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In this episode we had the pleasure of hosting Kim Daly, an expert with over two decades of experience in helping individuals achieve their dreams of business ownership through franchising. Recognized as one of America’s top franchise consultants, Kim has played a pivotal role in creating nearly 1000 successful franchise owners
During the episode, she delved into the concept of navigating uncertainty and why franchising is considered a “safe” investment, exploring the real value proposition in investing in a franchise.
Kim shared navigating uncertainty, understanding the real value proposition in franchise investments, and the factors that contribute to the growth of the franchise industry in various economic climates.
She also covered practical advice on selecting the right franchise based on one’s background, interests, skills, finances, and life goals. Tune in to this episode to gain a wealth of knowledge from a true expert in the field.
In This Episode
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Kim’s background helping individuals achieve business ownership through franchising
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Exploring the benefits and value proposition that come with investing in a franchise business
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Practical advice on choosing the most suitable franchise based on one’s background, interests, skills, finances, and life goals
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The economics of franchising and the current industry growth
Welcome to another episode on Wealth Strategy Secrets. Today, we are joined by Kim Daly. I wanted to have Kim on the show because she is an expert in Franchising. Franchising is a great way to get into business. If you’re a budding entrepreneur or you’re a W-2, looking to get rid of that and create a side hustle that could eventually become your life’s passion in that business.
Franchises are a solid model because they have the structure, infrastructure, a plan, and it helps to reduce the risk of you getting into business. And of course, once you’re in business, you’re able to take advantage of all of the benefits of becoming a business owner, such as better tax advantages. Trying to get your money to work for you better.
I’m grateful to have Kim on the show today. She has an over 20-year career in franchising and has helped over a thousand people become successful franchise owners. She also has a show as well and a podcast. Welcome to the show, Kim.
Thank you, Dave. I’m excited to be here. I love wealth strategies.
That’s what it’s all about. For those who can be creative, who can think outside of the box, change their mindset, and change the paradigm that we live in a time and effort type economy to a performance-based economy, you can become in the top 1%.
We’re not investing in what exists today; we’re investing in future potential.
It is true. I have seen many people, including myself, dare to be courageous, and move away from the normal job, 401(k). And within, it doesn’t take long. Once you start focusing, you learn and meet people who are doing it and you see what they did, then you’ll think, “I could do that too.” You have this whole pie of alternative investments; the business is the foundation.
But then over time, you would add other things or you start with the other things. Oftentimes, I meet Real estate investors who are like at this moment, especially right now where the interest rates are high and the housing market is high too. It is a better time to diversify and invest in a business right now. Wherever you’re starting from, it’s all good. Franchising could be a piece of that big puzzle.
For sure. Tell us about how you got into franchising. What was your career originally and what led you down this path?
Nobody wakes up and says, “My future is in franchising.” What happens is you find yourself at some place where you’re dissatisfied with what you currently have and start looking for more and that’s where most of the people find franchising.
My story happened right out of college. I was on my way to med school. I answered a classified ad in the newspaper, which gave away my age. It was for a Franchise Consulting company that ended up offering me a one-year position.
My dad said, “Don’t do it. You’ll never go to med school.” My whole life has been about going to med school. My dad is always right. I found this amazing industry where every single day, people wake up to live their dreams and I fell in love. I did what almost everybody does when they think about owning a business. I went and became an entrepreneur. I started my first company. I did that for five years.
I was living down in South Florida. Then 9/11 happened in 2001. It changed everything, I said, “I want to get home. I’m turning 30 next year. I want to be closer to my family back in New England. What am I going to do?”
Entrepreneurship is lonely. You’re making it up as you go along. I was successful, but I wasn’t sure that I had a future without chasing big. I had a website, and I wasn’t sure that I was going to be successful without that windfall of private equity money coming in. That is like a needle in a haystack. I didn’t know that I could bet my whole life on that. That’s when I turned back to my friends who I had met in franchising way back out of college.
