This episode of the Eye On Franchising podcast, hosted by Lance Graulich, is a must-listen for anyone interested in exploring the incredible opportunities available through franchising. Today's guest is DeNita Carani and this episode Lance and DeNita dive deep into the brand Pet Wants. They discuss the process of becoming a franchisee, from the selection process to the importance of passion and collaboration between the franchisor and the franchisee. They also provide invaluable advice on how to make the most of a franchise opportunity, making it the perfect resource for anyone looking into this franchise.- The importance of collaboration between the franchisor and their franchisees- The advantages of franchising for entrepreneurs- The selection process for finding quality franchisees- The process of becoming a Pet Wants franchisee- The importance of passion when it comes to choosing a franchise- The benefits of having a corporate store to understand how to add grooming services- The doggy meal prep program developed by DeNita Carani and how it is similar to the Human KEY POINTS Approximately mentioned @ 00:02:26 Our selection process involves a validation process with existing franchise owners, funding partners, and a Meet the Pack day with brand president to ensure prospects are the right fit for our brand. Approximately mentioned @ 00:02:39 Our franchise model allows for rapid revenue generation, even before securing a retail footprint. With a total investment of $130-200K and proprietary pet-only products, franchisees can reach their goals quickly. Approximately mentioned @ 00:23:41 I have an innate passion for franchising, having pursued a career in law, but deciding to transition to a more creative and business-oriented pursuit. Approximately mentioned @ 00:28:33 Franchisee onboarding should include a 4-6 week period of preparation, a nutrition education program and role-playing conversations to maximize success in the field. Approximately mentioned @ 00:32:58 Franchising is a great way to build a successful business, but it requires comprehensive training and preparation to ensure success. Utilize comprehensive marketing plans, social media campaigns and influencer programs to maximize success. Approximately mentioned @ 00:34:16 Franchising offers an opportunity for entrepreneurs to build wealth and create a lasting legacy for their families. It is a team sport, with support from franchisors and collaboration among franchisees providing invaluable resources. Have you heard the news? We are officially on YouTube. Come check out a few videos have have and give me a follow! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoAdrkPZmveJt5AQRDk8WA --- Lance Graulich Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising Eye On Franchising
This episode of the Eye On Franchising podcast, hosted by Lance Graulich, is a must-listen for anyone interested in exploring the incredible opportunities available through franchising. Today's guest is DeNita Carani and this episode Lance and DeNita dive deep into the brand Pet Wants. They discuss the process of becoming a franchisee, from the selection process to the importance of passion and collaboration between the franchisor and the franchisee. They also provide invaluable advice on how to make the most of a franchise opportunity, making it the perfect resource for anyone looking into this franchise.
- The importance of collaboration between the franchisor and their franchisees
- The advantages of franchising for entrepreneurs
- The selection process for finding quality franchisees
- The process of becoming a Pet Wants franchisee
- The importance of passion when it comes to choosing a franchise
- The benefits of having a corporate store to understand how to add grooming services
- The doggy meal prep program developed by DeNita Carani and how it is similar to the Human
KEY POINTS
Approximately mentioned @ 00:02:26
Our selection process involves a validation process with existing franchise owners, funding partners, and a Meet the Pack day with brand president to ensure prospects are the right fit for our brand.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:02:39
Our franchise model allows for rapid revenue generation, even before securing a retail footprint. With a total investment of $130-200K and proprietary pet-only products, franchisees can reach their goals quickly.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:23:41
I have an innate passion for franchising, having pursued a career in law, but deciding to transition to a more creative and business-oriented pursuit.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:28:33
Franchisee onboarding should include a 4-6 week period of preparation, a nutrition education program and role-playing conversations to maximize success in the field.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:32:58
Franchising is a great way to build a successful business, but it requires comprehensive training and preparation to ensure success. Utilize comprehensive marketing plans, social media campaigns and influencer programs to maximize success.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:34:16
Franchising offers an opportunity for entrepreneurs to build wealth and create a lasting legacy for their families. It is a team sport, with support from franchisors and collaboration among franchisees providing invaluable resources.
