In this empowering episode, Giuseppe Grammatico, Owner of GG The Franchise Guide, shares how franchising offers a proven, lower-risk path to business ownership from corporate jobs. If you struggle with feeling trapped in a dead-end job and fear starting from scratch, you won't want to miss it.

You will discover:

- Why franchising provides systems and support missing in startups

- How to evaluate franchises that fit your lifestyle goals.

- What free resources like books and calls accelerate your transition

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

Giuseppe Grammatico is a franchise veteran, coach, author, speaker & consultant who simplifies the franchising process and excels at guiding his candidates to the business model that best suits their desired lifestyle. His greatest joy is helping people realize the American dream and sharing the freedom that franchising offers.

Want to learn more about Giuseppe Grammatico's work at GG The Franchise Guide? Check out his website at https://ggthefranchiseguide.com/

Get his free Franchise Freedom Book at https://ggthefranchiseguide.com/book/

Listen to his podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/david-c-barnett-exit-strategies-how-to-sell-your-business/id1499864638?i=1000527290517

Mentioned in this episode:

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Founder's Quiz

Hello, hello and welcome. Welcome once again

to the Start scale and succeed podcast. It's the only podcast

that grows with you, all seven stages of your journey. As a

founder, I'm your host, Scott Ritzheimer, and today I want to

talk to those of you who are still in that corporate job,

sitting there in that job, the one where you wake up at an

ungodly hour, commute for a couple more ungodly hours, work

your tail off to make someone else rich, and then lie

wondering what you're doing all this for. These are folks are in

the dissatisfied employee stage. I know there's some of you out

there with dreams of becoming a founder out there, but you don't

quite know what it's going to look like or how to take the

first step, and it feels intimidating, oftentimes

overwhelming, and to help us tear down some of that overwhelm

and give you some practical steps forward, not just to sweat

it out and hustle it out and grind it out, but to start from

day one with a business that can thrive and an opportunity that's

great just for you, our guest With us here today is Giuseppe

Grammatico, who is a franchise veteran. He's also a coach,

author, speaker and consultant who simplifies the franchising

process and excels at guiding his candidates to the business

model that best suits their desired lifestyle. His greatest

joy is helping people realize the American dream and sharing

the freedom that franchising offers. He's here with us today.

Well, welcome to the show. Giuseppe, you've got this really

nice, really short, really sweet book that was just brilliant on

this share some of your story and really addresses the

challenge that we're talking about here is if you're trapped

in a dead end job is getting another job or starting a

business from scratch the only way, and you give a resounding

node to that. So for those who tend to be in your audience,

those who are corporate employees, I want to start with

the risks that they're already taking, because I think that's

easy to overlook when we think about starting something new, we

hear about the challenges of, you know, getting a business off

the ground. And it sounds risky, and to be fair, it can be, but

staying where we are is risky too, why?

Scott, thanks for having me. Yeah. I

mean, you know, staying, staying at the job that you're not

liking, there's a risk there. You could be downsized at any

point, any point in time. You have one source of income, and

then we gather whatever is left of that income and blindly

invest in a 401, K that we also aren't managing, aside from, you

know what mutual funds we want in there, so you lose a sense of

control. And obviously there's risk of being able potentially

losing your job and then hopefully offer some type of

severance. So, you know, it's a mindset shift. And, you know,

flip the cards. There's also risk in business ownership as

well. What I challenge people is to keep a job and run a side

business that way you have that safety net to protect you in the

event you want to leave or in the event you do lose that job?

Yeah, I love that. And I couldn't agree more,

because one of the mistakes that I see make, and oftentimes I

don't get to work with folks until long after they've made

some of these decisions, but I can still see the effects of

them years later, is we treat this stage, this dissatisfied

employee stage, this period in that in between as something to

get out of as soon as possible, right? And while I would

probably agree that's a good goal, it can lead us to get out

before it's actually possible. And so I love this idea of

working on the side. I think that for some folks, that feels

like it's going to rule out a whole lot of opportunities. So

what have you seen? Are some things that you know folks

without really being able to see it or think through, might think

it's not possible to do on the side that you've seen yourself

or some of your clients take to make that initial step.

Yeah, that's a really good question,

and you really need to do an audit of realistically, what is.

What's your day look like from a time perspective? When do you

have the opportunity throughout the day to invest and run the

business, getting your financials in order? There's a

lot that goes along with it, but specifically on that side

hustle, those semi passive opportunities, great option for

franchising, as long as the franchise company allows that

type of ownership out the gate. But you know, getting really

crystal clear as to, am I do I just have nights and weekends?

Or what does my flexibility look like? What I challenge all of my

candidates and families I work with is that sometimes I'll say,

Well, maybe your job isn't flexible, but can you? Can you

maybe change jobs? Maybe a job that allows you to work from

home, increasing flexibility and maybe a hit in pay, but keeping

that job maybe it's a lot more flexible kind of a work from

home, remote model, allowing you to spend more time in the

business. So it's really getting clear in any business you're

going to have to invest time and how quickly you want to scale

that business. So do it? Do an audit and see what can be

changed where you're wasting time. Time, maybe even asking

your employer, Hey, can I can I work from home a few days a

week? A lot of people are coming back to the office, maybe doing

kind of a hybrid role and then starting there and figuring out

what those hours look like.

