The model is called Semi-Absentee. Not every franchisor allows this type of management model, which is not a fit for everyone. Below, I will give you all a good understanding of what semi-absentee ownership is all about. I hope you all find value.

Semi-Absentee Ownership: Run a business working only 5 to 15 hours a week

Are you interested in investing in a side opportunity but not yet ready to leave your current job? Or are you a current business owner wanting to diversify but can’t commit to a full-time role? 

That’s where the Semi-Absentee franchise model comes into play. Semi-Absentee franchise models are available in both Service and Brick & Mortar but more prevalent in Brick & Mortar.  

Think about Orange Theory, Supercuts, Massage Envy… those are all Brick & Mortar Semi-Absentee franchises. You typically won’t ever see the owner in those stores.

What is Semi-Absentee Ownership?

In a Semi-Absentee business, the day-to-day operations are run by a General Manager (GM). 

A General Manager is hired and manages all other necessary employees, and the owner’s role is managing the manager, focusing on KPI’s, business development, and financials. In a semi-absentee business, the owner needs to be able to put up to 20hrs a week (can be off-hour/flex-time) into the business but can typically expect 5-15hrs being the norm. Once mature, that number can get even lower. For example, my Homecare franchise is an Owner-Operator model that doesn’t allow Semi-Absentee Owners out of the gate. Well, once mature, franchisors are totally fine with it. Today, I work 2-5hrs a week in that business and go to the office once a week for a meeting with my GM. I operate my dumpster business and my porta potty business the exact same way. 

Benefits of a Semi-Absentee Ownership

The flexibility of your schedule is the biggest benefit of Semi-Absentee ownership. As a Semi-Absentee franchisee, your business isn’t controlling much of your schedule, so you can choose to spend that extra time a lot of different ways. Keep your full-time job, spend more time diversifying through other businesses or investments, spend more time with your family, or spend more time on yourself. The point is, Semi-Absentee ownership provides a killer work/life balance!

Risk of Semi-Absentee Ownership

When you go the Semi-Absentee path, you are essentially hiring a manager to raise your new baby. So, that manager hire is HUGE!!! In a Brick & Mortar business, a GM doesn’t need to be quite as dynamic as a Service-based business. The Brick & Mortar models typically don’t have much outside sales/marketing or project management. So, my biggest advice is on the service side… make sure that your GM will be a willing salesperson. Many managers aren’t salespeople, so make sure you hire someone that is “hungry!”  

Is a Semi-Absentee Ownership right for me?

Now, that’s the biggest question to tackle. Are you a good fit for Semi-Absentee ownership? 

A few important things to evaluate:

1. Do you have flexibility in your current schedule to allow for up to 20hrs of work on your franchise?
2. Are you comfortable delegating essential responsibilities to your employees?
3. Are you comfortable buying a business and handing that ‘baby’ over to a manager to raise, so to speak?
4. Are you ok paying this person $50k+ in year one and more as the business grows?

If you answered ‘yes’ to all 4 of those questions, Semi-Absentee ownership could be a great fit for you. 

Keep in mind not every franchise offers a Semi-Absentee ownership model. If you want to know more about what those options are, I am more than happy to talk them through with you! Schedule a time to chat on my calendar.

Today I want to dive into the differences between the two main business models in franchising. Service-Based businesses and Brick & Mortar based businesses.

Brick & Mortar Business

Most people are very familiar with Brick & Mortar franchises; they are everywhere you look. McDonald’s, Five Guys, Orange Theory Fitness, Supercuts, Massage Envy, etc.… are all examples of Brick & Mortar franchises.

Some of the characteristics that come with this model are:

• Retail footprint needed (usually Class A)
• Higher start-up costs ($200k – $1MM+)
• Business opens 6mos – 12mos after purchase
• Customer acquisition is typically through digital marketing, little to no outside sales
• Owners role is Semi-Absentee typically. Meaning they start by hiring a GM to run the day-to-day. The owner will focus on back-office and scaling initiatives (typically scaling by adding multiple locations of the same business)

One last thing about Brick & Mortar to keep in mind is that due to Covid, commercial real estate is softening significantly. Price per square foot is going down, and Tenant Improvement (TI) dollars haven’t been this good in a long, long time. At the same time, we have seen an increase in building material costs (much due to Covid regs reducing manufacturing capacity), but costs are starting to slowly regress to the norm.

