WEBVTT
00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:01.082
Hey, what is up?
00:00:01.082 --> 00:00:04.251
Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.
00:00:04.251 --> 00:00:16.507
As always, I'm your host, Brian LoFermento, and I am so excited about today's episode and interview because if you've always sat there, and anytime you walk into a franchise, you think, gosh, I could run one of these things.
00:00:16.507 --> 00:00:24.196
This seems like a much faster way to get a business and have it be successful and have operations already in place and marketing support.
00:00:24.196 --> 00:00:32.045
Well, if you've ever thought about franchising, that is precisely why we've brought today's guest on and on top of his expertise when it comes to franchising opportunities.
00:00:32.045 --> 00:00:35.524
I just love this guy's story, even the way that he describes himself.
00:00:35.524 --> 00:00:37.332
So let me tell you all about today's guest.
00:00:37.392 --> 00:00:38.737
His name is Connor Godfrey.
00:00:38.737 --> 00:00:42.969
Connor calls himself a recovering Wall Street investment banker.
00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:43.670
I love that.
00:00:43.670 --> 00:00:52.429
He spent nearly 20 years in maximum grind mode as a trader before deciding to switch paths and follow his dream of owning his own business.
00:00:52.429 --> 00:00:58.424
Today, as one of the top consultants in the US, he helps professionals create additional income streams and build wealth.
00:00:58.424 --> 00:01:05.748
That is an important thing that we're gonna talk about today Not just income, not just revenue, but building wealth through franchise ownership.
00:01:05.828 --> 00:01:07.552
His company is called Trinity Advisory.
00:01:07.552 --> 00:01:09.719
They specialize in franchise consulting.
00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:12.974
They help professionals, executives and aspiring entrepreneurs.
00:01:12.974 --> 00:01:19.882
So, yes, all of you entrepreneurs out there, he's going to help you identify and investigate top tier franchise business opportunities.
00:01:19.882 --> 00:01:29.921
Their goal is to reshape the way you think about your career and financial future, empowering you with the knowledge and insights you need to make informed business investment decisions.
00:01:29.921 --> 00:01:30.984
This is going to be a fun one.
00:01:30.984 --> 00:01:33.069
I'm personally very curious about this.
00:01:33.069 --> 00:01:34.442
I'm not going to say anything else.
00:01:34.442 --> 00:01:37.311
Let's dive straight into my interview with Connor Godfrey.
00:01:37.311 --> 00:01:43.715
All right, Connor, I am so very excited that you're here with us today.
00:01:43.715 --> 00:01:44.480
First things first.
00:01:44.620 --> 00:01:47.647
Welcome to the show, Thanks for having me Good to meet you.
00:01:47.888 --> 00:01:49.191
Heck, yes, likewise.
00:01:49.191 --> 00:01:50.484
Well, I love your backstory.
00:01:50.484 --> 00:01:51.730
I love the work that you do.
00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:57.067
You support the very premise of this entire show, which is helping people go from entrepreneur to entrepreneur.
00:01:57.067 --> 00:02:00.243
So, connor, before we get to that stuff, take us beyond the bio.
00:02:00.243 --> 00:02:01.147
Who's Connor?
00:02:01.147 --> 00:02:02.730
How'd you start doing all these cool things?
00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:08.621
Yeah, thanks.
00:02:08.621 --> 00:02:10.566
So you know it's interesting that you bring that up, because that was my first thought.
00:02:10.566 --> 00:02:17.651
I forget if it was my wife or myself that initially discovered your podcast and when I heard the name I was like that kind of sounds perfect, so I should probably be talking to Brian.
00:02:17.651 --> 00:02:19.081
So I appreciate you having me on.
00:02:19.081 --> 00:02:34.990
Yeah, so you know, grew up in New York City, spent the first couple of decades of my career on Wall Street, was fortunate enough to have a dad who owned his own business, have a brother who owns his own business and, you know, came from a family where, you know, wall Street was great.
00:02:34.990 --> 00:02:36.425
It was an interesting learning experience.
00:02:36.425 --> 00:02:42.312
I kind of always felt like it was going to be a stepping stone for me to do my own thing.
00:02:42.312 --> 00:02:48.659
I always wanted to and no matter how successful I was on wall street kind of always had my dad poking me saying, yeah, that's great, but when are you going to be?
00:02:48.659 --> 00:02:50.025
You know, when are you going to do your own thing?
