Franchising is an option that many people should consider if they want to own their own business, especially if they’re not sure how to get started.
Tamika Franklyn, Founder of Precision Franchise, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur show to talk about some of the many advantages of franchising. She also shares why franchising may be a particularly good option for women entrepreneurs.
She dispels the notion that you need brick and mortar to build a successful franchise. Similarly, there are franchises that require far less than 20 hours a week, and can be built on your timeline.
The interview is chockful of great advice and insights! The following is a transcript of her interview on the show. But, if you’d prefer to listen, you can go here for the on-demand podcast version of the show.
Doris Nagel 0:42
Welcome to the savvy entrepreneur show! We’re broadcasting here from the Chicago Milwaukee area.
If you’re an entrepreneur or small businessperson, or thinking about becoming one, this show is for you.
I’m Doris Nagel, your host for the next hour. I’m a crazy entrepreneur, and I’ve helped lots of startups and small businesses over the past 30 years. The Savvy Entrepreneur show has two goals: (1) to share helpful information and resources, and (2) to inspire — to make your journey as an entrepreneur faster and easier, and maybe just a little bit more fun.
To help with that. I have guests on the show every week, who are willing to share their stories and their advice. This week’s guest is Tamika Franklyn. She’s the CEO and Founder of a company called Precision Franchise, LLC. She joins me by phone from New York today.
Precision Franchise guides entrepreneurs to help them own proven franchise businesses. It has access to over 3500 different franchise business opportunities. It provides one on one consultations to determine the best model for their clients’ lifestyles and goals. It then makes introductions to franchisors who might fit their clients’ needs.
Tamika says she’s passionate because there are lucrative opportunities in franchising, but she realized that she didn’t know anyone personally who was familiar with this path of business ownership. She came to realize one of the key reasons was because there weren’t many people who looked or sounded like her in franchising. Her goal is to help educate the community on the successful path to business ownership and to take this knowledge back to women and people of color, who currently make up only 28% of the franchise industry. She wants to help people and those communities understand that owning a franchise is well within their grasp.
Tamika, thanks so much for being on The Savvy Entrepreneur show today. Welcome!
Tamika Franklyn
Thank you so much for having me.
Doris Nagel
Franchising is interesting because it’s something people talk about, but there are so many misconceptions. People maybe know McDonald’s is a franchise, but it’s so much more than that. And I know we’re going to talk about that on the show today.
But first let’s start with your business. What is Precision Franchise? Who do you help, and how do you help them?
Tamika Franklyn 3:51
I am a franchise consultant or broker. I help people own their own business within the franchise industry. And this could be with an actual franchise, or it can be with what we will call “business opportunities,” which will still be proven business models.
So a little bit about my process as a consultant. I sit down with my clients in my consultations to find out what your lifestyle is, what your goals are. I ask you lots of questions to help me to be able to match you with the right concept that’s going to work well for you, based on everything that we have already discussed. I also have resources and tools available on my website, as well as resources that I use to aid me in this process. I know that a lot of people are familiar with the DISC assessment, if they’re going for a job interview.
Doris Nagel 5:26
Can you talk a little bit more about the DISC assessment? What is it exactly, and how do you use it?
Tamika Franklyn 5:32
A DISC assessment uses several sciences from this assessment, where it asks you particular questions. And based on your answers, it comes up with a profile for you.
It puts everybody into one of four different personality types, and there are characteristics for each one. There are achievers, belongers, emulators, and societals.
Let’s say, based on your answers, it shows you’re an achiever. I’ll use that as an example because that is one of the — I don’t want to say best characteristics — but it seems like a lot of franchises really like someone that has that quality. Belonger is another one as well.
An achiever is motivated by achievement — they’re very goal oriented. They prefer unique, scalable, quality service. This is the business or practice solution. So because they have these qualities, I probably wouldn’t show someone that has these characteristics, something that is, let’s say, more nonprofit driven, more passion driven. That might be a better option for a Societal type.
Each type of DISC personality has their criteria. I like using that assessment because I get a lot of feedback about client. You know, someone once met one of my clients after our follow up call, and they were like, “It was it was so spot on, it was creepy.”
So it’s a cool tool. But again, it’s all it’s just a tool. It’s just one of the tools used in aiding me and select selecting the right opportunities to show you.
