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Choosing the Right Franchise: How to Find the Business That Truly Fits You

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:01:41 +0000

Many aspiring business owners ask a single, deceptively simple question: “What is the best franchise to buy?” 🤔 Dave and Stacey explain why this question often leads to confusion, frustration, and often poor decisions. Drawing from real-world franchise consulting experience, they outline a more effective, human-centered approach to choosing the right franchise.

Why There Is No “Best” Franchise

The central message of the video is clear: there is no universally best franchise ❌. What works perfectly for one person may be completely wrong for another. Factors such as lifestyle goals, financial capacity, personal strengths, emotional drivers, and long-term vision all influence whether a franchise is a good fit.

Searching online or asking AI tools for “the best franchise” often produces generic, brand-driven answers. These answers typically highlight well-known names but ignore whether those businesses align with an individual’s reality.

The Limits of AI and Online Searches 🤖

Dave and Stacey caution against relying solely on AI tools like ChatGPT or general Google searches when making franchise decisions. While AI can provide surface-level information, it has critical limitations:

It may give different answers to the same question
It focuses on facts, not emotions or motivation
It cannot challenge assumptions or explore deeper personal trade-offs
It tends to be overly positive and non-committal

Franchise ownership is not just a logical decision—it is an emotional and lifestyle decision as well.

Start With Your “Why” 🎯

Instead of asking what franchise to buy, the better question is why you want to own a business? Dave and Stacey describe their framework built around multiple dimensions—often referred to as their “Eight Fs”—that help candidates uncover true motivations.
These may include:
Desired lifestyle and time freedom
Income goals and financial security
Family priorities
Personal fulfillment and purpose
Without clarity on the “why,” it’s easy to choose a business that looks attractive but ultimately creates burnout or regret.

Lifestyle Fit vs. Business Reality ⚠️

A powerful example from the episode involves someone who loves donuts and wants to open a donut franchise. On the surface, it sounds logical. But when lifestyle goals—such as traveling more or coaching a child’s sports team—are considered, the reality of running a seven-day-a-week food operation no longer fits.
This mismatch is one of the most common reasons franchise owners become unhappy.

The Value of Human Franchise Advisors 🤝

The video emphasizes the importance of working with experienced franchise consultants who act as matchmakers. Unlike algorithms, humans can:
Ask emotionally driven questions
Identify unrealistic expectations
Vet territory availability
Filter out brands that don’t align with goals
Dave and Stacey describe a structured, nine-step franchise roadmap designed to save candidates time, money, and frustration.
Choosing a franchise is not about chasing the most popular brand or the highest projected income 💰. It is about alignment—between the business, the lifestyle you want, and the person you are.
The key takeaway here is simple but powerful: the best franchise is the one that fits you.

💥If you would like assistance to help you acquire the perfect franchise, please reach out.

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I’m Stacey Riska aka “Small Business Stacey”, your franchise placement specialist. I help aspiring business owners find the PERFECT franchise so they can get to the next level in life and business.

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Unlocking Franchise Success: Why Experience Isn’t Required to Own a Thriving Franchise

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 19:46:47 +0000

One of the most frequently asked questions by aspiring franchise owners is: “Do I need experience in the industry to own a franchise?” The short answer, as explained by our hosts in the video, is no. In fact, prior experience can sometimes work against you. This article explores why that is the case and what qualities truly matter when stepping into franchise ownership. 💡

The Myth of Industry Experience

Many people assume that success in franchising depends on technical expertise or years of experience in a specific field. However, franchising is designed to offer a proven system that anyone can follow. 🧩 Franchisors provide training, support, and established procedures that make it possible for individuals with little to no background in the industry to succeed.

Our hosts, successful franchise owners themselves with 19 years of experience, shared that before owning their coffee and smoothie franchise, they had no prior food service experience. Yet, they became the top franchisees in their network. Their story debunks the myth that experience equals success.

Why Franchisors Prefer System Followers

Franchisors typically look for people who can follow instructions and maintain consistency rather than experts with pre-set habits. People with deep industry experience often bring their own ways of doing things, which may conflict with the franchise’s tested systems. Following a franchise model is about replicating success, not reinventing it. 🔄

In other words, the best franchisees are not necessarily experts but are coachable leaders who can apply systems effectively.

Working On the Business vs. In the Business

A key principle emphasized by our hosts is the difference between working on the business versus working in the business. Many franchisees make the mistake of becoming overly involved in daily operations instead of focusing on strategy, growth, and leadership. 📊

For example, one of their clients transitioned from a high-level banking career to owning a flooring franchise — a completely unfamiliar industry. Despite having no experience with flooring, he excelled by focusing on management, customer experience, and building an effective team.

4. 💡 From Employment to Empowerment

Corporate jobs often come with stability, but also with burnout, stress, and lack of control. Many people long to trade “meetings for meaning”. Entrepreneurship, especially through franchising, offers flexibility, purpose, and the ability to shape one’s destiny.
Owning a franchise means building an asset — something that can appreciate, be sold, or even passed down as a legacy. Unlike working for someone else’s dream, entrepreneurship allows individuals to build their own.

5. 🔥Fear as the Gateway to Freedom

We close with a powerful reminder: fear is a part of the journey. Every successful entrepreneur experiences it. The difference lies in how one responds — by letting fear paralyze them or propel them forward. With the right support, education, and courage, anyone can move from fear to freedom.
Franchising is not just about owning a business; it’s about owning your future.

