In this episode Monique welcomes franchising expert and consultant Chris Wilson. Chris breaks down his journey from the corporate world to the exciting and challenging world of franchisee and operator of two pilates studios in Orlando, Florida. 

In addition to being an experienced franchise operator, Chris is also a consultant and coach for individuals looking to take on a franchise in a host of business categories and services including food and beverage, fitness and exercise, retail, and more.

In this wide ranging conversation, Chris breaks down the pros and cons of franchising and offers listeners tips on everything from securing financing for your franchise endeavor to ensuring that the business venture you undertake fits the lifestyle, workload, and realistic financial return you are looking for!

Topics Include:

• Understanding The Basics Of Franchising 
• The Pros And Cons Of Franchising A Business
• Financing Options For Franchises
• How Franchising Offers Flexibility
• The Importance Of Seeking Guidance When Franchising

Follow Chris:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisvwilson

Legacy Franchise Ventures Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/legacyfv?trk=public_profile_topcard-current-company

Follow Monique:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquemills/

Website: https://unpolishedmba.com/

1

Monique: Coming up on Unpolished MBA.

2

Chris: It's really interesting to run

a business where you can reach out to a

3

couple hundred other people across the

country or the world for that matter,

4

who are running the same exact business.

5

That's a really unique opportunity

because, just think of the silo, the

6

fact of being able to call on those

folks and say, how did this work for you?

7

What can I do?

8

You're able to avoid a bunch of

pitfalls and hurdles that otherwise

9

you would have been blindfolded to.

10

Monique: This show is sponsored

by TPM Focus the strategy and

11

execution consulting firm focused

on generating revenue and finding

12

product market fit for new innovations.

13

Head over to TPMFocus.com to learn more.

14

Hello, everyone.

15

Welcome back to The

Unpolished MBA podcast.

16

Today I have Chris Wilson with me.

17

Hi, Chris, how are you today?

18

Chris: Hey, Monique.

19

Thanks so much for having me.

20

I'm great.

21

How are you?

22

Monique: I am well, I'm

going to ask you the same two

23

questions I asked everyone else.

24

Are you an entrepreneur

or corporate employee?

25

Chris: I am an entrepreneur.

26

I used to be a corporate employee,

did both for a little while.

27

Now I'm on this strictly

entrepreneur side.

28

Monique: Oh, we got to talk about that.

29

How about this MBA or no MBA?

30

Chris: No MBA.

31

I have what I call an out of school MBA.

32

Monique: Oh, okay.

33

Now that's, that's a new one.

34

Tell me what this out

of school MBA is to you.

35

So it sounds like it's entrepreneurship?

36

Chris: I think that when you actually

run a business, you learn some

37

things that you can't really learn

in school, so not knocking MBAs, but

38

there's definitely some stuff that

you pick up outside of the classroom.

39

Monique: I would say pretty much all

of it, unless you're doing an MBA to be

40

in a corporate consultant environment.

41

Most of them are not relevant to just

being a small business entrepreneur or

42

whatever, a tech startup entrepreneur.

43

Well tell me what your

entrepreneurial journey has been

44

and what you're working on now.

45

Chris: Sure.

46

So my career started in tech and

transitioned into tech sales, got laid

47

off a couple of times and figured that

I didn't like the way that felt and

48

wanted to think about entrepreneurship

as a second stream of income.

49

So I researched franchises and invested in

my first franchise about five years ago.

50

Since then been laid off twice.

51

After the third and final time, I

decided no more corporate for me.

52

I was going to figure out

this entrepreneurial life.

53

Monique: So wait a minute, you were

franchising and working corporate

54

at the same time, you said?

55

Chris: Correct.

56

Monique: For how long?

57

Chris: I did it for about two years.

58

Monique: Wow.

59

How did you manage your time,

were you working like 20 hours

60

a day or, how did that go?

61

Chris: Yeah, I would wake up

in the morning early, partly

62

because I was kind of scared of

this project that I undertook.

63

So I used that time to get some work

done before I had to be in the office.