Have you heard the news? We are officially on YouTube. Come check out a few videos have have and give me a follow!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoAdrkPZmveJt5AQRDk8WA
---
Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising
Lance 00:00:00
Lance 00:00:02 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 what the best businesses for you based on your investment level mindset, skill set, and life experiences. This is Ion Franchising, where we share our vision for your franchise future. I'm your host, Lance Growler. 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, Ion Franchising, where you will learn the A to Z's of franchise.
DeNita 00:01:07 Hello, ah, everyone, and welcome back to another fabulous episode of Ion Franchising. I am your host, Lance Graulich. So today's episode might be a little rough. Rough, rough, rough. Get it, get it. Well, I'm going to tell you what's going to go on shortly. So this amazing woman is the brand president of a hot brand in the Pet space of all things. But I think you figured that out by now. And, this is an incredibly fast growing brand. We're going to hear about her. We're going to hear about the success of this brand and possibly you being interested in joining it. So welcome to the show. My friend, Ms. Danita Karani, the brand president of Pet Wants welcome, Denita.
Lance 00:01:51 It's so great to be here, Lance. Graul.
DeNita 00:01:54 That's it. Growl like a bear. Lich like a lollipop.
Lance 00:01:57 See what I did? It's great to be here today.
DeNita 00:02:00 Well, now that we got all the dog references out of the way, so awesome to have you. Uh, the pet business is hot. Start off by telling us what Pet wants is because some listeners are not going to know they don't have one near them even though it's 140 locations already.
Lance 00:02:18 Absolutely. I'll be glad to. So Pet Wants is a pet health and nutrition brand. We focus on, fresh pet food. We manufacture our own pet food, , that we deliver to our franchisees fresh every six to eight weeks so that it is hitting pets bowls in weeks rather than months. Most of our franchisees also carry a wide variety of fresh made treats and choose supplements that help our pets live longer, be happier, be healthier. Many are adding grooming to their line of services as well. So we have happy and healthy pets in a wide variety of ways.
DeNita 00:03:03 That is absolutely awesome. So how did DeNita end up in the world of franchising? I always joke with my guests that there are people that want to be an astronaut, a firefighter, a lawyer, a teacher, a doctor. I don't know that anybody says when they're young I want to be in the franchise business. I think that'll change down the road, but at the moment,, through happenstance, lab accidents, something environmental, we get into Franchising. So what's your story?
Lance 00:03:35 Yeah, well, you hit on one of those. I left high school. I was going to be a lawyer. Uh, I was told that I could talk really well and I should go.
DeNita 00:03:44 To law school or argue, possibly.
Lance 00:03:47 Yeah, absolutely. I was pretty good at arguing. I was pretty persuasive. so I went to college and then decided that, uh, that was way too long in school for me, and so I, went into business and found myself, being pretty successful in the business world. Really didn't have a whole lot of idea of what a franchise was, but at one point in time, started a business that was not part of a franchise system. So had a completely independent business that I owned and operated for seven years, and then successfully sold that business to a large company, went to work for big corporate America that then got bought by the bigger company, uh, continued that path, but knew I missed being in business for myself. That entrepreneurial spirit was really talking to me. And so when I was preparing to leave corporate America, I knew I wanted that support. So that's how I got into Franchising. So as I prepared my exit strategy from corporate America, I found a franchise consultant and I said, help me figure out how can I buy a franchise and get into a business where there's a playbook, where there's somebody that can help me know what to do, when to do it. Somebody's already done the marketing for me. They've already figured out the computer system for me, and I don't have to do every little thing myself. And that I could bet on myself without doing everything for myself. So that's how I ended up in Franchising. I was a franchisee first, before I became part of a franchisor.
DeNita 00:05:31 I love it. So you've done it all. So you've seen both sides of the fence.
Lance 00:05:36 Absolutely. I was a franchisee for ten years, and then became part of the franchise or for that brand, before I came over here to Pet Wants.
DeNita 00:05:46 And what brand was that? Are we allowed to say?
