Taylor

@bluewmist This too shall pass.

To all men who survived rock bottom, what’s one piece of advice would you give a man who feels like giving up right now

@GrahamStephan @theficouple @TheICHpodcast Typical rage bait, uniformed post by @theficouple

@theficouple @TheICHpodcast This had nothing to do with it.

Graham Stephan explains why he NEVER raised rents on his tenants👀 “I’d never raise the rents… I hated raising the rent because I’d get really great tenants that would stay 8 to 10 years. They were awesome. I had zero hassle, zero headaches, they always paid on time”

@jonny_suds @gvh41 I’d agree it’s not a secret but nonetheless, the dishonest sales tactics and blatant fraud rampant within these organizations should be brought to light.

@gvh41 Feels more like the need to play hero 🤷🏼‍♂️ It’s not exactly a secret that emerging franchises are a minefield and a massive risk

This is so silly. It’s like you put the opposite set of blinders on. Regular businesses fail… and data shows with a lot worse odds. It is also true that most people shouldn’t own a business. And don’t figure that out until they are in the game.

@gvh41 Just went through this experience with an emerging brand. I lost everything but the relief of being out is an unburdening I’ve never felt before.

There’s an emotional journey no one talks about when you buy into the wrong franchise. I'm writing this for the franchisee who's smiling in public while lying awake at night wondering how long they can keep this up. Here's the path you're probably on: 1. The honeymoon Everything is awesome in the beginning. Chaotic, but awesome. You're working 16 hour days but “finally get to decide your own future.” It feels like hustle. It feels like entrepreneurship. You’re drinking the Kool-Aid, and it tastes great. Then revenue starts rolling in. Customers actually pay you money for a service you knew nothing about 12 months ago. You feel validated. And it’s addicting. You “made the right call.” Everyone who doubted you was wrong. This franchise thing is everything they promised it would be! 2. The quiet questions Several months go by before a thought creeps in that stops you in your tracks. You don't say it out loud to anyone. But you're watching royalty payments drain out of an account you worked so hard to fill, and you catch yourself wondering, in that pivotal moment, “What am I paying for?” Where's the support they were talking about on Discovery Day? The systems I’m building myself… didn't I already pay for these? How come I had to teach myself everything that actually matters? Why am I calling anyone but the franchisor to actually help solve problems? You’re getting uncomfortable. 3. The bargaining You bury the doubt because that's what winners do. “I just have to sell more.” If you can just get to that next level, the royalties won't be as painful and the lack of support won't matter. You’re internal monologue is a continuous loop of cliches. “Any business is hard.” “It’s supposed to be this way.” “Nothing worth it is ever easy.” And then you put your head down. And go back to work. 4. The unraveling Your fleeting thoughts are not so fleeting anymore. The doubt, once patient, is persistent. And it's waiting for you in the quiet moments that can't be drowned out by more work. In the car after a long day. At the dinner table with your kids or at 2am when you can't sleep. And it keeps getting louder. And louder. And louder… “This never going to be what I signed up for.” “How could I have been so dumb?” “Why would they promise things that aren't real?” “Am I… trapped?” 5. The trap You don't want to admit defeat because it’s too easily can feel like with failure. “I made the wrong decision and I need to shut this down” is an admission of guilt, a hard pill to swallow. Your spouse supported you when you drained savings for the franchise fee. Your parents were worried but “believed in you.” Friends talked you up to everyone they knew. Other franchisees in the system saw you as someone who had it together, someone to look up to. How do you tell all of these people that the their support was a mistake? That you're packing your bags and that you hope they'll come along for the next ride, if that ever comes. Even though you know what to do, doing it means facing the music. And you’re not ready to face it yet. 6. The reckoning This part is a real bitch. It requires you to dig deep. To ask yourself uncomfortable questions. To seek truth without attachment to any of the protective mechanism embedded in the stories you've been hiding behind. Not the version where the market was tough and timing was bad. Not the version where you just needed better support or a different territory. The real version, stripped of ego and sunk cost and the fear of what people might say at your expense. What is actually true about this business? Not what you hoped when you signed. Not what the franchise development team painted for you. What is true right now, today, based on evidence you can see and touch? If you're honest (and this is the hardest part), everything clarifies in an instant. All the noise- the guilt, the shame, the pride, the fear- it's just noise. It was never the thing stopping you from doing what needed to be done. You were stopping you. And when you see that clearly, you can't unsee it. 7. The other side Walking away is every bit as hard as you feared. Harder, probably. There are brutal conversations, legal headaches, and financial consequences that might follow you for a long time. But if you make it here, there's something else nobody tells you about: the relief. The tangible sensation of a metaphorical weight lifting off your chest. You can stop pretending. And you realize, for the first time, that you didn't fail because you walked away. You would have failed by staying in something you knew was broken just to avoid the discomfort of admitting it. The strength wasn't in grinding it out. The strength was in living your truth. If you're somewhere in the middle of this right now, I need you to know that you're not crazy and you're not alone. There's courage in walking away from something that was never going to work no matter how hard you tried.