True success in business ownership comes when the business provides both the financial rewards and the freedom to enjoy a quality life.
The company that I’m a part of now is getting formulated. I looked at the role and I thought that’s being a personal trainer, which is what I did in college. Instead of talking about fitness and nutrition, we’re going to be talking about business ownership, which is something I’ve been doing and figuring out on my own for five years. I had no idea that the trajectory I was about to get on – I went to training on February 14th of 2002.
And here I stand today as the number one consultant in the country. I’ve placed more people into small business ownership than any other consultant. I’m proud of that. It’s been the most amazing and inspiring life-changing journey. I’m passionate about it because I know that franchising can change anybody’s life the way that it’s changed mine.
What type of franchises have you seen people be most successful with?
When people ask you, “What’s the best franchise to invest in?” There is no one best size, one size fits all. It comes back to your goals as the investor. Do you want to come in as a semi-absentee owner where you keep your job and have a full-time manager running your business? Do you want to do something like a laundromat that’s fairly hands-off once it’s set up and going?
Or do you want to dive in and be the full-time CEO of your new environment and your new business – creating jobs, running P&Ls, and running the business? It depends on where you’re starting from, how much money you have, and what your goals are personally, professionally, and financially. There are over three to four thousand franchises on the market at any one time.
This is why I have a business to help you shift and sort through that. You don’t ever have to worry about finding the perfect franchise. That’s what I do – I leverage, and you get to leverage my 22 years of relationship, industry experience, and knowledge. I’m going to cut through all of that and I’m going funnel all the options down to three to five.
Once I get to know you personally, professionally, and financially, and understand that vision of your future, as to where you want this business to take you, then it does become easy for me to overlay my knowledge on top of that model, and then bring back some great options for you.
I know there are probably a lot of things going on in people’s heads, and I love to walk through this systematically. Why don’t we play – I’m interested and potentially starting a franchise, and I’m ready to go. I’m a new client for you in addition to figuring out my goals, and what I’m investing in clients. What are some of the questions that I should be asking? What are the things I should be thinking about?
The number one thing we’re going to do is when you get started, I’m going to send you a basic questionnaire, so you can start telling me without my interjecting who you are, where you’re coming from, what your initial thoughts are about, industries you’re interested in, your strengths and weaknesses in your past job. I want to align your skillset.
Having the money doesn’t necessarily mean you have the risk tolerance to invest it.
I don’t believe that you have to invest in your passion for the business to be your passion. I’ve never made that true. What leads people to happily ever after in business ownership is when the business provides them the money they want and the freedom or the quality of life. Every single investor out there is chasing money that drives a certain quality of life or has the quality of life but demands a certain amount of money.
If we can remove the focus on what the business does, we can focus on you doing the business and then who you are doing business with. Because ultimately, when you find your perfect franchise match, it will be because you found your people. The number one reason to invest in a franchise is because you find people who have a vision for bringing a brand to market. And you buy into that vision.
You look at their track record to get comfortable that when they talk about the future, they have enough experience in their past that got them to this moment. That gives you the comfort that the projection for the future can happen. You look at the tools and the systems where they are today but know that a business is dynamic – it’s ever-changing. We’re not buying what is today. We’re buying the future potential.
You want to align yourself with people who have a vision, a culture, and enough systems that make you feel confident. If you say, “Yes” then you’re helping them get to those future outcomes. You’re looking for that connection to people. When I first get to know you, I’m looking for who are you as a person. What are your beliefs? What do you enjoy doing?
What environment do you want to wake up and be in? Do you want to be at a fast pace, like a fast food restaurant environment? Nobody wants to be there. Do you want to be in a less, like a more proactively driven business? That’s Monday through Friday, where you have career professionals – they’re maybe nurse practitioners or massage therapists, or they’re HVAC trade guys, but they have a career orientation toward the job that they do.
