Franchise Everything

Ep86 The HIIT Pilates franchise business model, with Carla Sconce

After 7 years as an instructor, Carla Sconce decided it was time to create the studio and exercise regimen and environment she’d always wanted, and knew clients did as well.   4 studios later, a nationally recognised training program (soon to be globally recognised), and about to open the first franchise, Carla and HIIT Pilates unique approach is well underway!   In our chat, Carla describes in detail, the unique environment and approach to reformer pilates she has created. A high energy, deliberately low, yet full class numbers, with an abundance of space to move are key features of the business.   With a studio fit out that requires much less equipment than many other options in the fitness and wellness space, depending on the specifics of the space, a studio can literally be created within a couple of weeks and be ready to trade.   Studio sizes, location strategy, and the impact of having the brands own nationally recognised training program are other key topics we talk on in this podcast.     0:00 Intro 0:22 Describing the different environment to normal pilates 0:42 What is HIIT Pilates 1:54 What’s different about what HIIT does in reformer pilates 3:17 The concept of ‘challenging with community’ 4:47 Making certain of an inclusive space and luxury feel in the studio 5:44 Reduced equipment than a ‘normal’ gym for example and entry costs and business model in relation to other business types 7:09 Longevity of the reformer equipment and how that is important to a potential business owner 8:24 What is involved with getting into a HIIT Pilates business  9:40 Location and size of an ideal studio up to 250m or so with 200m the perfect size 11:06 Location strategy  12:25 Who is the trainer in the business and how are they trained 13:32 A Nationally Accredited Training Program now but that was not the plan at the start but covid lock down gave time  14:57 Staffing for franchise owners and having trained instructors for them through the HIIT Pilates Academy 16:54 Carla was an instructor for 7 years at varying studios giving a great insight into good and bad  18:26 First franchise being fitted out and that will be the 4th location and thoughts on franchising  20:06 Ideal franchise owner 21:26 Wrap-up   Podcast Produced by:  www.franchisebusinesshub.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/42aby7uf Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/yvr82ymt Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/2anvc578 YouTube: https://youtu.be/ekga8Gm5wq8

Ep85 Managing the impact of cannibalisation in a franchised network, with Vanessa Wilmot, MD geotech

Every franchise brand is looking to grow, however, how do you manage growth and adding locations when it can impact on existing franchise owners?   Vanessa Wilmot, MD of geotech, is an expert in managing this exact dilemma! If not managed well the potential for negative impact can be significant across a franchise brand.   In this discussion the key aspects to cannibalistion covered are;   What cannibalisation is How brands essentially walk a 'tight rope' of wanting to open new locations to grow the brand while balancing income concerns of existing owners How brands assess potential cannibalisation using data Impulse v destination brand differences How to reduce the impact of cannibalisation Using data to maintain a healthy franchisee / franchisor   We wrap the conversation with some key advice from Vanessa on managing the potential of cannibalisation in your brand and how to approach the problem.   0:00 Intro 0:21 What geotech does in franchising 0:39 What is cannibalisation in franchising? 1:58 The 'tight rope' of making sure brands are serving the market yet also having a tolerance for competing against each other 2:48 Brands do consider how much in sales one site could take from another 3:28 How do brands assess cannibalisation impact 5:09 What sort of things impact cannibalisation for impulse and destination brands 6:59 Insights on cannibalisation for destination brands such as big box retail and 'defensive' strategies, even re-locating 9:04 Minimising cannibalisation strategies using data in particular 10:49 How data can help explain decisions to franchise owners on other store openings near them 12:27 Good data around new locations helps maintain good franchise relationships 13:26 Key message and advice in managing the prospect of cannibalisation 14:58 Wrap up   Listen or Watch on; Spotify:  https://tinyurl.com/mu3w57p9 Apple Podcasts: Amazon Music: YouTube:  https://youtu.be/4IpFGXkz86I

Ep84 5 Key things that have made Rubber Stone Franchise Business what it is today, with Blair Emde

