset that you're gonna be able
to sell one day and you'regetting the tax advantages of
(13:58):
business ownership.
So it's a trifecta, if you will,but from a strictly return
standpoint, 67%.
Again, some businesses willyield more than that.
Some will yield less, but that'sa good example.
it shows that you can make anoutsized return, but you're
putting effort in, it's notpassive.
Yeah.
most definitely man.
One of the most importantdecision we make, in real estate
(14:18):
business when we buy apartmentcomplexes is who's going to
manage this thing right?
From the property managementcompany to the asset manager,
right?
When they start talking aboutemploying professional managers
very comparable to that propertymanagers who's doing the
day-to-day activity andcommunicating with other
employees.
Ensure the trainings are done,ensure the systems and processes
(14:39):
are followed.
To stay in line with thebusiness model for different
franchisees, The professionalmanager's comparable to the
professional property managementcompany.
Then of course, you, thebusiness owner would be the one
who would be executing thebusiness plan.
Looking at the overalloperations of the franchise to
ensure that you are managing themanagers, I wanna get into the
(15:00):
next question, John, about thepros and cons of franchising
versus starting from scratch, soyou have worked both, on both
side building company fromground up, and scaling
franchises, what is the biggestadvantage and disadvantage of
franchising versus starting abrand new company?
Franchising's not right foreveryone.
some people are tooentrepreneurial.
(15:21):
They wanna put their thumbprintall over it.
They don't wanna stay within theline, they would not be a good
fit, for most people, havingthose training wheels, the
franchise model is a betterpath.
You're able to shortcut thesuccess.
You go into it, it's a modelthat's been proven out in other
markets.
You've got the proven productmarket fit.
You've got a playbook to goexecute against day one.
you've got a franchisor on thesidelines supporting you almost
(15:42):
like a coach.
And you have a built inmastermind of other franchisees
living the same thing, day in,day out, exchanging best
practices and learnings, There'sthings like, having optimized
marketing.
'cause they've learned how torun marketing in other markets,
so you're not having to testeverything.
You've got, a larger data set.
You've got technology stacked.
You step into day one, maybebulk buying for goods or
services on the back end.
(16:03):
When you start stacking theseup, it just brings a lot of
value to the table.
Hutch, not every franchise iscreated equal.
You've got great players outthere that provide great support
and you've got ones that don'tthat's where we come in to help
identify the top ones.
But when you start stacking it,I encourage people, you may
start your own business at somepoint, but if you start with a
franchise, I bet that businessyou start one day, is gonna be
(16:25):
better for the PR principles youlearned in the franchising,
experience That, no, that, thatmakes sense, man, that makes
absolute sense.
I appreciate diving into that.
as he was talking through that,I was thinking, man, you got
franchises that allows you awhole day off to go to church on
Sundays.
talking about Chick-fil-A.
Yes, sir.
whatever fuels your fire.
You know what, whatever meetsthose purpose or value or impact
(16:46):
that you want to have in thecommunity.
And that leads me to my nextquestion, For investors
listening right now, who isintrigued, or curious but also
maybe cautious, what's theframework, for evaluating and
scaling the right franchiseopportunity?
you could certainly Google around out there and you're gonna
see a lot of noise.
Every franchise is putting theirbest foot forward.
(17:06):
And even if you see a top 100franchise list.
The company's paid to be on thatlist.
In most cases it's a PR move forthem.
So just a lot of noise.
And that's where, our service isentirely free.
We love helping people.
I get, I've got therelationships in the industry I
see behind the scenes.
So I'd say, whether it be withmyself or another experienced
franchise consultant that's beenthere, done it themselves, I
think that's really important.
(17:26):
Partner up with them and letthem take you through the
process and, identify the topopportunities in your market.
the things that you're gonnawant to look for, obviously
competitive advantages.
Of the business within itsindustry.
Looking at the financial models,there has to be a lot of meat on
the bone.
looking at, what are currentowners in their system saying,
franchisees saying about theirexperience.
And then a big one for me,Hutch, is the leadership team.
(17:47):
Essentially this, thatfranchisor is gonna be your
business partner.
you want someone that you've gota good culture fit with someone
that's been there, done thatsupported successful franchisees
in their background.
Someone that you can partner upwith.
I'd say those are some of themain criteria.
That is awesome, I appreciatethat.
Over the years, we've seen a lotof, some franchise start
closing, 10 sometime, hundredsof stores across the country,
(18:09):
across the world, How does onecombat, those kind of operations
to ensure that the things thatthey're choosing has some
longevity?
Yeah, so how do we ensure thatwe are buffered against,
franchise, selling, I meanselling off all the location or
closing down the mud altogether?
Yeah.
Again, I think a lot of thoseexamples would be in the food
space.
(18:29):
Not all, but I'd say themajority.
And that's where a good example,frozen yogurt was big until it
wasn't, right.
That's where I like some ofthese industries where consumer
whims don't change.
Now, every now and then you'llhave a situation where,
something went wrong with thefranchise or maybe they weren't
well capitalized or didsomething, that hurts the
business model.
That's why, the due diligence onthe front end is important.
Nothing in life is a sure thing,right?
(18:49):
End of the day, this is businessand business isn't for the faint
of heart, but if you go into it,eyes wide open, that's what I
love about our explorationprocesses.