00:02:50.025 --> 00:02:51.961
Right, you should be doing your own thing, you should be working for yourself.
00:02:52.965 --> 00:02:59.105
And, interestingly, as I got further along in life and in career, um, that really started to take hold with me.
00:02:59.105 --> 00:03:10.134
I kind of felt a real personal pull to get out of the corporate world and to do something for myself and not be beholden to anybody else essentially and really just remain accountable to myself.
00:03:10.134 --> 00:03:12.040
I had three little kids.
00:03:12.040 --> 00:03:15.269
That was when the wheels kind of started to turn right.
00:03:15.269 --> 00:03:27.115
There was a relative level of expectation on Wall Street that you know, when you went to bed on Sunday you probably weren't going to see your kids again until you woke up the following Saturday, and that just didn't really suit me right.
00:03:27.115 --> 00:03:31.987
I wanted to be more present for them, I wanted to be a present father and I really wanted to drive my own outcomes.
00:03:31.987 --> 00:03:35.143
And you know it was a wonderful learning experience.
00:03:35.143 --> 00:03:40.905
I'm certainly glad that I had that experience and I'm even more happy that I was able to take this leap.
00:03:40.944 --> 00:03:48.615
And so part of my kind of origin story as far as getting into business was the thought that you know I can help other people do this right.
00:03:48.615 --> 00:04:04.403
I mean, I don't know if you've ever worked in corporate brian, but the number of times that I heard you know people say some iteration of you know I wish I could do x or y or z, but I've been doing this for so many years that, you know, I just don't think there's anything else that I could do.
00:04:04.403 --> 00:04:11.290
And I'll often say to people now, you know, as long as you tell yourself that you know that's the truth, but it actually is not the truth, right?
00:04:11.290 --> 00:04:20.201
I mean, you have people underestimate their ability to do something else because they get stuck in the corporate grind for so long, and they get stuck in that routine.
00:04:20.201 --> 00:04:28.314
And you know, I used to play what I would call deathbed exercise with people, which I know sounds really morbid and not a wonderful exercise to go through.
00:04:28.339 --> 00:04:41.870
But the thought is that, you know, you hear oftentimes these anecdotes about people on their deathbed and what they wish they spent more time doing or any regrets that they have in life, and the common anecdote is that, you know, no one ever kind of wished that they worked more Right.
00:04:41.891 --> 00:04:52.858
It was always spending time with loved ones or, you know, doing something that they were more passionate about as far as how they earned a living, and so I kind of made it my mission to help people achieve those goals right.
00:04:52.858 --> 00:05:06.853
And so now I help people identify opportunities that could be a great fit for them, and then I give them a really strong process and I guide them through and coach them through that process so that they can vet, you know, top tier franchise opportunities with.
00:05:06.853 --> 00:05:23.552
You know the end goal of just putting them in position to make an informed business investment decision at the end of the day, right, and that oftentimes doesn't mean that they're saying yes, it just means that they are acquiring the tools and the data and the information that they need in working together to make the right decision for them and their loved ones.
00:05:23.552 --> 00:05:25.966
And that's been a really great experience and really rewarding.
00:05:26.406 --> 00:05:38.458
Yeah, I love that overview, Connor, and it's so cool to hear the way that you think even in that overview, because I feel like we're really capturing Connor, the Wall Street investment banker, and you have that mindset.
00:05:38.499 --> 00:05:48.019
It's ingrained in you because, of course, you did that and you were super successful at that, and so that's why I love the words that you choose with that hat on, when you talk about wealth and looking at people's financial pictures.
00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:54.187
But then we also have Connor the entrepreneur hat on, and I love the way that you think about growth and the way you think about opportunities.
00:05:54.187 --> 00:06:12.930
But then what I really appreciate about the way that you operate, connor is also Connor the dad, connor the family man, is there and that this is also part of a lifestyle decision to you, it's not just a career, and so I really appreciate the culmination of all three of those things, and I think that I'm probably setting you up for this next answer because I want to go.
00:06:12.930 --> 00:06:14.456
Why franchising?
00:06:14.456 --> 00:06:15.259
Why is franchising?
00:06:15.259 --> 00:06:21.466
The perfect marriage of all these different experiences that you've personally had and the goals of so many others who you're absolutely spot on.
00:06:21.466 --> 00:06:23.411
I think everybody in society is just like.