A family-owned, global franchise business originating in Canada, Blair Emde, CEO, outlines the 5 key things that have taken the Rubber Stone business from a small farm to international expansion.   Rubber Stone is a business that provides services in surface covering and restoration using rubber granules with adhesives manufactured to the highest standards.   It’s R & D focus has seen it’s adhesive use grow from a single product when the business began, to now 15 distinct types in order to adapt appropriately to all conditions and environments.   The 5 key things that have made the Rubber Stone franchise business what it is today are; The commitment to quality material Extensive research and development of the products they use which has taken then from initially using just one adhesive to secure the rubber granules, to now 15 types of adhesives fit for multiple conditions The training and on-site, real-world focus of their training The selective approach to who is best to come on board as a franchise partner after learning from mistakes The family-owned, small town culture of the business and the importance and role of that.   0:00 Intro 0:55 First key, the commitment to quality material and what Rubber Stone does 3:06 Adapting from to Australia from different climates the products have been used and that learning process 04:12 Second key, extensive research and development into the product and application 09:17 Third key, the training and on-site training process which is very much focused on installation 11:37 Fourth key, selective approach to the people who are right for the franchise 13:31 Fifth key, the family-owned, small town values of the business and it being such a key to the culture of the business 15:56 Wrap-up     Podcast Produced by: www.franchisebusinesshub.com.au Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2nauyv24 Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/yu9yw3mh Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/mr23a8sv YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ox1QKbG-5qk

Ep83 Dan Hotchkis, Stepz Fitness, Dapto - Master & Franchise Owner Journey

At one stage, Dan Hotchkis was running his transport business, his two gyms, and a charity at the same time. Something had to give after also getting the opportunity to be the Stepz Fitness Master Franchise Owner for the ACT. Selling his transport business after 26 years, as well one of his gyms, so he can focus all his efforts on growing his region, Dan’s story is one of hard work and pure commitment.   Pretty much straight from school, Dan got involved in the transport industry, and built his short-haul truck business to 5 trucks over 26 years in operation. Truck driving had a negative impact on his health and he found himself needing to take action.   Fitness and health has changed his life in many ways. He met his wife, who was his personal trainer, he lost 50kg+ in his personal journey and became an endurance mountain bike athlete and more.   He grew his own personal trainer business during his initial fitness journey, then he outgrew the space and leased his own warehouse and ran his own gym for 5 years before he decided he needed to make a decision again.   His life changing through fitness ignited a passion in him to go on a journey to help other people discover the same benefits he has through fitness and health.       0:00 Intro 0:34 Background and career out of school starting in transport 1:25 Trucks short hauling of timber and product and how he got into it and owning the transport business as a young guy 3:24 Starting with one truck and how he found clients to grow the business 4:51 Learning about funding a business through adding on new trucks in the transport business 5:31 Built the transport business to 5 trucks 6:15 The moment where Dan had to make a decision about taking the transport business next level or look at something else 6:49 The prompt to decide to get himself fit and how he started 8:02 After losing 20kg and then putting it back on, a new approach needed in a personal trainer 9:27 Connecting with a trainer and making that work to achieve his goals - 50kg to lose 11:10 After hitting goal weight Dan was able to maintain with good routine and back into the truck 12:01 Hit a point in transport business 12-13 years in and had to decide to grow huge or go into his passion for fitness 13:18 Started being a personal trainer at his gym which evolved into PT sessions and how he approached it as a business 14:34 Grew his PT business then got to a point that something else needed to change to grow that business and leased a warehouse of his own 15:49 Dan’s thoughts about entering into his first lease for a gym as he grew as a PT 16:33 Did Dan have a business plan? No and he ‘winged it’ for 5 years 17:05 Dan met his future wife who was his personal trainer 17:53 Wanting to help more people and grow a bigger business and started searching for a gym franchise business 18:45 Looked at all the gyms and what his rationale was 20:28 Having a great connection straight away with the franchisor, Sam Waller 21:42 Opening his first franchise in Dapto, find the location and fit out 22:51 3 months after opening how he coped with covid lockdowns 23:55 The building flooded after a water system failed and took 4 months to fix 25:12 Adding a second location pretty quickly 26:04 Still running the truck business and two gyms at the same time 26:28 Selling one gym and taking on the ACT Master Franchise territory and having too many commitments 28:51 Sold the truck business in 2024 after 26 years and growth target for Canberra 30:15 Wrap up   Podcast Produced by: www.franchisebusinesshub.com.au Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify:  https://tinyurl.com/47zh3n5n Apple Podcasts:  https://tinyurl.com/34dkuukv Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/2vnx7k4c YouTube:  https://youtu.be/K0kDN5-NJZI

