Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Create wealth through Franchising. I'm your host, Kim Daly.
Whether you're a CEO, a military vet, a real estate investor, or simply in career transition and ready to take ownership of your future, with each episode, you're going to learn valuable insights and hear inspiring stories from within the franchise industry.
On that note, my guest stories are their own. And as a franchise consultant, I do not make personal brand endorsements or earnings claims, but I do educate, motivate, and inspire dreams.
Now onto the show.
Welcome back to Create wealth through Franchising podcast and Kim Daly TV. In my studio today, Mr. Brent Chapman from Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a multi unit, multi brand franchisee of Home Front Brands. Brent, welcome to the studio of Kim Daly tv.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Thanks for having me, Kim.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: No, thank you for being here today because I have a feeling, guys and gals, that we are talking to our rockstar stud. So let's dive into this conversation, Brent, and tell my listeners how you stumbled into franchising. Like, we joke in franchising, right? That like, nobody wakes up and goes, oh, yeah, my future is in a franchise. What was happening in your life when you were like, I gotta do something different. And I think it might be a franchise.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Yeah. So about eight years ago, I was young, fresh out of college, just kind of looking for what to do next. I was just working at the YMCA and I met Tyler Kirk, who was getting into franchising, what was then called Labor Paints, now Window Hero, that was now part of Homefront Brands. And he was like, we're looking to, you know, have somebody franchise this thing in Greensboro. And I had a job lined up. I called and told him I'm not interested. And I bought a truck and moved to Greensboro all within like three weeks to start a business. And my mom and dad cried and thought I was going to be homeless. And that was making a terrible decision. Signed an apartment lease for like $300 a month. I was broke. And then now Here we are eight years later with I think 12 total territories in three different franchise businesses. Not homeless. So worked out. Yeah. I had a job offer at a headhunting firm for like a hundred thousand dollars starting salary and turned it down to basically have no promise of income.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: So what drove you to take that risk, like to walk away from a salary of 100,000 fresh out of college? Where did you move from?
[00:02:53] Speaker B: So I was in Charlotte, the Lake Norman area. My mom and dad are still there and moved to Greensboro. I'd had some friends that were kind of moving this way, being a part of A good church here that I was known. I had some other connections out this direction. I'd lived in that small town my whole life. I didn't really want to stay around with another job. And I just, it felt like if I was ever going to do anything crazy, 22, 23 would probably be a time to try it. So I just thought the option, I move at the pace, my own drum here, kind of things I always have, you know me, you know, like I'm a loose cannon even now. It was like a challenge that I thought was going to be fun to try to do. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, so I'd never done anything work before I even started. So was wild.
[00:03:39] Speaker A: So what was it about Tyler that like made you want to follow him?
[00:03:45] Speaker B: Yeah, just a super genuine guy if you ever met him. He's like a big kid at heart. His story was very similar to kind of what I thought. You know, he was young when he started his own business, kind of start door knocking, window cleaning, cleaning gutters. And so it was wild. He had a vision that I was bought into a character of other franchisees that I thought would fit well. And just the vision of that of helping young men kind of grow. The vision was as a bunch of young guys, we could see them become young and grow into families. And these 19 year olds turned the 30 year olds that we could see that kind of process take place here. And the vision worked within like a couple of years. Everybody I'd hired, all six of them, stayed around for about three years. We all started single dudes and then we were all a couple of years later married and having babies. So it was fun to watch us all do this life together. And then now we've almost kind of restarted the cycle. Some of them have left, most of them are managers. Almost every single one of my original employees are either working for me still or they work for Homefront. So it's been fun. Yeah. And so we just have added to the chaos with more franchises along the way.
[00:04:52] Speaker A: I love this story. So you follow Tyler, you go from a $300 a month apartment to now you own. What did you say? How many territories? And I know you're launching your third business in the Homefront week, correct?
[00:05:05] Speaker B: Yes. I think Window Hero owns five territories, Top Rail owns four, and then we'll buy four with the new franchise that we're hoping to launch here soon with Homefront. So I think that's like 12 or 13. Back when I first bought, it wasn't by the Territory, it was by the city. So it's kind of a little skewed now. So eight years ago, you didn't buy, like, the home territories. You bought the city. So I bought Winston, High Point and Greensboro, and now, as they broken them up into territories, technically own a few more than I thought I would.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: So let's get to the heart of that question of why do you keep investing in the same franchisor?