64

Then after being in the office,

I'd come home and do some

65

more work on my new project.

66

So it was not as glamorous as some

of the Instagram posts make it seem,

67

there was actually some work involved.

68

Monique: None of this

entrepreneurship thing is.

69

I say it's a calling, it's

certainly not for everyone.

70

Do you mind sharing

what that franchise was?

71

Chris: Sure.

72

So it was a Club Pilates

which is a boutique fitness

73

studio in the Orlando area.

74

So I built out one of those and it went

really well and ended up investing in

75

another location, so I had two locations.

76

Monique: Wow.

77

That's really smart.

78

I love Pilates, but it is expensive.

79

That seems like, especially in the Orlando

area, a really smart way to get started.

80

What were some of the things you

really learned from that experience

81

that you didn't know before though?

82

Chris: Managing a team

and the type of team.

83

Coming from corporate full-time

is normally 40 to 60 hours.

84

I learned quickly that Pilates instructors

don't work those amount of hours.

85

You have to be creative with where

you were hiring, how you were hiring

86

and keeping good folks around.

87

I think that's something

that I learned pretty readily.

88

I also had to run a business

during COVID, obviously, as a lot

89

of your listeners I'm sure have.

90

There were some challenges there.

91

Every day is a new journey and

a new opportunity to learn.

92

That's the way it ends up,

there's no getting around that.

93

Monique: You know with COVID, that

was something that pretty much

94

anyone who had a business where

someone had to touch another person,

95

it was just like, so what do I do?

96

Then the Pilates studio, for example,

the equipment, people's bodies

97

have to lay on them and sanitizing.

98

People just didn't feel

comfortable for a while.

99

Chris: Sure.

100

Monique: Being new to the industry,

did you have someone who was already

101

experienced with running a Pilates

studio or someone to help guide you?

102

Because I would've been completely lost.

103

Chris: Well, luckily that's one of the

benefits of franchising is that if you

104

pick a good franchise, they figured out a

lot of those operational duties for you.

105

They're able to pass on some information

that you can take and do what makes

106

sense for you and your location.

107

Then I did have some staff that had worked

in fitness before and together with the

108

guidance of the franchise company, we're

able to sit down and figure it out.

109

Monique: Interesting.

110

So I mentioned how Pilates

studios are expensive.

111

I don't know how much it costs

you to open one or to run one.

112

I can tell you, as far as joining one,

I'm already a member of a gym and they

113

told me to take Pilates once a week it

will cost me an additional $120 a month.

114

Mind you already pay

$214 a month membership.

115

So is that normal pricing

for a Pilates studio?

116

Chris: It depends on where you are,

the type of Pilates, and the type

117

of program that you're looking for.

118

We had a pretty unique offering that

was a little bit less than that.

119

Maybe I can send you a

referral to your area.

120

Monique: Good.

121

What made you choose that franchise.

122

We're going to talk about other things

when it comes to selecting a franchise,

123

but what made you choose that?

124

Chris: Yeah, for me, I was looking

for a business that allowed me

125

to keep my corporate job, because

that was the plan at the time.

126

There were a limited number of those.

127

It checked a lot of the boxes.

128

It was in my investment wheelhouse

it's important to stay inside that

129

wheelhouse when I make an investment.

130

Then I think it provided

a nice benefit to society.

131

I didn't necessarily want to get

into a business where the product or

132

service that I was offering wasn't

something that I would be proud of.

133

Health I think is wealth, so

it checked that box nicely.

134

Then lastly, just from a financial

standpoint, when you looked and

135

did the research on the investment

and then the return on that

136

investment, it started to make sense.

137

My plan was to kindof build a

couple of them and be able to leave

138

corporate, and so it worked out well.

139

Monique: Yeah, it sure did.

140

Did you have to do the research on finding

that opportunity on your own and were

141

you already experienced in that if so?

142

Chris: Well, I have a mentor who is

a franchise consultant, so he sits

143

down with folks and figures out

what they're looking for and comes

144

back with essentially a shortlist

that checks all the boxes for them.

