Ever dreamed of owning a business but felt overwhelmed by starting from scratch?
Franchising might be the solution you didn’t know you needed—offering the independence of entrepreneurship with the structure and support of an established brand.
Melissa Joy, CFP® is joined by husband-and-wife team Alex and Julie Roberts to explore the world of modern franchise ownership. With over two decades of industry experience, Alex is the founder of The Franchise Playmaker, helping professionals navigate over 4,000 franchise options to find the right fit. Julie is the founder of Kindling Creative and brings her marketing savvy to their newest venture: opening The Milkshake Factory in Ann Arbor.
From surprising truths about franchise selection to behind-the-scenes insights into local marketing and revenue strategy, this conversation is packed with actionable takeaways—especially for professionals looking to transition out of corporate roles into entrepreneurship.
Key Highlights:
- Why most franchise owners end up choosing a brand they never expected
- How franchise consultants work like realtors to guide the process
- The rise of franchising among 45–55 year-olds seeking more control
- What “validation” means in the franchise world—and why it’s essential
- Creative marketing tactics from Julie, including local partnerships and community events
- The realities of ownership: “There’s no such thing as absentee franchising”
Resources Mentioned:
- Connect with Alex: franchiseplaymaker.com
- Follow their journey IG: @milkshakefactorya2
This episode is for anyone exploring entrepreneurship, looking for a career pivot, or simply curious about how franchising really works—beyond the buzzwords.
The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https:...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Women's Money Wisdom Podcast.
I'm Melissa Joy, a certifiedfinancial planner and the
founder of Pearl Planning.
My goal is to help youstreamline and organize your
finances, navigate big moneydecisions with confidence and be
strategic in order to grow yourwealth.
As a woman, you work hard foryour money and I'm here to help
(00:21):
you make the most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
Just a quick note before wedive in.
The information that we shareis meant to educate and inspire,
not serve as personalizedfinancial advice.
Everyone's situation is unique,so be sure to consult with your
own financial professional forguidance that fits your life.
And just so you know, theopinions shared in this podcast
(00:43):
are my own and those of myguests, and they don't
necessarily represent those ofany organizations that I'm
affiliated with.
For more important disclosures,please go to our webpage at
pearlplancom.
Now let's get started.
Welcome back.
I'm so excited for this week'sepisode because we're going to
be talking about ways to start abusiness through franchises,
(01:07):
and we have a couple here todaywho are both professional
experts all about franchising.
That's Alex Roberts, as well ashis wife, julie Roberts, who is
co-owner of their new franchisein Ann Arbor, michigan, the
Milkshake Factory which we'll betalking about.
So experiences of how to getinto the business as well as
(01:28):
what it's like to be a franchiseowner.
So Alex Roberts hasentrepreneurial experience and
is the founder of the FranchisePlaymaker, and his wife, julie,
is the founder of KindlingCreative, which is a graphic
design and marketing company.
Alex, julie, welcome to thepodcast.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Thank you.
Thanks for having us, hello.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
We're so glad you're here and we're going to be
talking about franchises today,and Alex brings the decades of
professional experience when itcomes to franchising and correct
me if I'm wrong, but you're aconsultant to people who want to
start a franchise.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, that's what I've been doing for the last
nine years.
Melissa is helping people findtheir ideal fit in franchising
People that are interested inowning their own business but
aren't sure where to begin orwhat franchises would be a good
fit for them, and there's over4,000 franchise companies
registered in the United States.
And you can go online and godown Google rabbit holes and
(02:30):
spend hours and hours and youknow you can't really evaluate
or understand a franchise justfrom an online presence.
So having somebody with youknow 22 plus industry, you know
years of experience in theindustry, you know is very
helpful and you know one of thebest things about my services to
Melissa is they're free.
People don't pay me a nickel.
So you know it's kind of niceto you know be able to help
(02:53):
people achieve their you knowtheir goal of business ownership
and it doesn't cost them anickel.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So then you get compensated by the franchises
that they ultimately placethemselves with.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Exactly so.
I use the analogy of a realtor.
All the time you know if peopleare looking for a house.
You don't just go out, drivearound looking for for sale
signs.
Usually you meet with a realtorwho knows the inventory, knows
the industry, knows the area andthey talk about how many
bedrooms you need, how manybathrooms, do you need an
attached garage, are the schoolsimportant, and have you thought
(03:25):
about property taxes?
And what do you approve for ina mortgage.
Then that realtor takes you tohomes that match your criteria,
saves you a lot of time, energy,effort and money in the long
run.
And then the seller is the onewho's paying the commission to
that buyer, the agent.
So very similar in this worldis if I play somebody with a
(03:46):
franchise, that franchisor paysme a referral fee for bringing
them a new franchisee.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Makes sense, and I would assume that one of the
advantages, potentially, offranchises are there's a
business model that has beenproven to be scalable or usable,
and so you're not starting fromscratch when you want to be an
entrepreneur.
Is that one of the kind ofselling points, and what are
others?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean.
A lot of folks that I work withare, I guess, traditionally 45
to 55 years old.
Right, they work for otherstheir whole life.
They've made good money, butnot to the point where they're
ready to retire.
Maybe they've been laid offonce or twice and they've gotten
(04:32):
back into the workforce andfound it difficult to get a job
at the same level ofcompensation or responsibility.
Business ownership has alwaysbeen in the back of their mind,
where they could, you know, havecontrol over their time and
their you know what they'redoing with their days and also
control over giving themselves araise by building and growing
and scaling that business.
(04:53):
So, you know, I think there'sjust a lot of things that a
franchise offers in terms ofthat proven model, proven system
that they can bring the skillsthat they have developed in the
workforce, their communicationskills, their leadership skills,
their business acumen.
Whether they know anything atall about what the product or
service is doesn't really matter.
(05:14):
If they bring those leadershipand communication and business
skills to a franchise, theyapply that and are generally
going to give themselves abetter chance for success if
they have those skills, ratherthan because usually employee
isn't the one that's or thefranchisor isn't the one going
out and doing the actual work.
They hire employees to do thatand they're they're the business
(05:37):
owner.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Makes sense and even the marketing to that.
That acumen that you bring tothe table, Julie, of being able
to get the message out, iscertainly important as a
business owner as well.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yes, it's very important and I think a lot of
people don't realize that, thatpeople aren't just going to
start coming through the door,especially with retail, just
because you're open or you havea for open sign.
And marketing has changed somuch.
I mean, I've been in thebusiness for 30 plus years and I
remember when you know websiteswere the latest hot thing, but
(06:10):
now you know you've got to workwith influencers and you've got
to have a great social mediapresence, and even all the
community outreach makes such adifference too.
So there's so many differentfacets to marketing and it's
nice because the franchisorreally helps guide you and give
you advice and keeps track ofwhat's the latest and greatest
and what we should be doing, soit's nice to have that.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
But you still have to do it.
You know the franchisor givesyou that roadmap and things, and
this is part of you know theyou know one of the things that
just I like to educate mycandidates on is that when you
buy a franchise, you don't justturn on a spigot and money, you
know, starts pouring through it.
You know you've got to workthat business, you've got to be,
you know, involved and inparticular, as Julie was talking
(06:55):
about with with the marketingpiece.
You know the franchise but youknow you, as the franchisee,
need to implement that in yourterritory, in your community and
and get things done.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, that makes sense and some things have sweat
equity.
Some things are like authenticyou know.
On social media or withinfluencers, sometimes you can
build a brand or voice that isuniquely you, that that works
with less cost.
But a lot of times you need toput you know your your money
behind it as well.
But I'm assuming through yourcontract with the franchise that
(07:35):
you're working with, as well assometimes on your own profit
and loss statement.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Yeah, the franchisors are going to have a recommended
marketing spend, you know here,are the things that we had
known works in our other unitsRight, and here is kind of a
recommended spend and most ofthem have a minimum marketing
requirement in the franchiseagreement.
