Franchise Expert: "I Got Laid Off, Bought ONE Franchise And Became Financially Free" | Ep. 448 with Gregory Mohr Founder of Franchise Maven
Founder's Story
Gregory Mohr shares his personal journey from being corporate-laid-off to achieving financial independence through a single franchise territ
Key takeaways
- Gregory Mohr used his 401k to purchase a single franchise territory after being laid off from the semiconductor industry.
- The primary reason franchisees fail is the failure to follow established systems and processes.
Main topics
- Franchise investment strategies
- Financial independence through entrepreneurship
Notable quotes
Don't be like me and buy a job.
Conclusion
The episode serves as a practical guide for corporate professionals lo
Transcript preview
Speaker 3 (0:00) Going to the office, collecting that paycheck the company's giving you Speaker 2 (0:02) to help you forget your dreams. At 16, Greg Moore worked at Taco Bell. Decades later, corporate laid him off. So he used his 401k to buy one single franchise, one territory, and never needed a paycheck again. Since then, 3,000 people have come to him for help. He turned away 2,700 of them. Don't be like me and buy a job. That's basically what I did. What's the number one reason that you see that these franchisees fail? Speaker 3 (0:30) Not following the system or the processes. I had one lady who took over the Las Vegas Valley. She was the vice president in the gaming industry. And she told them... Speaker 2 (0:43) I learned that you achieved financial freedom, financial independence by owning one franchise. I would imagine most people think you need dozens. What is the truth about how much someone can make by owning a franchise? Speaker 3 (0:58) Pretty much, Dan, the sky's the limit on that one to some extent there. It's really a matter of how much time, how much effort. you put into that franchise or hiring a manager to put in that effort and time for you, but you're still putting in time and effort. You can own one and you can, I did it with one in one territory. It's probably a little bit quicker to do with one franchise and multiple territories, but entirely possible. When Speaker 2 (1:24) you're looking at what franchises to go with, how does somebody know where to put their money and time? Speaker 3 (1:30) What you're going to be looking at there, Dan, and that's one of the things that we go over together when I work with my people, is really, which is your background? So what do you bring to the table? What is your skill set? And really, what skill set do you like to use on a daily basis that does not feel like you're working? So what you need to look at from that franchise is, what skill set does that franchise require? This way... You're utilizing what you like to do best, what makes it enjoyable for you. Also look at the culture on that. And, you know, you get together with the franchise development people and you talk with many franchisees along the way. So kind of get a good feel for what the culture is like with that franchise, making certain that you're comfortable with it. And then there's some other little things along the way, too. Well, not maybe not so little things along the way. Really, can you afford it? And pretty much the franchise, they're going to tell you if you can't afford it, then they're not going to talk to you. But you want to make certain that you have the money. to invest. They usually have a minimum net worth on there. So you make sure your net worth is to make sure you had the money to get that franchise up and running. So you need to look at that runway on that. And talking to many different franchises, you'll get a good franchisees, you'll get a good feel for that. It's really though challenging when you first start out yourself, same with I did when I first started looking at franchises to figure out which franchise is right for you, because there's 4,000 franchises out there. So it can be a challenge going through there. I did that when I first started. I had about 20 different franchise development people calling me, telling me their thing was the greatest thing since sliced bread. And I'm like, which one do I choose? So you can do it yourself. You just have to do a lot of research and keep checking them, see who's got the territory available. As a franchise consultant working with 400 different franchises, I can really help. narrow that field down. But if you're do-it-yourself-ing, you want to do-it-yourself-ing, those are the things to look for. What skill set are they looking for? What are you doing on a daily basis? You're out there knocking on doors or is the franchise happy? Many, many different things to look at. But really, your skill set and what you like using on a regular basis is really what's going to make a difference on that because it won't feel like work then. It'll just It'll be fine. Speaker 2 (3:46) So do you suggest that people look at doing a territory where they're committing to a group or owning that territory where they get people to then franchise within, or should they start at just one location? Speaker 3 (3:59) Dan, it depends on really what your goal is. So one of the things that I ask people is where do you want to be three, five, 10 years from now? If you're looking to just immediately replace an income and you're really not looking to grow an empire. Then look at one territory, look at one territory and talk to the franchisees and find out in the franchise disclosure documents, what can you expect income wise from that one territory itself? Is that going to be enough to get you to where you want to be on there? With me, I just wanted one territory. I was fine. I saw what, how much they made. I said, that was perfect. I can get to where I want to be, financial independence with that one, because I didn't need a whole lot. You know, I lived out in the country, didn't have a whole lot of expenses. I didn't owe anybody anything. And I used my 401k plan to get the franchise. So I wasn't going into debt. So that part was really simple for me. Now for you, it may be different. So you need to look at if you're going to replace your income. And if you've got a, you know, high, mid to high six figure income, you're probably going to be looking at more than one territory for that as far as an income from that one territory and look to see if, okay, that's not going to do it. Then I'm going Speaker 2 (5:03) to need to add two or three territories. You say something. that I think is true. Don't be a founder by a proven system. And the truth that I see is most people will fail as a founder. And it may not even be them. It's like, what, 90 % fail within the first five years. Where do you see the biggest benefit of getting a franchise knowing that majority of the time you're going to fail? Speaker 3 (5:30) Well, Dan. Pretty much every single one of those franchises that are out there today or founders, they founded themselves. So what you're not seeing when you're looking and getting into a franchise system is you're looking at the ones that succeeded. You're not looking at the ones that failed because they're no longer there. So now you've got the ones that have said, okay, this is what they've gone through. All the challenges to get to where they want to be. They've made the mistakes. They figured out what doesn't work. And more importantly, they figure out what has worked for them. So now they've got that system and process in place for you, and you just step right into it, and you utilize all the information that franchise has already gathered to who to talk to as far as how to get your clients, where to get your employees if you need them, where to find a manager, how to, if you're a service industry, how to turn that dial up so that you are now booked out eight weeks in advance. If you get too much work, dial that back. that lead source back. That's what you're looking for with a good franchise system is really just step in, follow their processes and procedures, and then you get to where you want to be probably two to three years, at least quicker than if you were to go out there and try and do the exact same thing yourself, making all those mistakes and figuring out what to do and what not to Speaker 2 (6:48) do. I think most people, when they say franchise, they think burgers and fries. But what types of franchise or what types of... companies, maybe industries that are leveraging franchising. Speaker 2 (7:25) to planning promotions. Here's what I learned the hard way. Black Friday is when more people are already shopping and ready to buy. But if your store isn't live before then, you're leaving money on the table. If you're ready to launch your business before Black Friday, go to shopify.com slash founders story to start your free trial. That's shopify.com slash founders story. Go to shopify.com slash founders story today to hear your first that are making people wealthy, but no one's talking about. Speaker 3 (7:55) HVAC, your heating and air conditioning system, plumbing, electrical restoration services, senior care, tutoring is a good one. The medical field is a really good one right now. It requires a little bit more of investment, brick and mortar type things. But a lot of these, what we're looking at are essential services. These are things that people need every day. So you don't always think about them necessarily as a franchise.