The best indicator of futuresuccess is the past experience,
The past historical results.
You're able to get a lot ofdata, talk to other franchisees
in the system before you everbuy in to hear about their
experience.
We try to, prepare people aswell as possible going into it,
(19:11):
to make it the most, calculatedrisk possible because the vast
majority of franchises, end updoing well.
We try to avoid the pitfalls,when you have a couple thousand
franchises.
There's gonna be a few that getthe headlines that didn't do
well, which is sad and it breaksmy heart.
Fortunately we've had a prettygood track record and try to set
our clients up for success.
That is awesome, man.
You mentioned something earlierthat a lot of our veterans may
(19:33):
be familiar with and that is theSBA loan?
No, I've worked with the, indifferent communities.
The score, score mentors whoassist folks with setting up a
business plan.
To get a loan from the SBA.
How does your company assistfolks with going through the
process of getting financing?
identifying the franchises?
(19:54):
can you walk us through a fivestep process from curiosity to
reaching out to you, to all theway through, start running a
franchise in a small community.
Easy first step would be read my90 book page, 90 page book,
non-food franchising.
I think that's a great primer tohelp you understand how
franchising works.
we've gotten great feedbackthere.
So that'd be an easy first step.
(20:15):
Second step would be jump on acall with me, come out to our
website for enbridgeconsulting.com, share your email
address.
We'll reach out to you with thecalendar link.
Happy to jump on a call, get toknow you, answer some questions.
The way our process would workwould be, I would collect some
information on you and then comeback to you and say, Given what
you're looking to do in yourmarket, your background, your
investment range, the differentcriteria based on what I'm
seeing out there, here are thetop 10 or 12 opportunities that
(20:37):
if I were you, I would beinterested in exploring your
market.
You would narrow it down tomaybe three or four have a
conversation the franchiseorders are gonna take you
through a bunch of calls andpresentations.
They'll introduce you to otherfranchisees in their system.
And I'm here as a resource onthe sideline, holding your hand
through the process.
We can always pivot during thatprocess and go down different
roads.
But what I found is that givesus a really good starting point,
and that's where the magicstarts happening.
(20:58):
Probably 90% of those we workwith end up in an industry that
was never on their radar.
And it is a lot of fun to seethe light bulb moments go on
where they're like, gosh, theylook at their spouse, they're
like, I never thought we'd bedoing this.
But that makes a lot of sense,And so it's a lot of fun.
And ultimately if they decidenot to buy, totally fine.
A lot of people, go through theprocess and then decide it's not
for them, or the timing's notright.
(21:18):
Now, I will say the timing'snever right.
There's always a reason not to.
but that's how the process wouldwork.
And certainly if anyone wants tobuy the book on Amazon, all the
proceeds go to HopeInternational, which is a great
nonprofit that would support.
So that's another option.
That is awesome, man.
I like when you have certainconversation with folks and now
that we are exposed and we cansee what you're saying, a lot of
(21:40):
times we can't really unsee it alot of the folks will come and
talk to you they are inspired toexplore a different.
Level of possibility forthemself and the trajectory of
their finances or the legacythat they're trying to create in
their family so that they're,they are invested emotionally,
physically, of everything withtheir being of what is possible.
(22:03):
I like that you start out with,look, you.
Educate yourself and possiblyput some questions together that
you have not yet understood.
And you have explored all thefree resources that have peaked
your curiosity and you stillhave question.
Then at that point, you'rereaching out to John and you're
saying, John.
Here's where I am.
am in our journey.
However, I don't understandthis, and this and this.
(22:24):
Can you shed some lights?
And then you get to realize thatfranchise is or is not for you?
And if it's not for you, thenyou might realize you need to
educate yourself more.
And if it is for you, then youstart identifying the steps that
you need to take to get to, agood level of what you think is
possible in your life.
So first, start with educatingyourself.
thank you so much for that ninjatip John.
(22:46):
To be mindful of the time, John,we're gonna roll into the
podcast episode, we'll make surethe link to your book is in the
show notes, on Amazon and anyother links we have for you.
So this is the five is theacronym, Focus and Fun,
opportunity, communication,understanding, and Success.
So I'll ask you, what do you dofor fun outside of running
businesses?
Yeah, enjoy playing golf withone son and coach a other son's
(23:08):
basketball team and take mydaughter on, daddy daughter
dates, So you talk about thosefive freedoms, right?
Those time freedoms, locations,all the good stuff, right?
But also the freedom of purposeor relationship, right?
You get to spend time with theones that are most important to
you.
that is so cool, So what was anopportunity that changed your
life?
(23:28):
candidly, getting involved infranchising has changed my life.
I pinch myself every day that Iget to be a business owner.
I worked for the man for manyyears, very thankful for that
experience.
But yes, I have never oncelooked back and just, absolutely
love.
Is it easy?
No.
Is it the challenges that I'vechosen?
Absolutely.
And it is so crazy rewarding.
Just passionate about businessownership.
(23:48):
That is awesome, man.
What's your best communicationhabit?
for leaders or as a leader?
I think communicate often anddon't, mi mixed words.
I think, say it like it is and,people will adjust.
they may not like the message,but tough love is needed just
get it out there in the open.