Ep82 The 5 Key things that have made The Squires Loft franchise business what it is today

The 5 Key things that have made the Squires Loft franchise business what it is today.   Franchisors Jeff Leipnik and Katie Bruce talk in particular, on the importance of the flavour profile and its consistency as keys to success.   Having previously never really marketed or advertised widely for franchise partners, growth has been very organic with existing customers being the key purchasers of locations. A decision now to carefully open up the franchise sales wider has been taken.   In Episode#82 - Jeff and Katie discuss the 5 key factors that have made the business what it is today;   Every franchise owner was a dedicated customer first, and this is primarily how the brand has moved to 15 locations up to this point.   The flavour profile of product served through their proprietary baste is a key point of difference and is a key identifier of the brand in the market.   Katie and Jeff started as franchise owners in the business and progressed to franchisors owning the business when the founder decided it was time to pass the baton.   For a significant period in the business, the signature baste and flavours were made in just 5kg pot batches inside a single restaurant location. A key moment in taking the brand forward was Katie and Jeff spearheading the establishment of a manufacturing facility to produce product at scale, the scale required to grow the brand.   No Squires Loft location is the same. The uniqueness and flexibility in design for each location is an important step in making each restaurant that particular franchise owners location and tailoring it to the aspects of the building and the local area.   0:00 Intro 0:37 First, essentially every franchise owner was a customer first 1:04 What sort of requests and contact they get to buy a franchise from customers 2:00 Second, the baste and flavour profile and the commitment to flavours 3:22 Getting into manufacturing of the baste after originally being franchisees 5:41 Third, Jeff and Katie going from franchise owners to owning the franchise brand 7:33 Fourth, the factory step for the growth and consistency of the business 9:12 Fifth, uniqueness location approaches and strategy around it not being a cookie cutter approach so each location has a personality. 11:13 Wrap up   Podcast Produced by: www.franchisebusinesshub.com.au Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify:  https://tinyurl.com/mwpe4c58 Apple Podcasts:  https://tinyurl.com/442pz29c Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/49z99f7f YouTube: https://youtu.be/JMhGqggYwm8

Ep81 How to work out profitability of an existing re-sale franchise, with Peter Knight - EXPLAINER

You can buy a franchise in two ways, a brand new ‘Greenfield’ location, or an existing business as a ‘re-sale’.   The way you value these for a purchase price is very different and must be understood as it is at the heart of risk v return.   Peter Knight is widely regarded as one of the top franchise accountants in the country, and one who plays a key role in understanding value for incoming buyers of franchises. In the ‘franchise pre-purchase review’ process offered to the market, Peter has assessed literally hundreds of franchises for sale for clients.   In this discussion we put together an explainer on how an exisiting operating franchise location valuation is undertaken. In a previous explainer in Episode#62, we looked at valuing a brand new franchise location.   The concept of ‘add-backs’ into the business to justify a sale price is broken down, and explains why they can be contentious. Profit multiples, franchise agreements, refurbishments, updating equipment and more is also a focus in the discussion.   0:00 Intro 0:53 Have the benefit of existing business figures - the financial statement 1:27 How they come up with a sales price for an existing business - the ‘multiple’ 2:53 A calculation to figure out profit and the concept of add-backs 6:05 How contentious the concept of ‘add-backs’ are 7:11 The role of broker and accountant in the sale of the business 7:44 The add-back becomes the biggest point of contention in the sales of businesses 8:15 Re-sale of an existing franchise and approaching refit, franchise agreement and lease terms 9:50 The timing of a sale and look at expenses on the horizon 10:20 The term of a franchise agreement on a re-sale 10:46 The role being played as an Accountant and emotion v real numbers 11:57 Getting finance deals done and the advantage of an existing business with proven numbers 12:29 Wrap up     Podcast Produced by: www.franchisebusinesshub.com.au Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify:  https://tinyurl.com/576zsryh Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/3bnkrvc2 Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/2e47p29n YouTube: https://youtu.be/DLf5kvA50PM