The True Qualities of a Successful Franchisee

Successful franchisees share these core traits:
💬 Coachability: Openness to learning and following systems.
💪 Leadership: Ability to motivate and manage a team.
🌱 Resilience: Willingness to adapt to challenges and learn from setbacks.
🎯 Strategic thinking: Focusing on growth and customer satisfaction rather than routine work.
These traits often outweigh any specific technical experience.

Keep an Open Mind

The franchise world offers thousands of opportunities across industries — from food service to home improvement and wellness. Many successful franchise owners end up thriving in industries they had never considered before. 🌟 The key is to approach the journey with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to trust the system.
Franchising isn’t about what you already know; it’s about what you’re willing to learn and how you apply it.

💥If you would like assistance to help you acquire the perfect franchise, please reach out.

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Overcoming Fear and Building Freedom Through Franchising

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:27:46 +0000

In the episode, our hosts discuss the mindset and motivations behind entrepreneurship, particularly through franchising. The conversation offers valuable lessons for anyone considering leaving the corporate world to pursue business ownership.

1. 😨 The Fear Factor: Why People Hesitate to Start a Business

One of the central themes discussed is fear — the number one obstacle preventing people from exploring entrepreneurship. Most individuals grow up in an environment that encourages safety and stability rather than risk and innovation. Schools teach theory and train future employees, not business owners. As a result, many adults feel ill-equipped and lack the confidence to take the leap into business ownership.

Fear is natural — and even necessary. The key is not to eliminate fear but to channel it into motivation. Fear signals growth and change, and those who act despite it often discover new levels of personal freedom and fulfillment.

2. 🤝 The Power of Exposure and Mentorship

Exposure plays a crucial role in entrepreneurial thinking. Without role models, mentors, or examples of successful business owners, entrepreneurship can seem distant or unrealistic. People who grow up around business-minded individuals are more likely to view self-employment as attainable.

Mentorship and guidance, such as what Next Level Franchise Group offers, help bridge that knowledge gap. By working with experienced advisors, aspiring entrepreneurs can explore opportunities with clarity and confidence.

3. 🏗️ Why Franchising Makes Entrepreneurship Accessible

For those who fear starting from scratch, franchising provides a proven and structured path. Franchise systems already have established operations, marketing, and support models — effectively reducing uncertainty for new owners. The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) ensures transparency by revealing the company’s performance and financial history.

Our hosts emphasize that franchises are not for everyone, but for individuals seeking independence with support, they can be a powerful option. Franchising helps new entrepreneurs avoid “the school of hard knocks” and start strong with tested systems.

4. 💡 From Employment to Empowerment

Corporate jobs often come with stability, but also with burnout, stress, and lack of control. Many people long to trade “meetings for meaning”. Entrepreneurship, especially through franchising, offers flexibility, purpose, and the ability to shape one’s destiny.
Owning a franchise means building an asset — something that can appreciate, be sold, or even passed down as a legacy. Unlike working for someone else’s dream, entrepreneurship allows individuals to build their own.

5. 🔥Fear as the Gateway to Freedom

We close with a powerful reminder: fear is a part of the journey. Every successful entrepreneur experiences it. The difference lies in how one responds — by letting fear paralyze them or propel them forward. With the right support, education, and courage, anyone can move from fear to freedom.
Franchising is not just about owning a business; it’s about owning your future.

💥If you would like assistance to help you acquire the perfect franchise, please reach out.

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Your Franchise Questions Answered: Do I Have Enough? Understanding Investment Tiers and Franchise Funding

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:44:41 +0000

Starting a franchise is one of the most practical ways to enter entrepreneurship without reinventing the wheel. However, one of the most common questions prospective franchisees ask is: "How much money do I need to start a franchise?" The answer is nuanced, as franchise investments vary widely depending on the type, brand, and structure of the business.

In this article, we’ll explore franchise investment levels, financing options, and strategies to ensure financial readiness.

💰 Franchise Investment Tiers

Franchise opportunities can generally be categorized into three tiers of investment:

Lower Tier ($50,000 – $150,000)

These are typically home-based or mobile businesses that require minimal physical setup. Examples include cleaning services, consulting franchises, and online education businesses.

Mid Tier ($150,000 – $300,000)

This range covers businesses that may require leased space or light buildouts—think fitness studios, small cafes, or boutique service brands.

High Tier ($300,000 and up)

These are brick-and-mortar operations, often with substantial overhead and staffing needs, such as restaurants or retail stores.

Most franchise seekers fall within the first two tiers, making franchising accessible to a broader audience than many expect.

🏦 Financing Your Franchise

One of the biggest misconceptions about franchising is that you must have the full investment amount in cash. In reality, there are several financing strategies available:

HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit): Borrowing against home equity can provide low-interest funding for franchise acquisition.
ROBS (Rollover for Business Startups): Allows entrepreneurs to use retirement funds (like a 401k) without incurring penalties or taxes.
SBA and Business Loans: The U.S. Small Business Administration backs loans that are particularly favorable to franchise buyers due to the proven success rates of franchise systems.

Most franchisees combine personal investment (around $50K–$100K) with financing options to reach their total required capital.

💵 Cash on Hand: The $25K Rule

While financing can cover much of the investment, franchise experts recommend maintaining at least $25,000 in liquid assets. This ensures:
The ability to cover personal and living expenses during ramp-up.
Flexibility for deposits, supplies, or emergency needs.
Proof to lenders and franchisors of your financial stability.
Having this reserve helps protect you from early-stage financial stress and supports smoother business growth.