We’re going to discern all of this before I come back with ideas. It’s a two-step process. First, the questionnaire, then we get together for about an hour to an hour and a half. We include your spouse, that’s important. All the decision-makers have to be present because the learning curve is big. One thing I’ve learned in 22 years is the vast majority of people believe that franchising is limited to food and retail. However, I’d like to show you that there’s much more to franchising than just these sectors.
They also think of all these misconceptions – “Isn’t franchise a build-it type, and they will come?” Or, “Why do I have to pay to advertise?”, “Wait, isn’t that what I’m getting when I buy a franchise?” Before we get to where we can talk to franchisors and learn about their systems and tools, Kim Daly has to do a lot of foundation-building with your mindset and your expectations. You understand what you’re doing, and why you will be doing it. Once you understand why, the right questions will naturally flow out of your thoughts and your mouth.
That resonates with our Holistic Wealth Strategy. We believe most entrepreneurs what we’re looking for that it’s not only freedom of money, but we’re looking at freedom of purpose to wake up every day, be fascinated, and be motivated by what they’re doing.
We want the freedom of time to choose when we want to work. We want freedom of location – to be able to work anywhere in the world that we want, and also, freedom of relationships – to be able to choose the partners, the clients, and the team we want to work and build with.
I like that you started there, because when you look at unpacking that buzzword of financial freedom, what does it mean? When you can create all of these freedoms in your life, you can live a much more enriched extraordinary life, which is what we’re after. I like that you started that from a franchise perspective.
I’ll add one more thing to that, especially people who are coming from a corporate background, more so, than people who might have already left that or who pursued their own thing from the beginning, like entrepreneurs looking for more diversification; but is the grind of life when you’re working for somebody else’s dreams is exhausting.
When people come to me and they don’t, they say, “I don’t want to work.” I spend a lot of time trying to understand what that means. What I’ve come to is, that it’s not that they don’t want to work, it’s they want what you said – the mental freedom to work with, who they want to work with to be in control of the environment, and the time, because people say, “You’re the most passionate person I’ve ever met, Kim.”
The top reason to invest in a franchise is that you believe in the vision of those driving the brand to market, and you’re buying into that vision.
I work a lot. Not because I’m a workaholic. I love what I do and it fuels me. It doesn’t drain me. Where is the cutoff? That’s the hard part for me in my life. I’m working all day. I have all the responsibilities I have to tend to. Not because I’m driven by financial gain, but because I’m driven by the passion of believing in what I’m doing, I’m helping many people, and I can help many people.
That gets me out of bed every day and keeps me going all day long. It’s that mental freedom that most people are looking for. You can find it. It doesn’t mean that business ownership is easy, it doesn’t mean that at all, because it’s not. But it means you’re mentally free to be focused on the things that inspire you. And maybe pay other people to do the things you don’t like to do.
It’s being in your unique ability. When you’re in your unique ability and you have that freedom, there’s much less friction in your life and you become more mission and purpose-driven – it doesn’t feel like work. To your point, this is what a lot of people are after, but they can’t.
Sometimes, it’s hard to make that transition because we all come from this environment of corporate America. We’ve got limiting beliefs, and we’ve got things holding us back from the past such as, “How do I make that move forward into entrepreneurship, or to be a business owner?” Franchising is a good way to accelerate that or help you get out of the blocks quickly.
Let’s talk about the economics of this. How much do people should consider if they’re to invest in something like this? Is it 200K, 500K, or any ballparks in terms of what would they invest to start a business? Are there financing programs out there for people to start a business like that? And what are some of the thought processes that they would be thinking about?
One of the first conversations I have with people is when I teach people what their money buys. I don’t believe it’s fair for me to say, “How much do you think you want to invest” until you understand what I hear with the number that you give. Money and time are uniquely correlated in a business.
They’re opposite of each other. The lower the investment of money, the bigger the investment of the owner’s time commitment. If you look at a home-based business; have you ever heard of the business called Soccer Shots where they go, rent fields, gather all the kids, and teach kids to play soccer?