Doris Nagel 8:24
So you have lots of franchises that you work with that you can match potential business people with. So I guest you’re right, you’re a broker, but it also sounds like you’re a bit of a matchmaker, maybe?
Tamika Franklyn 8:46
Yes, I get called a matchmaker. One person said I’m a lighthouse!
Doris Nagel 8:57
I think there’s a lot of misconceptions about what a franchise is, and isn’t. When you say “franchise, I think a lot of people think of McDonald’s, right? Here’s the the Big Mac that looks and tastes the same everywhere, here’s when we offer breakfast, these are the sandwiches, and this is how you price things. And here’s the food that we’re going to provide you to do this, and it’s a template. And isn’t that like you can do very much to change it.
But I think people don’t realize maybe that franchising is so much broader than that. Can you give some examples of different kinds of franchises, and why they are franchises?
Tamika Franklyn 9:45
When it comes to franchises, you’re right — the first thing people think about is food, whether it’s McDonald’s or another chain. And if you think franchising is all food, you think about it having to be a brick and mortar. And, of course, also having to have a ton of equity or money just to be able to get into that franchise and own it.
And what they don’t realize is that there’s a lot of franchises where you don’t even need to have a physical location. You can work from home. And there are franchises across over 40 different industries.
That’s the reason why process is I take you through is important. I want to be able to tap into your wants and needs and financial situation. I want to know your passions as well at you know, because it’s very likely that we’ll be able to find a business that’s going to fit all those needs and those goals.
So there are franchises where it’s in, let’s say it’s in beauty, you know, where I had a webinar that featured a franchise that was all about lashes, but you’ll be so surprised of how they actually started off as a tech, more of a technology company turned beauty and because of that it really sets them apart in the market. And it’s a really unique and very lucrative business. It’s a well, well run oiled machine, really, it’s, and I have, you know, a client now that’s looking to do several of those, but see, but that’s something that’s not going to pop in your mind when you hear franchises. You know, if you’re very passionate about health, you know, and, you know, for whatever reason, you know, you’re very passionate about, you know, maybe elder care, or just, or just anything in the medical field, there’s franchises where it’s, you know, all about home care, you know, or even medical billing, like, there’s just so many,
Doris Nagel 12:02
that that’s a franchise.
Tamika Franklyn 12:05
Yeah, there’s a so there’s one in particular that I’m thinking about is what we’ll call a business opportunity. And the main difference is that there’s not a Franchise Disclosure Document associated with business opportunities, and you won’t have to pay one Lt. However, they have a proven business model, so they’re still gonna have all the setup of what a franchise would have, as far as Hey, so long as you execute, you know, this is everything that you get along with this business, and you’re going to be successful. So I do show both
Doris Nagel 12:37
interesting. Well, you know, this is probably a good transition to talk a little bit about what makes a business of franchise, I mean, other, I’m assuming there are certain kinds of things that you typically see with a franchise. So talk a little bit about that.
Tamika Franklyn 12:56
Franchise are regulated. They are regulated by the state and the federal governments. A franchise is an agreement and license between two legally independent parties with defined rights terms, responsibilities and obligations.
And with that comes the FDD, which is the Franchise Disclosure Document. And that’s going to have everything that you need to know, there’s 23 items, and every item is a description of what you would find within that item. And, you know, so a quick example for that. Item 19 very popular item, a very important item, but not every, you know, not every franchise discloses that, but I like to show the franchise that does, you know, because it shows the past performance. Yeah, so you will get to see all the numbers, etc. So again, every item is going to have that if you are a franchise, you have to have an FTD and it’s something that has to be updated every single year. What also comes with franchises is, is one royalties. And every franchise has, you know, different royalties, I would say an average royalty is anywhere between five for the very low. But I will say between five and 8% is an average royalty fee, and that is just the fee that you would pay normally on a monthly basis to the franchise. What is the
Doris Nagel 14:34
What does the royalty payment cover? Why do you need to pay a royalty payment to the franchisor?
