You don’t really get to understand what it means to own a franchise until it clicks for you. Everyone knows at least one famous franchise brand, like McDonald’s or Ace Hardware, etc… It’s through the lens of a customer that most people look at franchising. You know you’ve got to purchase and transact with these brands, and you feel some sort of resentment as you make these rich people even richer. Or maybe you’re not resentful at all, but you’re downright curious about what it’s like to own a business. “What’s it like being a PRO or a multi-millionaire?” Question is: are you satisfied looking through those lens…or will you pursue a different perspective – that of an entrepreneur?! Choosing the latter will show you that you don’t need to be business-savvy nor born with a silver spoon in your mouth to own a business… This power couple, Leann and Josh Lloyd took it upon themselves to learn about franchising, through our FREE content AND by reaching out to yours truly! It wasn’t long before they picked up on why Franchising is THE “Cheat Code” to the financial freedom they were dreaming of! Josh, a 6th generation rancher and businessman, has a diverse entrepreneurial background in Agriculture, Energy and Construction. Leann, embarked on her own journey into the franchising world with the support of her husband. As a former school teacher, she had given her love and care to help kids reach their dreams. It wasn’t long before she too needed to fulfill her dreams and that’s when this power couple sought our help. Now, Leann and Josh are steadily growing their businesses towards the financial freedom they deserve. Ready to satisfy your curiosity and secure your future? See through the eyes of successful franchisees and let’s set you up with the perfect franchise brand like we did with Leann and Josh, today! Tune in to our Podcast to learn more about everything you WANT and NEED on franchising, investment, financing processes and options. This is Eye On Franchising, where we share our vision for your franchise future. Lance Graulich Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising Eye On Franchising
You don’t really get to understand what it means to own a franchise until it clicks for you.
Everyone knows at least one famous franchise brand, like McDonald’s or Ace Hardware, etc…
It’s through the lens of a customer that most people look at franchising.
You know you’ve got to purchase and transact with these brands, and you feel some sort of resentment as you make these rich people even richer.
Or maybe you’re not resentful at all, but you’re downright curious about what it’s like to own a business.
“What’s it like being a PRO or a multi-millionaire?”
Question is: are you satisfied looking through those lens…or will you pursue a different perspective – that of an entrepreneur?!
Choosing the latter will show you that you don’t need to be business-savvy nor born with a silver spoon in your mouth to own a business…
This power couple, Leann and Josh Lloyd took it upon themselves to learn about franchising, through our FREE content AND by reaching out to yours truly!
It wasn’t long before they picked up on why Franchising is THE “Cheat Code” to the financial freedom they were dreaming of!
Josh, a 6th generation rancher and businessman, has a diverse entrepreneurial background in Agriculture, Energy and Construction.
Leann, embarked on her own journey into the franchising world with the support of her husband. As a former school teacher, she had given her love and care to help kids reach their dreams. It wasn’t long before she too needed to fulfill her dreams and that’s when this power couple sought our help.
Now, Leann and Josh are steadily growing their businesses towards the financial freedom they deserve.
Ready to satisfy your curiosity and secure your future?
See through the eyes of successful franchisees and let’s set you up with the perfect franchise brand like we did with Leann and Josh, today!
Tune in to our Podcast to learn more about everything you WANT and NEED on franchising, investment, financing processes and options.
This is Eye On Franchising, where we share our vision for your franchise future.
Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
franchise, josh, franchisee, people, business, franchising, financing, watched, hear, leanne, podcast, entrepreneur, bit, lance, talk, robin, support, island, challenge, kids
SPEAKERS
Lance, Josh, Leann, Lance Graulich
Lance Graulich 00:02
Welcome to Eye on franchising. Are you looking for business opportunities? Well, you are in the right place. We represent over 650 franchises and business opportunities. We will help you find your perfect franchise for free. We even have a free assessment on our website that will help us determine the best businesses for you based on your investment level, mindset, skillset, and life experiences. This is in franchising, where we share our vision for your franchise’s future. I'm your host Lance Graulich. Each week, we will speak to fascinating folks from the world of franchising, franchisors and founders, franchise funders and franchisees, are you looking to find your perfect franchise? Or perhaps you are an independent business owner looking to grow and scale your business by setting up a franchise? Either way, our team can help you. Eye on franchising, where you will learn the A to Z's of franchising.
Lance 01:07
Hello, Lloyd company.
Josh 01:09
Good afternoon.
Lance 01:11
Good afternoon. Oh, two for the price of one in one frame. You guys look both much better than I even remember looking.
Leann 01:22
Good to know.