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Great question. What they have going on, in my opinion, at Homefront, is really, really strong. I mean, you know, Jeff is great, but most of the people that I interact with are my brand presidents and then the people, you know, kind of in that circle there. So I really wasn't super ready to start a new brand, a new franchise. But then when I met Todd, I was pretty bought into the idea and I wasn't quite ready. But we were beginning talks. I was getting a place where WindowHero was kind of running itself. Homefront just kind of captured my interest in one of stacking them, so using same managers, same staff, same type of business models, and almost allowing kind of repeat clients to kind of bounce between home service industries. So when they kind of gave me that vision of stacking businesses, and then Zach, dude and I sat down and talked about kind of growing wealth and then even that, because we were interested in opening up other window heroes, just in other states, we want to do this other, like the same thing we did other places and have to travel or do we just start stacking here? Homefront kind of just brought it all together for us to make it a little bit more of a clear vision of doing this here.
[00:06:59] Speaker A: It's really amazing. And for those who may not be following this, let me backtrack and just give a little bit more clarity. So what we're talking about is that Brent has built the vertical window hero, like one vertical, and now he's going horizontal instead of, like he said, going out and building additional territories in other states and having to learn the challenge of managing businesses from afar. He can double back, add another home services brand in the same territory, serving the same customers, using the same team of employees, still franchising with the same leadership. And this is one of the fastest ways to scale wealth. Like, wealth is always created through scale and will never be about one of anything. One team, one truck, one location. It's always about how we can leverage our time across and with systems. And I love the testimony that as a young guy, he gets established in one and then he sees the vision because he's part of A group of people that he's fully bought into. So what does Kim Daly always say to you? Franchising is who, not what.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: I would totally agree with that. That's completely true. Put in a little context, WindowHero had about nine trucks with probably 15 employees. Some full time, some part time. I got to a point where I was working maybe 10 hours of active weeks with WindowHero, and that's when we launched Top Rail. Within all that too.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: And, guys, this isn't so much about the specific brand as it is about the story and what you can accomplish through the right franchise partner. That's really what I want you to take away, because if you get inspired, I don't want you to go directly to that franchise or I want you to come to Kim Daly. That's the whole point of me creating this content for you, right? So you can learn about all the different options there are, but then say, I don't know where to start. And that's where I meet you when you come to me and we look at your goals and your interests and what you want to build and scale. And then with my 22 years of knowledge and relationships, I match those specific franchisors to you. Because one of the things we can't really, like, get into in this kind of a conversation is the culture at Homefront. Just by seeing Brent's face and, like, hearing him talk, I can understand 100% why he would be drawn to the men at Homefront. In fact, I have a very good friend of mine who texted me the other day. He's in franchise development, and he said, hey, what do you think about me joining Homefront? And knowing his personality and knowing the culture at Homefront, I was like, dude, that's a slam dunk job for you. You 100% belong in that culture at Homefront. So that's what you're getting when you invest time with a good franchise consultant like Kim Daly. It's not matching, like, oh, you love to work out, so I have to show you the gym, because not all gym franchisors are the same. The culture behind the franchise is what I'm matching you to. I want to put you in an environment where you're connected to people that you believe can coach and mentor you, and you're open to receiving that coaching. So on that note, Brent, you were a young guy. I'm sure you were probably very open and coachable because you didn't know what you didn't know. Speak a little bit to just the willingness to be able to follow their lead and how important it is to follow what the franchisor says to do in order to be successful in a franchise.