Tamika Franklyn 14:41
Well, one, the whole reason why you want to own a franchise or you get into franchise because you’re not recreating the wheel. The most important things that you want to definitely look for in franchises is what is the support, you know, what am I what is it that I’m getting and being a part of this franchise whether it’s the culture so Your royalties goes towards that, and whatever, and more just whatever it is that franchise is offering you to be an owner in the franchise in that within that franchise. So
Doris Nagel 15:15
how are we the right to use the name maybe? And what, whatever processes they have, and,
Tamika Franklyn 15:23
Yes. All the above. So, you know, there’s a lot of franchises that part of their support is that maybe they have a call center, on your behalf? Oh, yeah, you know, there’s training, there’s tons of training within franchises, you know, so it’s just in the list can go on, but again, be different for each for each one. But it’s all the important things that you will be getting when you when you own a franchise business.
Doris Nagel 15:51
:ike maybe access to their software system to book appointments with?
Tamika Franklyn
Absolutely.
Doris Nagel
And I’m going to guess that there’s a lot of differences between franchises. Can you give us any examples of some differences between franchises?
Tamika Franklyn 16:07
They are definitely different. And this is part of what I take my clients through. So let’s say you did say “I really like this healthcare franchise – it really speaks to me. I’m not directly a caregiver, but I’m very passionate about it. And I would like to know more.”
One of the next steps is the franchisor call, and I’m usually on that call is to dig deeper into what this particular franchise is going to be providing.
For example, I actually had a call yesterday with someone that shows why it’s so important to really understand your goals and your passion, etc. Because when I first spoke with them, they were really fixated on the business being passive — they have real estate investments, and they really wanted something passive. But based on everything that she told me and the business assessment, I knew that health care was important to her as well.
So I added that along with some others that I thought would fit her criteria. It seemed as though she might have been leaning towards one of our vending machine models, which was going to provide her a lot of flexibility. But then on the call we had yesterday, she was completely blown away by this healthcare brand because of the level of support that they’re providing. They offer both inbound and outbound calling, which caught my attention.
As a person with a sales background, I know how important lead generation is. I know there’s a lot of franchises that that help with some call center support for inbound leads — maybe web leads and things of that nature — but I’ve never heard of one actually doing outbound. I thought that that was significant.
So now that makes me think differently about the people who might be a good fit. Many franchises need to be coupled with sales to be in this industry. So I may not show those to someone who shies away from sales.
But after learning about how much support this particular franchise does with marketing and the inbound and outbound calls, actually, I can show this to someone who is like, “I’m okay with sales, but it’s just not my thing.” But as far as you know, the brand, this is what I want, this is what I’m passionate about. And I now know that, hey, this is something that I can show them completely passionate about the fact that, you know, one, she doesn’t have to have a brick and mortar, yes, you should want to, you know, be a little more hands on in the beginning. But that’s just for your business, you can definitely at usually after a year, it’s advised that at that time, you want to add someone to kind of sort of take your place, you know, but to give it your all in the first year, but it just goes to show you that after you know going through it and really finding out that they’re supporting you with their web based software. Again, the Outward Bound, it involves crawling the web, designing any kind of marketing material that you need, they’re recruiting, they’re helping you with the recruiting, they’re giving you the criterias and a formula of where you want to be as far as what you should be paying your, your caregivers. You know, it’s so it’s very, you know, it’s very insightful. To understand all of that, and yeah, and so for them, you know, if you think about as far as royalties or anything like that, you know, these are the type of things that you want to consider, as far as, can I see myself in the business as to what what is the level of support that I’m getting in the business? Well, I
Doris Nagel 20:20
I really appreciate you giving that example – it really helped me and I’m sure other people listening really understand some of the range of things that you need to think about when you’re choosing a franchise, or even deciding if franchising is right for you.
Speaking of passion, one of the things that is clear listening to you is that you are very passionate about franchising. Why do you think you’re so passionate about it?
Tamika Franklyn 21:05
I’m excited about it, because it’s so unknown for most people. I’m just shocked at how successful people are that I know in the industry. And knowing that franchises or similar business proven business models can have up to a 90% success rate. And I’ve grown up in business, and have been inspired to be an entrepreneur. I know from different classes and things I’ve read that 50% of all small businesses fail within the first year or so – we’ve all heard that. I had never heard of anything that has a 90% success rate.
That statistic alone makes me wonder, “Wait, what? Why doesn’t everyone know this?” And then I started digging into it, and realized that women and people of color are just not represented at all in the industry. The franchise industry is over 77% white men.