Lance 01:25
Did you say good? Yeah, I'm glad. I'm glad I look better than what you remember. While it's always better, I run into people all the time. Like my dentist, I have a retainer that broke like an Invisalign type thing I wear at night. Because you know, when you have braces, you're supposed to wear a retainer for the rest of your life. Four years later, it broke guys who haven't seen me in years. And they're like, You look, I thought you'd look older. So Josh, and I just had a conversation about kind of the setup of this. The idea of this is not for me to ask any embarrassing or weird or uncomfortable questions. I would rather as soon as we start this, I'm going to introduce you and I'm going to say, well, do I say Leanne and Josh bought a franchise? Or Leann buy a franchise so you guys don't get offended? Either way? It's both of you,
Leann 02:30
right? Yeah. I mean, Yeah, pretty much.
Josh 02:35
So I'm just here for support. Would you say, Josh? I'm just here for support.
Lance 02:41
So Lloyds invested in a franchise. I'll just set it up with Hey, today we have a special franchisee spotlight, I call I like that name franchisee spotlight. And we have the Lloyds here they recently got into a franchise called Challenge Island. And you guys got to hear their story. And all I'm gonna do is I'm let you I'm gonna let you say exactly what you want to say, obviously. And I might ask some I don't want to say probing questions that sound like it's like President Biden, you know, depending on who's interviewing him about Fox News, interviewing President Biden. You don't talk politics, you and I, but Josh and I indirectly do and I see things he posts.
Leann 03:33
Oh, I'm sure I can only imagine. Yes. And we're definitely on the same page.
Lance 03:36
My mother-in-law is on the same page with us too, by the way, which is so strange. She's from California. So but no, I'm not Fox News, interviewing Biden trying to trick him up. I'm on your side. I want people that were in your position and Josh's position to go shit, that's me.
Leann 03:56
Sure. Yeah, definitely. And you know, like, I'd love you to say that, man.
Lance 04:04
And as you can say, an SBA loan wasn't right for me. And I've, you know, Lance connected me with a guy for a conventional loan, and I didn't think this or I mean, just spell it out how you want to spell it out. Okay, that makes sense. Yeah. But there's no detail that's too small. Think of yourself in this position. People want to know, like, how the heck do you do this? Sure. Makes sense. Yeah, definitely. And as far as your overall performance, most normal people know, and Josh and I had a recent was text or call. I don't remember when we kind of went back and forth on this. But you know where you are today is obviously normal. I mean, Challenge Island probably thinks you're doing a nice job, right? I mean, yeah, that's it. Well, that's exactly my point. The first year is always the hardest. And then In, you know, it gets easier because you start to know what you didn't know. Right, you start to improve on your systems. And by the way, I love the collaboration when you haven't hopefully you've had an opportunity to talk to some really good, really good franchisees with Challenge Island that have been doing it a long time. Maybe they give your ideas, too. So it's not just what corporate tells you. These are the kinds of things I wanted to want to do to share from the heart. So that's really the whole purpose. Cool. And what a supportive husband looks like. Not a myth there is.
Leann 05:36
Yes, yes, there is.
Lance 05:39
Alright. Does that make sense? are we good? Yeah. So if it goes a half-hour great, I'm not going to force it. It's just going to be organic. And that's really it. So I'm gonna go on Facebook Live with this. Okay. Give me a second. I'm kind of Potsie when it comes to this sometimes I get hung up live on Facebook. I'm going to put in the top and the heading real-life franchisees and I get is that good? Yeah, they tell their story of working with me and becoming Challenge Island franchisees. Perfect, that's, that's what it's becoming real. Okay, perfect. I got that. And here we go share with your group. Hitting the go-live button. Preparing to stream so we're gonna get live in a minute. Cool. You can tap dance in the meantime, Josh Leanna. I don't know about you if you want to tap dance.
Leann 06:42
No, no, thanks. I'm good. All right.
Lance 06:45
Here we go. And we are live. Looks like there's a little delay, but we can ignore that we don't have to look at each other. Okay. Hello, everybody. So welcome. Welcome, welcome. My name is Lance Gramlich, your host in this wonderful Facebook group called finding your perfect business. A lot of people asked me on a regular basis. They love to hear from the brands that I interview on the podcast. And today we have a very special couple. I want to welcome you to the show on our Facebook live to our group to the podcast when it streams later, Leanne and Josh Lloyd, our Challenge Island franchisees, and welcome. Welcome, welcome. Welcome, Josh and Leann.
Josh 07:35
Hi, everybody.
Leann
Hello!