So you need to spend a minimumof this because a lot of times
franchisees will get upsetbecause the phone's not ringing
(08:04):
or people aren't coming throughthe door and saying you know,
hey, I just put a sign up and Ican't believe people aren't here
and it's like, well, you know,that's not, that's not just a,
it's not all you have to do.
And and are you?
Are you spending these dollars?
Are you spending them in theright place and are you actively
getting out in your community,like Julie has been extremely
active here in Ann Arbor withour milkshake factory franchise
(08:26):
that you know in terms of allthe schools and teachers and you
know a lot of.
You know Reckon, ed and a lot ofdifferent things to get people
in to the building, because weneed to get them in once, and
once they come in, you know,generally they're hooked and
they're coming back.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Yeah they're hooked and they're coming back.
You're looking for that repeatcustomer and for your own
customers, alex.
For the people that come to youlooking to start a franchise,
do they often come knowing wherethey want to go, or is it
sometimes more of a blank slate,where they don't have the
(09:04):
pre-existing preference for acertain brand or franchise?
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, that's a great question and unfortunately, you
know, most people come sayingcan you get me a Chick-fil-A?
Which I don't know if you youknow there's an article on Wall
Street Journal how it's easierto get into Harvard than it is
to get a Chick-fil-A franchise.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
I've heard some of that because I know a financial
planner who specializes in onlyworking with Chick-fil-A
franchise owners, so typicallyyou've been employed right at
the Chick-fil-A.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Correct.
Yeah, it's a.
It's a very different model.
You don't actually own thefranchise, you're an operating
partner and you get a percentageof the profits is an
unbelievable business in termsof the revenue they create out
of those locations.
But you don't have the samecontrol over owning your own
franchise.
But anyway, I digress.
(09:55):
But the biggest thing I tellpeople, melissa, is exactly what
you said that the two words areblank slate.
And if people can come in withan open mind and I would tell
you probably 75, 80 percent ofthe people that I end up placing
with franchises end up with abrand that they never in their
lives would have imagined theywould have been with had they
not met with me, gone throughthe process, understood the
(10:17):
different businesscharacteristics and and the
benefits of you know certainbusinesses.
Not everything has the sexy curbappeal of a milkshake factory
per se or a Pilates studio or,you know, hair salon.
There's a lot of really good,dull, normal service businesses
that you know have lowerinvestment, faster ramp up,
(10:41):
lower overhead and highermargins that you know that.
But they take a little bit moreinvolvement of the owner and
time and things like that.
So those are the things I gothrough with people to really
understand, you know, what theywant to put into a business from
a time commitment, leadershipstandpoint, what kind of
employees they like to manageand which ones they want to
avoid, because labor can be anissue at a lot of different
(11:03):
businesses today, you know, andso that's kind of where I kind
of help guide them towards andeducate them on opportunities
that they may not have beenaware of.
So coming in with an open mindand a blank slate is probably
one of the most important thingspeople can do.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
And a lot of times, um, alex comes in touch with
people that want to own afranchise in a field that
they're extremely passionateabout.
Now, alex and I, we like icecream, but we weren't passionate
about milkshakes or anythingbut.
Um, even with these dullnormals, you know you don't have
to open a franchise withsomething that you're completely
passionate about.
(11:38):
You might come to enjoy it andappreciate it, but in many ways,
opening a franchise will giveyou the flexibility to do the
thing, or the money to do thethings, that you're passionate
about.
It doesn't have to benecessarily in your workplace,
and I think a lot of people cometo realize that after working
with Alex.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I love that and just thinking through, if I were
looking to start a franchise,the advance that you have, alex,
to be able to see you know whatworks, what doesn't.
You know the pre-existing, youknow like kind of assumptions
that may be detrimental to yoursuccess over time.
I know that, working withsomeone like you, that
(12:15):
experience would be all thedifference when most I assume
first, well, you're always.
There's always a point in timewhere you're a first-time
franchise owner.
But I know over time sometimespeople that get into franchises
end up owning multiplebusinesses or brands over time
or may shift and sell one andmove to another.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Yeah, yeah, that's you know, I think one of the
things a lot of people get into,you know, get into franchising
with the goal of scaling, intofranchising with the goal of
scaling, and franchising makesthat easier with their models.
But the other part about justtalking about the retail brick
(12:54):
and mortar businesses versus theservice businesses scaling a
brick and mortar business everytime you want to open up another
Orange Theory Fitness, that'sanother $750,000 investment to
open up another location and youcontinue to grow.
But you need to investconsiderably per location when
you own a service business whereyou maybe have a commercial or
industrial office space but youhave a fleet of vans or cars or
(13:18):
trucks.
I spent 10 years with MollyMaid and Mr.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Handyman.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
That's when I got started in franchising.
And you add more zip codes andterritories and households, but
you run it out of the sameoffice.
So scaling those businesses inthe service side are so much
easier on the expense side andyou know it makes it makes them
very, you know, very scalablebusinesses that people don't
(13:41):
realize as well.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
Some of those either servicebased or kind of dirty jobs are
lower on that startup overheadversus the you've got to have
the look and feel when you walkinto that gym that you want to
see your friends at.
That may cost a little bit more.
Well, I want to pivot and Iwant to hear about your
firsthand experience.
(14:04):
So, julie, you've alreadyshared.
You didn't dream of becoming anice cream and chocolate
entrepreneur when you weregrowing up.
But tell me a little bit aboutthe origin story of the Ann
Arbor Milkshake Factory.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, well, alex and I actually had run across the
Milkshake Factory years ago.
It was kind of as the pandemicwas ending and we were visiting
Pittsburgh because our daughterwas visiting a friend at
University of Pittsburgh.
So Alex and I were walkingaround downtown and we saw this
line snaking around the sidewalkso we're like, oh, I wonder
what that is.
(14:36):
And then we saw this placecalled Milkshake Factory, which
we thought was such a fun name.
And then we went in and eventhough there was a long line,
people were being serviced veryquickly and everyone was leaving
with a smile and had all theseamazing milkshakes and a million
different flavors and amazinglooking chocolates which you
could sample and taste.
And I'm gluten free, I'm celiac, so a lot of times I don't want
(14:59):
to deal with milkshakes becauseI'm worried about the cross
contamination, but they, theyhave an allergy process in place
and so we just we loved it andwe remembered it.
And then we went back thesecond night by the way.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Ok, you found it in the wild and you were.
It was good enough to reservesome extra time for day two.
I love it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
So at that point it wasn't franchised.
It was family run, fourthgeneration.
The founders immigrated fromGreece and they were
chocolatiers and eventually theydecided to add on milkshakes,
change the name.
So they really started out withthese amazing chocolates from
family recipes.
But then they decided tofranchise and the president is
(15:42):
an Ann Arbor resident.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Yeah, so in my role as a franchise consultant I get
exposed to new brands that arecoming into looking at national
expansion and I had a goodfriend that was with a company
that was going to franchise theMilkshake Factory and I said
wait a minute, I think that'sthe brand that we went to.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Well, this rings a bell.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
So Julie and I looked it up and found out that that
was indeed the same brand, andso we were informed by Dan Reese
, who is the president of themilkshake factory and he
oversees the 11 corporate storesin Pittsburgh.
He relocated Ann Arbor and waslooking to open up a location
here, so he put together aninvestment group that Julie and
I became part of, and everybodyhas different roles in the
business, and we're veryfortunate that Dan has all that
(16:32):
operational experience.
He wanted to go through andexperience everything that all
of his franchisees are going toexperience, from the site
selection and the leasenegotiation and the, you know,
the build out and you know justgetting everything going.
And then we're thankful thatJulie has such a great marketing
and advertising background thatshe's brought to the table and
(16:54):
you know so it's been a lot offun to be, you know, to be part
of a local community businesswith a franchisor that you know
is in a very significant growthmode right now, and they've sold
about 150 locations across thecountry and I think there's
about 20 of them open right now,but each month there's like
three or four more opening eachmonth, as it takes about a year
(17:17):
from the time you sign youragreement until the time your
business is open.