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: First it was Tyler, then it became Homefront. Most of what I got bought into was, honestly, I was the fourth, I think, Window Hero, and I was the first top row to launch, and I'll be the first to launch this new franchise. They were pretty open with me. They were like, look, this is all new concepts, and we think you're the guy, and we want to kind of task a challenge. And honestly, there's pride in and involved in me of being like, with the first top rail to launch. The goal was to hit a million in a year in year one, which we did. And so the goal for Window Hero was fastest ever hit a million, which we were. It was like, okay, we've got a new thing going. Proof of concept was something that I'm good at sales, I'm good at quick growth, but I'm not good at organization. And so basically what I had behind me was a team of people that was like, okay, rent, go out and blow this thing up. And then as the organization stuff kind of fall, you let us know how we need to kind of become better at this. And whether that be CRMs or vendors or processes that need to take into place. So at some point, Homefront will not be that. We've got hundreds of locations. We're really established. That's what attracts a lot of people in, is like, we're a proof of concept. You know, you can come in and buy this and go, I'm not that guy. I don't really want to have proof of concept. I want to have something to be proud of. And us growing and doing this thing and feeling like we've created something that is something that not very many people feel like they could do. So I was all bought into being like, all right, well, if anyone's going to do it, I think I could probably do that. That's my skill set is growing and building quickly and then leaving like a tornado mess of just things behind me as we kind of figure it out along the way. So that's what the franchise has been good for us for, is, okay, I went out in our first two months and sold 300 grand of revenue. Now, where'd we buy this stuff from? What do we do? Okay, now we got customers that want to pay different directions. It's kind of like, okay, let's figure this out along the way. Obviously, Homefront, as we grow, they're getting more processes in place well before we deal with Window Hero. But there's still kinks to me. You know, when I sat down with Todd Burn, president of Top Rail, you're like, you're the first. So it's like you're going to come up with. We had this whole pricing structure of way we wanted to price things. And then within like the first couple of weeks, we're like, todd, this isn't working. You know, like, it's taking too long. Or I'm giving people astronomical prices because the system's not spitting it out correctly, or just things like that that we were trying to kind of work through the kinks for. You know, a lot of franchisees may not take the challenge on. They would just want you to have it set in stone, ready to go. And so that's why Homefront and Tyler have been a good partnership for me. I like being this kind of like, path setter, trend setter. We're building this. To me, that is what has been on top of what building what we are. That has been fun to do and the team behind me to build it. So, like, as we go every month, we are having conversations with either brand specific people or marketing or strategy or anybody within those networks of here's what's not working. I think I was the first franchisee. Maybe, I'm not sure, but I was at home from last week. We did like 400 something thousand dollars in a month the last, like two months ago. And I was like, all right, now we're growing to a point where there's things that have got to change. We're not doing, you know, 150k months anymore. There's processes that we've got to get faster at. We can't be driving two hours for materials for one vendor. You know, like those kind of things. It was like, okay, we've got to get faster and better at this.
[00:14:06] 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.
There's a lot of people out there listening who are like, well, I'm buying a franchise because I want it proven. But, I mean, you got to know the guys at Homefront are loving having Brent on the team because every franchisor needs somebody or a small group of people that are willing to be the trailblazers, right? And what's so amazing is that there are different opportunities out there for every personality. So don't be dismayed if you're like, I don't want to be blazing a trail. I'm buying a franchise because I want something proven. And cookie cutter Kim Daly has options for that personality and for that investor, too. And not everybody coming in because I've certainly done my fair share. Replacements with Top Rail, not everybody in that. That said, yes is a trailblazer either, because Brent has gone before you because he and some other people have already started to iron this out and they're working closely with the franchisor to perfect the system. And what I want to say about that is, look, if that scares you, you shouldn't want to be a business owner in general. Because if a business is, is not changing and growing, it's dying. We are never staying the same, right? You're either moving forward or you're sliding backwards. So pick it, right? So if you want to be a business owner, even in a franchise, everything you're saying yes to today is not going to be the same three or five years from now. We all have to be adapting and growing and changing. That's the nimble part of being a business owner. Being flexible and stretching and growing and changing with it. If you're resting on your laurels, you're already sunk and your business is probably dying. So just take that to heart. If you're a listener and you're a little bit nervous about this, I find it incredibly inspiring. And just, you know, look, Brent, you were a young guy. You didn't have a lot to risk, right? But you did walk away from a six figure job that you could have easily taken, but you took on the challenge and look where it led you. I mean, when you're talking to somebody who's validating a concept on the home front, what is your advice to them about getting involved in a franchise?
