June 14, 2024

866: EVERYTHING you've wanted to know about franchising (as a newbie or to scale your biz!) w/ Dominique Main

Unlock the door to business success with the wisdom of franchising expert Dominique Main, as she joins us to reveal how aligning your personal "why" with a franchise can be your golden ticket. Get ready to be inspired by Dominique’s journey from serial entrepreneur to franchising aficionado, as we dissect the strategic choices behind selecting opportunities that resonate with your deepest goals and values. This isn't just about finding a business; it's about discovering a venture that vibrates with passion and purpose, transcending the mere chase for financial rewards.

We're tearing down the misconceptions of franchising one myth at a time, emphasizing that success in this field isn't about quick riches but about hard work, resilience, and a dash of humility. Dominique and our host Brian Lofrumento tackle the traits that sculpt a thriving franchise owner and how the established systems of franchising can mitigate common challenges like financing and staffing.

With Dominique wearing her experienced entrepreneurial hat throughout this conversation, you'll also gain insights into the indispensable entrepreneurial mindset, stressing the importance of resilience, resourcefulness, and having a robust support system. Whether you're looking to accelerate your journey with your first business or you're curious about franchising to scale your winning business, find out how franchise ownership could flourish under your command, even without hands-on expertise, thanks to the extensive backing of franchise brands. 

ABOUT DOMINIQUE

Dominique Main is a business leader who is propelled by a profound belief in discovering the underlying motivations behind business endeavors. An enthusiastic advocate for aligning passion with professional pursuits, Dominique stresses the importance of understanding the 'why' behind every business initiative. Her philosophy centers on the idea that true success stems not merely from the desire to generate profit but from a genuine passion for one’s work. Dominique encourages entrepreneurs and business professionals to delve deep into their personal and professional goals to unearth what truly ignites their excitement and drives their commitment. This blend of passion and profitability, according to Dominique, is the ultimate source of a business's strength and sustainability.

LINKS & RESOURCES 

00:00 - Franchising Opportunities and Strategic Growth

11:45 - Franchising

22:23 - Franchising and Entrepreneurial Mindset Discussion

WEBVTT

00:00:00.119 --> 00:00:01.102
Hey, what is up?

00:00:01.102 --> 00:00:04.490
Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:00:04.490 --> 00:00:20.925
As always, I'm your host, brian LoFermento, and there's one thing I know about all of us wantrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, and that is, at one time or another, we've thought about franchising, either when you're starting your first business and you think to yourself, why don't I just buy into a franchise with a proven business model?

00:00:20.925 --> 00:00:25.815
Or you already have a business and you're thinking to yourself can I just franchise this?

00:00:25.815 --> 00:00:29.210
What are some good growth and scaling opportunities for me from here?

00:00:29.210 --> 00:00:32.790
Well, that's why we've got an incredible guest here in today's session.

00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:34.326
Her name is Dominique Main.

00:00:34.326 --> 00:00:35.926
Let me tell you about Dominique.

00:00:35.926 --> 00:00:40.972
Dominique has helped hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs get into business for themselves.

00:00:40.972 --> 00:00:48.470
She specializes in helping people find the courage, motivation and practical application to make their business dreams a reality.

00:00:48.470 --> 00:00:58.807
Her company, bright Fran, helps aspiring entrepreneurs determine what they even want from business ownership so that they can find the right franchise opportunities to support their goals.

00:00:58.807 --> 00:01:07.242
One way or another, there's going to be a lot of food for thought for us when it comes to growth and strategic operations and opportunities, so I'm excited about this one.

00:01:07.242 --> 00:01:10.412
Let's dive straight into my interview with Dominique Main.

00:01:10.412 --> 00:01:21.784
All right, dominique, I'm so excited, so much of the wonderful world of franchising that a lot of us don't know that we'll get into today, but first things first.

00:01:22.105 --> 00:01:22.927
welcome to the show.

00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:25.566
Thank you so much for having me, Brian.

00:01:26.099 --> 00:01:35.031
Heck yeah, I'm excited, but you're going to have to take us beyond the bio first, so that we know how you amass all of this wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to franchising.

00:01:35.031 --> 00:01:36.164
Who's, dominique?

00:01:36.164 --> 00:01:37.126
How did you get here?

00:01:38.370 --> 00:01:45.647
Well, brian, I'm a serial entrepreneur myself, so I've owned multiple companies in the service industry and construction and real estate.

00:01:45.647 --> 00:01:50.254
I've been a landlord with long-term rentals since I was in my 20s.

00:01:50.254 --> 00:02:02.072
I have a short-term rental property over in Florida and I've been in franchising for 18 years, so I love everything about business ownership and helping people to achieve the benefits of that.

00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:07.968
Yes, I love that overview because obviously you're preaching to the choir here at the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:02:07.968 --> 00:02:12.770
We love all things entrepreneurship and obviously franchising is just one of those opportunities.

00:02:12.770 --> 00:02:20.204
It's cool to me because you have so many hats that you wear and you understand life as a true business owner, as an entrepreneur, as one of us.

00:02:20.204 --> 00:02:25.263
But with that in mind, walk us through with even I guess we could start with your own portfolio.

00:02:25.263 --> 00:02:28.469
How do you decide what business ventures to go into?