That's been my approach andcandidly hasn't always been my
approach, but I've learned thehard way and, realize that's the
(24:09):
best way to do it.
Okay.
What is one thing you wish youunderstood earlier, about
business growth?
About business growth.
I think, as you get older andmature in your career, you start
to realize the things you enjoydoing on a day-to-day basis and
not what you're supposed to do.
So I think for a long time I wasat a company where I had 40
employees and I got tired of.
(24:31):
Culture meetings and dealingwith HR issues.
A lot of my friends are so goodat leading organizations like
that.
What I realized about myself isI enjoy being tip of the spear,
working with clients, beingstrategic, looking at business
models.
That's how I enjoy spending mostof my day.
So I structured my businessaround that.
Let others too, the other work.
So I think it's neat when you gofrom what you're supposed to be
(24:51):
doing to what you're passionateabout doing.
That is so cool.
You know, last question on thefocus round.
What's your personal definitionof success today?
I think, as we parent, ourdefinition of success would be,
we want our kids to choose tohang out with us one day when
they don't have to.
So we're parenting towards thatrelationship.
(25:13):
Going back to whom much isgiven, much is expected, just
trying to be a good steward of.
Time resources financialsmeeting young guys for coffee,
to mentor them when you've gotnothing to gain from it.
But instead giving back or beingon my, church call at 6:30 this
morning as part of the financecommittee, waking up early to
help out in that way.
So I try to live it out as muchas I can.
(25:34):
There's so much value in lookingtowards a future and be able to
create that time to invest inrelationships today, especially
with the ones that we care themost about.
our spouses, our children, ourparents, to be able to invest in
that time.
I'd like to talk about, yourchildren be willing to.
Just hang out with you or justcall home just to say hello,
(25:55):
When they don't have to, that'sdefinitely a true, measure of
investment in the most importantrelationships.
John, it is been incredible,man, for our listeners who are
real estate investors orbusiness owners and are ready to
explore diversification throughfranchising, how do they connect
with you?
Come out to our website,franbridgeconsulting.com, FRAN,
bridge consulting.com.
(26:17):
Share your email address.
We'll reach out to you with alink to our calendar.
So we can jump on a call if youlike.
But then secondly, links todownload our book free copy of
the book, which again, I thinkwould be a great primer resource
for you as you start thinking.
And it'll get the juices flowingand, look forward to, engaging
and helping whenever the time's.
Thank you so much, brother.
listeners, if you look atAmazon, name of the book is
Non-Food Franchising a BetterPath to Business Ownership.
(26:39):
John shared some of theblueprint today for Freedom.
Franchising like real estate,it's all about ownership.
and.
it's ownership with system brandequity and it's, it also help
you to scale your ownership,right?
so whether you are, you'reinvested in, apartment, asphalt,
restaurant, there's a path.
The path is the same.
(27:00):
You build income, buy back yourtime It's all in the goal of
owning more of America.
Remember those five freedoms,financial freedom, location
freedom, time freedom of purposeand freedom of relationship, the
more, streams of income youhave, the more of those freedoms
you can create for yourself withthe right systems in place.
So if this episode sparked,something in you.
(27:23):
Leave us the honest feedback.
we'll greatly appreciate that.
And remember, to who most isgiven a lot is expected.
I'm paraphrasing, but I thinkthat's a good quote.
Thank you, John.
And listeners, thank you so muchfor spending time with us in
another episode of theMulti-Family Real Estate
Experiment podcast.
I'm Hutch Marine Investor out.
Okay Wah Gwan multifamily enthusiast.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Multifamily Real Estate
Experiment Podcast.
Now, you already know that thisshows about helping you own more
of America, and whether that isthrough apartments.
(00:20):
Funds.
Assets that create cash flow onLegacy.
we want to give you someinformation that will help you
own more of America.
what if I told you that there isa business model that sits
between entrepreneurship andinvesting?
one that allows you.
(00:42):
To own income stream backed byproven system and established
brand without starting fromscratch.
What if I tell you that was apossibility for you?
That's what today's guest isabout.
John Austinson is the founderand CEO of Fan Bridge
Consulting, a leading expert innon-food franchising.
(01:04):
Stick with us he has helpedthousands of investors identify
high performing franchises,opportunities in industries
like, property service, healthand wellness, and business to
business solution.
He's the founder of a Inc.
500.
Franchise executive author ofNon-Food Franchising, the Better
Path to Business Ownership andone of the most respected voice
(01:28):
in a franchise, investmentworld.
John, welcome to the Deal Labtoday, brother.
Hey.
Hutch appreciate you having me.
Yes, sir.
Now, before we get into all thisgoodness that you're about to
impart in us and and ourlisteners.
do you have, lemme ask you this.
What is one quote or principlethat drives the way you think
(01:49):
about business ownership andinvesting?
I would say I try to live mylife by to whom much it's given
much is expected.
And I think, stewarding ourtalents and treasures is first
and foremost.
I've learned a lot in investingover the years.
I've got a lot of criteria andfilters that I use.
I invest in a lot of differentasset classes, real estate
funds, real estate, directlyprivate credit.
(02:11):
crypto, all of those types ofthings, public markets, but also
in business ownership, which I'mexcited to dive into with you.