🤝 The Role of Franchise Matchmakers

Franchise consultants like those from Next Level Franchise Group play an important role in helping aspiring owners align their budget, lifestyle, and goals with suitable franchise opportunities. Their process involves:
Assessing personal resources.
Matching candidates to investment tiers.
Advising on financial readiness.
If someone isn’t financially ready, responsible advisors will encourage saving and planning before committing to a franchise.

📈 Key Takeaways

Franchising is an investment — you’re buying into a proven system.
Entry-level franchises start around $50,000, with mid-tier options up to $300,000.
Multiple financing paths exist, including SBA loans, HELOCs, and ROBS.
A $25,000 cash reserve demonstrates readiness and stability.

Expert guidance ensures you invest in a franchise aligned with your financial and personal situation.

💥If you would like assistance to help you acquire the perfect franchise, please reach out.

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Your Franchise Questions Answered: How Do I Know If I Am a Good Fit For A Franchise?

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 18:25:42 +0000

Franchising can be one of the most accessible ways to start your own business without building everything from scratch. But many aspiring entrepreneurs wonder, “Am I the right type of person to own a franchise?” In this article, inspired by insights from our hosts at Next Level Franchise Group, we’ll explore how to determine if you’re truly franchise-ready.

💡 Understanding the Franchise Model

A franchise allows you to operate a business under an established brand and proven system. You pay a franchise fee and ongoing royalties, but in exchange, you receive training, support, and a tested business model. This setup reduces some of the risks of starting from zero—but it also means you must follow the franchisor’s rules and systems faithfully.

🧠 Do You Have the Right Mindset?

Owning a franchise isn’t about reinventing the wheel—it’s about mastering a system that already works. Successful franchisees:

Follow proven systems: They understand that consistency leads to brand success.
Value collaboration: Franchises thrive on teamwork—both with the franchisor and other franchise owners.
Embrace learning: Training and feedback are essential parts of growth.
Stay persistent: Like any business, challenges arise, but the willingness to adapt is key.

If you find satisfaction in following structured processes and appreciate mentorship, franchising might be a great fit for you.

🔍 Assessing Your Transferable Skills

You don’t need an MBA or prior business ownership experience to run a franchise. What matters more are your transferable skills. Ask yourself:
Can I communicate effectively with employees and customers?
Do I lead teams and motivate others to perform well?
Am I organized and detail-oriented?
Can I follow systems without cutting corners?
If you said yes to most of these, you likely have what it takes to succeed in a franchise environment.

🔥 Common Motivations for Franchising

Many franchise owners come from corporate backgrounds where they feel burnt out, bored, or constrained. Franchising offers them:
Freedom: The ability to manage their own schedule.
Balance: A healthier work-life structure.
Fulfillment: The satisfaction of owning something meaningful.
Recognizing these motivators can help you clarify whether franchising aligns with your personal goals and values.

🚀 Final Thoughts

Franchising isn’t reserved for business prodigies or industry veterans—it’s for people who are disciplined, coachable, and ready for growth. If you’re open to learning, enjoy working within structured systems, and are eager to build something lasting, you may already be franchise-ready.
As our hosts say, “Most people are qualified for a franchise if they’re willing to follow the system.” The first step is simply being curious enough to ask the question—just like Donna in this episode.

💥If you would like assistance to help you acquire the perfect franchise, please reach out.

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Franchise Turf Wars and the Truth About Territory Competition

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 19:01:34 +0000

Franchising is a powerful way to build wealth and achieve financial freedom, but one of the most misunderstood aspects of the business is the concept of territory. This review provides valuable insights into how franchise territories work, the difference between protected and open territories, and how to make smart decisions when investing in them.

🗺️ What Is a Franchise Territory?

A franchise territory refers to the geographical area in which a franchisee can operate their business. This territory defines where they can sell, market, and provide services. It is usually outlined in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) under Item 12, which details the rights and boundaries of the territory.

In essence, a territory provides security and structure for franchise owners, helping to avoid unnecessary competition between franchisees of the same brand.

🔐 Protected vs. Open Territories

Protected Territories

A protected territory means that the franchisee has exclusive rights to operate within a specific area. No other franchisee of the same brand can open or sell within that boundary. This model is ideal for those who want stability and guaranteed customer reach.

Open Territories

An open territory gives the franchisee freedom to operate anywhere, but without exclusivity. While this model may seem riskier, it provides flexibility and mobility — particularly beneficial if the franchisee anticipates relocating or wants to explore new markets.

For example, the video’s hosts shared their experience owning a coffee and smoothie franchise under an open model, which allowed them to move their business from Maryland to Florida without restrictions.

💡 How Franchisors Define Territories

Franchisors use various methods and data-driven tools to define territories, including:

Population-based models: e.g., one franchise per 75,000 households.
Income-based models: e.g., targeting households earning above $65,000 per year.
ZIP code or mapping systems: ensuring equitable market distribution.

They often use sophisticated mapping software and collaborate with franchisees to ensure the territory reflects both demographic potential and local expertise.

🤝 The Role of Franchise Consultants

Franchise consultants, like those from Next Level Franchise Group, help investors evaluate available territories and match them with suitable franchises. This saves time and prevents the frustration of pursuing areas that are already sold out or unsuitable for the candidate’s goals.

Consultants can also assess whether a brand’s available territories align with a candidate’s income goals, desired market type, and growth potential.

