Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to american wealth enfranchising and Kim Daley tv. I am your host, Kim Daley. I want to educate, motivate and inspire your business ownership journey by interviewing business leaders, coaches and exceptional franchisees to learn their valuable insights and strategies that we can apply to our own business ownership dreams. Now onto the show.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: Welcome back to american wealth and franchise. I am your host, Kim Daley. And in studio today, a special friend. His name is Chase Jensen, all the way from St. George, Utah. He is a franchisee of Bloomin Blinds. Chase, welcome to the studio of Jim Daley tv.
[00:00:48] Speaker C: Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here. Thanks for the opportunity to share my story.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: It has got to be a good one today because look at this young, healthy, vibrant face. I can't wait to hear what he's going to tell us. So nice to have to you, Chase. You know, my show is all about inspiring the amazing american dream. Everybody wants what I feel I am selling, which is not franchising, it's freedom. Right? Everybody is looking for a faster, easier, better way to live life on their own terms. And franchising is an amazing vehicle that can help the right person. So let's go back to the beginning of your story and tell my listeners what was happening in your life when you woke up and said, problem and I need to fix it. Before we talk about franchising and business ownership, just like bring us into the moment in your life where you were like, I know I've got to do something different.
[00:01:41] Speaker C: Sure. Absolutely. I'll take you back a lot of years, back to not quite the beginning, but I graduated college, and during school I really liked real estate. I really liked to learn about it. I wanted to be in real estate. And so I started a young family. I thought, what's the best way to do real estate and get a paycheck every two weeks? I started doing property management, managed apartments and multifamily, and I enjoyed it to an extent, but it was really tough work and there were things about it that I didn't love and I got tired of sitting at a desk or got tired of just work. Didn't happen unless the phone rang and it kind of drove me nuts. I kind of got stir crazy. So I did that actually for a long time, seven years. And then I moved my family to southern Utah and joined a commercial real estate brokerage firm and worked with a team to help with their special projects and development projects and still in the real estate realm. But I wasn't picking up clients and doing any of that so any of the buying and selling. I realized at a certain point that my next step in my journey was either start picking up clients and helping them buy and sell real estate, which for me, it just wasn't hitting all the buttons. It just wasn't something that I wanted to do forever.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Why is that? Well, let me interrupt you. I want to back up the selling and the buying part is, I'm guessing, where the money is really made. Right. And you didn't want to do it because it's like a grind of like, you know, having that prospect plan just to interject there.
[00:03:06] Speaker C: Yeah, great question. For me to be answerable to a client at all times 24/7 it wasn't something that I wanted to do with my family. Soccer games are important to me. Dance recitals are important to me. I've got four little kids and I wanted to be there, not attached to my cell phone, 24/7 which is kind of why I started looking at different options. And pause in the middle of that, my wife and I took a trip to Italy. And while we were there, we ate pasta at a to go fresh pasta place. And I was looking at the menu and I saw on there, oh, franchising. They franchised this pasta place out of Italy. And I thought, holy smokes, I should bring this to St. George, Utah, of all places from Italy.
And long story short, my wife wanted to do it. She was all in. She wanted to find a place to do the restaurant and start talking about employees. How are we going to get this here? And I started talking to this company on how I can bring their concept to St. Georgia all the way from Italy. They had started franchising in Florida a little bit, and so they were already on the States. They had somebody here to help them. And as I got thinking about it, I did not want to do restaurant work. Yeah. I did not want to be dealing with the brick and mortar and with employees. With all of that. I just could not bring myself to commit to it. So I started looking at other franchise options. I looked at dog training concept, and I'm trying to think of any other concepts, a few other concepts. And that's when I got in touch with my franchise consultant, Matt Stevens. He helped me to kind of narrow down choices and see what type of franchise I really liked and what would suit me. So that brings me to the point of being introduced to blue and blinds.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: That's awesome. Shout out to Matt Stevens. He's a colleague of mine here at franchise. So that's awesome. He's a great guy. You had a really, really good consultant. He's been doing it for a really long time. So that's an awesome story. So you were looking for something different in your life. You knew where you were wasn't working. It wasn't giving you the quality of life that you wanted as a young dad with a lot of small kids and the freedom and flexibility that you needed. And so you just stumble upon the idea of a franchise in Italy, which is so fun about that. It's because you were open, right? You were thinking about what else is out there. And that's kind of how the energy of the world works, right? When we start asking the questions, the answers start coming. And so thank God you just followed your intuition, though, on the food thing. Like, my pop was no, like, and I am, like, not a fan of getting into food, especially as your first business. And the lifestyle that that would have afforded you would have been no better and probably worse than if you had just stayed in commercial real estate and property management. So your intuition was, like, spot on on that. Like, Bob Chase, good job. Okay, so now we're to the moment of you're thinking about franchising, because it's like, all right, I think I like this idea of owning a franchise. What part of owning a franchise started to appeal to you as you started thinking about it before Matt Stevens started interjecting options to you?