00:06:28.579 --> 00:06:29.281
I wish I could be my own boss.
00:06:29.281 --> 00:06:30.545
I don't want to have to ask for vacation time anymore.
00:06:30.545 --> 00:06:30.764
Nice, right.
00:06:30.764 --> 00:06:36.511
I mean, it's funny how many times I've probably said in my tenure doing this like, do you really want to continue asking another adult for a day off?
00:06:36.511 --> 00:06:45.348
Right, and that kind of you know maybe pokes people in a certain pain point and gets them refocused on the why part of why we're interacting and why they're looking at businesses.
00:06:45.348 --> 00:06:47.951
Yeah, why franchising?
00:06:47.951 --> 00:06:52.663
So you know, I actually kind of think that franchising is sort of the tool, right.
00:06:52.663 --> 00:07:00.689
The ultimate goal is what you said, which is freedom of time, quality of life right, those are the outcomes that you're really striving for.
00:07:00.689 --> 00:07:04.305
There are a number of ways to do it, right, it's not just franchising.
00:07:04.345 --> 00:07:08.050
Franchising happens to be the way that I chose and the way that I guide people.
00:07:08.050 --> 00:07:14.209
For me, and I think, for a lot of other people in corporate, it bridges a really important gap, right.
00:07:14.209 --> 00:07:16.101
I mean, we all have responsibilities.
00:07:16.101 --> 00:07:19.430
I'll speak for myself personally, as I mentioned three young children.
00:07:19.430 --> 00:07:23.526
I live in the suburbs of New York City, which is not an inexpensive place to live.
00:07:23.526 --> 00:07:38.331
I had relatively high income replacement needs when I exited Wall Street, and so you know I love that entrepreneur terminology that you use because you know, I always thought of it like I don't have this brilliant idea right.
00:07:38.331 --> 00:07:52.411
I don't have this brilliant business idea that I'm confident I can go execute on to the extent that I can support my family, maybe over a long enough time horizon, but certainly not in the short term where I can be comfortable enough that I know I can support my family appropriately right.
00:07:52.411 --> 00:08:10.040
And so franchising was always this really interesting bridge to me which was hey, if someone gives me this business in the box and I have the support and the infrastructure and the built-in marketing and the brand awareness and I can go execute on that, right.
00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:14.817
So you'll hear the cliche sort of used fairly often in my role, which is you get to work for yourself but not by yourself, and that was really valuable to me.
00:08:14.817 --> 00:08:19.213
That's not to say that it's not without risks and it wasn't incredibly challenging in a lot of ways.
00:08:19.213 --> 00:08:29.928
I also was fortunate enough that I have a wife who, to be honest with you, is really the entrepreneur out of the two of us who had built two businesses from the ground up, and I saw what a Herculean effort that was.
00:08:29.928 --> 00:08:53.327
And so, again, franchising fit this really interesting niche to me that allowed me to take this leap, where I was still confident enough that I can build this fast enough that I can still keep food on the table, keep my family in my home right, be able to pay the mortgage, be able to take on all these other responsibilities that I had as a father and that really I thought would resonate with other people right, and so that was sort of the genesis of my business.
00:08:53.327 --> 00:09:03.206
Well, hey, if I can do this, maybe I can teach other people how to do it as well, and if I can help them be strategic in how they think about what businesses they should be going and looking at.
00:09:03.268 --> 00:09:08.246
Thinking about businesses characteristically right, meaning what's your role as the owner?
00:09:08.246 --> 00:09:09.725
What does the day to day look like?
00:09:09.725 --> 00:09:12.969
How does that fit into how you're looking to live, work and play?
00:09:12.969 --> 00:09:20.404
If you'll pardon the pardon the cliche, then I can go out and help you find sort of custom pick businesses, right?
00:09:20.404 --> 00:09:24.980
So, as with everything else, I think in our world, everyone's first stop is the internet, right?
00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:31.971
So when people have that thought that you clearly articulated earlier, which I think a lot of people do, you know you walk into, you know a McDonald's or a Subway or whatever.
00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:36.522
And your thought is, man, maybe I could run a business like this, maybe that would allow me to work for myself.
00:09:36.562 --> 00:09:48.846
And so you go online, right, and you search for franchises, and it spits out this list of 4,000 different franchises and, with a lot in our world, it creates more white noise than really you're equipped to handle, right.
