From Subway to Chick-fil-A: What 16 Years Taught Me About Franchise Ownership

1 - > Brandon Johnson: So I would encourage people to not go with 2 - > trends, and also sometimes to not go with their passion. 3 - > I'm a big fitness guy myself, but I'd probably stay as far 4 - > away from a fitness concept out there. 5 - > If you wanna have an absentee business model, own an ATM, 6 - > invest in the stock market, so you can set it and forget it. 7 - > It's not in franchising. 8 - > The only way in life that you can bet on yourself is if you're 9 - > a small business owner, and I think to your point, Giuseppe, I 10 - > think a great platform that will catapult you to that is 11 - > franchising, right? 12 - >

Speaker 3: Welcome to the Franchise Freedom Podcast, where 13 - > you can escape the corporate trap through franchise 14 - > ownership. 15 - > Here's your host, Giuseppe Grammatico, the Franchise Guide. 16 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Welcome to the Franchise Freedom Podcast. 17 - > I'm your host, Giuseppe Grammatico, your franchise 18 - > guide, the show where we help corporate executives earn time 19 - > and financial freedom via franchising. 20 - > Thanks for joining us today. 21 - > Very excited show for you today, but before we dive in, wanted to 22 - > thank you guys for all your feedback. 23 - > You had mentioned you wanted more guests, you had certain 24 - > topics you wanted to review, so that's how today's show came to 25 - > fruition. 26 - > We sat down and said,"Who can I bring on that knows franchising 27 - > like the back of their hand?" And wanted to welcome today 28 - > Brandon Johnson. 29 - > So Brandon, welcome to the show. 30 - > Brandon Johnson: Thanks, Giuseppe. 31 - > I appreciate 32 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Absolutely. 33 - > Usually I don't do this, but I wanna give your bio. 34 - > You have a really impressive bio. 35 - > You've been around the block. 36 - > Brandon is in franchise development a franchise 37 - > development strategist with 16 years of experience across 10 38 - > plus industries. 39 - > He's held operation leadership roles at brands like Subway, 40 - > Chick-fil-A, the big one I hear about all the time MAKO, and now 41 - > helps scale franchise concepts at Floor Coverings 42 - > International. 43 - > His dual perspective allows him to guide aspiring owners through 44 - > smart informed franchise decisions. 45 - > Really impressive bio. 46 - > We've known each other for years. 47 - > We're good friends and I really appreciate you coming on because 48 - > you bring so much different perspective and background. 49 - > So got a lot of great stuff we're gonna talk about today. 50 - > thanks again for taking the time. 51 - > you've been around the block, so tell us maybe in a little bit 52 - > more detail one of the topics we wanna talk about is What makes 53 - > franchising a strong path to ownership? 54 - > That's gonna be our first topic. 55 - > But I wanted to tie it in based off some of the experience that 56 - > you had with some of the previous brands as well. 57 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, Giuseppe, I appreciate it, man. 58 - > And franchising has been really good to me in my life, right? 59 - > I've now been in it for about 16 years now. 60 - > This is the only career and I've ever had really starting off of 61 - > right out of college. 62 - > I was a business major, studied marketing, played some lacrosse, 63 - > if you can tell in the, my backdrop of my basement that 64 - > converted into a home office here. 65 - > But very competitive guy in nature and I got introduced 66 - > right away to franchising with a little-known company called 67 - > Subway Restaurants. 68 - > And at Subway I was a business consultant, so I got to work 69 - > hand-in-hand with the franchisees, overseeing 70 - > operations, compliance, and helping them grow sales and 71 - > profits. 72 - > And I gotta tell you, it was the greatest time to get into Subway 73 - > too, because it was at the height of the$5 foot-long. 74 - > I got to see franchisees scaling their business. 75 - > Some that had one location scaling to two. 76 - > Other people that had these large trade areas where they 77 - > were, developing their 25th and 26th location. 78 - > So just to see everything firsthand from a business 79 - > owner's, small business owner's perspective of how they scale 80 - > their business, the leadership roles that are involved in that, 81 - > and also the frontline employees too. 82 - > So it was definitely, I always tell people I never got an MBA, 83 - > but it was definitely an MBA within the business industry 84 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: that's interesting. 85 - > And you look like you're 20 years old, so you must have 86 - > started at a young age. 87 - > That's awesome. 88 - > I think that's the part that's missing. 89 - > You're gaining that appreciation of, running or being involved in 90 - > that small business. 91 - > When I started looking in 2005, Subway was the brand, right? 92 - > It was... 93 - > Someone said, what brand do you want to look at?" I said, 94 - > "Subway." They said,"Why?" And I said that's the hottest 95 - > franchise." I remember my coach, I hired a coach shortly after, 96 - > and he's you mentioned you own a restaurant, you didn't want to 97 - > be in fast food." And I go,"That is true." You mentioned you 98 - > didn't want a lot of employees." I said,"That is true." And he's 99 - > "Maybe we should look elsewhere." He's"Nothing against 100 - > the brand, but it's not matching your franchise model." And I 101 - > said,"You know what? 102 - > Didn't even realize it." I got so excited about the widget we 103 - > talk about the widget, the service, whatever they're, 104 - > whatever's being offered in that business, and you start to 105 - > ignore and, or sometimes start to settle, right? 106 - > Hate to use that word, but you start to settle. 107 - > And that's not something you want to be doing especially with 108 - > with any business. 109 - > So, Where does Chick-fil-A fall in? 110 - > Because it's also another franchise you are affiliated 111 - > with. 112 - > I get calls, probably comes up every week,"What about a 113 - > Chick-fil-A?" And I know that's very different structure-wise 114 - > compared to most other brands. 115 - > So what was your role at Chick-fil-A and what are your 116 - > thoughts on the setup of the franchise? 117 - > Because it is very unique. 118 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, it is a unique business model. 119 - > The way that kind of guided me towards Chick-fil-A is, I was 120 - > with Subway for about seven years, liked my role within that 121 - > business consultant role, but always wanted for something a 122 - > little bit more. 123 - > And I actually did a interview for Chick-fil-A corporate for 124 - > the same type of role as a business consultant. 125 - > However, I was newly married at the time, and what their 126 - > requirements were to relocate from my hometown in Baltimore, 127 - > which I'm sure you can tell from my backdrop I absolutely love 128 - > and adore. 129 - > Newly married, they wanted me to relocate to Atlanta to be on the 130 - > road pretty much all the time, right? 131 - > It was Monday through Thursday you were on the road traveling 132 - > to see franchisees, or it's what they call owner operators, and 133 - > then doing like a home office day on a Friday. 