Lance 00:05:48 We are allowed to say. So when I joined that brand, it was called College Nannies and sitters in the premium childcare space. Now, a year ago, they rebranded it's now called Jovi, which is Childcare Reimagined. I love, um, the brand. Still stay in touch with my great, great friends over there. They've done a remarkable job with their rebrand. But this opportunity here at Pet once really spoke to me. My career arc has been phenomenal. I served the elderly and the disabled in the early part of my career. Then it was children and their parents, and now it's Pet and Pet parents. So what better career can somebody have than serving all three of those demographics, right?
DeNita 00:06:33 Absolutely. And you know, what's so exciting about everything you're talking about in your background is those are obviously amazing things in franchising. Everything kid related, everything Pet related, family related.
Lance 00:06:47 Right?
DeNita 00:06:48 Yeah, absolutely. Everybody started whispering, there's a recession coming, or whatever we call what we might or might not be in at the moment. But people are always taking care of their kids, their pets, their parents, no matter what. So it's an incredible business. So many franchises are what I call recession friendly, if you don't want to believe the recession proof. So, how did you get to Pet Wants and, talk a little bit about that and then we'll, dive into the meat of Pet Wants.
Lance 00:07:22 Sure. Absolutely. So, last year, the opportunity was presented to me to learn about Pet once. And, it was a brand I had not heard of as I dug into it, of course, it immediately spoke to this rescue dog, Mom's Heart.
DeNita 00:07:40 good fit there.
Lance 00:07:42 Absolutely fell in love with the nutrition piece, with the passion piece. And as I got to know the team here at Pet Once and learned about the passion of our franchise owners and why our franchise owners choose our brand, it really spoke to me. and then as I learned on the economic side, what you just talked about, the tremendous amount of growth, what we've already seen in the last five years, and what is projected to happen in the next ten. The economics are stunning. the growth in the Pet industry. And so when I combined the passion piece, the personal connection to Pets for me, with the economic opportunity, it's a perfect fit.
DeNita 00:08:35 Love it. So let's, dive into the you mentioned economics. So,investment wise, what is the investment? How big is this facility? Uh, as you mentioned earlier,there was an initial vision. Like with any brand, whether it's Starbucks or Pet wants, there's an initial vision, and then as you grow, things change for the better, of course.
Lance 00:08:57 Yeah, absolutely. So we're a, young brand. We're in our 8th year of franchising. But as you mentioned, we already have 140 units. We have 100 franchisees. So I think that speaks to just the attraction of the brand, right? To already have 100 franchisees as you're going into your 8th year. Our franchisee is 42 five, which is very, uh, achievable for most people. Our total investment is between 130 and 200,000, depending upon where you're located. And that's really spread out over your first year. So most of our franchisees start their journey in our mobile model. So they come to training, they really get their education. They understand how to run their business, they understand the nutrition of our products, they understand their marketing strategies. And then they go out and they introduce themselves to their communities in farmers markets and community events and in our online platforms so that they're really becoming integrated with their communities and they begin to generate revenue, they generate community presence, they generate customer loyalty while they are looking for securing their real estate footprint and begin their build out. So that's really different from other retail, uh, models where you don't start generating any revenue until that retail build out is done. Right, right. So we've combined that ability to begin your journey in your business while you're getting that retail footprint built out.
DeNita 00:10:42 I love it. So, does anybody have a food truck associated with this or is it.
Lance 00:10:46 you know, we actually do have a couple of folks that have taken an Airstream trailer. I have one in Jacksonville Beach and one in San Francisco that have taken an Airstream trailer and retrofitted it. And the one in Jack's Beach actually has a permanent parking spot. The, uh, one in San Francisco moves theirs around, but they open the doors and folks come in and buy their products right out of the Airstream so.
DeNita 00:11:15 You can trademark Quickly Diner for Dogs.
Lance 00:11:19 I love it. I love it. That's great.
DeNita 00:11:22 No, that's fantastic., and I love the idea of the fast ramp up. The number one question I get as a franchise broker consultant is, Lance, I trust you. So, XYZ brand, what do you think the ramp up period is like? When do I at least break even?
Lance 00:11:42 Sure.
DeNita 00:11:43 Is it three months? Is it six months? Is it a few years? And to hear that you have a mobile model to start is absolutely awesome. It's a great idea. So are they delivering in the mobile? You mentioned farmers markets, but is there deliveries going on also?
