Shownotes
There is a quiet truth about entrepreneurship that rarely makes the stage, building something demanding takes a real toll on the body and inner life. This is for the operator pushing hard and sensing something inside asking for a different way.
Jon Ostenson shares why inner peace has to be built alongside the business, and how a few grounded habits keep a busy builder steady without slowing the work.
About the Guest:
Jon Ostenson is the founder and CEO of FranBridge Consulting and author of Non-Food Franchising. A former Inc. 500 franchise president and multi-brand franchisee, he helps people explore business ownership beyond the food sector.
Key Takeaways:
- Outer success can hide a quiet inner cost, the body often whispers before it shouts.
- A simple framework for what matters keeps you in alignment and makes it easier to say no.
- Inner peace is not an indulgence, it is a business asset, you show up better when you are steady inside.
- Money can buy your time back, freedom and presence with family are part of the real return.
- Focus on the important over the urgent, and on off days, just put one foot in front of the other.
Connect With the Guest:
- Website: https://franbridgeconsulting.com
- Book: Non-Food Franchising by Jon Ostenson
Episode Chapters:
[00:00] The Cost No One Prints on the Book Jacket: ambition and the inner life
[03:30] Building Someone Else's Empire: the years before the leap (approx.)
[09:00] How the Body Speaks First: tension, sleep, and the early whispers (approx.)
[14:00] Inner Peace as a Business Asset: why steadiness fuels results (approx.)
[19:00] A Framework to Stay Aligned: faith, family, fitness, finances, and work (approx.)
[24:00] When the Practice Slips: one foot in front of the other (approx.)
[28:00] Sustaining the Build: adaptability and daily gratitude (approx.)
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Transcripts
00:00:09 Nazish: Welcome back to Inner Peace. Better health. I am in today's show we where we explore the gentle, often overlooked link between inner peace and physical well-being. Not the clinical version, the lived version. And today's guest is here. From the inside of the entrepreneurial world, where the cost of unrest is in the inner life is often hidden underneath outer success. We are going to slow this down and look at the real picture. Joining me today is John on Ostensen, founder of Frank Bridge Consulting and a voice in the world of entrepreneurship through acquisition and franchising. John, thank you so much for being here with us.
00:00:51 Jon Ostenson: Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.
00:00:54 Nazish: Wonderful. So before we go ahead, listeners,
00:01:35 Nazish: So I want to start gently here. So I want to ask you, walk us back into the chapter of your life where when you first realized that the way you were building was costing you in your inner life and your body, even while the outer success was growing?
00:01:56 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. You know, I would go back to the many years that I spent in the corporate world. I, um, you know, had been building, but I'd been building someone else's empire, not my own. And, you know, it was I was dying internally. So I had the title, worked for a large public company worked long hours and the benefits were there, and on the outside everything looked great. But I had that desire to build my own empire and to spread my wings and take the risk and step out there, and didn't know what that looked like. But yeah, it was a journey, right? I think everyone is on a journey at a different point. For me, it was, um, you know, that desire to, to build my own thing.
00:02:40 Nazish: Clearly that sounds something so real and you know, it lands because there is something true in what you just shared about not understanding what was happening in the real time. And I think most builders do not notice the cost until it has already accumulated.
00:02:59 Jon Ostenson: I agree, and I believe that a lot of people fall into that bucket because I have these conversations multiple times every day with others that are out there doing what they were taught, what they were told to, to climb the ladder in a lot of different professions. And yet they're slowly dying internally, and they feel like time is ticking. And they wish they'd started a business years ago. But they, for whatever reason, did not. And they've come to the conclusion that there's never going to be a perfect time. The stars will never align. But at some point you have to step out and bet on yourself. Take a risk, if you will, and the rewards that can lead to are great for you, but also for your family. And it's very fulfilling. Once you find your passion and you're able to build it yourself.
00:03:53 Nazish: Absolutely. I completely agree with that. And you know, there is a quiet version of this. Like long before the body becomes loud, it whispers in the chest before tight chest, before the meeting. So what were some of the early, quiet ways of your own body trying to speak to you while you were building.
00:04:17 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. I think I've always been a little more alert than some out there as to what my body is telling me. Um, you know, I have what I call an f five F framework. Everyone's got a framework whether they realize it or not. How, what are your views? What are your values? For me, it came down to faith, family, fitness, finances and franchising. Franchising is my fifth F for some people would just be general business, you know? But when I think about goals for the year, for the quarter, for the, um, you know, how I spend my day, you know, if I'm out of alignment, then I feel it in my body. I feel a tension. However, if I'm moving the ball forward in all five domains, then I feel balanced and centered and, uh, and everything just seems to fall into place. And so that's how I view things. And that's where again, I can be very alert to what's going on internally. Oftentimes it's determined based on, you know, how I'm thinking about things, how I'm viewing them.