145

Then he helps you walk you through

the process, vetting to make sure the

146

opportunity is definitely for you.

147

Finding you financing if you need it and

just putting you in touch with folks.

148

It's actually what I do now.

149

Monique: Oh, so you are a

franchise consultant right

150

now, as well as a franchisee.

151

Chris: Correct.

152

Monique: Okay.

153

You you mentioned you had a mentor.

154

How does one even get started

in the franchise world?

155

Let's say you want to be a franchisee

and you don't have a cool mentor

156

like you had, how does one even

get started on the process?

157

Chris: A lot of it is,

you can do some research.

158

I would suggest contacting me, a

franchise consultant or someone

159

that you trust in that area.

160

There's definitely

research you can do online.

161

There are franchise shows in most

big cities where you can go and

162

find out a bunch of information,

most of the entries are free.

163

Those are great ways to start.

164

I think a franchise consultant

helps because they have, most times,

165

experience in the industry and can

really remove some of the emotion

166

involved in making a decision like this.

167

They can focus on the things that you

say you're looking for and present those

168

to you in a high, efficient manner.

169

Monique: So as far as like your

work, for example, as a franchise

170

consultant, are there specific

industries that you specialize in?

171

Chris: No.

172

All of my, I have about 500 different

franchises in my portfolio, we

173

can go from mold mitigation, to

roof repair, to fitness, to food

174

and beverage, to insurance, to

anything you can really think of.

175

There are a couple of

industries that are my favorite.

176

I love fitness.

177

I love beauty and wellness.

178

I love senior care and I love education.

179

Those are just my favorites, but

that doesn't necessarily mean

180

that I would suggest one of my

clients open up something there.

181

Monique: Very good.

182

That's smart.

183

When choosing a business, some people

try to find things that they're

184

interested in and all of that.

185

It sounds like in your case, you

weren't the actual operator, right?

186

You were the owner, but you didn't have

to work in there seven days a week.

187

So how much of that plays

a part in the decision?

188

Chris: Sure.

189

So I think some of it

depends on the investor.

190

Some people need to be in a space where

they feel like they have some industry

191

expertise and that'll help drive them.

192

Some people like myself say businesses

is business, the numbers are numbers.

193

If I can figure out the people

portion of it, then the product

194

or service really doesn't matter.

195

So it just really depends

on what's driving you.

196

I always try to find

the motivating factors.

197

What's your why?

198

Then once we do that, we can decide

on if the business has to be something

199

that's in your wheelhouse, or if it's

something that you can take a leap of

200

faith with, like I did with Pilates.

201

Monique: We're going to take a quick time

out and pick back up in just a moment.

202

If you need marketing campaigns and

landing pages done quickly so that

203

you can test the market with your

ideas and see who's interested, and

204

then stay in touch with those people.

205

You need a tool that can

automate all of that.

206

You're an innovator and

you're certainly busy.

207

Perhaps you don't have a CMO or Chief

Marketing Officer right now, or you

208

have no plans to hire one anytime soon.

209

You may be doing this type of work

yourself, or have a new career

210

professional, or even intern helping you.

211

You need Ontraport, you can build

a landing page or website in

212

minutes, you can accept payments.

213

You can automate marketing campaigns

and the list goes on and on.

214

I have personally been using Ontraport

to build automate and grow my

215

business for going on seven years now.

216

I don't recommend any tool that I

haven't used and that I don't believe

217

can help The Unpolished MBA audience.

218

Simply put, you can move and

test your innovative ideas in

219

the market faster with this tool.

220

Don't get bogged down with

too many complex tools.

221

This is all you'll need.

222

Go to TPMFocus.com/ontraport

and that's spelled O N T R A P

223

O R T that's O N T R A P O R T.

224

TPMFocus.com/ontraport.

225

Go there to start your

free trial and get started.

226

You know, some things that

concern people, especially if

227

they've never been an entrepreneur

before they can be risk adverse.

228

I wouldn't say entrepreneurs

are necessarily risk takers.