Yeah, it's so true. It's so true. There's

something I read and I was shocked when I saw it, but

there's something like 4000 different franchise

opportunities out there that really struck me as odd. We've

had franchise talks on this on the show, but I find, even for

myself being exposed to this, that when you hear franchise,

you still kind of think of McDonald's or subway or, you

know, you know, the tax prep places that put people out on

street corners, like the whole but there's so much more than

that. How do you go about finding what these opportunities

are and finding the right one for you?

Yeah, it's a it's a process that we

proprietary process we essentially, we're working in

reverse. So we'll look at things like, why do you want this

business? Obviously, we want to make sure business ownership and

franchising is a fit. But assuming it is, we'll take a

look at things such as, What is your role in the business when

it comes from the hours? What is your transferable skill set, the

soft skills you bring to the table? So if you are an

attorney, well that's really not the soft skill set. The skill

set may be negotiation, it may be sales, it may be just

networking. So there's there's a lot that you bring to the table.

So we're going to look at what you're good at to match that

role in the business. But we're also looking at where are you

located. We want to make sure that those brands are available

in your market, both registered and available. We're going to

look at investment range. Just like when you buy a home, you

have certain requirements. We want to make sure those

investment ranges are in line with the opportunities. We take

a look at, and there's so much more. We'll look at other other

items. I want the marketing done for me. Well, a lot of B to B,

type of franchises you're going out there networking, there's

really not this turnkey marketing program, but for Home

Service franchises like cleaning, roofing, siding, a lot

of brands will offer turnkey marketing with a call center. So

we get very specific, asking, not what is out there, but what

is my ideal franchise and business model look like. And

then we go to the market to see what is available. We'll even

take a look and see what resales are available in your specific

market.

Yeah, you mentioned earlier that you help

folks find out if franchising is right for them, as I see it, and

correct me if I'm wrong, you're probably gonna have a better way

of framing this. There's kind of three main options. You can stay

in some type of a corporate role, maybe find a better job

that's a better fit. You could go start your business from

scratch, you know, maybe not go a franchising model, but start

something from the ground up, right? Or you can go this

franchising model. Would that be three kind of big groups that

folks fall into?

I that's how I describe it. So, yeah,

absolutely.

Okay, great. And, and so walk us through how

you help folks kind of chart which of those paths is right

for them.

Yeah, I mean, it's all about exposure

and getting clear on what the next steps are. If you're

looking for financial and time freedom, you may get some some

financial freedom, but time, freedom is going to be

difficult. Working at a job, just because you're there, you

have to report certain hours. You get so much vacation. So

we're looking at, you know, what's important, what are you

what are you trying to create with the business? There are

plenty of startup opportunities. There are plenty of franchises,

really. What are you looking to create? You know, with a

franchise, I always say you have an unfair advantage. You're not

falling in love with the with the widget or the service,

you're falling in love with the model. So, for example, the

water and smoke restoration and mitigation types of businesses.

Not sure if I know of anyone that's passionate about mold or

removing mold, but there are people that are passionate

owning a business with with a proven model that that is

recession resistant, that always has, you know, endless and

endless amounts of demand. So taking, taking that approach, I

think, is is different. It's also just a different way of

viewing the business. Now, some people like and want to create

the brand. They want to they want to create the colors and

the fonts and the name and that, and that's okay as well. Just

understand that it's going to take you. It could take you a

year or so, or less or more, to get the business up and running

in the franchising world, essentially, it's plug and play

many brands, as long as there's no build out brick and mortar

component, you could be up and running in 90 days or less. So

if you're more concerned about proven systems that are in

place, that have a demand in your market, a franchise could

be a good fit for what you're looking for.

Yeah, when going back to these different

franchise opportunities, I want to circle back to that, because

I think it's important here, because. Sometimes we can think,

Oh, I have to start it because no one else is doing it, because

it doesn't necessarily fit in our normal idea of a franchise.

But with that many opportunities, it's likely that

there's probably someone doing something really close to what

you're doing.

Yes, agreed. And 4000 companies, 70

plus industries. I mean, you have your fast food, which we've

all heard of, but there are so just to give you an example,

expense reduction for small businesses, dog waste removal,

business coaching to even adding a liquid roof, believe it or

not, liquid roof to your home. If you could think of the

business model, chances are there's even a brand out there

that will detail your jet and jets and the various airplane

hangers. So if you could think of a business, odds are there's

probably a franchise, or maybe there's something very similar

in the market.

Yeah, yeah. So there's lots of opportunities

out there and and I think one thing that folks, especially

those who feel drawn to starting their own thing, won't realize

that they'll struggle with but you already, you already brought

up, and I think it's worth highlighting, is falling in love

with the thing that you do instead of the way they do it

right? And that's such an important distinction. And I

wouldn't go so far as to say one is right or wrong, and I don't

think you're making that point, but tell us a little bit why

would falling would falling in love with what you do slow you

down or hold you back?