00:02:28.469 --> 00:02:28.991
That has?

00:02:28.991 --> 00:02:33.253
That gets your energy and your attention, versus where you decide you know what.

00:02:33.253 --> 00:02:35.181
It's a great opportunity, but maybe not for me.

00:02:36.965 --> 00:03:01.713
Brian, that really starts with the why, and I know sometimes that's a phrase that's overused in business, but I beg to differ because really, what makes us successful in any venture is our focus on it, and what makes us really focus on it is that it's what we really want, it's what we love, and so I always encourage people to dig deep and explore what it is that they really are looking to accomplish with the business.

00:03:01.713 --> 00:03:08.778
Not just make money, because everybody wants to make money, but what lights you up, what makes you happy that you're involved in something.

00:03:08.778 --> 00:03:15.421
Because the combination of those things what you love and making money is is really where the power comes from.

00:03:16.062 --> 00:03:20.262
Yeah, I'm glad that you called that out so early on in our session today here, because you're right.

00:03:20.262 --> 00:03:23.270
I think a lot of people have heard that advice of find your why.

00:03:23.270 --> 00:03:32.430
Obviously, simon Sinek has really popularized so much of the science that goes behind finding our why and why.

00:03:32.430 --> 00:03:33.012
That's a powerful strategy.

00:03:33.012 --> 00:03:36.868
But, dominique, I would argue that a lot of people don't even know what their why is and they don't even know how to find their why.

00:03:36.868 --> 00:03:41.302
You called out money is one potential reason why, but there's a heck of a lot more to that.

00:03:41.302 --> 00:03:44.549
When it comes to life, what do some of those whys look like?

00:03:44.549 --> 00:03:47.574
How can we actually go about uncovering our whys?

00:03:49.760 --> 00:03:55.752
So I like to ask three questions deep when I am helping someone to uncover their why.

00:03:55.752 --> 00:04:08.788
Because if you were to tell me, brian, that you want to start a business because you want to make more money, I want to know why that's important to you, because that's going to tell me more about what drives you and what you have to offer the world.

00:04:08.788 --> 00:04:25.591
So being able to learn more about who you are as a person and what is making you happy in your existing job and what's driving you nuts in your existing job will actually help me to guide you to a business that's going to help you to create more of what you love and less of what you don't like.

00:04:26.201 --> 00:04:37.913
Yeah, for sure, Again, preaching to the choir because for me, where my head goes immediately is a lot of people will want you and I, Dominique, to talk about money, but I go more to like lifestyle, for example, I love the life that I get to live.

00:04:37.913 --> 00:04:43.446
For example, when my niece and nephew come here to Florida, I get to spend so much time with them and that's so rewarding to me.

00:04:43.446 --> 00:04:44.447
I get to travel.

00:04:44.447 --> 00:04:46.411
I've been to over 30 countries around the world.

00:04:46.411 --> 00:04:48.754
There's so much cool stuff that comes with it.

00:04:48.754 --> 00:04:51.329
Now, obviously, there's a lot of work that comes with it.

00:04:51.329 --> 00:04:58.228
But with that in mind, where do you even start to uncover those opportunities that align with our whys?

00:04:58.228 --> 00:05:04.267
Because, like we said and you're a living example of that there's a lot of options when it comes to starting or growing our businesses.

00:05:04.629 --> 00:05:14.432
Where do we begin in finding the right opportunity for our wise that comes from forming strategic partnerships, and we've done the legwork on that.

00:05:14.432 --> 00:05:34.492
We are a member of a group that has over 600 different franchise and business opportunities within it and we've taken the time and put in the energy to study those so that in a conversation with somebody who wants to open a business, we are able to quickly help them to match with something that really fits who they are and what they're looking for.

00:05:35.134 --> 00:05:43.225
Yeah, dominique, I want you to talk more about that, because when we talk about franchising, obviously we've all seen franchises and their various shapes and forms.

00:05:43.225 --> 00:05:57.112
I think of, like, the subways of the world, the in and outs of the world, where we all are familiar with these franchises, but we don't think about franchises as local, as real, tangible business operations that we as everyday, so-called normal people can get into.

00:05:57.112 --> 00:05:58.526
We think about the big corporate ones.

00:05:58.526 --> 00:06:03.091
Give us kind of that canvas of how wide the franchising world is.

00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:23.372
The cool thing actually about franchising is it's sort of a hybrid between corporate world and small business entrepreneur life, because you get a lot of the benefits of big corporate because of the alliance of all these locations that are doing the same thing, but you also have a lot more freedom than you would in a corporate role.

00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:28.632
Yeah, with that in mind, I mean, I think about yeah, you talk about the intersection of that.

00:06:28.632 --> 00:06:33.300
I so, when I lived in Los Angeles, smoothies that was like a daily part of my everyday existence.

00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:37.552
And going down to my local smoothie shop, that was a franchise and I saw the franchise owner.

00:06:37.552 --> 00:06:42.232
They were very involved in it, dominique, but they also had a great staff in place.

00:06:42.232 --> 00:06:48.288
Talk to us about the workload of that, because a lot of people look for unfortunately I'm going to call a lot of people out.