00:09:48.846 --> 00:09:49.989
And so, ultimately, what do you do?
00:09:49.989 --> 00:09:54.201
You throw in the towel and go ah, just kind of a passing thought, but I don't even know enough to know where to start.
00:09:54.201 --> 00:09:56.707
That's where I step in, right.
00:09:56.707 --> 00:10:08.941
So I'm going to take you through a very strategy-focused process where we're going to figure out what it is that you want, what are the goals you're looking to achieve and what sets you up, potentially the best to accomplish those goals.
00:10:08.941 --> 00:10:17.109
I'm going to go out into the universe of franchising and figure out what's available and could suit those goals and get you introduced to those concepts, right.
00:10:17.109 --> 00:10:27.928
And then I'm going to coach you through how we vet them, why they might work for you, and show you exactly how to get all of the information that you need to make that informed decision that I mentioned earlier.
00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:33.625
Yeah, Connor, you just put something into perspective for me that I don't think I recognize this pattern.
00:10:33.625 --> 00:10:35.817
But it's so simple now that you've called it out.
00:10:35.817 --> 00:10:49.433
I obviously talk to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs for a living every single day of my life, and it really didn't hit me until now how often I hear that stumbling block of well, I don't have a business idea and you heard me tease it at the top of today's episode.
00:10:49.433 --> 00:10:59.870
Part of the franchising appeal is you get operations, you get marketing, you get proof of concept, you get all of these things, but I didn't even think about the fact that you no longer need your own business idea.
00:10:59.870 --> 00:11:08.994
You get to take somebody else's idea that's already proven and tested, and so it really bypasses that huge barrier that a lot of people have in their own minds.
00:11:09.335 --> 00:11:17.768
With that said, I would imagine that it's probably the paradox of choice, where you know you and I could rattle off 500 different franchise ideas.
00:11:17.768 --> 00:11:19.797
We could start a local electrician franchise.
00:11:19.797 --> 00:11:24.764
People don't think about service-based franchises because we always see the Subways and the McDonald's of the world.
00:11:24.764 --> 00:11:27.107
How do we even start to navigate?
00:11:27.107 --> 00:11:33.515
Yeah, we don't need to have our own idea, but we do need to have an idea of what type of franchise we want to be involved with.
00:11:33.515 --> 00:11:35.730
How do you start that?
00:11:35.770 --> 00:11:36.197
conversation.
00:11:36.197 --> 00:11:36.760
You know what?
00:11:36.760 --> 00:11:37.604
Not necessarily.
00:11:37.604 --> 00:11:40.751
I don't think you really do need to know, essentially, where to start.
00:11:40.751 --> 00:11:50.881
It's funny because oftentimes when I'm taking people through that strategy building session and their answers to a lot of my questions are I don't know, and they almost say that in an apologetic way.
00:11:50.881 --> 00:11:52.025
I'm really sorry, I don't know.
00:11:52.025 --> 00:11:56.062
And I said, don't be sorry, if you knew all the answers to these questions you wouldn't need me.
00:11:56.764 --> 00:11:57.926
And it can illustrate a couple of things.
00:11:57.926 --> 00:12:01.070
It can illustrate open-mindedness to a whole bunch of different stuff, right?
00:12:01.070 --> 00:12:09.979
So when you think about where to start, you know, allow me, I'll ask you the questions that help you figure out those answers.
00:12:09.979 --> 00:12:13.605
And I always say to people there are no wrong answers, which is nice, like it's your process.
00:12:13.605 --> 00:12:16.543
I'll give it to you, but it's ultimately yours and there are no wrong answers, right?
00:12:16.543 --> 00:12:22.073
So the onus is upon me to ask the right questions to figure out what direction you want to go.
00:12:22.073 --> 00:12:23.663
You're absolutely right.
00:12:23.663 --> 00:12:25.129
I'm actually glad that you brought it up.
00:12:25.129 --> 00:12:34.389
I mean, I laugh with people when I speak to them because you know probably 98 percent of everybody that I speak to their first thought when they hear franchising is one of four brands.
00:12:34.389 --> 00:12:37.028
Right, it's McDonald's, dunkin Donuts, chick-fil-a and Subway Right.
00:12:37.028 --> 00:12:41.831
Maybe you had a couple others that people are really familiar with, but it's essentially quick serve restaurants.