It's a long process to sourcethe right real estate, negotiate
that lease, then do yourpermits and construction
drawings and the build out andeverything else.
Nothing ever goes as smooth asyou'd hope, so there's always
delays in that.
But you're going to see thesepopping up all over the country.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I love it.
You guys can.
You'll be the evangelists thatare telling people about how it
works.
What were your surprises?
Both on the upside of oh, Ididn't think it, you know
whether it was this easy or thisgood and also like this is a
pain.
I wasn't expecting this, eventhough I'm an expert in the
field.
Well, tell me a little bitabout your experiences there.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Well, one thing that I was pleasantly surprised about
is you here, with this economy,and even before the economy,
just post-COVID, that it's justhard to find labor, especially?
Speaker 3 (18:11):
in the restaurant business.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
We are fortunate that we're not really.
I think Alex calls them likefood light.
You know it's not a bigrestaurant.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
When I say food light , yeah, we don't have grease
traps, we don't have fryers, wedon't have.
You know, it's not a bigrestaurant.
When I say food light, yeah, wedon't have grease traps, we
don't have fryers, we don't haveyou know you don't need a sous
chef.
So a lot of times you knowteenagers or college kids, they
don't want to.
You know they don't want towork in that environment where
they're.
You know it's, it's kind ofgross.
You know, in a, in a, in a icecream and milkshake business.
You know it's freezers andcoolers.
(18:41):
So, excuse me, there's a, it'sa little bit, and it's everybody
that Julie mentioned comes inwith a smile and leaves with a
smile, you know so yourcustomers are generally very
happy.
So I think, like she said,hiring, it's easy to find Our
label.
Yeah, we're.
You know we've got a lot ofkids applying and it's like,
sorry, we don't have the hoursyet.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
You know they can see their friends across the
counter.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
It's not like they're behind the scenes in the in the
kitchen and that's perfect.
Yeah, yeah, but I think theother part you know is Julie is
talking about probably where,where she spent the majority of
her time is on the on themarketing side.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
And you know so that.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
That's where you know they were working with a
franchise.
Or there are restrictions Right, that's where you know they.
You know we're working with afranchisor.
There are restrictions, right,you need to use our brand.
You know she put an ad out thatsaid dairy free.
Well, no, it is.
Non-dairy is the language weused to.
You know we need to use so thatyou know.
Now you have to get thingsapproved before we can put them
out, because you made a mistake.
And those are some of thethings that do happen, you know,
(19:38):
with with franchisors and notjust the milkshake factory.
But it's all about protectingthe brand, protecting the image
and um, and protecting theneighboring franchisees.
You don't want people goingrogue and and going off script
and and uh, things like that.
So it's, you know, while it canbe sometimes a pain, uh, to
follow everything that thefranchise or has laid out, um,
it's also, you know there'sgenerally a reason behind it.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, that makes sense that your experience in
the milkshake factory inPittsburgh will influence your
decision to walk in the door inAnn Arbor, right?
So Exactly.
So then how does it feel?
You're the doors are open, nowyou're in maintenance mode.
What does that look like interms of the amount of time that
(20:21):
you and your investment teamneeds to devote to kind of the
week to week, because you bothstill have other jobs?
This is on top right.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
Correct, yeah, and I think we're not in any kind of a
cruise control mode.
I don't know exactly what yousaid what you said, we're still
in ramp up and growth mode.
This is our first summer rightand for a for a frozen dessert
franchise that first summer isis going to tell us really where
we stand with this, with thisbusiness and a little bit
(20:54):
different than January inMichigan, probably for July,
right Correct?
Correct, although February, wesold a lot of chocolates for
Valentine's Day.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
And that.
But but yeah, I think it's.
You know, we really all of ustogether.
You know most of us live in theAnn Arbor, saline, dexter area
and and are reaching outEverybody's reaching out to
their kids, teachers, theirfriends that are teachers or
principals at schools or coachesof sports teams.
And you know we're doing a lotof fundraisers where we, from 4
(21:30):
to 9 pm, you know, the PioneerHigh School band will come in
and 25% of the proceeds will goback to the band and that band
will advertise it amongst theirgroup.
And you know, and so we've beendoing a lot of those on Monday,
tuesdays, wednesdays, whenwe're generally a little bit
slower than our weekends.
So but everybody is really, youknow, pitching in terms of
(21:54):
getting getting people in thedoor and getting them to try it
once.
And I think once we know we getpeople in, you know they tell
friends and word of mouth growsand things like that.
But we have a great generalmanager as well who is she runs
the day-to-day operations.
You know she's the one staffing, managing the schedules, the
inventory.
You know, and she ranrestaurants in the past.
(22:15):
Like we hired and are payingfor a very skilled, experienced,
you know, food operationsgeneral manager, and that's
definitely made a big impact onthe involvement from the
ownership group, because she'sbeen doing a wonderful job.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
And we're also, now that we have a lot of the
initial things worked out, we'restarting to explore what other
ways we can leverage our shop.
Ours is a little bit differentfrom some of the other milkshake
factories in that we have alarge private room that can be a
training room for franchiseeswhen they come into train.
But we're also exploring usingit as a party room where kids
(22:54):
can do like a make your ownchocolate party for birthdays or
team events or, you know, maybea ladies night out or something
like that.
And so we're just starting towork on that and market that.
And another one of our partnersthought it would be neat if we
had one of those signs on thehighway where, when you're
exiting, it says here's gas orrestaurant or whatever.
(23:14):
So we're on one of those signsfor M14.
So, coming up with new ways.
You know we get guidelines fromthe franchisor about marketing
ideas every month they sendideas, but you know you can also
come up with things on your ownas long as they're within you
know brand standards and allthat.
But there's always new thingsyou can be doing and that's
ongoing.
But I think that's so fun.
(23:36):
I mean I'm in the milkshakefactory a few times a week, you
know, meeting with people andtaking content for social or
meeting with influencers or justcoming up with new ideas, and I
think it's really fun yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
How has it been?
Has it been fun to be abusiness owner with your spouse?
I think so.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, I mean no pressure.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
You're both in the room.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
She.
I've been her client for thelast 10 years when I launched my
consulting business.
So, julie, you know, when ourkids were younger, she left her
job and went off and started herown graphic design agency and
she had control over herschedule.
She was able to volunteer ather kids' school, she was able
to go on all the field trips,she was present for everything
(24:23):
and also able to, you know,continue her work.
And she worked a lot ofevenings, you know, after the
kids were in bed.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
She was on her computer in the evenings.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
But it was a choice she made, right.
This is how I choose to buildmy business and put in my time.
And then, you know, I was onthe corporate side of
franchising for you know, 15years and I was traveling a ton
and I was missing out on my kidsgames and plays and things like
that and and I was very enviousof of what she had going on.
(24:54):
And and that's when I made thedecision I was going to leave my
corporate career in franchisingand go into, you know, more of
an entrepreneurial role of beinga consultant.
This is, you know, it's me,it's my business.
I don't have any employees, Idon't have any bosses.
You know and I control.
You know what I do.
And so we both work from home.
I'm on the second floor, she'sdown on the first floor.
(25:16):
We meet in the kitchen forlunch.
Often if we're on the sameschedule.
She does all of my marketing,my e-newsletters and a lot of
things to help my business.
So we've had some run-ins whenshe has different design ideas
and I say this isn't what theclient wants.
The client wants this.
But with the milkshake factoryit's been a blast and I just am
(25:41):
very proud of what Julie bringsto the table with her experience
in the marketing side.
It's very important for thebusiness to have somebody with
that, with that skillset, andshe's just, you know, putting a
lot, of, a lot of hard work andeffort into it.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
So you know, living with your client like Alex says,
I do his marketing, but also usbeing owners of the milkshake
factory I often, a lot of times,as I'm falling asleep at night,
I'll be like, Ooh, we could dothis, or what about this, and
he'll be like, julie, let's talkabout it tomorrow.
