If history tells us anything, it is that during economic slowdowns a lot of people begin to take stock of their careers and look for ways to take more control of their financial future. One of the options that many turn to is franchising. Owning a franchise gives you a chance to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself. If you are among those whose career has been impacted by the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 crisis and find yourself asking  “what do I do next?" or  "where do I go from here?” this podcast is for you. In it Dr. John P. Hayes discusses why franchising may be right solution for you, but, just as importantly, why it's not for everyone.

How To Buy A Franchise Show | Dr. John Hayes provides insight on how to buy and operate a franchise

Why Now May Be A Good Time To Buy A Franchise

In this episode of the How To Buy A Franchise show, I talk with Jackie Pierce, franchise owner of Big Frog Custom T-Shirts. Jackie shares the story of her transition from accountant in corporate America to soccer mom to successful franchisee.

From accountant to soccer mom to franchise owner

Dr. John Hayes talks with Justin Crandall, CEO and co-founder of Robin Autopilot, the world's first robotic lawn service now offering franchise opportunities in the U.S.  Crandall, who you may have seen pitching the idea on Shark Tank, explains that more than one million of the robotic mowers are in use in Europe and they plan to spread the concept in the U.S. through franchising. How does it work? Crandall says that Robin Autopilot combines proven robot mower technology with highly-professional human crews to create a more eco-friendly, reliable and affordable lawn care experience.  The company installs a robotic mower at the customer's home. The robot handles the repetitive mowing, while human crews come out periodically to handle the edging, trimming, weeding and other yard care needs. As a result, the customer never has to worry about an overgrown yard and crew members can focus their talents on higher-value, higher-margin activities. Robin Autopilot customers pay a set monthly fee based on their level of service and size of property. Because of the robots, the price is actually less than they'd pay traditional landscaping services while receiving a higher-quality and more reliable service. If you are interested in how technology is impacting the future of franchising, this interview is for you. Or you can visit the website at robinautopilotfranchise.com.

Robin Autopilot: a cutting edge franchise opportunity

A money guy and a fitness guy met in Las Vegas one day and created a group fitness concept that provides Millennials with four studios under one roof! TruFusion franchises offer 240 classes per week in 65 fitness modalities. Want yoga? There are 16 types offered at TruFusion. More yoga, says Donald Averritt, vice president of development, than what any yoga franchise offers! Franchising for almost two years, TruFusion has sold 65 franchise units at an all in cost of about $1.2 million. Of the units sold, only three were open at the time of this interview because finding a location and building a unit is a nine to 12 month process. By year-end 2017 TruFusion anticipates having a dozen units open around the USA. Averritt says the "secret sauce” for this franchise is its monthly membership fee: $100. Each of the three open units has more than 2,000 members and most are Millennial females. If fitness is your idea of the perfect franchise, TruFusion may be your answer.

TruFusion: 4 fitness franchises in 1

Pat Sculley and his wife always wanted to get into business together. Pat worked for EDS in Dallas for 23 years and his wife was working in HR. After Pat retired he spent some time working with non-profits but realized he wasn’t happy. "I had semi-retired, working 30 hours a week,” he explains, “and I didn’t enjoy not being full time and fully engaged. I knew what would make me happy was being back in the game and having fun with it.” So he and his wife got back in the game, but it wasn’t easy. At first they worked with a broker to find an appealing business but came up empty. When their broker recommended looking at franchises, the Sculleys said they didn’t want to be in the food industry! But with a little coaching the Sculleys learned about non-food franchise opportunities. The broker presented three franchises to them and they went about conducting their due diligence. At the end of the process, more than four years ago, they selected The Exercise Coach, a new franchise based in Chicago. The Sculleys decided to bring The Exercise Coach to Dallas, TX where they now operate three units. This is a business that personally appeals to the couple and they knew they could build the brand locally and sell it as an asset in the future. Pat shares his story with Dr. John Hayes on the How To Buy A Franchise Show.

Retired Couple Becomes The Exercise Coach in Dallas, TX

Matt “Red” Boswell, chief growth officer for Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA), tells Dr. John Hayes that senior executives worldwide are joining ERA to become trusted advisors to multi-million dollar companies that hope to extract profit from their current expenses. There are two types of franchisees in ERA: the analyst who has spent a career studying one or more expense categories such as healthcare, telecommunications, printing, banking services, etc., (there are more than 40 expense categories) and knows how to save money in those categories, and the relationship building executive who can gain access to C-suite executives (especially CFOs) through referrals and networking. ERA franchisees collaborate as “trusted advisors” for the clients they serve. The kicker is that they make money only if they succeed at saving money for their clients! ERA is a worldwide consulting firm with more than 700 franchisees. The franchisor’s Item 19 looks extremely attractive. While the average franchisee (including some part-timers) earns $189,000 annually, the top 20% of franchisees earn between $323,000 and $760,000! If you like working with “world-class” caliber executives, ERA may be the franchise for you.

Why Senior Executives Prefer the ERA Franchise

At age 55, veteran franchise developer Gary Findley asked himself what type of business he’d like to own next if he were to buy a franchise. He knew the right franchise for him would require no bricks and mortar, low investment, low overhead, it would produce high margins and it would be recession resistant. All that, plus the opportunity to buy out the franchisor, led Gary to Restoration 1, a franchise that he has since grown from 20 units to 135 units in record time. With Gary’s background, he knew that operational systems were key to building a good franchise network. After adding systems, he recruited executive-level franchisees with the desire to build a business, but not necessarily to work in the business. In mid-2017, the franchise is on track to reach 200 franchise locations and within 5 years 500 locations. And, by the way, Gary owns 4 locations personally.