Then I started asking, “Why don’t people like me know more about it?” And honestly, I just feel like, it’s just simply just that it’s not anyone, people are just not going out in the communities and speaking about it, it’s like, you just kind of don’t know what you don’t know. And, you know, if I went to a networking event, for example, I like to give this it’s like, you know, when I used to be in insurance, and I would go to networking events, and I’m sure you’ve experienced this as well, if you’ve ever like attended, you will run into real estate agents you would run into, you know, their diamond does real estate agents, insurance agents, when have you run into someone who tells you, “I basically, essentially sell franchises and I will be able to help you own your own business?”
Doris Nagel 23:15
I certainly haven’t, which is why I thought you would be phenomenal to have on the show. And I was right!
What are some of the pros of owning a franchise? Clearly, a 90% success rate is a really attractive pro. What are some of the other pros, but also some of the cons of owning a franchise?
Tamika Franklyn 23:42
As for the pros, we’ll start with just not reinventing the wheel. Franchising basically accelerates the startup phase. I think a lot of people do not think about the fact that, if you want to own a cupcake store, there are so many things to think about. You may think, “Okay, I make great cupcakes, why not open a cupcake store?” When there’s so much more.
Doris Nagel 24:08
I have a client that is exactly there. In his case, it’s pancakes. He has a phenomenal recipe for pancakes and has tested all kinds of flavors. But he doesn’t have a clue of how to get started making a business around that concept.
Tamika Franklyn 24:20
And there’s nothing wrong — please, anyone who owns a cupcake store, don’t take this wrong — but people don’t think about is everything that’s needed. It’s not just about you making the cupcake. It’s about your brand name. It’s about finding a location, startup and ramp up costs, and building your processes? Do you have a marketing plan and team?
Doris Nagel 24:57
And a website and social media?
Tamika Franklyn 24:59
Yes. All of it.
There’s just a lot of things that you may not think about. And for some reason people do not realize the importance of working capital. Because you can’t just start a business with only the amount that you think is going to cost. Things happen.
So franchising greatly minimizes all of those risks and costs. Because what you’re doing is you’re executing a system that has already been proven. There’s no guesswork, or trying to figure out who are going to be the suppliers for whatever business the product or service that you have. It’s there in the franchise You know exactly where you’re getting things and how to do them.
Doris Nagel 25:47
You know, I was talking with a friend of mine who’s also an entrepreneur, and we were both lamenting about how much money we have spent on marketing, trying different approaches. It’s almost like throwing stuff on the wall, hoping one of the approaches will stick.
If I could have had a crystal ball and somebody telling me, “Doris, to do this, you really, you really need to do this. And not just because I say so but because we have done this n numbers of times. And we’ve been through all the different possibilities. And we know this is the one that works the best.”
It would be so amazing. And that’s what a franchise provides, right?
Tamika Franklyn 26:34
Yeah, absolutely. I would say franchising is being in business for yourself, but not by yourself. I think the cost of the ramp up is much lower, which actually puts you in a black out a lot sooner than starting from scratch. You’re already going in with the information, you already have the data.
And then you have that pre opening support as well. They help you tremendously with your launch and in the leading up to your launch date. And you have ongoing support with a lot of franchises. They have coaches and mentors that you are assigned within the brand as well. That’s something again, a lot of people wouldn’t know.
I always say what I’m doing is I’m not selling you a franchise. I am providing you with all the data and information that you need to know about various franchises that make sense for you, so that you can make an informed decision. You have everything basically at your fingertips so that you’re able to make a decision on whether or not a particular franchise is going to make sense for you.
As far as the cons of franchising, if you’re a person where you just want to be totally independent, you just want to do things the way you want – you think the cupcakes should be pink instead of orange, or you think it would be better another way – if want to go rogue, then franchising really is not for you.
Doris Nagel 28:15
I have a funny example to share. I have a client – a woman who wanted to own a restaurant and she gave some examples of franchised restaurants. And then she said, we want to have a franchise like those, but where my daughter and I create new dishes.
And my reaction was that I’m not sure that’s realistic. Maybe there are restaurant franchises where you could submit your idea and it gets evaluated. But she was very excited about experimenting in the kitchen and coming up with all these new dishes, as though somehow they could buy a Noodles and Company franchise or something and start introducing new dishes just because it would be fun.
Tamika Franklyn 29:10
That is a good example. I mean, some franchises will surprise you. I had one recently that was all about natural remedies. So they have a wide range of products, basically like a local health store.
