In this insightful episode, Rich Potter, Franchise Business Consultant of Franchise Heroes, shares how to transition from corporate success into structured business ownership without costly mistakes. If you're a burned-out executive considering entrepreneurship but unsure how to start or whether to buy versus build, you won't want to miss it.

You will discover:

- Why talking to people who have already done it is the most important first step

- How franchising provides a proven game plan and support instead of starting from zero

- What questions to ask existing owners during validation to uncover real risks and rewards

This episode is ideal for for Founders, Owners, and CEOs in stage 1 of The Founder's Evolution. Not sure which stage you're in? Find out for free in less than 10 minutes at https://www.scalearchitects.com/founders/quiz

Rich Potter is a multi-business owner and franchise consultant who helps burned-out executives and veterans transition from corporate careers into structured business ownership. After more than a decade in corporate sales, he moved into entrepreneurship and has since built, scaled, and exited multiple businesses while continuing to actively operate today. His perspective is shaped by real-world experience as both an advisor and an active owner. Rich focuses on helping people avoid costly mistakes, reduce unnecessary risk, and build businesses designed to support the life they want to live.

Want to learn more about Rich Potter's work at Franchise Heroes? Check out his website at https://franchiseheroes.co/

Connect with Rich through his LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-potter-533381a/

Hello, hello, and welcome, welcome once again

to the Start, Scale, and Succeed podcast-the only podcast that

grows with you through all seven levels of your journey as a

founder. I'm your host Scott Ritzheimer, and today we're

talking about that moment-the one where you realize that the

job that made you successful is the very same job that's making

you miserable, and you've decided to to make the leap.

You're going to become an entrepreneur, but pretty quickly

you realize the skills that helped you succeed as an

employee just simply do not set you up for success. That

especially this success that you want as an entrepreneur. And

here to help is the one and only Rich Potter, and Rich is a

multi-business owner and franchise consultant who helps

burned-out executives and veterans transition from

corporate careers into structured business ownership.

After more than a decade in corporate sales, he moved into

entrepreneurship and has since built, scaled, and exited

multiple businesses while continuing to actively operate

today. His perspective is shaped by real-world experience as both

an advisor and an active owner. Rich focuses on helping people

avoid costly mistakes, reduce unnecessary risk, and build

businesses designed to support the life they want to live.

Well, Rick, we Rich, we we talk a lot on this show to

entrepreneurs, but we also get an opportunity like this one to

talk to the pre-entrepreneur, that pre-founder who's out there

thinking, "Hey, there's got to be a better way. And one of the

things that that makes that hard is there's not really a playbook

you get from being an employee that translates directly into

success as an entrepreneur. And so some of those very first

steps, things like should you buy or should you build, can can

trip us up from the very beginning. Where do you see

folks get this wrong, and what's the best way to think about how

to set up a business that will ultimately serve your life

instead of consuming it?

No, that's a great question, Scott. Again, thanks

for having me. You know, I I've done a couple of different

things in my life. I've done the startups. I've done the the

franchises, and I think the biggest trip up is probably just

not doing enough research or not enlisting help of people who've

been there before, right? Like you just kind of jump into it.

You know, maybe you're doing some research on on on Google or

some YouTubes, but I really think it's it's good to talk to

people who've been in the trenches before, people who

either consult or coach or you know have have launched a

business before. You know, I one of the first things I did when I

quit corporate was I bought a gym, and and I did it. You know,

it was kind of something that needed a little bit of needed a

lot of work, and it's one of those things I wish I wouldn't

have. I wish I would have talked to somebody first. So yeah, I

just think there's there's a lot of people been there before, and

I think if you just kind of you know pick people's brains before

just jumping in, it can go a long ways, right?

I couldn't agree more. I think one of the

biggest mistakes outside of either starting when you

shouldn't or not starting when you should is is to not take the

time in this level. We want to jump straight into being the

entrepreneur as opposed to preparing for it. I couldn't

agree more. I want to go back to that that idea of who who's this

really for. So within the executives and folks that have

had a lot of success that you see then go and and recreate or

expand that success as an entrepreneur, what do you think

makes a successful entrepreneur?

Well, a few things. You know, I think more than than the

right experience. I think it definitely takes a certain level

of tenacity. You know, running a business is not easy, and

there's going to be hiccups. There's going to be mistakes,

and it's. I think it's that person that just never quits,

right? Someone who's willing to bet on themselves and bet on

their experience. But again, like it's not always about

experience. It's about like never giving up and never never

quitting, right? I think that's a huge part of it. It's just

betting on yourself and just running with it, You know, so

so we're faced with this big decision

relatively early on, and not that it's the only time that it

comes up, but it's certainly an important one. Early, should we

buy or should we build? And I think for a lot of folks, the

initial idea is, hey, I'll just go start my own business, but

that might not be the best option. What are some times when

when buying in or choosing a non-build model make the most

sense?

I personally, and that's why I do what I do. I

think franchising is the the perfect way to build versus buy,

right? And there are opportunities. Is within

franchising that you can that you can buy someone's existing

business, but with franchising it comes with a game plan. It

comes with experts in the industry who have already built

something, and they're going to share that knowledge with you,

right? So you're not necessarily starting from zero. I mean, you

are right, but you're also getting a lot of help. You're

getting coaching. You're getting a game plan, and so you know if

you want to start, there's lots of businesses that are that are

pretty complicated. Restoration, senior care, some of those

things like you have to get the legalities right or the the

insurance claim part of it right. And even though you're

starting from zero, I think when you enlist the help of people

who've been there before, and in you know in a franchise concept,

it really helps accelerate that growth and your your ability to

be successful in that business.