[00:06:13] Speaker C: Yep. So I kind of a side note to this as well. I always wanted to start a business, but I never knew what. That was always the big question for me. That was the first thing that drew me to franchising was there are people out here that have these concepts that work. They're going to provide me with the what, and I'm going to come over here and, you know, take the operation side and run with it. And they've already made the mistakes. They know the concept. It's proven. They're going to support me along the way. That was a big thing I was looking for was somebody supporting me. I had never ran a business before. It was really important to me, the type of company I paired myself with as well. I wanted high caliber people. So those are types of things that I was looking for in a franchise and kind of what drew me to franchising in general.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: Yeah, it's awesome. And all of those things, again, just to summarize, everything that Chase has said, and that's what a really good consultant will do for you, is help you figure out the right type of business, then match you with high quality franchisors because not all franchisors are created equal. Just because a business is operating as a franchise doesnt mean its your franchise, right? Franchising is always about who, not what. So if you want to know the what, go be an entrepreneur, right? If you want to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself, to have that support, to buy down that learning curve, to be partnered with people that are continuing to grow a brand and create a bigger opportunity for you as that brand becomes a national brand, that's what you do in a franchise. So, like, all of that is like, spot on, chase. Okay, so now we're at the moment you meet Matt, Matty, as I would call him, and I stop myself, and you meet Mattie and you start going through the process. So what's it about the blue and blinds model that stood out to you? Because it's not like people go, oh, yeah, especially men, you know, like, unless you're into interior design by, like. Cause you're a contractor or something, like, are really, like, oh, yeah. Like, I think the block business is the business for me. Like, that's not obvious, especially one where.
[00:08:17] Speaker C: You have to wear a pink shirt every day.
[00:08:19] Speaker B: Oh, look at that baby.
[00:08:21] Speaker C: That's funny. Yeah. I had a conversation with a fellow franchisee just this weekend, and we said these same things. It's not a manly job, but to go into someone's house and solve their problems is so fulfilling. But just back to your question. Blooming blinds, for me was when he introduced it to me, I'd never in a million years even considered it. I mean, I'm sure I considered it, but I never thought it would be the one. And what drew me to blooming blinds was their culture, first and foremost. Just the type of people that were there, the support that they offered, the training that they provided, the technology that they focused on. I'm not delving into these unless you want me to, but these high level items are just kind of what drew me in. I liked their branding. I liked the model of being a mobile. I didn't have to go get a lease and have that overhead. I liked that I could do it myself and eventually grow because I wanted to learn the experience as well of running it and picking out these shades with people, installing the blinds in the homes myself, and doing it all. So these are just some high level things that really appealed to me.
[00:09:27] Speaker B: I love it. And bloom and blinds was started by a mom and her sons. So while you wear the pink shirt, you know, you could put them good seeds, because those brothers are. They're awesome. I'm sure that, like, when you went to meet the team day, did you have an immediate connection to the three brothers that are part of Bloomin blinds?
[00:09:46] Speaker C: Immediate. And I felt almost like another brother because their sense of humor immediately came out and it matched mine. Their little antics and things they did just made me feel more comfortable to be able to open my shell, and we really got to know each other. There was no facade, no wall. It was immediately broken down. When I met them, we ate good food. We had lots of laughs. We learned a ton. I mean, it was an immediate connection that continues to grow this day with all three of them, not just with one single one or anything like that. I mean, it's immediate where I feel comfortable, where I could call them at any hour of the day. No, they'll pick up, answer my questions, help me through problems, and it's been great.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Yeah. So busting the myth that franchisors don't care about their franchisees, right. I mean, absolutely not every franchisor cares at the level that other franchisors care. But when you are connected, especially through a good consultant who's been around the industry, who has personal relationships, right, like Kim Daley, like Matt Stevens, like, there are those of us out there who've been around the block for a time or two, and we have these deep relationships, and we know who's who and what's why. And that's part of the advantage of working with a good, experienced franchise consultant, is you have that immediate trust that these franchisors you're looking at, while the widgets may not be what you expected them to be, the people will be who you expected them to be. Right. And then if you stay open and you go with that process, you start to fall in love with the idea. And it's so gratifying as a consultant to take somebody from, I think I want to own a franchise with what I know about a franchise, right. But I don't really know what. And then watch them one or two weeks into the exploratory process, come back and say, I don't believe I'm going to say this to you, Kim, but, like, I'm really excited about this blind business, right? You're like, yes to no one. You know? I'm like, it's, like, so gratifying, because I know, like, I'm sure Manu, you're not buying a widget. You're absolutely buying into what leads to happily ever after in a franchise which is finding a culture of people, systems and tools and an opportunity, not a widget like, I like to work out. So it has to be the gym or. I love the taste of that yogurt. So I got to own the yogurt shop, right? And all that you said, like, this model speaks to the life you wouldn't have had near commercial real estate and if you had said yes to the pasta thing. Right? So it provides that. So let's talk a little bit about, like, how this business matches or maybe hopefully even exceeds your quality of life goals that you had when you thought, I want to be a business owner, and this is what I want my life to look like.