That’s considered a home-based franchise – very successful. You don’t have low fixed costs. You’re renting a field. You’re only paying rent for the hours that you’re using that field. You’re marketing, signing up kids, then you’re bringing coaches, and playing with kids and teaching them soccer.
You have a low investment with low fixed costs, but a high owner time commitment. Because if you’re not out networking, marketing, signing up families, and working in the community to get your fields, nothing is going to happen.
Let’s flip that to the opposite and talk about like a Marriott Hotel, which is a franchise. You could have millions of dollars, but the owners of the Marriott are not working with the Marriott itself. Marriott has a program you can build, and then they’ll bring in the team to manage your hotel. It is completely upsetting, and there are 500 shades of grey in between.
Take the leap of faith to take control of your time by owning a business. It’s a step into accountability.
This is where I come in. We’re going to gather your net worth; but just because you have the money, doesn’t mean you have the risk tolerance to invest the money either. I need you to be in the most abundant mindset you can be in because there’s enough feeling that, “I’m not worthy, can I do this?” Such as insecurity, and the unknown.
I need the money to not be a scarcity for you. We’re not going to bet the farm. We’re not going to put you in a position where you feel like you’re over-leveraged. That’s the number one reason businesses fail, and we can prevent that. It’s all about educating you to answer your questions simply. Some franchises are under a hundred thousand with no net worth requirements, and some franchises are millions of dollars where they’re highly leveraged through loans and a lot in between.
My part of the journey here is to help and match you to the opportunities that are comfortable and safe level of investment. But even if you are then looking for financing; I have all of those amazing relationships. Most of the people I work with will be using some form of lending – whether that’s using that 401(k) that you’ve been accruing over years, that’s sitting there, and that you can’t touch.
In franchising, there is a way that you can use it. It’s called the ROBS program – we always joke you’re ROB-ing the IRS; it’s called the Rollover for Business Startups. You should Google that if that intrigues you. But I have amazing friends who are experts in how this works, who can talk to your accountant, or even financial planner to help you understand how you use that without creating a taxable event.
If you have more than 50,000 in a 401(k), it is 100% accessible to you. You can have it in about 30 days and you will not create a taxable event. For most people, even if they’re going for an SBA loan or other type of loan, the bank still requires you to come to the table with usually 20% or 30%. I’m not an expert, so don’t quote me on that conversation.
I’m enough to help you understand. If they say, “You come with the first 20, we’ll bring in the construction loan, and the working capital for the back 80.” And let’s say, the first 20 is a hundred thousand; a lot of people don’t have a hundred thousand sitting around in their savings account, but they might have it in their 401(k). They might use a hundred thousand from the 401(k) rollover, plus the SBA loan to come in on the back.
Going through this journey and this process, we’ve identified our goals. I’ve talked through the economics and what we’re thinking about investing with you. How do you do some of that matching? I bet that there are franchises out there – if someone were to get into this, that they haven’t even thought of before, different kinds of businesses like that – matching process, filtering, or how does that work?
Yes, I have this massive algorithm in my brain. I’m kidding.
It’s all AI-driven. You enter all your information, it’s AI, and then you’re done. Perfect.
The matching is more relational and experiential than it is with Data science. Therefore, if you went to five different consultants, you might get five different mixes. But it comes back to my 20 years of knowing who is who and what is what, so all franchisers out there are not created equal. Not every franchise out there deserves your hard-earned savings.
Not every franchise out there is going to suit your level of risk. If you are an engineer, and you like stable environments, you want as little uncertainty as possible. Investing in an emerging brand may be way too risky. On the flip side, if you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve built some businesses before, and you’ll say, “That was the hardest thing I ever did. I want to own another business, but I do not want to start from scratch. I don’t need a lot of support.” An emerging brand could fit you well.
It comes back to understanding where people are starting from what past experiences they’re bringing, what skillsets you want to have in a business where the primary role you play is creating jobs, leading, and managing people. That can be an employee-heavy business.
That is for somebody else who does not like that skill or doesn’t have that skill.