Lance 07:37
You guys are awesome. I enjoyed the heck out of working with you. So what I know what interests people is, why don't you share your story. So many entrepreneurs or future entrepreneurs, have all kinds of apprehensions as to you know, I say this all the time. And you guys have heard this from me at any one time. 65% or more of America want to be their own bosses. And they don't know whether they should just start off doing MLM because it's an inexpensive investment and work their way up. Or what do they do they know they can't do a McDonald's franchisee because they hear you have to be a multimillionaire and maybe you can't get to McDonald's today. But so let's talk about who wants ladies? Firstly, and you want to start a Josh, you want to start?
Leann 08:25
Sure I'll start. Go. So I was interested in franchising when we were actually at a witch. And they had a sign about franchising. And I was talking to Josh about it, like what it takes to own a franchise. My husband is an entrepreneur. And so I watch him and listen to him start stuff from the ground up. And I know that I am a more structured person, I like to have structure and know what to do next and stuff. And so he was talking to me and he's like, I know this guy. He was on a Bradley podcast. And his name is Lance Graulich. We should talk to him, you know, watch his podcast and see what he has to say. So we watched you and I filled out your form. And it was a quick response. And after talking with you, it was amazing, the different franchises that you had to offer and I gave you my background. I am in seven years of being a paraprofessional, in elementary education. And I just knew that I wanted to do something bigger and better for myself and my family. And when we were discussing when both you and I were talking with each other, you just you're like I know what franchise would be good for you and listening to My background and everything and working with kids and stuff, you talked about Challenge Island. And it just sounded so amazing to me. And so structured and just everything right up my alley working with kids working with education, and just went from there, I what I loved about it, and I'll be honest, I was nervous to talk with you and everything, but it was so nice to talk with you. And it was humbling, and you're so welcoming, and you just, all through our process, it was just I was so comfortable. And you made me feel good about myself and pursuing it, you know, and I not only had, you know, your support to go forward, but my husband also supported me, you know, all the way from day one. I mean, he's the one that listens to your podcasts and stuff and was like, Okay, I've got this, we're gonna listen to Lance, we're gonna listen to this and gather together and get you started going. And ever since then, it's just been amazing. And on our journey together from June to I have it in my notes, I signed my contract with Challenge Island in November. So it was everything just fit within reason. And Robin is great. I love Robin from Challenge Island. She's amazing. They are family and to go from working at a school and just knowing you know, I'll always be here going to another family like Challenge Island was just there. They're so welcoming through this whole journey and process. You Sharon Robin, and everybody from the Challenge Island family have just been so welcoming, welcoming, and it's been awesome. And having the support from my husband has been great. Like he's been with me through the thick and thin man through the laughter and the tears and the good jobs and everything. And he's always had my back. And it's been great. So to say that I've had amazing support from everybody involved somewhat settled saying that seems so appropriate.
Lance 12:11
I love it when a plan comes together. Yes, yes. Let's and boy, thank you so much for saying all that. That's awesome. Leanne. I mean, I love when you obviously you're speaking from the heart. Let's take it back a little bit. Because I remember when we started the process, Josh was the one that originally reached out, which was awesome, because that indicated to me that there was a husband and wife that are basically at least my assumption was I hadn't spoken to you at the time that clearly you're going to pretty much be on the same page. Here's the husband reaching out Josh, to say, you know, my wife would be really good for anything, you know, she's got these skills. And you know, we had a nice sort of light conversation. Because I always, always, always, I mean, I train consultants and brokers that do what I do for a living through a company called a friend to serve. And that's one of the number one things I say all the time, if the person you're speaking with is married, you better be speaking to the spouse. Because no matter what happens, this investment, first of all, we all know that women make most of the decisions or the majority of the decisions anyway. So the fact that you were going to be running this, I knew I just sounded awesome. I loved hearing about Josh's entrepreneurial exploits. Josh is amazing at sending me referrals on a regular basis, as you probably know, the end, which is a refresher. Yep, I love referrals. And some of them are guys that want to set up a franchise system for their thriving company at this point and grow and scale that way. But I love that you guys were obviously a team, you know, mindset, as you guys know, at this point, and Josh has been an entrepreneur, that the mindset thing, you know, having the confidence, having the understanding that you really can't it sounds cliche, but you know, now that you can do whatever you put your mind. Yes, absolutely. And franchising just makes it a little bit easier, or in some cases a lot easier, because you have the support, not only from the Challenge Island but corporate, you mentioned Sharon and Robin shout out to Sharon and Robin Hi there. And, and you have the support, you know, from high performing franchisees and their best practices, and Hey, how'd you get to do what you're doing? You know, and so that it's all awesome, and I'm so happy for you, Joshua, let's hear from you a little bit. From your perspective, although you got a tough act to follow. Leann did that incredibly well.