00:06:48.288 --> 00:06:53.290
They look for the easy way out, not realizing that franchises can also be a lot of work.

00:06:53.290 --> 00:06:54.735
What do some of those?

00:06:54.735 --> 00:06:58.064
Is there an actively involved franchise ownership model?

00:06:58.064 --> 00:06:59.649
Is there a passively involved?

00:06:59.649 --> 00:07:02.182
I don't even know what that looks like in the world of franchising.

00:07:03.125 --> 00:07:17.360
Yes so, and one of the CEOs that I've worked with in franchising that's been in the business for 30 plus years says that if you look at your credit card statement, you're going to see that you do business with many franchises every month.

00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:20.348
So it's a lot more common even, I think, than a lot of us realize.

00:07:20.348 --> 00:07:27.773
But in terms of the owner's day to day involvement in a, in a franchise business, there's every opportunity under the sun.

00:07:27.773 --> 00:07:32.451
You could spend full-time efforts plus investing into a franchise business.

00:07:32.451 --> 00:07:45.295
You can have a business that's what we call in the business, semi-absentee or even absentee where you're investing and you're overseeing, but you have management in place that are running the day-to-day operations.

00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:49.115
Yeah, which I think is an important overview, because I feel like gosh.

00:07:49.115 --> 00:08:02.786
It's probably decades ago now that Tim Ferriss published the four-hour workweek, but that painted the picture of truly the four-hour workweek, where a lot of people think that it is hands-off, which you talked about, the absentee owner model what does that look like?

00:08:02.786 --> 00:08:04.350
Are those viable?

00:08:04.350 --> 00:08:06.353
Is it certain industries where that works?

00:08:06.353 --> 00:08:07.764
Because I'm thinking about the smoothie business.

00:08:07.764 --> 00:08:11.146
There was always stuff going wrong with the machines and with staff calling out.

00:08:11.146 --> 00:08:15.384
But, dominique, you obviously see so much more of the franchising world than the rest of us do.

00:08:15.384 --> 00:08:20.182
What sort of industries align with these different models that you're introducing us to?

00:08:22.447 --> 00:08:28.204
Well, one of the concepts that I learned early on in business school and always stuck with me is there's no such thing as a free lunch.

00:08:28.204 --> 00:08:36.589
There is absolutely no get rich quick schemes that are going to really truly produce what we would like them to.

00:08:36.589 --> 00:08:44.350
There's always an investment, and to receive greater compensation, we always need to create greater value.

00:08:44.350 --> 00:08:52.611
So in the franchising space, for somebody who wants to be semi absentee or absentee, it's not magical.

00:08:52.611 --> 00:09:09.267
They're going to invest money to make that happen through hiring people to basically replace themselves, and they're going to find concepts and we would be able to match them with concepts that are designed to be run by management instead of having to be run by the owner.

00:09:09.527 --> 00:09:11.272
There are both in the franchise space.

00:09:11.272 --> 00:09:20.788
There are concepts that really only work with that owner day to day, but some concepts are so duplicatable, so simple, that anybody almost can do it.

00:09:20.788 --> 00:09:28.807
So if you're willing to put the investment in of the finances and hire that great management to run it, you really can be pretty hands-off.

00:09:28.807 --> 00:09:39.649
And I'll tell you, kind of a cool new thing that's coming up in franchising is that there are concepts who are actually running the day-to-day operations for their franchise owners for a fee.

00:09:39.649 --> 00:09:50.113
So if you have somebody who's truly investor mentality, where they just want to put the money in, they can have an operations team at the franchise or level running that for them.

00:09:50.880 --> 00:09:56.200
Yeah, dominique, that is very cool and I'm super excited to go even deeper into this world with you here today.

00:09:56.200 --> 00:10:04.730
But I think you brought up an important business concept which is I remember in my early 20s, when I was running my first business, I asked someone should I do this or should I do that?

00:10:04.730 --> 00:10:06.936
My early 20s, when I was running my first business, I asked someone should I do this or should I do that?

00:10:06.936 --> 00:10:09.321
And my mentor at the time said to me he's just like do you have more time or do you have more money?

00:10:09.321 --> 00:10:11.267
Because you have to be able to answer that first.

00:10:11.267 --> 00:10:15.767
So I love that you introduced us to that concept here, because already you've kind of spilled the beans.

00:10:15.847 --> 00:10:26.182
You love business in so many different ways, so it makes sense that you think about those ways With that in mind, obviously, knowing that there are different industries aligned with what model that we want.

00:10:26.182 --> 00:10:34.964
You talked about the important word that I'm sure you get asked about all the time, which is, of course, investment, and I love that you've been super transparent here, that these are the real conversations.

00:10:34.964 --> 00:10:38.421
It doesn't mean you're going to make easy money when you invest into a franchise.

00:10:38.421 --> 00:10:40.563
What do investments look like?

00:10:40.563 --> 00:10:47.812
And I know it's a huge, wide range, probably up to millions of dollars, but for people who are listening to this thinking, is this viable?

00:10:47.812 --> 00:10:51.682
For me personally, what does that range even look like?