I quit my inspiration at weirdtimes, since the lines between
(26:17):
home and business blur a lot,but I actually I like that.
I mean, I get inspiration indifferent times, especially if
you're in a creative field, likeI am, and I don't care if I'm
working hours other than eightto five.
You know, if it's a gorgeousday outside, I'd rather be
outside doing something, and I'mOK working at 11 o'clock at
night or something like that.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
So yeah, I love it and for everybody listening, you
should check out Julie'swebsite, which we will include
in show notes, because KindlingCreative.
If you're local to southeastmichigan, you probably recognize
.
I think you did the brandingfor the bicentennial for ann
arbor a lot of things aroundtown, both for businesses as
(26:58):
well as institutions.
So really great um design anddesign sense, which I know is a
secret weapon that you guys havefor.
Milkshake Factory.
And before we wrap up, I wantto pivot just a little bit and
go back to just, you know, thepotential franchise owner.
That's listening in.
What, alex, do you see astraits that make you potentially
(27:25):
be a more successful franchiseowner?
And then also, what are some ofthe pitfalls that may make you
know the potential ownership aless enduring business or
venture for a person or a family?
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, I think you know, as far as franchise
ownership goes there's, you know, when I meet with candidates
and I go through, kind of thebiggest thing I want to
understand is what are youlooking to accomplish?
Like, what is your need to owna business?
You know, like I meet withcandidates and I go through,
kind of the biggest thing I wantto understand is what are you
looking to accomplish, like whatis your need to own a business?
You know, like what is it that?
You know?
And sometimes it's money, right, most people get into business
because they want to make money.
Other times it's hey, I haveenough money, but I want to stay
(28:02):
active.
I don't want to, you know, Idon't want to, just, you know,
not do anything all day.
I want to own my own business.
That sometimes it's legacy.
I want to create a businessthat I can pass down to, you
know, the next generation in myfamily.
Sometimes, or you know it'sit's just hey, I've always
wanted to own my own businessand never had the chance.
So there's so many differentreasons for for people that that
(28:24):
, um, you know, want to get intobusiness.
And if you don't have a realcompelling reason, you know,
usually you don't end up buyinga business right.
It's kind of like I've alwaysthought about it, but you know,
and then, once they get into itand they realize how serious it
is, maybe it's not for me.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
And that's okay.
That cost of entry, that thatcheck you're going to need to
write, or those checks, right,it's, it's not a financial
commitment, but it's also thetime commitment.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
right, it's, it's not .
There's no such thing asabsentee ownership or passive
income.
You know, as we were talkingbefore, in franchising there is,
you know, what we callsemi-passive, where you know you
have a GM, like we do with themilkshake factory, who's running
the day to day.
You know the owners havedifferent involvement, you know,
in in the managing that manager.
(29:07):
But but it's all abouteducating these folks on what it
takes in certain businessmodels and what are you willing
to put in to that business modelfrom a time commitment, from a
financial investment, and whatare those skill sets that you
bring to the table?
Are you a team builder?
Or I have a lot of people thatwere in IT or engineers that are
(29:27):
being laid off, and a lot ofthese folks were in IT or
engineers that are being laidoff, and and a lot of these
folks don't have greatcommunication skills or people
skills.
I should say you know I'm notstereotyping or cornering
everybody into that box, butsome of these people are like I
don't want to deal with people.
You know, I want a businesswhere I can, I can do it for my
laptop or my computer and youknow it's all about finding
what's right for them and what'sright for their, for their
(29:50):
skill set and their and theirgoals.
So you know, there's just such awide variety of opportunities
and you know I've spent over mycareer, you know about half of
it in the service businesses andhalf in in brick and mortar
retail businesses, and so I havea pretty good understanding of
what it takes, both financiallyand from a, you know, a
(30:11):
leadership and skill setstandpoint.
But yeah, I think you know mostpeople that are in their you
know, 40s, 50s, you know, havesomething to offer and they may
feel like you know, I've neverowned my own business before.
It's scary, it's intimidating.
Well, yeah, like you talkedbefore, the franchisor is
providing you with thestandardized chart of accounts.
(30:32):
You know, here's all yourrevenue items, here's your
expense items, here are whatyour key performance indicators
are, what you need to look at interms of your business, and
most people can, you know, haveand can understand and do that
without having to create allthis themselves.
You know, they've alreadydeveloped the technology for you
know the CRM system or theirinvoicing or their scheduling,
(30:54):
and you just need to get trainedon that software system.
You don't need to go out andcreate and find out and source
your own software, right?
So the franchisor has builtthis package and people can
command them.
And the one thing I didn'tmention you know, mention I do
just want to make sure thatpeople understand is that when
you start looking at franchises,the most important part of it
(31:15):
is what we call validation andthat's where you get to talk to
other people that own thatfranchise in other markets or
other states or wherever it is.
But you get educated from thefranchisor about what does it
cost?
How much can you potentiallymake?
What's the role of the owner?
How does the business start?
How does it grow?
Who are your employees?
They're going to tell you allthis stuff.
(31:36):
But when you talk to otherfranchisees, that's where the
rubber meets the road.
That's where you really learnfrom them about their real world
experience.
Was it within the investmentrange of the FDD?
Was it more?
Was it within the investmentrange of the FDD?
Was it more?
Was it less?
You know why.
How quickly did you, you know,turn cash flow positive and did
you make any money in that firstyear?
You know what?
About year two?
(31:56):
What are your goals for yearthree?
You know, so you get to learnand talk to, you know
franchisees and get that realworld experience from them,
which is so important in thatresearch and due diligence
process to understand to say, doI have the same skill sets or
the same personality or the sametraits that these successful
owners have?
Can I see myself doing whatthey're doing?
(32:17):
Or do I share similar concernsor issues with some owners that
might be struggling?
And I understand why that'shappening and maybe this isn't
the right thing for me.
So that's just a big part ofthe process of wanting to make
sure people are aware.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Yeah, and I'm sure you also can see from you know
kind of the, the packages thatare offered and and what the
brand brings to the table, someexperiences of hey, make sure
you ask this or we'll ask this.
You know things like that CauseI'm sure not every brand or
(32:54):
business is exactly the same interms of its, you know kind of
potential for success or orpossibilities?
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Exactly, Yep, Yep.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Well, I love this conversation and I know
sometimes we just talk to peoplethat really do have that dream
to own a business, and I wouldstrongly encourage you to
consider a route like we'vediscussed where you consult with
a professional and, you know,kind of go in eyes wide open,
not only about how to get in buthow to stay in and really set
(33:21):
up an enduring business For bothof you, julie and Alex.
Perhaps first with Julie howcan people find you?
And we'll make sure to includethese links in the show notes,
both for Milkshake FactoryKindling Creative and then your
consulting business, alex.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Sure, yeah, I have a website, kindlingcreativecom,
and I'm obviously based in AnnArbor, but I work with clients
all over the nation, so thewebsite is probably the best way
to find me.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
There's also a Facebook page, but check out my
website and we'll make sure thekids have a long weekend this
weekend, so Milkshake Factoryshould probably be on our
destination list.
But what's the best social feedto follow what's going on at
Milkshake Factory?
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Both our Facebook and Instagram are really strong,
but I'd say Instagram is moreday-to-day.
What's going on, and that'smilkshakefactoryA2 on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Perfect, yeah, and then, alex, how do people
contact you if they're curiousabout owning a franchise
themselves?
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Yes, my website is franchiseplaymakercom, so you
can go there.
There's information that youcan download.
There's a, you know, contact,uh contact me forms.
Um, just like Julie and today'sage, you know, I work
nationwide.
We're not just limited to, uh,the local area here, so anybody
(34:42):
in the U?
