Turning Back the Clock : The Start of Something New, and the End of Something Loved - Franchise Secrets

Turning Back the Clock : The Start of Something New, and the End of Something Loved

By February 12, 2019 Franchising

The last time my entire family saw the Austin skyline was 8+ years ago, and it was in the rear-view mirror.

I was driving the biggest U-Haul I could rent, and my Co-Pilot was our yellow lab Abby.

My wife was in her car which was jammed full of boxes, our 8-month-old daughter, and a German Shepard (Dakota – I am sure you can guess where her name came from).

I am pretty sure I had the easier job……

It was the end of an era, I was in the final stages of selling my first franchise business.

Over the prior 8 years, we had built a business with a combination of retail locations (12 over 8 years) and a Regional Development (Master Franchise) with 42 franchisee-owned/operated locations.

I wasn’t necessarily ready for the journey to end, but we were made an offer that I couldn’t say NO to.

I had a lot of time to think.  It took 24 hours of drive time to get from Austin to Rapid City, South Dakota and eventually you just give up looking for a new radio station.

It was the end of something I loved and was proud of, my future was unclear.

During that ride, I made the decision that I wanted to find another opportunity in franchising.

Today my entire family is returning to Austin (slightly larger, 2 more daughters) and it’s clear that I made the right decision.

Over the last 8 years I have invested in 5 different franchise brands, some on my own and some with partners.  At the time I didn’t know it, but my first 8 years in franchising would become a platform for the next 8.

First Eight: I owned 1 brand, had tons of employees, and I worked my tail off.

Second Eight: 5 different franchise concepts, have very few employees, and I have great work/life balance.

Next Eight: Who knows! Honestly, I can’t wait to see what happens and where we take it.

Today I spend a lot of time trying to share what I learned during the first half of my career with others.

I want to help people avoid the school of hard knocks (If there were a PhD from the School of Hard Knocks I would have it).

No matter how much I share, there are some things you can never fully understand until you experience it; taking the leap of faith to buy your first business, paying your first payroll, the pride of walking into your business for the first time.

If I wouldn’t have made the decision to sell my first business and stay in the game (vs. getting a job) I would have missed out on a great run. Who knows what my life would be like today. Would I have a boss that makes my life miserable, would I have to work all the time, would I feel trapped in a career I hate…

It turns out that I had to let go of what I had (my business) and take the leap into the unknown to get what I wanted.