Service-Based Business

Service-Based businesses are a little less known than brick-and-mortar because they don’t typically have a retail storefront and sometimes not office space at all. Think of all the services you need at your home…painting, maid service, restoration, home health; those are all service-based businesses.

Here are a few of the characteristics associated with Service-Based franchises:

• Little to no office space needed – and certainly not retail Class A.
• Business opens immediately after training – Little to no build-out costs or time
• Start-up costs typically pretty low ($100k – $200k, unless significant equipment necessary)
• Customer acquisition through outside sales, community-focused events (chamber)
• Owner’s role can be semi-absentee or full-time, depending on the franchise (some franchisors are very adamant that they want full-time owners until business matures).
• Typically employ more people (or 1099) and typically blue-collar workforce

Service-Based businesses have boomed since Covid hit. The reason is we are all living in our homes more, and some are improving their current home rather than buying a new one. It all lines up to people using home-based service franchises a ton more right now.

Hopefully, this was of value. As always, feel free to reach out to discuss your options. View my calendar to schedule a call.

When I bought my first franchise I was like most of you…I had no clue about the franchise world. I just knew that Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Burger King were franchises and I didn’t want anything to do with a fast food restaurant! So, hopefully by explaining my experience, I can enlighten some of you on what your journey to franchise ownership would look like. I apologize in advance, as this is lengthy but I thought including my story might be very relevant to many of you all….

My Motivation – Why I became a Franchise Owner

First of all, this process started for me ten years ago. I was working in Corporate America in Atlanta, Georgia, and had global responsibilities. I thought I had the best job in the world while I was single. I made great money, traveled to really cool places and was always got my first class upgrades! I thought I was living in high cotton (or at least I thought that at the time)! Then I got married…..and the travel was actually pretty enjoyable at the beginning too. I was able to get those super cool upgrades for her tools. Man, we were living the GOOD LIFE!!!

Once we had our first child, all the travel stuff changed immediately. It was not fun anymore for me to be constantly gone and started realizing that I was never around to be a husband, never around to be a father. When I wasn’t traveling, I was leaving before 7 a.m. to get to the office, and then I wasn’t coming back after 7 p.m. with an hour commute each way. It wasn’t enjoyable. It wasn’t a good quality of life and something had to change!

My Path to Using a Consultant

I didn’t know what I was going to do to change my career path, but I went online. I started looking for jobs at some now-obsolete website called six-figure jobs or something like that. I was looking for jobs that I didn’t have to commute to an office and back. It was really hard for me to try to find that type of position online. At the end of one of my searches, I saw a little button asking, “Are you interested in franchising?” I was like, you know what? I’m going to try this.

Like I said earlier, all I knew about franchises was that fast food restaurants where franchises and I knew I didn’t want to own one of those, but decided to see what the franchising world was all about.

I completed the form, and then my phone rang off the hook. I had like 20 franchisors call me, and then one franchise consultant called me. I had never heard of a franchise consultant before, didn’t know they existed. He promised that he would match me up with a franchise based on the skill sets I had, the business characteristics I was interested in, the time I had to commit, the money I had to invest etc.…

It sounded good, so I bit.

How I got Matched with HomeCare

I started working with this guy, and he matched me up with a couple of franchises, one of which was Synergy Home Care. I was matched with Synergy because I had been in pharmaceutical sales earlier in my career and really understood the sales model. My wife was a nurse practitioner, and she understood the health care part of the business.

I had also told the consultant one of the reasons I had moved back to Atlanta was because I had lost my mom a few years earlier to terminal cancer and taken care of her. During that time, I had learned about hospice, and I understood the need for home care. So, it just checked all these boxes, and it was something I could be passionate about. I understood how to sell, and my wife could be comfortable and familiar with the healthcare components of the business.