134 - > And I couldn't really get my wife sold on that, even if the 135 - > money was good. 136 - > So what they encouraged me to do was actually reach out to an 137 - > owner operator. 138 - > we recently moved to a neighborhood that was a little 139 - > bit closer to DC, my wife was working in DC at the time, and I 140 - > just popped in, had a really good conversation with the owner 141 - > that was there and we really hit it off and I left my seven years 142 - > of Subway behind to join his business as he was the owner 143 - > operator, and it was a new role that he formed just for me. 144 - > So it was an operating partner, so I oversaw the entire 145 - > operational of his business as if I owned it, right? 146 - > So I was his eyes and ears when he wasn't there. 147 - > You won't believe it, Giuseppe, but I had a staff of about 65 148 - > employees. 149 - > I did all the recruiting and staffing, so 150 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: for how many locations? 151 - > Brandon Johnson: it's Just one single location. 152 - > So one single location, 65 employees. 153 - > had six different managers underneath me then I did all the 154 - > recruiting and staffing, front of the house, back of the house, 155 - > and it, it was amazing. 156 - > It was the most well-oiled machine of a business I had ever 157 - > seen before. 158 - > And just to put it in perspective, so 65 employees. 159 - > The location was around for about six years, and they were a 160 - > $4.2 million business. 161 - > Same center sales increases year after year, too. 162 - > It was incredible 163 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: That's a big footprint, for those that 164 - > wanna keep the staff a little bit on the lighter side. 165 - > So that's quite a bit, but it's good to get that perspective. 166 - > Different business, different industry. 167 - > You got Subway, Chick-fil-A, and then getting into Mako what did 168 - > that look like? 169 - > Because, that's a different type of business, so now you're 170 - > getting into a different although all brick and mortar, a 171 - > different type of industry 172 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, it was totally new to me. 173 - > It was foreign. 174 - > It was an automotive body repair shop and that does automotive 175 - > painting too. 176 - > So something I've never had familiarity with other than, 177 - > having a sports car back in high school and things like that 178 - > where Fast and Furious was all the trends. 179 - > But I got recruited by them to seek out some options. 180 - > It was with their parent company called Driven Brands. 181 - > Timing was right. 182 - > I wanted to grow in my income and they made me a really good 183 - > offer. 184 - > So what I did at Maaco is I was the same type of role. 185 - > I was the operations coach that oversaw the Mid-Atlantic, which 186 - > was your home state of Josephia, of New Jersey, all the way down 187 - > to Virginia. 188 - > So I had about 35 locations in my portfolio working with their 189 - > franchisees. 190 - > Totally different kind of industry though. 191 - > Now instead of me working with around high school-aged 192 - > children, now I'm around like body shop owners and body 193 - > repairmen and technicians and things like that. 194 - > So it really was eye-opening, like changing my lingo, changing 195 - > the way I dressed, how I talked. 196 - > But awesome industry nonetheless. 197 - > The thing I thought there was a little bit more difficult to 198 - > really earn the franchisees' respect. 199 - > it probably took a few months to do that. 200 - > But after you did that, and then they would finally see the value 201 - > that you brought to them, right? 202 - > Analyzing profit and loss statements, talking about 203 - > operational efficiency and compliance standards. 204 - > And at the end of the day, what our main role was to do was help 205 - > them grow their business, right? 206 - > Grow sales, grow profits 207 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: And then, now you're with Floor Coverings 208 - > International so you've kinda come full circle. 209 - > Now you're in the home service space, right? 210 - > Not non-brick and mortar, non-food. 211 - > So you kinda have some exposure to everything. 212 - > Tell us a little bit about Floor Coverings and your role with 213 - > that organization, and then I have some other kinda follow-up 214 - > questions for you 215 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, absolutely. 216 - > So I just got introduced to the whole world of development 217 - > probably about six to seven years ago, and absolutely fell 218 - > in love, right? 219 - > I know how to talk about what it looks like after owning the 220 - > franchise. 221 - > Now I can talk about it, what it looks like during the first 222 - > initial conversations, right? 223 - > And I can paint the picture with your candidates about that. 224 - > I gotta say, Floor Coverings International has been a 225 - > wonderful experience. 226 - > I've been here since January, and the reasons why I found this 227 - > business model so attractive is that it's an industry that is 228 - > just primed for adding sophistication to it. 229 - > It's a huge market just with opportunity, and then the 230 - > leadership team too. 231 - > I've been with other organizations that had a lot of 232 - > turnover at the leadership role, our CEO, Mr. 233 - > Tom Wood, he's been there for over 20 years, so has our COO, 234 - > and my direct report, our chief development officer, Albert 235 - > Hermans, he's been there for over 15 years. 236 - > So I like seeing stability within an organization, and 237 - > that's what I see with Floor Coverings International. 238 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: And tell us a little bit, so what are the 239 - > service offerings at Floor Coverings? 240 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, we do it all. 241 - > It's in our name, Floor Coverings International, so we 242 - > do hardwood floors, laminate, carpet vinyl tile, little bit of 243 - > everything there, and even area rugs. 244 - > If somebody wants to put a rug on top of their hardwood floors 245 - > to make sure it's nice and suitable for the home. 246 - > But the unique service offering that we have is that it's not 247 - > like a brick and mortar location. 248 - > So Floor Coverings International is a mobile showroom that comes 249 - > directly to the customer's house. 250 - > So for those that are watching, I have these beautiful little 251 - > squishy toys that are our mobile showroom. 252 - > It's so awesome. 253 - > We have all of our samples inside of this vehicle. 254 - > It's a drivable billboard around town. 255 - > It's super fun, great business, and we bring everything to the 256 - > customer, right? 257 - > So we make it really easy for that whole entire experience 258 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Yeah, I know that's not fun. 259 - > I've had to order floors and gone to the, some of the big box 260 - > stores my first home 20 years ago, and that was fun. 261 - > Never looked the same when you went home with the different 262 - > lighting and, I didn't realize there were so many different 263 - > shades of lighting, which affected the color. 264 - > Yeah, that was not a fun process. 265 - > If I had to do it all over again, we would've definitely 266 - > had FCI out there knowing, it wasn't even in the franchise 267 - > business. 268 - > It was 20, 23, 24 years ago when we bought our first home dating 269 - > myself. 270 - > But yeah, it's it's crazy. 