Franchises On Fire with Lance Graulich

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. Brought to you by the HubSpot. Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like Online Marketing Made Easy. Today, we'll be breaking down franchises on fire. To drop these value bombs, I brought Lance Growlick into EO Fire Studios. Lance is a podcast host, Eye on Franchising, and successful franchisee turned franchise consultant. He helps change the lives of people that want to leave their nine to five and be their own boss. And today, Fire Nation, we'll talk about the pros and cons of franchising.

0:35We'll talk about dollar, dollar bills, y 'all. We'll talk about the experience you need to decide on your franchise and so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Lance and our sponsors. Business Made Simple, hosted by Donald Miller, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Business Made Simple takes the mystery out of growing your business. Join my friend, Donald Miller, each week as he shares value bombs on topics like the secret to making better marketing decisions. Listen to Business Made Simple wherever you get your podcasts.

1:10Belay has spent over a decade helping thousands of leaders increase efficiency and productivity by leveraging flexible staffing solutions. Download Belay's delegation guide and learn six specific things that busy leaders must start delegating today. Text FIRE, that's F-I-R-E, to 55123 to download the guide and get started. Lance, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. First off, what it be, JLD and what's happening, Fire Nation. So excited to be here. JLD, I will tell you, and Fire Nation, I will most importantly share with you that I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs.

1:59So I was lucky. I was deemed unemployable by my father. I was going to have to find my way in the family business or create my own. So of course I created my own. More on that later. So what I will tell you is most people are scared to death and they're stuck and they're not willing to take that first step. And they truly think that they cannot do it. So I'm here to tell you that anybody can be a business owner. What's keeping you stuck is that fear. Change your mindset, change your life. Fire Nation, we're going to tackle that fear today. We're going to talk about franchises on fire. And Lance, there are pros and cons to everything that we do in life.

2:51So I want to talk about the pros and cons of buying into a franchise versus starting our own business or buying into an existing one. Awesome. Well, buying an existing business can be fantastic. But as we've all learned, time is our most precious or most valuable asset. I talk to people all the time that tell me they've been looking for an existing business to buy because they're following a system they heard about on YouTube or online somewhere, and they can't find one, even at the right price or in the right target area, whatever it might be. It's not easy, and time is not on your side. And you're going to still, if you even achieve that, you're still going to be on an island with no support.

3:42It's all about you. And no great empires have been built with some individual sitting in a room by him or herself. Empires are built with a team. And franchising is a team sport. So as you look at franchises, you can certainly build your empire with a franchise because you're going to have all that support. You're going to have an entire team. You're going to have people that need you to be successful. Franchising is regulated by the federal government, the Federal Trade Commission. Every single brand needs to produce what's called a franchise disclosure document. I teach people that in that document, in those 23 items, there is an earnings claim where brands are claiming, and this is audited information, things like sales, potentially profit margins, et cetera.

4:34And then when you get to the end of the process with me, and I'm presenting all of these great brands for you, and you're truly going to be able to model the success of other people that were in your shoes, that were scared out of their minds. And the bottom line becomes, when you get to validation, you're talking to existing franchisees that have followed the path before you. You're going to understand whether this brand is a culture fit for you or not. listening to things like, well, it took me seven years. I haven't made any money. Well, guess what? It might not be the best brand for you. So I teach people about the process, about the marketing that the great brands should be doing, the ease of exit with nice multiples.

5:24I have a gentleman that I'm aware of in my franchising world in a garage door brand that's about to exit for about$100 million. He didn't know anything about the garage door industry prior. So franchises are fantastic for potentially everybody. But like a marriage, JLD and Fire Nation, marriage isn't necessarily right for everybody, is it? Well, let's say it definitely depends on the significant other you choose in a lot of scenarios as well. Now, what I do want to dive into is dollar, dollar bills. Let's talk money. I want to really explain to Fire Nation the best way that we can evaluate which path will make us the most money.

6:13Because I know a lot of people are sabotating when they're hearing$100 million plus exit for a garage door franchise. Let's talk more about this. Yes, absolutely. So look, success does leave clues. We've heard this expression many times before. And when you go through the process with me, most people are not exactly believers in the beginning because they hear about these hundred million dollar exits. I have a buddy of mine that retired from corporate America when he was about 50. All he knew was he was going to get into a$200 ,000 SBA loan. He didn't know what he was going to buy. And guess what he ended up with?

6:55A franchise hair salon. Now he almost fell out of his chair laughing when the idea was presented because he's a bald guy that doesn't know how to cut hair. And 14 years later, he's got 19 salons and his net is well over a million dollars a year. And it's not exactly hard work because he's got an entire team in place. There are countless examples of this. But how you get to that point with me is I walk you through, as I mentioned earlier, the earnings claims and the franchise disclosure documents and the satisfaction levels of existing franchisees. These are things that the guys that are brokers like me understand because I've owned franchises.