Yeah, what are some some unrealistic

expectations that folks have when they step into franchising

for the first time?

I think a lot of people do think it is-it's more plug

and play than it is. Right? They think that the franchise is

going to build everything for them, while they are there to

support and while they're there to give you the game plan and

the training. You still have to do it yourself. It's not just

going to, you know, be successful overnight, especially

if you don't put in that effort yourself, so that's probably the

biggest thing I think is just people expect more from the

franchise as far as like the execution side when it's really

you, you know.

What are because a lot of times we think

of franchise and we we think of the big you know logos on the

street corner, especially food type franchising. What do you

see as some of the best franchising opportunities that

are out there right now?

I think home services and I think senior care are are

the best industries right now to be in. I think the the QSRs, the

food and beverage stuff. I think it's really difficult with the

high cost of lease and buildouts, I mean, unless you've

got millions in the bank, it's a hard place to start, right? You

can start with a few 100,000, a couple $100,000, really, in in

home services and senior care. Senior care, you've got 12 to

15,000 people turning 65 every single day in this country, and

that's going to continue for the next decade. You know, so I've

seen people build businesses 10s of millions of dollars a year in

senior care, and same with home services. Whether it's roofing

or HVAC, or you know, whether it's simple landscaping,

artificial turf, or whatever, like people don't want to do all

that stuff themselves, and oftentimes can't. And so you

know, there's huge opportunity in home services.

Yeah. So let's take someone who's who's going

into. We'll we'll just choose home services for the sake of

it. A ton of success climbing the corporate ladder wasn't

satisfying. Want to find something else? Decide on home

services. We'll we'll take house cleaning or something like that

doesn't really matter what it is, but one of the things that

you opened up with is the need to go in and ask other people

who've done it. So if if I had the opportunity to sit down with

someone who'd already had success in that business, what

questions would you recommend that I ask?

It's a good question. I every time I present a brand and

we we start looking at franchising. I tell my clients

that the most important part is the validation phase, and that

is talking to other owners. Right? It's more important than

talking to me. It's more important talking to the sales

rep. Get in there and talk to the owners and figure out what

the day to day is like. So you know, you want to know like how

long did it take them to make their money back? You know what?

What are your margins? What is it? Ask them. Like what? What?

What is it that you should be asking? Right? Because a lot of

times you don't even know what to ask, but they know what to

tell you about that business. You know what is what's the

unexpected? You know how much money does it really take? The

franchise is telling me it takes $150,000 to start. Well, how

much is it going to really take me to be profitable? You know,

how many employees do I need? How many cars do I need? Just a

lot of good questions. But like to talk about the length of time

to profitability. Talk about the ROI. Talk about you know what is

it about it you don't like. If you find out from the owners

what they don't like, and maybe that'll help you know if if you

can deal with some of those some of those things or not.

Sometimes when we're sitting from the sideline,

it can feel a whole lot more risky jumping into the game.

What would you say to someone who's kind of teetering on that

edge right now and wondering if this is really something that

could work for them,

yeah, I think that's something I see a lot,

especially as you start getting closer to making that decision

and signing that franchise agreement. You know, again, I

just think it comes back to like looking at look at your career.

You know, look at all the times that. You you know you took a

leap. You were afraid to take that promotion or take that

move. You know, look back and and it worked out for you,

right? Like you are where you are because you believed in

yourself and you took that leap. So you're it's going to come to

a point where starting that business is scary as can be. And

you know again, just go back to that. Bet on yourself and go

forward. If you've if you've done all the research, if you've

talked to other owners, if you've gone through this whole

phase of validating that that opportunity is valid in your

market and you can do it, then just believe in yourself and go

for it.

Yeah, there's a question that I ask all my

guests, Rich, and and I want to ask it of you. And and the

question is this: What is the biggest secret that you wish

wasn't a secret at all? What's that one thing you wish every

founder watching or listening today knew?

Man, what is the biggest secret? That that I I

think that entrepreneurship is how I put this like it's not

that illustrious I don't know it's it's hard right and that's

not a secret though but it's it's something that that you can

do. That I think with the right training and the right

application and enough financial backing, I think it's something

that just about everybody can do. You know, I think that if

you've got the right tools, if you've got the right support,

it's it's not it's not a secret. It's it's something that you can

do with the right amount of effort and and you know self

belief.

Yeah. If someone wants to take that step

forward and they'd love to hear about what types of franchising

opportunities out there, where can they reach out to you? Where

can they find more out about the work that you do?

Yeah, I'm all over LinkedIn, so you can connect

with me there. You can visit my website at franchiseheroes.co is

probably the best place to reach out.

Fantastic, fantastic. Well, Rich, thank you

so much for being on the show. It's a real privilege and honor

having you here with us today. And for those of you watching

and listening, you know your time and attention mean the

world to us. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as

I know, I did, and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care.

Hey everyone, Scotty Timer here. Thank you so much for listening

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