S and Canada you know that'sinterested in exploring
franchise, franchise ownership,I'd uh love to have a chat with
you, and I'm not sellingtimeshares.
It's not any kind of highpressure sale pitch.
It's all about offering good,solid franchise advice, and I
know not everybody I work withends up investing in a franchise
, and that's okay.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
I love that.
I mean, you really, in anyaspect of business, want to work
with someone who wants the bestfor you, and that's in some
cases.
You hire for a consultation andwhat's best isn't to go down
the pathway you thought youwould.
So I love to hear that.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us and best of luck for
all the businesses.
I love this conversation andwe'll stay in touch.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Thanks, Melissa.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
Thank you for listening to the Women's Money
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Go to pearlplancom and thepodcast link to get all the
resources and links mentioned.
Welcome to the Women's Money Wisdom Podcast.
I'm Melissa Joy, a certifiedfinancial planner and the
founder of Pearl Planning.
My goal is to help youstreamline and organize your
finances, navigate big moneydecisions with confidence and be
strategic in order to grow yourwealth.
As a woman, you work hard foryour money and I'm here to help
(00:21):
you make the most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
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The information that we shareis meant to educate and inspire,
not serve as personalizedfinancial advice.
Everyone's situation is unique,so be sure to consult with your
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And just so you know, theopinions shared in this podcast
(00:43):
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For more important disclosures,please go to our webpage at
pearlplancom.
Now let's get started.
Welcome back.
I'm so excited for this week'sepisode because we're going to
be talking about ways to start abusiness through franchises,
(01:07):
and we have a couple here todaywho are both professional
experts all about franchising.
That's Alex Roberts, as well ashis wife, julie Roberts, who is
co-owner of their new franchisein Ann Arbor, michigan, the
Milkshake Factory which we'll betalking about.
So experiences of how to getinto the business as well as
(01:28):
what it's like to be a franchiseowner.
So Alex Roberts hasentrepreneurial experience and
is the founder of the FranchisePlaymaker, and his wife, julie,
is the founder of KindlingCreative, which is a graphic
design and marketing company.
Alex, julie, welcome to thepodcast.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Thank you.
Thanks for having us, hello.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
We're so glad you're here and we're going to be
talking about franchises today,and Alex brings the decades of
professional experience when itcomes to franchising and correct
me if I'm wrong, but you're aconsultant to people who want to
start a franchise.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, that's what I've been doing for the last
nine years.
Melissa is helping people findtheir ideal fit in franchising
People that are interested inowning their own business but
aren't sure where to begin orwhat franchises would be a good
fit for them, and there's over4,000 franchise companies
registered in the United States.
And you can go online and godown Google rabbit holes and
(02:30):
spend hours and hours and youknow you can't really evaluate
or understand a franchise justfrom an online presence.
So having somebody with youknow 22 plus industry, you know
years of experience in theindustry, you know is very
helpful and you know one of thebest things about my services to
Melissa is they're free.
People don't pay me a nickel.
So you know it's kind of niceto you know be able to help
(02:53):
people achieve their you knowtheir goal of business ownership
and it doesn't cost them anickel.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So then you get compensated by the franchises
that they ultimately placethemselves with.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Exactly so.
I use the analogy of a realtor.
All the time you know if peopleare looking for a house.
You don't just go out, drivearound looking for for sale
signs.
Usually you meet with a realtorwho knows the inventory, knows
the industry, knows the area andthey talk about how many
bedrooms you need, how manybathrooms, do you need an
attached garage, are the schoolsimportant, and have you thought
(03:25):
about property taxes?
And what do you approve for ina mortgage.
Then that realtor takes you tohomes that match your criteria,
saves you a lot of time, energy,effort and money in the long
run.
And then the seller is the onewho's paying the commission to
that buyer, the agent.
So very similar in this worldis if I play somebody with a
(03:46):
franchise, that franchisor paysme a referral fee for bringing
them a new franchisee.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Makes sense, and I would assume that one of the
advantages, potentially, offranchises are there's a
business model that has beenproven to be scalable or usable,
and so you're not starting fromscratch when you want to be an
entrepreneur.
Is that one of the kind ofselling points, and what are
others?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean.
A lot of folks that I work withare, I guess, traditionally 45
to 55 years old.
Right, they work for otherstheir whole life.
They've made good money, butnot to the point where they're
ready to retire.
Maybe they've been laid offonce or twice and they've gotten
(04:32):
back into the workforce andfound it difficult to get a job
at the same level ofcompensation or responsibility.
Business ownership has alwaysbeen in the back of their mind,
where they could, you know, havecontrol over their time and
their you know what they'redoing with their days and also
control over giving themselves araise by building and growing
and scaling that business.
(04:53):
So, you know, I think there'sjust a lot of things that a
franchise offers in terms ofthat proven model, proven system
that they can bring the skillsthat they have developed in the
workforce, their communicationskills, their leadership skills,
their business acumen.
Whether they know anything atall about what the product or
service is doesn't really matter.
(05:14):
If they bring those leadershipand communication and business
skills to a franchise, theyapply that and are generally
going to give themselves abetter chance for success if
they have those skills, ratherthan because usually employee
isn't the one that's or thefranchisor isn't the one going
out and doing the actual work.
They hire employees to do thatand they're they're the business
(05:37):
owner.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Makes sense and even the marketing to that.
That acumen that you bring tothe table, Julie, of being able
to get the message out, iscertainly important as a
business owner as well.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yes, it's very important and I think a lot of
people don't realize that, thatpeople aren't just going to
start coming through the door,especially with retail, just
because you're open or you havea for open sign.
And marketing has changed somuch.
I mean, I've been in thebusiness for 30 plus years and I
remember when you know websiteswere the latest hot thing, but
(06:10):
now you know you've got to workwith influencers and you've got
to have a great social mediapresence, and even all the
community outreach makes such adifference too.
So there's so many differentfacets to marketing and it's
nice because the franchisorreally helps guide you and give
you advice and keeps track ofwhat's the latest and greatest
and what we should be doing, soit's nice to have that.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
But you still have to do it.
You know the franchisor givesyou that roadmap and things, and
this is part of you know theyou know one of the things that
just I like to educate mycandidates on is that when you
buy a franchise, you don't justturn on a spigot and money, you
know, starts pouring through it.
You know you've got to workthat business, you've got to be,
you know, involved and inparticular, as Julie was talking
(06:55):
about with with the marketingpiece.
You know the franchise but youknow you, as the franchisee,
need to implement that in yourterritory, in your community and
and get things done.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, that makes sense and some things have sweat
equity.
Some things are like authenticyou know.
On social media or withinfluencers, sometimes you can
build a brand or voice that isuniquely you, that that works
with less cost.
But a lot of times you need toput you know your your money
behind it as well.
But I'm assuming through yourcontract with the franchise that
(07:35):
you're working with, as well assometimes on your own profit
and loss statement.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Yeah, the franchisors are going to have a recommended
marketing spend, you know here,are the things that we had
known works in our other unitsRight, and here is kind of a
recommended spend and most ofthem have a minimum marketing
requirement in the franchiseagreement.
So you need to spend a minimumof this because a lot of times
franchisees will get upsetbecause the phone's not ringing
(08:04):
or people aren't coming throughthe door and saying you know,
hey, I just put a sign up and Ican't believe people aren't here
and it's like, well, you know,that's not, that's not just a,
it's not all you have to do.
And and are you?
Are you spending these dollars?
Are you spending them in theright place and are you actively
getting out in your community,like Julie has been extremely
active here in Ann Arbor withour milkshake factory franchise
(08:26):
that you know in terms of allthe schools and teachers and you
know a lot of.
You know Reckon, ed and a lot ofdifferent things to get people
in to the building, because weneed to get them in once, and
once they come in, you know,generally they're hooked and
they're coming back.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Yeah they're hooked and they're coming back.
You're looking for that repeatcustomer and for your own
customers, alex.
