Are you considering entering into a new business? It can be daunting, especially after the new regulations due to the pandemic. Matt DiFrancesco is joined by a special guest, Britt Schroeter. She is a franchise consultant from FranChoice, one of the top franchise consultants in the United States.
Britt shares her experiences and insights to enlighten those who are considering franchise ownership. She also reveals the business owners’ challenges in the franchising business and the need to include the rest of the family.
Covid has had an enormous impact on family business owners. They are constantly faced with new challenges from every direction. Whether it is pivoting to new business models or making complicated financial decisions, they are continually trying to adjust to the “new normal.” Amidst this chaos, it will be a smart move to consult a professional who knows the situation inside and out. So, schedule a free 20-minute conversation with Matt DiFrancesco from HighLift Financial and start discussing your family business situation.
About Britt Schroeder
Britt is a franchise consultant who provides free franchise consulting services to individuals considering franchise ownership. She has spent more than 25 years as a franchisee entrepreneur, franchise executive, and franchise consultant. Furthermore, she is also the co-author of the “Franchisee Playbook.”
One of her best qualities as a professional is that she is very insightful. Thus, when it comes to analysis, she’s very thorough and cares about pairing up people with the right business opportunity for them. So as part of the Difrancesco team, she helps my clients identify new business vehicles that can diversify their income streams and create opportunities for family members that may not be interested in the core family business.
Her efforts contribute to my processes, such as helping families form business umbrellas to keep them interested. Moreover, this also lets the business owners support the generational wealth secure. So, for instance, if we talk about the automotive business owner, they can diversify to keep the children engaged in the family business.
“To keep the families united and the business alive, I help them in diversifying their business portfolio. Multiple businesses allow the whole family to flourish.”
How Did Britt Become a Franchise Consultant?
Britt has a degree in business and education. She combined those two skill sets and found her way to her very first franchise, Kiddie Academy learning centers. After that, she and her husband went on and owned several businesses. Two of them have been franchises. Her current professional position allows her to help other people reach higher levels of flexibility and control in their life, escape the corporate rat race, and determine how to live their life by their rules and no one else’s.
Why Did Britt Go For Franchising?
People have preconceived notions of what a franchise is and that it’s expensive to get into. According to Britt, franchising is not for everyone. When candidates go to her, they usually fall into two different personality styles. The first type is those who like to create and do all the startup steps with entrepreneurship. In contrast, the second category is all about execution.
“If you look where wealth is created, it’s created through execution, not the setup.”
Franchising gives you the startup support, systems, and branding to hit the ground running. You can focus on wealth creation and diversification.
“One of the benefits of having the franchise’s that you already have the system in place.”
How Does Britt Find the Best Franchise Match for a Client?
Britt follows her well-laid-out process that takes a lot of listening and asking the right questions. Then, when she deals with a new candidate, she places them at the center of the equation. This follows with a series of interviews regarding their financial goals, lifestyle goals, skill sets, resume, personality, interests, and the idea of the market.
“Just because a business is a good business doesn’t mean it’s going to be the right business for you.”
She typically takes about an hour and a half, getting to know her candidates before coming back with recommendations. So, it’s all about putting the individual or the partnership at the center of the equation, and then building out the business model from there.
Can People Start Franchising With a Low Range of Investment Capital?
Many people want to get involved in a franchise business, but they don’t have a couple of $100,000 to start one up. This is one of the people’s misunderstandings about the franchise business that requires a significant range of investment levels.
However, that is not the case, as Britt has various options. For instance, If you look at Gen Pro, where someone could start as an owner-operator and clean office buildings themselves, they can get into that for as low as $5,000.
In the case of service-based franchises, the investment levels typically start at around 50,000 and may go up to $175,000 based on equipment, number of employees that you start with. In contrast, retail franchises usually start at about $150,000 and can cost a million.
If People Want to Get Their Children Involved, What Are Some of the Best Businesses for Those Families?
If you are running your own business or planning to start one, try to communicate to the children that you have a role to play in the business. For instance, if you own a painting franchise, you may find that your children are ideal for distributing flyers.