The Franchise Evaluation Process

After being matched with franchises, the evaluation process really begins as the franchisor reps will then start to work with you directly. They will take you through a series of calls, typically zoom-based with slide shows, to educate you on all aspects of the business. You will have detailed calls about the following business topics:

Sales / Marketing

On this call you will learn about the company’s main customer acquisition strategies. Does digital marketing play a role? Is outside sales, networking, or community outreach necessary? You will learn all about what sales and marketing strategies are needed to run a successful franchise in their system.

Operations

On the Operations call you will learn about the systems they use to run the business, the KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) they manage the business with, and the day to day role of the owner.

Unit Economics

This call gives you an understanding of financial opportunity and the expenses involved in running the franchise. A lot of franchisors will review a proforma with you and then send you a blank copy for you to fill out as you move through the process.

Real Estate (If applicable)

This call really only pertains to brick and mortar franchises as service-based franchises don’t have nearly the RE requirements, if any at all.

Franchise Disclosure Document Review

Referred to as the FDD. This is the legal document the franchisors must file with the FTC to conduct business – sell and operate franchises. It’s a 150ish page document that can be referred to as the infrastructure of the business. In the FDD, you will learn about the leadership, costs, financial performance of franchisees, rules and regulations, etc…

Validation Calls

This is the most important step of the process, in my opinion. I can’t state this enough. Validation Calls are calls you have with current franchisees. Typically they are private calls, but some franchise systems have group validation calls to avoid overwhelming their franchisees (and keeping them from making money!). On these calls you will be able to ask whatever you want and don’t be shy! The franchisees you speak with were once in your shoes and you will be shocked how transparent some will be!

So, after learning a little about their backgrounds, you learn about things like: Would you do it again? How quickly to breakeven? What is gross revenue, net income, net margins? How big do they think they can build their business? What is their day-to-day role? What is corporate culture all about? How good is the training and support?

After a handful of validation calls, you will know if you can envision yourself in this business and if so, it’s time for the final step of the franchise evaluation process.

Discovery Day

After all the calls the final step is meeting the team in person. Typically Discovery Day (others call it Confirmation Day or Meet the Team Day) consists of the executives in the business taking you out to dinner and drinks to get to know you more as a person on the first night and then putting on a series of presentations the next day to really reinforce everything you have already learned. After Discovery Day, you fly home and digest everything while they do the same and vote on approving you as a franchisee. If approved, you will then have a week or 2 to make a decision while they are reserving your exclusive territory for you.

My Outcome

Ten years ago, we bought a Synergy Home Care franchise, and it has turned out to be just an unbelievable opportunity. A career-changing, quality of life-changing, opportunity. Financially, it has impacted me more than I could ever imagine. Along with my home health franchise, I have now diversified and also own a dumpster business and a porta-potty company. Obviously, I am also a franchise consultant as well and use my business experiences and knowledge of the franchise industry to help others navigate the landscape of over 4000 franchises out there.

I hope this gives you all a better understanding of the process I went through and what franchise evaluation looks like. It is very comprehensive and educational….and hopefully in the end you find something that checks all your boxes!

Schedule a chat with me.

Maybe your entrepreneurial spirit is ready to spread some wings and start a new adventure, but you’re not sure where to start. Do I start from scratch? What if my idea fails? Maybe I’m not quite ready to take this step. So many ifs and questions go through your mind when you’re branching out on your own.  Franchise ownership is an option that allows you to branch out on your own, utilize proven systems, processes, and customer acquisition strategies. I did it, and I have surpassed all expectations and hit goals beyond my wildest dreams. Going the franchise route was one of the smartest, most lucrative, and empowering decisions I have made in my life.  I have gained so much knowledge about what it takes to run a business the right way, from all aspects of ownership.  

Owning a franchise gave me the confidence to buy a mom & pop dumpster company (check us out www.rentbigred.com).  I had seen what a professionally built business model with proven systems looked like and felt like I could use those ideals to enhance and improve Big Red.  It has worked really well for the most part, but there have been countless times where I would have saved significant money by not making costly mistakes, if I had a franchisor to lean on for the correct path to follow. 