229

I don't think that's the case.

230

We make calculated risks, right?

231

We run numbers.

232

Sometimes people are concerned, if

I buy into this franchise and let's

233

say I don't want to do it anymore.

234

How do I escape?

235

So, as far as listing it for sale, how

would someone get out of that situation?

236

Chris: Well, I think it's funny that

you use the word escape, but I get it.

237

Before you can buy a franchise

there's a big document called the

238

franchise disclosure document.

239

This lists the price of the

franchise, what the investment is,

240

what your expectations are, what

the franchise company will do,

241

as opposed to what you will do.

242

In there is also terms for getting out.

243

Getting out means you could either

sell the business to another

244

investor or back to the franchise.

245

You can transfer it, you can

absolve yourself of stuff.

246

Obviously there's a bunch of

legal things that go into that.

247

So at least the document outlines, what

the possibilities are, at the time you'll

248

have to decide which one is best for you.

249

Monique: Every franchise

is different though, right?

250

Chris: Absolutely.

251

They're all different.

252

There are some standard rules, like for

example, most franchise agreements are 10

253

years, which is something that a lot of

people don't know, but that doesn't mean

254

that you have to stay in it for 10 years.

255

I'm a great example of that because the

two Pilates studios I owned, I ended up

256

selling them in December of this year.

257

So it was 5 years not 10 for me.

258

Monique: Okay.

259

All right, that brings some folks hope who

don't like long-term commitments per se.

260

They know that there's options

before those 10 years are up.

261

Chris: Correct.

262

Monique: It's interesting that

I've met several franchisees and

263

franchise consultants that were

mostly in the restaurant space.

264

So I know a guy he owned 8 Burger

Kings, and I know a family too

265

that has a few Subways, but they

actually work in the Subway.

266

It's hard work and for each location,

they make about maybe $40,000.

267

It's just, for me, I would

say just go get a job.

268

I don't know if I could

do that for $40,000.

269

Is there one that's really

kind of overlooked that

270

most people don't consider.

271

It may not be a sexy franchise, but

this is one that maybe folks should

272

consider that they really don't?

273

Chris: I think a lot of people, their

entry into franchising is normally

274

in the food and beverage space.

275

You know, McDonald's is probably the

world's most recognized brand, right?

276

There are other business opportunities

that allow you to not necessarily work

277

in them, which was attractive for me.

278

We call those semi-absentee, which

means on average, you'll work up

279

to 20 hours a week on the business.

280

So it's not full time.

281

That also means that you

have to hire some staff.

282

So the investment levels a little

higher, but there are quite a few of

283

these semi-absentee models that start

to make sense for people who are either

284

considering staying with their job and

just adding that additional stream of

285

income, or eventually want to come up with

a plan for leaving corporate altogether.

286

Monique: Okay.

287

So tell me some of the things that

people need to think about and

288

consider when they're trying to decide

whether to invest or buy a franchise.

289

Chris: So investment level is huge.

290

I really ask people, what do you

want your day-to-day life to be like?

291

We all would like to just be sitting

on a beach, sipping a cocktail,

292

but you have to do something

to bring in some income, right?

293

So what does that look like for you?

294

I tell people if you'd like to

pick up your children every day at

295

three o'clock, there are business

opportunities that will allow you

296

to do that so let's focus on those.

297

Ultimately, I asked my clients

to come up with a list of

298

what I call non-negotiables.

299

These are things that

just won't work for you.

300

For example, if it's picking up your

daughter at three, or you never want to

301

work nights and weekends, because you

did that enough, or being able to take

302

an extended vacation whenever you feel

like it, come up with that list and let's

303

find businesses that check those boxes.

304

Monique: Are there a lot that check

those kinds of restrictive boxes?

305

Chris: No, not a lot, but

there are some possibilities.

306

Monique: How did I know

you were going to say that?

307

I definitely want you to be honest

with the people, but just to know

308

the real deal, I was green at that

time to the business world, I was

309

heavily in my engineering career.