🚀 Strategies for Expanding Territories

One key insight from the video is that aspiring franchisees should secure multiple territories early if they plan to grow. Owning additional territories upfront prevents competitors from moving into nearby markets and allows for smoother scaling later.

This strategy also supports economies of scale — shared equipment, trained staff, and brand recognition can make multi-territory expansion more efficient and profitable.

🧭 Key Takeaways

Review Item 12 of the FDD to fully understand your territorial rights.
Decide between protected and open models based on your long-term goals.
Use demographic and market data to assess the potential of your area.
Consider securing multiple territories if expansion is part of your vision.
Consult with franchise experts to validate opportunities before committing.

📚Understanding territories is crucial to franchising success. Whether you choose a protected model for stability or an open model for flexibility, knowing how territories work — and how to leverage them strategically — can make the difference between owning a job and owning a thriving business empire.

💥If you would like assistance to help you acquire the perfect franchise, please reach out.

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Is Replacing Your Employment Income Possible in Year One of Owning A Franchise?

Wed, 10 May 2023 20:28:46 +0000

We’re on a little bit of a rant and here's what happened. We were talking to a franchisee candidate who was really interested in owning a business. He was currently in a job that he hated and a common mantra that we hear all the time. All the typical reasons. I hate my boss, I hate my company. I know I'm next on the chopping block for layoffs, and if I'm gonna work this hard why should I do it building somebody else's wealth instead of mine? The person that I was talking to was very open to exploring franchises because they knew that since they had never owned a business before, franchising made a lot of sense. A proven system where you can ramp up quickly. The candidate that I talked to really fit into one of what we call the eight Fs … it was the fallacy of job security.

So as I continue the conversation with this candidate, and I asked them if they're looking at business ownership, what is the most important criteria to you in having a successful business? The answer was, well, Stacey, if I'm gonna own a business I must make my full salary on day one in this business. So the question … is this realistic?

It’s a good question and generally people coming out of the corporate world they're coming out having had a salary for a very long time. They're very used to that money coming in on a regular basis. For that type of expectation, for them, it's not un-unrealistic only in that they've never really been in business before, so mostly they really don't know what to expect.

I want to start off with a good piece of information regarding this statement, and that is when you're evaluating franchises and you feel like this is you need to replace your income one of the things about buying a franchise that's really nice is there's something called an FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document). We have been covering the FDD in our previous content where we've actually gone through and kind of reviewed 13 of the items in the FDD. If your looking at a franchise be sure to review those.

Continuing forward, the reality of it is Item 19 in the FDD spells out for you from the results of other franchises in that franchise system, what some of the average net incomes are for those that are operating those franchises. Now, here's the thing. Number one, depending on the franchise that you choose, you may never replace your current income. I mean, if you're an attorney or something like that and you're used to making the large double six-digit income, then it's not realistic at all to think that you're going to come in and buy some franchises and replace that income, at least in the short term. So this is a primary reason why you need to work with someone like us if truly one of your criteria is to replace that income as quickly as you can. It's also going to limit some of the franchise choices that you can choose for.

I mean, there are franchises out there that realistically that you couldn't replace your income necessarily, and they're not really designed for quick income replacement. So for instance, like some of the real estate ones are more fix and flip it takes time and it will likely take two, three months, four months or more before you flip your first house. If you do that, you have no income for two or three months minimum. If you're lucky, you could replace your income in the first year, so we’re not going to say it's not possible, but really doing it from day one probably isn't that realistic. Generally, when you go into acquiring a franchise, the franchise has an investment schedule they give you, and part of their schedule includes operating money to pay you during your ramp-up phase. Now, that is not income, that is borrowed money that you're using to pay yourself an income from during that ramp-up phase, you hope to recover that income as quickly but the reality of it is that the chances are in year one it's gonna be difficult to replace that income.

Now, I want to make a disclaimer here. We are not allowed to make income claims under the guidelines of being a franchise placement specialist. So it's really important that regardless of what anybody tells you, you really need to dig deep into that FDD and figure out if it is even possible to replace my income at all with a particular franchise. If so, maybe during the due diligence phase of your investigation when you're talking to other franchisees, this would be a good question to ask other franchisees. How quickly did you ramp up your business and replace your income, whatever theirs was from wherever they came from? How quickly did they replace their income? You can ask that kind of question to other franchisees of that system, but we cannot suggest to you that you're going to be replacing your income when you acquire any franchise.

So if you are in a situation where you're in a job and you're thinking that you might want to leave to start a business, but you really do need to replace your income, the ultimate question is it realistic to make six figures on day one? The answer is, well, maybe. You need to look at the FDD, but let me challenge that a little bit. What if maybe you were able to make $75,000 instead of a hundred in your first year, because you're ramping up your business, but by the end of year two, you're making $200K or $250K. Can you live with that result? So you really have to ask yourself, what do you need today? But ultimately, what do you need long-term? Because you're building a business as a long-term investment and an asset. So now we're kind of going to play devil's advocate as well, aren't there some businesses that you can be cash flow positive on day one?

Without making earnings claims there are franchise opportunities out there that can provide you with cash flow right when you come out of the gates. However, a lot of that is highly dependent on things like territory. You could be in a territory that makes your franchise a seasonal business and you start out and you have rain for three months and you can't do work. So there are a lot of factors that can play into any type of business income regardless of franchise or no franchise. What we will say is that there are opportunities and a lot of franchises to wrap ramp your income up very quickly ... it may just not be from day one.