Lance 00:12:00 And there's deliveries going on even after they open their retail location. So one of the great recurring revenue pieces of our model is subscriptions. And folks will they will sign up to have a certain amount of food delivered to them every four weeks. Every six weeks. And it gets delivered by their custom wrapped vehicle. So they're advertising their pet once business every time they drive down the street. And so that's part of their recurring revenue model is those automatic subscriptions on delivery.
DeNita 00:12:36 It's a doggy meal prep program, just like the Human tab.
Lance 00:12:40 That's right. You know what? My hello. Fresh box came yesterday. So this is the same kind of concept, except it's for the doggies.
DeNita 00:12:47 I love it. That is absolutely fantastic. So now you're adding other services. Before it was food and treats and what have you. Are your franchisees making any of this stuff in store? It's all from your commissary kitchen, so to speak.
Lance 00:13:03 So that's a fantastic question, Lance. So they actually do make some of the products in store. So we manufacture, we have a relationship with a pet food manufacturer that manufactures the kibble, our private labeled kibble. But,we also have, uh, relationships with vendors that private label many of our treats that are Pet Once only treats. But our franchisees do have the ability to make jerky fresh in their stores. And it's Pet Once jerky that they make in their stores. They also make what we call spa products. Spaw products. we have balms for paws, that are aggravated by, asphalt or cold weather or hot weather, calming sprays for skin that gets aggravated, or allergy conditions. And, we teach our franchisees how to make all of those, how to sell all of those. So they are making some of the things right there in their locations.
DeNita 00:14:15 I love it. And that certainly will keep the cost down so you can pass. It does very fair price. I've been in the restaurant business, so as much as you can make, keeping it consistent is awesome.
Lance 00:14:28 That's right.
DeNita 00:14:28 Keeping it simple.
Lance 00:14:30 Yes, very simple processes. we provide them with a great list of vendors to acquire the different ingredients from. So it's really simple for them.
DeNita 00:14:42 So the new stuff being added. Ah, let's talk about that.
Lance 00:14:45 Yeah, this is so exciting. So, we started this, about a year ago. We have an R and D store right around the corner from our corporate offices so that we could really roll this out, learn from it, so we can share it with our new franchisees as well as existing ones that want to add this.
DeNita 00:15:04 I'm sorry. So that's a corporate store.
Lance 00:15:06 Corporate store in Ohio. In Ohio. Literally five minutes here from the corporate office. Really? And it was crucial because we were adding grooming services to our menu of options to offer to consumers. And it was so important that we at corporate really understood that. Right. You can't write an ops manual on something that you haven't done. So we needed to do it. And so it's been such a great journey to understand what are consumers looking for with grooming. How do you find groomers? How do you train groomers? How do you schedule your grooming services? How do you make money at grooming? And what we have found about grooming is, a couple of things. Number one, you don't have to have the same level of retail space to attract people to grooming. It's a destination. People will find you and come to a less expensive retail location for grooming. So you can spend less on your location if you're doing grooming. Number two, as soon as they walk in the location for grooming, you have the opportunity to educate them on the nutrition of your food, to sell them on your treats and shoes and on your supplements, and to turn them into a long term food customer. Same thing happens if they come in to buy your food. Now you have the opportunity to turn them into a grooming customer. So you have, ah, multiplied your cross selling and revenue streams and the grooming services. What we ask our franchisees to focus on is making sure that they're generating enough profit margin on their grooming services to cover the entire overhead of their physical location so that all of the profit they're making on their products is pure profit.
DeNita 00:17:05 Sounds like there's a heck of a strategic plan behind all this.
Lance 00:17:09 Absolutely.
DeNita 00:17:11 Well, and it goes back to what is so important about a franchise. I have people ask me all the time, should I do my own thing? Should I do a franchise? And I always tell people, just like you have done, and I've set up my own company as well, and spent all the time to wear every hat imaginable and make my own mistakes and spend extra time and money. I always tell people, look, if you're passionate about something and you feel like you have to do something, create your own business, go for it. But in most cases, most people don't have that sort of passion or burning desire to give birth to a concept. So the question becomes, which franchise is best for you? And let's talk about that. So if you're going to take a cross section, you have 140 locations, 100 or so franchisees. Your top 15 franchisees the best. Who are they? Where do they come from? What do they all share in common? Besides I hope they like pets?