Similarly, if you have a family business related to automotive, you can involve your children by assigning them the role of cleaning the job sites. So by involving them, you can help them develop a sense of purpose in your business and learn about work ethic firsthand.
You need to avoid building this large business and placing it in the children’s hands when you’re looking to retire or start to pull back. If they haven’t been involved or haven’t learned the meaning of hard work, you’re going to be in big trouble.
What Are Some of the Best Business Ideas Britt Has Been Promoting During COVID That Will Also Work Post-COVID?
Britt breaks this concept into three different areas:
- COVID positive businesses
- COVID neutral businesses
- COVID negative businesses
COVID Positive Businesses
This includes opportunities that have higher sales levels this August than last August. They’re growing because of Covid. An excellent example of this is janitorial and cleaning. Think about all the schools, the hospitals, the retail locations, the warehouses that need to be cleaned every night, if not more frequently.
Think about all the fleets of vehicles, the school buses, the delivery trucks, the police, the fire, the ambulance, the rental cars that have to be cleaned every day. This previously massive industry just got bigger because the people are doubling those budgets.
In terms of hobbies, we all used to belong to a community pool. Now we’re building backyard pools. So installation and repair companies are a huge hit. As for the restaurant space, we have food delivery, throughs, and pick up. So, you can jump into businesses that are just skyrocketing when you focus on the shift.
COVID Neutral Businesses
These are recession-resistant businesses that were strong before and will continue to be strong. So if my transmission breaks, it needs to be fixed if my plumbing, electrical, air conditioning, and heating businesses will do well in any economy.
COVID Negative Businesses
There are businesses out there that were hit hard, like gyms and traditional restaurants. But, as we move out of Covid, you can position yourself for growth. Businesses always have those natural cycles up and down, buy low, sell high. You can play within the space in the most agile categories and position the best for that uptick.
Female Entrepreneurs
Females are more concerned about security than opportunity. Britt helps them in stepping out of their comfort zones and getting prepared for bigger leaps. For most females, another significant consideration would be the balance, especially if they have children. How do they balance their work with personal life? So franchising is a great option if you have another key player. It will give them the flexibility to be still as involved in the kid’s life while doing well in their career.
Britt helps the female entrepreneurs to assess their energy and consider the male-dominated industries if they have the right skill. For instance, painting franchises are traditionally owned by men. Bringing female energy into that business can be a game-changer and can position you to beat out the competition. So don’t shy away from automotive, technical-oriented, or construction-oriented businesses because you can stand out by being a bit different from the crowd and the competitors.
Get in touch with Britt!
You can always visit my website to contact Britt, or you can call her directly at 439778550. Her book “The Franchisee Playbook: A Step-by-Step Manual for Choosing a Winning Franchise” is available on Amazon. Her services are free to candidates because the franchise ORS pays her If and when you become an honor for them. So if this sparks your interest to learn more and create this flexibility, she is there for you!
Schedule a Conversation With Matt
Now that you have learned about franchising and the businesses you can start, it is time to go over what happens afterward briefly. Starting your post-covid venture or sustaining the old family businesses can be very challenging. There are tons of areas in which you might require professional assistance.
For example, deciding on the next course of action and involving the entire family in it. This is where you can use some help. Schedule a free 20-minute conversation with Matt DiFrancesco from HighLift Financial. In addition to discussing the financial situation, you can also go over the way forward, such as retirement and succession plans.
Moreover, if you want to know more about Covid’s impact on businesses, you can go over my conversation with Dave Erb. We discussed the challenges that family businesses faced and how they pivoted and managed to make a lot of money amidst the pandemic.
Disclaimer
The information compiled and posted here solely represents the opinions and views of the guest. It might not necessarily be similar to the opinions and views of High Lift Financial. The availability of this content only serves educational and informational purposes. It is in no way a substitute for tax or legal advice or professional investment.
Always make sure to consult your financial advisor with any queries related to personal or business planning. DiFrancesco Financial Concierge, LLC. d/b/a HighLift Financial is a Registered Investment Advisor registered with the State of Pennsylvania and subject to the State of Pennsylvania’s regulatory oversight.