Yeah, it's the whole idea of, do I follow

my passion? I'm an avid that was an avid soccer player fan, and

was looking at, you know, getting into business in soccer,

and someone said to me, that's a quick way to really crush that

passion, because that was my escape. That's the time freedom

I created to go to the soccer games we live in New Jersey, so

we would watch the the Red Bulls play with it, with the family.

So sometimes it's better to keep those separate. That's kind of

what you do with the family. You know, there's a lot of people

that find a business that they're passionate about, but

they don't have systems, and they just get buried. You know,

working 100 hours a week and not having those systems in place.

When you essentially reverse it and look at a franchise that

that's what you're paying for, is the systems. It's a plug and

play. You could be in a roofing franchise, a mosquito spraying

franchise, a a dog waste removal franchise, and never actually

perform the service. You know you're essentially managing a

team. You're creating that time and financial free freedom from

it. You are reviewing the KPIs, working with the franchisor to

make sure everything is running smoothly, and looking for ways

of growing that business, whether it be additional

territories and markets, maybe it's a complimentary business

that you can add. So if you're doing roofing, you can naturally

add on painting or sheetrock repair or cleaning. So you'll

notice that your role in the business, in many cases, is

this, is this kind of working on the business? It's networking,

and you're never actually performing the end product or

service.

Yeah? Yeah. There's certainly something to

be said about that. For a lot of a lot of folks out there who who

otherwise just would really struggle to get something up off

the ground step, there's a question that I have for you ask

all my guests. I'm very interested to see what you'd

have to say. But the question is this, what would you say is the

biggest secret that you wish wasn't a secret at all. What's

that one thing you wish everybody watching or listening

today knew?

You know, there's nothing really new out

there, especially with the, you know, Information Age podcast,

AI, chat, GPT, you name it. There's someone out there that's

that's figured it out, has has been in your shoes, has had

success, you know, has had failures. So this idea, instead

of the how, it's a book by Dan Sullivan called who, not how.

And it's figuring out who are those individuals that you can

work with, you know, maybe almost like a mentor, and really

helping you succeed and bypass a lot of the mistakes that they

made. That's how I was able to grow my business exponentially.

It was it was the who not trying to figure out from scratch how

I'm going to do it. So if I have a business plan, I'm going to

others that maybe are in that similar space, or that launch

successful startups or successful franchises. I'm going

to go directly to them and bypass a lot of the noise. So

that's helped me, personally in my career. It's helped me in my

businesses. And I encourage everyone to check out the book.

Who not how it's a quick, quick read, and it really gets down to

essentially, who are the people that can get me to the next

level while, you know, saving myself the time and frustration

in between?

Yeah, excellent, excellent book. I

totally agree. You also have a book franchise, freedom. Tell us

who's that written for? How can they get access to it, and where

can go folks go to find out more about you and the work that you

do.

Absolutely so here's a here's a copy.

Bright Yellow, really kind of pops and stands out. It's a

short read of about 30 minutes, and that book. Book is

essentially a 30 minute read. It's my exact blueprint of

helping you find your perfect franchise. It talks about a lot

more than franchising. It talks about putting together your team

of your attorney, your CPA, your financial advisor, going back to

the who, not the how. It talks about what to expect, including

the family. This is not a decision you make on your own,

just like buying a home. It's a big investment, and it's really

for anyone that is exploring entrepreneurship, not just

franchising. You're burnt out at your at your job, and you don't

know what's next. You're coming out of the military, you know,

and not knowing what path it's a guy that walks you through talks

about the employment options, it talks about startups, it talks

about franchises and everything in between. It's a short read,

but it really gets you kind of it gets to the point of the

benefits of owning a franchise. And I always follow up with

anyone that downloads the book, if they go to my website, Gigi,

the franchise guide.com, you can book a call directly with me,

and we can explore and figure out together if a franchise is a

good fit. Services are free, just like a real estate agent,

we're paid by the franchise companies. And for those that

aren't ready for a chat, you can download the book on the

website, and we have 270 plus episodes covering just about

every topic called franchise freedom, and you can always do

there's a search option there. Just plug in how to sell my

business. That's a big one. That's one of our most popular

episodes. Plug that in, it'll pull up all the episodes that

pick up on those keywords. So I definitely encourage you to take

advantage of that.

Absolutely, absolutely. Well. Giuseppe,

thank you so much for being on the show today. Love the work

that you do, the way that you do it. Love the book. He said that,

right? If you heard him and you're like, 30 minutes, was he

telling the truth? Yes, it's absolutely if I tie myself,

yeah, it's, it's short, sweet to the point and and powerful along

the way. It's just a great, combination. For those of you

who are founders, or want to be founders, you're not sitting on

an infinite amount of time, and it's a small investment into a

ton of freedom for your future. Highly recommend it. Franchise

freedom. We'll put a link in the show notes, and yeah, so

Giuseppe, thanks for being on the show privilege having you

here, and for those of you watching listening. You know,

your time and attention mean the world to us. I hope got as much

out of this conversation as I know I did, and I cannot see you

next time. Take care. Thanks, Scott.