That is awesome, man.
so you built and scalefranchises.
you have led corporation,corporate system, and you now
help invested, diversified,through franchises.
Can you how you made thetransition, and what's your
mission at Fan Bridge Consultingnow?
like so many out there, I spentmany years in the corporate
(02:32):
world and very thankful for therun we had, but got into
franchise about nine years ago,as president of franchise system
and supporting all of ourfranchisees all across North
America and really fell in lovewith the franchise model.
I, saw how all these diversebackgrounds could come together
under a shared system ofsupport.
we launched, newly mintedbusiness owners that allowed
them to become successful withall our support.
fell in love with the franchisemodel.
(02:52):
I have invested in franchisesmyself over the years.
Started my consulting businessabout six years ago where we
educate and help others getplugged in as well.
essentially you can think of meas a real estate broker, but for
franchises.
we work with over 600 differentfranchise companies.
It's entirely free to work withus for our clients.
We simply get a referral fee onthe backend.
If you were to come to me, Hutchthere in Oahu and say, Hey,
(03:14):
John, I'm interested inexploring business ownership.
I'd get to know you.
I'd say, based on what you'veshared with me, based on
everything I've seen out there,here are the top 10 or 12
opportunities that are open.
Looking to expand into yourmarket, I think could be a good
fit for you.
And then kinda hold your handthrough the discovery process,
man, that is so cool.
Now, here's what I, here's whatI want to know.
(03:34):
who exactly is buying franchiseslike right now?
So a lot of folks.
Right now we're dealing with,we're dealing with the
government shut down and thegreat financial crisis, all the
good stuff.
So there, there's been a shiftin, in tactics and different
people, different financialstrategies as well too.
so let's start with the basic,we are seeing massive increase,
in the interest from corporateprofessionals real estate
(03:55):
investors and even some militaryveterans.
There's a famous lady, Sanchez,that is teaching people how to
buy business.
She's definitely a mover andshaker in this community, Maybe
not so much franchises, butshe's really teaching people how
to own more of America.
And on the business side.
Lemme ask you this, whoactually, who's actually buying
franchising today and what'smotivating them to choose, this
(04:17):
route instead of startingsomething from scratch?
you hit on a couple of thegroups.
the corporate refugees as Iwould call them, the Wall Street
Journal has an article every dayabout how AI is displacing white
collar jobs.
There's a number of reasons whypeople are leaving the corporate
world, we see a lot of interestfrom real estate investors, Over
the last couple years, you'vehad high interest rates, low
inventory, maybe fewer good realestate deals to be had.
these real estate investors aresaying, Hey, what are other tax
(04:39):
advantage alternativeinvestments that I can jump
into?
And there's a lot of synergywith, business ownership.
we're seeing a lot of interestfrom existing business owners.
they're saying, I'm ready toexpand my portfolio, and I
remember all the hard work thatwent into it first time around.
Maybe next time I add afranchise, maybe that's a better
path to get to that.
Point I want to be.
but no, you're exactly right.
Cody does a nice job out there.
(04:59):
Buying an existing business canbe a good option.
However, from where I sit,Hutch, I get calls day in, day
out from people that have beenlooking for an existing business
for three years, four years,five years.
Some have paid people to go outand find the business for them.
All that time they could havespent.
Building a business, they couldhave jumped into franchising day
one, built that up.
(05:19):
Meanwhile, they're looking foran existing business.
You can always buy a businessdown the road too.
that's one of the things I loveabout franchising is allows them
to jump in the game and getgoing.
Yeah, that's great, man.
look, yesterday I was talking tomy son what the podcast is about
this morning, about what hisinterview was about this
morning.
And I tell him franchising, andI had to explain the concept of
franchising, I had to give himsome example of franchising my
(05:42):
mind automatically went to afood brand, so a lot of people
to include myself.
Thing that franchising is justabout fast food and gyms, but
you're saying that's less than10% in your portfolio.
why are so many investorschoosing non-food franchises
and, which sector is growing thefastest that, a veteran,
(06:04):
accredited investors, maybe asmall business owner already,
may want to consider, thatsection of franchising.
Absolutely.
Great question.
And I'd say first off, thank youfor your service.
As we talked about before theshow, very, we love military
veterans, franchising.
Oftentimes we'll give, you'llsee discounts given to military
veterans because they've beentrained to follow a system and
execute.
That's what franchising is allabout, we've got nothing against
(06:27):
the food guys, subway,McDonald's, Chick-fil-A.
We need them in a big way.
However, my humble belief isthere are easier ways to make
money.
There are opportunities thatrequire fewer employees or less
operating hours or less CapExinvestment, or maybe they're
less susceptible to consumerwhims.
Where we see people gravitatingtoday.
is into industries that areunderstandable.
Cash flow and businesses, thingsthat aren't going outta style,
(06:48):
non trendy.
In some cases they're non-sexy.
I joke that non-sexy is the newsexy when it comes to business
ownership.
Everyone wants that boringbusiness, right?
it's things like home andproperty services.
There's so many different nicheswithin that, from insulation to
flooring, to cabinets, to poolcleaning, to, Asphalt paving and
line striping.
That's one of the ones I'minvested in.
Parking lots, dumpsters,non-sexy to things like health
(07:10):
and wellness and there's some.