271 - > So we've come full circle, right? 272 - > Actually one other question. 273 - > So you development and while we're on that topic you've 274 - > worked for different roles, different organizations, mostly 275 - > in franchising. 276 - > What is a question I get, someone had asked me the other 277 - > day, what is what is an FSO compared to business development 278 - > with the brand? 279 - > If you can, tell the audience what an FSO is, the the 280 - > differences, that, that was the question that comes up quite a 281 - > bit. 282 - > I like to answer these questions on the show because people, they 283 - > tend to go back and say,"Yeah, I've been hearing about this. 284 - > What do they do versus, versus the other company?" So if you 285 - > could just let us know what an FSO is and where the differences 286 - > lie. 287 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, great question, Giuseppe. 288 - > So I've got a lot of experience with that'cause that was my 289 - > start within the development industry. 290 - > An FSO stands for a franchise sales organization, and what 291 - > they do is represent... 292 - > They have a portfolio of businesses. 293 - > It's an outsourced development arm for a company, right? 294 - > So if they don't have any in-house developer, what they're 295 - > gonna do is partner with an FSO to help grow their footprint 296 - > through franchisees. 297 - > So for example, they can be in different industries, whether 298 - > it's automotive, food, brick-and-mortar, home services, 299 - > and what they do is they have a direct development director 300 - > that's representing that brand, talking to clients, working with 301 - > you, Giuseppe, and other consultants, and taking them 302 - > through the process of franchise ownership 303 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: in the business development side what 304 - > is the major difference from kinda what you're doing now? 305 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah. 306 - > So what I'd say I'm calling what I'm doing now as being in-house, 307 - > right? 308 - > Working for one solo company as opposed to multiple that I did 309 - > in the past. 310 - > I have a lot more perspective on the franchisees after they sign. 311 - > So I have a full access of all 330 plus franchisees in our 312 - > system. 313 - > I see weekly sales reports. 314 - > I know who's trending up, where there needs to be improvement. 315 - > So I think you really have your finger on the pulse more with 316 - > the business and you get a lot more interaction with the whole 317 - > entire mothership, if you will, the operational side, the 318 - > marketing side. 319 - > So if you have a question, it's not like you're trying to figure 320 - > out,"Oh, am I supposed to talk to Jim Smith or this guy?" You 321 - > can go right directly to that source because you're all on the 322 - > same platform 323 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Gotcha. 324 - > been in different roles and different sides of the business, 325 - > you know so much about the different industries and been on 326 - > different sides, what would you say are common mistakes people 327 - > make when evaluating different franchise opportunities? 328 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, that's a great question. 329 - > I think one of the big pitfalls, I'm sure you probably see this 330 - > all the time, Giuseppe, is, what's the hottest franchise out 331 - > there, right? 332 - > Because there's, there's trends, right? 333 - > I mean, Back in the day when I joined Subway, it was the 334 - > hottest franchise. 335 - > We were the number one in Entrepreneur Magazine for 336 - > probably 10 years going, right? 337 - > And that's changed. 338 - > They're probably maybe 300th, if not further down that ranking 339 - > now. 340 - > So I would encourage people to not go with trends, and also 341 - > sometimes to not go with their passion. 342 - > I'm a big fitness guy myself, but I'd probably stay as far 343 - > away from a fitness concept out there. 344 - > And I'd rather go with something that has better unit level 345 - > economics, that has strong support from the corporation, 346 - > the operational staff. 347 - > And then also it's all about validation. 348 - > It's I, myself, I can tell you everything you need to know 349 - > about the business model. 350 - > However, the rubber really meets the road is when you're talking 351 - > to the franchisees, they're sharing their perspectives on 352 - > what it looks like a day in the life, and also what scalability 353 - > looks like. 354 - > What did year one look like? 355 - > What did year two? 356 - > And that's, as real as it gets right there. 357 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: I love that. 358 - > I'm always curious in everyone's perspective, and we say a lot of 359 - > the same things just because it's not a one-size-fits-all. 360 - > All these lists, depending on the list you look at, are great, 361 - > but what was the criteria to be included i- in that list? 362 - > Did you have to sponsor the list? 363 - > Is it just franchise growth? 364 - > Which is great if you want a system that's growing, but how 365 - > are the franchisees doing? 366 - > And ultimately, how does this even match what the heck you're 367 - > even looking to to create if you're looking to run the 368 - > business semi-passive, if you're looking to create a legacy, if 369 - > you don't have many sales skills but you're more of a manager. 370 - > So there's so many other things, and I'm glad you had mentioned 371 - > that because there's so much information online, and if you 372 - > take one thing from this episode is just take a step back and 373 - > figure out what the ideal franchise looks like for you 374 - > without looking at lists or industries or podcasts and all 375 - > this other stuff, but simply looking at what is the ideal fit 376 - > for you. 377 - > Where are you... 378 - > What's your venue? 379 - > Are you in a brick-and-mortar location? 380 - > Are you running it from home? 381 - > Is it mobile, right? 382 - > Are you going to the customer versus having to create this box 383 - > and have everyone come to you? 384 - > Figuring that out is crucial, and either option works, but 385 - > it's gotta be something that is a good fit for you, and it has 386 - > to be sustainable. 387 - > Sustainability is key because you may do the first year, but 388 - > ultimately it's"You know what? 389 - > Having 60 plus employees is wearing on me. 390 - > Really don't wanna be doing this." And eventually it's gonna 391 - > catch up to you. 392 - > So if you figure out what it looks like ahead of time, and 393 - > most people don't think that way, they always look for the 394 - > brand and then try to make it work. 395 - > But figure out what it looks like, and then start to 396 - > experience what the brands are and ask those questions, talk to 397 - > the franchisees I think you'll be in a much better spot, and 398 - > that way you're getting different perspectives and 399 - > full-time owners, part-time owners, guys been doing it for a 400 - > while. 401 - > I think validation in my 20 years in franchising is where 402 - > most people, I think, tend to skip. 403 - > Maybe people do it on their own. 404 - > They j- they talk to one franchisee and think that's 405 - > enough, and the answer is no, you need to talk to multiple 406 - > franchisees and get their viewpoints. 