[00:12:39] Speaker C: Absolutely. I'm excited to talk about this because, as I mentioned, I have four little kids, a wife. My family's everything to me. That's why I do this. I have absolutely no question worked harder and longer hours than ever before. But somehow I have more time with my family. I don't know what it is. It's weird. I don't even know what to describe it as, but I have more hours in the day to spend with time with them. I get home. Some of it may be that I'm happier. I have a lot more life to give to them. So I feel like our quality time has been, you know, increased. I've taken more vacation this year than ever before. I have been there for the recitals. If my wife has something early in the morning, I can block my schedule off and be there for the kids as she goes to do whatever she has to do. And we've been creating more memories together, which is important to me as they grow up, because I want them to have a dad that was present in their life at everything. And this has allowed me to do it even while I work way more hours. And as I'm building my business, and I can see that as things continue to grow, as I continue to expand, then I'll have even more opportunities to spend time with my kids. That's why I did it. That's why I'm here. It's crazy. Just six months in, I'm able to spend more time with them and take those vacations and be with them more.
[00:14:00] Speaker A: Hey, daily Coach fans, if you're loving this episode, please do me a quick favor and leave me a five star rating and a short review. Your feedback fuels my growth and rankings and shows others that this podcast is valuable. Now back to the show.
[00:14:19] Speaker B: It's so awesome. You're just dispelling so many myths, right, that I won't even get into all of those. But what I'm going to summarize what I heard you say and what I know to be true also in my own life, is when you wake up every single day for your own goals and dreams, there is. It's joy, it's passion, it's allergy, it's not resistance. Right. When every single day for 22 years as a franchise consultant, I meet people who say to me, I go to work for somebody else's goals, for somebody else's dreams, I'm subject to meetings that I see no value in. It's all of this negative energy and resistance in our minds that makes us hate Mondays and long for Friday. As a business owner for 27 years, Monday to Friday, Saturday, it's all the same to me. And I 100% mean that because I am in control.
My schedule, who I spend time with, what I do, how hard I work every single day. So there's no resistance, there's no mental conflict.
And I think that's what you're speaking to. Does that resonate when I say that to you, Jake? Yeah.
[00:15:32] Speaker C: Yeah. You're great at summarizing everything that I've been trying to put into words. So that is exactly what I feel. There's no resistance. I just keep doing my thing. I'm happy. I'm training for a marathon. Like, I'm able to do these things that I feel great about in my life and continue to work.
[00:15:47] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh, you're so amazing. And you know what? Like, the full, like, taking on other goals in your lives and, like, it all spirals, right? I'm a gym rat. I'm a nutritional biochemist. Just for your background by degree and, like, a trainer. So that's what I did before I got into consulting and franchising. But I. You see people make one change in their life that's for their personal better. Like, they start growing, and then other areas of their life start taking shape in that growing aspect as well. And so in just having the time and again, because you don't have mental drain every day, not only do you have more time for your kids, you have more time for your family, you have more time for yourself, all because you made one decision to answer the call of, you know, let's pursue this whole franchise thing. It's amazing. Oh, my gosh, I'm so inspired by you today.
Yes, totally. Okay, so let's talk about. I think a lot of people worry about, like, they're like, yeah, but this is a good story, but so how did you overcome the bots? Everybody has a but. There are risks to everything, right? What if it didn't work? Like, so you stand on the sideline, analyzing, talking yourself down from what could be something amazing because you're tripping over the butt. Like, what were your butt? And looking back like, are you so glad that you didn't make them? Like, you made them molehills rather than mountain?