Maybe sexier businesses inthere.
there's some cool recoverymodality type opportunities,
Health and wellness is big.
Categories like business tobusiness services, which could
be everything from freightbrokerage to, industrial hoses
to business coaching, to costreduction consulting, categories
like kids or pets or seniors.
Seniors is a huge area.
(07:31):
we all know the demographics,right?
And yes, there are a lot ofdifferent ways to tap into
supporting, people in thatconstituency.
And there's a community aspectand a feel good aspect to a lot
of these as well.
that's what we're seeing.
Amen.
Yes.
And so there's so many thingsthat there, that, that will,
that can satisfy somebody's,vision of their life, the
purpose they want or the impactthey want to make in the
business world, most of ourlisteners understand real
(07:53):
estate, they understand how toleverage cash flow and systems,
So let me ask you this, man.
Why are so many real estateinvestors turn into franchises,
and how does owning franchisescompare to owning the
multi-family properties in termsof return and controlled and
stability?
Or scalability.
Yeah.
I think there are macro factorsgoing on in the real estate
world, but why are theyattracted to franchising?
(08:15):
I think that a, again,franchising, which is ultimately
business ownership, you open upthe tax playbook, you can offset
active income with active lossesand do many different things
right through the tax code andthe new buildup passed, only
further supports that.
So I would say that's one.
They have a tax mindset fromreal estate that they bring with
them.
But then like a lot of theindustries I touched on home
(08:36):
services and property services,things that relate directly to
real estate, they understand.
I think there's a lot ofsynergies there.
from an ownership standpoint, Inever wanna sugarcoat it, Hutch.
If business ownership was easy,everyone would be doing it.
It does take work.
There's a reason why you canmake outsized returns.
It's because you're putting insome effort to do if it's a
passive multifamily syndication,like I have invested a lot in,
(08:59):
There's gonna be a lot moreeffort that goes into business
ownership, but if it's one thatyou're actively involved in,
there are a lot of models thatcan be recurring revenue
businesses that aren't gonna bedisrupted by Ai, they're not
gonna go outta style things thatwill always be needed, just like
commercial real estate.
so I'd say in both of these,oftentimes there's getting
involved in the community andbuilding, synergies with other
adjacent businesses and businessowners.
it really goes hand in hand.
(09:20):
Probably two thirds of ourclients invest in real estate as
well.
I personally do, an all of theabove approach.
Most people are, one of thethings I've been trying to, I've
been really did talk to peopleabout like when you hear certain
things, one thing that I've beenlistening to recently and I find
to be super hilarious, and Ithink a lot of folks might find
hilarious as well, if they'refamiliar with some of these
little stories.
(09:41):
And it's this guy on socialmedia and he had this thing that
said, do it lady.
he says, do it lady.
'cause this lady's birthday, hewrite her card, and it says, do
it lady.
It's do what?
And his rebuttal was all of itall at once on your birthday.
And I'm like, okay.
So when you listen to that andyou adapt the concept that we
all have two lives, the secondone begins when I realize that
(10:03):
we only have one.
Then you realize that you can doall of it all at once on your
birthday.
So there's really no limit, tothe things that we can
accomplish in our life.
No one lifetime except for theones that we place on ourself,
so with the franchise inconcept, right?
it, the big misconception infranchising is that it's a job,
(10:24):
but you specialize in helping.
People find semi passive orfully managed option.
can you break down what thatlooks like and how a busy,
professional or investor canbuild a franchise income stream
without quitting their day job?
Because that's one of the thingsthat we pride ourself in, um, in
real estate for passiveinvestors.
About half of those we work withdo go with that semi-passive
(10:47):
route.
You'll hear franchises marketthemselves as semi-passive,
semi-absentee executive model.
It all means the same thing.
The idea is you put a manager inplace that you're managing but
the franchisor is alsosupporting that manager.
Now again, I never wannasugarcoat, so I would say It
still takes a lot of hard work.
If you've got a great manager inplace, then you could be very
hands off.
You could put in almost no timein the business.
(11:08):
I personally do that, and I seeit firsthand with a lot of our
clients.
But if you don't have the rightmanager, then you're leaning in
a whole lot more than youexpected, putting time in.
So much of the success of themodel comes down to having the
right person.
Right level of incentives setup.
But if you do have that rightperson, then franchising makes
it very doable because they cango to that franchisor for a lot
of their daily support needs andtheir questions and leave you
(11:30):
alone.
So ultimately the buck stillstops with you as the owner.
But that's the beauty offranchising is it does allow for
that model.
And a lot of our clients willbuy multiple franchise brands
over time, so it builds out thatportfolio within franchising as
well.
That is awesome, man.
so let's get into the numbers,John.
so let's get a little bit deeperinto the numbers, because a lot
of folks, want to make somemoney.
(11:50):
and if they can do it in minimaltime, I think there's also a
really a good thing.
what's a typical franchiseinvestment look like, from
startup costs, expected cashflow and, long term return, how
do you compare to real estatesyndication or buying a small
business?
Outrights.
all in investment.
end of the day, these arebusinesses.
You have a lot of differenttypes of businesses, and we have
(12:11):
clients that do things well intothe seven figures.
$4 million trampoline park as anexample, right?