Now typically with franchises, they say, “OK, here’s the stuff. It is what it is. There’s no changes or alterations allowed.” But one thing I thought that was interesting is that within their model they actually allow you to present new products. Let’s say you have a cousin that makes or finds a product and says, “I’m telling you, I use this cream every day. It works miracles. I think that you guys should look at it and if you agree it’s great, can I offer this product?” And this franchise will actually analyze those products — they’ll take it back to their headquarters, they have their own testing and their own process, and they’ll come back to you and say, “You know what? We’ve tested like it. We think it’s good, what we’ll try offering it in your store for whatever the timeframe is. And if it does, well, then you can have the opportunity where it’s not only going to be in your store, but they’ll add it to the franchise, and you can get a cut of all the sales.
So sometimes there are opportunities like that, but you definitely can’t go in with that mindset of, well, this is what I want to do. I would typically say that franchising is not for you.
Doris Nagel 30:56
Why is franchising a great option for moms and women in general?
Tamika Franklyn 31:05
I think it’s a great option because of some of the things that we already touched on because of that level of support. And the culture is something that’s really going to speak to moms. I actually had a webinar where I had a few brands on, and it was all about moms and franchising. And, and they talked about a day in the life, their journey as a franchise, and why it worked well for them.
And these were moms – not just ones with teenagers, but some with little kids. I think that, because there’s so many franchises that offer a lot of flexibility, where you’re able to schedule the time around your life, and have the franchise be such a great support system for you. And again, that culture, you know, that’s what makes franchises in particular great. For moms with families,they have to have that type of balance, but they also need that support.
Doris Nagel 32:43
So if I said, for example, I only have 20 hours a week to devote, are there franchises out there that would be able to accommodate that?
Tamika Franklyn 33:08
Absolutely. I would consider you to be looking for a passive franchise That is something that I would find out during our consultation. Or if you went on my website and you filled out my questionnaire, that that’s going to be one of the questions as well.
That way, I know not to show you any franchises that are going to require full time hands on effort. So, yes, there are a lot of franchise opportunities for passive ownership. We call it passive, but you’ll probably need to devote at least 15 hours per week.
Doris Nagel 34:05
When you say passive, I’m sort of thinking that I’m sitting on the couch watching TV and, and this thing is working for me. It’s not it’s like, right? Does passive means something less than full time?
Tamika Franklyn 34:21
Yes. It just means that the business does not require you to have to put in 40 plus hours a week, whether it’s managing or whether it’s brick and mortar or not, it’s not going to require you to be involved with the business for 40 hours a week.
Doris Nagel 34:51
What are some of the key questions that people who are interested in franchising should ask themselves before moving forward?
Tamika Franklyn 35:30
I would say you want to make sure that you are ready to own. What’s your mindset? Do you have an entrepreneurial mindset? Your criteria for being a franchise owner – really, not just for being a franchise owner, but any kind of business owner – should be to make sure you actually are ready to own a business.
I feel as though sometimes people think that, because of the pros of having owning a franchise, it’s easy. But it’s still a business. And you still have to put in effort. You still have to put in work. So, I think mindset is important. You have to ask yourself, are you ready?
Another things to consider is whether you saved the money you need? Do you have working capital? Have you thought about the type of investment you’re going to make, whether it’s time or monetary?
So I would think things of that nature. And I feel as though a lot of times when you ask that question, it’ll be the same answer for someone that’s just looking to own any kind of business, whether starting up a business or owning a franchise. There’s just certain things that you have to have put in place to be successful. So you can’t think of a franchise any differently when it comes to that initial investment.
Doris Nagel 37:14
I know you said you represent about 3500+ franchises, but I’m sure there are many more than that. I haven’t looked at the statistics, but I’m guessing the total number of franchises that are out there is probably mind blowing.
What should people think about or be prepared for in terms of the range of investments that might be required? I heard or read somewhere that to buy a McDonald’s franchise, you need to have half a million dollars or so, but I’m guessing that’s on the high end, if that number is right. What’s the range of costs to purchase a franchise?
Tamika Franklyn 38:09
Yes, the range is definitely huge. Because if you’re thinking about franchises like those types of empire brands like McDonald’s, then absolutely, it’s a lot of money and red tape as well. And yes, you’re probably going to have to show you have a million dollars to put in — it’s huge.
