Innholdsfortegnelse for Fall/Winter 2022 i Entrepreneur's Startups

David answers my call on his Bluetooth-enabled helmet from atop an Aspen ski slope. I catch him just before he pushes off to descend this powdery, blackdiamond heaven. He doesn’t need to take calls on vacation—he just likes being available. I assure him we can talk later. Certainly, we can wait until he’s reached the bottom. David is one of the top franchisees in a brand of early childhood development centers. He has money, but equally important, he has time. He doesn’t always have to be at work, and his wife never has to be there. She practices law. Together, they bring in plenty of money to raise their family in a great neighborhood, travel, and ski. David runs his business. It doesn’t run him. David is a good example…

When Mad Science needed a new leader in 2013, it did something that seemed a little mad: It turned to Shafik Mina, who had spent the past four years as the company’s lawyer. He’d run a catering company and a wholesale bakery back in the ’90s, but believed he knew how to help Mad Science (which runs kids education programs) stay relevant. And he was right. Nearly a decade later, Mina is the president of two brands—Crayola Imagine Arts Academy and Mad Science—and the CEO of their parent company, 2inspire. Overseeing Mad Science’s 139 units and Crayola Imagine Arts Academy’s 23 units has been no small challenge. But he says the opportunity is huge. How did you prove you could bring the change needed for a large company? When I…

What if you could operate a franchise from home? That is the promise of the microfranchise, which has all of the attributes of a traditional franchise business model, but with a smaller operation that can be mobile-or home-based. This can be perfect for first-time franchise buyers and budding entrepreneurs alike. The fundamental appeal of the microfranchise is the ability to start a small operation that targets a specific, often niche low-cost product or service in a high-traffic or high-volume territory. Owners begin with a targeted effort that starts small but grows larger as the initial profits are reinvested in the business. While microfranchises can be found across a wide variety of industries, some of the most common examples include residential and commercial cleaning, kiosk-based retail operations, dog-walking, and pet-sitting. Here…

Michelle Kameka was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at age two. It left her with persistent chronic pain. When she was in her 30s, she and her husband, Karim, began searching for holistic pain remedies. They discovered massage therapy. “It literally changed my life,” Michelle says. Then they wanted to bring this service to others. “It was important to open something like this in a community of color, because growing up, it felt very much out of reach,” Michelle says. They landed on MassageLuXe—a St. Louis-based brand that now has more than 70 locations in 17 states—and opened a spa in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Why pick MassageLuXe? MICHELLE: We loved its “a.ordable luxury” concept where you walk in and you feel like you’re at an upscale spa. It makes you…

Are you facing a moment, or the moment? It’s a critical distinction we often lose sight of. When we’re facing a big decision, grappling with a change, or wondering whether to seize or pass on a new opportunity, we tend to raise the stakes on ourselves. We treat our decision as critical—as make-or-break, do-or-die. It’s the last train leaving the station! The game-winning shot in your hands! Everything seems to hang in the balance. My advice: Take a breath. Calm your emotions. Then ask yourself my simple but profound question—are you facing a moment, or the moment? I’ll give you an example. My friend Jenny Illes Wood is high up at Google, and she has built a popular program there called Own Your Career. She gives workshops on how Googlers…

One of the biggest myths about franchises is that they’re prohibitively expensive. In fact, the reality is quite the opposite: Franchises are available at every price point. Yes, big-name legacy brands like KFC, 7-Eleven and Planet Fitness can require initial investments above $1 million. However, many valuable concepts cost considerably less to own and operate. Indeed, low-cost franchise brands are a wise option for entrepreneurs looking to get into the franchising industry—and there are several advantages to going the budget route. Newcomer nirvana If you don’t have millions in the bank, or maybe even a half-decent nest egg, you can still find many franchise concepts that command a lower investment level—and that could be a wise and practical way to get started. These franchises typically have operational requirements that are…

Victor Lewis encouraged his wife, Audrey, and their kids—Netanya, Victor Jr., and Joshua—to be entrepreneurial. He saw business ownership as a way to create a family legacy, and convinced them to join Batteries Plus in 2021, after having a great customer experience. But a few months after they signed the franchise papers, he passed away from cancer. The family was bereft after his death, but decided to push forward with his plans for a Long Island franchise. They’ve found strength in navigating the business journey like they have the healing process: together. What was it like building a franchise during this difficult time? AUDREY: I was married for 28 years, and during those years, Victor took care of most of the business and family affairs. So when he passed away,…