7:42I've been successful. I've been a top 1 % franchisee. So I will help you understand the process as you get to validation with any brand, how to ask the appropriate questions. I'll email you all those questions. I'll participate in phone calls if you want me to. So you can find out from the most successful franchisees of a brand, is this something that I could do? And the reality is some people can't. so I love to work with the best people that are doers that believe in themselves and truthfully I will have a brand or two or ten for everybody listening the question is which one now a lot of people Lance they're going to assume that franchises cost millions of dollars to get into I mean especially when they hear you know of a franchisee or a franchisor getting out of that franchise for hundreds of millions of dollars.

8:43What's the reality for franchises? Well, and that is my favorite part of the story. Everybody thinks they see McDonald's, they see all these retail brands that cost an awful lot of money like McDonald's. And the truth is you do have to be a millionaire to own a McDonald's. I represent hundreds of brands that are under$200 ,000. With a 20 % down payment, you can get into that$200 ,000 brand, the$400 ,000 brand for that matter. We're talking about the lower cost investments. So really 40 grand and sometimes even less, you can get into a$200 ,000 franchise. And so today there's more low cost brands than ever before.

9:27And yes, they are absolutely capable of generating a lot of income. I represent a brand called That One Painter, a painting franchise. Holy cow, these guys are on fire. These guys are the fastest growing painting brand in the US when there was already well-established painting brands. But because of their marketing, because of their diligence, their system, their amazing support, the average franchisees doing almost a million dollars of territory on an investment that's barely not even$100 ,000. Pretty incredible. Fire Nation, I hope you're getting a little fired up when you're hearing about these opportunities and all these different industries.

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13:03To see where you could benefit from delegating, Belay is offering a free download of their delegation guide. they outlined six specific things that busy leaders must start delegating to take their leadership and results to the next level. Text FIRE, that's F-I-R-E-2-5-5-1-2-3 to download the guide and get started. Delegate to Belay so you can focus on what matters most. Lance, we're back and I want to talk about a world where we can actually keep our day job for a period of time while investing in a franchise. Is this a possibility or do we have to quit our job and go all in day one? More than ever today, you are able to keep your job and safely build what I call the bridge, the bridge to freedom.

13:51Now, some people are a little crazy and I'm building them a rope swing, not even a full bridge. Other people want a steel bridge and call in an engineer before they leave their day job. So the reality is clarity is currency. That is one of my favorite expressions. I give people that clarity that, you know, if you're not sure, you're risk averse or too risk averse. Even though in franchises, the failures are because most people, like picking the wrong spouse, they choose the wrong business for them, which we can talk more about if we have time. But I help people develop the clear path to becoming a semi-absency owner, a goofy franchise-specific term, which means you're going to keep your day job and you're going to work on your business, not necessarily in your business, about 10 to 20 hours a week.

14:48You're going to hire somebody to run that business. But the brand, the franchisor, is on board with this process. The brand has systems, procedures in place, learning management systems, all kinds of support, and the owner will participate in various different things on a weekly basis. But so it is possible, and there are loans available, so to go from a W-2 employee to a business owner doesn't have to be as precarious, as awful sounding as it is for most people. and it helps people get unstuck when they realize, wait a second, I could stay at my day job for a period of time, could be six months, could be a year or more until I feel safe and I can cross over that bridge.

15:35Fire Nation, clarity is currency. I love that phrase, absorb that. And I also love the example of the bald person investing in a hair salon, because I think a lot of people have the question, Lance, what kind of experience do we need when it comes to deciding on what franchise is right for us? Break that down. Yeah. And that's again, where people get stuck. The theme here is get yourself unstuck. It's not about following your passion because you know how to cook. You have to open a restaurant. Those times are gone. That's nice. if that's what you want to do, you get to do you. But your skills are transferable.

16:18I just got off the phone this morning with an amazing gentleman, has sales background, little IT experience, business development, great communicator, super smart, overall nice guy, great partner in his wife as well. He could do any franchise. He can do any franchise. And when I dove in with him today, like I'll dive into anybody with Fire Nation, is what is your what? What is your what? And your what comes down to what is that cash investment that you are looking to make in yourself in this business? What can you do as far as an investment? $50 ,000,$30 ,000,$100 ,000, and then we'll figure out the rest from there.

17:05But then also, what role, what role will you be playing in this business? Like we just finished talking about, will you be a semi-absentee owner? The gentleman I just spoke to this morning will be a full-time owner. He hated his job so badly. He quit already. He's got some money in the bank. So he's going to be a full-time owner. so what is your role what is your cash investment and then you know we could talk about what are your interests it is always very nice if we can marry your interests and your family's interests to a specific business but many businesses sound boring and not sexy the franchise world is simply filled with amazing opportunities.