So, let’s dig into what a franchise really offers you….

Proven Systems

When you buy a franchise, you buy into a business that has already discovered the right way to do things. It is no longer a guessing game IF your business will work out because it has already proven to succeed. Starting from scratch can be risky. You may not have enough financial backing, you have little to no brand recognition to start, and there is a significant learning curve when branching out on your own. With a franchise, the structure is already laid out for you, leaving little room for failure.

Comprehensive Sales Strategy

If you were to start you own business, you might not know what type of customers are your best customers.  I certainly am still learning that at Big Red.

No matter the franchise, there is a layer of sales to the business.  A lot of sales strategy comes through digital marketing plans that the franchisor has tons of data backing up and a tried-and-true method of attacking digital.  

If the franchise requires outside sales, you can bet that the franchisor will know exactly who your key customers are from a demographic perspective.  They will also know who your top referral sources are and many times have national accounts with them. They tell you what to say, who to say it to, and where to find these people.

Guided Support

If you start your own business, sure, you may have acquaintances to bounce ideas off of, or you’ve watched plenty of YouTube videos so you feel confident enough to make it happen. However, nothing compares to the support you get when you buy a franchise. You will have help with everything from choosing a site location, training from franchise members, marketing and advertising, and everything in between. You will never be left with unanswered questions. They want to see you succeed just as much as you do. You will not have to worry about having all the right tools to run a smooth business. EVERYTHING is provided for you.

Brand Recognition

Starting from the ground up means zero brand recognition. It can take years to get your brand out there, plus marketing and advertising costs can add up. A franchise is already an established brand. All of the marketing initiatives have already happened and will continue to support your particular market.

I hope that gives you a good understanding of what a franchise system brings to the table to add value and support to you and your business.   If you would like to talk more, I’m always available, schedule a call with me.

A story about leaving the Corporate Rat Race for the American Dream by myperfectfranchise.net/

Over the years of being an entrepreneur, my story seems so familiar to so many, and I feel like many of you are/were in my shoes as well. So, today I will walk you all through my journey to franchise ownership and a little about what it’s like now. 

Please don’t take this as a “Look at Me” post but more of an insight into what exiting corporate America for franchise ownership feels like.

So here we go….

My Corporate Career

First of all, I was an awful student. And my parents would tell you that is putting it mildly. So, when I graduated with a cool 2.56 GPA from College (BS in Marketing), I went to my dad and asked for some career advice…. he said, “Son, you’re going to be a salesman”… and off I went.

That was in 1998.

From 1998 to 2006, I traveled anywhere in the Southeast to take promotions in sales roles. I lived in Atlanta, Destin, Tampa, Jacksonville, Northern KY – finally getting an opportunity to run a new division (On Demand / Photo) of a Belgium-based company called Unibind in 2006. I didn’t know jack about On Demand or Photo at the time, btw.

That’s when my income and career skyrocketed. We landed all the big accounts in the photo space. You name them… Apple, Kodak, Shutterfly, Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Walgreens.

We slayed it! I was loving life, living single in Atlanta (where I grew up).

I was traveling all over the world, getting upgraded to first class, free drinks, free flights for vacation – those also in first-class (btw, it’s funny now knowing how many of those folks in first class didn’t actually pay for it). Life was awesome; I was single and making really good money for a single dude without much more than an apartment rent bill each month.

Then I got married…. the first two years of our marriage, I traveled 80% of the time. It was still palatable because I was making good money, we bought a really nice first house, and we were still living ‘single’ hours. 

Our first child was born two years later, and almost instantly, my world changed completely.   Man, I never realized how precious ‘me time’ was until then. My life consisted of constant travel, and when I wasn’t traveling, I was leaving for the office before 7 am and coming home after 7 pm – I never saw my wife or son.

I felt like an absent husband and father, and it just wasn’t enjoyable to sacrifice the money for the quality of life I had.  