I’ve been a salesperson, and I’ve been out on the road, driving business development. That is where I thrive – meeting people, and being out and about. I would die if I had to be stuck in a building all day. If you don’t want to own a UPS store, then you want to have the opportunity to be in a business that gets you out and about.
Every investor is either chasing money to achieve a certain quality of life or seeking money to maintain their current quality of life.
We’re matching based on these criteria, then overlaying my 20 years of knowledge and relationships. I’m part of a company called Franchise. That’s my franchise. In my parent organization in Minneapolis, I have a whole team of people behind me every single day. They’re out at trade shows, the IFA – which is the International Franchise Association. They hold conventions. They’re going to Springboard which is a launch pad for new entrepreneurs who are becoming franchises; and franchisers, they are creating my inventory.
This is a free service for me and you. I am never going to call you my ‘client’. You’re always my candidate because you don’t get paid the money and we’re under no obligation to each other. I always tell people that this is free advice – “Do with it as you want. It’s more than life. I’m not here to push you. I’m here to guide you.”
To the extent that I can help you make a decision that you feel good about, then I’ve done my job – whether that decision is yes or no. I’m going to overlay after we’ve looked at all these different topics – your risk tolerance, and the day-to-day environment.
If you’ll say, “I like home services.” What does that mean? Do you want to be inside the home or outside – out in the yard? You could be building patios, pools, fences, irrigation systems, outdoor lighting, landscaping, fertilizing grass, picking up dog poop, powder washing my fence, and a million options inside my house – paint, flooring, windows, California Closets, interior design.
There are many options. I’m going to go through all of these criteria at the very end after we’ve talked about the role you want to play, the owner you want to be, and the environment you want to be in. By that, a retail setting or an office setting. Then, if you’re in an office, are you in an office suite? Or are you in a functional office back in an industry a lot?
Because all of these cannot even be how you dress. That matters to people. Some people think of business and they’ll say, “I want to be in a suit.” Most people today would say, “Screw the suit. I want to be in jeans and the company polo.” All of this matters.
Can you see yourself driving a van that is your moving billboard through the town? Can you see yourself opening that YogaSix studio that you drive by and say, “That’s my business.” And your family and friends would say, “How did you get to own that?” All of these things matter. Some more than others.
At the end of all our consultations, we’re going to talk about the widget and that. By that, I want to ask you, “Is there any low-hanging fruit?” If someone asks me, “Kim, would you be interested in a business in health and wellness?” Because that’s who I am in my personal life; those are my passions.
If everything was equal, you could align a great franchise, give me the environment I want, and allow me to use the skills that I have. But it happened to be in health and wellness, or anti-aging. That is a score for me or my pets. That is where we do that cherry on top of the Sunday.
Try to match the industry to something that you may have a passion in. At the end of the day, believe it or not, it becomes the least important criterion for people. Once I take them through this journey of understanding and thinking through, waking up, and being a business owner, I realize it’s all – whether you’re selling yoga, you’re selling grooming dogs, or you’re selling changing oil, it’s all the same.
How about this? We’ve heard that we’re in this phase called the Silver Tsunami, where we have a massive amount of Baby Boomers retiring. A lot of those boomers are looking to exit their businesses because most of their net worth is tied up in those businesses.
Mastering the optimization of one franchise can pave the way for scaling up and acquiring more.
Can you take a mature franchise and then sell that to someone? In my mind, that would reduce the risk even further because it’s already been up and running. You’ve got customers, you’ve got a track record, and everything.
The answer to that question is a thousand percent. You are building an asset that is yours to sell. Now, can Kim Daly help you buy an established business for sale? No. That would be a business broker. That is a different specialty. In my business, I have no territory restriction. I am contracted by Franchisors for new growth.
Sometimes, if I’m looking in the Dallas market, and I have a specific idea in mind for somebody that is a well-established brand, I run the territory check, and the franchisor says, “We have an owner who is motivated to sell.” Then I can bring that to you. But I don’t have a database of existing businesses for sale.