However, ‘m passionate about franchising and what I’m doing, because I try to show people that they should hold on, stop and see what else is available. Because there’s so many other franchises. If you like food, great, I can definitely show you food. And it doesn’t have to be McDonald’s. But I can show you where there’s a lucrative option.
People think franchising is all about food. But even with food, there are great franchises that cost a fraction of a McDonald’s franchise.
But as far as the range, it really does depend. When I speak with people, I tell them that you want to at least have have working capital, or liquidity, of at least 25,000. Because regardless of the type of franchise that I will show you, you know, that’s just a rule of thumb to have at least 25,000 liquid because whether you’re doing a cash investment, or you’re looking into funding for it, even if you’re funding it, franchisors will still want to see that you have skin in the game. So that’s just a rule of thumb that I have.
So I’ll use that same example that I just pointed out with the healthcare services franchise. Now, for that industry, the cost of a franchise is actually a pretty low. In fact, I think the lowest price I’ve ever seen for a franchise brand was in healthcare services. But even then they want to make sure you have working capital of $15,000. And I believe the actual franchise fee is under $20,000. So for total capital, you want to have about $35,000. But that’s pretty much all you need for this particular brand.
So that’s why I always say that they still want to see that you have a particular amount of working capital. But it always boils down to what it is that you’re looking to do. Businesses that don’t have brick and mortar like this, where you’re working remote and you’re managing, a smaller amount may work.
But if you’re looking to own a brand that requires brick and mortar, or maybe is a restaurant, then you have to be realistic. If it’s a restaurant, you have to have the equipment, the furniture and furnishings that’s going to be needed to build it out. In that case, that’s definitely gonna be substantially more.
Doris Nagel 41:18
It strikes me that one of the reasons maybe that there aren’t as many women, or people of color, or other underrepresented groups, in franchising is the money. Although that amount is really low if you’re comparing it to McDonald’s, that’s still a lot of money for a lot of people.
Are their options to for people to try to finance some of us? For people who really want to own a franchise, but maybe just don’t have that kind of capital, what advice do you give them?
Tamika Franklyn 42:00
Yes, I’ve run into that, where, during a consultation they may reveal to me something like, “I’m really interested in franchising. I know I want to own a business. But I only have about $5000 saved up.”
So then, I may ask some other questions. Because a lot of people don’t realize that if you have a 401k, there’s different options that you may have. But let’s say worst, you know, worst case scenario, you don’t have any of that or, or you’re in that building phase. That’s okay to be in the learning and building phase, because you’re still being educated on franchising. That’s what I love about what I’m doing, and how I take you through the process.
So even you only have $10,000, say, you know based on everything that I have explained to you that your goal is to own a franchise, and particularly a franchise within, I don’t know, let’s say the beauty industry, or whatever. At least you know that you can stay connected with me, because I’m going to provide you with that information.
I have webinars that speak to the different brands. I had webinars where I had the funding partner, join and give you lots of insights. I’m actually a big fan of SCORE, and I tell many people to look up SCORE to see if they’re in your area. They’re great at mentoring and going through these things.
So I always provide the resources so that one day when they get to that point where they’re ready, I’ll be here. And again, just being staying connected, they’re going to be able to get further insight, so that they’re able to get to where they need to when they’re ready.
As far as funding, again, it depends on the franchise. I’ll use the healthcare example again. This has a very, very low cost for it. So if you only have 10,000 this is something that you know you want to be into, well, you’re not that far off. So we can definitely work to get you there. And you can absolutely still go for financing.
There’s a lot of different options for funding. It’s just that there’s no 100% funding, so you have to have skin in the game. I think that the education piece and the research phase are part of it that take time, anyway. I use real estate as an analogy. It’s the same type of process. People want to own a home one day, but maybe don’t quite have the money right now. I can certainly save, and while I save, I can also be learning about the different options and programs.
Doris Nagel 44:56
It takes time to figure out what the market is and how much you need to save up for the kind of place you want. Some people take a long time with that part, even if they have the money, right?
Tamika Franklyn 45:02
Right. Because there’s still going to be criteria of things you’re looking for, there’s still going to be a down payment, and things of that nature. So it’s very similar to real estate.
Doris Nagel 45:12
Those are great insights.