Josh 14:49
For her no surprise. Well, to me, it's kind of all about time and space. I mean, she's watched my journey for years. And I'm a little more of the wild, wild west entrepreneur, I can't, you know, I'm always trying to find new things, new products, you know, pioneer new spaces. And I think I kind of wear her out talking about business stuff all the time. And, and I didn't even mention, you know, the podcast I heard you on I had mentioned it to her, probably two months before that, or something like that. And I could tell it's sort of went in one ear and out the other. But obviously, something kind of clicked and held stuck somewhere a little bit because, obviously then we revisited that went on, fuzzy on here, you know, rather late and anyway.
Lance 15:43
Yeah. Just kidding.
Josh 15:47
Anyway, cropped me out. You'll get more likes. Anyway. So, like I said, time and space when you're ready to deliver or receive a certain message or, you know, absorb a certain message. I was kind of happy that she brought it up just because I'm always wanting to talk about stuff. And I saw something in franchising after you articulated it so well, because, as you said, everybody knows what McDonald's and Taco Bell and blah, blah, blah, is. But you don't really understand what it actually means or what franchising is until it clicks. When you hear it kind of the way you laid it out on that podcast, one of my favorite, favorite ones dropping bombs by Bradley.
Lance 16:34
Bradley, shout out to Bradley. Yeah. He's in Vegas. He's got a great studio in Vegas. He's great.
Josh 16:43
I want to drop in and see him and you both sometime. Yeah, perfect. But uh, anyway, so she just kind of randomly asked me like said we were at which and she just kind of found that interesting. She's like, she's a put, just put it right here for everybody. Like, here's a pile of pamphlets, like they're advertising for franchisees. And she's like, what is that? And I proceeded to butcher the message that you had articulated. So well, like, I had it in here. But I couldn't, you know, I was messing it all up. So I'm like, let's just let me dig up that old podcast and this time, I pulled it up on YouTube. And we watched the whole thing together. And she says, I get it. She's like, I can be an entrepreneur. Like it's simple, simple as that it clicked. She's like, I don't have to do it the way you do it, dummy.
Lance 17:33
I see a better path.
Josh 17:36
So I said, Well, as a mental exercise, I said, Let's fill out the form. Let's go to the web page, just like he said, fill out the form and see what happens. And we were expecting and kind of a robo reply, like typing on a web form. And it turned out to be you personally, I'm like, holy cow. Like that was that's some quick and sincere service there.
Lance 18:00
I do give those specific outreaches if you will, those contacts, I know by the subject heading, where those come from. And I know that somebody that's specifically reaching out to me because they saw me on a podcast. So whether it was my own podcast or a guest on a podcast. So that gets me really excited. Because it's the voice of the people that I want to talk to that those are my priority people. Those are people that already have somewhat of a one-way relationship with me and I want to establish that two-way relationship. Yeah, kind of already past that first barrier of entry, just the interest level alone.
Josh 18:42
So anyway, you scheduled a call with her right away and like literally changed her path in a 145-minute conversation, got her excited, got her looking out on the new horizons of what's actually possible in what she can achieve. And it really is kind of bizarre how overlooked franchising is or how much ignorance collectively there is about it. You know, glad you said that. There is I mean like I said, everybody knows what McDonald's and Taco Bell and those guys are, but nobody realizes there's such a wide spectrum, a wide range of little ones that you can do by yourself on the side and you know, make beer money or pay rent with it all the way up to millions of dollars for
Lance 19:34
Josh, It's so perfect what you just said I was on a call with one of my brands that is $70,000 and it's a home-based franchise 75 At most but you can do it for a little bit less all in start from home. You have to have sales ability. And my friend at the brand just told me a franchisee sold. A new record happened. France Josie sold her business for four and a half million dollars for a home-based business that cost him $70,000. To open. And people to your point people don't know this exists. In fact, sometimes I dumbed down these examples. Like I don't even I wouldn't even tell anybody normally, although I'm doing it live now, I wouldn't tell people normally it was four and a half million because plenty of their past sales were a million and a half a million 6,000,007 When people chose to retire on a $70,000 investment, and that sounds incredible. So I don't want to scare people into thinking, I don't know if I can do that. Well, you don't have to do that.
Leann 20:40
Right.