After Kerry Sylvester left the military in 2003, she moved to Oklahoma and earned a degree in business management. She also claimed a more informal distinction—she was the designated “charcuterie person” in her social circle. “When we bring food to our friends’ homes, we want them to say, ‘Wow, you made that?’” she says. Still, as a working single mother, Sylvester didn’t always have time to plan and after searching fruitlessly for a place to pick up a freshly made board before a party, she decided to create one herself Just over two years later, Graze Craze has 13 locations around the U.S. and is aiming to have between 40 and 50 in total open by the end of the year. As Sylvester explains, success required a lot of trial…

The Myth PuroClean Wants Franchisees Who Love Standing in Dirty Water PuroClean cleans up buildings’ biggest messes, including water damage, smoke and fire damage, mold, and biohazard removal. Because the labor is hands-on, potential franchisees often presume that they’ll be the ones performing messy tasks themselves. This, in turn, leads some of them to believe that PuroClean wants owners who have a significant background in blue-collar work. The Reality PuroClean Wants Former High-Level Corporate Executives The company likes franchisees with corporate backgrounds, usually (though not exclusively) in sales or finance. In fact, more than 70% of its incoming franchisees have a business background. Those folks don’t generally get their hands dirty on jobs. They hire and train teams to operate PuroClean’s equipment, which does a lot of the dirty work…

Restaurant franchising requires a unique match between franchisor and franchisee. The skills required to succeed can be different than those for other industries, and so to stand out, it’s best to know exactly what franchisors want. Here’s a breakdown of their top four priorities. Eagerness to learn. Franchisors don’t expect you to know everything right away. (After all, if you did, why wouldn’t you just build your own business model instead of following theirs?) But they do expect you to want to learn how they achieve success. “The coachability piece is huge for us, because we know what we’re doing now, and if you follow what we’re preaching and what we have as a system and brand, we can make you successful,” says Jim Tselikis, cofounder of Cousins Maine Lobster.…

Lean Kitchen Company is a meal prep company headquartered in St. Joseph, Missouri. Here, a quick chat with CEO Austin Evans. What did you do this year that will set you up for even more success next year? One of the impactful things we did was implementing a world-class loyalty program systemwide, along with a more robust POS [point-of-sale] system. These are fundamental difference-makers to the average ticket in our stores, as well as customer loyalty and the frequency of their visits, resulting in higher revenue and profits overall. Also, with food costs rising so much in the last two years, making the labor portion of our business as lean as possible is as important as ever. What trends in your industry are you watching right now? Being in the…

Kathryn Berta and her husband Alan loved camping so much, a campground owner once jokingly offered to sell them the business. Berta laughed it off, but it sparked something in her. She couldn’t shake the idea. Maybe it wasn’t a joke after all The couple started actively looking for campgrounds in 2017, and in 2019 they purchased one of Kampgrounds of America’s 500-plus campgrounds in East Dummerston, Vermont. Their decision surprised many of her family members and friends, especially since the couple bought a franchise before they’d even owned a home. But three years into the adventure, 32-year-old Berta likes the flexibility that their life allows: She splits her time between the campground and, of course, even more travels with her husband and daughter. You’ve camped at many KOA campgrounds.…

The Myth Happy Cat Wants the ‘Crazy Cat Ladies’ The Happy Cat Hotel & Spa is just what it sounds like—a place where cat owners can drop their kitty off for an extended stay or a little pampering. The company often hears from self-proclaimed cat enthusiasts who assume that a love for cats is the primary requisite for being a franchisee. Conversely, when the company comes across people who don’t love cats (or at least, don’t loooove them), they usually assume the brand isn’t for them. Wrong and wrong! The Reality It’s Customer First, Cats Second Happy Cat’s franchising team prefers people who like cats but aren’t overly attached. The issue, says CEO and founder Chris Raimo, is that a love for cats might cloud a person’s business judgment. “Some…