00:10:54.287 --> 00:11:25.125
We can work with people who have as little as $20,000 available to invest and decent credits all the way up to millions of dollars, and obviously, when you think about return on investment, there's a range of what you put in is what you're going to get out to some extent on a multiplier, and so there's a pretty wide variety, I would say for anyone who is willing to invest themselves, their focus, their time, their energy and some of their finances, as long as they have at least $20,000.

00:11:25.125 --> 00:11:33.802
There's some great loan products out there, like SBA, express financing and other government or private money that are available to do that.

00:11:34.423 --> 00:11:37.761
Yeah, dominique, I really appreciate the way you answered that, because it's not easy.

00:11:37.761 --> 00:11:42.903
I know that that's a tough question to answer because it is such a wide range, but that's a great ballpark number.

00:11:42.903 --> 00:11:45.107
That at least gives us some sort of an idea.

00:11:45.107 --> 00:11:46.350
I want to ask you this question.

00:11:46.350 --> 00:11:57.118
I hadn't planned on going here with you today, but just knowing that you are one of us, you're a fellow entrepreneur and business owner I always come back to this debate because I get asked all the time of can anybody be an entrepreneur?

00:11:57.118 --> 00:12:06.501
And for you I'm going to extrapolate it to also franchising, because you talk about the different models Can anybody be a franchisee?

00:12:06.501 --> 00:12:07.926
Or I guess it would be franchisor, I guess.

00:12:07.926 --> 00:12:16.490
And so can anybody open up their own franchise, or are there certain traits that you see in the really successful franchise opportunity takers?

00:12:18.417 --> 00:12:53.307
The answer to that question is yes, anyone can be a franchise owner, but not everyone should be a franchise owner, and one of the things that we do in our business is, when we're looking at what somebody wants from a business, is helping them to determine if a business is really the best way for them to create wealth or create freedom or whatever it is lifestyle wise, that they're looking for, because business is not the only way to do that, and sometimes people have gotten the idea of business in their head from somebody they've seen do it well, but it's not necessarily the right solution for them.

00:12:53.307 --> 00:13:09.543
Now, obviously, I'm a huge fan and I've helped, as I said, and you mentioned, hundreds of people to do that, but it's it's something that you want to go into with eyes wide open about what it can and can't give you realistically.

00:13:10.306 --> 00:13:12.269
I love the way you answered that, dominique.

00:13:12.269 --> 00:13:15.605
Now I have to ask you why shouldn't someone go about that?

00:13:15.605 --> 00:13:17.390
What do those conversations look like?

00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:22.331
I do talk to a lot of people who want to get rich quick.

00:13:22.331 --> 00:13:32.182
They feel like they're at times entitled to certain results and they aren't thinking about what they are going to receive for what they're putting in.

00:13:32.182 --> 00:13:37.965
They're more of looking for something easy to fix whatever it is they're trying to solve in their life.

00:13:37.965 --> 00:13:40.254
Those people should not be enfranchising.

00:13:40.254 --> 00:13:55.561
Sometimes people are looking for other people to make make life better for them, and they get a great salesperson, a great franchise salesperson, who will tell them this business is amazing, you're gonna love it, you're gonna make all of this money.

00:13:55.561 --> 00:14:03.201
And they get into it and they realize owning any kind of business, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it it.

00:14:03.201 --> 00:14:15.312
So there's a price to pay, whether it's money or time or both, and, frankly, if you're not willing to take some risks, it's not for you right.

00:14:15.312 --> 00:14:20.216
It's just not the right solution to that problem of how can I make my life better?

00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:25.279
better.

00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:33.995
Yeah, really well said, especially because we are navigating the realities of business ownership any business ownership, which, dominique, I love the fact that you come on here bringing us the realities of all of these situations To that point.

00:14:33.995 --> 00:14:34.938
What is it?

00:14:34.938 --> 00:14:44.623
What are some of those realities about franchising that sounds great to all of us in theory, where we think, oh, I'm just going to buy this already successful business and open a location and it's going to make money for itself?

00:14:44.623 --> 00:14:49.092
What are some of those early days looking like for new franchise owners?

00:14:51.341 --> 00:15:10.125
You mentioned something earlier, brian, about the character qualities of people that are great business owners and things like strong leadership ability, resilience, humility are things that come up often in conversations, because when you start a business, there will be obstacles.

00:15:10.125 --> 00:15:16.298
There will be financing obstacles, there will be staffing obstacles.

00:15:16.298 --> 00:15:22.231
There will be people around you that you are hoping to support you that just can't be that person.

00:15:22.231 --> 00:15:37.011
So there are always surprises and if and it's really about attitude If you have the attitude of this is something that's a next step for me, that I wanna engage in and I'm not afraid to fail because I want this right.

00:15:37.011 --> 00:15:45.110
This is what I'm going for in my life, then all those obstacles are irrelevant because you will get through them one way or the other.

00:15:45.110 --> 00:15:53.712
If you are hoping that it will be easy and can just kind of sail through, then probably be disappointed.

00:15:54.595 --> 00:15:58.129
Yes, so spoiler alert to all of you listening it's not going to be easy.

00:15:58.129 --> 00:16:09.523
And, dominique, again coming back to like that nerdy business advice that we've all received along the way, I've always loved that concept of when you're working with humans, you're always going to have human problems, and a franchise is no different.