For the people that come to youlooking to start a franchise,
do they often come knowing wherethey want to go, or is it
sometimes more of a blank slate,where they don't have the
(09:04):
pre-existing preference for acertain brand or franchise?
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, that's a great question and unfortunately, you
know, most people come sayingcan you get me a Chick-fil-A?
Which I don't know if you youknow there's an article on Wall
Street Journal how it's easierto get into Harvard than it is
to get a Chick-fil-A franchise.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
I've heard some of that because I know a financial
planner who specializes in onlyworking with Chick-fil-A
franchise owners, so typicallyyou've been employed right at
the Chick-fil-A.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Correct.
Yeah, it's a.
It's a very different model.
You don't actually own thefranchise, you're an operating
partner and you get a percentageof the profits is an
unbelievable business in termsof the revenue they create out
of those locations.
But you don't have the samecontrol over owning your own
franchise.
But anyway, I digress.
(09:55):
But the biggest thing I tellpeople, melissa, is exactly what
you said that the two words areblank slate.
And if people can come in withan open mind and I would tell
you probably 75, 80 percent ofthe people that I end up placing
with franchises end up with abrand that they never in their
lives would have imagined theywould have been with had they
not met with me, gone throughthe process, understood the
(10:17):
different businesscharacteristics and and the
benefits of you know certainbusinesses.
Not everything has the sexy curbappeal of a milkshake factory
per se or a Pilates studio or,you know, hair salon.
There's a lot of really good,dull, normal service businesses
that you know have lowerinvestment, faster ramp up,
(10:41):
lower overhead and highermargins that you know that.
But they take a little bit moreinvolvement of the owner and
time and things like that.
So those are the things I gothrough with people to really
understand, you know, what theywant to put into a business from
a time commitment, leadershipstandpoint, what kind of
employees they like to manageand which ones they want to
avoid, because labor can be anissue at a lot of different
(11:03):
businesses today, you know, andso that's kind of where I kind
of help guide them towards andeducate them on opportunities
that they may not have beenaware of.
So coming in with an open mindand a blank slate is probably
one of the most important thingspeople can do.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
And a lot of times, um, alex comes in touch with
people that want to own afranchise in a field that
they're extremely passionateabout.
Now, alex and I, we like icecream, but we weren't passionate
about milkshakes or anythingbut.
Um, even with these dullnormals, you know you don't have
to open a franchise withsomething that you're completely
passionate about.
(11:38):
You might come to enjoy it andappreciate it, but in many ways,
opening a franchise will giveyou the flexibility to do the
thing, or the money to do thethings, that you're passionate
about.
It doesn't have to benecessarily in your workplace,
and I think a lot of people cometo realize that after working
with Alex.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I love that and just thinking through, if I were
looking to start a franchise,the advance that you have, alex,
to be able to see you know whatworks, what doesn't.
You know the pre-existing, youknow like kind of assumptions
that may be detrimental to yoursuccess over time.
I know that, working withsomeone like you, that
(12:15):
experience would be all thedifference when most I assume
first, well, you're always.
There's always a point in timewhere you're a first-time
franchise owner.
But I know over time sometimespeople that get into franchises
end up owning multiplebusinesses or brands over time
or may shift and sell one andmove to another.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Yeah, yeah, that's you know, I think one of the
things a lot of people get into,you know, get into franchising
with the goal of scaling, intofranchising with the goal of
scaling, and franchising makesthat easier with their models.
But the other part about justtalking about the retail brick
(12:54):
and mortar businesses versus theservice businesses scaling a
brick and mortar business everytime you want to open up another
Orange Theory Fitness, that'sanother $750,000 investment to
open up another location and youcontinue to grow.
But you need to investconsiderably per location when
you own a service business whereyou maybe have a commercial or
industrial office space but youhave a fleet of vans or cars or
(13:18):
trucks.
I spent 10 years with MollyMaid and Mr.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Handyman.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
That's when I got started in franchising.
And you add more zip codes andterritories and households, but
you run it out of the sameoffice.
So scaling those businesses inthe service side are so much
easier on the expense side andyou know it makes it makes them
very, you know, very scalablebusinesses that people don't
(13:41):
realize as well.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
Some of those either servicebased or kind of dirty jobs are
lower on that startup overheadversus the you've got to have
the look and feel when you walkinto that gym that you want to
see your friends at.
That may cost a little bit more.
Well, I want to pivot and Iwant to hear about your
firsthand experience.
(14:04):
So, julie, you've alreadyshared.
You didn't dream of becoming anice cream and chocolate
entrepreneur when you weregrowing up.
But tell me a little bit aboutthe origin story of the Ann
Arbor Milkshake Factory.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, well, alex and I actually had run across the
Milkshake Factory years ago.
It was kind of as the pandemicwas ending and we were visiting
Pittsburgh because our daughterwas visiting a friend at
University of Pittsburgh.
So Alex and I were walkingaround downtown and we saw this
line snaking around the sidewalkso we're like, oh, I wonder
what that is.
(14:36):
And then we saw this placecalled Milkshake Factory, which
we thought was such a fun name.
And then we went in and eventhough there was a long line,
people were being serviced veryquickly and everyone was leaving
with a smile and had all theseamazing milkshakes and a million
different flavors and amazinglooking chocolates which you
could sample and taste.
And I'm gluten free, I'm celiac, so a lot of times I don't want
(14:59):
to deal with milkshakes becauseI'm worried about the cross
contamination, but they, theyhave an allergy process in place
and so we just we loved it andwe remembered it.
And then we went back thesecond night by the way.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Ok, you found it in the wild and you were.
It was good enough to reservesome extra time for day two.
I love it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
So at that point it wasn't franchised.
It was family run, fourthgeneration.
The founders immigrated fromGreece and they were
chocolatiers and eventually theydecided to add on milkshakes,
change the name.
So they really started out withthese amazing chocolates from
family recipes.
But then they decided tofranchise and the president is
(15:42):
an Ann Arbor resident.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Yeah, so in my role as a franchise consultant I get
exposed to new brands that arecoming into looking at national
expansion and I had a goodfriend that was with a company
that was going to franchise theMilkshake Factory and I said
wait a minute, I think that'sthe brand that we went to.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Well, this rings a bell.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
So Julie and I looked it up and found out that that
was indeed the same brand, andso we were informed by Dan Reese
, who is the president of themilkshake factory and he
oversees the 11 corporate storesin Pittsburgh.
He relocated Ann Arbor and waslooking to open up a location
here, so he put together aninvestment group that Julie and
I became part of, and everybodyhas different roles in the
business, and we're veryfortunate that Dan has all that
(16:32):
operational experience.
He wanted to go through andexperience everything that all
of his franchisees are going toexperience, from the site
selection and the leasenegotiation and the, you know,
the build out and you know justgetting everything going.
And then we're thankful thatJulie has such a great marketing
and advertising background thatshe's brought to the table and
(16:54):
you know so it's been a lot offun to be, you know, to be part
of a local community businesswith a franchisor that you know
is in a very significant growthmode right now, and they've sold
about 150 locations across thecountry and I think there's
about 20 of them open right now,but each month there's like
three or four more opening eachmonth, as it takes about a year
(17:17):
from the time you sign youragreement until the time your
business is open.
It's a long process to sourcethe right real estate, negotiate
that lease, then do yourpermits and construction
drawings and the build out andeverything else.
Nothing ever goes as smooth asyou'd hope, so there's always
delays in that.
But you're going to see thesepopping up all over the country.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I love it.
You guys can.
You'll be the evangelists thatare telling people about how it
works.
What were your surprises?
Both on the upside of oh, Ididn't think it, you know
whether it was this easy or thisgood and also like this is a
pain.
I wasn't expecting this, eventhough I'm an expert in the
field.
Well, tell me a little bitabout your experiences there.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Well, one thing that I was pleasantly surprised about
is you here, with this economy,and even before the economy,
just post-COVID, that it's justhard to find labor, especially?