Ep80 Finding gaps in the fitness industry in the Australian market, with Sam Waller, Stepz Fitness

Are there too many options already in order to invest in the Australian fitness industry?   Sam Waller started as a personal trainer turned franchisee, then became the franchisor of Stepz Fitness, growing the network carefully to 25 locations at the time of filming.   He has some strong opinions on where the gaps in the market are.   If you are not in fitness in franchising, you probably have an instinctive feeling that there are simply too many concepts out there competing against each other for the same customer.   But is this instinctive feel true? Are they actually competing for the same customer and is there much more to it?   Sam has strong views through his extensive experience and focuses our chat on the importance of a strong unique selling proposition (USP), exactly who you are serving in the market, location factors, and the lure and challenges of regional Australia.     0:00 Intro 0:44 The elephant in the room in fitness - are there too many fitness concepts? 1:05 Sam’s thinking on fitness businesses and importance of unique selling proposition 2:01 Thought deeply about who they want to attract to the business 3:10 The industry globally not doing enough to get members results 5:14 Finding gaps in the fitness industry in opening new locations 7:18 How many gyms can be opened? 8:50 One store towns and the lure of regional success potential 10:29 What to look for in a location for a gym 11:54 Knowing your customer and even suggesting people go to competitors that are a better fit 13:23 Industry is mature and brands have their own niche with more appearing 14:00 Sam would not start a gym franchise now as not enough space in his view 15:26 Being personal and contactable as a franchisor 16:36 Conclusion Podcast Produced by: www.franchisebusinesshub.com.au Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2pfjtw4k Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2kz3y3xb Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/bdfep4j3 YouTube: https://youtu.be/SaRI1IVZQBM

Ep79 Harry Parker-Arday, Lounge Repair Guys, North Gold Coast - franchise owner journey

While working in retail, out of the blue, Harry got asked if he’d like to trial a job repairing lounges on the road. He loved it and after 2+years as an employee, he got the opportunity to buy the business he worked in.   The Lounge Repair Guys get the opportunity to work miracles and some much-loved items in your home that many thought they’d have to throw out!   Sometimes with up to 10 or so jobs in a day, with the pre-requisite basically being that you just need to be good with your hands, Harry had 2 good years to see the business from the inside.   When the owner wanted to sell, and finance was tight, a vendor finance arrangement got Harry secured in his own business. Running a small team on the Northern Gold Coast, and looking to add to that team, Harry has made a great transition from employee to business owner with some lessons and insights along the way!     0:00 Intro 0:23 Territory area covered on Northern Gold Coast 0:38 What Lounge Repair Guys does in the business 1:34 Describing the types of work that gets done and those that can’t be fixed 2:55 The skills needed, being good with your hands 3:35 How Harry started in his career 5:25 Trialling in the job of fixing lounges 6:24 Other jobs at the time considered by Harry 7:13 First thing he fixed 9:00 Warranty work for retailers 10:31 Started as an employee for 18 months then transitioned into franchise owner 11:42 What could happen if Harry didn’t buy the franchise off the owner 12:15 How he approached finance and how to purchase the business 13:46 Effectively ended up doing an 18 month paid trial in the business 14:07 Describe a typical day 15:53 Managing his time through the day 16:50 Having a dedicated person doing bookings and admin with multiple technicians on the road 17:26 The key takeaways going from employee to business owner 19:46 The challenge of leading teams if you haven’t prior 20:27 Most enjoyable part of the business 21:58 What the future looks like after 2+ years in the business 22:58 What expanding the business looks like practically 23:47 Wrap up     Podcast Produced by: www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify:  https://tinyurl.com/2mtkth2t Apple Podcasts:  Amazon Music: YouTube:  https://youtu.be/hyl6GYlFKD4

Ep78 Failed franchise location strategies and what went wrong, with Vanessa Wilmot, MD geotech