17:53And it's just about your skillset. And I show people every day, I don't care if you've never, ever even stepped foot on a roof. A roofing franchise could be one of the options I present to you. Just like my friend, the bald guy that doesn't know how to cut it. Now, Lance, I know you know this. This podcast is called Entrepreneurs on Fire. This episode is titled Franchises on Fire. We like things hot. We like things smoking, fire, flames, igniting. So tell us, what are the hottest opportunities as you see right now? Now, do you want specific names or you just want some industries, JLD? Let's go with both.

18:42All right, perfect. Well, let's start with home care. Home care. A lot of people is falling asleep right now. You hear home care. Non-medical companion care. We call it aging in place. People don't want to be put into an assisted living facility any longer. Whether you have an apartment or a house, you want to stay home. Home care brands are hot. I just had a friend that bought one. His investment was under$150 ,000, including working capital. And when he did validation, he was talking to people that are netting over a million dollars a year on a super low investment in home care. Home service brands.

19:25Home service brands, if we didn't have an idea of how amazing home service brands can be, we felt it and experienced it through the pandemic. Essential businesses like air conditioning and flooring or roofing or electrical. Anything that you need to have done. Restoration brands. God forbid your water heater blows up like mine did not too long ago or you need some sort of mold remediation or God forbid there's a hurricane, tornado in your area. Restoration businesses are absolutely essential. You get paid by insurance companies in most cases. How about automotive? Everybody needs their car working and functioning.

20:08Dealerships have not chosen over the years to not do as much as they used to. It gives an opportunity to all kinds of amazing automotive brands. So let's get specific on a few of these. One hour heating and air conditioning. I have relatives under 30 just did a one hour heating and air conditioning outside of Austin, Texas. They're starting with one territory and they'll certainly be able to expand to more. Hot brand. Let's talk about Zoom Drain. They're not just a plumbing brand. Their specialty is drains, B2B, where tons of plumbers call them when they're like, hell no, I'm not dealing with that stuff today.

20:50Let me call Zoom Drain and let them deal with it. JLD, we all know the riches are in the nick. Holla. And so let me tell you, Zoom Drain is hot. Another favorite, Rolling Suds. Rolling Suds is going to be the first nationwide power washing brand. But this isn't a power washer where you walk into your local Home Depot or Lowe's and get a power washer. This is proprietary. This is built for speed and accuracy. And they're doing commercial jobs and they're doing residential jobs at a fast pace and have outrageous numbers. Last year in cold Pennsylvania in the six warm months, these guys did$1.9 million.

21:35They disclosed that. $1.9 million in revenue in a power washing brand in six months with a 35 % net. Wow. Now, you want to move to roofing. Mighty Dog Roofing. Best Choice Roofing. Hot Brands. HomeWell and Home Helpers are two of my favorites in the home care space. and I just had tippy toes on my podcast. Tippy toes. You know what that is? It's a little dance franchise. And yes, men own it too. Incredibly low cost, high margin, easy. I mean, I could go on and on. I represent 800 plus brands. They're not all my favorites. I can say that, I'm honest. But I'm going to show you my favorites for you to ensure your success in the franchise world.

22:25And that's what Fire Nation wants to know next. If we want to take the next step, if we want to connect with you, if we want to learn from you in your areas of expertise, what might be a good fit for us, what is that call to action you have for Fire Nation, Lance? My call to action is simply my free assessment. And what this free assessment does, it helps me and you understand, based on your life experiences, your mindset, your skill set, about a 15 minute assessment with great questions. It's going to give you a great detailed report on you. And that's a fantastic start. And then we'll go through the interview process and we'll have a call.

23:08And believe me, this is free. And that's the best part about this, JLD. My services are free. I get paid by the brands. And look, even if you've never found me in the first place, you pay the same franchise fee when you join a brand. I am your free advocate. it's awesome that this business and industry is set up like that and I look forward to being able to help anybody and everybody that's listening. And one more time what is that call to action URL? So my website LanceGralich.com G-R-A-U-L-I-C-H LanceGralich.com or my podcast IONFranchising E-Y-E-ONFranchising.com is a website for that both have the assessment.

23:53Fire Nation you're average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with LG and JLD today, so keep up that heat. For everything we talked about here today, go to eofire.com. Just type Lance in the search bar. The show notes page will pop up and you will again have links to everything that we chatted about. Lance, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Lance for sponsoring today's episode. In Fire Nation, successful entrepreneurs are great at three things, productivity, discipline, focus.

24:31That is why I created the Mastery Journal so that you can master productivity, discipline, and focus in 100 days. And we're talking step-by-step. Visit themasteryjournal.com and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Business Made Simple, hosted by Donald Miller, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Business Made Simple takes the mystery out of growing your business. Join my friend, Donna Miller, each week as he shares value bombs on topics like the secret to making better marketing decisions. Listen to Business Made Simple wherever you get your podcasts.

25:08Belay has spent over a decade helping thousands of leaders increase efficiency and productivity by leveraging flexible staffing solutions. Download Belay's delegation guide and learn six specific things that busy leaders must start delegating today. Text FIRE, that's F-I-R-E, to 55123 to download the guide and get started.