Well, we have seen some concepts that are very impressive, the ones that are very strong in marketing and have kind of membership or recurring revenue-based concepts. So maybe think of fitness where you're selling memberships to a gym or some kind of boutique fitness concept. We have seen concepts where they sell out the memberships even before the grand opening. So you are cash flow positive on day one or concepts like mosquito, tick and flea spraying because you're getting those contracts upfront even before you go out and do the initial spraying. So there are kinds of concepts that can bring in cash flow very quickly, but there aren’t any guarantees to you personally, but Item 19 will answer a lot of those questions. Doing your due diligence with other franchisees will certainly give you clarity on the numbers.

Let's dive a little bit deeper. The candidate that I was talking to kind of got it right and they were like, well if I can't make my numbers on day one in a franchise, then I'll just go look at an established business. I'll just buy an established business and I'll get my numbers on day one.

Well, a lot of times when you go to acquire an existing business and they already have a book of clients you're likely paying a premium for that. If you're paying that premium, unless you're paying cash for the whole thing, then you're probably gonna be borrowing money. The reality of it is that, yes, you might be cash flow positive from the business perspective, but you also may be paying interest on a loan for that premium that you paid for that existing business. That's if you're lucky.

What we found from looking at existing businesses, number one, when you're buying an existing business there is no FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document). In addition, there's nobody out there to represent that the numbers that you're seeing are really truthful and accurate. You have to figure this out on your own. What ends up happening is you really have to think about it. If it's this good, then why is this person selling the business? Many times that comes true, meaning that there was something under the hood that wasn't disclosed properly necessarily. Or maybe they're asking for such a large premium, which we see a lot of times in very cash-flow rich businesses that it's not that you won't see those numbers, but you still won't see them in true form until year two or year three, because you're paying interest on a loan for the premium. You had to pay for that type of business.

So again, we can't make income claims on any kind of business, but what we can say clearly is that an existing business does not have an FDD. Meaning there's no FTC overseeing those numbers that you're looking at to even validate if they really are true and that those are the numbers you could expect to get after you purchase that business.

So, there are definitely pros and cons to looking at an existing business. We prefer to lead candidates to those kinds of concepts when it makes a smart strategic decision to snap onto a business that's already in place. So, for example, we actually did this ourselves way back in the day. We had started a business from scratch doing outsourcing work, and as we grew in scale, we realized we need some additional capabilities. It made more sense for us to go out and buy the businesses and snap them onto what we had than for us to kind of grow and create it organically. So that's a situation where looking at an existing business would make sense, and we weren't doing it to buy a salary or cash flow on day one.

Let’s bring this home by talking about a franchise that we own today, our coffee smoothie business. Which happy anniversary to us as of this post as we're now actually celebrating 17 years in business. It's been a ride, it's been a journey.

When we first started the business it was important for us to pull out some income and some salary and we were making good money in the business. I mean, we could have filled the wheelbarrows and taken it to the bank and cashed it all in, but we really didn't do that.

This decision really impacts any type of business and this isn't necessarily just specific to franchise businesses, but when you're in a business and you're in the early stages of that business you will likely have to make a choice. You have to make a choice, do I take the money out and stick it in my pocket? Is that the best place for that money? Or do I take that money and reinvest it in the growth of my own business? Meaning that I'm taking the capital that I could take out of that business and I'm using it to maybe make a strategic acquisition or acquire another territory, or invest in more marketing to help you bring in more clients to gain market share in that area quickly. There are a lot of reasons why you may or may not want to take that capital out of that business and put it in your own pocket versus leaving it in the business, which in the long run could be the better business decision.

So in our business we had cash flow coming in very quickly, but we came into the business not to buy ourselves a job, but to be empire builders, to grow to scale and to dominate the Washington DC area. We put those profits back in and reinvested in our business to grow and scale, and grow we did. By the end of year one we had 10 of these mobile Tiki Bars all around the DC area. By the end of year two we had two stores at an airport and a store in the mall. So, if we had taken all that money and put it in our pockets it might have helped us personally in the short run, but it wasn't going to help us grow and scale. Most people who go into business aren't looking to buy themselves a job and have just one little territory. They want to build a business that's a sellable asset and you do that by reinvesting in your business.

We've covered a lot today. My rant was ultimately about this candidate who wanted to replace their income on day one. I think, there's no easy answer to the question, but there's certainly a lot to think about. If you're going to be leaving your job for a franchise, and how you will replace that income, you will have to look at all the different things we have discussed including the FDD, talking to other franchisees, thinking about your launch strategy (are you gonna reinvest in your business to really grow and scale?). Finally, could you live with not being able to 100% replace your income on day one, but maybe if you could replace 75% would you be able to live with that knowing that per the FDD and other franchisees telling you by year two you could possibly even be making double or more? So a lot of things to think about.

It's a great topic and it is always hard when we talk to candidates to point them in the right direction sometimes, and we don't want to make anybody feel that owning a franchise is not a lucrative opportunity for replacing an income. All we're saying here is that even if you were to go into any business you are going to have to make decisions on that capital of what you do with it and putting it in your pocket may not be the best one. Maybe you are only making 60% of your income the first year, but you've set yourself up to make triple the second year where if you average it out and you look at a true time horizon for any business, say five years, that in five years you weren't even concerned about what you made in year one,

Hopefully, your takeaway is this is why I need to work with Dave and Stacey to help me get clarity on my why, understand all the aspects that come with owning a business, and ultimately help me determine if it's a good decision. We are really here to help you explore the different options so that you can get to your Next Level.