Josh 20:41
So well, there's definitely, I mean, once you've, you know, like me intentionally gone through the process of, of starting companies, running companies, selling companies building brands, you once you kind of know what, what it takes to do that. And I still haven't done it completely successfully as to my you know, my goals yet, but still, you get an insight of what it actually takes. And then when you couple that with learning about franchise models, you realize how important you know that structure in that system is, and you realize that it's kind of a cheat code, it's a head start, you just you buy into something that they've already done the market research, their branding is already tight, they've already got backend systems in place, they've got tangible data and statistics and all that stuff that, you know, that's a major component of business, and deciding whether it even start one or not. So you get to step right into something that's merely completely operational and functional, like there's still definitely a, you know, a kickoff phase.
Lance 22:07
And it's a grind, you still have to do the basic fundamentals to do work is still you can
have the best personal trainer in the world, but you still have to do the work, for sure.
Josh 22:11
And we're, we're far from cashflow positive still, but we're coming up on the season where this particular franchise in this niche kind of we make our hay during the summer. And we're right on the verge of that so, so all the extra grinding and, and preparation is going to get and pay off here real soon. And it's going to be really rewarding. And, and on that topic. And I know you were wanting to touch on this, the financing side of it, you know by All right, we never should have even been able to qualify been able to purchase this like, like we just knew it was kind of a calling that we needed to pursue together. Mostly her but obviously I'm always encouraging everyone I know to do some sort of business activity, some kind of side hustle, some kind of something. But it was kind of further validation that we were on the right track when we actually were able to get financing and get the thing purchased. And, you know, owl, your buddy owl was incredible, not just helpful, but I mean, it wouldn't have worked without him. You mean you watched us go round and round with multiple different banks, SBA, you know, my current business was kind of in limp mode, while we were trying to do this, so I didn't have the cash on hand like I typically would to help her seed this and get it going. So we kind of started from scratch at the bottom, when we really shouldn't have even been able to pull it off. It still worked its way out because of all the resources at hand and the collection of experience knowledge, you know, that you guys have on the back, back end, you know, number one, your network and you know your ability to choose the right franchise for us based on our profile, really, and then get further into it. And the Challenge Island people themselves saw the potential in her and they really bent over backward to help as well to kind of recruit her as a franchisee, and it's going to pay dividends for them too. I think it already is we're already getting a few potential new franchisees that they're passing on to us for our advice opinion.
Lance 24:41
You're now a validator.
Josh 24:42
Yeah, exactly, exactly in their discovery phase and we really haven't accomplished anything yet.
Lance 24:49
But it's okay.
Josh 24:51
Well, there's a certain energy and a certain ambition and motivation that I know It radiates from him. Absolutely, absolutely. It does. And, and just, I think our story, her story, her background connects with a lot of people that are looking for a similar opportunity. And, to me, the risk is so mitigated are minimized, because they've already done the heavy lifting. Like I don't even see the purchase of the franchise itself as that big of a risk?
Lance 25:32
A lot of people would if they don't understand it, but well, you're such an entrepreneur. That's how I say it. Also, I tell people that all the time to Headstart, if you're an average franchisee, you're still going to do well. So the only way you don't do well because you get to see numbers and understand the business model is if you're don't perform, at least to the average or well below the average for whatever reason, and there are reasons those things happen, you know, and they really make that part easy, like follow these directions, and you'll be fine. Yeah, excuse me.
Josh 26:06
Yeah, so, so yeah, go ahead.
Lance 26:09
I'm sorry, I was gonna address something on financing that you said. So to let everybody that's kind of playing at home or watching us know from their home or office or wherever they might be. You know, the way financing normally works in franchising, if you have money in a 401 K, you can do a Rob's a rollover business startup loan out of a 401k you have the ability to borrow against your stock trading account, some people have that some people don't. And then you have the ability besides funding from cash, you can get an SBA loan, which is certainly the most popular that wasn't suitable for you. So we got you a conventional loan. So as always, because I love both of you guys. I threw the whole arsenal at it and I categorized or prioritized I should say, who is best here and who is the Navy Seal of financing for this deal. And Al came through. Yeah, hello, Al. Al is with fun. My franchise al Lesko, Alan's shout out, shout out, shout out to Al for so yeah, and you put nothing down on top of it.
Josh 27:16
Zero down. I mean, it definitely was on orthodox. It's kind of a combination of a personal loan here and a little personal loan there. A couple of credit cards, like we just did whatever it took to get it done. And made sure we had a little extra on one of the cards to cover some operating expenses while we, you know, yeah, work through the early phases.