Lance 00:18:15 Number,, one is their passion, right? And their passion is really twofold. Obviously they have a passion for pets. They have a passion for education, and they understand the difference between selling and educating. I had the privilege of being in our number two store in the country when she had a customer that had never been in her store before come in. And I had the opportunity to listen to the franchise owner engage that potential new customer in an educational conversation about why that person had come into the store, what her pet's issues were, why she should consider trying this. To address those issues. How she should go about introducing it to her pet when the franchise owner would follow up with her to see how it went. It was about a ten minute conversation. At no point was she selling anything except a solution to what the consumer came into her store to get solved. Anyway, I love it.
DeNita 00:19:36 And you got to witness firsthand why this franchisee is so successful.
Lance 00:19:41 I absolutely did, right? I absolutely did. And so the things that make our top people successful is they're passionate about pets, they're passionate about education, and they continue to do the things that made them successful in the first place. So they continue to move forward with even though they've got their brick and mortar retail locations and they're very successful, they continue to do community events which continue to acquire new customers for them. Right. They're looking to add a second location or a third location that gives them a bigger footprint in their communities. They're not sitting back waiting for more people to find them. They're going out and finding more people.
DeNita 00:20:30 Yeah. Customer service is not a one time event.
Lance 00:20:33 It's not going what was that? Neither is customer acquisition.
DeNita 00:20:39 Exactly. It's just an ongoing process. It never ends. And the best brands are thinking about how to do it better all the time.
Lance 00:20:48 All the time.
DeNita 00:20:49 Yeah. I love it. So within the pack of those top franchisees, where did they come from? I mean, what were their occupations? I would imagine it's all across the board. Tell me. I'm sure there's someone that was a teacher, someone might have even been a lawyer. Someone was probably an engineer. Probably all walks of life.
Lance 00:21:10 Right. So it really is across the board, I think about our number one store, she left corporate america. She has a marketing background. Number. Uh, two came from a finance background. I've got some folks that, were in sales. I've got, folks that I've got some folks that were in the veterinary world. I've got some folks that, were vet techs or groomers or dog trainers. Right. I have teachers, boys teachers. One of our newest franchisees, here in southern Ohio, he was a high school math teacher. So education, that's what attracted him. Right. That's his passion. And I can see him absolutely rising to the top of our ranks in very quick order.
DeNita 00:22:03 Love it. Yeah. And most people, it's so crazy because most people that are looking at business opportunities, potentially franchises, especially the people I work with, sometimes they look at me crazy when I present certain brands to them. And I said, trust me. Trust the process. It fits you. Pets. It's somewhat easier because so many people absolutely love pets. Nobody comes to me and says, oh, I absolutely love the air conditioning, refrigeration or heating business.
Lance 00:22:37 Right.
DeNita 00:22:38 No, it's not a fun sounding business. Not everything is a sexy business. But I tell people, money is sexy. And if you can do something you really like, especially in the world of pets, like, you guys have an incredible offer. So opportunity, uh, for the right people. So talk about your selection process. I tell people all the time, franchising is a two way street. It's a sport. You have to like them. They have to like you. So if I referred somebody to you, how does that process look? How long does it generally take? Give me the sort of the big milestones throughout the process.
Lance 00:23:16 Yeah, absolutely. So our discovery process really is from introductory to one of our sales directors to what we call Meet the Pack. So our discovery day is called Meet the Pack, is typically about six to eight weeks of education about our brand, about our business model. Validation is so important, right. Talking to other franchise owners that are already in the system about their experience, really looking at a territory map and understanding. What does that mean? What does that entail? We do work with funding partners. So if you need funding for your business, making sure that you've spoken with one of our funding partners and you feel secure in that, and then we arrange for that Meet the Pack meeting. I tell people that if they've scheduled to meet the pack, that should be kind of a check mark, right? I am ready to move forward and now I'm ready to meet the people that are going to support me in this journey as the brand president. I meet all candidates in the middle of that discovery process because I want them to have a chance to meet somebody other than the sales guys and ask some questions and get to know somebody else on the team. And it also gives me a chance to evaluate the prospects and the candidates and give the sales guys some feedback on do. I think they're a good fit for us because it is a two way street. I want them to be successful and I think that that's an important part of the evaluation process.