00:05:22 Nazish: Absolutely. And the body is not the enemy of ambition, I'd say. It is a partner that gets ignored often.
00:05:32 Jon Ostenson: It is. And for me, I love data, I love numbers, and so I wear a whoop device around my wrist. And you know, there's different types of devices out there. But I measure all things going on internally. So heart rate variability is a great example. Every morning when I wake up, I know what my HRV was the night before. I know if my nervous system is in check or if it is not. And over time you notice patterns and you notice what works and what doesn't. Because business ownership is a lot of work and you want to show up and be your best self, right? And that's what it's going to take. I mean, there's a reason why you can have outsized returns through business ownership. It's because it does take effort. Um, but you've got to be clicking on all cylinders internally in order to have the results that you desire externally.
00:06:27 Nazish: I absolutely agree with you there. And you know, I think that, uh, most builders are still treating inner peace as a person, personal indulgence rather than a business asset.
00:06:41 Jon Ostenson: Yeah, I think that's a fair point. Um, you know, I primarily hang out with business owners these days and many of them have said, you know, for a while were going after just the money. And then they realized, wait, no, money is a ticket to buying my time back. And you know, that buying that time back leads to, you know, an inner peace where you're able to invest more time in your family. You know, I took my family on for international trips last year. That's something I couldn't have done as a W-2, you know, working for someone else as an employee, I had to be a business owner, and I've worked hard to get to this point, but I'm now at a point where, yeah, I've got the flexibility. I still work hard, but I do it on my terms, and that gives me an immense amount of peace.
00:07:31 Nazish: That is very important to put yourself ahead sometimes, because we often keep pushing ourselves beyond our limits and then it can big time backfire on us.
00:07:45 Jon Ostenson: Absolutely no. We've all heard the stories of, you know, the guy that had the heart attack because he was under too much stress at work. And so again, through my framework in which I view things, uh, you know, it's a very, it keeps things in check, but, you know, you really have to lean into the health side of things, not just the mental health, but the physical health side. You know, that is a natural de-stressor right there. And I really think a lot of it just comes back to stress. Right. And how do you handle situations that were unexpected? Um, as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, you've got to be ready for the unexpected. And having everything in check going in increases your odds of success substantially. And over time, you start to build a support system around you and, you know, not doing everything on your own. That's one of the reasons I love franchising is because it's very community based. You've got a mastermind group of other owners that are all living the same thing day in and day out, exchanging best practices, learning from each other. Because in my experience, that helped shortcut that path to success and helps ground you in what is normal and what really does need to be addressed. That's outside of normal.
00:08:59 Nazish: I completely agree with you there. And, you know, I'm so glad that we talked about this because I think the builders who scale substantially are not the ones with the most willpower.
00:09:14 Jon Ostenson: Know it takes a lot more than willpower. It takes the tactics and the strategy. And you know, I know a lot of business owners that went out there and made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of hard lessons the hard way. And again, franchising isn't perfect and not every franchisor provides the best support, but the good franchisors are really worth the investment because they will help you essentially start further down the path and avoid a lot of those mistakes, which obviously helps with stress. It helps with the financial results. Everything's very circular end of the day. And so if you're able to shortcut your ramp up and your path to success, also shortcut your path to peace.
00:09:58 Nazish: That is so true. And that is so well said that if you shortcut your path around success, it is also a shortcut to path around peace. This is going to land with a lot of our listeners tonight. I'd say that, John.
00:10:11 Jon Ostenson: Well, I hope so. And I think it can be an encouragement to many out there to know that you're not alone. There's so many. And again, I have these conversations every day, so many that may be working for someone else, but have always wanted to work for themselves, but they don't know how to connect the dots. They don't know what a calculated risk looks like and stepping into business ownership. And that's where I just love educating. On the topic of franchising and what I call non-food franchising, all those industries outside of food that are oftentimes a better path for people to step into, to become business owners, where you have the training wheels, if you will, you have the support system, you have the community, you have the playbook to go execute against. Franchising is not right for everyone. Some are too entrepreneurial, if you will, and they think they're the smartest guy in the room, no matter what room they're in. But for the vast majority, if they have a degree of humility where they're willing to come in and follow an established playbook, it is a much better path to business ownership.
00:11:10 Nazish: Absolutely. So I want to ask you like, because I know there is a builder listening right now who is in the middle of demanding a season and does not have time for elaborate wellness routine. So walk us into the practice. Like what does cultivating inner peace actually look like for a busy operator?