00:12:41.831 --> 00:12:46.975
There are somewhere in the range of 4,000 different franchise concepts in the US right now right.
00:12:46.975 --> 00:12:49.898
So they really span the entirety of the economy.
00:12:49.898 --> 00:12:51.803
You brought up service-based stuff, right.
00:12:51.803 --> 00:12:55.864
There's tons of really interesting service-based franchise businesses.
00:12:55.864 --> 00:13:02.764
They allow you to potentially lower the initial investment side because you don't always have a large brick and mortar to go with it.
00:13:02.764 --> 00:13:06.663
So these are all kind of questions that we would work through in that strategy session.
00:13:06.724 --> 00:13:09.991
So it kind of all begins with why are we talking?
00:13:09.991 --> 00:13:11.663
Why are you thinking about doing this now?
00:13:11.663 --> 00:13:14.870
Because I think it can't just be about money, right.
00:13:14.870 --> 00:13:24.832
Anybody who's thinking about going into business purely for money almost never does, because ultimately they get to a place where they realize that making money in a lot of ways is just easier in the corporate job.
00:13:24.832 --> 00:13:28.066
Not building wealth, but the paycheck part, right.
00:13:28.066 --> 00:13:30.051
And then it's okay.
00:13:30.051 --> 00:13:31.501
What are you looking to achieve, right?
00:13:31.501 --> 00:13:34.048
Let's kind of put some context around financial goals.
00:13:34.048 --> 00:13:35.640
What does this look like long-term?
00:13:35.640 --> 00:13:37.504
How does exit strategy play into that?
00:13:37.924 --> 00:13:44.034
Then you're kind of getting into the wealth building side of it, right, and then from there you want to talk about businesses characteristically.
00:13:44.034 --> 00:13:48.844
So you know really basic, straightforward stuff when do you want the business to be geographically?
00:13:48.844 --> 00:13:51.236
What kind of business structure are you looking for?
00:13:51.236 --> 00:13:53.684
Right, there are different structures of businesses and franchising.
00:13:53.684 --> 00:13:57.283
Some are kind of owner-operator, where you're in it and involved full-time.
00:13:57.283 --> 00:14:11.961
Some are more of an executive ownership model, meaning stuff that allows you to kind of build a business on the side, potentially if you're thinking about creating a corporate exit strategy over a certain course of time and really they're set up to allow you to keep your day job.
00:14:12.643 --> 00:14:13.605
They're not easy, right?
00:14:13.605 --> 00:14:23.712
I mean, I think a lot of people that claim to do what I do will say, yeah, you can do it fully absentee, right, and you plop down this much money and it spits out that much money, and if it were that easy, everybody would do it.
00:14:23.712 --> 00:14:24.835
That's just not the truth.
00:14:24.835 --> 00:14:31.046
But there is enough support and infrastructure in a lot of these businesses that allows you to keep your day job and build this business on the side.
00:14:31.046 --> 00:14:47.803
Provided you have enough capacity to take those two things on right, it can be a heavy lift but if done appropriately, it can really lead to some incredible outcomes and then really all the way down to on an industry level, right, what do you have a particularly strong aversion to?
00:14:47.803 --> 00:14:49.870
Anything you don't want to look at, necessarily.
00:14:49.870 --> 00:14:51.903
And then the other side of that coin, what is it?
00:14:51.903 --> 00:14:53.448
Maybe that would spark some interest?
00:14:53.448 --> 00:14:55.423
Do you like the home services space?
00:14:55.423 --> 00:14:56.284
Do you like fitness?
00:14:56.284 --> 00:15:03.250
And we kind of just paint a picture through this strategy process to really allow them to understand what it is they want.
00:15:03.820 --> 00:15:12.774
I'm just asking the questions and at the end of the day, I'll come back to them with maybe three or four or five brands and say, hey, if I'm any good at what I do, these should be a really good fit for you.
00:15:12.774 --> 00:15:14.590
Let's go start to learn about them.
00:15:14.590 --> 00:15:16.000
Get you connected to these businesses.
00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.188
So, first and foremost, they're responsive.
00:15:18.188 --> 00:15:20.647
That's another issue that people run into.
00:15:21.659 --> 00:15:24.989
Going back to that being online, example, right, and the white noise.
00:15:24.989 --> 00:15:29.369
You know people reach out because they want to have a Chick-fil-A, right, just for argument's sake.