00:16:09.523 --> 00:16:24.731
Along those lines, though, if people have gotten through this part of today's session with us where we've talked about really how hard it is and, spoiler alert any business that you start is going to be hard Listeners, this is something I want to preach to you today, dominique wants to preach to you today.

00:16:24.731 --> 00:16:35.932
We've lived these things, but along those lines, obviously, franchising does have its benefits and there's a lot that it can accelerate when it comes to your growth journey, when it comes to your success journey as a business owner.

00:16:35.932 --> 00:16:37.801
Dominique, shed some light on those.

00:16:37.801 --> 00:16:42.389
Since we have given some of these disclaimers, what are some of the benefits of going the franchising route?

00:16:43.850 --> 00:17:06.663
As I mentioned earlier, franchising in some ways is a combination of corporate benefit and small business ownership benefit and really what you're getting there are systems and processes that are already established and that really does or decrease rather, the risk significantly of business ownership, because you're not having to fail along the way as often to discover what works.

00:17:06.663 --> 00:17:09.125
You already have the formula for success.

00:17:09.125 --> 00:17:12.728
What can be tricky for people is following that formula.

00:17:12.728 --> 00:17:22.555
So that's one of the things that telling the difference between if you are a franchise entrepreneur or a true classic entrepreneur is how independent are you?

00:17:22.555 --> 00:17:28.829
Because franchise owners that do really well are collaborative and very trainable.

00:17:28.829 --> 00:17:32.461
They want to absorb those best practices that have already been done well.

00:17:33.223 --> 00:17:48.714
Yeah, I like hearing your perspective on that, because it's a side of business ownership that we don't think about traditionally, because franchise ownership is its own place where you can gain skills and experiences and you can have your own talents and skill set that contributes to your success there.

00:17:48.714 --> 00:17:50.767
Dominique, what are some of those?

00:17:50.767 --> 00:17:56.452
I don't want to use the word obligations, but what are some of those interactions that franchise owners have with?

00:17:56.452 --> 00:18:08.173
I mean, you call it kind of that intersection between being an entrepreneur and corporate, and I think that's such a clear visual because it almost is like you do buy a backroom support staff that will help you through things that they've seen before.

00:18:08.173 --> 00:18:13.240
What are those obligations or what do those interactions look like as far as getting that support?

00:18:15.403 --> 00:18:36.907
They vary by the franchise concept, but my favorite interactions or systems are the ones where the franchise corporate office provides those franchisees, those local owners, with regular one-on-one coaching and also provides a forum where franchise owners can get together and share their best practices.

00:18:36.907 --> 00:18:46.906
And when they're together, whether it be as a group or in those one-on-one settings, that they are discussing financial performance and how to improve that.

00:18:46.906 --> 00:18:52.409
They are working on KPIs and coaching based on how to maximize the opportunities there.

00:18:52.409 --> 00:19:03.386
They are talking through issues like staffing challenges or marketing or supply chain issues and they are sharing those best practices and growing together as a group.

00:19:04.141 --> 00:19:05.827
Yeah, I love that perspective especially.

00:19:05.827 --> 00:19:08.178
I'm a big believer in the power of teamwork.

00:19:08.178 --> 00:19:17.355
I always say a rising tide lifts all boats, and I think that that's really at the cornerstone of what franchising looks like is that the corporate office wants you to succeed.

00:19:17.355 --> 00:19:28.273
You want to succeed and you bring an established product that has a proven model to your local community, If it's an in-person thing, or to your industry, whether if it's an in-person thing or to your industry, whether you're doing it remotely or in person.

00:19:28.273 --> 00:19:30.761
I think that's a really powerful concept, Dominique.

00:19:30.781 --> 00:19:47.103
There's a flip side to the franchising coin, though, that I think you are uniquely experienced and knowledgeable about to speak on, because BrightFran your company, you don't just look for franchising opportunities, you also pave the path for the right businesses to expand through franchising.

00:19:47.103 --> 00:19:53.570
I know so many successful seven and eight figure entrepreneurs that get to that point in their business where they say should we franchise this?

00:19:53.570 --> 00:19:56.549
We've never had a guest on to talk about that, Dominique.

00:19:56.549 --> 00:20:05.646
So walk us through those considerations where your mind goes when it comes to us as business owners, asking that question of should we franchise this out.

00:20:07.922 --> 00:20:15.605
The number one consideration when someone is thinking about franchising their business is is this business model scalable?

00:20:15.605 --> 00:20:18.952
And I'm going to say this in kind of a rough way.

00:20:18.952 --> 00:20:25.012
But is it so simple that anybody can do it right?

00:20:25.012 --> 00:20:26.065
Is it idiot proof?

00:20:26.065 --> 00:20:34.231
Because a lot of times, in franchising, your frontline employees are going to be teenagers, right?

00:20:34.231 --> 00:20:34.982
Who you know?

00:20:34.982 --> 00:20:38.608
We all know that the human brain doesn't fully develop till we're 25.

00:20:38.981 --> 00:20:47.883
So, making things very simple to where consistency happens, right that's the McDonald's model is that people get the same experience every time.

00:20:47.883 --> 00:20:51.412
That's why they have been so wildly successful.

00:20:51.412 --> 00:21:00.423
So someone who is thinking about franchising their business should already have completely foolproof, scalable systems in place.