00:11:33 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. No, it is hard to slow down. And our culture and our society tells you to continue speeding up, to continue reaching. And Stephen Covey famously said, you've got to sharpen the saw. Um, it is all about, you know, not just not just sawing, but sharpening the saw. Right. And so for me, a lot of that comes down to the health and wellness routine. You know, I personally, like I said, track my data. I work out with a trainer several times a week. I've got the sauna and the red light in my office. I have peptide injections. I kind of nerd out on health and wellness. I love that, and that's not going to be everyone's thing. I do think it is increasingly a lot of people think, um, you know, but others have different ways of going about it. For me also, the spiritual side is important. If I neglect, uh, you know, spending time, uh, you know, following my faith, um, then, uh, you know, connecting with the creator, then, you know, I feel out of alignment. It really makes a difference. And yet that's the easiest thing to probably put on the shelf, right? Your faith, your family, they will always wait. Um, however, those are the things that we would say are important. They're just not urgent. Right? And so no, as a business owner, even more so than just your average individual, I think you're constantly fighting the urgency in order to focus on the important. Um, I know that's something that I wrestle with constantly. And, you know, I've got three kids. They're all in a season of life that they'll never be in again. Right? And so slowing down, being present is probably one of my biggest challenges. But it's also something that I, when I step back, I say that is the most important thing. Um, so again, it goes back to the balance. I don't think work life balance. I don't like that term. But I think if you are moving the ball forward in all areas that you would cite as important, for me, it's those five areas that I mentioned. It allows you to say no a lot more often the things that don't fit in those domains. So again, that is my view on things. Health and wellness, like I said, play a very big part of it, but everyone's going to have something they naturally gravitate towards.
00:13:41 Nazish: Yes, I absolutely agree with that. And you know, I appreciate you making it so inclusive for everybody because so much of the inner peace conversations lives in the world are about of long retreats and ideal mornings, and neither of which most operators actually have.
00:14:01 Jon Ostenson: That's exactly right. I was in Austin, Texas a couple of weeks ago at a conference, and they brought in a gentleman that talks about the Miracle Morning, wrote a book on it, and it's become very famous. And it talks about the six practices that you should go through every morning, especially first thing. And I would love to. I think it would be a great start to my day. But, you know, since that conference, I've done it two mornings and, uh, you know, would love to tack on a few more, but, you know, in the real world, it is really hard and, you know, saying yes to one thing and saying no to many others. And, um, you know, so again, I think it's trying new things. I'm all about micro test, you know, try different ideas, see what works for you, what fits in your schedule. And then, um, yeah, constantly remind yourself, you know, to focus on the important over the urgent because the urgent will always be there.
00:14:52 Nazish: Because that is so true. And you know, what you described is something a person can actually hold in their hand, like the parts about a day when the practice slips. Those are the parts that build real trust. But no operator runs a perfect routine.
00:15:11 Jon Ostenson: Yeah, absolutely. No. It's trial and error. And what works for one person may not work for the other. So totally agree with you.
00:15:18 Nazish: Yes. So, you know, I think one more thing like and what, uh, and on the days when the schedule wins and the practice slips, what do you tell yourself?
00:15:31 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. You know, there are days there's always going to be a surprise, right? Especially when you have three kids, right? It's not always just business oriented. Um, yeah. But I tell myself, put one foot in front of the other and, you know, I think, you know, with years comes some degree of wisdom. And, uh, you know, I've recognized that not every day is going to work out quite the way you want or, uh, you know, you're not always going to have the activities that you want. You know, I do my best now as a business owner to align my days the way I desire them. But, you know, things will go awry, uh, you know, but just putting one foot in front of the other. And I've been around long enough to know that if you do that on your off days, if you will, then it sets up, you know, for some pretty good days along the way. So I feel that's very generalist as far as how I'm speaking about it. But hopefully there's a nugget in there that's an encouragement to others.
00:16:23 Nazish: That is, that's a beautiful thing to say to yourself. And you know, the best part about it is realizing that not every day is going to go according to what you wished for. You should be prepared for curveballs along your way.
00:16:36 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. And I oftentimes point to, you know, the line of activity breeds activity. And that's something I've tried to live in my life. And I think that getting off the couch, getting in the game, starting to move towards option A or option B, that's when option C comes out of left field and finds you. I think that, you know, it's all about getting active, getting out there, forming relationships, networking, uh, taking steps in whatever direction seems to be wise at the moment. And then that's when good things come. That's when, you know, some call it karma, you know, if you will, but doors start to open and things start to fall into place and they start to make sense. So I'm a big believer that, you know, I'm not one to sit on the couch and contemplate and overanalyze. Instead, let's make a decision. The best decision in the moment with the data set that we have in front of us and start moving in that direction. And don't be afraid to pivot. Don't be afraid to change direction along the way. But I do believe that, you know, good, good things come to those that, uh, that are in motion.