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Why Franchises Are More Tempting Than A Cinnabon - Stacey Riska, CFC's interview on The Mosaic Life

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 20:15:26 +0000

Stacey is on a mission to help people do what they love, love what they do, and she does that by helping people find a business that's a perfect fit for them. She truly doesn't want to set up somebody into a franchise that they don't really like. She wants to make sure that they're passionate about what they're going to do and enjoy it.

COVID, the Great Recession and Quiet Quitting … all of these words and more have forced people to really think about their lives and what's important to them. Most people are looking to get to the next level and want more passion in their work, more free time to spend with their friends and family, more flexibility to live life on their terms, and more opportunity to build on their wealth or not someone else's really.

The best and fastest way to achieve these goals is through business ownership, especially through franchise ownership. Look, no one wakes up today and says, "I'm going to buy a franchise today." But many people are very curious about franchises and that's why Stacey educates, motivates and inspires the dreams of business ownership through franchising. She even owns one today of her own, which is fantastic, in which for the past 16 years in which she's been the number one franchisee since day one. Isn't that amazing? How did you do that from day one? Girl, that's amazing.

Think of Stacey as a realtor for franchises. She's a realtor that helps you find the right franchise like a realtor helps you find that dream home, but Stacey helps you find your dream business.

So I want to know more: tell me about franchising. What is franchising first of all for those who are not quite sure about it? There are so many myths and misconceptions about franchising. Most people think, oh, franchising, that's french fries and fast food (some of them are). Or they'll say “I don't want to own a franchise ... franchises cost so much money. Why do I want to own a franchise? Then I'm locked into somebody else's system and on and on and on." Let's set the record straight, it's just not true. I mean, here's a pop quiz for your audience today. Do you know how many different franchise concepts there are out there in the United States? Let's say you're interested in looking at them and exploring franchises, how many different franchise concepts are there? Meaning more than industries, but franchises themselves. If you wanted to look at a franchise, how many different ones are there? There are more than 4,000 franchises.

Even if people want to look at a franchise there are various reasons people are curious about it and they may go out on Google and do some internet research, but many of them are stuck in their own misconceptions. Many just don't know what you don't know. So you may think that you want to own a certain kind of business and that may actually be the absolutely wrong route to go because a lot of people will explore something that might be their hobby, but maybe you should never do that because then you'll end up hating that hobby.

So what's really more important is to match your skills and your interests and your resources and your passion to a business where you would be a great fit and you could be successful doing it. Most times people have no idea that with so many different types of franchise concepts out there they would truly be a good fit. When I place my candidates, they're always amazed at what they end up being a match to, but ultimately they're thrilled at the end of the road, pun intended, in that they end up in a franchise that they love and therefore they end up being so much more successful in it.

One question I often get is “what is the biggest mistake that people make in owning a franchise”? To start with there are a lot of mistakes people make. The biggest is probably doing the research on their own because in most cases they don't even know what questions to ask. I will say that unfortunately there's just so much misinformation out there on the web, and when you go out and you start researching, you just don't know what you don't know. What often happens is you end up on some of these portals and you'll think you might be on an actual franchise website. So you go ahead and you put in your information and then all of a sudden you're being spammed and called and emailed and texted from all these different sources and your information's being sold to third parties because you didn't know that you really weren't talking directly to the franchise (we refer to this as being sharked).

Even if you do end up directly in correspondence with the franchise, you are not well educated enough to know what questions to ask or how to properly do the due diligence. Do you know what an FDD is? Do you know how to read it? The FDD by the way is the Franchise Disclosure Document. Do you know how to navigate the process and really make an informed decision, not an emotional decision (biggest mistake)?

That's why working with someone like me is so valuable because I'm playing the role of coach, mentor, and guide. Think of going on a road trip to somewhere that you've never been before. Well, if I'm giving you the keys to take that journey, what's the first thing you need to do? You need to know the end. You need to know where you're going. Wouldn't it be great to have a coach, a guide and a mentor there along with you on the way so that if you want to pull off or take an exit and explore and make sure you're not hitting the bumps in the road, that somebody's there to make sure you don’t get way lost or off the tracks? Well, that's what I do for my candidates. I help them learn about and explore franchising because the reality is it's not for everybody. If it's not for you, I'm going to share that with you also.

So you now ask what is it that would let somebody know that it's not for them? What are some of the things that you would know when talking to somebody and you'd say they're not going to enjoy this?

It's really going to depend on the person. Now sometimes there may be some transferable skills that just don't fit well into a franchise kind of culture. So for example, if you're the kind of person who just likes to sit behind your desk, do your nine-to-five, and don't want to talk to anybody. It's really just going to be very difficult to find a franchise where you could be a really good fit. On the other hand, if you are super entrepreneurial and you just want to make all the rules and make all the decisions, and there's no way in heck that you're going to follow anybody's system, a franchise may not be a great option for you because in a franchise. The reality is you are paying for a proven system and you are required to follow it.

When you think about franchises, as you mentioned, we think about McDonald's, we think about Burger King, those types of things. What are some other franchise industries that would be really important to know about?

There are more than 90 different categories that franchises represent. Some of my favorites that do so well are things like automotive, childcare, pet care, seniors services, and especially the home services industry, which is the plethora of everything from painting to gutters, to roofing to restoration. If you can think of a business, there is a franchise for it.