Lance 27:42
So when I was talking about mindset earlier, I wanted to cover one piece. So at what point because I could be wrong, I might have missed it. I'm excited to have you guys. So I might have missed this piece if we already talked about it a little bit. But at what point Lian before my name was ever uttered, or the word or the F word franchising? At what point? Did you and Josh ever have a conversation about that? You know what? I really liked working at the school, but I don't see myself here forever. At what point did you know or did Josh know that? Because Josh brought my name up to you. And the fact that he saw me on a podcast. So he knew maybe that you had an inkling of being you know, you were one of that 65% of Americans, hey, I want to probably do my own thing someday.
Leann 28:33
So I was like I said, I been a parent for seven years. And I knew I didn't, I don't have my master's. I don't have my teaching degree, you know, but at the time, my kids went to school there, you know, I like being involved with the school and watching my kids and stuff. Well, now I have a high schooler and a middle schooler. So at that point, still being at the school and still being at the same level, you know, after so long, I just knew like, I'm really no longer needed here. You know, my kids, they're, they're on their own. They're in different schools and stuff. And now that I've watched my kids grow and everything now it's kind of my turn almost for me to now go back and be like, Okay, now what am I gonna do? You know, now I have a time I was a stay-at-home mom and stuff and volunteered at their school and everything. And now I'm like, Okay, now I need to focus on me. And I knew as I said, I just knew I would be in the same position at the school, but I wanted something bigger and better for myself and my family and after watching him, I was just thinking like, well, I want to be closer, just as good as you like, I want to be you know, I want to get to that level. I want to feel what it feels like to have something that you have grown into something big. I want to feel that accomplishment, you know, I want to reach my goals now. Because now it's, here's my time, and I better take it now.
Josh 30:09
So it was sort of a changing of the season, you know, time for her to do some self-discovery and some self-development, be sure you know what she already had. And not to bring politics into it. But there were certain changes happening right about that time. And fuel prices were already starting to go up. COVID was kind of a mess. And we just kind of hit the realization because we live up in the mountains a little way. So it's almost an hour commute to her work in Colorado, in Colorado, in the mountains. It's snowing right now, believe it or not, she's Yeah, it's all green and beautiful. And everything's flowering, but it is snowing, right?
Josh 30:52
But we came to the realization, she's like, Man with fuel prices where they're at, she's like, I'm literally working for free. Because by the time I drive down there every day, I'm sure. And the little that I'm making like we're actually in the negative, she's like, I'd be better off staying at home, but I'm not just gonna stay at home and do nothing. Because, you know, we'll go crazy when it's not productive. So, so that was kind of really the last ingredient that, you know, really triggered that in her mind. Like, I have to find something new and different. And I might as well take a big swing at something, you know what I mean?
Lance 31:30
Yeah. And by the way, you mentioned Robin, we've mentioned Robin a couple of times. So, Robin, Challenge Island is the first point of contact when I when you work with me, you know, we have that first discovery call, like I did with Josh and I did with you, Leanne, and we determine what you're looking for. Many people don't have too many preferences. They're fairly wide open. But then there's a group of people like you that certainly have preferences and you liked working with kids. So you were rather easy, because, you know, I didn't have to give you one of those surprising brands where people go, what do you like, like I talked about it often my friend dog weighs Great.
Josh 32:11
What was that said I don't want a dog wastes franchise?
Lance 32:15
Well, I have a friend that's exactly right. I have a friend that doesn't have hair and doesn't know how to cut hair. But he owns a whole bunch of great clips. When he first heard the idea of it, he thought it was the dumbest idea in the world. So that's most of the people that I work with I have to really work hard because I have to really open up their minds to the possibilities. Your mind had already been opened because of your entrepreneurial husband it sounds like and he was already on board. And then for you, it was like wait for a second if I can get you to work with kids like you love and Robin I remember Robin reached out to me after she first talked to you and said oh my goodness she is perfect. Yeah. And then she said Wait, what's this about her financing I said I'm working on it. We're getting there said work a little faster. Robert is probably laughing as she's watching this now. So yeah, so know you and then and then after the financing is done, you know there's always a Meet the Team day or discovery day, you know, an opportunity to validate like you were doing. Were in any franchise process, you have an opportunity to talk to existing franchisees to know Okay, culturally, I fit I hear about the real day-to-day what I do every day do I like that? And obviously, with your background, it was absolutely perfect. And I look nobody, nobody makes a killing in the first year they're in business. That's the hardest part. It's I always use the personal trainer analogy. First-year is the hardest, or the first six months depending on whether you know what your goals are. So I'm just so happy for you and, and how everything turned out and the financing came through. And I really appreciate you sharing so what else do we not cover that everybody might find rather interesting about, you know, the franchise world. And we covered a lot of the big pieces.