407 - > Anything you wanna add to that? 408 - > This is a crucial area, and a question I get all the time is 409 - > how do I know I'm even looking at the right brands?" it starts 410 - > with your franchise model, your feedback, and then it go, and 411 - > then it's the brand, then it's the franchisees. 412 - > But you do need that general starting point. 413 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, so three things that got me thinking 414 - > right now. 415 - > So I will say one thing I'm sure we all come up about, cause I 416 - > get asked this question all the time, is this a absentee model, 417 - > right? 418 - > It's fully absentee, semi absentee, whatever terminology 419 - > you wanna use. 420 - > I will come out and say this, there's no business out there 421 - > that is fully absentee, okay? 422 - > If you wanna have an absentee business model, own an ATM, 423 - > invest in the stock market, so you can set it and forget it. 424 - > It's not in franchising. 425 - > And the reason I say that is, I was part of Chick-fil-A. 426 - > I've seen McDonald's business models too, and I always 427 - > encourage, the candidates I'm working with, any type of those 428 - > big large businesses, Chick-fil-A for example, this 429 - > was a$4.2 million business and my owner was in the business 430 - > every single day, right? 431 - > Even if he was checking in to see what the schedule was 432 - > looking like, money coming in, money going out, they still have 433 - > their finger on their pulse. 434 - > They're still watching their cameras and their monitors 435 - > because at the end of the day, it's their business and it's 436 - > tied to their livelihood. 437 - > So that's one thing I think that's really key. 438 - > Another thing I'll say is people that have had pitfalls in their 439 - > business... 440 - > Anytime I see people that go out early on, like they're in the 441 - > business for about one to two years and they can't make it to 442 - > year three, it's pretty much because they can't follow the 443 - > business model, right? 444 - > Franchising's all about systems and processes. 445 - > Do not try to recreate the wheel. 446 - > When you do that's when things go wrong, and I've seen it 447 - > happen firsthand multiple times. 448 - > That's what the role is of a franchise, is to prevent you 449 - > from doing that. 450 - > Don't try to recreate the wheel 451 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: That's what you're buying. 452 - > You're buying the proven system. 453 - > And it's not saying, correct me if I'm wrong here, it's not 454 - > saying to you're not recreating the model, but if you have some 455 - > inputs, right? 456 - > Like I believe the$5 foot long was created by a franchisee. 457 - > The Filet-O-Fish I think was also an idea of a franchisee at 458 - > McDonald's. 459 - > You're okay providing inputs, but the intention is not to 460 - > change the menu. 461 - > The menu works. 462 - > They don't need for you to change it. 463 - > You can provide insight and that kind of... 464 - > And maybe that change actually hits the menu. 465 - > But you want that proven system. 466 - > That's what you're paying for, that advantage, that, a business 467 - > in a box so that you can, go out there and grow the business 468 - > start making some money. 469 - > But to your point, yeah, I see that a lot. 470 - > I think we should do business a different way," or,"I think I 471 - > should use different vendors." We know what works, and we have 472 - > proven vendors. 473 - > Sometimes the marketing takes a little bit longer to get up and 474 - > running, but at least try it out, give it a shot. 475 - > Don't give it a week or two and then decide it doesn't work. 476 - > I see that all the time and when people say why do franchisees 477 - > fail?" They run out of money. 478 - > They're they didn't have the capital, as discussed, the 479 - > living expense, and they don't follow the system, and they, and 480 - > people come back and say"Well, that's, too simple." And I go, 481 - > "As simple as that sounds, that is literally the number one and 482 - > two reason for franchisee failure." And I see it all over 483 - > again, so 484 - > Brandon Johnson: to add to that too, Giuseppe, that you're gonna 485 - > love. 486 - > 'Cause again my role, within the first 10 years of business was 487 - > coaching franchisees. 488 - > So if I ever had a franchisee come in, I'm re- evaluating 489 - > their PNLs together, telling me like,"Hey, I can't make money in 490 - > this business. 491 - > I can't make money whatsoever, I'm following the model, I'm 492 - > following this, like where's all my profit going?" And then you 493 - > see the bigger picture, where you see there's a new vehicle 494 - > that's parked outside. 495 - > You hear about the elaborate vacations they're going on, the 496 - > new jet skis, the boats, the things like that. 497 - > It's great to have all those things, but you just gotta make 498 - > sure that you are sound and established before you start 499 - > buying all those luxuries. 500 - > I'm not saying that... 501 - > Live your life, but at the same time, just know, the first few 502 - > years in business, it's rough, it's brutal. 503 - > It's... 504 - > I always attest it to like having a newborn baby. 505 - > I've got some first-hand experience of that. 506 - > My kids are a little bit older now, it's, those first few years 507 - > you're still kinda figuring the lay of the land. 508 - > And I will say in franchising, year one, year two, that's when 509 - > you're really growing the business. 510 - > Once you hit your stride and everything makes sense, your 511 - > people are in place, your processes, that's when 512 - > everything as one of my mentors says, it's like playing jazz 513 - > music. 514 - > That's when everything 515 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Love that. 516 - > And I think you're gonna have to co-host a show with me. 517 - > We're saying a lot of this stuff. 518 - > I call year one the builder year. 519 - > Regardless if you make money or not, reinvest it. 520 - > You make some profits, you're gonna reinvest. 521 - > The business is gonna grow exponentially. 522 - > Get the foundation, find the staff. 523 - > Your first hire may not be the right hire. 524 - > You may have to replace that person. 525 - > There's a learning curve, especially if you've never owned 526 - > the business. 527 - > But I've seen that time and time again, where, they don't know 528 - > why their franchise, they can't make money. 529 - > there are successful franchisees in the system. 530 - > Go back. 531 - > Did you, have you communicated that to the franchisor? 532 - > "No, I haven't yet." That's the first thing you should have 533 - > done. 534 - > Franchisor is there to support you and they may be able to 535 - > single out exactly what the major issue is. 536 - > And to your point, if you're pulling... 537 - > this is your business. 538 - > You're allowed to pay yourself. 539 - > But if you're pulling that money out, after a couple months of 540 - > opening up the business, there's an opportunity cost, and an 541 - > opportunity cost is taking money for the new car, but are you 542 - > taking away from marketing? 543 - > And there's gonna be this marketing spend, right? 544 - > It's not, maybe not an exact number, maybe it's a range, but 545 - > you need to be spending that money continuously in order to 546 - > generate new leads and talk to new families and get 547 - > appointments on there. 