Speaker 3 (18:11):
in the restaurant business.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
We are fortunate that we're not really.
I think Alex calls them likefood light.
You know it's not a bigrestaurant.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
When I say food light , yeah, we don't have grease
traps, we don't have fryers, wedon't have.
You know, it's not a bigrestaurant.
When I say food light, yeah, wedon't have grease traps, we
don't have fryers, we don't haveyou know you don't need a sous
chef.
So a lot of times you knowteenagers or college kids, they
don't want to.
You know they don't want towork in that environment where
they're.
You know it's, it's kind ofgross.
You know, in a, in a, in a icecream and milkshake business.
You know it's freezers andcoolers.
(18:41):
So, excuse me, there's a, it'sa little bit, and it's everybody
that Julie mentioned comes inwith a smile and leaves with a
smile, you know so yourcustomers are generally very
happy.
So I think, like she said,hiring, it's easy to find Our
label.
Yeah, we're.
You know we've got a lot ofkids applying and it's like,
sorry, we don't have the hoursyet.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
You know they can see their friends across the
counter.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
It's not like they're behind the scenes in the in the
kitchen and that's perfect.
Yeah, yeah, but I think theother part you know is Julie is
talking about probably where,where she spent the majority of
her time is on the on themarketing side.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
And you know so that.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
That's where you know they were working with a
franchise.
Or there are restrictions Right, that's where you know they.
You know we're working with afranchisor.
There are restrictions, right,you need to use our brand.
You know she put an ad out thatsaid dairy free.
Well, no, it is.
Non-dairy is the language weused to.
You know we need to use so thatyou know.
Now you have to get thingsapproved before we can put them
out, because you made a mistake.
And those are some of thethings that do happen, you know,
(19:38):
with with franchisors and notjust the milkshake factory.
But it's all about protectingthe brand, protecting the image
and um, and protecting theneighboring franchisees.
You don't want people goingrogue and and going off script
and and uh, things like that.
So it's, you know, while it canbe sometimes a pain, uh, to
follow everything that thefranchise or has laid out, um,
it's also, you know there'sgenerally a reason behind it.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, that makes sense that your experience in
the milkshake factory inPittsburgh will influence your
decision to walk in the door inAnn Arbor, right?
So Exactly.
So then how does it feel?
You're the doors are open, nowyou're in maintenance mode.
What does that look like interms of the amount of time that
(20:21):
you and your investment teamneeds to devote to kind of the
week to week, because you bothstill have other jobs?
This is on top right.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
Correct, yeah, and I think we're not in any kind of a
cruise control mode.
I don't know exactly what yousaid what you said, we're still
in ramp up and growth mode.
This is our first summer rightand for a for a frozen dessert
franchise that first summer isis going to tell us really where
we stand with this, with thisbusiness and a little bit
(20:54):
different than January inMichigan, probably for July,
right Correct?
Correct, although February, wesold a lot of chocolates for
Valentine's Day.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
And that.
But but yeah, I think it's.
You know, we really all of ustogether.
You know most of us live in theAnn Arbor, saline, dexter area
and and are reaching outEverybody's reaching out to
their kids, teachers, theirfriends that are teachers or
principals at schools or coachesof sports teams.
And you know we're doing a lotof fundraisers where we, from 4
(21:30):
to 9 pm, you know, the PioneerHigh School band will come in
and 25% of the proceeds will goback to the band and that band
will advertise it amongst theirgroup.
And you know, and so we've beendoing a lot of those on Monday,
tuesdays, wednesdays, whenwe're generally a little bit
slower than our weekends.
So but everybody is really, youknow, pitching in terms of
(21:54):
getting getting people in thedoor and getting them to try it
once.
And I think once we know we getpeople in, you know they tell
friends and word of mouth growsand things like that.
But we have a great generalmanager as well who is she runs
the day-to-day operations.
You know she's the one staffing, managing the schedules, the
inventory.
You know, and she ranrestaurants in the past.
(22:15):
Like we hired and are payingfor a very skilled, experienced,
you know, food operationsgeneral manager, and that's
definitely made a big impact onthe involvement from the
ownership group, because she'sbeen doing a wonderful job.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
And we're also, now that we have a lot of the
initial things worked out, we'restarting to explore what other
ways we can leverage our shop.
Ours is a little bit differentfrom some of the other milkshake
factories in that we have alarge private room that can be a
training room for franchiseeswhen they come into train.
But we're also exploring usingit as a party room where kids
(22:54):
can do like a make your ownchocolate party for birthdays or
team events or, you know, maybea ladies night out or something
like that.
And so we're just starting towork on that and market that.
And another one of our partnersthought it would be neat if we
had one of those signs on thehighway where, when you're
exiting, it says here's gas orrestaurant or whatever.
(23:14):
So we're on one of those signsfor M14.
So, coming up with new ways.
You know we get guidelines fromthe franchisor about marketing
ideas every month they sendideas, but you know you can also
come up with things on your ownas long as they're within you
know brand standards and allthat.
But there's always new thingsyou can be doing and that's
ongoing.
But I think that's so fun.
(23:36):
I mean I'm in the milkshakefactory a few times a week, you
know, meeting with people andtaking content for social or
meeting with influencers or justcoming up with new ideas, and I
think it's really fun yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
How has it been?
Has it been fun to be abusiness owner with your spouse?
I think so.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, I mean no pressure.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
You're both in the room.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
She.
I've been her client for thelast 10 years when I launched my
consulting business.
So, julie, you know, when ourkids were younger, she left her
job and went off and started herown graphic design agency and
she had control over herschedule.
She was able to volunteer ather kids' school, she was able
to go on all the field trips,she was present for everything
(24:23):
and also able to, you know,continue her work.
And she worked a lot ofevenings, you know, after the
kids were in bed.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
She was on her computer in the evenings.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
But it was a choice she made, right.
This is how I choose to buildmy business and put in my time.
And then, you know, I was onthe corporate side of
franchising for you know, 15years and I was traveling a ton
and I was missing out on my kidsgames and plays and things like
that and and I was very enviousof of what she had going on.
(24:54):
And and that's when I made thedecision I was going to leave my
corporate career in franchisingand go into, you know, more of
an entrepreneurial role of beinga consultant.
This is, you know, it's me,it's my business.
I don't have any employees, Idon't have any bosses.
You know and I control.
You know what I do.
And so we both work from home.
I'm on the second floor, she'sdown on the first floor.
(25:16):
We meet in the kitchen forlunch.
Often if we're on the sameschedule.
She does all of my marketing,my e-newsletters and a lot of
things to help my business.
So we've had some run-ins whenshe has different design ideas
and I say this isn't what theclient wants.
The client wants this.
But with the milkshake factoryit's been a blast and I just am
(25:41):
very proud of what Julie bringsto the table with her experience
in the marketing side.
It's very important for thebusiness to have somebody with
that, with that skillset, andshe's just, you know, putting a
lot, of, a lot of hard work andeffort into it.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
So you know, living with your client like Alex says,
I do his marketing, but also usbeing owners of the milkshake
factory I often, a lot of times,as I'm falling asleep at night,
I'll be like, Ooh, we could dothis, or what about this, and
he'll be like, julie, let's talkabout it tomorrow.
I quit my inspiration at weirdtimes, since the lines between
(26:17):
home and business blur a lot,but I actually I like that.
I mean, I get inspiration indifferent times, especially if
you're in a creative field, likeI am, and I don't care if I'm
working hours other than eightto five.
You know, if it's a gorgeousday outside, I'd rather be
outside doing something, and I'mOK working at 11 o'clock at
night or something like that.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
So yeah, I love it and for everybody listening, you
should check out Julie'swebsite, which we will include
in show notes, because KindlingCreative.
If you're local to southeastmichigan, you probably recognize
.
I think you did the brandingfor the bicentennial for ann
arbor a lot of things aroundtown, both for businesses as
(26:58):
well as institutions.