How do even the big brands get location strategy wrong at times when placing franchises into the market? We unpack what went wrong in three very different real-life scenarios to gain insight into how it can happen and why.   As a leading authority on location data and its impact on consumption behaviours, Vanessa Wilmot, MD of geotech  talks us through some specific situations she has been directly involved in understanding the why, then going about fixing the problem for franchise brand.   We dig deep on these three scenarios;   A food brand of 50-80 locations that thought it was appealing to a much more on-trend type of consumer segment and adopted a location strategy around that, only to find the locations were failing within a year or so.   A destination larger retail store that made the significant mistake of enticing early investors into the franchise with the allocation of exclusive territories that were so large that four stores could fit in them than the single store they had. Unraveling this took around 10 years.   A Perth dominant food rand that looked to replicate that success in the Eastern seaboard market and failed to adapt their offer and approach enough or at all from the WA based offer, only to have very limited penetration.   Vanessa details ways to identify these issues before they happen, what to learn from the scenarios, and gives a kind of check list of things to be considering when making such location decisions.   0:00 Intro 0:39 How often Franchise brands get locations wrong 1:51 The types of things that gone wrong in location selection, starting with not doing research to start 2:29 Other thing that goes wrong is giving away too big or too small territories 03:04 Examples of scenarios gone wrong first scenario, medium growth stage food brand with 50-80 stores 06:48 How do brands make such mistakes 07:29 Next scenario a territory destination based brand putting one store exclusively in a territory with 30 stores at the time giving huge territories  - 10 years to unwind the mistake 12:03 Next scenario in a food brand focused on Western Australia that dominates that region but trying to replicate that in eastern Australia 14:24 Seeing quite a difference between Melbourne and Sydney and how hard Sydney is to crack for many brands 15:36 The processes to solve the location puzzle 16:35 Wrap up     Podcast Produced by: www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify:  https://tinyurl.com/34jhyt7z Apple Podcasts: Amazon Music: YouTube:  https://youtu.be/NWbTJkCDZIE

Ep77 The Squires Loft Franchise Business Model with Jeff Leipnik & Alec Palexas

With 15 locations built over 30 years, Squires Loft could well be considered a bit of a ‘hidden gem’ with it’s unmatched attention to detail in flavour and grilling steaks, ribs, chicken and more across its one of a kind locations. We spoke with Alec Palexas, General Manager & Operations Manager, and Jeff Leipnik, Franchisor on the brand and franchise business model.   Squires Loft has its own dedicated manufacturing facility to provide a controlled, high level of quality product for all locations, with production built around a focus of flavour being critical.   We discuss the unique qualities that set Squires Loft apart from other steakhouses, focusing on their distinctive flavour profile derived from a proprietary base sauce made with 27 ingredients.   We also explore operational efficiencies such as their "knifeless kitchen" concept, as well as the flat fee structure for franchisees and site selection.   Contact Squires Loft Franchising here; https://squiresloft.com.au/franchise/   0:00 Introduction 0:42 Squires Loft origins and its focus on quality steaks for over 30 years 1:20 15 locations currently, with 14 in VIC and 1 in WA, and how franchisees have found the business 2:25 Explanation of the unique flavour developed through meticulous ingredient selection in a Central Kitchen 3:47 The flavour detail with 27 ingredients and the point of difference 4:59 The ”knifeless kitchen" concept which simplifies operations by using pre-portioned ingredients 5:58 The model with vertical integration and reducing staff challenges 6:49 The type of people trained to work in the business’ kitchen 7:44 Having a small kitchen crew with often 3 people needed 8:58 Proprietary grills used made to specification 10:54 Breakdown of franchise fee structure highlighting a royalty-free model that supports franchisees 12:20 Insights into site selection criteria emphasising uniqueness over cookie-cutter approaches in outlet designs 14:35 Wrap up   Podcast Produced by: www.magneticbusinessmedia.com.au Franchise Stories and Knowledge Base (our other website): www.franchisebuyer.com.au   Listen or Watch on; Spotify:  https://tinyurl.com/4eftn726 Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/46nj5ccz Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/272jxcn8 YouTube:  https://youtu.be/jMRWCOBomms