00:21:00.423 --> 00:21:02.528
So that's consideration number one.

00:21:02.528 --> 00:21:05.354
Consideration number two, and just as important, is that they are abundantly well capitalized.

00:21:05.354 --> 00:21:06.276
They've put aside a healthy nest place.

00:21:06.276 --> 00:21:07.057
So that's consideration number one.

00:21:07.057 --> 00:21:12.402
Consideration number two, and just as important, is that they are abundantly well capitalized.

00:21:12.402 --> 00:21:14.767
They've put aside a healthy nest egg because it's not inexpensive to scale.

00:21:14.767 --> 00:21:24.461
That has amazing rewards on the other end, and one of those can be selling to a private equity company and watching the whole thing explode into this amazing national brand.

00:21:24.461 --> 00:21:31.692
But you have to have the money to get it to the point where it's attractive to those groups, if that's something that you're interested in to doing.

00:21:32.453 --> 00:21:34.577
Yeah, really important considerations.

00:21:34.577 --> 00:21:38.113
I love how clearly you laid both of those out for us here today.

00:21:38.113 --> 00:21:44.576
And, dominique, I think that one word that stands out to me in your answer right, there is the important word, which is scale.

00:21:44.576 --> 00:21:48.011
Obviously, you have quite a few businesses in your own portfolio.

00:21:48.011 --> 00:21:56.085
You talked about rental properties being included in their scale is a word that we throw around so frequently's your view on scale?

00:21:56.085 --> 00:22:11.913
When is the right time for us to look at something as hey, I'm going to grow this, I'm going to optimize it, I'm going to get it to that point of what you just introduced us to, of simplicity, versus just saying, hey, this is something that I'm going to keep throwing more money into and I'm going to continue to scale my existing operations?

00:22:11.913 --> 00:22:14.400
How do you strategically make those decisions?

00:22:23.170 --> 00:22:32.354
I think being a great listener and observer will always tell us a lot about how scalable something really is, because it's the customers, the end user, that tells us whether something is being demanded.

00:22:32.354 --> 00:22:36.742
Our profits tell us whether something is being demanded and efficiently run.

00:22:36.742 --> 00:22:54.983
So, using those metrics, using that knowledge, that information, and not just doing something because we want to or we're excited about it or our egos are behind it, but really looking at it from the perspective of the demand and the support behind it.

00:22:55.990 --> 00:22:57.477
Yeah, dominique, I'll tell you what.

00:22:57.477 --> 00:23:08.276
You and I didn't know where our conversation was gonna go here today, but there's one area where I knew I wanted to pick your brain today, and that is about something that every entrepreneur faces, and that's mindset.

00:23:08.276 --> 00:23:26.593
I think it's so cool that you've helped literally hundreds of entrepreneurs navigate these waters, but I also know that there's a lot of important words, some of which you've shared with us here today resilience, overcoming obstacles, all of these things, resourcefulness, having capital, all of these things go into it, and it all means that it's certainly not easy.

00:23:26.593 --> 00:23:28.498
It's something both of us have stressed here today.

00:23:28.498 --> 00:23:30.131
What are some of those minds?

00:23:30.131 --> 00:23:44.779
Oh and I want to throw risk into that because I think you uniquely help people navigate risky waters what are some of the ways that you help business owners and entrepreneurs and franchise owners navigate the mental side of this game that we all know and love, dominique?

00:23:47.207 --> 00:23:56.278
Not having enough information is a legitimate issue when someone is thinking about starting a business, so we spend a lot of time assisting people with that.

00:23:56.278 --> 00:24:00.622
Research is critical to making a smart decision about business ownership.

00:24:00.622 --> 00:24:09.723
So somebody not knowing what it is that they need to know to make a business decision, that is an area where we help.

00:24:09.723 --> 00:24:16.064
We teach entrepreneurs what boxes they need to check to comprehensively evaluate an opportunity.

00:24:16.891 --> 00:24:18.755
Yeah, incredibly important.

00:24:18.755 --> 00:24:22.022
Knowledge is power Fellow entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs.

00:24:22.022 --> 00:24:23.713
How frequently do we hear that?

00:24:23.713 --> 00:24:27.092
And, dominique, it's a few of your answers here today that you really come back to.

00:24:27.092 --> 00:24:36.423
Kind of the emotion behind so many of our decisions is I want to make easy money, so I think this is right, versus having that information, so I absolutely love that.

00:24:36.423 --> 00:24:47.655
I want to transition a little bit because I think the work that you're doing with Bright Fran is incredible when it comes to setting people up for success, which is all we can ask for, and it's right there on the headline.

00:24:47.655 --> 00:24:50.839
We're going to talk about your business website, which is at brightfrancom.

00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:55.819
We'll talk about that at the end of today's episode, but your big headline there is franchising made easy.

00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:57.742
Dominique, you've helped so many people do this.

00:24:57.742 --> 00:25:08.303
How can they set themselves up for success through working with someone like you to make that transition easier in a world where it may not be straightforward, but they will get through it?

00:25:11.010 --> 00:25:15.623
We're big believers in getting support and we give support to those entrepreneurs.