That would be going to your local Sunbelt Business Broker or VR Business Broker; there are all kinds of local business brokers who have a database of businesses in your area that are for sale. And some of those will include franchises. But to make a better point to the question you’re asking when you’re thinking about building a franchise, in my opinion, all businesses should be built to be sold. This is absolutely part of the criteria that I’m using.
If you tell me, “Kim, I only want to be in this for maybe ten years.” I would say, “That’s going to lead me to industries where you have a faster trajectory to build something meaningful and scale it to multiple units.” When you go sell it, it is worth something valuable.
Have you ever heard of the brand, Orangetheory Fitness? Imagine it. Do you remember maybe about five or ten years ago when the whole world woke up? I do. Everybody wanted an Orangetheory Fitness. But there are no more Orangetheory Fitness locations. The time to get into that was ten years ago. As consultants, we get these young pioneering brands and people would say, “Why would I buy a franchise when it doesn’t have a name brand recognition?”
I would say, “You have to have the vision.” People could have asked you that question 30 years ago when Subway became a franchise – “Why do I need a franchise to open a Deli?” If you had no vision, you couldn’t say yes to that. But if you had a vision of being part of what you were contributing to, and what you were building; and that brand equity that would grow over ten, or twenty years – Planet Fitness, Massage Envy, Orangetheory, European Wax.
Things are stone hand. Things are all brands. There are thousands of them that we know and love as American consumers. Those brands hold brand equity if you are one of the pioneers in a market; because you got in early and you have the best, most established locations in a market.
When private equity starts looking at the industry – they look at you, they come in, and they paint big fat multiples. There is always a peak right to that brand. It is usually before the franchise goes public. Sometimes it’s after, but that’s when senior care is another one. Some brands hold their value; they’re more like the Honda Pilot, and then others are like your Maserati.
It’s a faster ride to the top. They both get you there. Some are slow and steady. Some are rocket ships. Every person out there is different in terms of their risk tolerance and the ride that they’re looking for. That’s how I help you align to the right ride so that you don’t feel it’s a hair-blowing experience if that’s not what you’re looking for.
You mentioned your passion is in personal health and fitness, anti-aging, and longevity. I share that with you as well, and I’ve been watching the space. A lot of investment is going into that space. Anything that looks exciting in that space that you’re seeing right now?
Business ownership isn’t easy, but it grants you the mental freedom to focus on what truly inspires you.
There are many. Since the pandemic, there’s been this shift toward preventative health. So there’s a lot of these things. What’s funny is, they’re not new. I equate them to Massage Envy – Massage Envy didn’t create the massage, they took the message out of the high-end spa where it was unattainable for the average person to have a regular massage – they put it in a retail setting, wrapped it in a membership, and made it affordable, convenient, and accessible.
We have all kinds of anti-aging and natural therapies that are emerging from the Naturopathic Doctors‘ offices where I’ve been a patient for 20 years. We’ve been doing all of these things and now they’re becoming more mainstream – like using infrared light, infrared sauna, cold plunge, or ivy drips. You see some of these are wrapped in one location where you can get all of them like a Restore Hyper Wellness or a Pause Studio.
I love their tagline. It says, “We can’t stop life.” Then we have other ones like the Beem (Infrared) Light franchise, which is just that modality. It’ll be interesting to see over time how it shakes out as we watch the fitness market go from the big 24-hour gyms, and lifetime fitness gyms, down to YogaSix, CycleBar, and an Orangetheory where people were paying for the modality they wanted.
Right now, we see these anti-aging and wellness centers. We have some of them opening with all the modalities, and then we have some openings specific to one modality. I don’t know how it will shake out over time. Maybe they will all win.
I’m seeing them sprout up all over. Optimize is one, Phoenix, and a lot of them can go as an a la carte. You could do Red Light Therapy, you could do grounding. They’ve got the BioCharger strong. They’ve got the BioCharger in there, or Ozone Therapy, the IV (Intravenous Therapy), as you talked about. It’s fascinating to see that blossom and there’s a lot of capital going in that space.