I guess I would say, based on my own personal experience trying to build businesses, that those numbers may sound kind of high. But if you don’t have that kind of capital, you may want to rethink any kind of business ownership, because you can either pay the money in a fairly large chunk all at once to a franchisor, but if you do it yourself, you’re going to spend that much at least. It’s just going to be a slow bleed, and probably going to end up being more, because you’re making lots of mistakes along the way.
What are some of the common mistakes that people make in terms of running their franchise? Are there certain characteristics that make people more successful or less successful in building their franchise?
Tamika Franklyn 46:23
Absolutely. Those that are going to deviate from the system will struggle. If you think, “I can do this better, I think I have another way,” and you’re not going to execute the way you’re being told, you’re not going to take advantage of the support. Then you’re going to be less successful.
The ones that are completely embracing everything that this brand has to offer them aregoing to do phenomenally well. You have to you have to be willing to collaborate, you have to be willing to learn. You can’t come in knowing it all. You have to come in as a sponge and execute the system. You have the blueprint, just follow the directions. Collaborate with the other owners and take advantage of your franchise’s support system. If it’s a good franchise, you’ll have all you need to be successful.
Doris Nagel 47:20
Do you have any examples of women who have been successful building their own franchise? I know you talked about the webinar with the moms, so maybe even talk about one or two of those, just to show people that it really is possible.
Tamika Franklyn 47:35
I believe I had four women on that webinar. One had a kitchen remodeling business, one had a cleaning business, and another had an outdoor concept that I think it’s called Mosquitoes.
There’s such a variety of women in franchising. But this webinar featured several women that are doing phenomenally well within these brands.
Now, if you have a kitchen remodeling business, you definitely want to be a little more sales focused, because you do have to get out and about and speak to people and sell them on the remodeling. But a lot of women love that, they’re great at sales. And if that’s you, it might be right up your alley.
There’s another woman I’m thinking of that is doing extremely well with her coding franchise. And her franchise recently joined forces with a very large tutoring franchise. So now the tutoring franchise if offering coding tutoring as well, which is great for both franchises.
I know that some of the top industries I’ve been seeing for women has typically been travel has been up there, as far as top franchises for women, the cleaning sector, which again, when I end I want to definitely make sure to clarify, not you being in the business as far as being the person that clean but just managing. Right. So things of that nature, anything that’s that, you know, that’s not necessarily a brick and mortar, and provides that flexibility has done very well for women in the industry.
Doris Nagel 49:43
It strikes me that women franchisees in particular could benefit from supporting each in terms of how to balance business and family. What kind of resources are out there for women in franchising? Are some franchises particularly good at helping with that? What advice would you give to women who struggle with trying to balance their franchise with their family and other obligations?
Tamika Franklyn 50:18
Definitely take advantage of the brand’s mentorship. A lot of times they provide the coaches and mentors for maybe the first six months or a year. For others, the support will be ongoing. But even if your brand only provides it for a year, there’s nothing wrong with asking to have it extended. And so I would say that that’s something that’s important to look for.
I would also say it’s helpful to join your local chambers, and things of that nature. There’s so many different organizations, you know. And I think it’s also important to join, aside from what the support your franchisor is providing you, it’s important for women to get involved in. So whether you are someone who has kids or not, I feel as though there’s a lot of different organizations that you can definitely be involved in and that will provide you that extra support. I just did an interview with someone whose whole focus is a Facebook group where it’s all about moms and business. Getting connected with groups like that I think is very important.
Doris Nagel 51:45
You make a great point. I think historically, women have not probably been as diligent and committed to networking as our male counterparts. But we women need to network as well. It’s good for our business, it’s good for our psyche, and it’s good for our personal livesl.
We started talking about your business, and now let’s circle back your business. Talk about some of the advantages of using a franchise consultant or broker like yourself. There are a LOT of franchises out there, and I’m guessing that some of them are not as strong as others. Talk about your role in helping people find franchises, and maybe advice for helping people avoid some of the risky or less desirable franchises or business models?
Tamika Franklyn 52:54
Absolutely. I love the aha moment. I would say in one word: clarity. Just gaining the clarity, because I feel like what tends to happen is you know, that you want to own a business, you kind of heard about franchises, so you do a search, and you’re just bombarded with a bunch of stuff. And you know, and unfortunately, you know, you might kind of go down the rabbit hole, you might click on a couple of things, you might fill out some things and I’ve you get extremely overwhelmed or just never followed up with. So, you know, working with someone like me is going to provide you extreme clarity, we have the data, we have the insight, not only for friends, but it’s just to be able to understand you so that we’re able to properly match you with the right businesses that you may not even have considered or heard of, or come across just based on our consultations with you, and some of the resources that that I do utilize to help aid me in that process. So I have an internal advocate, as well, as I said, I’d like to I’d make sure that I’m joining the calls with you. Because sometimes, you know, you might have you might have a question that maybe a little bit too shy to ask that question.