00:15:29.369 --> 00:15:30.621
Everybody loves Chick-fil-A these days.
00:15:30.621 --> 00:15:33.094
They never even get a response, right.
00:15:33.094 --> 00:15:39.268
So I'm going to assure you that you're going to get a response, that you're going to connect to the heads of development and you're going to start learning about this business from the inside.
00:15:39.268 --> 00:15:47.890
And then we're also going to connect you to existing franchise owners within that system so that you can kind of use their experience right to vet what you've learned from the franchise.
00:15:47.890 --> 00:15:59.928
And that's where you really start to connect the dots and understand what a day in the life of looks like, how that pairs with what you've learned from the corporate and understand the entirety of the structure of this business to see if it might be a good fit for you.
00:16:00.568 --> 00:16:03.173
Yeah, connor gosh, I love that overview.
00:16:03.173 --> 00:16:09.368
This is just a huge testament to how and why you're good at what you do, and that is because it's a process with you.
00:16:09.368 --> 00:16:20.115
I love the fact that you navigated us through that with even here on the air on a public podcast was such transparency and honesty, because I appreciate the reality check in our line of work.
00:16:20.115 --> 00:16:25.109
Connor, too many people want to throw around that term of passive income, but you just directly called it out.
00:16:25.109 --> 00:16:29.206
Nothing's going to be truly passive, otherwise, every single one of us would already be doing it.
00:16:29.206 --> 00:16:31.572
So, yeah, I love that open recognition.
00:16:31.572 --> 00:16:37.764
I do want to go here with you, because not only, like I said, I'm going to pick on that Wall Street investment banker hat because you brought up money.
00:16:37.764 --> 00:16:43.275
So we're going to talk about money today, because a lot of people probably feel like this is completely unattainable.
00:16:43.275 --> 00:16:43.635
Why?
00:16:43.635 --> 00:16:45.139
Because I think you called it out.
00:16:45.158 --> 00:16:50.412
A really important point is that we think of franchises as those huge franchises, those four that you listed.
00:16:50.412 --> 00:16:55.301
The native Bostonian in me loves that Dunkin' Donuts made the cut in your top four franchise list.
00:16:55.301 --> 00:16:58.868
With that in mind, though, we feel like it's got to be big business.
00:16:58.868 --> 00:17:01.854
It's got to be super expensive and out of reach for most people.
00:17:01.854 --> 00:17:03.745
What do those investments look like?
00:17:03.745 --> 00:17:12.532
And of course it's a wide gamut and I know that it completely varies but give us an idea of what types of fees, not just dollar amounts, but what is up front.
00:17:12.532 --> 00:17:14.321
What are the considerations longer term?
00:17:14.321 --> 00:17:15.803
I'd love to hear that side of the story.
00:17:16.846 --> 00:17:27.872
Yeah, I appreciate you asking, because I do think that's a common misconception, right, that you need kind of millions of dollars to think about it, or that they're all million dollar investments, right, and that's just not the truth.
00:17:27.872 --> 00:17:46.409
You know, there are franchise systems out there that are as inexpensive as you know $50,000 or $60,000 all in to get into and then there's stuff that is up into the multi-million dollar range as well, right, and really everything in between, and that's an important part of the strategy.
00:17:46.409 --> 00:17:48.054
Obviously, you know where is your comfort from an investment standpoint?
00:17:48.054 --> 00:17:49.358
Now, look, people need to be qualified to think about it, right?
00:17:49.358 --> 00:18:21.050
Um, I set my particular bar as probably higher than others, because I think, just because you feasibly can put somebody into business financially speaking doesn't mean that you should, right, and the goal here is to help people better their lives and build wealth through business, not put them in a position where everything needs to go perfectly for them to succeed or they're gonna be hurt financially Because, as you know as well as I do, almost never does everything go perfectly in business, so there needs to be a little bit of padding there.
00:18:21.050 --> 00:18:27.528
And, again, it depends on the type of business structure as well, right?
00:18:27.528 --> 00:18:31.857
So, if you're looking at owner-operator opportunities, they tend to be typically a little bit less expensive, right?
00:18:31.857 --> 00:18:33.672
Especially if you're looking at service-based stuff.
00:18:33.672 --> 00:18:46.640
There are some home-based franchises right where you know, maybe it's kind of more consultative in nature and you can run it right out of your home office and essentially the entire cost is just the franchise fee, right.