Here's another misconception, many believe all franchises are all just brick and mortar. Not today. So when you're looking at franchises there are 3 kinds of models that you could explore.

One is an owner-operator and this is a type of franchise where you're going to work in the business and then build it up, grow it, and scale it. But you're really in there on the day-to-day timeframe.
Whereas in a semi-absentee model, you may decide to keep your day job, but build this business on the side, hire a manager to grow a team and then grow and scale your business.
Then there are many people today who are looking for passive income, especially those who are coming into retirement. They know that they're just not quite ready to sit on the couch and eat potato chips. They're looking for something where they can bring in some additional revenue. But it's really to them more about lifestyle. They want to have fun, they want to have flexibility, and they want to have freedom. Actually, a franchise business can give you that. There are so many franchises today that can give you a lifestyle business that can provide significant passive income. And if it's of interest to you, then can also create a legacy where it's passed on to your family.

How much does it cost to get into a franchise? First, we say it doesn’t cost anything, acquiring a franchise is an investment. Here's the thing, there are franchises on every type of investment level, but what I do encourage my candidates is to have a minimum of $50,000 in liquid cash in order to give serious consideration to investing in a franchise. Because you will most likely pay a franchise fee, and in any business, you're going to need some money to start. It's not like on day one the cash flows coming in, you're going to need some time/funds to ramp up, do your marketing, and generate those customers and clients to get the cash flow really going.

Remember this, the last thing that a franchise wants you to do is to fail. So imagine having a whole team that's supporting you because they actually want you to be successful. Part of what they're going to be looking at is to make sure you have the necessary investment capacity because they don't want you to fail. That's bad for the brand, it's bad for the other franchisees.

So regardless of what a candidate has for investment purposes, it's not like they have to have all of that cash in the bank ready to go. We work with many different funding partners. It's amazing the resources that are out there today. You can take money from your 401K without any tax implications and use that to fund your business (and with no penalties). Some people they take money out of their home equity (HELOC). Some people get SBA funding, and some people go with unsecured funding and just build business credit to get going. So there are many different options and every franchise will have a different level of investment. So you don't necessarily have to have all of the money in the bank, but they should have some money in the bank (working capital). Because a franchise wants to make sure that you're going to be able to eat and pay your bills and be able to live while you're ramping up that business.

So this idea of passive income from a franchise isn't necessarily a fact, right?

Passive income is the idea that you don't have to be there day-to-day ringing the cash register in order to bring the money in. So there are many businesses that are lifestyle businesses, for example, a pest control business that goes out and sprays for mosquitoes and ticks and all the bugs so that people can go outdoors and enjoy that space. It can be passive income because it's recurring revenue. It's not like a one-time transaction and then you have to go out and find another customer or client or patient. The idea is that it's recurring because you're coming back every three weeks or so, and customers are with you for an extended period of time (as long as you are doing a good job), and therefore you have this passive income that's coming in because it doesn’t require you to find a new customer all the time to generate revenue. It’s passive.

You build it well enough that you hire a manager who takes care of the daily activities and then you can step aside, they're taking care of the operations, you get to go on vacations and then they can take care of the daily stuff going on. As I suggested, there are so many different options for passive income with franchises.

Likely on another note, many people reading or listening to this podcast are likely saying why would I even want to look at a franchise, I already have a business. It’s interesting that so many of the candidates I work with, they're small business owners already, and they're actually looking for something that can snap onto their existing business. Sometimes it's because they have a seasonal business and they're looking to bring in cash flow during the slower kinds of months. It's a situation where they're actually strategically using it to grow and expand the business.

For example, I have a candidate who's working with me right now. They're two partners and they own a mortgage broker business. So they've been doing mortgages. Well, we all know what's happening in the real estate market these days and they're looking for a business that they can snap onto what they're already doing. So we're going through my process together and what makes sense for them actually is an insurance franchise because they already have the customer base and therefore imagine being able to sell something to the customers that you already have by just snapping on another business. That makes sense, right? So thinking broadly, it's not always like everyone has to go do something completely different. Everybody's going to be in a different situation and kind of looking at franchise ownership for their own unique reasons.

So let's say I have my own consulting company, but I also am a Legal Shield representative. What this does is it gives me the opportunity to offer them legal services that they need that fit really nicely with my consulting business. Is that what you're suggesting? There's a whole synergy there.

What is it that we do to specifically help our clients?

We have a proprietary system, a nine-step system called the Franchise Roadmap, where I guide my candidates through a process that will strategically match their skills, their interests, their resources, and their passion for franchises. That would be a great fit now, including existing business owners who are looking for a new business opportunity to snap on to their existing business such as in the examples above.

The best thing about it is that there's never any cost to work with us. So our candidates will always say, this sounds amazing, but how much does it cost to work with you? My favorite answer which is zip, zero, nada, not even a penny. Here's why … we want to be objective in serving you. We want you to find the best choice. And when we do the franchise actually pays my fee (like a real estate seller pays a realtor when you bring them a purchaser). So there is never any cost to work with us, and therefore it keeps us both objective and allows me to find franchise matches that are a great fit for our clients.

To book your NO COST Dream Business Matchmaking Session with us go to Explore.NextLevelFranchiseGroup.com

How Can You Reach Laura Wagenknecht

The Mosaic Life with Laura Wagenknecht

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The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) Item 13

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 20:15:26 +0000

There are 23 items in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and we're going to give a brief review of Item 13. If you haven’t been following along with our reviews of the previous FDD items you might want to check those out. All of these videos we're creating are progressive, meaning they lead into some of the future items that you would need to know information from items previously to kind of understand these particular items. Item 13, pertains to trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property that you have rights to under the franchise agreement.

