Franchise with Brad Currin

0:02Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of the Epic Entrepreneurs podcast where we are all about helping business owners just like you achieve success. So we don't do fancy smancy. We don't do flashing lights. We don't do a lot of things that a lot of podcasts will do. These are just real stories about real people and their entrepreneurial and business experiences. We go into their wins, their challenges, and their learnings. So we hope you enjoy it. Hey there, welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs, brought to you by Action Coach Growth Partners. I'm your host, Bill Gilliland, and in this podcast, you'll find three things.

0:46You're going to hear real stories from real entrepreneurs that will help you along your entrepreneurial journey. You're also going to get business tips to help you scale up faster, and you're going to get actual coaching to help you get better real world results to be the best entrepreneur you can be. Hey, and if you like the podcast, remember to subscribe. And now, enjoy the show. Hey there, I hope you're having a fantastic week. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am super fortunate to have Brad Curran here. So Brad, you have kind of an interesting story. you essentially picked up, bought a franchise, and then moved to town.

1:32So I want to dig into that a little bit about what the right way to do that. But for those of you who may not know you yet or may have missed a previous episode with you on it, tell us a little bit about you and how you got to be here. Sure enough. First of all, thanks for having me, Bill. Really appreciate it. Let's see. My background is interesting. After the military, I actually moved down to Charleston, Folly Beach, South Carolina and decided to bartend and try to figure things out. And then after that, I ended up playing around in the hospitality space of Marriott Hilton Brands and then moved over to health care.

2:12And after about 15 to 20 years in health care, I decided I wanted to work for myself. And my wife and I, we fell in love with Western North Carolina probably 25 years ago, and we always knew we wanted to get back here. So when we were out in Arkansas, we made some strategic moves to where I came to Asheville a day before I opened this business. Kind of living in a van down by the river and getting out there and slinging floors and selling towels. So it's been a great experience so far. So your business is FCI, right? FCI. Yeah. Which is Floor Coverings International. And it's a franchise. But I want to focus in, let's go two ways.

2:55Number one, you must have looked at other franchises. So what process would you recommend for people who are thinking about buying a business or buying a franchise? Yeah, definitely. I think one of the most important factors is what are customers looking for and what will they always be looking for? So we know that floors are something that's always going to be around. I mean, people have been walking on them for years, right? Right. More importantly, what drew us to this was the growth in Western North Carolina. As you and I know, as they continuously expand Interstate 26, the hotels, the new residential developments, the commercial spaces, there's just a plethora of opportunity for anybody in the service based industry here.

3:39So so let me just sum that up. Number one, you're looking for something that people were always going to buy. So, you know, people are always going to need certain services. They're always going to need flooring. They're always going to need electrical. They're always going to need plumbing. They're always going to need some sort of service base, which is one of the, from a franchising standpoint of view, that is a category of industries that you can find would be service based. In fact, it works quite well. And the other thing you were looking for was a market that was growing on its own so that you could.

4:17And I think that's I think that's that's that's that that that that's pretty smart. So you come to you come you come a day before you open your business. so what are some of the I guess strategies that you took and some of the lessons that you learned on coming to a new market opening a new business in a new place that you're not from and not familiar with anybody really no it's a it's a great question and and I think um you know I think one of the first things you said when we talked when we first met was test and measure right So for me, it was just getting out there and networking. You know, who are the people that I want to surround myself with?

4:59And I forget the phrase, but show me your friends, I'll show you your future. So one of the biggest things I did was just start going to events, meeting different people. And you could tell who in this community were those leaders that wanted to help you become more successful. You know, from just cold calls to warm introductions to, hey, I know a guy you need to talk to and go have a cup of coffee with him. And then they help, you know, lead you to five other people that you can talk to. And that's the beautiful thing about Western North Carolina is it's kind of an extended family, if you will.