00:17:37 Nazish: Absolutely. And that is a very healthy thing to say and a very optimistic practice as well.
00:17:46 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. No, so hopefully that is an encouragement to others out there. Um, everyone has to chart their own path. Again, the special corner of the world in which I operate and really go deep and get to help hundreds of people every year is in the area of franchising. Um, I think there's a lot that can be derived from the franchise model. I fell in love with it after years of working for others in the corporate world, and I'm thankful for that experience. But I love educating now on the opportunities that exist out there and what I call non-food franchising. Everything from home and property services to areas like health and wellness, which of course is near and dear to your heart, to areas that pertain to seniors or to kids or to pets. Businesses that help the community. Businesses that people are always going to spend on, regardless of what's going on in the economy. Things that AI is not going to replace tomorrow, but instead maybe only enhance. So I love educating on that. I encourage all this listening here. And certainly franchising is of interest. I am more than happy to help help you explore the top opportunities in your market. However, if that's not, if it's not the right time or the right direction, I would encourage you to think about what area can you go deep in, what area can you really master and become a subject matter expert in? Um, you know, don't follow the crowds, you know, step out. Try your hand at your own thing. Don't be afraid to be contrarian. I mean, for me, I wrote a book called Non-Food Franchising. I literally cut out half the market so I can go deep on the other half. Um, so I would say, don't be afraid to take a risk. Don't be afraid to be contrarian. And, uh, again, get off the couch and get in motion.
00:19:28 Nazish: Absolutely. So I want to ask you, like building something that last is not just about business surviving. It is about the human inside the business, surviving alongside it and with their health and this inner peace and their relationship. Tell me, how do you how do you sustain that inner build over years?
00:19:52 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. You know, over time, especially in the seat that I'm in, I just get to see so many case studies. I get to understand, you know, what others are going through. And in some ways, when I hear their stories, it makes me thankful for the situation I put myself in. Uh, in other cases, maybe they're further along than I am and it Inspires me. So I think always being willing to be a student, being, you know, always looking to learn new things, um, always looking to take best practices in my case from other industries and say, how does this fit within my world? Um, you know, that has served me well. Um, so being adaptable, I think is what it comes down to. And, um, you know, not being afraid to make pivots along the way. I've made plenty of pivots, you know, did I grow up as a little boy thinking I would be in franchising? No. Did I, I think of some of the jobs that I had in the corporate world before this. I never thought I'd be in those roles. But, you know, once you're further into your career and you look back and, um, you know, I think there's an immense amount of gratitude that I experience. And I think gratitude is an important emotion, right? I mean, it's when you're feeling grateful, it covers over a lot of other emotions that could creep in that are negative. And so I try my best to start and finish the day with gratitude. And again, that's positioned me well from a mindset standpoint.
00:21:20 Nazish: That is a beautiful practice. Having a little gratitude can really go a long way. So, John, before we close, I know there are going to be a lot of listeners who would want to find you and learn more about fan fan consulting in the work you do. So where can they do so?
00:21:37 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. If you come out to our website, Fan Bridge consulting dot com, f r a n bridge consulting dot com. Share your email address. My assistant will then reach out and share a downloadable copy of our book, Non-Food Franchising. It can be a great primer to help you understand business ownership and understand the world of franchising. Uh, you know, if you live in North America and are interested in taking next steps and learning about the top opportunities in your market, um, you know, feel free to indicate that interest to my assistant. She'll help book a meeting for you on my calendar. Um, it's entirely free to work with us. We get referral fees on the back end from the brands. None of that's passed on, so it's a nice, clean model and I love helping others explore opportunities in their markets.
00:22:22 Nazish: Wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing that with us, John. I will make sure to include these details into the show notes. So there's a lot of people can reach out to you. And thank you, John. This is the kind of conversation inner peace, better health was built for gentle, integrative, and willing to talk about the inner life of builder, not just the outer numbers.
00:22:42 Jon Ostenson: Yeah. Well, it's been a pleasure. And I love how you expand my thinking and make me more introspective through conversations like this. So very appreciative of the time. Thank you for having me. And certainly if I can be a resource ongoing, I'd be more than happy.
00:22:58 Nazish: Wonderful. And to whosoever is listening right now, especially the operator who has been pursuing hard and quietly wondering whether something inside has been asking for a different place. I will leave you with this. The inner peace you are putting off is not a luxury you can enter later. It is a foundation that can rest. The build is supposed to sit on. So the body will be better. The business will be better for it. The person you are when you are finally exit will be better for it. Keep listening, keep returning, and keep coming home to yourself.