310

So when we met this family that owned

these multiple Subways and they used to

311

donate napkins and stuff to the private

school my kids went to, we thought, "Hey,

312

they must be really doing big things."

313

Then we're like, oh wait,

this is this and this is that.

314

So I'm always wondering which

ones are the ones that are most

315

lucrative, even if you have to be

a part of the day-to-day business.

316

That's a question that comes up

even in my world, cause there's

317

a lot of entrepreneurship through

acquisition, but I would also say

318

entrepreneurship through franchising.

319

Chris: So, let me break it down this way.

320

I'll use this example because

you started like...Subway, right?

321

One person could make $40,000 and

the other one could make 2 million.

322

So we have to look at what's

reasonable and what's possible.

323

No franchise is going to guarantee

you a certain return on that

324

investment, because if you don't make

it, then you're going to sue them.

325

So no, one's going to tell you

what that is, but there are ways to

326

research these concepts, there are

ways to find out what the average is.

327

What is the mean, decide if we want

to be above average or below average.

328

How much work does it take to

go from being a middle performer

329

to being a top performer?

330

When you start looking at it from that

perspective, you can look at some of the

331

numbers and like you said, make a business

decision, a calculated risk if you will.

332

Monique: When someone is trying

to get involved in this, financing,

333

getting financing is a big part

of what they'll need to do.

334

What are the types of financing available

for these types of business ventures?

335

Chris: So I have quite a few

franchise or financing partners that

336

only deal with franchise lending.

337

So these are not traditional

banks that you probably bank

338

with for your personal finance.

339

These are people who lend only to people

who are operating in the franchise space.

340

The reason for that is, with

franchising, again, you can look at that

341

network and see what people are doing.

342

You can see who's paying

their bills and who's not.

343

The bank wants to remove risks, just

like we do, and the bank understands if

344

they picked a good franchise company,

who's going to support the franchisees,

345

their chances of the bank getting paid

back their loan increases a little bit.

346

So certainly some space in there,

some SBA lenders, there's some non

347

SBA lenders, but there are quite a few

lenders who will take a chance on folks

348

if they're investing in a franchise.

349

Monique: Yeah.

350

Is there any, what I say in

my world seller financing, as

351

far as like the franchisors?

352

You know, offering some type of financing?

353

I always say, if you give people

a way to pay for something

354

they're more likely to buy.

355

Chris: Yeah.

356

There are a few franchises that will

have a lending arm associated with them.

357

Most of them will outsource it and have

partners that will do it, but they will

358

absolutely help you get some financing.

359

Because, if you can get some

financing, you can close a deal

360

and that's exactly what they want.

361

You mentioned seller financing for

example, if you're buying a business

362

that already exists, sometimes the

seller will finance part of the deal for

363

you, or sometimes even all of the deal.

364

And so you don't even actually

have to go to a bank or one of

365

these financial institutions.

366

Monique: Pretty cool.

367

Let me ask you, with your Pilates

studios, for example, were those

368

already existing businesses or did

you have to start them from scratch?

369

Chris: Started those from

the ground up from scratch.

370

Monique: So wait, well you had a great

mentor, so see that doesn't count.

371

It's for the audience out there.

372

That's why it's important

to know the right people.

373

I'm sorry.

374

You can read books all day and get

MBAs and all that, but it does not

375

equate to the relationships that

really take us to the next level.

376

You've never opened a Pilates studio

before, so how in the world did you pull

377

that one off while working full-time?

378

Chris: A lot of research.

379

I leaned a lot on the franchise

company and they understand

380

that this is a new opportunity.

381

They know that the support that

they have to dish out in the

382

beginning will be significantly more.

383

For example, when I went to open my second

location, I had done it before so I called

384

them a lot less than I did the first time.

385

Monique: Yeah, but they're

not in town there with you.

386

They can't run over and meet the guy to

do the electric wiring because you're

387

at work, you know what I'm saying?

388

Chris: Right.

389

Surprisingly, that's not really

where I needed a lot of help,

390

that was time management.