Josh 34:19
Yeah, I mean, that's kind of the summary. I always tried to stress you know, anything business franchising included, it's, it's a muscle, and then go back to your personal trainer. You have to develop that muscle and then you have to exercise that muscle and build it. And the gains that I've seen her take in the early stages are just amazing to watch, like, your little steps. But once you've accomplished those little things, the boost of confidence and achievement, you get a sense of achievement. It really motivates and Uh, you know, continues to drive you to start absorbing more of that, you know, challenge some of those more intimidating, you know, like, learn how to talk to customers learn how to pitch your business like, like, that's when this stuff starts to get real. And I'm really glad and very grateful that I have to take the path that I have because it's given me a lot of those experiences, that now I can turn around and offer, you know, real advice that's backed by experience, you know, certain, certain scenarios. So it's not just blind encouragement, like, go get them, you can do it. Like, I can actually give her tangible pointers on, you know, setting up a conversation or how to word an email, or whatever. And it's really rewarding to me to be able to have that in our arsenal and to offer her to help, you know, so she's not just stepping into every situation blind and getting waylaid occasionally. And so I think, I think my little consultation in the process. I'm just really glad that I've gone through those trials to have that to offer her you guys, you guys are a great team.
Lance 36:21
And obviously, you're both very supportive of each other. And, you know, it's funny, Josh, when we were when both of you, I mean, because it's clear, Josh, you're the startup entrepreneur from scratch, you're gonna figure something out. And you know, the old story to that is the typical startup entrepreneur like Josh goes and goes to do what is it when you jump out of a plane? Skydiving, when you go skydiving, you're jumping out of a plane, Josh's the guy that grabs the parachute holds on to it under his arm and jumps out of the plane, and puts it on his back while he's going down right figures out how to put it on the way it exactly Leann has it strapped on as a franchisee does has it strapped on followed the procedures knows what she's supposed to eat and not eat so she doesn't you know, have a problem while she's going down as tightly. It's checked and she jumps and has a great time and it's smooth sailing, for the most part, a little bit of exhilaration, a little bit of adrenaline, but safe nevertheless, considering what Josh did. And Josh, I'm a lot like you. I've done that when I launched companies that were in franchises too. But Leanne any other thoughts we didn't cover from you? Think you'd like to share? You sent a lot of great stuff both of you did.
Leann 37:46
I can think of anything. I just I will say this. The feeling I'll never forget when I was at school at work and going through the roller coasters of up and downs of being like and talking with you and Robin and Josh and Miko. I'm so close.
Lance 38:03
I know I'm so close on financing and the financing conversations we have even if it was a text follow
Leann 38:08
Oh, yes, it was just our follow-ups in general, I think I'm like, Oh my gosh, and I'll, I'll never forget the call I received from you. And when you talk to Robin, I'm sorry. And I that feeling of finally getting that goal that we started in June, and hearing your voice and you're like, Okay, we're going to do it. This is happening. I talked to us we're gonna do this. And I talked to Robin and it was just the experience is was priceless. I'll never forget that. And I wanted I couldn't wait to tell Josh in person. I was like, No. And I told my kids I was like, not going to call them not gonna text them but I waited a little while and finally told my kids I was like, I had to tell somebody because it's gonna happen like this is it. And so I love it. When we got home and I told us, I have something to tell you. And I just Oh my gosh, I teared up like it that feeling to know, as I said, I felt like I was stuck. And I didn't know what to do where I was. And when we finally got there. Oh my gosh, that just gave me that much more like, go get them like oh yeah, I am going to rock this and I just feel so good about this. And like I said, Sharon and Robin. Were just like, Yep, let's go. Let's meet you. Let's get you to training. I want to see you in person. Like I want to make this real. I'm like yes, yes, yes. So, Lance. I can't thank you enough for everything with Josh and me and it just was amazing. Thank you so much for keeping me going for sure.