DeNita 00:25:04 Yeah, it's so important. And I was just telling somebody this morning that sadly, when people interview for a job, they say all the right things. If they're well prepared, they can say all the right things, get the job, and they might not be right for the job, but they said the right things. And sadly, people do that when they're looking at franchises. They say, Ah, all the right things. They become a franchisee and then all of a sudden they're not even managing their business like they said they would. They give their keys to a friend or a relative that doesn't have the same passion. So people oftentimes ask me, Denita, they go, Lance, why do people fail in franchise? So why do people fail in marriage?
Lance 00:25:53 Right. Exactly.
DeNita 00:25:55 There's a lot of reasons that people fail in a, franchise. If they're not paying attention, if they're mismatched, it's always still about who's running the business. Like you just described your number two franchisee and all that. So Meet the Pack day, is that.
Lance 00:26:14 In Ohio or is that back in the day, everybody came in for Meet the Pack. Right. Today we've all adapted to a virtual world. And so a lot of people do choose to do their Meet the Pack virtually. We'd love to have people come in still for their discovery day, for their Meet the Pack. Um, but a lot of people do choose to do it virtually. But our training, they are required to be here in the office. They get a full week of hands on training with the entire team and.
DeNita 00:26:52 All kinds of dog love and pet love.
Lance 00:26:55 You better believe it.
DeNita 00:26:56 Yeah. So talk about you mentioned the validation. Talk about how do you do validation?
Lance 00:27:03 So, uhtypically what we try to do is obviously with validation, prospects can call anybody they want right. I mean, that's the way franchising works. Um, they're free to get on the Internet to look at our Fdd and call anybody they like. We do try to connect them, um, with somebody that has a similar background. Right. I like that coming from a similar place in life or has a similar aspiration so that they have a connection place. And we do try to make those connections. Sometimes we're able to do it in a similar geography. Sometimes it's across the country. But we try to do that so that we know our franchisees. We make those connections to people that they're going to have something in common with.
DeNita 00:27:58 Yeah. No, and I think that's valid. I think that's a good strategy as well. But I tell people all the time how important validation is. This isn't a process where somebody's sliding your credit card after the first phone call. This is a very structured process for every great brand. And clearly, uh, you're doing a lot of that. And I'm guessing you can make some money at pet wants. Uyou guys are expanding and growing and, that's the beauty of franchising. So talk a little bit more about training. You mentioned about coming to training and then let's dive into marketing a little bit.
Lance 00:28:33 Yeah, absolutely. So once somebody signs their franchise agreement, we typically have a four to six week onboarding period before they come to in person training. And, uh, some of that is just the nuts and bolts of getting their business set up. And there are some licensing requirements in different states related to selling pet food. We have a nutrition manager on board that knows all the ins and outs, believe it or not, of every state in the country.
DeNita 00:29:04 Love it. Great resource.
Lance 00:29:06 Absolutely. We know, what we need in every state, and he can help the franchisee make sure that they're in compliance with all of those things. We have an onboarding manager that makes sure that they're getting themselves ready. Um, we do start their nutrition education in the onboarding phase because it's a lot to learn. Right. We don't want to shove it all at everybody in their classroom training and then they're here in the classroom for a week. And during that week, we are working on how do you have a conversation with somebody at a farmers market? Right? How do you have that educational conversation? We're role playing that nobody likes to role play. But you and I both know how effective that is, how effective it is to just talk through that conversation and to practice it. Right? Yeah.
DeNita 00:29:59 And Danita, what you don't want at a farmer's market is somebody like me saying, how are you doing?
Lance 00:30:07 Right. You want to have somebody who could say, tell me about your dog, and do they have any issues? Can I help you with anything? Have they tried this? What size is your dog? Well, then you should try this big old bully stick because they can't destroy it. You need to be able to have those conversations. We work on their marketing plan with them. We teach them about how to use their social media to grow their business. We work on their business plan with them during training. And they have to present their business and marketing plan to the team before they leave so that they feel confident that they're prepared to go out and start their business when they go, so it's a really comprehensive week. And when they leave on Friday, we turn their website on and they are live and open for business.