00:25:15.623 --> 00:25:23.942
We've all failed one way or the other in our lives, and sometimes PTSD kicks in when we are thinking about challenging ourselves again.

00:25:23.942 --> 00:25:44.698
So we help entrepreneurs to face their fears and gain the courage to build the life they would truly love, but not doing it themselves on their own, but leveraging the experience of others, leveraging our support and our knowledge so that they can do that with more ease and more intelligence.

00:25:44.718 --> 00:25:58.222
Yeah, I love that that support is so key for all of us, because it's certainly one aspect that you and I haven't talked about here today is that it can be a lonely journey, and I think so many elements to what we talked about today takes that loneliness out of it, which is super important.

00:25:58.550 --> 00:26:03.069
I also wanna ask you this because on your website, I think that you all lay things out so nicely.

00:26:03.069 --> 00:26:21.684
You show how much experience your entire team has when it comes to franchising, but also there's so many different types of brands that you showcase that you have worked with, from Midas we're talking about breaks to Arby's something that we've all known and seen all of our lives it's kind of an American staple at this point To the Pizza Factory there's so many cool ones.

00:26:21.684 --> 00:26:27.319
But, dominique, it seems to me like you are agnostic as to what franchise people may end up in.

00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:30.615
But I also know that you have experience across so many different industries.

00:26:30.615 --> 00:26:34.936
What are some of those industries that you've seen people gravitate towards?

00:26:34.936 --> 00:26:42.619
And then kind of a curveball to this question is what are some industries that you know there's opportunity in but people may not even be aware of?

00:26:45.070 --> 00:26:59.243
One of my favorite industries to promote is the home services category because for us millennials and younger, a lot of times we just don't do our own handyman stuff.

00:26:59.243 --> 00:27:05.839
I grew up with my dad fixing the VCR and the microwave and the cars and the fence and everything right.

00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:09.000
That's not the way our society operates anymore.

00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:14.878
People hire all of that stuff out the landscaping, the housekeeping, everything.

00:27:14.878 --> 00:27:20.801
That whole category of businesses is absolutely booming and the margins are amazing.

00:27:21.830 --> 00:27:24.680
Yeah, I want to go there actually, because I totally agree with you.

00:27:24.680 --> 00:27:30.355
Maybe it is the millennials in us speaking now is that we didn't grow up doing any of those things ourselves.

00:27:30.355 --> 00:27:35.468
Shout out to our dads, shout out to everyone who was handy and knew all of these things that we were never passed down on because we were on aim and doing other things on our dads.

00:27:35.468 --> 00:27:39.136
Shout out to everyone who was handy and knew all of these things that we were never passed down on because we were on AIM and doing other things on our computers.

00:27:39.136 --> 00:27:43.337
But I think that that's a powerful opportunity because it's never too late.

00:27:43.337 --> 00:27:45.317
And, Dominique, I'd love to hear your perspective on this.

00:27:45.317 --> 00:27:48.179
Does that mean, let's say, I wanna open a home services franchise?

00:27:48.179 --> 00:27:50.750
Do I myself have to be handy?

00:27:50.750 --> 00:27:55.863
Or is there that function where I can be the true business owner and find the right talent?

00:27:55.863 --> 00:27:58.135
And if so, because I hope that's going to be your answer.

00:27:58.135 --> 00:28:05.321
If so, is that the type of hiring support and personnel support that these corporate brands help franchise owners with?

00:28:07.030 --> 00:28:15.170
Yes, the franchise concepts we recommend in that space all have recruiting centers and call centers within their corporate operations.

00:28:15.170 --> 00:28:24.613
So they take all the inbound traffic that are interested in your business and literally get them booked on your calendar and that recruiting center.

00:28:24.613 --> 00:28:30.845
They are able to drive employees to you and to answer your question.

00:28:30.845 --> 00:28:37.432
No, you do not need to know anything about landscaping being a handyman, roofing windows any of it.

00:28:37.432 --> 00:28:48.826
Their executive business models are looking for people with management skills who want to run the business, work on it, not in it yes, that's incredible.

00:28:48.846 --> 00:28:55.153
I'm really glad that I asked you that, because I think a lot of us have the tendency of thinking, oh, if I run an arby's, I've got to understand.

00:28:55.153 --> 00:29:01.619
You know how to process meat and how to cook meat Hopefully not process meat, but all of those things that go into into businesses.

00:29:01.619 --> 00:29:02.863
Is that executive hat?

00:29:02.863 --> 00:29:05.398
You called it out right there and I think that's super powerful.

00:29:05.398 --> 00:29:20.486
Dominique, as we come to the end of today's session, I want to ask you about the future of franchising, because I know that so many businesses and so many industries are being changed by technology or AI or just trends in the marketplace.

00:29:20.486 --> 00:29:21.167
We're always in an evolving world.

00:29:21.167 --> 00:29:25.319
What's your perspective on where franchises are going and how things are changing?

00:29:27.164 --> 00:29:36.018
Well, if you imagine having the research and development of a huge company behind the operations of your small local business, that's what franchise owners have.