But I'd say probably 80% ofthose that we work with, when
you look at the franchise fee,the startup cost, and several
months of working capital, allbuilt into that investment
range.
Oftentimes you're between150,000 and 400,000.
I'd say that's the sweet spot.
Quite a few, on either side, butthat'd be the sweet spot.
Many people are using SBA loansto help fund that.
(12:34):
Banks obviously prefer lendingto franchises.
It's just much more predictable.
Probably two thirds of ourclients will use SBA loans to
fund about 80% of theirpurchase.
Retirement plans can be anotheroption if you have a 401k from a
previous employer.
You can roll that over throughwhat's called the Robs program,
And purchase the business with aretirement plan.
Then you pay yourself a salaryfrom that.
Some people do that inconjunction with the SBA.
(12:55):
So certainly HELOCs are anotherway.
as far as returns go, again, alot of different types of
businesses, a lot of differentsetups.
if you were running thebusiness, so you're not having
to cover the overhead of ageneral manager, I gave a talk
in Dallas to an investor groupthis past week, and the example
I gave them was, let's just sayyou bought two territories of a
franchise.
You have some.
Associated cost as well.
(13:16):
You're all on investment.
On the high side, you might be300,000.
That could be a property servicefranchise, maybe in-home senior
care, something along thoselines where you don't have the
retail component.
Gotcha.
All on investment.
300,000.
I would say.
you probably won't hit a milliondollars in your first year, but
you could be at that run rate bythe end of the year going into
year two.
So top line revenue, about amillion dollars.
(13:36):
Again, assuming you're focusedon the business.
Bottom line margin, you'reprobably somewhere between 15
and 25%.
That's a lot of what we see outthere model wise.
So that would be 200,000 hittingthe bottom line on an investment
of 300,000.
So that's a 67% cash on cashreturn right there.
Obviously you're building anasset that you're gonna be able
to sell one day and you'regetting the tax advantages of
(13:58):
business ownership.
So it's a trifecta, if you will,but from a strictly return
standpoint, 67%.
Again, some businesses willyield more than that.
Some will yield less, but that'sa good example.
it shows that you can make anoutsized return, but you're
putting effort in, it's notpassive.
Yeah.
most definitely man.
One of the most importantdecision we make, in real estate
(14:18):
business when we buy apartmentcomplexes is who's going to
manage this thing right?
From the property managementcompany to the asset manager,
right?
When they start talking aboutemploying professional managers
very comparable to that propertymanagers who's doing the
day-to-day activity andcommunicating with other
employees.
Ensure the trainings are done,ensure the systems and processes
(14:39):
are followed.
To stay in line with thebusiness model for different
franchisees, The professionalmanager's comparable to the
professional property managementcompany.
Then of course, you, thebusiness owner would be the one
who would be executing thebusiness plan.
Looking at the overalloperations of the franchise to
ensure that you are managing themanagers, I wanna get into the
(15:00):
next question, John, about thepros and cons of franchising
versus starting from scratch, soyou have worked both, on both
side building company fromground up, and scaling
franchises, what is the biggestadvantage and disadvantage of
franchising versus starting abrand new company?
Franchising's not right foreveryone.
some people are tooentrepreneurial.
(15:21):
They wanna put their thumbprintall over it.
They don't wanna stay within theline, they would not be a good
fit, for most people, havingthose training wheels, the
franchise model is a betterpath.
You're able to shortcut thesuccess.
You go into it, it's a modelthat's been proven out in other
markets.
You've got the proven productmarket fit.
You've got a playbook to goexecute against day one.
you've got a franchisor on thesidelines supporting you almost
(15:42):
like a coach.
And you have a built inmastermind of other franchisees
living the same thing, day in,day out, exchanging best
practices and learnings, There'sthings like, having optimized
marketing.
'cause they've learned how torun marketing in other markets,
so you're not having to testeverything.
You've got, a larger data set.
You've got technology stacked.
You step into day one, maybebulk buying for goods or
services on the back end.
(16:03):
When you start stacking theseup, it just brings a lot of
value to the table.
Hutch, not every franchise iscreated equal.
You've got great players outthere that provide great support
and you've got ones that don'tthat's where we come in to help
identify the top ones.
But when you start stacking it,I encourage people, you may
start your own business at somepoint, but if you start with a
franchise, I bet that businessyou start one day, is gonna be
(16:25):
better for the PR principles youlearned in the franchising,
experience That, no, that, thatmakes sense, man, that makes
absolute sense.
I appreciate diving into that.
as he was talking through that,I was thinking, man, you got
franchises that allows you awhole day off to go to church on
Sundays.
talking about Chick-fil-A.
Yes, sir.
whatever fuels your fire.
You know what, whatever meetsthose purpose or value or impact
(16:46):
that you want to have in thecommunity.
And that leads me to my nextquestion, For investors
listening right now, who isintrigued, or curious but also
maybe cautious, what's theframework, for evaluating and
scaling the right franchiseopportunity?
you could certainly Google around out there and you're gonna
see a lot of noise.
Every franchise is putting theirbest foot forward.
(17:06):
And even if you see a top 100franchise list.
The company's paid to be on thatlist.
In most cases it's a PR move forthem.
So just a lot of noise.
And that's where, our service isentirely free.
We love helping people.