00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.551
And then there are other things that come with a very large brick and mortar, right.
00:18:50.551 --> 00:18:58.528
If you're building a, you know, a McDonald's just for lack of a better example, that's going to be a multi-seven, multi-six figure investment, obviously.
00:18:58.528 --> 00:19:04.278
And then there's stuff you know there are pool companies out there that can get into the multi-million dollars or big spas, things along those lines.
00:19:05.425 --> 00:19:11.528
The way that I think about it, you know, in monetary terms it always comes down to an allocation of capital, right.
00:19:11.528 --> 00:19:14.497
Like where can you best allocate your capital for the best return?
00:19:14.497 --> 00:19:23.689
As you said, the only truly way, in my estimation, to kind of make money passively is through traditional market investments, right?
00:19:23.689 --> 00:19:24.955
You invest your money into the market.
00:19:24.955 --> 00:19:27.146
You know it gives you a historical return of X.
00:19:27.146 --> 00:19:31.525
If you're thinking about the S&P 500, call it 10%, right, just on a historical basis.
00:19:31.525 --> 00:19:33.931
Obviously, some years it's up 20, some years it's down 20.
00:19:34.652 --> 00:19:47.517
So for me, if a business isn't at least giving you the potential to return that much plus, however, you value your sweat equity above and beyond that right, because you get 10 by just putting your money into the market in a business.
00:19:47.517 --> 00:19:54.469
Even in the most semi-passive businesses, there's going to be some sweat equity that goes into that and you have to value that.
00:19:54.469 --> 00:20:03.586
You being the candidate right, and because only I think the person can determine how they value that actual sweat equity and how much effort is going into it and we kind of.
00:20:03.586 --> 00:20:12.505
That all becomes part and parcel of the process that we would take them through in an effort to help them understand what the ROI is on these investments, if done properly.
00:20:12.505 --> 00:20:14.869
Right, I mean the biggest part that people need to keep in mind.
00:20:14.869 --> 00:20:24.512
I think where people get stuck a lot when they're thinking about investing into the space is they want certainty from an ROI perspective what is this going to earn and how much is it going to net me?
00:20:24.512 --> 00:20:30.017
And I said well, you're forgetting about the most important part of that calculus, which is you as the owner.
00:20:30.017 --> 00:20:39.913
So there are historical returns that you can look at and you'll discover that when you connect to these companies and they'll take you through that, but ultimately, the onus is on you to drive this business.
00:20:40.275 --> 00:20:45.585
So part of the process is understanding what drives top performance within these systems.
00:20:45.585 --> 00:20:55.651
Right, speaking to those people that are top performers, trying to get an understanding of what it is, what their keys are to success, so that you can ask yourself and have an honest assessment of yourself.
00:20:55.651 --> 00:20:58.181
You know, can I replicate that right?
00:20:58.181 --> 00:21:00.068
Is that something that I'm well equipped to do?
00:21:00.068 --> 00:21:04.858
And balancing that with the other side, you can't forget about where the challenges are.
00:21:05.065 --> 00:21:11.479
So I talk a lot about understanding the most well-rounded picture of any system, as you can.
00:21:11.479 --> 00:21:15.952
You do that by talking to the franchisees, and on one side, you're talking to top performers.
00:21:15.952 --> 00:21:27.442
You also want to understand where the challenges and headwinds are, because if it's too much of a rose glasses you know kind of scenario or exercise that you're going through you're probably missing something, because business just isn't that easy.
00:21:27.442 --> 00:21:35.025
And when you can discover where the challenges and headwinds are and go through that same exercise, ie okay, now I understand what drives top performance.
00:21:35.025 --> 00:21:43.190
I think I'm well equipped to replicate that, and I can also understand where the challenges and headwinds are, and I think I'm well equipped to overcome that.
00:21:43.190 --> 00:21:50.873
Connecting those two dots is a really powerful part of getting people to kind of bet on themselves and take that leap into business ownership.
00:21:51.494 --> 00:22:02.563
Yeah, connor, I really appreciate that point that you made in there about the fact that we're not just buying an ATM, we're buying a business, that we are actively part of that solution.
00:22:02.563 --> 00:22:05.971
We are actively driving that growth and I think that to your point.
00:22:05.971 --> 00:22:10.332
It sounds like you and I both really enjoy calling out the fact that everyone thinks there's a magic pill.