391

Eventually I hired some staff that could

take some of that burden off of me.

392

But I really needed to understand how

to operate and how to run the business.

393

What's the pricing?

394

How do I handle a customer acquisition?

395

Monique: That's my kind of stuff.

396

Chris: Those are the things that

the franchise was able to help with.

397

They're able to give me a run

book to say we have, at the time,

398

130 locations across the country,

here's what works well, do this.

399

And set up weekly calls and

make sure that you're hitting

400

targets and things like that.

401

That was the benefit.

402

That's why you pay royalties, people,

we don't want to pay royalties,

403

but if you're getting something

for it, then it becomes beneficial.

404

Monique: Absolutely.

405

The royalties is what people

complain about, only with

406

bad franchise opportunities.

407

Chris: Great point.

408

I tell people all the time,

if you pick the right company,

409

you can't pay them enough.

410

If you pick the wrong company, any

penny that you pay them is too much.

411

Monique: You're just paying

them to carry the brand name.

412

Chris: Exactly.

413

Monique: Right.

414

Wow.

415

So you know what, that's a good point

you brought up it's about basically,

416

what are these royalty fees paying for?

417

I don't want you to share all that

information right now for the audience.

418

You all will need to email us at

unpolishedmba.com and I'm going to

419

have Chris share more about what

those royalties actually go to

420

and how it can be helpful to you.

421

It's not just money going out.

422

So I'm going to tell you, I spend most

of my time in a tech startup world, but

423

the way you described these franchise

opportunities, I think some of the

424

tech startup people may reconsider the

route they're going and consider this.

425

I mean, you've kind of given more

of a roadmap per se, from a large

426

peer network it sounds like.

427

Chris: Yeah, absolutely.

428

It's really interesting to run a

business where you can reach out to a

429

couple hundred other people across the

country or the world to that matter who

430

are running the same exact business.

431

That's a really unique opportunity because

just think of being able to call on those

432

folks and say, how did this work for you?

433

What can I do?

434

You're able to avoid a bunch of

pitfalls and hurdles that otherwise

435

you would have been blindfolded to.

436

Monique: That's one of the other things

too, I want to ask you is what is like one

437

of the most surprising things that people

don't know about owning a franchise.

438

We're going to talk about

that in just a moment, because

439

we're going to wrap up here.

440

For our audience, they can email us if

they want to hear those answers to those

441

two questions that we just talked about.

442

I know that you got something juicy

for us there because people aren't

443

really that privy to information

about franchising unless you have

444

someone close to you that's involved.

445

So it would be very interesting to know

what's the part about it that, most people

446

are surprised by when they get into it.

447

Chris, I want to ask

you one last question.

448

Before we log off here, something is

often overlooked, but is an absolute

449

must when buying a franchise...

450

Chris: A lot of times we get caught

up with the product or service.

451

I want to know what the day to day

operations are going to be, how much work

452

do I have to do for this to be profitable.

453

I mean, we love, let's say Chick-fil-A,

people say, I went there for lunch, line

454

was around the corner, and they got to

me so fast and the food is always great.

455

That doesn't mean that's the right

business opportunity for you.

456

Right?

457

I always want to talk about the

operations and what goes into that.

458

And that's the stuff that you

really can't tell just by being

459

a consumer of the product.

460

Monique: Oh, wow.

461

That's good.

462

That's really good.

463

Chris, I want to thank you for joining

us today on Unpolished MBA and sharing

464

your knowledge with our audience.

465

Where can they find you and

reach out to you if they are

466

interested in learning more?

467

Chris: My website www.LegacyFV.com

468

Monique: Legacy Franchise Ventures.

469

Is that the name of your company?

470

Chris: It is.

471

Monique: All right,

well, thank you, Chris.

472

Thank you for joining us.

473

It was a pleasure to have you.

474

Chris: Thank you so much

Monique, the pleasure was mine.

475

Monique: Thank you for listening

to the Unpolished MBA podcast.

476

To hear more episodes or to

request to become a guest,

477

please visit UnpolishedMBA.com