[00:16:27] Speaker B: Great question. I do want to preface. We are way farther along than like where we were a couple years ago. But now when I'm having the conversation, there's really two paths in franchising. There's I'm young and I've got time for like a growth business that's a repeat model or there's, hey, I've been in corporate America and I'm in my 40s or 50s and I really want something that's going to start fast. Each franchise network is going to have kind of models probably for you. I mean, that's really what I generally recommend. People, if I'm talking to a guy that's in his 20s or early 30s, I'm generally like, all right, look, I was 28 years old after five years working five hours a week, making six figures a year because my business had time and you could ride that out of the sunset for forever or. But like, if you're 50, you're probably not going to want to do that because the earlier years of those kind of franchise businesses, you can't afford employees. It's kind of grinded out. You know, I was on ladders, writing people's information on my forearm, like on a call, you know, it's like I couldn't afford assistance or things like that. Whereas, you know, top rail or businesses like that scale so much faster. It just depends on the person and the place of life you're at. And so if you're in your 20s and you're like, I've got time to grind this thing out. The repeat business model is just such a beautiful model to have because 10 years from now you're going to have a 1 to 2 million dollars business that's profit and 20%. And you can just kind of ride that repeat model for the next 20 years if you wanted to. You know, if it's like I've been 30 years in corporate America, I'm looking for something different. I'm not sure cleaning gutters and you know, at that stage of your life, in trying to do something like nitty gritty is quite what would be the best. Some people are like, no, I've had a desk, I want to do that and that's fine. I just, I try to steer them in the direction of like, I mean, a top rail probably could be a $2 million business in 24 months at 20% profit. Just very different scalability. But you're not going to repeat those clients. You've kind of got to hustle and bustle it up to that point and then hire salespeople. And then eventually probably I'd say you're talking of shorter time of a bigger business that can have a little bit different of a landscape to it. So just kind of depends on the person.
[00:18:37] Speaker A: Yeah, it really does. And that's why there's a franchise consultant to help you sift and sort through all of this information. You don't have to feel you have to go it alone. My services are totally free. So Brent, I want to know what's next for you. You know you're this multi seven figure guy, right? Are you going to eight figures? Like what is the goal for you? You're so young.
[00:18:56] Speaker B: Yeah, honestly, I have no idea. My Wife and I have an agreement, you know, probably stop it somewhere around four or five franchises, either sell them or have something for our kids. We're really not sure. You know, the goal would be if I've got, let's say we get to five franchises and they're all somewhere between, you know, 1 and 5 million, sell them as a package deal and just be retired at 45 is maybe the current goal. But we don't have any kids yet, so that could change. But this is all kind of a developing as we go, so I never know what's next until Zach Duden was like, hey, I think we've got something for you. You want to meet and talk about it? And again, we're interested. Here we are trying for a third business, so I love it.
[00:19:41] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh, my face hurts. I'm smiling so hard. It's just so inspiring to me, you know, when people just are not afraid to just chase their dreams. I'm sure that Brent has had some stumbles along the way, especially with pioneering brands where everything isn't all figured out, but it's his personality and is just a belief in himself. I mean, I'm just talking to him for 20 minutes and I know why he's so successful. And if you're listening, you're probably figuring that out too. So we're not looking for everything to be hand delivered, you know, on the silver spoon in a franchise because that's just not reality. Right. And you do have to sometimes show up and hustle and grind it out until you get to a point. Point to where now you've earned the right to step back. But there are also other opportunities where that's not a true statement. And again, as I've said already, you don't have to figure that out on your own. I'm here to help you and I'd really love to be your franchise consultant if this conversation has inspired you. So, Brent, I mean, I really appreciate you being my special guest here today and I wish you and your family like, all the best. Because I'm so close to Homefront, I'm sure that I'll be staying in contact with your story and watching you develop more brands. And I really hope that you go on and build an eight figure or more empire. You certainly seem to be on track to do that. And I think you absolutely deserve every good thing in your life.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: I really appreciate it. Thanks for having me.
[00:21:04] Speaker A: It's a pleasure to meet you. So for those who are inspired and you're ready to begin your own journey to find your perfect franchise. Well, you know, I want to be your franchise consultant, so please follow the link in the description below. And until next time, do not forget that my name is Kim Daly and I want to be your daily coach.
You can find more content just like this on my YouTube channel at KimDaily TV. And if you're inspired to take the next step to explore franchises match to you, please email me right now at inquire at KimDaily TV. That's inquire at KimDaily TV.