548 - > And I see that time and time again, where people are 549 - > aggressively trying to pay themselves and it's, the 550 - > marketing is suffering, or maybe another employee is needed or 551 - > another technician that you weren't able to hire. 552 - > Get all your finances figured out. 553 - > The business will grow eventually, right? 554 - > It's gonna, it's gonna definitely take some time. 555 - > With franchising we talk about it in the book. 556 - > It's an unfair advantage. 557 - > You get up and running relative- you could buy a home service 558 - > franchise, go to training, be up and running in two to three 559 - > months a- actually potentially generating revenue. 560 - > And that's the unfair advantage of the franchise itself. 561 - > But this idea of, I'm gonna have financial freedom," better yet, 562 - > time freedom," that's not an immediate thing. 563 - > That's let's launch the business that's up and running a year or 564 - > two. 565 - > Now you can start taking a step back. 566 - > But it's not this immediate I buy a franchise and I have time 567 - > freedom. 568 - > No. 569 - > You have the complete opposite. 570 - > You're working a hell of a lot more hours than maybe the past, 571 - > but you're building something for yourself. 572 - > There's this enterprise value. 573 - > There's this resale value in the business that takes time to 574 - > start to build i'm 20 years in and I said I'm un- uh, 575 - > unemployable. 576 - > I cannot work for anyone else. 577 - > I just love having control and there's you know, days that are 578 - > good, days that are bad, but ultimately it's, you start to 579 - > build this financial and time freedom and this, buffer that, 580 - > you decide what you wanna do first and then work comes 581 - > second, and that's that's what I love about the the American 582 - > dream, 583 - >

Speaker 4: Hey guys, thanks for listening. 584 - > I hope you're enjoying the show. 585 - > As a thank you for being a valued listener, wanted to offer 586 - > you a free copy of my book, Franchise Freedom. 587 - > This book was written back in 2020 and it's my exact blueprint 588 - > in helping you find that perfect franchise. 589 - > I wrote it based off my experiences and wanted to pass 590 - > that along to you. 591 - > Wanna chat today? 592 - > You can book a call directly on our website, top right side of 593 - > that screen, and you can schedule a 20-minute call. 594 - > We'll dive into if a franchise is a good fit, help you get 595 - > qualified and figure out what that perfect franchise match may 596 - > be. 597 - > So I hope you take me up on my offer. 598 - > Once again, Franchise Freedom, download the book today for 599 - > free, or book a call with me directly and we'll help you 600 - > bypass all that information you find online. 601 - > Most importantly, figuring out if a franchise is the right fit 602 - > and then figuring out what that perfect franchise looks like. 603 - > So thanks again for listening to the show and back to the show 604 - > Brandon Johnson: absolutely. 605 - > Yeah and just to add to your point there, I think it's all 606 - > about the vision, right? 607 - > What's the vision for being in business for yourself? 608 - > What were you trying to do? 609 - > Are you trying to free yourself of the golden handcuffs of 610 - > corporate America? 611 - > Are you trying to build wealth for the next generation? 612 - > What's your goal? 613 - > And that's what I go through with my candidates on the first 614 - > call to really figure out what's that fire inside that's burning 615 - > in them. 616 - > To your point too, I think year One and two are the most 617 - > grinding years, but then as you start to scale the business, as 618 - > you have more familiarity around everything, you're not gonna 619 - > have the same type of problems and issues in year three and 620 - > four that you did at the beginning, right? 621 - > You should have that figured out at that point. 622 - > The other thing I like about franchising too, Giuseppe, is 623 - > it's not just you in business. 624 - > There's the term, you're in business for yourself, but not 625 - > by yourself,'cause you not only have the support from the 626 - > franchisor, but you also have your fellow franchisees. 627 - > And if it's a good organization, you should be able to pick up 628 - > the phone and call your neighboring franchisee, or even 629 - > call somebody across the country just saying,"Hey, I'm dealing 630 - > with this issue. 631 - > I'm two years in. 632 - > Have you ever seen this before?" And that's where you get that 633 - > fast support that just says,"Of course I did. 634 - > Here, this is how I overcame that. 635 - > I'm gonna share that knowledge with you." You don't get that as 636 - > being a mom and pop business 637 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: You do not. 638 - > Yeah,'cause everyone is, it's a competitor, right? 639 - > It's that's a, that's another bagel shop. 640 - > They're gonna be competition, or flooring or painting or whatever 641 - > the business is. 642 - > You have protected territory, so yeah, it's in everyone's best 643 - > interest to help each other out. 644 - > So I love that. 645 - > on that topic, diving in a little bit deeper, what advice 646 - > would you give to someone, so we kinda talked about some of the 647 - > aspects, but, properly validating a franchise, we 648 - > talked about bits and pieces of it, but, what's the best advice 649 - > would you give to someone that's saying,"Okay, how do I know if 650 - > this franchise is for me?" What are some key kind of things to 651 - > really consider before, moving forward in a franchise? 652 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah. 653 - > So whenever I'm working with clients, I highly encourage 654 - > them,"Hey, talk to as many franchisees as you can." There's 655 - > one of two ways. 656 - > You can either open up the back of the item 20 through... 657 - > Or the FDD and kind of smile and dial all the franchisees in the 658 - > system, or you can be very strategic about it, right? 659 - > And what I would do is, people talk within the industry, right? 660 - > If you want to... 661 - > I myself can't make any type of earnings claims or kind of point 662 - > you into the top performers or lowest performers or anything 663 - > like that. 664 - > But if you're on the phone with those franchisees, ask them. 665 - > Be like,"Hey, who's the top dog in the industry? 666 - > I'd love to speak to them." But I wouldn't say just that's a 667 - > good target to aim to be number one and speaking to that number 668 - > one franchisee. 669 - > But talk to other people, one, individuals that have been in 670 - > the business for one year, some that are, two or three years in, 671 - > 'cause they're probably a little bit more established at that 672 - > point. 673 - > But also talking to other individuals that are at a 674 - > similar point of you where you're at in your life, right? 675 - > For me, for example, I've got two young kids. 676 - > I would wanna talk to somebody that has two young kids to see 677 - > how they manage that work-life balance, because I'm still going 678 - > to little league games and things like that. 679 - > How does that fit into my schedule? 680 - > Where if somebody is retired, that's questioning themselves, 681 - > "Hey, do I still have the time and energy at this age?" Talking 682 - > to someone that's a little bit like that. 683 - > And a good development director should be able to connect you 684 - > with those individuals,'cause they should have their finger on 685 - > the pulse with all the franchisees in the system 686 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Agree. 