5:32We all help each other. And I think that's one aspect of growing the business. The other was looking at what the market demanded. Um, we know that there are multiple flooring companies out there, but one of the biggest challenges all of us have is the labor market. So how can we make ourselves more attractive for the labor as well as to the consumer? And I think one of the things is just getting our name out there and branding. Branding is the key to let people know you're present and you're here. Um, if they don't know you're here, how are they going to call you? And then the third thing I think I would attribute to is, you know, our allies that we have established relationships with.

6:12I think it's called like a host-benefair relationship that we had talked about before. But it's, you know, the plumber, whenever they get in there and do some tile work, who are they going to call? They call us. You know, it may be a small repair job, but it leads to something bigger and greater. And then they have five other houses around them in the neighborhood that could need work. I think those are the top three things that really made me successful. So network, recognizing what the market demanded, and then what you might call strategic alliances or strategic partners or host beneficiaries where you can use somebody else's list, that kind of thing.

6:50Well, let me talk about networking a bit because not everybody knows how to network. Did you just know how to network or you just comes naturally or have you studied networking? or how did you, I mean, you're good at it. How'd you get good at it? Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. You know, I think honestly, I grew up waiting tables and bartending and I don't know if you've ever been at a Marriott bar, you know, from a conference and all the people that come sit after they've been in a conference all day, they really want to talk or they don't want to talk and learning how to read people, waiting tables and bartending, like when to go up to a table and ask for the check or when to avoid them and leave them alone because they're trying to close a deal.

7:32I definitely attribute that to a lot of my networking skills. And I think the second thing is knowing where to go network. Like, you know, I have kind of a rule when I go to large events is get 10 business cards or 10 contacts and then leave. Be memorable, but don't hang out very long because, you know, your goal is there is to network. Network, get your contacts and exit. Yeah, I think the operative term is network, not net. Drink beer or net, hang out in the corner or net. Yeah. So, I mean, one of the rules is to have a goal. You know, I have a number of clients that have come out of some sort of, you know, maybe they just did it in high school or college or whatever, but waited tables or worked in hospitality or something along the way.

8:21Or certainly some sort of forward-facing, maybe retail forward-facing business where they had to learn to read people. And so it's interesting. So in networking, I mean, do you also like judge the events as well? Like what are the ones you want to be at? What are the ones you want to skip next time? Or do you just go to everything? You know, initially when I first moved here, I went to everything. And that was about a year ago, a year and a half ago. But now I've started being more strategic and using some of my teammates to go to some of the other events. there's a lot of events here in Western North Carolina.

8:59I mean, you could stay full 40 hours a week and then some if you go to every event. I think the biggest thing for us as a flooring and tile contractor is ensuring that we're at the events where we can make a difference, like Home Builders Association or the Asheville Chamber or supporting local businesses that are opening up to kind of give them a hand as a lot of them gave us a hand as well. So, you know, I've been very strategic here lately. How'd you like to learn from the best? How'd you like to network with the best? How'd you like to be the best? Well, the key to being the best is to hang around with the best and to learn from the best.

9:39And we're going to make that possible for you this August in Asheville at the Asheville Business Summit. I want you to stay tuned. We're bringing in speakers from outside. We've got a lot of good events planned. It's going to be amazing. We got more information coming, but if you'd like more info on how you can be involved, how you can attend, or how you can be a sponsor for this event, it's going to be over 350 entrepreneurs in one place right here in Western North Carolina in Asheville. For more info or to be a sponsor, I want you to reach out directly to Beth Limmel, that's L-E-M-M-E-L at actioncoach.com.

10:20That's Beth Limmel at actioncoach.com. We look forward to seeing you there. It's going to be amazing. Yeah, I think that's a normal pattern. You almost have to, like you say, test and measure. You almost have to go out and see which events are really going to be well attended or going to at least have your target market or markets there and then focus in on those. Otherwise, like you said, I honestly, and in fact, I tried to do it one time. I hired somebody whose whole job was to just network, just to go. I mean, that was their job. They were to be at every networking event. So it was pretty much a four-day-a-week kind of thing where they had in some weekends where they would be at things to representing the company and meeting people and gathering business cards and everything else.