Doris Nagel 54:20
Or maybe even the question they don’t think to ask because they don’t have the experience and perspective that you have.
Tamika Franklyn 54:23
Absolutely. And that brings me to another point. I also provide you with a list of great questions to ask franchisors. I give this to you beforehand, so that you can’t you get to see the types of questions that you can ask. And of course, you may come with questions as well.
But it’s just a great tool to have, because sometimes people say, “Oh, I never would have thought to ask this. And I see why that that may be important.” And if I thought that there was something that you didn’t tap in to, I’ll speak up for you. I’ll either ask it or I will circle back with the brand and say, ‘This wasn’t concern for this particular candidate. Can you elaborate more?”
And I also do a recap after every call with a franchisor. I always have a quick call with the client right after, where I ask them, Okay, what did you think about that? How did you feel? Did you have any questions?” Because often the client is more comfortable speaking with me, and they’ll tell me what the concerns are rather than bring them up on the call with the franchise. That way, I’m able to provide them with further insight into that, or advice that’s that as far as what we can go, or those are great points, I’ll get those answers for you. Or let’s have another call, where we’ll address that those questions — things of that nature.
Doris Nagel 55:42
I would guess you could waste a lot of time trying to do this on your own. How are you compensated? Do you charge an hourly rate or something else?
Tamika Franklyn 55:52
I’m so glad that you asked that. Again, I like to use the real estate agent analogy, because I feel like people just really understand it when I use that model. Like a real estate agent, when you are ready to buy your home, and you give them your requirements. You tell, “I have kids these ages, this is why I like this area, here’s what we know we’re looking for.” Then it’s the real estate agent’s job to go back into their inventory, and then come back with some options for you. And then you look at several of those, until a decision is made.
But you do not pay that real estate agent for that process. They’re compensated by the owner. I work in a very similar fashion. I’m not compensated by these consultations or being your internal advocate. I am compensated by the brands. They have a market budget for people such as me, and they normally have a set rate that they will pay consultants to bring great candidates for them to consider. So I’m compensated by the brand, but I don’t work for any one particular brand.
Doris Nagel 57:01
That sounds like kind of a no brainer — somebody to help guide you through the process and educate you and be your advocate that you don’t even pay for. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
If people are interested in learning more about franchising, or your services, what’s the best way for them to reach you?
Tamika Franklyn 57:31
They can go to my website, which is precisionfranchise.com. I’m also on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn at Precision Franchise. When you go onto the website, you should see a pop up for the upcoming webinars that I have. The webinars that I do put together are free and are meant to help educate people. You can sign up for my email list, so you’ll be notified of upcoming ones.
I also have some resources available on my website. So if you just wanted to learn a little bit more about the industry and how someone like me can help, I have a free ecourse that is on my website that you can get. You’re not obligated to have a consultation or anything with me, you can just stay connected and just get the resources until you feel motivated enough to have further conversation.
And I’d like to offer to your listeners access to past webinars – we talked about a couple of webinars that I’ve had, such as moms and franchising. If you would like to see these webinars, just shoot me an email or contact me from my website, and I will be more than happy to send that to them. People can also find me on social media. Please feel free to reach out or visit my website and check out the resources that are there for you.
Doris Nagel 59:30
Tamika, thanks again for being on the show this week.
Tamika Franklyn 59:33
Thank you so much, Doris. It was awesome.
Doris Nagel 59:36
It was awesome! A special thanks again to my guest today, Tamika Franklin, founder of Precision Franchise, talking about franchising and specifically, women in franchising and why franchising is such a great model for women.
You can find more helpful information and resources on my website at www.globalocityservices.com.
I welcome your comments, questions, or suggestions — email me at dnagel@lakesradio.org. I promise you always get a response back from me.
Be sure to join me again next Saturday at 11am Central, noon Eastern.
But until then, I’m Doris Nagel, wishing you happy entrepreneuring!
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