@gvh41 What is zeescores? I have just come off of a terrible experience with a home services franchise and would love to warn others.

The investigation into Aaron Harper and Rolling Suds is officially underway. I've already spoken with several people. And what I'm hearing is consistent. If there's one thing I can promise, it's a story that people will want to hear. If you have information- as a franchisee, former employee, vendor, or anyone else- my DMs are open. For those who prefer anonymity: Franchiseinvestigations@proton.me There's power in truth, and this story will be told.

@elonmuskTN 22

@Budgetdog_ Odd…

A guy at my gym made fun of me wearing the same sweatshirt everyday. I told him my family lost all of our clothes and that’s the least of our priorities at the moment. He laughed and walked away without any context/understanding. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

@kickstartmyfran True but can’t forget the marketing parter matters. Wasted an incredible amount of time and money with a partner who wasn’t aligned with my views.

Marketing spend is so highly correlated to early franchisee success, yet many are afraid to pour gasoline on the 🔥 If you look at top performers across franchises they often spend the most on advertising Don’t let fear cause you to get off to a rough start!

@SBA_Matthias No

SMB Owners - are you planning to take a vacation this year?

@Budgetdog_ Congrats! Been cool to watch your continued success and how you put family above all else. Will gladly support and buy one.

On April 16, I will officially be a published author. My Roadmap To Financial Freedom is intended to show you how simple wealth building really is. The everyday person can build a fortune if they follow my roadmap. I’ve taught thousands of people to do the same. 2.5 years ago, my daughter was diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome. To support Logan Lee and every parent/child that understands the severity of Dravet Syndrome… 100% of book proceeds will be donated to fund the necessary research to find a cure for Dravet Syndrome. 💜 My goal with this book isn’t to make profit (link in bio) It is to help you build the life you want while making a massive impact on the Dravet community. Sincerely, Brennan

@kickstartmyfran Recently bought a home services franchise. I used a combination of SBA funds with ROBS. The fees are definitely annoying but minimal (130/mo) and they made the process quite simple. And according to my CPA there are ways to mitigate the double taxation.

@SBA_Matthias The most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve ever been a part of.

Parents - what’s it like having kids?

@Budgetdog_ 32 Degrees!

Random: best men’s boxers👇🏼

@brianbeers How do you handle the “no soliciting” neighborhoods? What about gated communities?

Door knocking for dollars works Our Regional Director is at That 1 Painter training in Austin He knocked, estimated, & sold a $2.6k job on the spot Knocking is totally outside of everyone’s comfort zone. They overcame & got results This is best in class franchise training

@brianbeers Can you share some key lessons learned or what specifics made this a bad choice?

I bought a terrible franchise years ago I know what bad looks like It’s why I educate, not just promote

@kickstartmyfran Good advice. Experiencing this now and certainly a huge deciding factor in how I secure funding.