[00:17:23] Speaker C: Yeah. I had a secure job. I was making decent money. I'm fairly young. My butts were, what if we lose the house? What if I do this and don't make more money? What if I do this? And the list of buts are endless. I sat on a lot of validation calls with people who said, with franchisees at that time, who said this, and this is what pushed me. They said, I wish I would have done this when I was in my thirties. Here I am in my thirties. I wish I would have done this years ago. I heard that comment constantly, that my wife and I sat down and looked at these and thought, now's the time we've got to do it. We have a whole life to live, and I don't want to be 20 years down the road after living 20 years of this soul sucking journey that I had. My job wasn't that bad, but it wasn't exactly aligning with what I wanted to do. And really, I wake up and realize that I wish I would have done this in my thirties. And here I am, older and living my life and my kids are grown, and I've missed the opportunity. I realized that we had to make that decision now while we could. Yeah, it was a risk. We didn't have that much money in savings. We didn't have that much money behind us, and we had to do it. There were a lot of buts, but we just, we knew we had to do it. We had to make the jump.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: You had a driving motivator of, this is going to be better because we're making this decision, right? Like, and that's really what it takes. Sometimes people will explore franchises and they don't really have a driving motivator. There's nothing that's pushing them so at the butt, and I'm not judging that, right? When you're ready, you're ready. When you're ready to find the reason around that but. Or to be like, no. Because the thought of the what if it were in so much better than the worry of what if it won't? And what I love about what you said, chase, is you leaned into people in the franchise. So when you're exploring a franchise and you start turning to outside resources, right? Your family, your friends, people who know you because they know you, but they're not you at this moment in your life with the thoughts that you have and the pain that you have and what you're trying to do to improve your life. The only people who have the answers to the questions and to the but that you have when you're exploring a franchise are the people inside that franchise. They are the ones you must lean into. And the other franchisees, they're not selling you anything. They're telling you their story. They once weren't you. So they get the. But they get what's holding you back.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:20:07] Speaker B: You probably went through the exact same thoughts, right?
[00:20:10] Speaker C: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. No question about it. You put into words again exactly what I was thinking. So, yeah, I had to trust in them. They'd been through the process, and we just listened to them and trusted them.
[00:20:22] Speaker B: And how awesome is it to be in this, like, collective consciousness of people that are all trying to grow a brand, working through the problems of the business every single day together? How awesome is that?
[00:20:34] Speaker C: Oh, so we just got back from bloom of blinds. They had their family reunion just last weekend. And being a part of this family, like, there's no doubt that's the culture that this has been built. It is excellent. I've created so many friends now part of my family where I can lean on and I can call and say, hey, I have this issue. Or, hey, I have this question. Or as we join our monthly franchisee calls, our peer groups, that we can go and say, hey, I recognize you. I feel more comfortable asking these questions or coming to you with these issues and being a part of that group. That family is exactly what I was looking for and support, and not just from the franchisor, but the fellow franchisees as well, that they're all willing to pick up the phone and answer questions because our rising tide lifts all boats.
Amazing.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: I love that expression. I say it all the time myself. Chase, this is awesome. You are so inspiring. Your story is inspiring. And the last thing I want to point out is my followers have heard me share this before, but when you dare to pursue your dreams and goals, Rick, you think you did this to have more time with your kids. And ultimately, this is for your family. But the most important and most valuable thing that you're actually doing for your kid is waking up and showing up for your dream every day because you are giving or leaving a legacy to them. But that's how life is lived.
[00:22:00] Speaker C: Right.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: I'm a mom. I have two boys. My kids don't do, they don't always do what I say, but they do tend to do what I do because I'm their role model.
[00:22:11] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: And what legacy could you give to your kids than being the role model of one who flaps out in faith, follows his dreams and changed the trajectory of not just your professional career and maybe your financial life threat, the life for your children, the legacy that you're actually building.
[00:22:33] Speaker C: Yep. That allows me to, like I said, spend more time with them, be with them. That allows me to achieve my goals and train for a marathon or do whatever it else in my life that feeds me that to allow me to be there for them. I absolutely agree with you.
[00:22:50] Speaker B: Amazing. Well, this is american wealth at its best. And this is the american dream at its best, everybody. So chase, thank you so much for blessing us with your story. Truly, it was inspirational and I just wished you and your family nothing but the best unlimited growth. And I hope our paths will cross again. Thank you so much.
[00:23:10] Speaker C: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
[00:23:12] Speaker B: Yeah, this has been awesome. So for those of you who are sitting on the sideline, who are inspired as I am to begin your journey to find your own definition of american wealth and the american dream, you know that I want to be your franchise consultant and your daily coach. Reach directly out to inquireemdaily TV. That's inquire Kimdaily TV. And until next time, my name is Kim Daley and I want to be your daily coach.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: You can find more content just like I this on my YouTube channel at Kimdaily TV. And if you're inspired to take the next step to explore franchises matched to you, please email me right now at inquireimdaily TV. That's inquirey TV.
