We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Meg Schmitz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Meg thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard
Franchise brokers are rampant these days as more media attention has highlighted the benefits of franchise ownership for people looking for financial diversification. Franchise consultants, such as I am, work more closely with both the prospect looking to buy AND the franchise companies looking for additional owners. To create the right “match” the consultant must know their portfolio of companies, the culture of the owners, the leadership team organized by the founder, and specific details about the route to financial success. A good franchise research process takes a minimum of 6-8 weeks for both sides to know with certainty that the “partnership” will be mutually beneficial.
I say to my candidates that “once you are mine, you’re always mine.” The reason I offer this is to give them a safe place to talk about what’s scary and uncertain in business. I am qualified to do this because I am a business owner with 30+ years experience as an employer, investor, and operator of both franchise and independent business entities.
My differentiator is that I never leave my candidate’s side, even after they purchase their business. I actively invite my buyers to continue to work with me on a monthly basis, if not more frequently. I hold a monthly Zoom meeting for my owners to leverage as a best practices cooperative. I invite my business owners to a quarterly in-person meeting that typically includes a panel of experts discussing a hot topic. Think cyber-security attacks on businesses, building your business with the exit in mind, commercial insurance needs for key employees (golden handcuffs), or during the pandemic we discussed EIDL, PPP, PPE, and the financial impact that continued due to lock-downs in some markets, etc. These are just a few of the the issues that were brought up during the monthly meeting that attendees wanted more insights from the experts.
Small business ownership can be liberating, but it can also be very lonely and sometimes frightening. By never letting them go, they know that I will always be a listening ear and a colleague who has experienced every trip and fall, as well as every success, that they are going to experience.
I have plenty of examples and stories to tell about my franchise owners who hit a wall and then rebounded.
Meg, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a franchise business consultant who matches prospective business owners with highly rated gold-standard franchise concepts to meet my prospect’s financial and operational parameters and goals for future income. My services are paid by the franchise company (like an executive recruiter) once a successful placement has been made. I am free to my candidates because my portfolio of companies has agreed to a contract placement fee. I don’t represent every franchise. Just like a wealth manager, I exercise judgment to only represent quality companies that will support my owners with exceptional attention to detail.
More than fast food, the franchise segment covers health, fitness, wellness, home services, education and enrichment, etc. The investment levels are much lower, too, because the simpler the business model, the more reasonable the cost to get in.
The people I work with a looking to solve a problem. Maybe it is to get rid of a boss and become one by owning their own business. Some people love their career and want to diversify into a franchise that will build their wealth. Most people seek flexibility and freedom in their schedule so they reclaim quality time with spouse, children, and can do more fun things like travel without feeling guilty about a job or boss.
How did I get into franchise ownership? Over 30 years ago, my former husband (this is important) went to a franchise expo in Chicago. He came home to announce that we were going to own a business, and he chose Great Clips. He didn’t do a lot of due diligence or think about how the decision would impact three vital things: his wife (me), our lifestyle, and our money. He was just cavalier about the decision like owning a franchise is easy money. Sure enough, about 6 months after our first location opened, he wanted to throw away the keys and quit. I AM NOT A QUITTER. So I stepped in. We were bleeding money and the employees were not delivering quality. Within a short period of time, I learned that my manager was stealing money, and 2 employees were dealing drugs out of the back room. With these eye openers, I put on my big-girl pants, called the police, and had the manager arrested in the salon. The two drug dealers quit because the manager had been protecting them (she was probably a customer!!). After these events, the rest of my employees said “what took you so long?” We reorganized, got our priorities straight, and started to deliver an exceptional customer experience. No longer bleeding money, I realized that I had been the game-changer and my employees were aligned WITH me. Then I bought a second location, opened units 3-5, and got divorced from my husband. Within 5 more years, someone made me an offer I couldn’t refuse! That’s when I jumped into the consulting role to help real people, like my former husband and me, make a solid financial decision based on facts and not emotion.
It may be helpful to know my college degree is in counseling, and I have a long history of supporting a hospice in Chicago that my mother founded. My passion is in helping people “take the leap” from uncertainty and into happiness.
My primary role is to ask questions and LISTEN. Why are we having this conversation? What will business ownership solve for you? Who will be impacted by this decision, and is there support for this investment? Why is franchise ownership the right opportunity for you, and do you understand what franchising is?
It is just as important to get to YES as it is to realize the NO. Business ownership isn’t the right choice for everyone, and one size does not fit all. I only work with people who bring joy, fun and yes to the research, because owning a business, interacting with customers, and being an employer takes personality and perseverance.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Over time, I have stopped buying leads. There are a lot of companies that try to vet buyers, but these are cold leads and people who don’t know or appreciate my reputation. I only work with referrals from trusted resources, and have since 2012. That means my pipeline is super skinny, but it is filled with high quality, intelligent, financially suited candidates who are already working with a respected professional who understands my value proposition.
It takes a lot of time to groom referral sources to become outstanding referral sources. Going off the grid to establish relationships is more than “networking events” it is about getting deep understanding about each other’s lead flow and how valuable those clients/candidates are.
TRUST. You have to build it.
My advice is to know your ideal client avatar, and be willing to modify that avatar as economic and environmental changes happen in your industry. Be willing to modify your sources, too, as you gain confidence and your reputation grows as an expert.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I was raised to be frugal and nice. Those two don’t play well in the world of business ownership.
A frugal attitude means you are of a scarcity mindset… “I don’t have a lot of money, so I have to be super cautious about how/where I spend it.” If you invest wisely in your business, you take away the scarcity and start to build into abundance. There is a lot of business to go around!
Nice is nice, but be mindful of your power. Don’t be a pushover, don’t give in to every request or challenge. You can be confident AND nice. Confidence comes from grooming your value, and charging what you are worth (or more).
I recently counseled a couple who were getting buried by the competition in their market. They didn’t know how to compete. They were both FRUGAL and NICE. Once we discussed, at a high level, how to win market share, they plugged into the notions of abundance and confidence.
I am happy to share more about the backstory, overcoming strong beliefs, and building a better construct to achieve more.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: @schmitzmeg
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/franchise.guru.meg.schmitz
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megschmitz/
- Twitter: @guru_franchise
- Youtube: @megschmitz
- Yelp: [email protected]
Image Credits
@stacykaatphotography