So really great um design anddesign sense, which I know is a
secret weapon that you guys havefor.
Milkshake Factory.
And before we wrap up, I wantto pivot just a little bit and
go back to just, you know, thepotential franchise owner.
That's listening in.
What, alex, do you see astraits that make you potentially
(27:25):
be a more successful franchiseowner?
And then also, what are some ofthe pitfalls that may make you
know the potential ownership aless enduring business or
venture for a person or a family?
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, I think you know, as far as franchise
ownership goes there's, you know, when I meet with candidates
and I go through, kind of thebiggest thing I want to
understand is what are youlooking to accomplish?
Like, what is your need to owna business?
You know, like I meet withcandidates and I go through,
kind of the biggest thing I wantto understand is what are you
looking to accomplish, like whatis your need to own a business?
You know, like what is it that?
You know?
And sometimes it's money, right, most people get into business
because they want to make money.
Other times it's hey, I haveenough money, but I want to stay
(28:02):
active.
I don't want to, you know, Idon't want to, just, you know,
not do anything all day.
I want to own my own business.
That sometimes it's legacy.
I want to create a businessthat I can pass down to, you
know, the next generation in myfamily.
Sometimes, or you know it'sit's just hey, I've always
wanted to own my own businessand never had the chance.
So there's so many differentreasons for for people that that
(28:24):
, um, you know, want to get intobusiness.
And if you don't have a realcompelling reason, you know,
usually you don't end up buyinga business right.
It's kind of like I've alwaysthought about it, but you know,
and then, once they get into itand they realize how serious it
is, maybe it's not for me.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
And that's okay.
That cost of entry, that thatcheck you're going to need to
write, or those checks, right,it's, it's not a financial
commitment, but it's also thetime commitment.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
right, it's, it's not .
There's no such thing asabsentee ownership or passive
income.
You know, as we were talkingbefore, in franchising there is,
you know, what we callsemi-passive, where you know you
have a GM, like we do with themilkshake factory, who's running
the day to day.
You know the owners havedifferent involvement, you know,
in in the managing that manager.
(29:07):
But but it's all abouteducating these folks on what it
takes in certain businessmodels and what are you willing
to put in to that business modelfrom a time commitment, from a
financial investment, and whatare those skill sets that you
bring to the table?
Are you a team builder?
Or I have a lot of people thatwere in IT or engineers that are
(29:27):
being laid off, and a lot ofthese folks were in IT or
engineers that are being laidoff, and and a lot of these
folks don't have greatcommunication skills or people
skills.
I should say you know I'm notstereotyping or cornering
everybody into that box, butsome of these people are like I
don't want to deal with people.
You know, I want a businesswhere I can, I can do it for my
laptop or my computer and youknow it's all about finding
what's right for them and what'sright for their, for their
(29:50):
skill set and their and theirgoals.
So you know, there's just such awide variety of opportunities
and you know I've spent over mycareer, you know about half of
it in the service businesses andhalf in in brick and mortar
retail businesses, and so I havea pretty good understanding of
what it takes, both financiallyand from a, you know, a
(30:11):
leadership and skill setstandpoint.
But yeah, I think you know mostpeople that are in their you
know, 40s, 50s, you know, havesomething to offer and they may
feel like you know, I've neverowned my own business before.
It's scary, it's intimidating.
Well, yeah, like you talkedbefore, the franchisor is
providing you with thestandardized chart of accounts.
(30:32):
You know, here's all yourrevenue items, here's your
expense items, here are whatyour key performance indicators
are, what you need to look at interms of your business, and
most people can, you know, haveand can understand and do that
without having to create allthis themselves.
You know, they've alreadydeveloped the technology for you
know the CRM system or theirinvoicing or their scheduling,
(30:54):
and you just need to get trainedon that software system.
You don't need to go out andcreate and find out and source
your own software, right?
So the franchisor has builtthis package and people can
command them.
And the one thing I didn'tmention you know, mention I do
just want to make sure thatpeople understand is that when
you start looking at franchises,the most important part of it
(31:15):
is what we call validation andthat's where you get to talk to
other people that own thatfranchise in other markets or
other states or wherever it is.
But you get educated from thefranchisor about what does it
cost?
How much can you potentiallymake?
What's the role of the owner?
How does the business start?
How does it grow?
Who are your employees?
They're going to tell you allthis stuff.
(31:36):
But when you talk to otherfranchisees, that's where the
rubber meets the road.
That's where you really learnfrom them about their real world
experience.
Was it within the investmentrange of the FDD?
Was it more?
Was it within the investmentrange of the FDD?
Was it more?
Was it less?
You know why.
How quickly did you, you know,turn cash flow positive and did
you make any money in that firstyear?
You know what?
About year two?
(31:56):
What are your goals for yearthree?
You know, so you get to learnand talk to, you know
franchisees and get that realworld experience from them,
which is so important in thatresearch and due diligence
process to understand to say, doI have the same skill sets or
the same personality or the sametraits that these successful
owners have?
Can I see myself doing whatthey're doing?
(32:17):
Or do I share similar concernsor issues with some owners that
might be struggling?
And I understand why that'shappening and maybe this isn't
the right thing for me.
So that's just a big part ofthe process of wanting to make
sure people are aware.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Yeah, and I'm sure you also can see from you know
kind of the, the packages thatare offered and and what the
brand brings to the table, someexperiences of hey, make sure
you ask this or we'll ask this.
You know things like that CauseI'm sure not every brand or
(32:54):
business is exactly the same interms of its, you know kind of
potential for success or orpossibilities?
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Exactly, Yep, Yep.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Well, I love this conversation and I know
sometimes we just talk to peoplethat really do have that dream
to own a business, and I wouldstrongly encourage you to
consider a route like we'vediscussed where you consult with
a professional and, you know,kind of go in eyes wide open,
not only about how to get in buthow to stay in and really set
(33:21):
up an enduring business For bothof you, julie and Alex.
Perhaps first with Julie howcan people find you?
And we'll make sure to includethese links in the show notes,
both for Milkshake FactoryKindling Creative and then your
consulting business, alex.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Sure, yeah, I have a website, kindlingcreativecom,
and I'm obviously based in AnnArbor, but I work with clients
all over the nation, so thewebsite is probably the best way
to find me.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
There's also a Facebook page, but check out my
website and we'll make sure thekids have a long weekend this
weekend, so Milkshake Factoryshould probably be on our
destination list.
But what's the best social feedto follow what's going on at
Milkshake Factory?
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Both our Facebook and Instagram are really strong,
but I'd say Instagram is moreday-to-day.
What's going on, and that'smilkshakefactoryA2 on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Perfect, yeah, and then, alex, how do people
contact you if they're curiousabout owning a franchise
themselves?
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Yes, my website is franchiseplaymakercom, so you
can go there.
There's information that youcan download.
There's a, you know, contact,uh contact me forms.
Um, just like Julie and today'sage, you know, I work
nationwide.
We're not just limited to, uh,the local area here, so anybody
(34:42):
in the U?
S and Canada you know that'sinterested in exploring
franchise, franchise ownership,I'd uh love to have a chat with
you, and I'm not sellingtimeshares.
It's not any kind of highpressure sale pitch.
It's all about offering good,solid franchise advice, and I
know not everybody I work withends up investing in a franchise
, and that's okay.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
I love that.
I mean, you really, in anyaspect of business, want to work
with someone who wants the bestfor you, and that's in some
cases.
You hire for a consultation andwhat's best isn't to go down
the pathway you thought youwould.
So I love to hear that.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us and best of luck for
all the businesses.
I love this conversation andwe'll stay in touch.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Thanks, Melissa.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
Thank you for listening to the Women's Money
Wisdom Podcast.
If you found value in thisepisode, the best way you can
support the podcast is toforward an episode to a friend
or leave a review.
Go to pearlplancom and thepodcast link to get all the
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