I love the people who will say, “This is new. It’s woo woo, it’s voodoo. There’s no science for that.” I would say, “It depends on the science you’re looking at because there’s plenty of science and it’s not new.”
You go, try it, and see how you feel after. That is what I always tell people – “Go try it, does it work for you? Do you see the benefits?” Then to me, investing in your health – there isn’t any better investment that you could do than to invest in yourself.
What I love is – when people take the step, the leap of faith to take control of their time by owning a business. It’s a step into accountability. What happens is a trickle effect. Sometimes, people start by changing their life by losing 50 or 100 pounds and they get control of their health. Then they’ll say, “I need to get control of my professional career.” And they own a business.
Other times, it starts with the business. And once they get control, they start sensing freedom, and they start thriving in that accountability place, all of a sudden they’re gym goers. All of a sudden, they’re developing a yoga practice, or they’re starting to eat better and they’re looking for ways to improve other areas of their life. It all goes together. It’s about each person that is going to start from a different place.
I’ve got a good friend of mine. He’s got 65 haircutting locations. And another guy, he’s got about 85 Planet Fitness’s – in fact, up North, where you are. It is interesting to talk to them about their journey not only you can get into a franchise, but you could scale that. If you figure out how to optimize that one franchise, you could continue to buy more and scale up from there.
It’s not about one rooftop; it’s how you leverage your time across multiple rooftops.
In my opinion, franchising is never about one. The whole model is designed for scale. Wealth is always created through scale. Even if you’re a real estate investor, it’s not about one rooftop, it’s how you leverage your time across multiple rooftops. The same thing will be true in franchising. If you take one location of something and let’s say, it can gross a million dollars and net you 100 or 200 grand, that’s the starting point.
You have to be willing to grow because the owner who owns one or two is different than the owner who owns 10. You grow into that owner. You don’t start there with 10. You start with the idea of getting one up and going, then you replicate that, you start building the skills you need to step back, hire managers, keep thinking bigger, and then manage a bigger entity.
I firmly believe like I believe businesses are built to be sold, that franchising is not about one, it’s always about how I scale. We start with one because you can’t get to two if you can’t get number one. We have to think bigger than one in almost all cases, whether it is brick and mortar or non-brick and mortar.
When it is non-brick and mortar, it would be more about how many territories. Let’s pick an example – a house cleaning, like the maids. Let’s say, they sell you a territory of 50,000 qualified households. In some zip code areas, there are 50,000 targeted homes at 75 in income or above. Those are your target people that you’re driving SEO to and direct mail to. Those are your targeted customers.
But if you buy two territories – now you have 100,000, you double your population that you can market to, but you’re not doubling the cost of entry. You’re going to pay a secondary franchise fee, which is usually reduced. Because the franchisors want people who have bigger businesses. All experienced franchisors know single-unit operators are their most difficult operators to manage.
They want people who have that empire-building mentality, who are looking to diversify themselves among territories or locations and have a bigger vision because then you’re not going to be singularly hyper-focused on the performance of anyone. It is the performance of the entire portfolio, like any other investment portfolio. The more spread out you are, the lower the risk.
If you could give one piece of advice to listeners about how they could get in the game, what would it be?
You have to take the first step. The only advice I have is, “Let’s get started.” Let us start a conversation because you don’t know what you don’t know and we trip over our own limiting beliefs. One of the things we haven’t talked about is once I have these three to five concepts for you, I won’t leave you as I’m the mindset coach. The Daly Coach came from people saying, “How do I get a daily dose of Kim?”
But the second way that, and the real way that I call it; the reason I call myself the Daly Coach is because I’m a franchisee. For my first eight years, I was an average-performing franchisee. Then one year later in, this was back in 2011, I made history in my industry. I did over 350% more revenue in 2011 than I did in 2010, or the previous eight years.