687 - > Yeah, no, I, I like that. 688 - > And that's where, the franchise information is bundled up on 689 - > those first couple calls. 690 - > You get the franchise disclosure document, but I think the magic 691 - > happens where it starts to click i- is on those validation calls. 692 - > And I'm not saying one step is more important than the other, 693 - > because at the end of the day, you're gonna go to a discovery 694 - > day, either in person or virtually, and get to speak with 695 - > the founders and the C-suite and meet other potential franchise 696 - > owners. 697 - > You may hear questions that you didn't think of, or they may, 698 - > and vice versa, but you really get to... 699 - > I always say meet the captain steering the ship. 700 - > If the captain doesn't have a path to where this business 701 - > needs to be or where it's going in the next five or 10 years, 702 - > that's a red flag, the person steering the ship has to have an 703 - > idea. 704 - > And it may not just be, adding revenue streams every year. 705 - > Maybe just, steady eddy. 706 - > We're gonna keep things as is, but we're gonna double down 707 - > national accounts. 708 - > We're gonna, we're gonna work on our marketings or work on our 709 - > close ratios. 710 - > There needs to be some type of improvement, I always call it. 711 - > You wanna improve the system, you wanna help the franchisees 712 - > become more profitable, more efficient, utilize AI where they 713 - > can call agents, you hear about that all the time, and utilize 714 - > all those different tools and really making the franchisee 715 - > much more efficient. 716 - > That's also gonna be equally, in my opinion, equally as important 717 - > because these agreements are on average 10 years. 718 - > There's some are less, some are more, but the average is about 719 - > 10 years, so you wanna make sure in this partnership with the 720 - > franchisor that fit is there and you know where the ship is 721 - > going. 722 - > Very important. 723 - > Changing things up a little bit, any thoughts, if you're open to 724 - > this question, kind of trends between service and 725 - > brick-and-mortar concepts? 726 - > Just that you're in service, you've been in brick-and-mortar. 727 - > Trends, things to consider when looking at those two different 728 - > venues. 729 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah, absolutely. 730 - > It's funny you mention that, cause whenever I'm with friends, 731 - > whether it's on the golf course or just having a few drinks, 732 - > they're always asking me questions about franchising and 733 - > small business ownership. 734 - > They're very curious, right? 735 - > And they always ask me,"What do you think, Brandon?""What's 736 - > going to be, like, the good thing that I should get into?" 737 - > And I always pivot back at them "What fits into your lifestyle?" 738 - > The one thing I'll say is I'm a huge advocate right now of home 739 - > service, not just because, I'm employed by a home service 740 - > provider, but what I like is the ramp-up time period, right? 741 - > Get into the business, to, to your point, Giuseppe, and seeing 742 - > cash flow, very quickly on, as opposed to a brick-and-mortar 743 - > location that I have seen in all different concepts, where 744 - > there's the build-out process, there's the approvals that you 745 - > need from the local county governance. 746 - > If you're a liquor license, you gotta make sure that gets 747 - > approved. 748 - > That can really delay the upstart to you start seeing 749 - > cash. 750 - > If I sign a franchise agreement today, and I've got a eight to 751 - > 12-month build-out, I don't... 752 - > Not seeing anything until 2027, and that just is too far away 753 - > from me if I've got goals. 754 - > And then how... 755 - > What are you gonna do between that time and now, right? 756 - > If you're not just gonna put in your two weeks' notice with your 757 - > employer or anything like that. 758 - > I like systematic home service businesses that are simple to 759 - > get up and running. 760 - > They don't take a ton of money, 'cause usually 761 - > brick-and-mortar's gonna be a little bit more expensive 762 - > because you're also gonna have to have a lot more, you got 763 - > monthly rent now, right? 764 - > And that can range depending on if you're doing Class A, Class B 765 - > real estate, Class C, you name it. 766 - > Picking that location, and that location can either be, your 767 - > downfall or it could send you to the moon. 768 - > You never really know. 769 - > But to answer your point, Giuseppe, your question, I think 770 - > home service is just fantastic right now 771 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: what would you say, is, average time to get 772 - > open in a home service business versus just because you've seen 773 - > it directly with certain brands, the timeframe to get up and 774 - > running with a brick and mortar. 775 - > What would you say those timeframes are 776 - > Brandon Johnson: So I would say home service, a good home 777 - > service business should get you out to training, operational 778 - > training to really get your lay of the land and get your sea 779 - > legs under you. 780 - > That should be around like three to four months after signing 781 - > your franchise agreement. 782 - > A good concept should do that. 783 - > Brick-and-mortar, it could be a little bit longer, right? 784 - > I've seen 12 months. 785 - > Now, that doesn't mean you go out to... 786 - > you don't go out to your operational training and have 787 - > your own classes and things like that, but it's just gonna be, 788 - > it's gonna be longer, and I've seen it with every brand I've 789 - > touched before. 790 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Yeah, definitely. 791 - > Yeah, just getting I'm in New Jersey, just getting permits for 792 - > things, it just seems to take forever. 793 - > I feel like either there's shortages or no one's in a rush. 794 - > I'm not making any claims there, but it just, things tend to take 795 - > forever, I feel like anytime a new brick-and-mortar location 796 - > opens. 797 - > Check and see how long the other franchisees took to get up and 798 - > running. 799 - > One other I know we didn't talk about this, but just out of 800 - > curiosity, if you're comfortable, answering this 801 - > question. 802 - > So when you're looking at a brick-and-mortar business, 803 - > obviously we talked about the differences, time to get open. 804 - > It's obviously gonna be a higher cost. 805 - > But there is a difference in how that business is managed in that 806 - > when I look at a brick-and-mortar business, 807 - > everyone kind of is showing up to one location versus a 808 - > flooring business, a home service business. 809 - > There's almost like this the, one of the roles is logistics or 810 - > almost like project management because you got installers going 811 - > this way, sales is going that way. 812 - > You're going to a networking event. 813 - > Everyone's going in different directions. 814 - > So would you say it requires a different skill set? 815 - > Almost like a project management, logistics type of 816 - > skill set? 817 - > I wanted to get your thoughts. 818 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah. 819 - > Good question. 820 - > I would say somebody that's really good at multitasking, 821 - > right? 822 - > And will be okay not being the SME, the subject matter expert 823 - > with everything in the business, right? 