Josh 40:02
I'm gonna, claim a little I told you so in here because in the, in that process that long drawn out, painful process, I was telling her embrace this feeling now, because when we finally reach our goal, it's going to be so much sweeter because it wasn't handed to us like we had to build and, you know, show that resilience, you know, we had had to practice that in the process. And I said, You were earning it right now, I assume you're getting a taste of what it takes a long term, you have to work for you have to want it. You have to you can't give up. You know, it's tough for a reason. And what this is, you know, it's taken longer. It's like waiting for Christmas. Like, are we ever going to get there? Like, yes, we are. And don't forget this feeling of what it took to get here. And obviously, we're still in the beginning phases. But that was a major milestone, just getting that done. And like I said, further validation that we're on the right track. And, you know, the feeling she just described, for me to witness was a beautiful thing, because I'm like, That's what I was talking about, you know, grind and grind and grind. If you really do want to do it, you know, you're when you finally get there, it's going to be so much sweeter, instead of if we had just filled out a couple of apps and somebody gave it to us, like, what do you do it would really be would set you up for, you know, that feeling of reward wouldn't be so potent, you know, and, and that's something you know, anybody else considering this? I mean, we're obviously going to be sharing this out too, to friends and family and out across the world wide web, please do. And, you know, I do refer you constantly and all my friends do. Oh, that's the guy who keeps telling me about and keeps telling me to call and half of them we've even scheduled calls and they haven't followed through yet. But they will eventually I'll keep hammering on them.
Lance 42:12
But know that and look, timing, timing is everything. There's no such thing as perfect timing. I talk about it constantly. There's never such thing as perfect timing. But I can't prove to somebody that now is not the time for them. Or it is the time for that first ad. What was that? Right? It's like having a baby. If you wait for the right time, you're never gonna have kids. It just happens when it happens. Yeah, but my belief is that when somebody wants to be an entrepreneur, and they even announced it to the world today, they might not be an entrepreneur and start their own business in 90 days. It could be nine years. Yep, I just helped the lady who was awesome. Finally, find the right time and her family schedule. So she could become a franchisee. And that was almost it was over two years that I've been talking to her two years. So I work on everybody's timetable. And you guys were ready. You guys were right, so to speak, and ready to go, you know, and that's why my group, we always use the hashtag changing lives because that's where it is. I mean, think about it. You're not an employee anymore. Leann?
Leann 43:23
Yes, yes, absolutely. Owning a franchise. That feeling of the entrepreneur feeling like, oh, man, I did it like, okay,
Lance 43:33
here we go like that, let's make it happen.
Leann 43:38
Like, okay, and it's so fulfilling to talk with my friends talk with my family, you know like I had parents have, like, well, what's your new thing, and then I'm telling about it and talking about it. And they're excited because they want their kids to still be with me, but then to know, like, oh, it's your own business. It's your own franchise, you know, you're the owner and operator of it. It's, it's such a fulfilling feeling to tell people about it and promote it, and me being the one to do it, for sure. And awesome.
Josh 44:12
And I also, you know, told her, like, be aware that, that your struggle, your process, your journey is actually inspiring people that you're not, you know, you don't have any clue that you actually are but people are watching, and they see her build up the nerve to do something like this. And so many people were like, wow, like, if she can do it, maybe I can and it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities by default, just because you are pursuing that. It gives other people the initiative and the courage to follow suit. And I feel like that's kind of responsibility of ours and especially as an entrepreneur, as part of our job and going through the pain In the struggle that we do is primarily to inspire and encourage others to follow, you know, that path for their, for their own good and for their own family and friends and everything. So, so that's, you know, a message I want to get out in this for anybody that sees it that's considering starting a business or now that they know about franchises look deeper into it. As you said, timing is everything but small steps, build momentum, you know, explore it a little bit, and get some of your valuable free consultation, and free advice.
Josh 45:38
Yeah, there's, there are 1000s of options and different kinds of franchises. Some on the upswing some really mature, some barely getting going, you can get in on the ground floor, you know, so there's some that fit your area better than others. And like there are so many options that you're just not aware of. Go explore it a little bit, get some advice, and look into it nerd out on that a little bit. Learn. And by the way, I am Lance Graulich, and I have approved this message. Go to Lance. promote my people in my network,
Lance 46:15
every conversation, your network is your net worth you know that? That's right. No, but you know, my favorite quote on franchising, it's been out there, it's been everywhere, and it's, you know, you're in business for yourself, but not by yourself. Now, that's a big difference. And I know you feel very well supported. And guys, I'm happy. I'm so happy for both of you. And I'm so happy you came on today. Any final parting words of wisdom? I think we've had a ton of words of wisdom. And if there are any final words, any final words now's the time. Just go get him.
Josh 46:54
To see what's out there.
Lance 46:56
Yeah, perfect. Yeah. Thank you both so much, Josh. And Leanne Lloyd. You guys are awesome. And I know we'll be talking to you soon enough.
Josh and Leann
Thanks, Lance. Appreciate it.
Sounds good, everybody. Bye.
Thank you very much for listening today. Please like follow and subscribe so you don't miss anything here at Eye on franchising. Visit our website at Eye on franchising.com eyeonfranchising.com and complete our free assessment so we can assist you in finding your perfect franchise. This is Lance Graulich. Until next time!