The first ‘yes’ is to the dream of owning a business and controlling your life. The second ‘yes’ is showing up to that first ‘yes’ every single day.
I was the same me – Franchise was the same process. But something changed, and it wasn’t my skill that first year. It was my mindset. I teach people what I did because if I can help you buy down eight years, you may not be able to go all the way to learning all of this from the beginning – you might still have to spend a couple of years figuring it out on your own. But if it is back there in your mind somewhere, log it in.
I’m developing a whole coaching practice and coaching programs because I am passionate about saying yes to life. There are two yes’ I see. The first is saying yes to the dream of owning a business, owning, and controlling your life. And the second yes is showing up to that first yes every single day.
They’re different and they require different mindsets. So while you’re working with me and getting to know franchisors, I will start coaching that mindset of yours. I’m going to help you understand why people fail.
It is not the reason you probably think. It is much deeper, but it is also so simple. Most importantly, we’re going to talk about why people are successful. I want to set you up with that success mindset that helps you own it from day one. People want to own it, but then they don’t want to be accountable. I know because I was that person. I wanted to blame it on the economy, my franchisor, and what I wasn’t getting.
Then I woke up, got sick, and tired of myself and said, “There’s a better way I was made for more. I want to make more money.” I set a goal, I put my head down, and I stopped making excuses. I held myself accountable for one year, I made history, and that changed everything – for how I show up for myself, but more importantly, how I get to show up for you.
Awesome. This has been enlightening and it is a great way for people to either create that side hustle or create a bridge into entrepreneurship that can open up many possibilities. If people would like to reach out and connect with you to learn more, what is the best place?
I’m all over the socials at @TheCoachDaly. Please check it out. I put out five to six pieces of content a week. But if you are ready, go right to my website, The Daly Coach. I have a Free 30-minute download. It’s a mini boot camp on the real value proposition of a franchise. Of course, my contacts have thousands of testimonials. Check it out.
Thank you so much for your time and insights, Kim. I appreciate it.
My pleasure. Thank you for having me on as your guest.
We’ll see you next week. I hope you enjoyed it.
Important Links
Connect with Kim Daly
Connect with Pantheon Investments
Further Resources
Your 10-Step Actionable Checklist From This Episode
✅ Assess the economic environment, such as interest rates and housing market trends, to determine if it’s the right time to diversify into franchising.
✅ Clearly define your personal, professional, and financial goals before exploring franchise opportunities. Decide if you want to be a semi-absentee owner or fully involved.
✅ Understand the correlation between your financial investment and the time commitment required. Low investment may require more personal involvement, while higher investments may allow for more delegation.
✅ Choose a franchise with a vision and culture that aligns with your values and future aspirations. Ensure the franchisor has a proven track record and solid systems in place.
✅ Consider the future potential of the franchise, not just its current status. Invest in a franchise that offers room for growth and aligns with your long-term goals.
✅ Think about how many locations or territories you want to manage. Remember, franchising is about scaling, not just owning a single unit.
✅ Begin your journey by having an initial conversation with a franchise consultant to explore options and overcome limiting beliefs.
✅ Look for franchise opportunities that align with your passions (e.g., health and wellness, fitness). However, be open to the idea that passion might not be the primary driver.
✅ Prepare yourself mentally for the challenges of owning a franchise. Success often comes down to mindset, accountability, and consistency.
✅ Don’t wait—take action by researching franchises, reaching out to consultants such as The Daly Coach, and exploring how franchising can help you achieve your goals.
About Kim Daly
For over 20 years, Kim Daly has been helping people achieve their dreams of business ownership through franchising, earning recognition as one of America’s top franchise consultants. She has created nearly 1,000 franchise owners, co-authored the international bestseller Franchising Freedom, and hosts KimDaly.tv and the Create Wealth through Franchising podcast. Kim is also the creator of “The Daly Plan,” a millionaire mindset coaching program. A mom of two teenage boys, she’s passionate about fitness, nutrition, skiing, and living by the beach in southern New Hampshire.