11:11So I guess, how did you determine what the market demanded. We covered networking. Now we're moving on to the second thing. What did the market demand and how did you decide that? Yeah. So one of my previous roles in healthcare was strategy and development. So growing service lines like neurosurgery or senior living. And one of the things you do is you look at the population growth and then you look at the age demographics and then you look at the new homes being built. And there's all kinds of different data points you can hit. But, you know, one thing I noticed here is that there's, I know, five new neighborhoods going up just down the road in Mills River.

11:51And there's probably four new hotels being built right now as we speak. So what did that tell me? It's a lot busier than a lot of other places here. And I think, you know, everybody wants to move to Western North Carolina. We've got, you know, transplants from up north, out west, and I think even Texas. But, and after reading multiple articles, I think that, you know, top 10 places to live, top 10 places to retire, all the data and all the signs pointed to Asheville, North Carolina. And I, and then that was the biggest reason why we, and my wife and I love it here. So. Yeah, that's a bonus, right?

12:27I mean, it's growing like crazy, but there's a reason it's growing like crazy. So, I mean, did you make any distinctions? I know you do residential and commercial work. I mean, is there more commercial, more residential? Is it 50-50? What's going on? Great question. Where we're finding our sweet spot or our niche is small bathroom remodels. And that's probably 30 % of our work. Commercial is probably about 35-40 % of our work. And the remaining is the residential homes, flooring, and then some small tile jobs in the kitchens and bathrooms. But I'd say commercial would be an opportunity for us right now.

13:12Residential is kind of our sweet spot, but we love them both. Yeah. Well, I didn't know if there was more demand for one or the other. It's almost like you could have two separate businesses there. You can have a commercial flooring business or at least a division. You could have commercial division and a residential division. All right. So I'm assuming that part of the networking that you did was to find these allies that you're talking about. So what are your tips for working with other businesses, forming these relationships, forming these partnerships, these strategic alliances, so to speak?

13:52Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, for example, contractors, right? A lot of times they get a lot of inquiries that are a little outside of what they want to do. So that's where we come in. We can handle the smaller things, the smaller jobs, and vice versa. So when we get requests for, you know, large home remodel projects, we'll forward those out to some of our partners. And having a reciprocal relationship is what really makes a strong ally. um the other thing i think is uh the asheville chamber is a great opportunity for us with uh people relocating here people coming here and you know being kind of a the face of asheville if you will they they have a lot of uh what's the word i'm looking for a lot of ways to steer people and tell them who the great people are that they partner with and uh you know who that they would trust to do their own home.

14:49So I think finding those two type of allies really helped us out a lot. Yeah, I think you hit on a good one there, trust. And that's where the strategic partners come in because you're banking. I mean, you get inferred trust or referred trust based on their recommendation. Because my guess is if somebody asked me and I said, well, just call Brad, they'll take good care of you, then they're going to do it. I mean, because I built that relationship or that trust with them that it'll just go do it. They'll just, I do whatever he says. That's what I, that's what I would, that's, that's what I, that's what I would tell him.

15:26So, um, you guys have come in as a sponsor. We appreciate it of the Asheville Business Summit. So, um, tell us why you did that and what do you hope, uh, to get out of that? Sure. Yeah. I mean, it, it just was a no brainer for us. Um, you know, I've had the opportunity to, listen to Brad Sugars on podcasts as well as some of his videos. And honestly, very inspirational. I can kind of see where that would be a benefit, not only for us, but for the community. So being able to help support Brad Sugars coming to Asheville and kind of elevate, you know, Western North Carolina as the chamber, the home builders, action coach, all of us are really trying to kind to put a bright light on Western North Carolina.

16:12And this, this is just only going to help us. Yeah. It's a, it's, it's going to be fun too. Yeah. It's going to be educational. It's going to be fun. We're going to have a good time out there. So what, let me, now you've been doing this for how long? Over a year now, right? So yeah, you've been in this. So what do you wish somebody had told you before you started this business? What are some lessons there? What do you wish someone had told you? You know, I figured you might ask this question. Yeah. Let's see. You know, no matter what the outcome today, tomorrow's a new day. Right. That's the first thing.