824 - > You've gotta put your trust into somebody that's gonna be 825 - > handling the sales side of the business. 826 - > You're not supposed to be the number one salesperson, right? 827 - > You're supposed to hire salespeople that are skilled and 828 - > can do the sales side of the business. 829 - > Also, you're not supposed to be the best at installing, right? 830 - > I always encourage people on the first call, in the flooring 831 - > business you're not gonna be the one swinging the hammer and 832 - > installing floors. 833 - > That's the least of what your skillset's gonna be, right? 834 - > I would say more so being that networker within the community, 835 - > right? 836 - > I've heard it said before, being the mayor of the town. 837 - > I love that terminology. 838 - > I think super smart and efficient. 839 - > Going out to BNI groups, business networking incorporated 840 - > groups to network with realtors, with contractors, with 841 - > restoration companies, you name it. 842 - > So depending on what that niche is in that industry, it's like 843 - > operating in the same circles because when they do see that 844 - > vehicle around town, it's a drivable billboard. 845 - > When people see that, that's what they're resonating with 846 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Love that. 847 - > No, that makes a lot of sense. 848 - > To wrap up the show any other advice you would give? 849 - > So majority of the audience, we've polled the audience over 850 - > the years, and it changes slightly, but it's a lot of 851 - > corporate executives, people looking to make the switch to 852 - > either owning a business, right? 853 - > Franchising is obviously in the mix given the main topic of the 854 - > show. 855 - > But a lot of the audience, is it's the first time. 856 - > They've never owned a business. 857 - > What I hear quite a bit is,"I, we have a few Airbnbs, but I 858 - > don't own a formal business." What other advice you would give 859 - > to them, for those people looking to make that leap? 860 - > Because I hear all the time, "Yes, I've been watching your 861 - > show for two years and finally decided to give you a ring and 862 - > learn more." So what advice would you give to those people 863 - > that are on the fence and maybe not sure where to start? 864 - > Brandon Johnson: Yeah. 865 - > No, great question, Giuseppe. 866 - > What I'd say for people that are worried is, what else would you 867 - > be doing? 868 - > And I think there's no better time to bet on yourself. 869 - > I've seen it happen where people have those golden handcuffs 870 - > where they just feel reluctant to says, I like my salary. 871 - > I like my 401." But I've seen it before with close personal 872 - > friends that come to me where it's,"Hey, I got laid off.""Oh, 873 - > why did that happen?""Oh, private equity acquired the 874 - > company," or budget cuts. 875 - > There's always gonna be these terminologies. 876 - > The only way in life that you can bet on yourself is if you're 877 - > a small business owner, and I think to your point, Giuseppe, I 878 - > think a great platform that will catapult you to that is 879 - > franchising, right? 880 - > And there's so many different options out there. 881 - > If you wanna follow your passion, you wanna be a Pilates 882 - > franchise owner, do it. 883 - > If that's something that you feel passionate about, I think 884 - > it's perfect. 885 - > But again, you don't have to have passion within that 886 - > industry. 887 - > I think the industry needs to have probably one of three 888 - > things, right? 889 - > It needs to make money. 890 - > I think that's very important. 891 - > I think it needs to fit into your lifestyle, and also fits 892 - > into the financial requirement you feel comfortable spending, 893 - > 'cause there's different avenues, too, that, plenty of 894 - > avenues out there that you can fund this business based off 895 - > your... 896 - > You can even use your 401. 897 - > I'm sure you've probably talked to your listeners about a Roth's 898 - > loan where you can access your 401to start a business. 899 - > So never think it's too late. 900 - > Now, here I am, 40, and I'm always trying to figure out, 901 - > hey, when am I gonna start my first business too? 902 - > So it's never too late for anybody. 903 - > My wife always jokes and says I think it was Julia Childs 904 - > started her cooking business, I think it was when she was 50 or 905 - > 60, back in the day, Giuseppe. 906 - > But it's never too late to start. 907 - > Tomorrow's always a brighter day and bet on yourself. 908 - > That's what I would say 909 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: No, I love that. 910 - > and get out there. 911 - > I say level the playing field. 912 - > Get educated. 913 - > Watch who you take advice from people that have never been in 914 - > franchising, never owned a business. 915 - > Talking to your uncle or aunt or whoever the family member is at 916 - > Thanksgiving, and they've never owned a business. 917 - > Just be careful. 918 - > I had made some of those mistakes over the years with 919 - > friends and things like that, and I'm like,"Wait a second. 920 - > This guy never even owned a business." So it wasn't their 921 - > fault. 922 - > They were just giving their perspective. 923 - > But yeah, I think, you should get educated. 924 - > If you're looking at business ownership and there's a 925 - > franchise around the corner, even if it's a franchise you're 926 - > not interested in, speak with them. 927 - > Pick their brain. 928 - > I don't know, buy them lunch. 929 - > You'll learn so much more in that conversation than you will 930 - > searching online. 931 - > So I think the opportunity's there for those that wanna bet 932 - > on themselves and figure out their next path and build 933 - > something. 934 - > But, I'm old school. 935 - > Get my pad and, pencil and, and paper. 936 - > Write it down. 937 - > What does this ideal business look like? 938 - > What's working? 939 - > What's not working in your current situation? 940 - > You don't need help with that. 941 - > You can figure that out yourself. 942 - > And then work with a coach. 943 - > Speak with the franchise brand. 944 - > See if it all fits together, because in many cases, to your 945 - > point, it doesn't have to be something you're passionate in. 946 - > I don't know a lot of people that are passionate about 947 - > flooring or painting or a lot of these other brands, but the 948 - > argument I always make is that these are the vehicles that will 949 - > allow you to do the things you enjoy, and that's the time 950 - > freedom we talked about, right? 951 - > It's going, for me, the soccer game. 952 - > Got the World Cup going on right now allowing me to take off next 953 - > week in the middle of the day to see the Ivory Coast game in 954 - > Philly. 955 - > Just random and took off half a day to go see that game. 956 - > So those are the things. 957 - > N- maybe it's not directly related in the business, but 958 - > it's creating that time freedom so you can go out and do the 959 - > things. 960 - > Check out the new restaurant, go to the soccer game, or whatever 961 - > you enjoy doing, the travel. 962 - > Definitely, take a step back, figure out what you want this 963 - > business to look like, and there's definitely a business 964 - > out there. 965 - > If you have the time and you do the due diligence, we'll be able 966 - > to fix 967 - > Brandon Johnson: One more thing. 