Gary Findley: Veteran franchisor rolls out Restoration 1

Andrew Millar of UBREAKIFIX recently visited with Dr. John P. Hayes on the How To Buy A Franchise Show and explained how UBREAKIFIX franchises are changing the lives of people across North America. Some 150 franchisees own the 311-plus UBREAKIFIX franchise outlets in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. However, those numbers are going to change rapidly — one area developer, for example, plans to open more than 230 stores just in the USA. And then there’s the wide-open international market. Millar says the company is already getting buy requests from across the world, but management plans to dominate North America first. The company is already the market leader in the $282 billion mobile phone industry, but Millar says there’s a huge growth curve ahead. Franchise-wide store revenues should top $140 million in 2017 but Millar points out that’s only 3.6% of the market! And lest you think all they do is repair phones, they repair anything with a power button. Their goal is to capture users of the tech space and keep them as customers for a lifetime. All-in investment for this dynamic franchise is about $150,000 including a $40,000 franchise fee. U.S. veterans get an $8,000 discount upon becoming franchisees. UBREAKIFIX is on track to be the next huge international franchise opportunity, at least in the tech/repair industry. Could it be the perfect franchise opportunity for you?

UBREAKIFIX: The next huge international franchise opportunity

Nick Lopez studied business at Michigan State University and discovered franchising in the process. To cover the costs of tuition, books and living expenses, Lopez launched a residential and commercial painting business in Michigan and catered to custom home owners. Much to his surprise, he found a welcoming market and after three years of operating the business he decided it was time to get serious. That’s when he sought out mentors to help him develop a long-term business plan and that experience eventually led to franchising. After graduation he returned to his home state of Colorado and opened LIME Painting in Denver with every intention of building a national franchise company. He has since opened a second unit in Boulder and he plans to begin franchising the opportunity in fall 2017. Lopez visited with Dr. John P. Hayes during the 2017 International Franchise Expo in New York City.

Home-based, high-end, emerging painting franchise

What started as a corporate endeavor to provide employees with wellness options mushroomed into a franchise opportunity that is now being purchased by entrepreneurs and physicians. Reagan Clemensen visited the How To Buy A Franchise Show during the International Franchise Expo in New York City and shared news about Profile by Sanford, a franchise concept developed by Sanford Health, the largest rural healthcare company in the USA with 28,000 employees and millions of patients. At the time of this interview there were six open franchise units and 30 more in development. Clemensen explained that the franchise emphasizes weight loss but offers a menu of wellness options to members who pay $300 a year and buy products from the company. Cost to open a unit is in the $450,000 range and funding options are automatically extended to prospects who qualify to become franchisees. Multi-unit opportunities exist across the USA. If you’re committed to wellness and want to help others reach their wellness goals, this may be your ideal franchise opportunity.

Weight loss franchise attracts physicians and entrepreneurs

Former food franchisee Sammy Aldeeb is now franchising Urban Bricks Pizza Co. and attracting leaders, motivators and “cool people” who can stand behind his franchise brand, which is quickly expanding in the buiild-your-own-pizza niche. Sammy says there’s lots of room to grow, but advises franchisees that it’s a 7 day a week job!

Urban Bricks: Attracting “Cool” Franchisees

For 26 years Happy & Healthy has been developing national accounts (Wholefoods, Lifetime Fitness, food service companies that cater to hospitals, supermarkets, etc.) and selling to franchisees to service those and other accounts. Entrepreneur magazine says this is one of the best franchise investments under $50,000. Most franchisees begin part-time (sometimes keeping their full-time job) and build the business. Prospects are invited to a 3-hour workshop to learn more about the business. Linda Kamm, founder, encourages prospects to call franchisees to learn more about how the business works.

Happy & Healthy: Low Cost, Start Part-Time & Build Your Business

Jorge Férreaz, publisher of Latino Leaders Magazine, organizes the Latino Franchise Symposium in Plano, Texas where franchisors looking to expand into the Latino markets, and Hispanic and Latino entrepreneurs and investors looking for franchise opportunities come together for a series of 2-day meetings and discussions. "There's a lack of information about how to expand a franchise business into the Latino markets," explains Férreaz, thus creating an opportunity for this symposium.

Attend the 3rd Annual Latino Franchise Symposium

Remember when you (or someone you knew) combined baking soda and vinegar to create a homemade volcano? Little Beakers has taken off with that idea and developed a retail franchise opportunity that provides a controlled environment for children to learn basic science principles. And yes, most of these principles are taught by combining ingredients that have an “exciting” reaction or turn into something the children can play with.

Little Beakers franchise: Teaching children science outside of the classroom

This week on the How to Buy a Franchise Show our guest is Anand Karia, who is the Master Franchisee of UCMAS in the United States, Canada, Mexico and India. UCMAS has over 6,000 locations in 58 countries and has just opened its first location in the United States. As a Master Franchisee, Karia and his company own the rights to sell franchises in all fifty states. In addition, Karia is also looking for Master Franchisees to purchase the rights to specific states. For example, a qualified candidate could purchase the licensing rights for the entire state of Texas and then be responsible for selling and maintaining franchisees in that market.

UCMAS Franchise Opportunity: Bringing back the Abacus!

Internationally recognized speaker, personal business coach and Amazon best-selling franchise author Dr. John Hayes offers an honest look at everything involved in researching, evaluating and purchasing a franchise business.

How To Buy A Franchise Show | Dr. John Hayes provides insigh...