I get, I've got therelationships in the industry I
see behind the scenes.
So I'd say, whether it be withmyself or another experienced
franchise consultant that's beenthere, done it themselves, I
think that's really important.
(17:26):
Partner up with them and letthem take you through the
process and, identify the topopportunities in your market.
the things that you're gonnawant to look for, obviously
competitive advantages.
Of the business within itsindustry.
Looking at the financial models,there has to be a lot of meat on
the bone.
looking at, what are currentowners in their system saying,
franchisees saying about theirexperience.
And then a big one for me,Hutch, is the leadership team.
(17:47):
Essentially this, thatfranchisor is gonna be your
business partner.
you want someone that you've gota good culture fit with someone
that's been there, done thatsupported successful franchisees
in their background.
Someone that you can partner upwith.
I'd say those are some of themain criteria.
That is awesome, I appreciatethat.
Over the years, we've seen a lotof, some franchise start
closing, 10 sometime, hundredsof stores across the country,
(18:09):
across the world, How does onecombat, those kind of operations
to ensure that the things thatthey're choosing has some
longevity?
Yeah, so how do we ensure thatwe are buffered against,
franchise, selling, I meanselling off all the location or
closing down the mud altogether?
Yeah.
Again, I think a lot of thoseexamples would be in the food
space.
(18:29):
Not all, but I'd say themajority.
And that's where a good example,frozen yogurt was big until it
wasn't, right.
That's where I like some ofthese industries where consumer
whims don't change.
Now, every now and then you'llhave a situation where,
something went wrong with thefranchise or maybe they weren't
well capitalized or didsomething, that hurts the
business model.
That's why, the due diligence onthe front end is important.
Nothing in life is a sure thing,right?
(18:49):
End of the day, this is businessand business isn't for the faint
of heart, but if you go into it,eyes wide open, that's what I
love about our explorationprocesses.
The best indicator of futuresuccess is the past experience,
The past historical results.
You're able to get a lot ofdata, talk to other franchisees
in the system before you everbuy in to hear about their
experience.
We try to, prepare people aswell as possible going into it,
(19:11):
to make it the most, calculatedrisk possible because the vast
majority of franchises, end updoing well.
We try to avoid the pitfalls,when you have a couple thousand
franchises.
There's gonna be a few that getthe headlines that didn't do
well, which is sad and it breaksmy heart.
Fortunately we've had a prettygood track record and try to set
our clients up for success.
That is awesome, man.
You mentioned something earlierthat a lot of our veterans may
(19:33):
be familiar with and that is theSBA loan?
No, I've worked with the, indifferent communities.
The score, score mentors whoassist folks with setting up a
business plan.
To get a loan from the SBA.
How does your company assistfolks with going through the
process of getting financing?
identifying the franchises?
(19:54):
can you walk us through a fivestep process from curiosity to
reaching out to you, to all theway through, start running a
franchise in a small community.
Easy first step would be read my90 book page, 90 page book,
non-food franchising.
I think that's a great primer tohelp you understand how
franchising works.
we've gotten great feedbackthere.
So that'd be an easy first step.
(20:15):
Second step would be jump on acall with me, come out to our
website for enbridgeconsulting.com, share your email
address.
We'll reach out to you with thecalendar link.
Happy to jump on a call, get toknow you, answer some questions.
The way our process would workwould be, I would collect some
information on you and then comeback to you and say, Given what
you're looking to do in yourmarket, your background, your
investment range, the differentcriteria based on what I'm
seeing out there, here are thetop 10 or 12 opportunities that
(20:37):
if I were you, I would beinterested in exploring your
market.
You would narrow it down tomaybe three or four have a
conversation the franchiseorders are gonna take you
through a bunch of calls andpresentations.
They'll introduce you to otherfranchisees in their system.
And I'm here as a resource onthe sideline, holding your hand
through the process.
We can always pivot during thatprocess and go down different
roads.
But what I found is that givesus a really good starting point,
and that's where the magicstarts happening.
(20:58):
Probably 90% of those we workwith end up in an industry that
was never on their radar.
And it is a lot of fun to seethe light bulb moments go on
where they're like, gosh, theylook at their spouse, they're
like, I never thought we'd bedoing this.
But that makes a lot of sense,And so it's a lot of fun.
And ultimately if they decidenot to buy, totally fine.
A lot of people, go through theprocess and then decide it's not
for them, or the timing's notright.
(21:18):
Now, I will say the timing'snever right.
There's always a reason not to.
but that's how the process wouldwork.
And certainly if anyone wants tobuy the book on Amazon, all the
proceeds go to HopeInternational, which is a great
nonprofit that would support.
So that's another option.
That is awesome, man.
I like when you have certainconversation with folks and now
that we are exposed and we cansee what you're saying, a lot of
(21:40):
times we can't really unsee it alot of the folks will come and
talk to you they are inspired toexplore a different.
Level of possibility forthemself and the trajectory of
their finances or the legacythat they're trying to create in
their family so that they're,they are invested emotionally,
physically, of everything withtheir being of what is possible.
(22:03):
I like that you start out with,look, you.
Educate yourself and possiblyput some questions together that
you have not yet understood.
And you have explored all thefree resources that have peaked
your curiosity and you stillhave question.
Then at that point, you'rereaching out to John and you're
saying, John.