When you are considering how much of a total investment you can afford, remember that sba 7(a) loan rates are around 11% currently. Don’t take on more than you’re comfortable with. I suggest thinking about that number before you start thinking about specific brands #sba #kickstartmyfranchise #upto10kcashback #franchiseopportunities #lending

@jcolesimpson Just bought my first franchise. Encouraged by your journey and am excited to see the growth.

Why Franchising? I get asked this question in my dms a few times a week, so I thought it would be helpful to write out my framework (that way I can just send this post instead of writing a worse version over and over again) 1. I'm impatient I started searching for a business to buy in November of 2022, like every searcher that exists, I wanted something in home services with over 1m in EBITDA A friend of mine had purchased a large commercial home services company 18 months before, he answered all my dumb questions I put in a few LOIs, kept falling apart Then I found what I thought was an awesome deal in April of 2023, put 25k into diligence, spoke to people who knew more than me @WilsonCompanies told me to "run away screaming!" that one stung, not because of the money (although that wasn't fun), but because of the roller coaster of "I found it!" immediately followed with "run away" I spoke to my friend and asked him how long searching would probably take considering my parameters He told me probably 18-24 months I couldn't imagine waiting another 13 months to maybe have a deal I asked my friend about franchising, he connected me with a guy who ran a 8 figure company as a franchisee Home services, non brick and mortar Once I had a model who had accomplished what I wanted to do through franchising I was hooked I signed with Mighty Dog in May 2. I saw it as a first step Again like most searchers I know, I didn't want to buy one business and be done Franchising was a path for me to get started and get into the home services space The question I asked myself was: "If I do this will I be in a better position in 12 months?" Across the board the answer was yes: I would be a better operator I would understand the home services space more I would have more credibility with potential sellers This allowed me to get experience with lower risk (400k loan vs 5million) while simultaneously make me a better acquirer for future endeavors 3. It gave me maximum optionality Because of the opportunity cost whenever I was searching I was more desperate when I looked at deals By choosing to franchise I lessened the opportunity cost and increased my optionality Now I can look at a deal, if I choose not to pursue it, no big deal I can continue to operate and grow my business I can look at a roll up strategy, I can look at building out a platform Before I was looking for something to do, I was standing still trying to find a race to enter Now I am running and at any point can change directions, but I don't have to stop 4. I Needed to Win A few people asked why didn't I just start a company on my own The honest answer is I needed to win I wasn't willing to take a risk and 6 months later have made no progress spent 50k and have to bail on the ship (which I have done before) Even though I had run other businesses the idea of I am just copying someone else gave me a lot of comfort It is possible that franchising removes a ceiling (I would even debate this) but it also raises the floor Because this didn't have to be the only business I ever owned I would rather have a safer floor and when I had more experience swing at something with more risk and a higher ceiling That was my framework for choosing to franchise Will this put me in a better position in 12 months? We will see if I was right

@FranchiseMnA @MatznerJon Home services franchise called HomeSmiles.com. An emerging franchise with great numbers and growth so far.

@Tccroom @MatznerJon Which franchise?

I'm obviously bias here but its exactly why franchises are the best option for people wanting to own their own business and manage risk You can validate a proof of concept with other franchisees executing on the same model in different markets, get training and support of the franchisor, see system financials, failure rates, etc. Good franchise brands are built to succeed with B- operators and can absolutely crush it with A-quality operators!

@MatznerJon @FranchiseMnA Glad you mentioned this as I just purchased a franchise and have days of self doubt and fear.

@FranchiseMnA Franchises are one of the things that I think are a great "1st business"

@sweatystartup I’m interested in coaching services as I navigate opening my first business. Any info?

My sales coaching business is quickly becoming one of the most valuable companies in my portfolio. I have 5 of my operators working with our coaches and our closing percentages are going way up and the confidence is increasing fast. The most valuable thing we do is call review coaching - listening to a live sales call and analyzing mistakes, wins and creating a structure for future calls. A football team will watch hours and hours of game tape to see what went right and what went wrong. Turns out this works for sales teams too! If you're interested in this for yourself or one of your employees, check us out here: hubermethod.com