00:29:36.018 --> 00:30:07.563
Everything when it comes to technology and AI is all being worked on by the very best people in their field that an individual business owner couldn't afford by themselves, but collectively, as a group of 100 franchise owners or 1000 franchise owners have these amazing resources that are staying on the cutting edge of all that for their owners and figuring out the best ways to use AI in service to their customers and making their employees more efficient and, overall, creating a better experience and higher profitability.

00:30:08.250 --> 00:30:20.013
Yes, really well articulated right there, dominique, and I am excited to pose my last question to you, because I ask it at the end of every episode and I have no idea which direction you'll take it in and that is your one takeaway.

00:30:20.013 --> 00:30:21.719
Obviously, there's a whole new world.

00:30:21.719 --> 00:30:33.031
I feel like you opened up huge new doors to our listeners here today, but with all of the things that they've learned and that they've heard from your perspective and experiences within business, within franchising, what's that one takeaway?

00:30:33.031 --> 00:30:40.444
What's the one action that you encourage everyone, whether they're an entrepreneur or an entrepreneur, to take after hearing this session here today?

00:30:42.711 --> 00:31:05.051
If you're thinking about expanding your business portfolio, either for the first time, or you want to franchise your business, or whatever that may be, you want to expand and you're thinking about using franchising to do that, get help, get some expert advice, because there are so many people that, like myself, like our company, that love to provide that assistance.

00:31:05.051 --> 00:31:08.598
And you never know until you ask.

00:31:08.598 --> 00:31:20.957
I run into so many people every day who have dreamed for decades about owning their own business and never tried it and they never took the chance on themselves, they never even explored it.

00:31:20.957 --> 00:31:38.303
And when I finally get to speak with that person who is having the courage to check it out, it's amazing how they find things out about themselves and what they're looking for and the opportunities that are available to them that they would have never otherwise known.

00:31:39.045 --> 00:31:41.551
Yes, I love the way you answered that question.

00:31:41.551 --> 00:31:51.512
Conversations, information, literally never hurts, and I'm going to call out one ingredient right there, dominique, that you challenged all of us to embrace, which is have the courage.

00:31:51.512 --> 00:31:55.140
If you've been thinking about this, you're thinking it for a reason.

00:31:55.140 --> 00:31:56.624
It lives inside of you.

00:31:56.624 --> 00:32:02.336
This is something I always say to entrepreneurs is that if you're already thinking about it, it's already there and you can't ignore it.

00:32:02.336 --> 00:32:06.710
So, dominique, I love that you've encouraged us to have that courage and have those conversations.

00:32:06.710 --> 00:32:16.460
It's a natural segue, because I'm gonna call out you've got your phone number right there that people can go to your website and call you all to start having these conversations and exploring them.

00:32:16.460 --> 00:32:18.162
So drop those links on us.

00:32:18.162 --> 00:32:28.638
Where should listeners go to find out more about bright fran and all the ways that you help franchise owners, franchise expanders or first time franchise interested parties who want to become an owner?

00:32:30.483 --> 00:32:39.384
bright francom is an excellent way to check us out and get some more information about how we support current and aspiring entrepreneurs.

00:32:39.384 --> 00:32:56.019
You can also email me anytime dmaine at brightfrancom and I love to connect with people on LinkedIn, and I publish regular free video content on franchise ownership on LinkedIn, so you can find me there as well, under Dominique Main.

00:32:56.849 --> 00:32:58.875
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:32:58.875 --> 00:33:02.394
We are making it as easy as possible for you to find Dominique, as well as BrightFran.

00:33:02.394 --> 00:33:06.212
We are linking down to all those resources down below in the show notes.

00:33:06.212 --> 00:33:08.244
Wherever it is that you're tuning into today's episode.

00:33:08.244 --> 00:33:13.299
You can find her business website at brightfrancom, as well as a link to her personal LinkedIn.

00:33:13.299 --> 00:33:15.404
It's actually how we came across Dominique's work.

00:33:15.404 --> 00:33:27.159
Our entire team was super impressed with all the value that Dominique is committed to providing in the marketplace on so many things that we don't know about because we can't know about it until we talk to someone who has experience.

00:33:27.159 --> 00:33:31.299
So, check out the show notes, find those links to Dominique's website, her personal LinkedIn.

00:33:31.299 --> 00:33:36.920
Otherwise, dominique, on behalf of myself and all the listeners worldwide, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:33:37.961 --> 00:33:39.765
Thank you so much for having me, Brian.

00:33:39.765 --> 00:33:41.872
Hey, it's.

00:33:41.913 --> 00:33:46.835
Brian here and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:33:46.835 --> 00:33:50.813
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:33:50.813 --> 00:33:57.243
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:33:57.243 --> 00:34:00.038
And I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:34:00.038 --> 00:34:08.797
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:34:08.909 --> 00:34:10.858
These are not sponsored episodes.

00:34:10.858 --> 00:34:12.456
These are not infomercials.

00:34:12.456 --> 00:34:15.940
Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

00:34:15.940 --> 00:34:26.902
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome WANTrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:34:26.902 --> 00:34:35.402
So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:34:35.402 --> 00:34:36.735
We also have live chat.

00:34:36.735 --> 00:34:41.360
If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:34:41.360 --> 00:34:42.762
Initiate a live chat.

00:34:42.762 --> 00:34:52.175
It's for real me, and I'm excited because I'll see you, as always every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday here on the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.