DeNita 00:30:58 I love it. So just you've already touched on marketing a little bit. So when they get out of training and their website is live, what happens are you doing? You guys working on Facebook ads? Everybody talks about customer acquisition. If you watch an episode of Shark Tank, a lot of that pops up all about customer acquisition in your franchise. Obviously, there's going to be an immediate attraction, I would imagine local SEO. So people are finding you when you're a new franchisee and all that. Tell us a little bit about that.
Lance 00:31:33 Absolutely. So, again, one of the benefits of being part of a franchise system, right, is that we provide them with a local web page that's part of our national, uh, web presence, so they don't have to design or pay for their own web presence. we provide them with their own Facebook and Instagram pages that are tied to our corporate page. And we provide them with content for both of those social media assets on a weekly basis. We teach them and encourage them to add to it on a weekly basis from a local level.
DeNita 00:32:08 They're pictures.
Lance 00:32:10 Absolutely. We teach them and encourage them to post live reels videos when they're at their events. To post videos of their dogs, of their pictures, of things like that. We, uh, have relationships with constant contact. We provide them with newsletter content to build their customer database so that they are sending educational material. We are working on a national SMS vendor relationship so they can do text campaigns. We are, uh, just getting ready. I'm getting ready to blow this one. My market VP of Marketing is probably going to be mad at me.
DeNita 00:32:53 Wait, we have a scoop. Everybody pay attention. Dropping a bomb here.
Lance 00:32:58 Yes. We've got an influencer campaign that's getting ready to launch on social media, uh, that we are providing for the entire system, uh, on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. We take our position as their franchiseor very seriously in terms of, um, what do we do for them at the national level and what do we encourage them and teach them to do at the local level.
DeNita 00:33:25 I love it. That is absolutely fantastic. This is so much good information. I think I want to be a franchisee now.
Lance 00:33:31 Come on down.
DeNita 00:33:33 All right, so. Denita, final thoughts, final words of wisdom for the audience.
Lance 00:33:39 I think what I would like people to really think about, because we've talked so much about franchising in general, right? And as somebody who has owned a business that wasn't a franchise, somebody who's owned a business that was a franchise, and now I'm on the franchise or side, right? So I've walked that whole journey is that franchising is to me, it is the path for people who are willing and capable of working within a system. They have to be willing to work within a system. And if they are, it has the potential to build wealth for their family that they can either select an exit strategy at some point in the future, because franchises are, uh, a profitable, functional franchise is a highly sellable asset at some point in the future. Or if you have a generational, people to give it to, right, they can join in and be part of the business. And it's so exciting to be an entrepreneur, and it really is that opportunity to be in business for yourself, but you're not on an island and you're not out there on your own. And I remember those days when literally every single decision I had to make it on my own. I didn't have somebody I could call and run something by and say, what about this? Has anybody experienced this before? I didn't have a group of peers that I could call and say, has anybody seen this before? And that's the one thing I want to say about the Pet Wants franchise, uh, system also is that this group of 100 franchisees is one of the most supportive peer networks that I've seen in franchising. I've seen, uh, mastermind groups formed within the peer network. Uh, I've seen other informal groups that meet on a regular basis. Uh, we're forming formal advisory groups within the network to really support each other. And so between the support of the franchise or and the pure support, I love franchising. And I'm so glad that, uh, I didn't become an attorney and I became franchise executive.
DeNita 00:36:15 Love, love it. It well, I love that you basically brought in that collaboration, of,, franchisees that is such an invaluable resource. People think it's just the franchiseor and their team, um, which is enough in most cases. But the collaboration with franchisees is invaluable. And franchising truly is a team sport when done correctly.
Lance 00:36:38 It is.
DeNita 00:36:39 Danita. Pet wants brand president. Thank you so much for being here.
Lance 00:36:44 Thank you, Lance, it's been great.
DeNita 00:36:46 My pleasure.
Lance 00:36:47 Thank you very much for listening today. Please, like, follow and subscribe. This is Lance Grahlic. Until next time.