This item really breaks down into a few different areas:

Trademarks
Royalties
Advertising
Intellectual property
Enforcement

So, let's talk about trademarks, this is a really, really big one. This one has to do with the right to use their logos, the right to use their marketing materials, and things like that. This is one probably that the franchisor cares the most about because it's the rights to use the name, the logo, the branding, and ultimately that's what you're paying for the rights to use. So you want to make sure that you have a legal right to do so.

What the franchisor will do in this section is they will delineate whether any of these items, the logo, the trademark, and any branding have been registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Then they generally provide all the specific details about such. It’s important, at a very high level, to know what those legal rights are:

Who owns it?
Has it been registered?
Then diving deeper, what rights do you get to use in using it?

So generally, the next section on top of that is about royalties, which is basically another rehash of what we've discussed before. What are you paying (royalties) for the right to use those registered trademarks and other intellectual property that you're giving the right to use.

So we're going to just march to the next one, which is advertising, and this is not the fees for advertising. These are really the guidelines and restrictions around advertising that you can and can't do ... really important.

For example, interestingly enough our franchise went through a logo redesign. So when the new FDD came out, everybody had to sign it, and that new logo was registered with the US Patent and Trade Office. So for a logo or trademark, you really can't modify it. For instance, you can't just add locally owned and operated. You can't really do anything.

So think about it a bit, when you go to McDonald's, their logo looks exactly the same no matter where you find their multitude of locations or ads, and there's a reason for it. So we strongly suggest that you don't ever mess with a franchise's brand, tagline, slogans, any of that. We don't think you would want to anyways, that's the main reason for investing in a franchise. But believe us, it's something that the franchisor takes very seriously. The rights of using it, ensuring that you're doing it in the correct way.

We’ll give you a little personal example of one that we thought was pretty funny at the time in our franchise. We actually got busted for putting our franchise logo on our website that was not a high-enough resolution image. They were unhappy literally with just the resolution of the logo on the website, and we had to change it, and we did it very quickly. So this is a pretty good example of where this was enforced. It was clearly spelled out in our FDD that we had to follow these rules as far as using their trademarks.

The next one's intellectual property. And this is things such as copyrights, trade secrets, patents, and those types of intellectual property. We’ll quickly expand on this, it's the secret recipe and the franchise needs to highly protect that. So think about the secret recipe of Colonel Sanders, KFC, right? We bet that their FDD is very detailed on being able to share any of those items that are in that secret recipe. We’re not even sure franchisees know exactly what's in it, but this item is going to delineate that for you.

So for example, even in our coffee and smoothie franchise, we know that there are certain ingredients. We know who produces it, but we therefore cannot go out and create that same exact recipe (or share it) that would be an infringement of the system and this is put in place to protect you and to protect them. This is the secret sauce for them in most cases and they do not want that intellectual property to get into the wrong hands:

you must be careful who you share that information with ...
you certainly can't copy it and do it yourself.

So finally, there's enforcement, and enforcement is really the policies and procedures for enforcing all of this intellectual property and trademark usage. It’s mostly what happens if you are not in compliance and what that process looks like. Again, as in our example above about our logo, we got the compliance police after us when we put up a logo that was the wrong resolution. What they ask us to do is change it as quickly as possible, and we did.

Some things will be a little bit more stringent as far as these Item 13 policies and procedures. For example, how do you handle it if you have an employee that won't wear the uniform? Something like that. They're supposed to wear that uniform, and it's really important to the franchise the trademark behind that uniform. So something like that, what are the policies and procedures that might be around those types of things?

In most franchises, you're going to have follow-up visits with your business coach or your training team, or your consultant, however, the franchise defines it. As part of that will be a compliance visit to make sure you're doing everything correctly. If they see somebody wearing a different company's logo or your signage is not correct or broken, they're going to put you out of compliance. They're going to give you an adequate amount of time to fix it, and then they'll come back and check. If you're truly blatantly misusing any of the parts of their logo and branding, you could be putting yourself in legal jeopardy.

This is a truly critical item of the FDD. We are not franchise attorneys so we highly encourage you to get legal advice from a franchise attorney. For every one of these FDDs, these sections or items are going to be written slightly differently, the language is similar, but there are a lot of little i’s and t’s within this language that can be very different from one franchise to the other.

So please make sure that you read this item in-depth as far as what you can and can't do with the franchise trademarks and all of the other intellectual property that you're being given access to.

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Confused About How to Buy the Right Franchise ... Ask Us Anything

Sun, 18 Dec 2022 20:53:02 +0000

Did you wake up today saying "I'm going to buy a franchise?" Probably not!

But many people are very curious about it. Perhaps you are too.

Watch the replay of this open house where you'll hear the questions asked and answered by Stacey and Dave Riska, a husband-wife team, who have been down all of the paths to business ownership.

If you're curious about:

☞ How much does it cost to buy a franchise?

☞ What funding options are available?

☞ Are there franchises I can own while I keep my job?

☞ What are the best franchises?

☞ What questions should I ask when speaking to a franchise?

☞ How much money can I make in a franchise?

Whatever your question is, it likely will be answered in this fun, educational event. Watch the replay now!

To book your NO COST Dream Business Match Making Session with us go to Explore.NextLevelFranchiseGroup.com

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