That’s when I decided to figure out a new way. I just had zero clue what it was. That’s when I saw a banner ad saying something like ‘Interested in Franchise Opportunities.’ I didn’t know much about franchises just knew I didn’t want fast food. I filled out a form, and that’s when everything changed.

The Process

After filling out that form, my phone rang off the hook, and I probably had 20 different franchisors call me. Then I had this one franchise consultant who told me he could match me up with a business based on my skill sets and the business characteristics I was looking for in an opportunity. I had never heard of a franchise consultant, but the guy was older, he sent me his bio, and I felt like I could trust him. 

So, I went through a consultation where I told him I was looking for a business with the 5 R’s:

• Rewarding – Personally and Financially
• Recession-Proof
• Relationships/Networking was a key to growing the business
• Referrals drove the lead flow, not cold calling
• Resistant to tech (Amazon Proof)

I had also told him my wife was a Nurse Practitioner, I had been a pharma sales rep early in my career, and I had taken care of my mother when she had terminal cancer.  

I was matched up with three businesses… one of them was Synergy HomeCare….and when I heard about Synergy HomeCare, I knew this was a perfect match right away. I understood the need and excelled in that sales model, and my wife had a very clinical background. 

We ended up buying the master franchise (called Regional Developer – and more on that model at a later date) for the Floribama region. This allowed me to run my own agency while also getting compensated for the other agencies in the region. 

The American Dream is Born

We sold our house in Atlanta and started a new life in Fairhope, AL. My wife and I had looked at areas across the Southeast and honed in on Fairhope due to the amazing quality of life that jumps out at you when visiting. Fairhope is an amazing little town on the Mobile Bay with great schools and a great family atmosphere. 

When we moved to Fairhope, we told ourselves we would need to live on a ‘Ramen noodle’ diet, so to speak. We drank box wine (Bota Box wasn’t all that bad, and you can hide how much you really drink if need be!) and didn’t eat out much.

I opened the agency in October of 2013 and remembered those first few months like yesterday.

Struggle bus city!!! We made a whopping $2,000 in net profit in year one, with me not pulling any salary.    One day, I had a buddy tell me that it sounded like I had just bought myself a crappy sales job. And I started to believe him…. then the light switch clicked for my business.   The perfect storm of delivering great customer service, creating impactful relationships, and differentiating ourselves from competition had us hit our stride in year two. We grossed almost 1 million in that 2nd year, with me making over six figures. My business and income have grown every year since. Last year we did over $2.4MM and ranked #17 of 153 agencies in our system.

My income has allowed me to diversify and buy other businesses; this income potential I never thought I could realize was done in this small town of Fairhope, AL. 

Most recently, I bought a dumpster company called Big Red. Check us out at www.rentbigred.com, as this is my first venture into creating my brand. We have 260 dumpsters, 6 Mack Trucks, 150 Red Head Porta Potties, and Buster (the dumpster trash crusher). I will say the site went live and still needs some tweaks… and I’d love anyone’s feedback as I don’t have the support of a franchise system to lean on for anything we do here… but man, is the dumpster business fun (and profitable)!!!!

Just as important as the money I have made; is the quality of life it has afforded my family and me. 

We have unlimited PTO. I have been insulated from the day-to-day in all my businesses and can work from anywhere. This summer, it will be back to Telluride for three weeks while it’s sweltering in Fairhope. My schedule is super flexible. While I have an office at Big Red and Synergy, I am rarely there. I work from home most days and have the time and ability to coach my kids’ teams (until they have complained too much about my coaching); I can take them to school, eat lunch with them (in non-Covid years). I play tennis 2-3 times during the week at 8 am. I don’t ever ‘work’ past 5 pm. I use ‘work’ in quotes as once you own your own businesses, it definitely doesn’t feel like real work!

To say I have a great quality of life is putting it mildly!

So that’s my journey to franchise ownership and the American Dream. The only thing I miss is the free drinks, flights, and status on airlines…. but I’ll take the trade-off 24/7/365! 

If you or anyone you know would like to learn more about business ownership or franchise opportunities, schedule a call with me.