Here's where I am.
am in our journey.
However, I don't understandthis, and this and this.
(22:24):
Can you shed some lights?
And then you get to realize thatfranchise is or is not for you?
And if it's not for you, thenyou might realize you need to
educate yourself more.
And if it is for you, then youstart identifying the steps that
you need to take to get to, agood level of what you think is
possible in your life.
So first, start with educatingyourself.
thank you so much for that ninjatip John.
(22:46):
To be mindful of the time, John,we're gonna roll into the
podcast episode, we'll make surethe link to your book is in the
show notes, on Amazon and anyother links we have for you.
So this is the five is theacronym, Focus and Fun,
opportunity, communication,understanding, and Success.
So I'll ask you, what do you dofor fun outside of running
businesses?
Yeah, enjoy playing golf withone son and coach a other son's
(23:08):
basketball team and take mydaughter on, daddy daughter
dates, So you talk about thosefive freedoms, right?
Those time freedoms, locations,all the good stuff, right?
But also the freedom of purposeor relationship, right?
You get to spend time with theones that are most important to
you.
that is so cool, So what was anopportunity that changed your
life?
(23:28):
candidly, getting involved infranchising has changed my life.
I pinch myself every day that Iget to be a business owner.
I worked for the man for manyyears, very thankful for that
experience.
But yes, I have never oncelooked back and just, absolutely
love.
Is it easy?
No.
Is it the challenges that I'vechosen?
Absolutely.
And it is so crazy rewarding.
Just passionate about businessownership.
(23:48):
That is awesome, man.
What's your best communicationhabit?
for leaders or as a leader?
I think communicate often anddon't, mi mixed words.
I think, say it like it is and,people will adjust.
they may not like the message,but tough love is needed just
get it out there in the open.
That's been my approach andcandidly hasn't always been my
approach, but I've learned thehard way and, realize that's the
(24:09):
best way to do it.
Okay.
What is one thing you wish youunderstood earlier, about
business growth?
About business growth.
I think, as you get older andmature in your career, you start
to realize the things you enjoydoing on a day-to-day basis and
not what you're supposed to do.
So I think for a long time I wasat a company where I had 40
employees and I got tired of.
(24:31):
Culture meetings and dealingwith HR issues.
A lot of my friends are so goodat leading organizations like
that.
What I realized about myself isI enjoy being tip of the spear,
working with clients, beingstrategic, looking at business
models.
That's how I enjoy spending mostof my day.
So I structured my businessaround that.
Let others too, the other work.
So I think it's neat when you gofrom what you're supposed to be
(24:51):
doing to what you're passionateabout doing.
That is so cool.
You know, last question on thefocus round.
What's your personal definitionof success today?
I think, as we parent, ourdefinition of success would be,
we want our kids to choose tohang out with us one day when
they don't have to.
So we're parenting towards thatrelationship.
(25:13):
Going back to whom much isgiven, much is expected, just
trying to be a good steward of.
Time resources financialsmeeting young guys for coffee,
to mentor them when you've gotnothing to gain from it.
But instead giving back or beingon my, church call at 6:30 this
morning as part of the financecommittee, waking up early to
help out in that way.
So I try to live it out as muchas I can.
(25:34):
There's so much value in lookingtowards a future and be able to
create that time to invest inrelationships today, especially
with the ones that we care themost about.
our spouses, our children, ourparents, to be able to invest in
that time.
I'd like to talk about, yourchildren be willing to.
Just hang out with you or justcall home just to say hello,
(25:55):
When they don't have to, that'sdefinitely a true, measure of
investment in the most importantrelationships.
John, it is been incredible,man, for our listeners who are
real estate investors orbusiness owners and are ready to
explore diversification throughfranchising, how do they connect
with you?
Come out to our website,franbridgeconsulting.com, FRAN,
bridge consulting.com.
(26:17):
Share your email address.
We'll reach out to you with alink to our calendar.
So we can jump on a call if youlike.
But then secondly, links todownload our book free copy of
the book, which again, I thinkwould be a great primer resource
for you as you start thinking.
And it'll get the juices flowingand, look forward to, engaging
and helping whenever the time's.
Thank you so much, brother.
listeners, if you look atAmazon, name of the book is
Non-Food Franchising a BetterPath to Business Ownership.
(26:39):
John shared some of theblueprint today for Freedom.
Franchising like real estate,it's all about ownership.
and.
it's ownership with system brandequity and it's, it also help
you to scale your ownership,right?
so whether you are, you'reinvested in, apartment, asphalt,
restaurant, there's a path.
The path is the same.
(27:00):
You build income, buy back yourtime It's all in the goal of
owning more of America.
Remember those five freedoms,financial freedom, location
freedom, time freedom of purposeand freedom of relationship, the
more, streams of income youhave, the more of those freedoms
you can create for yourself withthe right systems in place.
So if this episode sparked,something in you.
(27:23):
Leave us the honest feedback.
we'll greatly appreciate that.
And remember, to who most isgiven a lot is expected.
I'm paraphrasing, but I thinkthat's a good quote.
Thank you, John.
And listeners, thank you so muchfor spending time with us in
another episode of theMulti-Family Real Estate
Experiment podcast.
I'm Hutch Marine Investor out.
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