16:52And then the second thing is somebody's done this before and all you got to do is ask, ask a question, ask for help. And number three is probably don't be afraid to take giant leaps because giant leaps equal giant rewards. And honestly, this whole Western North Carolina, and I mean, you know, from Action Coach to the Chamber to people I've met along the way have been very welcoming, very helpful. And it just reaffirms our decision to set up a shop here in Western North Carolina. Yeah, that's awesome. I always say, I love this, the second when somebody's done it before, you got to ask, I always say you can't do this stuff by yourself.

17:34And you can, I guess you can try, but it just, if you want to really amp it up, speed it up, you know, get out and give some help and, you know, get out and get known. I mean, I think you've done a great job with networking. You've done a great job getting the word out and you've done a great job of building this business. And I think you've done a great job of giving back to the community already. And I think that's what it's all about. And I love the big thinking thing because you've always been a little bit of an out of the box thinker and have some big dreams out there. So So I know that you have one big dream that maybe you haven't talked about.

18:19How's that going? And maybe you could share what that is. It's a little bit different than what you're doing now, but I'd love for people to know how big you're thinking. Yeah, sure. Yeah. So one of my passion projects is to create a boutique hotel out of shipping containers surrounded by mountain bike trails. And it's 100 % veteran owned. And our goal is to provide veterans coming into the community, wherever we end up with our locations, a place to land to run the hotel until they figure out what their next step is on their journey. And I think being an advocate for veterans, separating from the military and having a place to land is only going to benefit, you know, the communities across the nation.

19:02And I'm happy to share. I think I found a finance partner, a funding partner last week. so now it's time to to hit the ground running with that so why not add another another something to the plate well if you're going to be epic you got it i mean the definition of an entrepreneur is in my opinion is somebody who does multiple businesses multiple ways and usually uses you know it's sort of the intersection of an idea the intersection of money and the intersection of action. And so, yeah, I think it's awesome. And I know that project is going to be fun and going to do well. And you're going to learn a lot more as you go through, as you go through that stuff.

19:44So are there any other last things you'd like to say? No, I just, I really appreciate the opportunity to jump on here with you, Bill and chit chat. Always been a respected member of the community and glad I found you in the first 30 days of being here. Yeah. Yeah. I think, you know, I have a belief that things happen for a reason. So, yeah, it's not. And that's both ways. I mean, I think that, you know, great. I mean, you found me, but I also found you. So it's been a nice partnership. So anyway, and that's kind of the way we view it. So thanks for being here. No, thank you. Yeah. Hey, and until next time, all the best.

20:26Hey, thanks for listening to the Epic Entrepreneurs Podcast. Here's three things that you can do. Number one, remember to subscribe to the podcast. It takes very little effort on your part. It's going to help you and your fellow entrepreneurs. Plus, you guys know how it works. The more subscribers we get, the more cool things we can offer to you. Second, to learn more about growing your business, just download my book, The Coach Approach. It's free for you at giftfrombill.com. That's giftfrombill.com. Hey, and if you'd like more info about growing your business and what we can do to help you grow your business, send me an email directly.

21:05Just send it to williamgilliland at actioncoach.com. That's my personal email that I read. No one else reads it first. It's not screened. It's my real email. Just send it to me. I can't wait to talk to you. Hey, and until then, all the best. Hey, thanks for listening to the Epic Entrepreneurs Podcast. Here's three things that you can do. Number one, remember to subscribe to the podcast. It takes very little effort on your part. It's going to help you and your fellow entrepreneurs. Plus, you guys know how it works. The more subscribers we get, the more cool things we can offer to you. Second, to learn more about growing your business, just download my book, The Coach Approach.

21:57It's free for you at giftfrombill.com. That's giftfrombill.com. Hey, and if you'd like more info about growing your business and what we can do to help you grow your business, send me an email directly. Just send it to williamgilliland at actioncoach.com. That's my personal email that I read. No one else reads it first. It's not screened. It's my real email. Just send it to me. I can't wait to talk to you. Hey, and until then, all the best.