968 - > I always love this motivational quotes I always save into my 969 - > phone and everything. 970 - > But one that I've seen a lot lately it's pretty cool. 971 - > It's"Do what others won't, so live like others don't." So it's 972 - > just lighting the fire up under you to just, when you're seeing 973 - > that sports car drive past you or seeing that, that couple kind 974 - > of buzzing by on their speedboat or anything, what do you think 975 - > they do for a living? 976 - > Or seeing that house around the block. 977 - > It's funny. 978 - > A really good book too if you ever wanna read it, it's called 979 - > The Millionaire Next Door. 980 - > I'm sure you've probably read this before, but this is, it's 981 - > fantastic, right? 982 - > It's where they've surveyed a bunch of individuals to... 983 - > You probably figure that it's doctors and lawyers that live in 984 - > the gated communities. 985 - > It's not always the case, right? 986 - > Sometimes it's the home service business owners. 987 - > It's the plumbers. 988 - > It's the roofers. 989 - > And if you look around in your general neighborhood, I'm sure 990 - > you're gonna see them, at the country clubs too. 991 - > Because it's a business that is a need not a want. 992 - > Yeah. 993 - > And it's a great industry to be in. 994 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Love that. 995 - > Love that book, by the way. 996 - > That book comes up it's been coming up more and more often. 997 - > It's a simple read, but it's funny, like who you think is the 998 - > millionaire next door, and it's maybe not the guy with the 999 - > flashy suit, it's the guy that's barely making it that probably 1000 - > is the most well-dressed. 1001 - > Back in my Wall Street days, I feel you'd make 100,000 and 1002 - > people would spend 200,000 just to keep up with the wardrobe and 1003 - > going out and the fancy cars and things like that. 1004 - > So yeah, you'll be shocked. 1005 - > And then, when you do meet the successful people, ask them what 1006 - > the journey looked like. 1007 - > Everyone likes to be the successful business owner. 1008 - > They wanna be, back to soccer, Ronaldo, Messi, you hear all 1009 - > these names, but they don't know what that journey looked like. 1010 - > It was never maybe not going out on the weekends. 1011 - > It was training at 4:00 AM and training seven, eight hours a 1012 - > day straight. 1013 - > So it's finding out what it takes to get there because may 1014 - > not be a fit for you. 1015 - > You may not want to put in certain efforts with a startup. 1016 - > But with a franchise, I'm not saying it's easier, but this 1017 - > model is set up and you can hit the ground running much quicker. 1018 - > So you pick and choose and say, "Okay, this is what I want. 1019 - > This, I don't wanna recreate the wheel." Then a franchise may be 1020 - > a good fit. 1021 - > In some cases, go the startup route. 1022 - > But you have options and that, that's the best part. 1023 - > There's never been a time where there's never a lack of 1024 - > information. 1025 - > There's never a lack of options. 1026 - > People say is brick and mortar better than a home service 1027 - > brand?" I go,"They're two different businesses, but how 1028 - > about this? 1029 - > Let's see if you qualify financially because a brick and 1030 - > mortar is gonna have a higher liquidity, net worth 1031 - > requirements. 1032 - > It's are you okay opening up in a year?" Those simple questions. 1033 - > I don't have the funds nor am I open to that." That's great. 1034 - > That removes half the universe of franchises. 1035 - > We can focus on the relevant ones that fit your needs and 1036 - > what you're comfortable with. 1037 - > So that's how I tell people to look at it. 1038 - > I have this hot brand I just found last week. 1039 - > Great. 1040 - > You like the widget. 1041 - > What do they do? 1042 - > What is your role in the business? 1043 - > Yada, yada. 1044 - > You have to be full-time. 1045 - > You expressed to me that you have to keep your job that first 1046 - > year and that's the only requirement. 1047 - > That brand won't work simply because of that full-time 1048 - > engagement requirement. 1049 - > Can we shift and is there a way for you to leave your job? 1050 - > So those are the little, tweaks and I would say you wanna make 1051 - > sure the fit is there and that franchise has that ideal avatar 1052 - > that we have to make sure fits. 1053 - > Just like Floor Coverings International, all the other 1054 - > brands, there is that person that does well. 1055 - > It's gotta kinda match. 1056 - > If you're not gonna do the sales and put in the efforts, certain 1057 - > brands aren't gonna work just simply because that's who that 1058 - > mayor of the town is that ideal franchisee. 1059 - > Brandon Johnson: Giuseppe, one thing to add to that for your 1060 - > viewers too, don't be afraid to use AI. 1061 - > I use AI on a daily basis just to help search the massive 1062 - > engine that is the internet. 1063 - > But basically, to your point about, people that wanna fit 1064 - > into different things, you can take whatever company it is, 1065 - > whatever franchise, plug in"Hey, please take articles and survey 1066 - > people and customer feedback of past franchisees and tell me 1067 - > what type of lifestyle they had, earning potential." You can do 1068 - > that kind of stuff on AI. 1069 - > I can't do it. 1070 - > I can't make any earnings claims. 1071 - > But do all the research on your own. 1072 - > Think about the time-life balance that fits in your role, 1073 - > and take it from there. 1074 - > But validation is probably the key to everything. 1075 - > Franchisee validation, so speaking to franchisees 1076 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: awesome. 1077 - > Brandon, I really appreciate this. 1078 - > This was fun. 1079 - > We've known each other a while, I wish we had this conversation 1080 - > sooner and looking forward to having you back on the show. 1081 - > If there's anything we didn't discuss, I'm sure we could've 1082 - > gone for two hours here. 1083 - > We can always either bring you back on if there's maybe a that 1084 - > quote, we're gonna put all that in the show notes, but if 1085 - > there's anything else that we forgot to talk about, we can 1086 - > throw that into the blog and show notes for the listeners. 1087 - > And anything you guys need, if you wanna explore Floor 1088 - > Coverings International figure out what the ideal fit is just 1089 - > let us know. 1090 - > Just respond in the comments. 1091 - > You can book a call on ggthefranchiseguide.com. 1092 - > We could definitely sit down, figure out if franchise 1093 - > ownership is the right fit, bring up great, fantastic brands 1094 - > like FCI, Floor Coverings International, amongst other 1095 - > brands, and would love to help you out figure out funding, 1096 - > figure out and answer all those questions and see if the fit's 1097 - > and the timing is right. 1098 - > I'm more than glad to help you. 1099 - > So thanks again for coming on the show. 1100 - > this was awesome, and we'll definitely talk soon. 1101 - > Brandon Johnson: Thanks, Giuseppe. 1102 - > Appreciate it. 1103 - > Giuseppe Grammatico: Thanks again 1104 - > Speaker: Thanks for tuning in. 1105 - > If you want to learn how to make the transition from corporate to 1106 - > owning your franchise, join Giuseppe on the next episode. 1107 - > You can also follow on all social media platforms and 1108 - > achieve financial and time freedom today